What I do with my Sunday afternoons
Being a glutton for punishment, I have entered a team for the President's Cup this year. It's basically what has been described as the "Champions' League of League Quizzing" in that refined versions of the teams that play on Tuesdays in the Quiz League of London play every fortnight on a Sunday afternoon. Our UC Alumni team (including such stalwarts as Kathryn Johnson, Nic Paul, Peter Edis, David Brewis and Stainer) has not done too badly, but alas, it feels more like an experiement, albeit a fun one, this year. I quite like the fact that I'm averaging a lot more than in the normal league, but then I'm one of those cases where the questions get harder and my score stays the same. It's a good indicator of ... something.
Anyway last Sunday, we played our home fixture against the Mastermind Club, including Gavin Fuller, Ray Ward, Ken Emond and Paul Webbewood. Unfortunately we got whipped 46-35 due to some silly errors and not scoring in one round. Though Kathryn was our star performer with 16, the Mastermind Club, as efficiently as ever, hoovered up the loose bonuses, though there was only a three point gap once. Never mind. (But who took the questions? Hmmm, I have some idea.)
Afterwards, because I like subjecting people to the pain and rigour of my question setting, I always write my own quiz (same format as the league: eight rounds of eight questions, going to each team member for two points, one point if they have to pass it over). Obviously I've noted the same old tropes (film directors, building designers) coming through and I am slightly annoyed by that, but then I do tend to set them on Sunday morning in a kind of frantic last-minute countdown. Here it is for your delectation (By the way I set too many questions for one of the rounds: that's what happens when you can feel your heart race at the sight of a clock saying 2.01pm and you realise you should be somewhere else at that very time. Also I do tend to mumble when I read so here they are for those who couldn't understand what the hell I was saying. I also can't pronounce the word fetishistic, by the way).
President's Cup friendly 4/2/06
Round 1
1a What flower takes its name from the Greek word for 'testicles' since that is what its root system looks like?
ORCHID
1b Which word comes from the old Roman practice of cupping the genitals when swearing an oath?
TESTIMONY
2a Which ferry capsized as she left Zeebrugge harbour in 1987, killing 193 people?
THE HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE
2b Which Brighton & Hove resident and Australian singer and songwriter has written the script for the John Hillcoat film The Proposition, a western set in the Outback?
NICK CAVE
3a As in British home improvement and DIY stores, what does B&Q stand for?
BLOCK & QUAYLE
3b Who declared himself President-for-Life of Haiti in 1964?
"PAPA DOC" FRANCOIS DUVALIER
4a Which actor, best known for his television work, starred as the title character in the Australian western Quigley Down Under?
TOM SELLECK
4b Which ferry sank in the Baltic sea in 1994 drowning 852 people?
THE ESTONIA
Round 2
1a In 1990, which Roman Catholic priest became Haiti's first freely elected President?
JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE
1b As in the furniture retailer, what does MFI stand for?
MULLARD FURNITURE INDUSTRIES
2a For which rugby union club do Shane Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy play?
LEINSTER LIONS
2b Who played Jaws in the James Bond films Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me?
RICHARD KIEL
3a Featuring an infamous sodomy scene, which controversial play by Howard Brenton from 1980 offended Mary Whitehouse so much that she took its makers to court under the Sexual Offences Act?
THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN
3b For which rugby union club do Hugo Southwell, Scott Murray and Ally Hogg play?
EDINBURGH
4a Who played Oddjob in the James Bond film Goldfinger?
HAROLD SAKATA
4b Made into an HBO mini-series starring Al Pacino as Roy Cohn, which epic play from 1992 by Tony Kushner charted the rise of the Reaganite right and the spread of AIDS?
ANGELS IN AMERICA
Round 3
1a Formed in 1968 and destroyed in the same year by Brazil's military dictatorship which Brazillian arts and music movement was led by such figures as Gal Costa, Tom Ze and Caetano Veloso, who was imprisoned and exiled to England?
TROPICALIA
1b Which French skier won the triple crown of alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics, taking the gold medal in the slalom, giant slalom and downhill events?
JEAN-CLAUDE KILLY
2a Who is the Crown Prince and son of Emperor Akihito of Japan? NARUHITO
2b Which founder of the Tropicalia movement became Brazil's Minister of Culture at the request of President Lula da Silva in January 2003?
GILBERTO GIL
3a Which Austrian skier won the gold medal in the downhill at the 1976 Winter Olympics, when he famously shaved off 0.33 seconds off defending champion Bernhard Russi's time?
FRANZ KLAMMER
3b What is the name of the only daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan and his wife Crown Princess Masako?
PRINCESS TOSHI AIKO
4a Which former lead singer of the Bay City Rollers has recently been cleared of cocaine charges?
LES MCKEOWN
4b In which US state is the Bay City from which the Bay City Rollers took their name?
MICHIGAN
Round 4
1a What is the largest order in the Catholic Church?
THE JESUITS
1b What was the name of John Gray's famous pet who kept him company as a watchdog when he worked as a night watchman in the Edinburgh police force?
GREYFRIARS BOBBY
2a Who plays Queen Elizabeth I in the current BBC serial The Virgin Queen?
ANNE-MARIE DUFF
2b Which British celebrity's current autobiography is subtitled A Whole New World?
JORDAN or KATIE PRICE
3a Which Welsh village was named after Prince Llewelyn's pet dog whom he mistakenly killed because he thought he had harmed one of his baby children?
BEDGELLERT
3b The head of the Jesuits or the Jesuit Superior-General is also called by what name on account of the colour of his robes?
THE BLACK POPE
4a Which American celebrity has written the autobiography Confessions of an Heiress?
PARIS HILTON
4b Who played the eponymous queen in the recent Channel 4 drama miniseries of Elizabeth I?
HELEN MIRREN
Round 5
1a The American footballer and Detroit Lions player Dick 'Night Train' Lane was married to which jazz singer and "Queen of the Blues"?
DINAH WASHINGTON
1b Saparmurat Niyazov, a man who has banned gold teen and renamed bread after his mother, is president of which former Soviet republic?
TURKMENISTAN
2a Islam Karimov is the torture-loving and vote-rigging president of which former Soviet republic?
UZBEKISTAN
2b Which Italian company also known for its kitchen appliances has produced models of watches called the Buckle and Record?
ALESSI
3a Which Swiss watch company is famous for its railway classic model which is the most reproduced face in the world and was designed after World War Two by a man who wanted to create a face that could be read by anyone no matter what their nationality was?
MONDAINE
3b The Atlanta Braves baseball player David Justice was married to which Oscar-winning actress? HALLE BERRY
4a Which American novelist's books include Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions and Timequake?
KURT VONNEGUT JR
4b Which American novelist's books include Cider House Rules, The World According to Garp and Setting Free the Bears?
JOHN IRVING
Round 6
1a Alexander Stamboliisky was the peasant dictator of which country from 1919 to 1923 when he was murdered in a coup d'etat?
BULGARIA
1b In what unusual way did the young monarch King Alexander I of Greece die in 1920?
BY A MONKEY BITE
2a What fragrant grape is used to make Asti Spumante? MUSCAT or MOSCATO
2b At which castle did Richard II formally surrender his crown to Henry Bolingbroke? FLINT
3a At which castle did Richard II die in 1400?
PONTEFRACT
3b Muscadelle and Semillon are two of the three grapes used in making Sauterne. What is the other one?
SAUVIGNON
4a In which art gallery are Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Marc Chagall's I and the Village and Van Gogh's Starry Night to be found? MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NYC
4b In which art gallery are Fra Angelico's The Coronation of the Virgin, La Primavera by Botticelli and the Venus of Urbino by Iitian to be found? UFFIZI
Round 7 (or the Round with too many questions)
1a What creatures would a jagger have sold in the past?
FISH
1b What creatures would a skelper have sold?
BEES
2a Who is the hereditary spiritual leader of the Ismaili sect?
AGA KHAN
2b Who designed the Post Office Tower or Telecom Tower?
ERIC BEDFORD
3a An intradermal test for which disease was named after the French physician Charles Mantoux? TUBERCULOSIS
3b Founded in 1954, where is the US Air Force Academy based? COLORADO SPRINGS
4a Founded in 1845, where is the US Naval Academy based? ANNAPOLIS
4b What term was first used by Clemens von Pirquet in 1906 following his observations of the skin reaction to his test for tuberculosis?
ALLERGY
5a Who is credited with designing the Centre Point building in London?
RICHARD SEIFERT
5b What name is given to the person who presides over Presbyterian assembles?
MODERATOR
Round 8
1a A patrician called Annius, Publius the captain of the Praetorian Guard, and Vitellia, daughter of a deposed emperor are characters in which Mozart opera?
LA CLEMENZA DI TITO
1b Which London group had their first top ten hit in 1992 with House of Love?
EAST 17
2a Which London group had their last top ten hit in 1970 with Apeman?
THE KINKS
2b Which Italian team were the first winners of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1961? FIORENTINA
3a Who tutored Alexander the Great and founded the Lyceum?
ARISTOTLE
3b Elletra a Greek princess, Ilia a Trojan princess and Arbace, the confidante of the title character feature in which Mozart opera?
IDOMENEO
4a Which Italian football team were the last winners of the European Cup Winner's Cup in 1999?
LAZIO
4b Who founded the Academy and tutored Aristotle?
PLATO
Spares
1 Calobrese is another name for which vegetable? Broccoli
2 Bill Lee dubbed whose voice in The Sound of Music? Christopher Plummer
3 Oberon is the largest moon of which planet? Uranus
4 In Morse code what letter is signalled by dot dot? I
5 What Scottish mountain range includes Ben Nevis and the Cairngorms? Grampians
Afterword
The match scored 35-28 (to the Masterminders), which was less than the main match, meaning it was probably a little too hard. No matter, I think I am set in my ways. Hard questions are always the most interesting to me (unfortunately)
Anyway last Sunday, we played our home fixture against the Mastermind Club, including Gavin Fuller, Ray Ward, Ken Emond and Paul Webbewood. Unfortunately we got whipped 46-35 due to some silly errors and not scoring in one round. Though Kathryn was our star performer with 16, the Mastermind Club, as efficiently as ever, hoovered up the loose bonuses, though there was only a three point gap once. Never mind. (But who took the questions? Hmmm, I have some idea.)
Afterwards, because I like subjecting people to the pain and rigour of my question setting, I always write my own quiz (same format as the league: eight rounds of eight questions, going to each team member for two points, one point if they have to pass it over). Obviously I've noted the same old tropes (film directors, building designers) coming through and I am slightly annoyed by that, but then I do tend to set them on Sunday morning in a kind of frantic last-minute countdown. Here it is for your delectation (By the way I set too many questions for one of the rounds: that's what happens when you can feel your heart race at the sight of a clock saying 2.01pm and you realise you should be somewhere else at that very time. Also I do tend to mumble when I read so here they are for those who couldn't understand what the hell I was saying. I also can't pronounce the word fetishistic, by the way).
President's Cup friendly 4/2/06
Round 1
1a What flower takes its name from the Greek word for 'testicles' since that is what its root system looks like?
ORCHID
1b Which word comes from the old Roman practice of cupping the genitals when swearing an oath?
TESTIMONY
2a Which ferry capsized as she left Zeebrugge harbour in 1987, killing 193 people?
THE HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE
2b Which Brighton & Hove resident and Australian singer and songwriter has written the script for the John Hillcoat film The Proposition, a western set in the Outback?
NICK CAVE
3a As in British home improvement and DIY stores, what does B&Q stand for?
BLOCK & QUAYLE
3b Who declared himself President-for-Life of Haiti in 1964?
"PAPA DOC" FRANCOIS DUVALIER
4a Which actor, best known for his television work, starred as the title character in the Australian western Quigley Down Under?
TOM SELLECK
4b Which ferry sank in the Baltic sea in 1994 drowning 852 people?
THE ESTONIA
Round 2
1a In 1990, which Roman Catholic priest became Haiti's first freely elected President?
JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE
1b As in the furniture retailer, what does MFI stand for?
MULLARD FURNITURE INDUSTRIES
2a For which rugby union club do Shane Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy play?
LEINSTER LIONS
2b Who played Jaws in the James Bond films Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me?
RICHARD KIEL
3a Featuring an infamous sodomy scene, which controversial play by Howard Brenton from 1980 offended Mary Whitehouse so much that she took its makers to court under the Sexual Offences Act?
THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN
3b For which rugby union club do Hugo Southwell, Scott Murray and Ally Hogg play?
EDINBURGH
4a Who played Oddjob in the James Bond film Goldfinger?
HAROLD SAKATA
4b Made into an HBO mini-series starring Al Pacino as Roy Cohn, which epic play from 1992 by Tony Kushner charted the rise of the Reaganite right and the spread of AIDS?
ANGELS IN AMERICA
Round 3
1a Formed in 1968 and destroyed in the same year by Brazil's military dictatorship which Brazillian arts and music movement was led by such figures as Gal Costa, Tom Ze and Caetano Veloso, who was imprisoned and exiled to England?
TROPICALIA
1b Which French skier won the triple crown of alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics, taking the gold medal in the slalom, giant slalom and downhill events?
JEAN-CLAUDE KILLY
2a Who is the Crown Prince and son of Emperor Akihito of Japan? NARUHITO
2b Which founder of the Tropicalia movement became Brazil's Minister of Culture at the request of President Lula da Silva in January 2003?
GILBERTO GIL
3a Which Austrian skier won the gold medal in the downhill at the 1976 Winter Olympics, when he famously shaved off 0.33 seconds off defending champion Bernhard Russi's time?
FRANZ KLAMMER
3b What is the name of the only daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan and his wife Crown Princess Masako?
PRINCESS TOSHI AIKO
4a Which former lead singer of the Bay City Rollers has recently been cleared of cocaine charges?
LES MCKEOWN
4b In which US state is the Bay City from which the Bay City Rollers took their name?
MICHIGAN
Round 4
1a What is the largest order in the Catholic Church?
THE JESUITS
1b What was the name of John Gray's famous pet who kept him company as a watchdog when he worked as a night watchman in the Edinburgh police force?
GREYFRIARS BOBBY
2a Who plays Queen Elizabeth I in the current BBC serial The Virgin Queen?
ANNE-MARIE DUFF
2b Which British celebrity's current autobiography is subtitled A Whole New World?
JORDAN or KATIE PRICE
3a Which Welsh village was named after Prince Llewelyn's pet dog whom he mistakenly killed because he thought he had harmed one of his baby children?
BEDGELLERT
3b The head of the Jesuits or the Jesuit Superior-General is also called by what name on account of the colour of his robes?
THE BLACK POPE
4a Which American celebrity has written the autobiography Confessions of an Heiress?
PARIS HILTON
4b Who played the eponymous queen in the recent Channel 4 drama miniseries of Elizabeth I?
HELEN MIRREN
Round 5
1a The American footballer and Detroit Lions player Dick 'Night Train' Lane was married to which jazz singer and "Queen of the Blues"?
DINAH WASHINGTON
1b Saparmurat Niyazov, a man who has banned gold teen and renamed bread after his mother, is president of which former Soviet republic?
TURKMENISTAN
2a Islam Karimov is the torture-loving and vote-rigging president of which former Soviet republic?
