The Saturday quiz

Like a conversation around the table, the Family Quiz follows a thread and everyone can join in. Some questions suit younger quizzers, but really it’s a free-for-all. Don’t all shout at once!

1

Rudyard Kipling was born on this day in 1865. He became in 1907, and remains to this day, the youngest-ever recipient of which award?

(a) British Order of Merit

(b) Olympic Gold Medal for Poetry

(c) Nobel Prize in Literature

2

What is the name of the Bengal tiger in Kipling’s The Jungle Book, later adapted as a Disney cartoon feature film?

(a) Mowgli

(b) Shere Khan

(c) Baloo

3

Which sport is played by the Cincinnati Bengals?

(a)American (“Gridiron”) Football (b) Baseball

(c) Basketball

4

Whereabouts is Tranquility Base, established by American personnel in July 1969?

(a) On the floor of the Pacific Ocean

(b) At the Geographic

South Pole

(c) On the Moon*

5

Which is the largest moon in our solar system, larger than the planet Mercury?

(a) Ganymede, orbiting Jupiter (b) Titan, orbiting Saturn

(c) Phobos, orbiting Mars

6

The Mars confectionery company of Virginia, USA, recently purchased which UK chocolate company?

(a) Cadburys

(b) Thornton’s

(c) Hotel Chocolat

7

The Savoy Hotel has a sculpture of a cat which is given a seat at dining parties of 13 people, to avoid that unlucky number sitting down together. What is the cat called?

(a) Katya

(b) Kaspar

(c) Kathryn

8

What is the name of the cat in Judith Kerr’s popular children’s books?

(a) Mog

(b) Fog

(c) Blog

9

Where would you expect a troglodyte to live?

(a) On the planet Trog

(b) On top of a mountain

(c) In a cave

10

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on earth. What is the second-tallest? (a) Annapurna

(b) K2

(c) Kanchenjunga

11

What kind of vessel was the American craft called K-74, destroyed by a U-boat in 1943?

(a) Miniature submarine

(b) Hovercraft

(c) Blimp

12

What is the name of the polar bear who captains the undersea exploring group the Octonauts?

(a) Barnacles

(b) Barney

(c) Basil

13

Basil Rathbone played which celebrated character in 14 Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946? (a) The Scarlet Pimpernel

(b) Sherlock Holmes

(c) Count Dracula

14

Under what circumstances might Miss Scarlett have been murdered by Colonel Mustard with the lead piping in the ballroom?

(a) In a novel by Agatha Christie

(b) In the classic British version of the game Cluedo

(c) In an episode of Inspector Morse

15

What is the Morse code for SOS? (a) ·—·

(b) ———···———

(c) · · ·— — —· · ·