THE 120 EXTENT OF TRIVIA THE ARTS 1. Vincent van Gogh cut off part of an ear after an altercation with which other painter? A. Paul Gaugin 2. Who was the author of Tom Brown’s Schooldays? A. Thomas Hughes 3. Born in 1915, McKinley Morganfield became a legendary name in music after he changed his name to what? A. Muddy Waters 4. Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Number 14 is more commonly referred to as what? A. The Moonlight Sonata 5. Boublil & Schonberg wrote which long running West End and Broadway musical? A. Miss Saigon BRITAIN 6. What is the name of the bridge at the heart of Bath? A. Pulteney Bridge 7. The Roman city Deva is known today as what? A. Chester 8. The Royal Pigeon Club is based in which English town? A. Cheltenham 9. Other than London, which town or city has the most Michelin-starred restaurants? A. Ludlow 10. The Welsh constituency known as Ynys Mon is known in English as where? A. Anglesey CARTOON CINEMA 11. From which country do Donald Duck’s antecedents hail? A. Scotland 12. What are the names of his nephews who share his home? A. Huey, Louie and Dewey 13. What is the address of Donald’s home? A. 1313 Webfoot Walk 14. What was Mickey Mouse’s original name? A. Mortimer 15. What was the name of the bearded fireman in Trumpton? A. Barney MacGrew DATES 16. The first fatality in a bi-plane accident in the U.K. occurred at an Air Display in 1900, although the person killed was more famous for another mode of transport, who was he? A. Sir Charles Rolls 17. In 1911, who was the first person to be awarded a second Nobel Prize? A. Marie Curie 18. Which U.S. President officially opened the Panama Canal in 1920? A. Woodrow Wilson 19. Which famous composer opened the Abbey Road recording studios in 1931? A. Sir Edward Elgar 20. The bikini was unveiled to the public for the first time in 1946 in which capital city? A. Paris EUROPE 21. What was the name of the blind Benedictine cellar-man who is reputed to have invented champagne? A. Dom Perignon 22. The largest of its kind in Europe, Colossus is to be found in Germany, but what is it? A. A roller-coaster 23. In which decade did women receive the right to vote in Switzerland? A. 1971 24. What is the name of the German stock exchange? A. The Boerse 25. What is the tooth fairy known as in Spain? A. The tooth mouse FOOD & DRINK 26. What is now the more common name for the bounceberry? A. The cranberry 27. M&M’s take their name from Mars and Murray the founders of the chocolate company, but where did the name Snickers come from? A. It was the name of the pony owned by Mars’ daughter. 28. What colour is Shropshire cheese? A. Blue 29. Which American city is the home of Coca Cola? A. Augusta, Georgia 30. In which Cotswold town would you find the Sprout Fair? A. Chipping Camden GEOGRAPHY 31. Which American State is known as the “Diamond State”? A. Arkansas 32. Which continent contains no trees? A. Antarctica 33. Which city is known as the Oyster Capital of America? A. New Orleans 34. Finland is known as Suomi in Finnish, but what sort of land does it mean that it is? A. Swampland 35. Europe’s two largest waterfalls are both in the same country, but which country is it? A. Norway HISTORY 36. In which year did the New York Stock Exchange crash? A. 1929 37. Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe during 1580 in which ship? A. The Golden Hind 38. What role did the Northamptonshire town of Weedon Bec play during the years of the Napoleonic Wars? A. It was England’s alternative capital. 39. Where and what were Humpty Dumpty during the English Civil War? A. They were twin cannons protecting Colchester Castle. 40. The year of 1752 and the Calendar Act saw the year in England start on which day? A. March 25th, Lady Day. IT 41. What does the p in http: stand for? A. Protocol 42. One billion seconds is approximately how many years? A. 32 43. The word robot derives from the meaning of forced labour, but in which language? A. Czech JOKERS & CARDS 44. George Burns won an Oscar for his performance in The Sunshine Boys, Robin Williams won for his performance in Good Will Hunting, but who was the first stand-up comedian, who died this year, to win an Oscar for his performance in Sayonara? A. Red Buttons 45. In a pack of cards, which is the only King without a moustache? A. The King of Hearts 46. Which stand-up comedian shares his name with a village in Lincolnshire? A. Boothby Graffoe 47. What is the King of Spades holding in his left hand? A. A sword 48. Which stand-up comedian and comedy writer hosted the 1970’s television series Jokers Wild? A. Barry Cryer KISS & TELL 49. What was the name of the prostitute who notoriously sold the story of her night with the actor Hugh Grant in the 1990’s? A. Divine Brown 50. What is the name of the secretary who had an affair with the England football team manager and the F.A. chief executive? A. Fariah Alam LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT 51. What is the name of the pub in The Archers? A. The Bull 52. ’’ Eastenders? A. The Queen Vic 53. ’’ Coronation Street? A. The Rovers Return 54. ’’ Emmerdale? A. The Woolpack 55. ’’ Neighbours? (Choice of three names) A. The Waterhole, Lou’s Place, Scarlet Bar MONARCHIES 56. In 959, who became the first King of England? A. Edgar 57. Who was crowned King of Italy in Milan in 1805? A. Napoleon Bonaparte 58. Which country has been the longest standing monarchy? A. Denmark 59. At her wedding, Queen Silvia of Sweden walked down the aisle to which song? A. Dancing Queen 60. In 1917 the British Royal Family changed its name to Windsor, but what was it prior to then? A. Saxe-Coburg Gotha NAMES 61. Born in 1870, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov is better known as? A. Lenin 62. The Boston Red Sox baseball legend George Herman Ruth is better known as Babe, which was actually one of his forenames, what was his actual nickname? A. The Bambino 63. What links Merlyn Lowther, Andrew Bailey, GE Kentfield, G.Gill and Jo Page? A. They are the last five Chief Cashiers of the Bank of England with their signatures on English bank notes. 