Friday, January 04, 2008

BH146: Yet More File Questions From Days Long Past

Happy NYE and all that, so tired can't complete pleasantries

But wait! Here's some stuff I prepared earlier... Days ago, in fact

These questions are necessary evils. They are the ones I never seem to get in quizzes. Each one a microscopic Groundhog Day nightmare. They are the ones that litter my files like nasty inky stains that happen to bear the uncanny likeness of sentences filled with words I, and the whole world are supposed to understand; something that is not helped by my abominable handwriting. Yet I cannot seem to absorb these particular ones. Well, perhaps a little bit of absorption takes place. Slowly, they seep in, creeping in stealthily, until one night I turn on my bedroom door and there, one is sitting in an armchair, like Bernie the Bookie. It takes time, however. Perhaps, aeons. And at least they are heavy on the brevity and therefore the kind of typical "trivia and details" questions that are the modus vivendi for every working British quizzer.

(Please remember to log errors in the comments. Many thanks in advance. I know you haven't yet, but I'm just saying, you know)

One more set is still to come after the following 146 questions. Then it is back to the bastardy Wikipedia-inspired wordfests. Hurrah!

Getting Down to Quizzness
1 Which classic French novel deals with the adventures of Fabrizio del Dongo?
2 Which aeroplane company manufactured models such as the Cherokee, Cub and Seminole?
3 What term describes a compound that is a union of many simple molecules?
4 Which extinct bird was also called the Atlantic Penguin?
5 In 1972, which American body artist developed his oeuvre with Seedbed that featured a daily display of masturbatory activity?
6 Prometheus means what in Greek?
7 Which knighted author wrote the Beijing-set 1941 novel, Peonies and Ponies?
8 What was introduced in 1484 for defendants in court cases?
9 On what date did Edward VIII abdicate in 1936?
10 What name is given to the yard depot where trains are put together?
11 Which captain founded Jamestown, Virginia?
12 In which county is Cainhoe castle?
13 Which French monarch's last words were "Were you at Sedan?"?
14 Who invented polythene in 1933?
15 Whose first opera was Le Docteur Miracle in 1856?
16 Aldous Huxley took the title of his novel Antic Hay from which play?
17 Who was the 3rd Archbishop of Canterbury?
18 What type of bird, the opposite of a ratite, has a keeled breastbone?
19 Which she-goat nursed the infant Zeus in the Dictaean cave on Crete?
20 Which Prime Minister coined the phrase "balance of power"?
21 In which card game do players "capture the pack", "freeze the pack" and "meld out"?
22 Equal to 37.5 gallons, which unit of capacity is used to measure herrings?
23 What was the real first name of jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke?
24 Lady Londonderry and Green Gunpowder are types of what?
25 In the Sherlock Holmes story, what sort of creature was The Speckled Band?
26 What was Cliff Richard's first UK no. 1?
27 In Roman mythology, who was the father of Romulus and Remus?
28 What unique feature do the young of the South American bird, the hoatzin, have on their wings?
29 Which musical note equals half a crotchet?
30 In which sport are their classes known as K1, K2, C1 and C2?
31 Who partnered John McEnroe to four Wimbledon doubles titles 1979-84?
32 Who was the first British woman to win the Wimbledon singles championship after WW2?
33 Which city is served by Shannon airport?
34 Usually symbolised by the letter Z, what term describes the quantity that determines the amplitude of the current for a given voltage in an alternating current circuit?
35 In which year was the Geneva Convention first drafted?
36 In his 1903 essay Democracy, who wrote that the title subject "substitutes election by the incompetent many, for appointment by the corrupt few"?
37 The tenor aria "Che Gelida Manina" or "Your Tiny Hand is Frozen" is sung by which character in La Boheme?
38 During the minority of which English king did William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, act as regent until his death when he was succeeded by Hubert de Burgh?
39 Polonnaruwa was once the ancient capital of which country?
40 Which abolitionist founded the colony of Sierra Leone?
41 On which day did God create the sun, moon and stars?
42 Which Polish composer's works include Venetian Games, Teased Words and Chain I?
43 Which US city is nicknamed "Monumental City"?
44 In medicine, what sort of impairment is MCI?
45 On which ship did Sir Francis Drake set out on his last voyage - to the Caribbean - in 1595?
46 Who wrote the children's book A Vicarage Family?
47 What fettered iron bar, a counterpart of handcuffs, was formerly used for shackling prisoners' feet?
48 Also a musical term, what name is given to the downward stroke of the pen in handwriting?
49 What is the blade on a propeller called?
50 Named after an underworld judge of the dead, what word describes judging severely, going strictly by the letter of the law?
51 What is a plainsong setting of a religious text sung as a response during a church service?
52 Gobannium was the Roman name for which Welsh town?
53 In what month would you have St Luke's summer?
54 What is the base unit of amount of substance?
55 How many gallons are there in a bushel?
56 Caselle is the airport for which European city?
57 What is the 2nd largest desert in the world?
58 Which Speaker of the House of Commons was elected on January 24, 1728 and held the post for 33 years?
59 Who became the first ever Plaid Cymru MP on July 14, 1966?
60 Whose first play was translated into English as The Fatal Legacy in 1723?
61 Built in 643AD, the Mosque of 'Amr is in which city?
62 Who painted The Progress of Love for Madame du Barry in 1770?
63 The Oslo agreement of June 1, 1976 settled which dispute?
64 Which city is the administrative centre of the French region of Rhone-Alpes?
