16/ From which English town did Glen Miller’s plane take off from on his last flight in December 1944?
Mastermind Club
2022 Quizzes
Archive
A series of quizzes written by members
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 1
Literature
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Ranging from 20 to 28 years of age at its beginning, Olga, Maria and Irina are the title characters of a 1900 play by which notable playwright?
Anton Chekhov (‘Three Sisters’)
2/ Written by the British writer Sophie Hannah, ‘The Monogram Murders’ (2014) was the first in a series of novels to feature which fictional detective? The character had died in the novel ‘Curtain’, published in 1975.
Hercule Poirot
3/ Published in 2005, what is the title of the first ‘the Percy Jackson & the Olympians’ series by Rick Riordan? It was followed by ‘The Sea of Monsters’ and ‘The Titan’s Curse’.
‘The Lightning Thief’
4/ ‘Lust for Life’ (based on Vincent Van Gogh), ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ (Michelangelo) and ‘Depths of Glory’ (Camille Pissarro) were biographical novels of great artists by which American writer born in 1903?
Irving Stone
5/ Noted for drawing from a variety of fields (eg anthropology, geography and evolutionary biology), which US writer is best known for his popular science books ‘The Third Chimpanzee’ (1991); ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel’ (1997) and ‘Collapse’ (2005)?
Jared Diamond
6/ Held in 2010 by public vote, the Lost Man Booker Prize was a special edition of the Man Booker Prize to a novel from 1970 as the books published in that year were not eligible for the Man Booker Prize due to a rules alteration. The winner was ‘Troubles’ – the first installment of the ‘Empire trilogy’ by which writer who tragically drowned in 1979 at the age of 44?
J G Farrell
7/ Published in 2004 (a year after his death from liver failure), ‘2666’ is the last work of which Chilean novelist and poet? It has a lot of similarities with his 1998 award-winning novel ‘The Savage Detectives’.
Roberto Bolano
8/ Born 1923 in New York City, which playwright and screenwriter is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays : for ‘Marty’ (1955), ‘The Hospital’ (1971) and ‘Network’ (1976)? His stage plays include ‘Middle of the Night’ (1956) and ‘The Tenth Man’ (1959).
Paddy Chayefsky
9/ Subtitled ‘History as a Novel/The Novel as History’, which Pulitzer Prize-winning work is a nonfiction novel recounting the October 1967 March on the Pentagon in opposition to the Vietnam War?
‘The Armies of the Night’ by Norman Mailer
10/ The first book in a trilogy that continues with ‘Songs of Enchantment’, which 1991 Man Booker winner is narrated by Azaro, an abiku (spirit child) who tries to live his life, always aware of the spirits trying to bring him back?
‘The Famished Road’ by Ben Okri
11/ In Jonathan Swift’s ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, what is the name of the island that is at war with Lilliput? Both islands are inhabited by tiny people who are about one-twelfth the height of ordinary human beings.
Blefuscu
12/ One of the ‘The Four Greats’ of Norwegian literature, which 19th-century writer noted for works such as ‘Gift’ (1883), ‘Skipper Worse’ (1882) and ‘Garman & Worse’ (1880) gives his name to a drilling rig that capsized in March 1980, killing 123 people?
Alexander Lange Kielland
13/ Referencing the seven women who managed to escape to safety in the wake of apocalyptic events on Earth after the unexplained disintegration of the Moon, the 2015 hard science-fiction novel ‘Seveneves’ is a work by which writer, whose other works include the interactive fiction project ‘The Mongoliad’ and the award-winning ‘Baroque Cycle’ novel series?
Neal Stephenson
14/ Following Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an orphan in 18th-century France born with an exceptional sense of smell, the 1985 novel ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ is a work by which German writer?
Patrick Süskind
15/ The title object of which 1984 debut novel is a huge clock face, encased in a glass box, with a trap behind each of the 12 numerals? The Irish Times called it ‘a work of unparalleled depravity’.
‘The Wasp Factory’ by Iain Banks
16/ Taking him twelve years to write, which Hungarian writer’s novel ‘A Book of Memories’ (1986) earned him comparisons with Marcel Proust? His latest work – the three-volume ‘Parallel Stories’ took him even longer (eighteen years) to complete.
Peter Nádas
17/ Featuring a group of boys at an Austrian military academy, the 1966 German film ‘Young Törless’ was adapted from the first novel by which Austrian philosophical writer? His unfinished novel, ‘The Man Without Qualities’ is generally considered to be one of the most important and influential modernist novels.
Robert Musil
18/ ‘Heavensgate’ (1962), ‘Limits’ (1964), ‘Silences’ (1965) and ‘Labyrinths, with Path of Thunder’ (1971) were the published works of which widely anthologized Nigerian poet who died at the age of 35 fighting in the war for Biafran independence?
Christopher Okigbo
19/ Widely seen in the mid-1930s as the potential successor to Eugene O’Neill before eventually being eclipsed by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams, which American playwright and screenwriter’s noted works include ‘Waiting for Lefty’ (1935), ‘Awake and Sing’ (1935) and ‘Golden Boy’ (1937)?
Clifford Odets
20/ One of three stories from the First Age of Middle-earth to be published (in 2018) as a stand-alone book, JRR Tolkien’s ‘The Fall of _______’ tells the rise and fall of which secret Elven city founded by King Turgon on the steep hill Amon Gwareth within the Vale of Tumladen?
Gondolin
21/ Paraphrased by economist Milton Friedman as the title of a 1975 book, the phrase ‘There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch’ and its acronym ‘TANSTAAFL’ is a central theme of which 1966 science-fiction novel – narrated by Manuel Garcia ‘Mannie’ O’Kelly-Davis, a computer technician who discovers that the supercomputer HOLMES IV has achieved self-awareness?
‘The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress’ by Robert A. Heinlein
22/ Which anonymous English metrical romance written c. 1350 features the young protagonist who is deprived of his inheritance by his brother and becomes an outlaw in the forest? Having similarities with the English ballad of the legendary outlaw Robin Hood, it was also a source for Thomas Lodge’s prose romance ‘Rosalynde’ (1590), on which William Shakespeare based his ‘As You Like It’.
‘Tale of Gamelyn’
23/ Completed in 1941 while the author was in exile in the United States, which ‘Non-Aristotelian drama’ follows a young prostitute, Shen Teh, as she struggles to lead a life according to the terms of the morality taught by the gods?
‘The Good Person of Szechwan’ by Bertolt Brecht
24/ Born in 1584 in Leicestershire, which English Renaissance dramatist saw his early play ‘The Knight of the Burning Pestle’ rejected by the audience, but achieved success when he collaborated with John Fletcher on works such as ‘Philaster’ and ‘The Scournful Lady’?
Francis Beaumont
25/ Referring to a form of dramatic expression that combines poetry, dance, music, and song, the term ‘choreopoem’ was first coined in 1975 by which American playwright and poet to describe her work ‘For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf’? Her other works include the novels ‘Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo’ (1982) and ‘Liliane’ (1994).
Ntozake Shange
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 2
General Knowledge
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Couvade Syndrome is also known as what?
Sympathetic Pregnancy
2/ Which political campaigner and cleric served as General Secretary, and later Chairman, of CND between 1930 and 1990?
Bruce Kent
3/ Which female singer had hits with “Days” “A new England “and” ‘l’here’s a guy works down the chip shop swears he’s Elvis?
Kirsty McColl
4/ How many flavours are there of the subatomic particles called Quarks?
Six
5/ In 1655 which mathematical symbol was introduced b John Wallis?
Infinity
6/ Which female singer had hits with “Running up that hill” ,“Cloud busting” ,“This woman’s work” and “Army Dreamer’s”?
Kate Bush
7/ What is the stage name of the actor and comedian Michael Pennington. He has played sit-com characters Wet Eric and the Oracle?
Johnny Vegas
8 Which French politician was President of the European Commission from 1985 t0 1995. He oversaw the introduction of the Single Market between member states?
Jacques Delors
9/Antares is the brightest star in which constellation?
Scorpio
10/ What is the name of the hillside in the Santa Monica mountains on which the famous Hollywood sign stands?
Mount Lee’
11/ The Duveen Galllery, in the British Museum, was specially built to house what?
The Elgin Marbles
12/ Which motor racing driver posthumously won the 1970 F1 World Driver’s Championship?
Jochen Rindt
13/ Which is the smallest city in Scotland by population?
Stirling
14/Which mythological sea monster had its lair at the Lake of Lerna?
The Hydra
15/What was the name of the house band that backed Dr Teeth on the Muppet Show?
Electric Mayhem
16/ Which city, on the Adriatic Sea, used to be known as Ragusa?
Dubrovnik
17/ Played by William B Davis “Cigarette Smoking Man” was the main villain in which TV series?
The X Files
18/Which breed of horse is traditionally associated with the Spanish Riding School in Vienna?
Lipizzaner
19/ What is the name of the former Labour Shadow Culture Secretary who caused uproar in the House of Commons and in the media over her off the shoulder dress?
Tracey Brabin
20/ In the TV series “The Good Life” Tom and Barbara Good’s next door neighbours are called Margo and Gerry but what was their surname?
Ledbetter
21/ The right hand page of a book in printing is known as recto, what is the left hand page called?
Verso
22/ In 1900 the American army physician Walter Reed proved a theory proposed by Carlos Finlay that mosquito’s transmitted which disease?
Yellow Fever
23/ Which U.S. city is about 16 miles upstream from Niagara Falls?
Buffalo, NY
24/ By population which is the largest city on the Mediterranean coast?
Barcelona
25/ Which was the first U.S. city to host the Olympic Games?
St.Louis in 1904
Mastermind Club - Quiz 2022 archive
Quiz number 3 is not available
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 4
History
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Attended by the leaders of 29 countries (including Jawaharlal Nehru and Zhou Enlai), which Indonesian city hosted the first large-scale Asian-African conference in April 1955? Releasing a 10-point ‘declaration on promotion of world peace and cooperation’, it paved the way ultimately for the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement
Bandung
2/ Standing on Abbey Craig (a volcanic crag above Cambuskenneth Abbey), which towering monument completed in 1869. Designed by the architect John Thomas Rochead, to which 13th-century historical figure is it dedcated?
