Hard quiz answers
Jun. 4th, 2013 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
philmophlegmI actually set this two months ago, so I reckon it's time to give the rest of the answers and give credit where due to those people who got questions right. The name in bold is the person who got there first.
1. What is a 'millihelen'? (The amount of beauty needed to launch one ship.) - iainjcoleman, wellinghall, brixtonbrood, phina v, steer
2. Célestine Galli-Marié was the first singer to play which famous operatic character? (Carmen) - NOBODY GOT THIS.
3. What was the largest ship (by tonnage) sunk by a German U-boat during either world war? (RMS Empress of Britain, a Canadian liner) - NOBODY GOT THIS
4. Both the Democrat and Republican candidates in the 2004 US presidential election (John Kerry and George W. Bush) belonged to which secret society when at university? (The Skull and Bones Society at Yale) (the one in Connecticut, not the Yale I went to, although they were of course named after the same man). iainjcoleman
5. What is the smallest (and non-extinct) flightless bird? (Inaccessible Island Rail) - NOBODY GOT THIS EXACTLY, BUT ELEDONECIRRHOSA WAS PRETTY CLOSE
6. Who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency that includes the Palace of Westminster? (Mark Field) helflaed
7. What is the nearest single star (i.e. not a double or triple star system) to the Sun? (Barnard's Star) cheekbones3
8. What was the first track on the first side of the first record or cassette of the very first 'Now That's What I Call Music!' compilation? (Phil Collins - 'You Can't Hurry Love') NOBODY GOT THIS
9. In baseball, what is a 'perfect game'? (A pitcher pitching the whole game without allowing a single opponent to reach first base) NOBODY GOT THIS EXACTLY, BUT CHRISMOUSE WAS CLOSE
10. The Order of the Elephant is the highest order of knighthood in which country? (Denmark) wellinghall
11. Who is the only archangel referred to as such in the Bible (excluding Apocrypha)? (Michael) phina v, cheekbones3, steer
12. Saint Helena was the mother of which important historical figure? (Emperor Constantine the Great) bunn, wellinghall, brixtonbrood
13. The Banking House of Valint and Balk appears in the books of which author? (Joe Abercrombie) NOBODY GOT THIS
14. Who played Boo Radley in the film of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'? (Robert Duvall) gervase_fen
15. Who was sacked as manager of St Mirren in 1978, with the chairman of the club saying he had "no managerial ability"? (Sir Alex Ferguson) brixtonbrood, cheekbones3
16. Which snooker player has won more World Championships than any other? (Joe Davis) cheekbones3
17. What is the densest naturally occuring element? (Osmium) brixtonbrood, cheekbones3
18. What was the Rolling Stones's first UK number 1 single? (It's All Over Now) NOBODY HERE GOT THIS, BUT BART_CALENDAR'S BROTHER DID
19. In men's cycling, who won the 2013 Tour of Flanders? (Fabian Cancellara) NOBODY GOT THIS
20. By what name is the renaissance scientist, astrologer and occultist Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim is better known? (Paracelsus) brixtonbrood
21. What was the Spectrum and Commodore 64 game developed by Automata that featured the vocal talents of Jon Pertwee, Frankie Howerd and Ian Dury? (Deus ex Machina) pelago_uk
22. What is the highest mountain in Europe? (Mount Elbrus - not Mont Blanc, at least by the most common definition of Europe) cheekbones3
23. During the 1980 siege of the Iranian Embassy in London, what was done to conceal the noise of drilling by technicians who were planting surveillance microphones in the wall? (Airliners were redirected to fly low over the embassy) NOBODY GOT THIS
24. The actor Don LaFontaine died in 2008. What three words is he most commonly associated with? ("In a world..." at the beginning of movie trailers. He cornered the market in movie trailer voiceovers.) gervase_fen
25. In 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', why did the bowl of petunias think 'Oh no, not again' when it suddenly appeared high above Magrathea alongside a sperm whale? (It was later revealed to be an incarnation of Agrajag, the being continuously killed by Arthur Dent) wellinghall, brixtonbrood, cheekbones3, steer
26. Shortly before Ted Hughes became Poet Laureate in 1984, both he and Philip Larkin suggested that the position should be given to which Cornish poet? (Charles Causley) bunn (who had something of an unfair advantage since we've just done the website for the Charles Causley Festival...)