65 Which country celebrates the holiday "Evacuation of US troops" on June 11?
66 Which specialised UN agency is IFAD?
67 A single unit of which European currency is equal to 100 gindarka?
68 What is the currency of Equatorial Guinea?
69 Instituted by Queen Victoria in 1883, what was the 1st military order designed solely for women?
70 What is the scientific study of the perceptual, intellectual and linguistic processes by which knowledge and understanding are acquired and communicated?
71 Identified with Rhea, which Roman goddess was the consort of Saturn?
72 From which country does the airline Ladeco come?
73 Which Frenchman composed the opera Ariane et Barbe-Bleue?
74 What is Haydn's Symphony no. 100 nicknamed?
75 Who played George Gershwin in the film Rhapsody in Blue?
76 Feodor Chaliapin was the first Russian to gain international stature as what?
77 Where in England is the Knightwood Oak?
78 What is the collective name for a group of tigers?
79 Frank Foster took over the leadership of which famous orchestra when its titular founder died?
80 Belonging to the grass family, what is the common name for the plant Zea mays?
81 What activity does the term "halieutic" refer to?
82 In brewing or distilling, what is obtained from germinated and dried barley?
83 In the novel War and Peace, Count Rostov loses a fortune playing which card game?
84 The warship Wilton achieved what first when it was launched in Southampton on January 18, 1972?
85 What determines the colour of light?
86 In photography, what name was given to the single plate additive colour process devised by the Lumiere brothers in 1903?
87 In which kingdom do biologists now place the single-celled animals?
88 What is the name for any of the Spanish Moors and their descendants who accepted Christian baptism?
89 On which Japanese island is Mount Fujiyama?
90 What is the major port of Bangladesh?
91 What is the fastest winter sport?
92 How many horse races constitute the Breeders Cup?
93 Which former unit of Scottish local government referring to a town enjoying a degree of self-government was abolished in 1975?
94 To which gas does the word "azotic" refer?
95 What is "paludism" another word for?
96 Vaticide is the killing of who or what?
97 Which artery can be constricted at the pressure point against the collarbone?
98 What does something or someone eat if they are "phyllophagous"?
99 Which carnivorous animal gives its name to out of tune, harsh or dissonant sound, as of a faulty violin?
100 In which country were 1524 people killed by a cloud of poisonous gas after an underwater explosion in 1986?
101 Achondrite, aerolite and siderite are types of what?
102 In space exploration/transportation, what does the acronym CM stand for?
103 What was the last dynasty to rule Italy?
104 What was the nickname of the Australian surfer Bernard Farrelly?
105 Louis XIV liked playing an open-air lawn game called "le jeu de mail", the ancestor of which sport?
106 Which African capital city is closest to the Equator?
107 Mayotte is part of which island-state off Africa's east coast?
108 What is the membrane, susceptible to inflammation, that covers the front of the vertebrate eye?
109 For which novel did Sinclair Lewis win the Pulitzer Prize that he refused?
110 Appointed in 1986, who was the first US Poet Laureate?
111 What is rheology the study of?
112 In which part of the animal cell does protein synthesis occur?
113 In Buddhism, what is the term for the central teaching that there is no soul and no self?
114 Which Zulu chief seized the throne in 1828 and became notorious for his cruelty?
115 Which Swiss ski resort has a name meaning "in the meadows"?
116 In which molten metal is "float glass" usually floated?
117 Who was the last eastern Roman Emperor in 1453?
118 Which substance, also used as an antiseptic, could you use to find out if food contains any starch?
119 Gephyrophobia is the fear of doing what?
120 What is the highest peak in the Yorkshire Dales National Park?
121 Which sea nymph was the mother of the Graces?
122 Whose operas include A Penny for a Song and The Mines of Sulphur?
123 What is the smallest constellation?
124 On which date is St Sylvester's Day?
125 Which bird can be barred, Cetti's, reed, great reed and icterine?
126 Which restaurant critic coined the phrase "nouvelle cuisine"?
127 The musical Smokey Joe's Cafe celebrates which song-writing duo's output?
128 By what name is the "Basque Drum" better known?
129 Which British Prime Minister was married to Violet Millar?
130 In a standard string quartet, what is the largest instrument?
131 Mercurius was the first Pope to change his name to what?
132 The Citadel is a religious journal of which sect?
133 What is the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony no.3 in E Flat Op. 55 nicknamed?
134 What is the name for the abnormal condition of green plants in which the stems and leaves turn pale green or yellow?
135 What is the name of any tree of the genus Betula, the approximately 40 species of which are found in cooler climes in the northern hemisphere?
136 In computer graphics, what is a technique used for varying the patterns of dots in an image in order to give the impression of shades of grey?
137 Which vegetable has varieties called Peer Gynt, Bedford-Fillbasket and Fortress?
138 Pernod and sweet vermouth are combined in which cocktail that shares its name with a type of pasta?
139 From which English town does Spingo beer come?
140 What does "Scot" as in "Scot free" mean?
141 The Dukla Pass is in which mountain range?
142 Solzhenitsyn began which sequence of historical novels with his book August 1914?
143 What do the French call something that has been cooked in oil and lemon juice, and also an hors d'oeuvre with rice?
144 In which city of Syria were followers of Jesus first called Christians?
145 What term describes music that is not in any key?
146 What is the medical term for a hiccup?