William Wallace
3/ Issued in April 1967, the Arusha Declaration outlined the concept of `Ujamaa’ (`Brotherhood’ in Swahili). Espoused by Julius Nyerere, it became the basis of social and economic developments in which newly-independent country, of which he was its first President until his retirement in 1985?
Tanzania
4/ Coined by Machiavelli in 1503, the term ‘Five Good Emperors’ refer to five consecutive Roman emperors noted for their wise and virtuous rule, and include Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. Who is the first of them, who came to power in 96AD following the assassination of Domitian?
Nerva
5/ Issued on 11th January 1917, the Zimmerman Telegram (named after its originator, the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire) was a coded internal diplomatic communication that proposed a military alliance with which country should the United States enter World War I against Germany? It was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence, resulting in a publicity backlash that actually propelled the US into the war in April that year.
Mexico
6/ Which chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe was instrumental in leading British resistance to Roman invasion, mainly with guerilla tactics? Originally condemned to die, he made such an impressive speech to the Roman Senate that he was pardoned and allowed to live in peace in Rome.
Caratacus
7/ The last holder being Abbas Hi1mi Pasha, which title (derived ultimately from the Persian for `lord’) was applied to the rulers of Egypt from 1867 to 1914, who governed as vassals of the Ottoman Empire? It is roughly the equivalent of the English viceroy.
Khedive
8/ Born in Tennessee he longest-serving Secretary of State in the history of the USA, holding the position from 1933-1944? He played an instrumental role in the establishment of the United Nations after WWII, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945.
Cordell Hull
9/ Which British Conservative Prime Minister resigned in 1957 as a result of the humiliation Britain suffered during the Suez Crisis?
Anthony Eden
10/ Who became the first female Secretary of State of the United States, when she was appointed by Bill Clinton in December 1996?
Madeleine Albright
11/ Occurring on 2nd July 626 AD, the Xuanwu Gate Incident was a palace coup which saw Prince Li Shimin and his followers killing two of his brothers who were vying with him for the throne. This incident occurred during the early years of which of China’s dynasties?
Tang
12/ Portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix in the movie `Gladiator’, which Roman Emperor reigned from AD 18o to 192, after the death of his father Marcus Aurelius?
Commodus
13/ Which Marxist revolutionary and founder of the Red Army was assassinated in Mexico in 1940?
Leon Trotsky
14/ Which former Italian prime minister, one of its longest-serving post-WWII, was kidnapped by the Red Brigade in 1978 and murdered after 55 days in captivity?
Aldo Moro
15/ The third most populous in Romania and the capital of the Banat region, in which city did an uprising break out in December 1989, which ultimately culminated in the fall of the Ceausescu regime and communism in Romania?
Timisoara
16/ In 2012, the remains of which English monarch was discovered within Leicester’s Greyfriars Friary Church, 527 years after his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field?
Richard III
17/ Being defined as from 57 BC to 668 AD, the `Three Kingdoms’ period refers to the kingdoms of Silla, Baekje and Goguryeo, which occupied most of which current day peninsula?
Korea
18/ One of the seven members of the first Soviet Politburo, which Bolshevik revolutionary was executed in 1937 during Stalin’s Great Purge? He gives his name to a 1924 letter purportedly by him and addressed to British communists urging for revolution – now widely dismissed as a forgery.
Grigory Zinoviev
19/ Fought on St. Crispin’s Day in 1415, which famous battle in the Hundred Years’ War is the centerpiece in Shakespeare’s `Henry V’? It saw the English defeat a much larger French force with the use of the longbow.
Agincourt
20/ Nicknamed the ‘Shadow Shogun’, which former Prime Minister of Japan became embroiled in a series of political scandals during his terms of office, culminating in the Lockheed bribery scandals in 1976 which led to his arrest and trial?
Kakuei Tanaka
21/ Born 1893 in Leipzig, which politician served as the head of state of East Germany from 1960 till his death in 1973? As the First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950, he was the chief decision maker in his country for over 2 decades. The Berlin Wall went up under his watch
Erich Honecker
22/ First elected as Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1923, which political figure dominated British politics during the period between the two world wars? Elected for a total of three times (alternating with his great rival Ramsay MacDonald), he is also the only PM to date to have served under three monarchs.
Stanley Baldwin
23/ Born 1602 in the Kingdom of Naples, which Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician served as the Chief Minister of France from 1642 until his death? Taking over from his mentor Cardinal Richelieu, he was instrumental in establishing France’s supremacy amongst European powers during the early reign of King Louis XIV.
Cardinal Mazarin
24/ Occurring in November 1960, the murder of the three Mirabal sisters took place in which Caribbean country? Political opponents of the dictator Rafael Trujillo, their deaths paved the way for an uprising that culminated in his assassination six months later.
Dominican Republic
25/ Basing himself in the Isle of Ely, the rebel leader Hereward the Wake was instrumental in leading local resistance against which King of England? Stories about his deeds have influenced the tales about Robin Hood.
William I
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 5
General Knowledge
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Derived from the Javanese for ‘to write in dots’, which five-letter word refers to the technique of cloth-dyeing in which patterned areas are covered with wax so that they will not receive the colour? The pattern usually consists of complex dots and lines, and is popular in Southeast Asian countries.
Batik
2/ Named after a 9th-century founder of the nation, which country’s currency is known as the somoni? It was introduced in 2000, replacing the rouble.
Tajikistan
3/What common 5-letter word is shared by the following : a military figure commonly-associated with Sir Gawain in Arthurian legend; a Lynn Riggs play upon which the musical `Oklahoma!’ is based; and a masked vigilante who is the alter-ego of Britt Reid, a young newspaper publisher?
Green (Green Knight/ ‘Green Grow the Lilacs’/ Green Hornet)
4/ Add Joseph Ratzinger’s ordinal number to that of a 1995 post-Apocalyptic movie starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. Add this total to a cult novel published in 1969 in which the protagonist Billy Pilgrim journeys through a fire-bombed Dresden. What is the resulting number?
33 (Benedict XVI, ’12 Monkeys’, ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’)
5/ Which first name is shared by the scientist for whom the SI unit of capacitance is named, the writer of The Andromeda Strain’, and the fictional antagonist of the ‘Halloween’ series of horror films?
Michael (Faraday/ Crichton/ Myers)
6/What is the name of the giraffe mascot of the US-based multinational toy retailer Toys “R” Us?
Geoffrey
7/ Adapted in 1971, the dalasi is the currency of which country in West Africa? The 20-dalasi note features Yahya Jammeh, its 2nd President who was defeated by Adama Barrow in an election in December 2016.
The Gambia
8/Which five-letter word, popularized by the 2008 book by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, is a concept in behavioural science which argues that indirect suggestions and positive reinforcements can be more effective in causing behavioural change than direct enforcement?
Nudge
9/Which country uses the hryvnia as its national currency?
Ukraine
10/ Which military helicopter with two horizontal rotor assemblies shares its name with a dry, warm, down-slope wind in the interior West of North America?
Chinook
11/ Which five-letter word can mean ‘the property of a sound depending on the frequency of its waves’, ‘a playing field for sports such as cricket’ and ‘an attempt to persuade someone to make a purchase’?
Pitch
12/ The precious stones sapphire and lapis lazuli are usually of which colour?
Blue
13/Which six-letter word links : a path in a 1900 novel by L.Frank Baum, a viral illness transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and the nickname given to the Spanish football (soccer) team Villareal CF?
Yellow (The yellow brick road, Yellow fever, the Yellow Submarines)
14/In investing terminology, a bull market denotes one in which prices are generally rising. What animal gives its name to the opposite trend, in which prices are on the decline?
Bear
15/ In the NATO phonetic alphabet (e.g. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie etc), which is the only letter that is represented by the name of a capital city?
L (Lima)
16/ Which number links the following : the third of a trilogy of plays by Aeschylus about Oedipus; an autobiographical travel work by the Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, and a 1957 Ingmar Bergman film featuring a medieval knight’s chess game with Death himself?
Seven (‘Seven Against Thebes’, ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, ‘The Seventh Seal’)
17/ Which common 4-letter word links the following : an early 19th-century poem published as part of the collection ‘Prometheus Unbound’; a 16th-century novel by the Ming Dynasty writer Wu Cheng’en about the voyage of Xuanzang (or Tripitaka); and a political drama TV which premiered in 1999 starring Martin Sheen and John Spencer?
West (‘Ode to the West Wind’, ‘Journey to the West’, ‘The West Wing’)
18/ The dinar is a currency unit used in nine countries in the world today, which three are in Africa?
Algeria/ Libya/ Tunisia
19/ What short noun links the following : a 1959 play about the Younger family’s experiences in the Washington Park Subdivision of Chicago’s Woodlawn neighbourhood; a 1926 novel featuring the ‘Lost Generation’ of US/UK expatriates & their experience at the running of the bulls at Pamplona; and a 1964 hit rendition of a folk song that warns of a life that’s gone wrong ‘down in New Orleans’?
Sun (‘A Raisin in the Sun’ by Lorraine Hansberry, ‘The Sun Also Rises’ by Ernest Hemingway and ‘House of the Rising Sun’ by the Animals)
20/ Which olive-green gemstone, also known as precious olivine, is a magnesium iron silicate and is the birthstone for the month of August?
Peridot
21/ What common word links the following – the writer whose Barsoom series of stories inspired the 2012 Disney sci-fi movie ‘John Carter’; George W. Bush’s National Security Adviser from 2001-2005; and the British lyricist best known for his collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber on works such as ‘Evita’ and ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’?
Rice (Edgar Rice Burroughs/ Condoleeza Rice/ Tim Rice)
Sweden
22/ Add the following : the number of stars that make up the asterism known as Orion’s Belt; the number of theses that Martin Luther posted on the doors of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg; and the age at which the patriarch Methuselah (the longest-lived man according to the Old Testament) died. What number do you get?