27. Juba is the capital city of which country? (South Sudan) phina v, cheekbones3
28. Jack Nicholson is one of only two actors to receive Oscar nominations in the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s. Who is the other? (Sir Michael Caine) NOBODY GOT THIS
29. 'The Warlock of Firetop Mountain' was the first Fighting Fantasy Gamebook. What was the second? (The Citadel of Chaos) iainjcoleman, phina v
30. Which famous comic strip science fiction character featured on the cover of the first edition of 2000 AD? (Dan Dare) iainjcoleman, wellinghall, brixtonbrood
31. Who was the Plymouth schoolgirl who won the 2012 Olympic 100m breaststroke gold medal? (Rūta Meilutytė) NOBODY GOT THIS
32. Which Lord of the Rings character had a mother called Eglantine? (Pippin) bunn, wellinghall,
33. Which American professor of Urdu and South Asian Studies, who died in March 2012, was called 'the forgotten Tolkien' by Der Spiegel, on account of the linguistically-derived nature of his fictional fantasy setting? (M.A.R. Barker) iainjcoleman
34. Who created the miniatures wargame 'Little Wars', described as "a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games"? (H.G.Wells) iainjcoleman, wellinghall
35. In the New Testament, only two of the four gospels agree on the names of all 12 disciples. Which two? (Matthew and Mark) wellinghall, steer
36. What plant appears on the flag of Mexico? (a cactus) helflaed, eledonecirrhosa
37. Who sang on Mike Oldfield's hit single 'Moonlight Shadow'? (Maggie Reilly) cheekbones3
38. Name this Hollywood actor: All six of the films in which he appeared received Best Picture Oscar nominations. His most famous role was in three of those films when he played the elder brother of a character played by his former flatmate. He died of cancer at the age of 42 in 1978. Meryl Streep was his girlfriend at the time. (John Cazale, best known as Fredo Corleone in the Godfather trilogy) gervase_fen
39. Excluding the Open University, what is the UK's largest university (in terms of student numbers)? (Manchester) brixtonbrood
40. Who was the third man to set foot on the Moon? (Charles 'Pete' Conrad) NOBODY GOT THIS
41. In professional boxing, what is the lightest weight category? (Minimumweight, aka 'strawweight' or 'mini flyweight') cheekbones3
42. Which famous university is situated just north of the town of South Bend, Indiana? (Notre Dame) wellinghall
43. Which football club won the first ever Football League title in 1889? (Preston North End) brixtonbrood, cheekbones3
44. And which football club won last season's Football League title? (Reading) cheekbones3
45. The Prussian explorer Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt is most famous for his explorations of which modern country? (Australia) cheekbones3
46. Which science fiction author's 'Iron Law of Bureaucracy' states that "In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely"? (Jerry Pournelle) chrismouse
47. At the start of 'A Game of Thrones', which noble house holds Harrenhal? (House Whent) ladyofastolat, steer
48. What nature of creature is a 'Common Welsh Green'? (a dragon, in Harry Potter) bunn, brixtonbrood, phina v, cheekbones3
49. Six types of dice are used in standard Dungeons and Dragons. What is the only one that is not a platonic solid? (d10) iainjcoleman, wellinghall, brixtonbrood, phina v, cheekbones3, steer
50. What game won the 2012 British Academy Award for Best Game? (Dishonored) ladyofastolat
So if I'm not wrong that leaves iainjcoleman and cheekbones3 tied for the most first correct answers. Well done you two.
1. What is a 'millihelen'? (The amount of beauty needed to launch one ship.) - iainjcoleman, wellinghall, brixtonbrood, phina v, steer
2. Célestine Galli-Marié was the first singer to play which famous operatic character? (Carmen) - NOBODY GOT THIS.
3. What was the largest ship (by tonnage) sunk by a German U-boat during either world war? (RMS Empress of Britain, a Canadian liner) - NOBODY GOT THIS
4. Both the Democrat and Republican candidates in the 2004 US presidential election (John Kerry and George W. Bush) belonged to which secret society when at university? (The Skull and Bones Society at Yale) (the one in Connecticut, not the Yale I went to, although they were of course named after the same man). iainjcoleman
5. What is the smallest (and non-extinct) flightless bird? (Inaccessible Island Rail) - NOBODY GOT THIS EXACTLY, BUT ELEDONECIRRHOSA WAS PRETTY CLOSE
6. Who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency that includes the Palace of Westminster? (Mark Field) helflaed
7. What is the nearest single star (i.e. not a double or triple star system) to the Sun? (Barnard's Star) cheekbones3
8. What was the first track on the first side of the first record or cassette of the very first 'Now That's What I Call Music!' compilation? (Phil Collins - 'You Can't Hurry Love') NOBODY GOT THIS
9. In baseball, what is a 'perfect game'? (A pitcher pitching the whole game without allowing a single opponent to reach first base) NOBODY GOT THIS EXACTLY, BUT CHRISMOUSE WAS CLOSE
10. The Order of the Elephant is the highest order of knighthood in which country? (Denmark) wellinghall
11. Who is the only archangel referred to as such in the Bible (excluding Apocrypha)? (Michael) phina v, cheekbones3, steer
12. Saint Helena was the mother of which important historical figure? (Emperor Constantine the Great) bunn, wellinghall, brixtonbrood
13. The Banking House of Valint and Balk appears in the books of which author? (Joe Abercrombie) NOBODY GOT THIS
14. Who played Boo Radley in the film of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'? (Robert Duvall) gervase_fen
