Mastermind Club
Quiz 2026-7
General Knowledge
Set by Maya Davis
Answers
1/ What is the surname of the chatelaine of the family who own the cherry orchard in the Chekhov play?
Ranevskaya
2/ What general name is given to the category of illnesses which arise spontaneously from no known cause? The name derives from the ancient Greek words for ‘individual’ and ‘to suffer.’
Idiopathic
3/The celestial objects M1, M8, M16 and M17 (Crab, Lagoon, Eagle and Omega) are all examples of what kind of celestial object?
Nebulae
4/And for what does the letter M stand in the numbers above?
Messier – named after Charles Messier, the French astronomer who compiled the original catalogue of galaxies, star clusters and nebulae
5/ Which author’s early works include A History of England, written at the age of 16?
Jane Austen
6/The official title of which musical work is Variations on an Original Theme? It depicts a number of the composer’s friends as well as himself.
Enigma Variations – Elgar
7/Which of Santa’s named reindeer notably does not feature in Clement Clarke Moore’s poem ‘Twas the night before Christmas?
Rudolph
8/Loxodonta africana is the scientific name of one species of which creature?
Elephant
9/In the ancient Greek flood myth, Pyrrha and her husband were spared from the flood because of their kindness towards the disguised gods Zeus and Hermes. What was Pyrrha’s husband’s name?
Deucalion
10/The flower Love-in-a-Mist and a well-known cookery writer and broadcaster share what name?
Nigella
11/Which modern sport is believed to have its origin in the 12th century French ‘game of the palm’ or ‘jeu de paume’?
Tennis
12/What image on a badge or other emblem denotes both the route and a pilgrim to the shrine of Santiago di Compostela in Spain?
Scallop shell
13/What was the surname of the brothers whose real first names were Leonard, Milton, Julius, Herbert and Adolph/Arthur.
Marx
14/ The Devon town of Totnes stands on what river?
Dart
15/Antedi or Antedios and Prasutagus are two of the rulers of which Celtic British tribe? This tribe is best known for rebelling against the Romans and burning Camulodunum when led by its most famous ruler.
Iceni
16/The manufacturing rights to a game called Criss-Crosswords, invented by an American architect in 1931, were bought by James Brunot in 1948. What is this game now called?
Scrabble
17/What is revealed to be the first name of Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse?
Endeavour
18/The incompetent detective duo Thompson and Thompson frequently appear as characters in the books about which young detective and adventurer?
Tintin
19/Byron’s poem The Destruction of Sennacherib depicts the Biblical account of the failure of an attack on Jerusalem in 701 BCE by which ancient people?
Assyrians
20/The 5 different three-toed species of which mammals are known locally as ‘ai’ because of the sound they make when agitated?
Sloths
21/Who wrote the novels Oryx and Crake and The Blind Assassin?
Margaret Atwood
22/Which UK city includes an area called Corstorphine and a railway station named after a novel by a famous local author?
Edinburgh
23/Which popular performer’s birth names include Robyn and Fenty?
Rhianna
24/Heinrich Schliemann is famous for having discovered the prehistoric sites of Troy and Mycenae, but he made his fortune as a merchant and exporter of dyes. In what product did he specialise?
Indigo
25/Which book of the Bible shares its name with one of the Practical Cats?
Deuteronomy