Which Greek-derived word means both ‘the sea horse genus’ and ‘part of the brain’? Which toys are collected by an arctophilist? Who, jilted on the morning of her wedding, continued to wear her bridal attire and preserved the wedding feast until she died of burns?
(Answers at the bottom)
These were just some of the questions that our boys faced in the final of the hotly fought House General Knowledge Quiz, a wonderfully fun, yet highly serious competition.
Heats have been taking place over the last six weeks, which have seen teams of four, comprising boys from different year groups within twinned houses, competing against each other in a series of rounds. The competition culminated in a hard-fought final between Crescent and Ashburnham on Wednesday lunchtime, in the distinguished surroundings of the Memorial Hall.
Loosely based on University Challenge, boys were asked a series of starter questions followed by three bonuses. The electric buzzer system generated much excitement and Mr Sam Baldock, Vice Master was the question master.
The two teams were neck and neck until the final five minutes when Crescent pulled away to win the title. Congratulations to Lower Sixth Former Michael Moretto, Fifth Former Sam McMurran and Fourth Formers Hamish Timmins and Matthew Moretto for a superb performance.
Upper Sixth Former Charlie Lawrence, captain of runners up, Ashburnham, said afterwards, “It was a much closer round than I had expected! Going in against Crescent, I’d heard about their dramatic leads in the earlier rounds and was a bit surprised to be able to see such a close gap 20 minutes into the round! However, with some great bonuses for Crescent – much to the detriment of Ashburnham – they took the lead at the end. Even so, it was an exciting match to say the least, and I’m proud of the effort that both teams displayed; well played!”
Questions are below:
Which is the third month of the year to have 30 days only?
September
Which poet, author of The Wreck of the Deutschland, was also a Jesuit priest?
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Which city on the Dee and the Don is the third largest city in Scotland?
Aberdeen
In Greek mythology, of what was Pan the deity?
Nature
Which country sends a Christmas tree each year for the display in Trafalgar Square?
Norway
Which Greek-derived word means both ‘the sea horse genus’ and ‘part of the brain’?
Hippocampus
Which military leader was known to his troops as ‘the little corporal’’, le petit caporal?
Napoleon
With what musical instrument do you associate Lang Lang?
Piano
Which American city has an NFL football team called the Packers?
Green Bay
Who painted The Rake’s Progress?
Hogarth
Name one of the two South American countries which do not border Brazil.
Chile, Ecuador
Which toys are collected by an arctophilist?
Teddy bears
What name is given to a large tent used for functions such as wedding receptions?
Marquee
Ignoring spelling, which Japanese car manufacturer is also the name of a month of the Jewish year?
Nissan
The Brix hydrometer measures the amount of what in a solution?
Sugar
Who, jilted on the morning of her wedding, continued to wear her bridal attire and preserved the wedding feast until she died of burns?
Miss Havisham
In British film classification, what does ‘U’ stand for?
Universal
What word means both ‘a small high-pitched flute with no keys’ and ‘a region of East Central Scotland’?
Fife
If you’ve managed to acquire all four stations in the UK version of Monopoly, how much will you normally have paid altogether?
£800
Which Argentinian revolutionary leader, whose real first name was Ernesto, was shot in 1967?
Che Guevara
What is the relative minor of F major?
D minor
What term is used in painting for the ring of light around the head of an angel or saint?
Halo
What position is held by the chief legal officer of England and Wales?
Attorney General
Which planet is closest to the Earth in size?
Venus
(a) Which island off the south coast of Cornwall is joined at low tide by a causeway to Marazion?
(b) What is the full title of the force normally known simply as ‘the Mounties’?
(c) Mount St Helen’s, which did a great deal of destruction when it erupted in 1980, is in which northern US state?
St Michael’s Mount
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Washington
Which words, all starting with the same sequence of letters, means:
(a) a word composed of the re-ordered letters of another word?
(b) something inappropriate for the period with which it is associated?
c) an early modern Christian sect who refused to accept the christening of infants?
Anagram
Anachronism
Anabaptists
(a) In what decade did James II / VII come to the throne?
(b) Which illegitimate son of Charles II led a rebellion against him?
(c) Which judge become notorious when presiding over the ‘Bloody Assizes’ resulting from that rebellion?
1680s (1685)
(James Scott,) Duke of Monmouth
Judge (George) Jeffreys
Which Mediterranean island:
(a) is the football at the foot of Italy?
(b) has a capital called Ajaccio?
(c) has the oldest civilisation in the West, as far as we can tell?
Sicily
Corsica
Crete
(a) What term is used for a figure expressing the acidity or alkalinity of a solution?
(b) What is the pH of a substance that is purely neutral, neither acidic or alkaline?
(c) What does ‘pH’ stand for, according to the Carlsberg Foundation which developed the scale?
pH
7
Power (of) hydrogen
(a) For what is the institution known generally as ‘Sandhurst’ intended?
(b) What is its full name?
(c) In which English county is it located?
Training army officers
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Surrey
(a) What do the initials ‘AA’ mean to a motorist?
(b) How many steps form the programme of AA, Alcoholics Anonymous?
(c) In the world of sport, what’s the AAA?
Automobile Association
Twelve
Amateur Athletics Association
Who wrote the original books on which these recent films are based:
(a) Paddington 2?
(b) Maze Runner: The Death Cure?
(c) A Wrinkle in Time
Michael Bond
James Dashner
Madeleine L’Engle
(a) Which of the Famous Five is canine?
(b) How many letters from St Paul to Timothy are collected in the New Testament?
(c) Which island group was occupied by Indonesia for 24 years before becoming a sovereign state in 2002?
Timmy
Two
Timor-Leste / East Timor
Which country was the first winner of:
(a) the Association Football World Cup, in 1930?
(b) the Rugby Union World Cup, in 1987?
(c) the Cricket World Cup, in 1975?
Uruguay
New Zealand
West Indies
Ecclesiastically, what names are given to the following garments:
(a) the traditional clothing of their order worn by monks, friars or nuns?
(b) the high, cleft head-dress worn by a bishop?
(c) the white ankle-length garment worn by a priest or minister?
Habit
Mitre
Alb
(a) The fictional Butlers Farm is filmed at the real-life Brookland Farm – in which soap?
(b) Which soap is centred on the family at Brookfield Farm?
(c) Brookside, a Channel 4 soap which ran for 21 years until 2003, was set in which city?
Emmerdale
The Archers
Liverpool
(a) Which US car manufacturer pioneered mass production techniques?
(b) Which German manufacturer has recently ceased production of its iconic small car?
(c) In which country are the headquarters of Hyundai cars?
(Henry) Ford
Volkswagen
South Korea
(a) Which major European river was described as ‘beautiful’ and ‘blue’ by Johann Strauss the Younger?
(b) Who wrote Rhapsody in Blue?
(c) Which American composer’s songs include Blue Skies, White Christmas and Puttin’ on the Ritz?
The Danube
George Gershwin
Irving Berlin
Which words, all starting with the same sequence of letters, means:
(a) the capital of Sri Lanka?
(b) the name of a US state, desert and river?
(c) a town in Essex that claims to be the oldest city in Britain?
Colombo
Colorado
Colchester
When measuring waves, which term means:
(a) the time it takes for the wave to complete one cycle?
(b) the distance between the midline of a wave and its crest or trough?
(c) the unit measuring frequency?
Period
Amplitude
Hertz
Which international crisis:
(a) was initiated on October 29, 1956?
(b) ran from 16 Oct 1962 – 28 Oct 1962?
(c) began on the night of 20th August 1968?
The Suez Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia