Quiz #34

How many high tides occur each lunar day, that being 24 hours and 50 minutes?

Question 2

Geochemical analysis has shown that West Woods near Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, and Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire in Wales, are the sources of building material for which UK monument?

Question 3

In human behaviour, lachrymosity is a tendency to do what physical responsive action?

Question 4

In Ukraine, what event that occurred on April 26, 1986, cancelled the opening of Pripyat Amusement Park, which was scheduled to happen five days later?

Question 5

What job did Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela all have prior to becoming political figures?

Question 6

On May 19, US conservative commentator Charlie Kirk debated students at which UK university, leading to a viral video clip in which Sammy McDonald, a former union president and debates officer, stated Kirk’s claim the Israel-Palestine conflict has ‘a good guy and a bad guy’ was ‘the morality of a child’, and that McDonald did know about other conflicts because ‘unlike you I make an effort to be informed on foreign policy’.

Question 7

In golf, what are the two avian-themed words that, alongside ‘birdie’, describe scoring under par at a hole – one term for two under par, and the other for three under par?

Question 8

In an effort to escape long bus journeys that often saw them double back on themselves during their ‘Winter Dance Party’ tour, which three musicians boarded a chartered plane in Mason City, Iowa on February 3, 1959 – a day now known as ‘The Day the Music Died’ after a lyric in Don McLean’s song American Pie?

Question 9

Although there is some doubt as to whether it is a recognised word, it is believed ‘overnumerous’ is the longest word in the English language to lack what four typographical features?

Question 10

Make the longest word possible from the following letters: ACCEIIMNT

Round 1 points
(Maximum: 24)

Round 2

Question 1

On March 24, 1721, Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, received six concertos written by which Baroque composer?

Question 2

‘Have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can find’, and ‘if her daddy’s rich, take her out for a meal; if her daddy’s poor, just do what you feel’ are amongst the lyrics of which UK number one single of 1970?

Question 3

What is the only football team playing in the top four English football leagues with a name that features a letter worth ten points in the board game Scrabble?

Question 4

June 24-26 will see Amazon founder Jeff Bezos marry former TV reporter Lauren Sánchez in which Italian city, an event that has raised local concern about increased overcrowding, including a rumour that the party has hired the city’s entire private transport fleet?

Question 5

In which country was Pemulwuy a leader of an 18^th-century anti-colonial guerrilla resistance against the British army?

Question 6

Becoming the most expensive piece of film memorabilia in history when sold for over $32m in December 2024, what iconic cinematic items were reportedly changed from silver, as described in the source material, to red by screenwriter Noel Langley because they would stand out better against a yellow background?

Question 7

In film classification systems, which inform audiences about what films are age-appropriate, what are the two letter codes used by both the British Board of Film Classification and the US’s Motion Picture Association Rating System – albeit one of the codes in the US means under 17s require an adult but in the UK refers to explicit pornography?

Question 8

In Albert Einstein’s equation for special relativity, e=mc², for what do the letters e, m, and c stand?

Question 9

The global muffin market is expected to rise from $11.5bn to $15.5bn by 2033, led by increased and healthier flavours, the crossover of cafe culture in supermarket lines, more size options, improved production techniques, and market sentiment. Despite these changes, leading muffin manufacturer Otis Spunkmeyer says which four ‘classic’ ‘comfort’ flavours remain its best sellers?

Question 10

Per the rules of the Olympics boxing competition, and excluding the unusual ‘extraordinary rescheduling’ in which a technical failure forces a decision, what are the seven ways in which a boxing bout can be won?

Round 2 points
(Maximum: 22)

Total points
(Maximum: 46)

Round 3

Question 1

The name of what insect is used to colloquially describe children born with the rare genetic disease epidermolysis bullosa, or EB, because of the delicacy of their skin, which blisters at minor trauma or friction?

Question 2

Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria, and Santiago were the five ships that set sail in 1519 on what expedition?