1067 (3 + 95 + 969)
23/Which common word is created if you take in sequence : the chemical symbol of the element whose chief ore is cassiterite + the alphabet that is the scarlet letter in the novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne + the abbreviated surname of the protagonist in the 1925 novel ‘The Trial’ + the mathematical constant that approximates 2.71828?
SNAKE (Sn for tin + A + K + E
24/ Which first (given) name links the following : the queens of Kings Edward I and Henry II of England; the heroine in a 19th-century novel who falls in love with Edward Ferrars; and the First Lady to the 32nd President of the U.S.A? (N.B. The spellings of their names may differ slightly)
Eleanor/ Elinor (Eleanor of Castile/ Eleanor of Aquitaine/ Elinor Dashwood/ Eleanor Roosevelt)
25/ Which first name (given name) links the following : the US President nicknamed the ‘Little Magician’, the philosopher known for exploring the concept of ‘Dasein’ (‘being’) in his work ‘Being and Time’, and the director whose works include ‘Cape Fear’ and ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore?
Martin (Van Buren/ Heidegger/ Scorsese)
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 6
General Knowledge
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ A 2003 book by Gian J. Quasar subtitled Pursuing the Truth Behind the World’s Greatest Mystery focuses on a region with vertices at Florida, Puerto Rico and what other island?
Bermuda
2/ What architectural term originated from the 16th century after Renaissance revived Classical construction and created a perception of past styles as a product of barbarous tribal ctures?
Gothic
3/ Who is the 1st century BC Roman architect who wrote that the figure of a man can be inscribed both in a circle and a square in his best known work De architectura?
Vitruvius
4/ In 19th century Britain, the poet Keats and the writer Charles Lamb chastised a painter for inserting this person into one of his paintings by claiming this person “… had destroyed all the poetry of the rainbow …” Which person?
Isaac Newton
5/ Which tradition, whose first pick was Charles Lindbergh, began in 1927 with some magazine editors contemplating newsworthy stories during a slow week?
Time Person of the Year
6/ Boustrophedon is a style of bi-directional text where every other line of writing is reversed. It literally means the turning of an ox in Greek referring to what activity?
Plowing of a field
7/ In Rainbow Gatherings, the communities of bohemian/counter-culture folks, what old city’s name is typically used to refer to mainstream society as a representation of everything unhealthy and unsustainable?
Babylon
8/ Before he became famous for another work, who sculpted the monumental The Lion of Belfort in 1880 to symbolize French resistance of a Prussian assault?
Frédéric Bartholdi, best known for the Statue of Liberty
9/ Once Neil deGrasse Tyson was talking to someone and pointed that in the key scenes of his movie, which was otherwise noted for its high attention to detail, the star alignment in the sky was completely wrong. That person sarcastically replied that his film grossed over a billion and he couldn’t imagine how much more it would have made had he gotten the night sky correct. Who?
James Cameron (Titanic)
10/ Since doctors are meant to ‘cure-all’, the first line of the Hippocratic oath appropriately mentions what other goddess along with Apollo, Aesculapius, and Hygeia?
Panacea
11/ Travis Tygart was chiefly instrumental in leading the expose of whom, now a fallen hero, in 2012?
Lance Armstrong
12/ The key attribute of what distinctive ethnic group has one possible explanation as the low ultraviolet light levels in rainforests hindering the production of vitamin D and limiting calcium uptake for bone growth?
Pygmies
13/ Albert Bigelow who as the skipper of Golden Rule achieved renown in the 1950s as the first person to disrupt a nuclear test. He later inspired the tactics of a Vancouver-based group called Don’t Make a Wave Committee which ultimately became what organization?
Greenpeace
14/ A Blue Flag certification is given by the Foundation for Environmental Education as an endorsement of cleanliness to what type of places?
Beaches
15/ In September 2014, a news anchor in India’s public service broadcaster was disciplined after reading which visiting dignitary’s name as President Eleven?
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s
16/ The nymph Caïssa created in a 16th century poem has come to be regarded as the goddess for which popular pastime?
Chess
17/ Bicycle mechanic Charlie Taylor is best known for his collaboration with which two gentlemen in the early part of the 20th century?
The Wright Brothers
18/ Didier Delsalle who wrote the following words confirming his May 14, 2005 achievement became the first person to land a helicopter where?
“No, nobody went out of the helicopter as I was alone and quite busy to stabilize the helicopter on this windy … The terrain characteristics prevent any full landing on the … as you can see on the videos and only a hover landing…”
The summit of Mt. Everest
19/ In his 2013 book Serve to Win, a certain European personality wrote about his experiences of watching an F-117 bomber drop laser guided bombs as a child. He also wrote that he looks back on his childhood positively because he could skip school and practice what?
Tennis (Novak Djokovic)
20/ Once when he was fishing on his boat Pilar, he and his friend caught a giant marlin. To prevent sharks from getting to it, he used a machine gun to gun them down but it proved detrimental as the blood attracted even more sharks which ate away half of the caught fish. Who is the person in question?
Ernest Hemingway
21/ What annual observation started in 1889 by members of Second International who wanted to commemorate the Haymarket Riot in Chicago (1886)?
International Workers’ Day (or) May Day
22 / What organization that operates with the slogan “The Opinion and The Other Opinion” started in 1996 with a loan of 500 million Qatari riyals?
Al Jazeera
23/ The much-hated help icon that used be part of Microsoft’s Office Suite was shaped like what workplace product?
Paperclip
24/ Photographer Walter Iooss who also shoots swimsuit models among others is known for his contributions to which magazine?
Sports Illustrated
25/ A memorable phrase in the annals of American polity, who was called a ‘bloviating ignoramus’ by columnist George Will in 2012?
Donald Trump
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
No 7
Mythology & Religion
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ In the First Book of Samuel, the Witch of Endor was a medium who apparently summoned the spirit of the prophet Samuel, at the demand of which ruler, who would later commit suicide after being defeated by the Philistines at Mt Gilboa?
King Saul
2/ In Nordic myth, which son of Odin is often considered the messenger of the gods? His name meaning ‘war spirit’ in Old Norse, he was sent to the underworld to see Hel and plead for the return of Baldr’s soul when the latter was killed.
Hermod
3/ His name meaning ‘he who has a golden sword’, which figure in Greek myth is the son of Medusa and the brother of the winged horse Pegasus? Born when Perseus cut off Medusa’s head, he is said to have become a king of Iberia.
Chrysaor
4/ Originally the god of the source of the River Nile and creator of human babies which he made from a potter’s wheel, which Egyptian deity is usually depicted with the head of a ram?
Khnum (Khnemu/ Khenmu)
5/ In Indian mythology, what name is given to the beautiful, supernatural female beings that are the spirits of clouds and waters? They are superb in the art of dancing, and are often the wives of the Gandharvas — the court musicians of Indra.
Apsaras
6 / Depicted in art as a giant serpent, which ancient Egyptian deity (the embodiment of chaos) was the opponent of light and Ma’at (order)? Legend has it that he would lie in wait for the sun god Ra every night just before dawn, when they would do battle for the fate of the world.
Apophis/ Apep
7/ Commonly translated as `pain’, ‘suffering’ or `unsatisfactoriness’, which concept in Buddhism (and Hinduism) inspires the Four Noble Truths and nirvana doctrines?
Dukkha
8/ In Nordic myth, which dwarf who lives underneath a waterfall possesses the ability to transform himself into a fish, as well as a magic ring that brings fabulous wealth which was eventually stolen from him by Loki? Wagner apparently based the character Alberich in his Ring Cycle on him.
Andvari
9/ The biblical kings Saul, David and Solomon ruled over a united kingdom, which split in 930 BCE into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah under the reign of which son of Solomon? He also gives his name to a 4.5 liter wine bottle.
Rehoboam
10/ In Egyptian myth, which part of his body did Horus lose in his battle with Seth over the throne of Egypt?
Eye
11/ In Greek mythology, which king of Tiryns was responsible for setting the Twelve Labours for Heracles (Hercules) to fulfill?
Eurystheus
12/ The Hindu god Hanuman and the character Sun Wukong from Chinese myth, both take the form of which animal?
Monkey
13/ In Greek mythology, who slew the Minotaur within the depths of the Labyrinth?
Theseus
14/ Derived from the Greek for ‘herald’s staff’, which 8-letter word is the name given to the staff with two serpents entwined around it and is a symbol of the deity Hermes? It is commonly confused with Asclepius’ rod (symbol of medicine), which has only one serpent around it.
Caduceus
15/ In Homer’s ‘Odyssey’, what is the name of the nymph who kept the homeward-bound Odysseus on her island of Ogygia for seven years?
Calypso
16/ One of the three supreme deities (or Trimurti) in Hinduism, which god, is usually known as the ‘Preserver’ or ‘Protector’?
Vishnu
17/ Anubis, the Egyptian god of the afterlife, is usually portrayed with having the head of which animal?
A Jackal
18/ In Christian tradition, which of the Four Evangelists are symbolized by a winged lion?
St. Mark
19/ In Greek mythology, what is the name of the nymph who fell in love with Narcissus but was rejected, subsequently fading away to nothing except the sound of her voice?
Echo
20/ What is the name of Orpheus’ wife in Greek mythology, whom he tried to rescue from the underworld by charming Hades with his beautiful music?
Eurydice
21/ Agatha Christie’s novel ‘The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side’ takes its title from a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about which mythical figure of Arthurian legend?
The Lady of Shalott
22/ If Hera is to Zeus and Persephone is to Hades, then __________ is to Poseidon?
Amphitrite
23/ Her name translates as ‘night monster’ in Hebrew, which female demonic figure in Jewish folklore was supposedly the first wife of Adam, created at the same time and from the same earth as opposed to Eve (who was created from one of Adam’s ribs)?
Lilith
23/ In Norse mythology, which god is tasked with keeping watch over the rainbow bridge Bifrost, and to blow the Gjallarhorn at the approach of Ragnarok?
Heimdallr
24/ In mythology, which name is shard by an ivory statue carved by Pygmalion which subsequently came to life, as well as a nereid (sea nymph) who was the love interest of Polyphemus the Cyclops?
Galatea
25/ Which ancient philosopher committed suicide by drinking poisonous hemlock?
Socrates
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
No 8
Geography
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Arising in the glaciers of the Bernese Alps, which river flows through Thun, Bern and Aarau before becoming a tributary of the High Rhine? It is the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland, and drains an area accounting for close to half the area of the country.
River Aare
2/ Established in 1873, which national capital city was first visited by a British naval officer in-charge of the steam cruiser HMS Basilisk after sailing through the Coral Sea? He named its harbour Fairfax, which was the first name of his father.
Port Moresby
(Captain John Moresby)
3/ Named after the youngest son of Cadmus and Harmonia in Greek myth, what name is given to part of the western Balkans and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula (Messapia)? It is also the setting for Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’.
Illyria
4/ Straddling the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges and northwest of the Simpson Desert, which town was known to its native inhabitants as Mparntwe? It derives its present name from the wife of the telegraph pioneer Sir Charles Todd
Alice Springs
5/ Named after a female village leader who ran the city of N’Gokro in the early 20th century, which African capital city lies adjacent to the 800km Bandama River, which flows southward through Lake Kossou and empties into the Tagba Lagoon and Gulf of Guinea?
Yamoussoukro
6/ The ruins of the Roman city Leptis Magna, noted for monuments such as the Arch of Septimus Severus, are located 130 km east of which African capital city?
Tripoli
7/ Situated on the eastern bank of the Rhine between Cologne and Dusseldorf, which city was named after a chemist who built a dye factory there for the manufacture of ultramarine blue? The factory was taken over by the Bayer company in 1891.
Leverkusen
(after Carl Leverkus)
8/ Located on its border with China, the 2744m Mt. Paektu is an active volcano that is the supposed birthplace of a former leader of which country? Records however show that he was born in the Soviet Union in February 1941
North Korea
(Kim Jong-Il)
9/ Which body of water in the Eastern Visayan region of the Philippines, bounded by Samar in the north and Mindanao in the south, was the scene of arguably the largest naval battle in history (fought between 23-26th October 1944)?
Leyte Gulf
10/ Frequently associated with the Netherlands but also seen elsewhere, which six letterword denotes a low-lying tract of land enclosed by dikes that has no connection with outside water other than through manually operated devices? It is usually land that has been reclaimed from a body of water (e.g. the sea) or from marshland.
Polder
11/ The Avon River, also known as the Otakaro, flows through the centre of which major city in the southern hemisphere, before emptying into Pegasus Bay? The city itself is also known as Otautahi, or ‘Place of the Tautahi’.
Christchurch
12/ Located within the Akmola Region in the north of its country, which capital city on the banks of the Ishim River was renamed Tselinograd in 1961? A planned city similar to Brasilia and Canberra, its modern design was created by the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa.
Astana
(now Nur-Sultan)
Kazakhstan
13/ Once one of the four largest lakes in the world but now reduced to less than 10% of its original size, the Aral Sea lies between which two Central Asian countries?
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
14/ Located in the Sudirman Range in Papua Province of Indonesia, the 4884m-tall Puncak Jaya is the country’s highest mountain as well as the highest point between the Himalayas and the Andes. It has another name, after which 17th-century Dutch explorer who first sighted the glaciers on its peak in 1623, but was ridiculed in Europe for claiming to see snow so close to the Equator?
Jan Carstenszoon/ Carstensz
(Carstensz’s Pyramid)
15/ Located north of the Matobo Hills, Bulawayo is the second largest city of which African nation?
Zimbabwe
16/ Meaning ‘running water’ probably due to its location within a valley that is prone to flooding, Birkirkara is the most populous town in which European country?
Malta
17/ The second most populous after Punjab, which southern province of Pakistan is bounded by the Thar Desert to the east and the Arabian Sea in the south? Its capital city is Karachi.
Sindh
18/ With a population estimated at around 2 million, which port on the Atlantic Ocean is its country’s capital and largest city? Originally situated on Tombos Island (one of the Iles de Los – ‘Islands of the Idols’) and since spread up the neighbouring Kaloum Peninsula, it saw a September 2009 protest against the junta government of Moussa Camara that led to over 100 protestors killed.
Conakry (Guinea)
18/ Opened in 1975, in which national capital on the banks of the Ci Liwung river will you find the Monumen Nasional? Located in the center of Merdeka Square, it commemorates the country’s struggle for independence from the Dutch.
Jakarta, Indonesia
19/ Probably deriving its name from the Thracian for ‘black water’, the River Vardar is the longest in which Balkan country? Arising north of Gostivar, it flows generally southeastwards before crossing into Greece and emptying into the Aegean Sea west of Thessaloniki.
North Macedonia
20/ Located near its border with Zambia, Lubumbashi is the second largest city in which African country (after its capital city)? Formerly named Elizabethville (after Queen Elisabeth of Bavaria), it is currently its country’s mining capital.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
21/ First climbed in 1894 by Tom Fyfe, the mountain Aoraki (‘Cloud Piercer’ in its native language) is better known by what name?
Mt. Cook
22/ Historically developed on seven syenite hills and situated on the banks of the Maritsa River, which city was called Pulpudeva in Thracian times and renamed Philippopolis in 341 BC after its conquest by Philip II of Macedonia? It is currently the second most populous in its country, after the capital city.
Plovdiv (Bulgaria)
23/ One of Africa’s longest rivers, the Zambezi rises in a marsh in northwest Zambia and flows approximately 2500 km before entering the ocean in which country?
Mozambique
24/ The largest transboundary lake in Europe, Lake Peipus lies on the border between Russia and which other country? The site of the 1242 Battle on the Ice between Teutonic Knights and Novgorodians under Alexander Nevsky, it is drained by the Narva River.
Estonia
25/ Located at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, which city (the third most populous in its state) takes its name ultimately from an ancient Roman statesman regarded as a figure of virtue who was said to have voluntarily relinquished his dictatorial powers and returned to plowing his land? The city is also host to the second biggest summer tennis event in the United States, after the US Open.
Cincinnati
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 9
World Championship Snooker
Set by John Grasham
1/ In 2020 who became the youngest referee to officiate in the World Championship final?
Marcel Eckhardt
2/ In 2020, Alexander Ursenbacher became the first player from which mainland European country to play at the Crucible?
Switzerland
3/ Who is the last player from outside the top sixteen to win the world title?
Ronnie O’Sullivan
4/ Who is the only African player to play in the World Championship final?
Perrie Mans
5/ Which player has the longest gap between appearances in the semi-finals, losing to Stephen Hendry in 1993 and Ding Junhui in 2016?
Alan McManus
6/ Which player reached the semi-finals in 1995 and reached a career high ranking of seventeen the same year?
Andy Hicks
7/ Who beat defending champion Steve Davis 10-1 in the first round in 1982?
Tony Knowles
8/ In 2019 James Cahill became the only amateur to win a match at the crucible, who did he beat in the first round?
Ronnie O’Sullivan
9/ Which left-handed player has played in more finals than any other left-handed player?
Jimmy White
10/ Three finals have finished 18-17, in 1985, 1994 and 2002. Who was the referee on all three occasions?
John Williams
11/ What did Mark Allen and Graeme Dott both do at the World Championship in 2010 that had never previously been achieved before in the tournament?
Break of 146
12/ Who won the last third place play off at the event beating John Virgo 7-3 in 1979?
Eddie Charlton
13/ Eddie Charlton suffered the first whitewash at the crucible losing 10-0 in 1992. Who was the defending champion that beat him?
John Parrott
14/ In the 1985 final how many frames had Steve Davis won before Dennis Taylor won his first?
Eight
15/ Who is the only Yorkshireman to win the title at the Crucible?
Joe Johnson
16/ In which year was the latest ever finish in a final, at six minutes to one on the Tuesday morning? John Higgins beat Mark Selby 18-13.
2007
17/ In making the fastest ever 147 in professional play in 1997, who was Ronnie O’Sullivan playing in the first round?
Mick Price
18/ Who beat defending champion Stephen Hendry 10-7 in the first round in 2000, 15 years before he won the title?
Stuart Bingham
19/ Stephen Hendry made his last appearance as a professional player at the World Championship in 2012. Which other world champion did he beat 13-4 in the second round before going out to Stephen Maguire in the quarter finals?
John Higgins
20/ In the highest scoring frame in Crucible history, who beat Anthony McGill 103-83 in the deciding frame of their 2020 semi-final?
Kyren Wilson
21/ What was the name of the South African player that was banned from snooker for 5 years after suspicious betting patterns caused betting to be suspended before his first-round match with Jimmy White in 1995?
Peter Francisco
22/ Who did Mark Williams beat 10-9 in the first round in 1997? It was Williams’ debut in the event and this fellow Welsh player’s last appearance.
Terry Griffiths
23/ Between 2018 and 2021 there has been a player with what surname that has made the semi-finals in each of the four years?
Wilson
24/ In 2022, who became the first Iranian player to play a match at the Crucible Theatre?
Hossein Vafaei
25/ In 2018, Mark Williams was so convinced he would not win a third a world title, he said he would attend a post-match press conference how? On winning the title, he carried out this promise.
Naked
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 10
Prime ministers
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ The Prime Minister who was already in office when Queen Victoria succeeded to the throne in 1837 quickly became the young queen’s mentor and political advisor. He is also remembered for having been dismissed from office by the monarch and for his wife’s affair with the poet, Lord Byron. Who was he?
Viscount Melbourne
2/ Which Prime Minister, who was responsible for the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, remains best-known for his role in creating the modern police force while serving as Home Secretary in the 1820s?
Sir Robert Peel
3/ Who was the Prime Minister who sat in the House of Commons during his first ministry (1846 to 1852) but was a member of the House of Lords by the time his second ministry began in 1865?