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Answers to BH146
1 The Charterhouse of Parma 2 Piper 3 Polymer 4 Great Auk 5 Vito Acconci 6 Forethought 7 Sir Harold Acton 8 Bail system 9 December 10th 10 Marshalling yard 11 Christopher Newport 12 Bedfordshire 13 Napoleon III 14 RO Gibson 15 Bizet 16 Edward II by Marlowe 17 Mellitus 18 Carinate 19 Amalthea 20 Robert Walpole 21 Canasta 22 Cran 23 Leon 24 Tea 25 Snake 26 Living Doll 27 Mars 28 Claws 29 Quaver 30 Canoeing 31 Peter Fleming 32 Angela Mortimer 33 Limerick 34 Impedance 35 1864 36 GB Shaw 37 Rodolfo 38 Henry III (he died in 1219) 39 Sri Lanka 40 Granville Sharp 41 Fourth 42 Witold Lutoslawski 43 Baltimore 44 Mild Cognitive Impairment 45 Defiance 46 Noel Streatfield 47 Bilboes 48 Minim 49 Vane 50 Rhadamanthine 51 Antiphon 52 Abergavenny 53 October 54 Mole 55 Eight 56 Turin 57 Australian 58 Arthur Onslow 59 Gwynfor Evans 60 Racine 61 Cairo 62 Jean-Honore Fragonard 63 Cod War 64 Lyons 65 Libya 66 International Fund for Agricultural Development 67 Lek 68 Ekuele 69 The Royal Red Cross 70 Epistemics 71 Ops 72 Chile 73 Paul Dukas 74 Military 75 Robert Alda 76 Opera singer 77 New Forest 78 Ambush 79 Count Basie's 80 Maize 81 Fishing 82 Malt 83 Faro 84 First plastic warship 85 Frequency 86 Autochrome 87 Protista 88 Morisco 89 Honshu 90 Chittagong 91 Ice yachting 92 Eight 93 Burgh 94 Nitrogen 95 Disease 96 A prophet 97 Subclavian artery 98 Leaves 99 Wolf 100 Cameroon 101 Meteorite 102 Command Module 103 Savoy 104 Midget 105 Croquet 106 Kampala 107 Comoros 108 Conjunctiva 109 Arrowsmith 110 Robert Penn Warren 111 The flow of matter 112 Ribosome 113 Anatman 114 Dingaan 115 Zermatt 116 Tin 117 Constantine XI 118 Iodine solution 119 Fear of crossing bridges 120 Whernside 121 Eurynome 122 Richard Rodney Bennett 123 Crux Australis 124 December 31st 125 Warbler 126 Henri Gault 127 Leiber & Stoller 128 Tambourine 129 Clement Attlee 130 Cello 131 John II 132 Christian Scientists 133 Funeral March 134 Chlorosis 135 Birch 136 Dithering 137 Brussel sprouts 138 Macaroni 139 Helston, Cornwall 140 Tax = tax free 141 Carpathians 142 The Red Wheel 143 A la Grecque 144 Antioch 145 Atonal 146 Singultus

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