Question 3

On March 28, 2024, leaders from several Pacific Islands signed the He Whakaputanga Moana, or Declaration of the Ocean, a non-binding agreement which included recognising what group of animals as legal persons in an effort to ensure its right to freedom of movement, a healthy environment, and the ability to thrive alongside humanity? The notion of making such recognition legally binding was raised by Tonga’s Princess Lātūfuipeka at the UN One Ocean Science Congress in Nice on June 4.

Question 4

Where in the human body can compact tissue, cancellous tissue, and subchondral tissue all be found?

Question 5

Which American pop artist is said to have developed his much-recognised style after his son pointed to a Mickey Mouse comic and said “I bet you can’t paint as good as that, eh, Dad”?

Question 6

White vinegar is a diluted form of what type of acid?

Question 7

What are the two forms of pasteurisation treatment most regularly used in the dairy industry to make milk safe for human consumption? One involves heating the milk to 72°-74° for 15-20 seconds, and the other to 135-150°C for 2-5 seconds, before both are rapidly brought back to room temperature.

Question 8

In 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively, which three countries were the first in Latin America to produce a ‘green taxonomy’ to guide investors towards more sustainable or environmentally-friendly projects? In 2015, the three nations were also the founders of the The Environmental Alliance of America, an initiative to produce common environmental standards labelling for products and food produced in the region.

Question 9

Albeit sometimes worded or ordered differently depending on the range or firearms advocacy group, what are the four so-called cardinal rules of gun safety?

Question 10

What nine US state capitals put their name to a sports team from one of the US’s ‘Big Four’ leagues – those being the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL? This means the city’s name appears in the team name, not simply that a team plays in the city.

Round 3 points
(Maximum: 24)

Total points
(Maximum: 70)

Round 4

Question 1

Which American actor has been cast to play Dumbledore in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter series?

Question 2

Married as an 18-year old to a Somali man only known as ‘Hassan’, before being spotted by a photographer, moving to the US on what she said was a fake passport, and eventually marrying NBA player Spencer Haywood and musician David Bowie, by what single name is the model born Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid known?

Question 3

Ahead of this year’s Download rock festival, held June 13-15, Leicestershire Police asked attendees to switch their wearable technology to airplane mode during the event because what activity was triggering automatic emergency calls from devices?

Question 4

What is the scientific name for each segment, or slice, of an orange fruit?

Question 5

What is the name of the website established in 2017 by Spanish orange farmers Gabriel and Gonzalo Úrculo, Spanish computer programmer Moisés Calviño, and French insurance worker Juliette Simonin that allows European fruit and vegetable farmers to directly sell and post products to customers around the continent?

Question 6

In France, the 1894 conviction and exile of Captain Alfred Dreyfus for the leaking of military secrets led to which prominent writer scribing an open letter to the nation’s president entitled ‘J’accuse…!’, which accused the government of unlawful jailing and antisemitism, appeared on the cover of the L’Aurore newspaper, and led to his own arrest and prosecution for libel?

Question 7

What are the respective names given to the flight feathers on a bird’s wings and tail?

Question 8

Scotland has the lowest life expectancy in Western Europe. According to the country’s most recent National Records figures, what is the average life expectancy of a man in Scotland’s most deprived areas? What is the healthy life expectancy – that being the age a person is still in good health – for a man in the most deprived areas? And what is the current age for receiving the state pension in the UK?

Question 9

Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys died last week. What were the names of the four The Beach Boys albums with the word ‘surf’, ‘surfer’, or ‘surfin’ in the title?

Question 10

What are the ten feature films directed by Martin Scorsese that have featured Robert DeNiro?

Round 4 points
(Maximum: 25)

Total points
(Maximum: 95)

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.

What first name is shared by the following people?

Clue 1

Clue 2

Clue 3

Clue 4

Clue 5

Clue 6

Clue 7

Clue 8

Clue 9

Clue 10

Round 5 points
(Maximum: 10)

Total points
(Maximum: 105)