64. Theodor Geisel is better known as whom? A. Doctor Seuss 65. What was the first name of the landscape gardener Capability Brown? A. Lancelot POP MUSIC 66. The Beatles song Yesterday, is the most covered and most played of their songs, but who in the group wrote it? A. Paul McCartney 67. What was its original working title? A. Scrambled Eggs 68. Which record has achieved the greatest number of airplays (8m+) around the world? A. You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, The Righteous Brothers. 69. Only a last minute suggestion by their manager Stig Andersson led to Abba deciding on renaming their Eurovision winning song to what we know as Waterloo, so what was their original title for the song? A. Honey Pie 70. Which multi-million selling group changed their name from Johnny and the Self-Abusers? A. Simple Minds QUESTIONNAIRE 71. In which country did the Carnation Revolution take place in April1974? A. Portugal 72. In which seaside resort did the first Butlins open in 1936? A. Skegness 73. How many original copies of the Magna Carta were actually signed? A. 4 74. How many quarters of negative growth constitute a recession? A. 2 75. What was significant about the advert for Birds Eye frozen peas shown on ITV, November 15th 1969? A. It was the first to be shown in colour in Britain. ROADS & VEHICLES 76. There are three pedestrian road crossings named after birds, what are they? A. Pelican, Puffin and Toucan. 77. To the nearest one thousand, how many miles of road did the Romans construct during their first year in England? A. 10,000 78. Which city is the home of Harley-Davidson? A. Milwaukee 79. In which year did the Queen open the Humber Bridge? A. 1981 80. The first car to be reported stolen was in 1898 – true or false? A. True SPORT 81. In cricket, which film actress has her name used to denote five wickets having been taken by a bowler in a single innings? A. Michelle Pfeiffer 82. There were two unique things about the 1877 Derby won by Hermit Lodge, what were they? (Accept either) A. It was the only Derby to be run in a snowstorm. The highest odds for a winner, 100-1. 83. Which country has a Premier Football League known as the Eredivisie? A. Holland 84. Prestatyn, October 16th 2004, U.K. Snooker Championship, who set the record for the highest ever break (148) in a professional match? A. Jamie Burnett 85. The first Winter Olympics were held in France in 1924, but at which resort? A. Chamonix TERMS & CONDITIONS 86. What is the collective noun for a group of cameramen? A. A complaint 87. Where is a shrimp’s heart located? A. Its head 88. The acronym LASER stands for what? A. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emissions of Radiation. 89. What viewing distance determines the difference between mist and fog? A. Visibility over 1km is mist. Under 1km is fog. 90. In Polo, what is the length of a Chukka? A. 7 minutes UNSUNG HEROES 91. John Walker, a chemist in Stockton-on-Tees developed a product that he first put on sale in 1827, what was the everyday item? A. Safety matches 92. What were Thomas Edison’s famous words that he used on his first recording? A. Mary had a little lamb. 93. Britain’s first WPC was stationed in which Lincolnshire town? A. Grantham 94. Who was the architect of the Sheldonian Theatre? A. Sir Christopher Wren 95. In 1909, who was the first woman pilot to make a solo flight? A. Elise Deroche VARIETY 96. Only one of these ostensibly Australian stars was actually born in the country, but who is it? Russell Crowe, Olivia Newton-John, Guy Pearce, Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill. A. Geoffrey Rush 97 Where were the other four born? A. Russell Crowe, New Zealand Olivia Newton-John, England Guy Pearce, England Sam Neill, New Zealand WESTMINSTER 101. Who was the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated? A. Spencer Percival 102. Complete the job description, The Gentleman Usher of the…? A. Black Rod 103. Which two famous Prime Minister’s led their party to its two largest defeats in a General Election? A. The Duke of Wellington, 1832. John Major, 1997. 104. Who is the patron saint of politicians? A. Thomas More 105. Who became Lord Mayor of London in 1397? A. Dick Whittington X-FACTOR 106. In 1746, which famous figure found it expedient to undergo a change of name to Betty Burke? A. Bonnie Prince Charlie 107. Which famous female historical figure is known for possessing a face that launched a thousand ships? A. Helen of Troy 108. Who was appointed Britain’s first Poet Laureate in 1668? A. John Dryden 109. In folklore, King Arthur was killed by whom? A. Mordred 110. What was the surname of Peggy Sue who was immortalised in the song written by Buddy Holly? A. Allison YES OR NO 111. An elephant possesses 40,000 muscles in its trunk. A. Yes 112. Buzz Aldrin was the first astronaut to play golf on the moon. A. No. It was Alan Shepherd. 113. A quinqennium is a period of five years. A. Yes 114. The term for a pregnant goldfish is a twerp. A. Yes 115. A queen bee lays an average of 1500 eggs every day. A. Yes Z LISTERS 116. What is the name of the only beardless member of ZZ Top? A. Frank Beard 117. What was the name of character that always had the last word in the popular French television programme Le Ménage Enchante? A. Zebedee 118. The long running police show Z Cars was set in a fictitious area of Merseyside known as what? A. Newtown 119. Who had a huge number one hit in 1969 with In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)? A. Zager & Evans 120. What German warship did Winston Churchill call “The Beast”? A. Tirpitz