15. Who was sacked as manager of St Mirren in 1978, with the chairman of the club saying he had "no managerial ability"? (Sir Alex Ferguson) brixtonbrood, cheekbones3
16. Which snooker player has won more World Championships than any other? (Joe Davis) cheekbones3
17. What is the densest naturally occuring element? (Osmium) brixtonbrood, cheekbones3
18. What was the Rolling Stones's first UK number 1 single? (It's All Over Now) NOBODY HERE GOT THIS, BUT BART_CALENDAR'S BROTHER DID
19. In men's cycling, who won the 2013 Tour of Flanders? (Fabian Cancellara) NOBODY GOT THIS
20. By what name is the renaissance scientist, astrologer and occultist Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim is better known? (Paracelsus) brixtonbrood
21. What was the Spectrum and Commodore 64 game developed by Automata that featured the vocal talents of Jon Pertwee, Frankie Howerd and Ian Dury? (Deus ex Machina) pelago_uk
22. What is the highest mountain in Europe? (Mount Elbrus - not Mont Blanc, at least by the most common definition of Europe) cheekbones3
23. During the 1980 siege of the Iranian Embassy in London, what was done to conceal the noise of drilling by technicians who were planting surveillance microphones in the wall? (Airliners were redirected to fly low over the embassy) NOBODY GOT THIS
24. The actor Don LaFontaine died in 2008. What three words is he most commonly associated with? ("In a world..." at the beginning of movie trailers. He cornered the market in movie trailer voiceovers.) gervase_fen
25. In 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', why did the bowl of petunias think 'Oh no, not again' when it suddenly appeared high above Magrathea alongside a sperm whale? (It was later revealed to be an incarnation of Agrajag, the being continuously killed by Arthur Dent) wellinghall, brixtonbrood, cheekbones3, steer
26. Shortly before Ted Hughes became Poet Laureate in 1984, both he and Philip Larkin suggested that the position should be given to which Cornish poet? (Charles Causley) bunn (who had something of an unfair advantage since we've just done the website for the Charles Causley Festival...)
27. Juba is the capital city of which country? (South Sudan) phina v, cheekbones3
28. Jack Nicholson is one of only two actors to receive Oscar nominations in the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s. Who is the other? (Sir Michael Caine) NOBODY GOT THIS
29. 'The Warlock of Firetop Mountain' was the first Fighting Fantasy Gamebook. What was the second? (The Citadel of Chaos) iainjcoleman, phina v
30. Which famous comic strip science fiction character featured on the cover of the first edition of 2000 AD? (Dan Dare) iainjcoleman, wellinghall, brixtonbrood
31. Who was the Plymouth schoolgirl who won the 2012 Olympic 100m breaststroke gold medal? (Rūta Meilutytė) NOBODY GOT THIS
32. Which Lord of the Rings character had a mother called Eglantine? (Pippin) bunn, wellinghall,
33. Which American professor of Urdu and South Asian Studies, who died in March 2012, was called 'the forgotten Tolkien' by Der Spiegel, on account of the linguistically-derived nature of his fictional fantasy setting? (M.A.R. Barker) iainjcoleman
34. Who created the miniatures wargame 'Little Wars', described as "a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games"? (H.G.Wells) iainjcoleman, wellinghall
35. In the New Testament, only two of the four gospels agree on the names of all 12 disciples. Which two? (Matthew and Mark) wellinghall, steer
36. What plant appears on the flag of Mexico? (a cactus) helflaed, eledonecirrhosa
37. Who sang on Mike Oldfield's hit single 'Moonlight Shadow'? (Maggie Reilly) cheekbones3
38. Name this Hollywood actor: All six of the films in which he appeared received Best Picture Oscar nominations. His most famous role was in three of those films when he played the elder brother of a character played by his former flatmate. He died of cancer at the age of 42 in 1978. Meryl Streep was his girlfriend at the time. (John Cazale, best known as Fredo Corleone in the Godfather trilogy) gervase_fen
39. Excluding the Open University, what is the UK's largest university (in terms of student numbers)? (Manchester) brixtonbrood
40. Who was the third man to set foot on the Moon? (Charles 'Pete' Conrad) NOBODY GOT THIS
41. In professional boxing, what is the lightest weight category? (Minimumweight, aka 'strawweight' or 'mini flyweight') cheekbones3
42. Which famous university is situated just north of the town of South Bend, Indiana? (Notre Dame) wellinghall
43. Which football club won the first ever Football League title in 1889? (Preston North End) brixtonbrood, cheekbones3
44. And which football club won last season's Football League title? (Reading) cheekbones3
45. The Prussian explorer Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt is most famous for his explorations of which modern country? (Australia) cheekbones3
46. Which science fiction author's 'Iron Law of Bureaucracy' states that "In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely"? (Jerry Pournelle) chrismouse
47. At the start of 'A Game of Thrones', which noble house holds Harrenhal? (House Whent) ladyofastolat, steer
48. What nature of creature is a 'Common Welsh Green'? (a dragon, in Harry Potter) bunn, brixtonbrood, phina v, cheekbones3
49. Six types of dice are used in standard Dungeons and Dragons. What is the only one that is not a platonic solid? (d10) iainjcoleman, wellinghall, brixtonbrood, phina v, cheekbones3, steer
50. What game won the 2012 British Academy Award for Best Game? (Dishonored) ladyofastolat
So if I'm not wrong that leaves iainjcoleman and cheekbones3 tied for the most first correct answers. Well done you two.
