Round 1
Question 1
What city completes this quote from Muhammed Ali, made prior to his 1975 world heavyweight title fight against Joe Frazier: “It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in …”?
Answer: Manila
*The quote led to the fight’s nickname, ‘The Thrilla in Manila’.
1 point
Question 2
‘Quit Hanging Suits Tangled, Some Men Mind Quietly’ is a mnemonic to help remember the dynasties of what country?
Answer: China
1 point
Question 3
In 1979, the Utah Jazz basketball team moved to its current home in Salt Lake City from which other American city – itself now home to a team called the Pelicans?
Answer: New Orleans
1 point
Question 4
A mass sell off of sterling forced the UK to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism on 16 September 1992. What day of the week completes the nickname given to that event: Black…?
Answer: Wednesday
1 point
Question 5
Mazowieckie, Małopolskie, Pomorskie, and Kujawsko-pomorskie are administrative regions in which European country?
Answer: Poland
1 point
Question 6
Candy Crush is one of the titles devised and operated by what regal-sounding mobile games company?
Answer: King
1 point
Question 7
Prior to the arrival of DAB digital radio in the 1990s, what were the two most common analogue modulation bands – both known by two-letter initialisms – used in public radio broadcasting?
Answer: AM; FM
*AM stands for amplitude modulation; FM stands for frequency modulation.
2 points
Question 8
Which three opera singers comprised the singing group The Three Tenors?
Answer: Plácido Domingo; José Carreras; Luciano Pavarotti
3 points
Question 9
On a single seven segment display – that being the simple figure-of-eight shape used on digital clocks – what are the five numbers that can be made by illuminating five lines?
Answer: 2; 3; 5; 6; 9
*6 and 9 can use five or six lines, depending on whether they are given a ‘tail’.
4 points
Question 10
Make the longest word possible from the following letters: EIILMNOSU
Answer: Limousine
Up to 9 points
(*length of word equates to points awarded)
Round 1 points
(Maximum: 25)
Round 2
Question 1
What type of animal is Astrid, who accidentally killed enclosure-mate Ziggy the zebra at Colchester Zoo in January 2025?
Answer: Rhinoceros
*Southern white rhino Astrid was sparring with her son Tayo and attempted to move Ziggy out of the way. The animals had co-habited with other species in the zoo’s Kingdom of the Wild section since 2017.
1 point
Question 2
What type of fruit has a variety called Amarena, which is frequently used in Italian syrups, cakes, and gelato?
Answer: Cherry
1 point
Question 3
In an episode entitled ‘Soup or Sonic’, aired in May 1980, which cartoon character achieved a goal he had been chasing since 1949, leading him to hold up signs saying”Okay, wise guys, you always wanted me to catch him. Now what do I do?”.
Answer: Wile E. Coyote
*The episode saw Wile E. Coyote finally catch Roadrunner. Unfortunately running through a pipe had made him tiny.
1 point
Question 4
At what number parallel of latitude are North and South Korea divided?
Answer: 38th
1 point
Question 5
By what single letter is Chicago’s rapid transport train system commonly referred?
Answer: L
*The L gets its name from a nickname given to its elevated sections, Alley L.
1 point
Question 6
Proven theoretically possible on TV show Mythbusters, Mexican prisoner Juan Lopez is reported to have escaped from jail in 1996 by corroding the bars on his cell using what type of foodstuff?
Answer: Salsa
*Lopez’s escape is believed to have taken six years. However Mythbusters found that passing a small amount of direct current electricity through the salsa, which contains acid, salt, and water, could corrode the bars in only four months.
1 point
Question 7
What are the two ingredients most commonly used to create the simple French sweet and sour sauce gastrique?
Answer: Sugar; vinegar
*Honey is sometimes used to replace sugar.
2 points
Question 8
In the CMYK colour model, as used in printing, for what do the letters C, M, Y, and K stand?
Answer: Cyan; Magenta; Yellow; Key
4 points
Question 9
In 2024 French television enjoyed record-breaking viewing figures. Which five international sporting events – four held in the country – helped achieved this, bringing ‘contact figures’ of 59.6m, 54.3m, 51.6m, 43.3m, and 43.2m people?
Answer: Paris Olympic Games; Euro 2024; Paris Paralympics; French Open; Tour de France
5 points
Question 10
What are the names of the five solo studio albums released by Michael Jackson that reached number 1 in the US & UK album charts?
Answer: Thriller (1982); Bad (1987); Dangerous (1991); HIStory (1995); Invincible (2001)
*1979’s Off the Wall reached number 3 in both the US and UK.
5 points
Round 2 points
(Maximum: 22)
Total points
(Maximum: 47)
Round 3
Question 1
In which British city, named UK City of Culture for 2025, is the UK’s National Science and Media Museum?
Answer: Bradford
1 point
Question 2
Natives of which Portuguese city are nicknamed Tripeiros – or tripe eaters – due to the city exporting its better quality meats during the 15th century?
Answer: Porto.
*Natives of Lisbon are nicknamed Alfacinhas, or little lettuces.
1 point
Question 3
Eric Idle, Leonard Nimoy, Judd Nelson, and Orson Welles are amongst the voice cast for what 1986 animated film, a tie in to a cartoon and toy line?
Answer: The Transformers: The Movie
1 point
Question 4
Featured on the Japanese 1000 yen note released in 2024, and the inspiration for the logos of Quiksilver and Surf, the much reproduced artwork The Great Wave Off Kanagawa is a woodblock print by which 19th-century artist?