Lord John Russell,
later Earl Russell
4/ Edward Smith-Stanley was leader of the Conservative party for over 20 years and held the post of Prime Minister on three separate occasions during the Victorian period. However, his total time in that office was less than four years. By what title is this Prime Minister better known?
Earl of Derby
5/ The Earl of which Scottish city held the post of Prime Minister from 1852 to 1855 as the head of a coalition government that took Britain into the Crimean War?
Aberdeen
6/ Which British Prime Minister, who died in office in 1865, was best known for his interest in foreign policy having held the post of Foreign Secretary for a total of about 15 years prior to taking the top job?
Lord Palmerston
7/ One of Queen Victoria’s favourite Prime Ministers was the man who passed the Royal Titles Act of 1876 which granted Victoria the title of ‘Empress of India’. He was also a noted novelist whose works included ‘Vivian Grey’, ‘Coningsby’ and ‘Sybil’. Who was this multi-talented man?
Benjamin Disraeli
8/ A man who held the post of Prime Minister on four separate occasions during Queen Victoria’s reign famously did not get on well with the formidable monarch. Which Prime Minister caused Queen Victoria to complain that “He always addresses me as if I were a public meeting”?
William Ewart Gladstone
9/ Which Victorian Prime Minister simultaneously held the post of Foreign Secretary for most of his three terms in office and was the last Prime Minister to have led his government solely from the House of Lords?
Marquess of Salisbury
10/ The last of the ten men to take a trip to visit Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace and be confirmed as Prime Minister was an extremely wealthy Scottish peer who lasted just over a year in the job and was spectacularly unsuccessful at it. Who was he?
Earl of Rosebery
11/ Generally recognised as the first British Prime Minister, he had to deal with the aftermath of the South Sea Bubble crisis and instigated the War of Jenkins’ Ear in 1739.
Sir Robert Walpole
12/ This man (who never sat in the House of Lords) had to deal with both the Jacobite rising led by Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745 and the adoption of the Gregorian calendar that resulted in the ‘loss’ of 11 days of his term in office.
Henry Pelham
13/ The first Prime Minister to have never sat in the House of Commons oversaw the majority of the Seven Years’ War, including the ‘Annus Mirabilis’ of 1759.
The Duke of Newcastle
14/ This man managed to infuriate the American colonies by passing both the Currency Act of 1764 and the infamous Stamp Act of 1765.
George Grenville
15/ This peer’s first stint as Prime Minister lasted less than a year but included the signing of the Treaty of Paris to end the American Revolutionary War in 1783.
The Duke of Portland
16/ Head of the government known as the ‘Ministry of All the Talents’ and son of a former Prime Minister; oversaw the act responsible for abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire.
Lord Grenville
17/ While he wasn’t busy drinking tea flavoured with bergamot, this man’s four year term in office included the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832.
Earl Grey
18/ After dealing with Parliament being burnt to the ground in 1834, this Prime Minister had an Australian city named after him. His resignation caused the ‘Bedchamber Crisis’.
Lord Melbourne
19/ The grandfather of a famous philosopher – this man’s first ministry, from 1846 to 1852, was blighted by the Irish Potato Famine.
Lord Russell
20/ The last ‘Whig’ government was led by this man who focused on foreign policy; he oversaw the ending of the Crimean War in 1856 and led Britain into the Second Opium War with China.
Lord Palmerston
21/ Serving as Prime Minister from 1809 to 1812, who was the only Prime Minister to have been assassinated?
Spencer Perceval
22/ George Canning has the shortest reign of any P.M. so far. How long did he serve in office?
119 Days
23/ Who is the only Prime Minister to have held the four highest offices in government (Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and P.M.)?
James Callaghan
24/ Which is the only British Prime Minister to have captained his country at national level in any sport?
Edward Heath
(Admirals Cup)
25/ Who was the British Prime Minister at the time the American Declaration of Independance was signed?
Lord North
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 11
General Knowledge
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Its name coming from Italian for “light-dark”. Which of the four canonical modes of painting of the Renaissance is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition?
Chiaroscuro
2/ Starring Mark Wahlberg, which 2008 M. Night Shyamalan film sees the world under attack from flowers which induce humans to commit suicide?
The Happening
3/ Portrayed by Emma Watson in the 2019 film of the book, what was the name of the eldest March sister in the classic novel “Little Women”? In the book she marries John Brooke.
Meg/ Margaret
4/ Nicknamed ‘El Jefe’, which leader was the dictator of the Dominican Republic between 1930 and his assassination in May 1961?
Rafael Trujillo
5/ Dirty Old Town”, a minor hit for the Dubliners in 1968 and the Pogues in 1985, was written by which British folk singer, the father of a famous musical daughter, about his native Salford?
Ewan McColl
6/ Which Jamaican sprinter won the women’s 100m and 200m gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics?
Elaine Thompson
7/ The 1959 novel “Naked Lunch” was the most famous work by which Beat Generation author?
William Burroughs
8/ What was the name of the first prime minister of Republic of the Congo. He served from June 1960 until being deposed in a coup three months later before being executed in early 1961.
Patrice Lumumba
9/ Which English king came to the throne when he overthrew Richard II in 1399?
Henry IV
10/ Including singles and doubles but not mixed, who has the most Grand Slam tennis titles of all time? Her best-known doubles partner was Pam Shriver, with whom she won 21 of her 31 titles.
Martina Navratilova
11/ One of the most acclaimed works of Australian literature, which 1972 novel by Thomas Keneally, later adapted into a Fred Schepisi film, was inspired by the life of a bushranger and tells the story of an indigenous Australian on a revenge mission?
The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith
12/ Julius Caesar is reported to have told the Roman Senate “Veni, vidi, vici” after his victory at which 47 BC battle?
The Battle of Zela
13/ At 980ft high, it is built on the Vakhsh river – one of the 10 highest dams in the world, in which former Soviet republic is the Nurek Dam?
Tajikistan
14/ Which renowned painter of ancient Greece was essentially the court painter of Alexander the Great, the latter of whom is depicted alongside Campaspe in the studio of this painter by the Venetian Giovann Tiepolo?
Apelles
15/ What type of whimsical, four-line poem, in which the first line is the name of the poet’s subject, follows the rhyme scheme AABB and was named after its inventor, Edmund Bentley?
Clerihew
16/ If you order “takoyaki” from a street vendor in Japan, you will get balls of fried batter topped with savoury sauce, with bits of what mollusc inside?
Octopus
17/ What type of word puzzle, in which a phrase, quotation, or fact must be deduced from the numbers and letters in the clue, originates from the name of a novel by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn?
Ditloid
18/ Completed as late as 1888, the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque (aka The Pink Mosque) is found in which city – the fifth largest in the country of Iran? One of the oldest cities in ancient Persia, it is the capital of Fars Province and shares its name with a grape variety.
Shiraz
19/ Which winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles only won one doubles crown, with Gabriela Sabatini in 1988? She won that title in the midst of her Golden Slam – all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold.
Steffi Graf
20/ What singer, who technically performed the first rap to top the Billboard Hot 100, was the first female musician to receive an NME Godlike Genius award? She was honored in 2014, alongside Chris Stein and the rest of her hugely successfull new wave band.
Debbie Harry
21/ Marc Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide just a year after their defeat to Octavian, at which 31 BC naval battle?
Battle of Actium
22/ Magnus Magnusson was the key translator for several works by which novelist, Iceland’s only Nobel Prize winner?
Haldor Laxness
23/ The prince Calaf falls in love with the title character of which Giacomo Puccini opera?
Turandot
24/ Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve are the two figures in which 1533 painting by Hans Holbein the Younger?
The Ambassadors
25/ In 1873 Major Walter Wingfield invented a version of Real Tennis that could be played outside on grass. The Greek for “playing ball” it was called what?
Sphairistike
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 12
General Knowledge
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ “I’ve told you a hundred times and be careful,” ” it’s a jungle out there” are both examples of which figure of speech?
Hyperbole
2/ Always True to You in My Fashion, Begin the Beguine, I Get a Kick Out of You and I’ve Got You Under My Skin were all composed by which prolific American songwriter?
Cole Porter
3/ The biggest selling album of the 1960s in the USA was the soundtrack to which film?
West Side Story
Leeds Rhinos’ scrum-half Richie Myler has recently split with which former Blue Peter presenter?
Helen Skelton
5/ Name the three countries of the world with only four letters in their name that also have four letters in their capital’s name?
FIJI (Suva), PERU (Lima) & TOGO (Lomé)
6/ What name is given to the vertical groove between the base of the nose and the border of the upper lip?
Philtrum
7/ Which darts player won the 2020 Premier League Darts title at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry? He’d previously won the BDO World Darts Championship three times consecutively from 2017 to 2019.
Glenn Durant
8/ In Jerome K Jerome’s 1889 book Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), what is the name of the dog?
Montmorency
9/ Which French city has been home to the headquarters of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) since 1989?
Lyon
10/ Which is the largest lake in Italy?
Lake Garda
11/ Which player is the most capped Australian rugby league player, playing in 59 internationals between 1998 and 2011? He is also the Kangaroos’ leading try scorer with 35 tries?
Darren Lockyer
12/ According to Daniel Defoe, where was Moll Flanders born?
Newgate Prison
- Which English stand-up comedian, actor, writer and political activist was born in the Colony of Aden (now Yemen) on February 7, 1962?
Eddie Izzard
14/ According to William Shakespeare, who killed the nobleman Count Paris and a hot-headed young man named Tybalt?
Romeo Montague
15/ From which country does the dry, firm and very salty Cotija cheese come?
Mexico
16/ First produced in 1862, the Köchel catalogue, or Köchel-Verzeichnis is a chronological catalogue of compositions by which composer?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
17/ Who is the current holder of the royal title of Duke of Edinburgh?
Prince Charles
18/ What name is given to the mountainous plateau in southern France that covers almost 15 per cent of the country?