UZBEKISTAN
2b Which Italian company also known for its kitchen appliances has produced models of watches called the Buckle and Record?
ALESSI
3a Which Swiss watch company is famous for its railway classic model which is the most reproduced face in the world and was designed after World War Two by a man who wanted to create a face that could be read by anyone no matter what their nationality was?
MONDAINE
3b The Atlanta Braves baseball player David Justice was married to which Oscar-winning actress? HALLE BERRY
4a Which American novelist's books include Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions and Timequake?
KURT VONNEGUT JR
4b Which American novelist's books include Cider House Rules, The World According to Garp and Setting Free the Bears?
JOHN IRVING
Round 6
1a Alexander Stamboliisky was the peasant dictator of which country from 1919 to 1923 when he was murdered in a coup d'etat?
BULGARIA
1b In what unusual way did the young monarch King Alexander I of Greece die in 1920?
BY A MONKEY BITE
2a What fragrant grape is used to make Asti Spumante? MUSCAT or MOSCATO
2b At which castle did Richard II formally surrender his crown to Henry Bolingbroke? FLINT
3a At which castle did Richard II die in 1400?
PONTEFRACT
3b Muscadelle and Semillon are two of the three grapes used in making Sauterne. What is the other one?
SAUVIGNON
4a In which art gallery are Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Marc Chagall's I and the Village and Van Gogh's Starry Night to be found? MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NYC
4b In which art gallery are Fra Angelico's The Coronation of the Virgin, La Primavera by Botticelli and the Venus of Urbino by Iitian to be found? UFFIZI
Round 7 (or the Round with too many questions)
1a What creatures would a jagger have sold in the past?
FISH
1b What creatures would a skelper have sold?
BEES
2a Who is the hereditary spiritual leader of the Ismaili sect?
AGA KHAN
2b Who designed the Post Office Tower or Telecom Tower?
ERIC BEDFORD
3a An intradermal test for which disease was named after the French physician Charles Mantoux? TUBERCULOSIS
3b Founded in 1954, where is the US Air Force Academy based? COLORADO SPRINGS
4a Founded in 1845, where is the US Naval Academy based? ANNAPOLIS
4b What term was first used by Clemens von Pirquet in 1906 following his observations of the skin reaction to his test for tuberculosis?
ALLERGY
5a Who is credited with designing the Centre Point building in London?
RICHARD SEIFERT
5b What name is given to the person who presides over Presbyterian assembles?
MODERATOR
Round 8
1a A patrician called Annius, Publius the captain of the Praetorian Guard, and Vitellia, daughter of a deposed emperor are characters in which Mozart opera?
LA CLEMENZA DI TITO
1b Which London group had their first top ten hit in 1992 with House of Love?
EAST 17
2a Which London group had their last top ten hit in 1970 with Apeman?
THE KINKS
2b Which Italian team were the first winners of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1961? FIORENTINA
3a Who tutored Alexander the Great and founded the Lyceum?
ARISTOTLE
3b Elletra a Greek princess, Ilia a Trojan princess and Arbace, the confidante of the title character feature in which Mozart opera?
IDOMENEO
4a Which Italian football team were the last winners of the European Cup Winner's Cup in 1999?
LAZIO
4b Who founded the Academy and tutored Aristotle?
PLATO
Spares
1 Calobrese is another name for which vegetable? Broccoli
2 Bill Lee dubbed whose voice in The Sound of Music? Christopher Plummer
3 Oberon is the largest moon of which planet? Uranus
4 In Morse code what letter is signalled by dot dot? I
5 What Scottish mountain range includes Ben Nevis and the Cairngorms? Grampians
Afterword
The match scored 35-28 (to the Masterminders), which was less than the main match, meaning it was probably a little too hard. No matter, I think I am set in my ways. Hard questions are always the most interesting to me (unfortunately)
posted by That Quiz Guy at 5:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home