1. How many letters are there in the Greek alphabet? 24
2. Which sporting event was won by Australia on June 7th last year? THE EPSOM DERBY
3. What is the top hand in poker? ROYAL FLUSH (A,K,Q,J, 10 suited)
4. Which caste do Indian teachers and priests belong to? BRAHMIN
5. If a creature aestivates, what does it do? SLEEPS IN SUMMER
6. Which island is copper named after? CYPRUS (Latin: Cyprium/Cuprium)
7. The Asteroid Belt lies between which 2 planets in the Solar System? (2-part answer)
MARS and JUPITER
8. Which motorsport circuit is next to East Midlands airport? DONINGTON PARK
9. Which American state is nicknamed ‘The Ocean State’? RHODE ISLAND
10 Which European city is served by Malpensa and Linate airports? MILAN
11 In World War 2, where would you have found Bevin Boys? DOWN COALMINES
12 What natural phenomena are categorised 1 to 5 on the Fujita Scale? TORNADOES
13 In the 1988 Winter Olympics, which Caribbean bobsleigh team did even better
than the Jamaican ‘Cool Runnings’ squad? NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
14 In the late 1990s, what vaccination were parents wary of letting their children have
after a fraudulent study wrongly linked it to autism? MMR (MEASLES MUMPS RUBELLA)
15 Which mountain in the Balmoral Estate features in a story by Prince Charles?
LOCHNAGAR
16 Both Elizabeth 1st and the present queen came to the throne at the same age.
How old were they? 25 YEARS OLD
17 What alcohol is added to peach purée to make a Bellini cocktail?
PROSECCO (ACCEPT ‘SPARKLING WINE’)
18 Ljublijana is the capital of which country? SLOVENIA
19 Name the 2 Irish politicians who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 (2 parts)
DAVID TRIMBLE, JOHN HUME (1 MARK EACH)
20 What cargo was the ship Mary Celeste carrying on her final voyage? ALCOHOL
21. What common hobby couldn’t have started until 1840? STAMP-COLLECTING
22. What is the elementary particle whose existence was proposed by an
Edinburgh professor and which won him the Nobel Physics prize in 2013
THE HIGGS BOSON
23. Who or what was the Wabash Cannonball? A RAILWAY TRAIN
24. In the disease BSE, or ‘Mad Cow Disease’ , what does the S stand for?
‘SPONGIFORM’
25. In Alice’s Wonderland what price was on the ticket on the Mad Hatter’s hat?
10/6d (10 SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE)
26. In the September referendum, which of the 4 major Scottish cities polled the
largest percentage in favour of independence? DUNDEE (nearly 57%)
27. What do you calculate using the formula 4 π r² (four pi radius squared)?
THE SURFACE AREA OF A SPHERE
28. Having recently sold his Beats headphones company to Apple, who is now the
world’s first billionaire rapper? DR DRE
29. In Spanish-speaking places, what do they call what we would call the ‘Snowy
Mountains’? ‘SIERRA NEVADA’
30 Which TV programme, first shown in 2006 and with 6 series so far, is fronted by
Gareth Malone? ‘THE CHOIR’
31 What creature does the adjective ‘columbine’ refer to? A DOVE (‘pigeon’ ok)
32 Who wrote ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’, ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ and other
novels? THOMAS HARDY
33 Name both of Scotland’s nuclear power stations (2 parts) TORNESS,
HUNTERSTON (1 MARK EACH)
34. What sort of foodstuff is blue vinny? CHEESE
35 What was Marilyn Monroe’s maiden name? MORTENESEN
36 Which sport has the highest ratio of officials to players? TENNIS
37 Dilma Roussef is President of which S American country? BRAZIL
38 How is the African chilli called ‘pepper pepper’ in Swahili better-known? PIRI-PIRI
39 ‘Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York’
Who was that Yorkist who had become king? EDWARD 4TH
40 What flavour is the liqueur Triple Sec? ORANGE