Answer: Hokusai
1 point
Question 5
With its 10000th show due to be aired in 2025, what is the longest running game show on US television?
Answer: The Price is Right
1 point
Question 6
Which social media platform temporarily banned the sharing of news in Australia in August 2020 in protest at the country’s News Media Bargaining Code, which forced technology companies to compensate traditional news publishers for their content?
Answer: Facebook
1 point
Question 7
What colour and what animal appear in the most common pub name in the UK, per research conducted from 2020 to 2023?
Answer: Red; lion
*The data from ukphonebook.com noted 468 Red Lion pubs, marginally ahead of the 433 Royal Oak pubs.
2 points
Question 8
Which three Russian chess players were the only men to hold the FIDE number 1 ranking between January 1976 and April 2006?
Answer: Anatoly Karpov; Garry Kasparov; Vladimir Kramnik
*Kramnik held the number one spot for six months in 1996; Karpov and Kasparov held the spot for the rest of the 30 years.
3 points
Question 9
What five chemical elements have been discovered since the start of year 2000?
Answer: Livermorium (2000); Oganesson (2002); Moscovium (2003); Nihonium (2003); Tennessine (2010)
5 points
Question 10
Since the competition started in 1977, what nine countries have had a male or female Badminton World Federation world champion?
Answer: China; Indonesia; Denmark; Japan; Spain; Thailand; Singapore; India; South Korea
*China has had 29 titles from 20 players, followed by Indonesia (8 titles from 8 players), Denmark (6 titles from 5 players), Japan (5 titles from 3 players), Spain (3 titles from 1 player), Thailand (2 titles from 2 players), and Singapore, India, and South Korea (1 title each).
9 points
Round 3 points
(Maximum: 25)
Total points
(Maximum: 72)
Round 4
Question 1
What company has been the exclusive Formula One tyre manufacturer since 2011, with a contract set to run until 2027?
Answer: Pirelli
1 point
Question 2
Nephology is the study of what?
Answer: Clouds
1 point
Question 3
What epithet is shared by UK radio presenter Bob Harris, American baritone Jack Smith, and snooker commentator Ted Lowe due to their low smooth speaking style?
Answer: Whispering
1 point
Question 4
Italian football team Juventus remain undefeated after 20 games this season, but have drawn 13 of those games. Which team from Umbria holds the record for draws in an undefeated Italian season, drawing 19 out of 30 games in 1978-1979?
Answer: Perugia
1 point
Question 5
Also known as tadasana or samasthiti, what name is given to the basic yoga pose in which an individual stands straight, with feet together and hands by their side?
Answer: Mountain pose
1 point
Question 6
With a name literally translated as ‘yeast dumpling’, and similar to the German dampfnudel, what is the name of the Austrian steamed dessert dumplings containing plum jam and covered with poppy seeds and sugar?
Answer: Germknödel
1 point
Question 7
What two Indian powers fought at the Siege of Chittorgarh from October 1567 to February 1568, reportedly concluding with the losing Hindu warriors killing many of their own women and themselves, before victorious Islamic forces slaughtered 30000 civilians?
Answer: Mughal Empire; Kingdom of Mewar
*Mewar was ruled by the Rajput (or Thākur) people.
2 points
Question 8
Which three plays by William Shakespeare, all classified as comedies, feature characters called Sebastian – although one Sebastian is actually Julia in disguise?
Answer: Twelfth Night; The Tempest; The Two Gentlemen of Verona
3 points
Question 9
Rod Stewart is scheduled to play the Glastonbury Festival legends slot in 2025. Which five female solo artists have played the slot since it was first introduced in 1998?
Answer: Shirley Bassey (2007); Dolly Parton (2014); Kylie Minogue (2019); Diana Ross (2022); Shania Twain (2024)
5 points
Question 10
What were the names of the six main toys that appeared on the British children’s TV show Play School, which ran from 1964 to 1988 (five of the names were also used for characters in the Australian version, and four in the New Zealand version)?
Answer: Humpty; Big Ted; Little Ted; Jemima; Poppy; Hamble
6 points
Round 4 points
(Maximum: 22)
Total points
(Maximum: 94)
Round 5
In Round 5, there is only one answer. The less clues you need to get it, the more points you receive. If you need only one clue, you receive 10 points; if you require two clues, you will receive 9 points, and so on.
However, you may only answer once. If you answer incorrectly, you receive zero points for the round.
The following authors all have the same first name, albeit with spelling variations. What is it?
Clue 1
Bannerman (author of Tales of Superstition and Chivalry)
10 points
Clue 2
Cassidy (author of Looking for JJ)
9 points
Clue 3
Voskamp (author of One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are)
8 points
Clue 4
Patchett (author of Bel Canto)
7 points
Clue 5
Cleeves (author of Raven Black)
6 points
Clue 6
Enright (author of The Gathering)
5 points
Clue 7
Radcliffe (author of The Mysteries of Udolpho)
4 points
Clue 8
Rice (author of Interview with a Vampire)
3 points
Clue 9
Brontë (author of Agnes Grey)
2 points
Clue 10
Frank (author of The Diary of a Young Girl)
1 point
Answer: Ann / Anne
Round 5 points
(Maximum: 10)
Total points
(Maximum: 104)