Massive Central
19/ Which 1979 science fiction–horror film was advertised with the tag-line “In space, no one can hear you scream?”
Alien
20/ After Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, who, in November 1969, was the third man to walk on the Moon?
Pete Conrad
21/ Which German-born philosopher wrote the book Critique of Pure Reason, first published in 1781?
Immanuel Kant
22/ The American crime drama television series Breaking Bad that aired between January 2008 and September 2013, was filmed and set in which US state?
New Mexico (Albuquerque)
23/ Which art movement with practitioners including Tristan Tzara, was said to be named after a French term for a hobby horse?
Dada or Dadaism
24/ Which Scots sprinter won the men’s 100 metres gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics?
Allan Wells
25/ What four-letter name is given to the short tail of a hare, rabbit or deer?
Scut
Add Your Heading Text Here
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 13
General Knowledge
Set by Maya Davis
1/ Who resigned as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in April 2022?
Cressida Dick
2/ Where would you find an epicanthic (or epicanthal) fold?
In the upper eyelid
3/ And what is a Scottish fold?
A Breed of Domestic Cat
4/ Which piece of popular music could describe the inhabitants of Newby Hall dining al fresco with Alan Measles?
‘The Teddy Bears’ picnic
5/ What was accomplished in early May 1954 in Oxford with the help of two Christophers?
Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile barrier with Christopher Chataway and Chris Brasher acting as pacemakers.
6/ How many chemical elements are named after the same Scandinavian village?
4 – Yttrium, Ytterbium, Terbium and Erbium – all named after the village of Ytterby in Sweden
7/ What is the profession of fictional ailurophile Pat Clifton?
Postman (Pat)
8/ Where might you find all of the following: bottom half of a hexagon containing two humps; isosceles triangle on flat edge; circle inside a square, all crossed out; circle crossed out.
On garment care labels on clothing and household textiles
9/ What did the ancient Egyptians store in canopic jars?
Internal organs of mummies
10/ The suffix ‘gate’, used in street names in the UK, has different meanings between towns in the north of England and those in the South. What’s the difference?
(North = ‘street’ or ‘road’ from the Old Norse ‘gata’; in the South, it indicates a gate in a town wall.)
11/ Which former NASA Administrator left for a distant destination in December 2021?
James Webb – telescope named after him
12/ In the monotremes (= platypus and all species of echidna) females lack a uterus and vagina, but both sexes also lack teeth and what other major organ system usually found in mammals?)
Stomach and digestive system
13/ Where is the Lut Desert?
Iran
14/ Which fictional character is a prominent member of the Junior Ganymede Club?
Jeeves
15/ In April 2022, what became the new price of a First class stamp for a normal letter?
95p
16/ Fish and Shellfish of the Middle Atlantic coast, The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea are early works by which environmental campaigner who died in 1964?
Rachel Carson, author of ‘Silent Spring’
17/ What is the connection between the following words: Tent; beagle; ridge; trait.
Adding the prefix ‘por’ creates another noun – portent, porbeagle [a species of small shark], porridge; portrait.
18/ What was the real name of the vet and writer James Herriott?
Alf Wight
19/ In what way will steam trains disappear from UK roads in 2022 and 2023?
Change in the warning sign for a level crossing with no barrier – steam train to be replaced with depiction of a modern train and a gate by the side of the track
20/ Which fictional police officer has a colleague called Glen[n] Branson?
Roy Grace, created by Peter James
21/ Italian restaurateur Ado Campeol died during 2021. What dessert item did the Italian media regard as having been invented in his restaurant in 1969
Tirimisu
22/ Definitions of what word can include a skin blemish, a large breakwater and a scientific unit?
Mole
23/ What is the subject of the traditional Midlands ballad Wedgebury Cocking?
Cock-fighting in Wednesbury in Staffordshire
24/ How is a Handler linked to something reminiscent of a citrus fruit?
Daniel Handler writes YA fiction under the name Lemony Snicket
25/ Which Shakespeare play contains the largest number of characters who appear as a ghost?
Richard III
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 14
Geography
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Its name possibly deriving from ‘coconut tree’ from Malayalam, which southern India state on the Malabar Coast has its capital at Thiruvananthapuram?
Kerala
2/ Located in the south of the island on the plains of Campidano, which city is the capital of the island of Sardinia?
Cagliari
3/ Its name deriving from the Berber for ‘two lions’, referencing the legend that lions lived in the area until around 900 AD, which major city on the Mediterranean coast (the second largest in its country) is the setting for novels such as Paul Bowles’ ‘The Sheltering Sky’ and Albert Camus’ ‘The Plague’?
Oran (Algeria)
4/ Its name translating from the Maghrebi Arabic for ‘water spring’, which is the largest city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara? It served as the capital of Spanish Sahara from 1940 to 1976.
Laayoune/ El-Aaiun
5/ Rising in the Black Forest and flowing mainly through Baden-Wurttemberg, which German river is a major right tributary of the Rhine? It flows through cities such as Stuttgart and Heidelberg before discharging into the Rhine at Mannheim.
Nekar
6/ Which Southeast Asian capital city has a name that derives from a flowering mangrove tree that grew on the shores of its eponymous bay and the delta of the Pasig river (which flows through the city, dividing it into northern and southern parts)?
Manila
7/ Designed by Nikolai Nikitin to mark the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, which 540m-tall radio and television tower is named after the district of Moscow in which it is located? Currently the tallest free-standing structure in Europe, it was the tallest in the world before being overtaken by Toronto’s CN Tower in 1975.
Ostankino Tower
8/ Located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River and officially the second-largest in Moldova, which city founded by the Russian generalissimo Alexander Suvorov in 1792 is effectively considered the capital of the unrecognized region of Transnistria?
Tiraspol
9/ Formerly known as Charles Town (after England’s King Charles II), the capital of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas was given its current name in 1695, after which town in the Lahn River valley in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate?
Nassau
10/ In terms of land area, Rhode Island is the smallest of the United States of America. Which state, that takes its name from the title of Thomas West (an English nobleman who was the first colonial governor of Virginia) is the second smallest?
Delaware
(3rd Baron De La Warr)
11/ Having a name that translates as ‘Coastal Defense’, which city on the mouth of the Cam River is Vietnam’s third most populous (behind Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi), and was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment during the Vietnam was as it was North Vietnam’s only major port?
Haiphong
12/ Designed by a group led by the artist Bachir Yelles and fashioned in the shape of three standing palm leaves that shelter the Eternal Flame beneath, in which capital city would you find the monument named the Maqam Echahid (Martyrs’ Memorial)? It opened in 1982, on the 20th anniversary of the country’s independence.
Algiers
13/ Also known as the West Sea, which body of water is the northern extension of the East China Sea that separates mainland China from the Korean Peninsula? Cities located on its shores include Qingdao and Incheon.
Yellow Sea
14/ Lying on the Mysore Plateau, which city of over 10 million population is the capital of the state of Karnataka, and is also known as the ‘Silicon Valley/ IT Capital of India’?
Bangalore/ Bengaluru
15/ Its name supposedly derived from the old Cumbric for ‘green valley/ basin’, which major European city was reputed to have been founded in the 6th century AD by the Christian missionary St. Mungo, when he established a church on the Molendinar Burn on the River Clyde?
Glasgow
16/ Known as the Gulf of Eilat to the Israelis, which body of water at the northern tip of the Red Sea is situated east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian mainland, and takes its name from a Jordanian city on its shore (in fact Jordan’s only coastal city)?
Gulf of Aqaba
17/ At a height of 5881m and found within the Khakaborazi National Park, Hkakabo Razi is widely considered Southeast Asia’s tallest mountain, and is located in which country?
Myanmar
18/ Having a name that means ‘the plains around the palace’, which world capital city arose out of the Neolithic Butmir culture and later that of the Illyrians? It is situated along the Miljacka River and surrounded by the peaks of the Dinaric Alps.
Sarajevo
19/ Located northeast of the city of Latacunga and one of the worlds highest active volcanoes, in which Latin American country would you find Cotopaxi?
Equador
20/ Which US state capital traces its origins to 1829 when former federal judge James Duane Doty purchased over a thousand acres of swamp and forest land on an isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona? Known as The City of Four Lakes (referencing the four successive lakes of the Yahara River : Mendota, Monona, Waubesa and Kegonsa), it is one of several state capitals named after a former US president.
Madison, Wisconsin
21/ The 11th largest African country by area, which nation is bordered to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, the southwest by Senegal, the east by Mali, northeast by Algeria and north & northwest by Western Sahara?
Mauritania
22/ Dating back to the 10th century and named after the town in which they were discovered, in which Scandinavian country will you find the Jelling Stones, raised by King Gorm the Old and his son Harald Bluetooth?
Denmark
23/ Currently one of the world’s most active volcanoes, Mount Karthala is located on the island of Ngazidja – which together with Mwali (Moheli) and Nzwani (Anjouan) forms which sovereign archipelago island nation? It lays claim to the nearby island of Mayotte, currently an overseas departement of France.
Comoros
24/ Located close to the border tripoint between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, which spa city in North Rhine-Westphalian became the imperial residence of Charlemagne, and served as the site where successive Holy Roman Emperors (from 936 to 1531) were crowned?
Aachen
25/ Named after a 16th-century Dutch seeker of the northeast passage to Asia, which marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean is located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia, separated from the Kara Sea by the Novaya Zemlya archipelago?
I
Barents Sea
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 15
Musical Mixture
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Based on a 1911 play by Edward Knoblock, the 1953 musical ‘Kismet’ with lyrics and musical adaptation by Robert Wright and George Forrest and set in a fictional Baghdad in the times of th Arabian Night, features heavily the music of which Russian composer, a member of the Mighty Handful?
Alexander Borodin
2/ Originally recorded by the Troggs, which group had a UK No.’ hit in 1994 with a cover version of ‘Love Is All Around’, for the soundtrack of the movie ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’?
Wet Wet Wet
3/ Revolving around the young American writer Cliff Bradshaw and his relationship with the 19-year old performer Sally Bowles, which 1966 Broadway musical is based on the short novel ‘Goodbye to Berlin’ by the English-American novelist Christopher Isherwood?
Cabaret
4/ First released as a single in Sweden in 1987, ‘It Must Have Been Love’ by Roxette was re-released in 1990 as part of the soundtrack of which popular movie?
Pretty Woman
5/ Created through the ITV talent show Top Stars : The Rivals’ in 2002, which pop girl group (comprising Cheryl Cole and Nadine Coyle amongst others) reached No.1 on the UK charts with their debut single ‘Sound of the Underground’?
Girls Aloud
6/ From the Bolognese meaning `little goose’, which ancient wind musical instrument was reinvented in its modern form by Giuseppe Donati? Its name also features in the title of a 1998 Nintendo 64 video game – the 5th in the `Legend of Zelda’ series.
Ocarina
7/ First performed in New York City in 1951, which composer wrote the one-act opera Amahl and the Night Visitors’, about a crippled boy who was visited by the three Magi one night?
Gian Carlo Menotti
8/ During a period of time in the mid- 1980s, the British pop group Duran Duran consists of three members who shared what surname, but were all unrelated to one another?
Taylor
9/ Which artiste, who embarked on world tours with name such as Tour of the Mongoose (2002-3) and The Sun Come Out World Tour (2010-n)? She sang the official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup – `Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)’.
Shakira
10/ Born 1893 in Glamorgan, Wales, which composer and actor had his first big hit with the 1914 patriotic song ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’? Known for his musicals such as ‘Glamorous Night’, ‘The Dancing Years’ and `King’s Rhapsody’, he gives his name to the annual award presented by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors
Ivor Novello
11/ In 1980, after the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis, the surviving members of which rock band regrouped and formed New Order?
Joy Division
12/ Performed by Kyu Sakamoto, the 1961 song `Ue 0 Muite Aruko’ (I Look Up As I Walk’) is better known by what one-word alternative title in Anglophone countries? The word, which actually refers to a dish of cooked beef, has no obvious relevance to the song’s lyrics.
Sukiyaki
13/ What is the nationality of the singer-songwriter Bjork?
Icelandic
14/ The musical ‘West Side Story’, which premiered in 1957, is based on which of Shakespeare’s plays?
Romeo & Juliet
15/ Which 80s electronic pop duo consists of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe?
Pet Shop Boys
16/ Which French electronic music duo won the Grammy for Best Album in 2014 with ‘Random Access Memories’?
Daft Punk
17/ With a total of 22 wins to date, which band has won more Grammy Awards than any other group? They first won in 1988, and their most recent win was for their latest album, ‘Songs of Innocence’.
U2
18/ Which English new-wave band derived its name from either the slang term used by WWI Allied troops referring to the twitching of the corpses hanging on the barbed wire and repeatedly hit by machine gun fire from the German lines, or the post-WWII hangings of Nazi war criminals (when the victims would twitch and jump at the end of a rope)?
Spandau Ballet
19/ Which singer wrote and recorded the song ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’, which included references to more than 100 headline news events between 1949 (the year of his birth) and 1989 (the year in which the song was published)?
Billy Joel
20/ Starting out with the Jam, the English singer-songwriter Paul Weller formed which band with Mick Talbot in 1983? Their hits included ‘Shout to the Top!’, ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’ and ‘My Ever Changing Moods
The Style Council
21/ Between November 1984 and June 1985, three recording acts (Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Jennifer Rush and Huey Lewis and the News) all released singles bearing what title?
The Power of Love
22/ What is the stage name of Alecia Beth Moore, the American singer who rose to fame with her 2000 debut solo album ‘Can’t Take Me Home’?
Pink
22/ Which boy-band had hit singles in 2011-2012 with ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ and ‘One Thing’?
One Direction
23/ Their only UK No.1 being ‘A Little Time’ (released in 1990), the English pop/rock band The Beautiful South was formed in 1988 by former members of which other band?
The Housemartins
24/ An opera in five acts composed between 1837 to 1842, Which opera tells of how a Kievan knight goes in rescue of a princess (the two eponymous characters) who had been abducted by the evil sorcerer Chernomor.
Rusian & Lyudmila by Mikhail Glinka
25/ With music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, the rock musical Rent was loosely based on which opera by Puccini?
La Boheme
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 16
Space
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ The brightest star in the northern hemisphere, and the fourth brightest in the night sky, which orange giant star in the constellation Bootes derives its name from the Greek for ‘Guardian of the Bear’, a reference to Bootes being next to the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor?
Arcturus
2/ Born 1943 in Northern Ireland, the astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell was the first person to discover what astronomical phenomenon in Nov 1967, when she was still a graduate student? Her omission from the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics has been a point of controversy ever since.
Pulsars
3/ In 1930, 11-year-old Venetia Burney suggested the name ‘Pluto’ for the newly-discovered ninth planet of the Solar System. It seems that naming new celestial bodies is a trait that runs in this family, as more than fifty years ago, her grand uncle Henry Madan gave the names to which two objects, discovered by the American astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877?
Phobos and Deimos
(moons of Mars)
4/ All the moons of Uranus are currently named after characters from the plays by William Shakespeare except three-these are named after characters in Alexander Pope’s poem ‘The Rape of the Lock’. They are Ariel, Belinda and which other moon, named after a gnome who descends to the Cave of Spleens to retrieve a magical bag and vial?
Umbriel
5/ Launching on 6th March, 2016, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is a collaboration between the European and Russian space agencies to study and map the atmosphere of Mars. It carries with it an EDM (Entry, Descent & Landing Demonstrator Module) lander named after which astronomer (born 1835), who first observed the network of linear structures on Mars which he named `canali’?
Giovanni Schiaparelli
6/ Approximately 550 light-years from the Earth, which red supergiant (with a radius 883 times that of our Sun) is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, thus also called ‘the heart of the scorpion’? Together with Aldebaran, Regulus and Formalhaut, it forms what is known as the ‘Royal Stars of Persia’.
Antares
7/ The brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor, it is also the 7th brightest star in the night sky. Its name derives from the fact that it precedes Sirius (the Dog Star) as it moves across the sky. Which star is this, which forms the Winter Triangle with Sirius and Betelgeuse?
Procyon
8/ First discovered in 1801, which is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and has now been classified as a dwarf planet?
Ceres
9/ Allan Sandage and Thomas A. Matthews are credited for being the first to definitely identify one of these n 1963, while the Chinese-born U.S. astrophysicist Hong-Yee Chiu first coined the name in 1964. What six-letter name is this, which describes an astronomical object of very high luminosity found in the centres of some galaxies and powered by gas spiralling at high velocity into a supermassive black hole
Quasars
10/ Around 1700 years before Copernicus, which ancient Greek astronomer & mathematician apparently presented the first heliocentric model (with the Sun at the center of the known universe)? Evidence for this comes from Archimedes’ book ‘The Sand Reckoner’, as very little of his own work has survived.
Aristarchus (of Samos)
11/ White dwarf, red giant and neutron are types of what astronomical object?
Stars
12/ Conducted between 1973 and 1978 by the British Interplanetary Society, the Daedalus Project was a study which aimed to design an unmanned spacecraft with which celestial body as its destination? Lying 5.9 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, this red dwarf is named after the American astronomer who first measured its proper motion in 1916.
Barnard’s Star
13/ Discovered by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz in 1995 using the radial velocity method, 51 Pegasi b is the first extrasolar planet discovered to orbit a main sequence star (51 Pegasi). By what rather apt name is 51 Pegasi b (i.e. the planet) sometimes also referred to?
Bellerophon
14/ Which planet of the Solar System is unique in that its axis of rotation is tilted nearly into the plane of its revolution around the sun, i.e. its north and south poles therefore lie where most other planets have their equators? One hypothesis is that a large protoplanet smashed into it billions of years ago, sending the planet tumbling and eventually settling into its current axial tilt.
Uranus
15/ Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, Uranus’ largest moon is named after which Shakespearean character?
Titania
16/ From its completion in 1963 till 2016, the Arecibo Observatory is home to the world’s largest single-aperture telescope. On which Caribbean island is it located?
Puerto Rico
17/ Photographs taken in July 2015 by the New Horizons spacecraft revealed a large (475km diameter) dark area near the north pole of Charon, Pluto’s largest moon. This area has since been unofficially named after which fictitious land of darkness, death and destruction?
Hades
18/ In 1990, the space shuttle Discovery launched into space with what famous piece of equipment aboard?
The Hubble Space Telescope
19/ Proteus and Nereid are amongst the moons of which planet?
Neptune
20/ The third brightest star in the constellation Orion, which type B star (around 8.4 times the Sun’s mass) was also called the Amazon Star? The astronauts in the 1968 film ‘Planet of the Apes’ initially thought they had landed on a planet orbiting this star; and it also gives its name to a character in the ‘Harry Potter’ universe.
Bellatrix
21/ Which 19th-century French mathematician, who specialized in celestial mechanics, is best known for predicting the existence and position of Neptune using only mathematical calculations? He sent the coordinates to the German astronomer Johann Galle, who subsequently verified them.
Urbain Le Verrier
22/ A joint venture between NASA and the European Space Agency, the space probe Ulysses was launched in 1990 to orbit and study which body of the Solar System?
The Sun
23/ Launched by NASA in 2009 as part of the Discovery Program of relatively low-cost, focused primary science missions, the space observatory designed to discovery Earth-sized exo-planets orbiting other stars in our Milky Way is named after which astronomer?
Johannes Kepler
24/ Noted for his contribution to improving the reflecting telescope, which 19th-century English merchant and astronomer also discovered the satellite Triton only seventeen days after Johann Gottfried Galle had discovered Neptune? He subsequently discovered three more planetary moons : Hyperion (Saturn), Ariel and Umbriel (Uranus).
William Lassell
25/ After Ganymede, which is the next largest planetary moon in the Solar System? It was discovered in 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, and is the only moon with a dense atmosphere
Titan
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 17
is not available
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 18
Film & TV
set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Broadcast by HBO from 2002- 2008, The Wire’ is a crime drama television series uses mainly little-known actors and sometimes real-life personalities to portray the relationship between law enforcement and various other institutions. In which US city is this series set?
Baltimore
2/ Which 2004 feature film directed by Michel Gondry derives its title from a line in the poem `Eloisa to Abelard’ by Alexander Pope? It opens with the shy Joel Barish and the carefree Clementine Krucynski meeting each other on a Long Island Railroad train from Montauk, New York to Rockville Centre. The technology firm known as Lacuna Inc. plays a major role in the plot of this movie.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3/ In ‘Star Wars : The Force Awakens’, what is the name of the oceanic planet to which Rey travelled in search of Luke Skywalker? It is the location of the first Jedi Temple, now long fallen into ruin.
Ahch-To
4/ In the 2010 computer-animated comedy film ‘Despicable Me’ and is subsequent sequels, which actor voiced the super-villain named Felonious Gru? In ‘Despicable Me 3’, he will voice both Gru and his long-lost twin, Dru.
Steve Carrell
5/ Running from 2008 to 2014, which US dark fantasy TV series is based on ‘The Southern Vampire Mysteries’ series of novels by Charlaine Harris? Centering on the adventures of Sookie Stackhouse (played by Anna Paquin), it tells the story of the co-existence of humans with vampires in Bon Temps, a fictional Louisiana town.
True Blood
6/ Born 1967, which Canadian actress had starring roles in the movies ‘Chocolat’, ‘Red Planet’ and ‘Memento’, but is best known for her role as Trinity in the ‘Matrix’ trilogy?
Carrie-Ann Moss
7/ The forensic accountant-turned-detective Alan Gamble, the pompous paleontologist Rick Marshall, the evil tycoon Lord Business and the near-impossible to kill henchman Mustafa -are all roles played by which Hollywood actor?
Will Ferrell
8/ Voiced by David Schwimmer, what sort of animal is Melman, in the ‘Madagascar’ series of animated films by Dreamworks? He is a hypochondriac who is in love with Gloria the hippopotamus.
A Giraffe
9/ Starring Emily Blunt as Rachel Watson, who witnessed something shocking on her daily commute, ‘The Girl on the Train’ is a 2016 movie based on the debut novel by which British author?
Paula Hawkins
10/ Born 1992 in London, which actress starred as Rey, the protagonist of the 2015 movie ‘Star Wars : The Force Awakens’?
Daisy Ridley
11/ Which American actress and singer-songwriter sang ‘Let It Go’ – the theme song of the 2013 Disney animated film `Frozen’, and also provided the voice for Elsa, the protagonist in the movie?
Idina Menzel
12/ Who directed the film adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel ‘Life of Pi’, for which he won a Best Director Oscar in 2012?
Ang Lee
13/ With movies such as ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ and ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’, which Italian director and producer is credited with inventing the genre known as ‘Spaghetti Westerns’?
Sergio Leone
14/ The Dream Warriors’ (1987), The Dream Master’ (1988) and The Dream Child’ (1989) were films belonging to which series, the debut installment being a 1984 movie directed by Wes Craven?
A Nightmare on Elm Street
15/ The 1896 novel ‘Quo Vadis’ by Henryk Sienkiewicz and the film adaptation of 1951 are set in Rome in the time of which emperor?
Nero
16/ Who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2007 for ‘No Country for Old Men’, and played the role of the villainous Raoul Silva in the Bond film `Skyfall’?
Javier Bardem
17/ Born in Kentuckyin 1952, which film-maker is widely considered one of the key figures of the New Queer Cinema Movementof the early 1990’s? His noted works include ‘My Own Private Idaho’, ‘Good Will Hunting’ and ‘Milk’
Gus Van Sant
18/ Starring Jim Carey, which 1999 biographical movie about the late entertainer Andy Kaufman derives its title from a 1992 song by REM?
Man on the Moon
19/ The 2010 Disney animated film ‘Tangled’ is loosely based on which fairy tale?
Rapunzel
20/ Which 1995 James Bond movie was the first to star Pierce Brosnan and also the first in the series not to take story elements from the works of Ian Fleming?
Goldeneye
21/ Who played the role of the elven lord Elrond in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ & ‘The Hobbit’ film series, agent Smith in ‘TheMatrix’ trilogy and V in ‘V for Vendetta’?
Hugo Weaving
22/ Directed by George Cukor, in which 1944 mystery thriller film features a woman whose husband slowly manipulates her into thinkiing she is insane? it won Ingrid Bergman her first Best Actress Osacar.
Gaslight
23/ What is the name of Jack Sparrow’s ship in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ series of films? Noted for its astonishing speed, its name forms part of the title of one of the movies in the series.
The Black Pearl
24/ Featured in the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King’, Timon and Puumba are a comic duo. Puuma is a warthog, but what sort of creature is Timon?
A Meerkat
25/ Directed by Michael Mann, the 1986 feature film ‘Manhunter’ saw the screen debut of which famous character played by Brian Cox?
Dr. Hannibal Lecter
Add Your Heading Text Here
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 19
History
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Which US President was assassinated at Washington station in 1881?
James A. Garfield.
2/ Who in 1924 became the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer?
Phillip Snowden
3/ The newspaper, “The News of the World” published its last edition on 7th July 2011 following the phone-hacking scandal, when was it first published?
1st October 1843
4/ During whose US Presidential term did California and New Mexico become part of the USA as a result of the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty?
James K Polk
5/ In which war was the Battle of the Falkland Islands fought?
World War 1
(8th December 1914)
6/ What FOUR letters appeared on the Standard of the Roman legions?
SPQR (Senatus Populusque Romanus The Senate & People of Rome)
7/ In which year did the inaugural Ryder Cup event take place?
1927
8/ What was the Roman name for the Essex city of Colchester?
Camulodunum
9/ Who was the only unmarried President of the USA?
James Buchanan
10/ For how many years did prohibition last in the USA?
Thirteen years (1920-1933).
11/ In which year was Catherine Howard executed?
1542
12/ What was discovered by Alec Jeffries in Leicester in 1984?
DNA fingerprinting.
13/ What was the first number one in UK album charts when they were first published in 1956?
“Songs for Swinging Lovers” by Frank Sinatra.
14/ In 2020 Joe Biden beat Donald Trump to the US Presidency, but which third candidate appeared on all the ballot papers?
Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian Party)
15/ Which country in 1988 became the first to issue polymer banknotes?
Australia
[RAF Twinwood] Bedford.
17/ Which British King married a bride that he had only met that day?
King George III.
18/ Which King was the father of the Duke of Monmouth, the leader of The Monmouth Rebellion of 1685?
Charles II
19/ Which King died a prisoner at Pontefract Castle?
Richard II.
20/ Who became known as the “Brides in the Bath” murderer?
George Joseph Smith
21/ Which was the first of the Central Powers to sign the First World War Armistice?
Bulgaria
22/ Whose victory at the 1759 Battle of Quebec effectively ended French control of Canada?
General James Wolfe.
23/ What was the title of the spin-off from “Are You Being Served?” which was aired for two seasons in the 1990s?
“Grace & Favour”
24/ What nationality was explorer Henry the Navigator?
Portugese
25/ The first Miss World competition was held in London in 1951, from which country did the winner hail?
Sweden (Kimi Hakansson).
Add Your Heading Text Here
Mastermind Club
Quiz 2022
Number 20
Quiz of the Year
Set by Mel Kinsey
1/ Which 72 year old became the oldest manager to win a Baseball World Series when the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in October?
Dusty Baker
2/ Which non-league club reached the 5th round of the F.A. Cup eventually losing to Everton 2-0?
Boreham Wood.
3/ With 37 which country topped the medal table at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games?
Norway
4/ Which GB athlete won the men’s 1500 metres at the World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon?
Jake Wightman
5/ Which horse won the 2022 Epsom Derby?
Desert Crown
6/ In March Katalin Novak was elected President of which country?
Hungary
7/ In May the Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest with which song?
“Stefania”
8/ Who resigned as Education Secretary after 35 hours in the job?
Michelle Donelson
9/ Which Japanese Prime Minster was assassinated in July?
Shinzo Abe
10/ In June Simon Robert Lightwood won a by-election in which Yorkshire constituency?
Wakefield
11/ Who won the best Director Oscar for “The Power of the Dog”
Jane Campion
12/ Little Simz won the 2022 Mercury Prize for which album?
“Sometimes I Might Be Introvert”
13/ “The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family” by Joshua Cohen won which prestigious literary prize in 2022?
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
14/ Who won the 2022 BAFTA Fellowship?”
Billy Connolly
15/ The 2022 Turner Prize was won by who?
Veronica Ryan
16/ Wolf Volcano also known as Mt.Whitton which erupted in January 2022, is at 5610 ft. Is the highest peak on which group of islands?
Galapagos
17/ On 19 July, a record temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) was recorded and verified by the Met Office in which Lincolnshire village ?
Coningsby
18/ Earthquakes in January, June and September struck which Asian country?
Afghanistan
19/ In November heavy rain on which island, located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, caused landslide damage to the commune of Casamicciola Terme
Ischia
20/ From 14 June to October 2022,] floods in which country killed 1,739 people, The immediate causes of the floods were heavier than usual monsoon rains and melting glaciers that followed a severe heat wave, both of which are linked to climate change.
Pakistan
21/ Kirstie Alley died in December, her character Rebecca Howe in Cheers replaced which other character played by Shelly Long.
Diane Chambers
22/ Mentioned in the first line of the first episode of “Only Fools and Horses” which actor died in January?
Sidney Poitier
23/ The original “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the movie M*A*S*H, Which actress died in February aged 86?
Sally Kellerman
24/ Famous for disqualifying Mike Tyson for biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear, which legendary boxing referee died in December?
Mills Lane
25/ Which actress a granddaughter of a former leader of the Labour Party died in October?
Angela Lansbury