Quiz #43

In 2012, scientists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine x-rayed 12 specimens of what type of bird in order to understand how its high degree of neck rotation was possible, finding the answer was not only having 14 neck bones, but the position of its carotid arteries and a reservoir of blood that ensured it didn’t have a stroke when vessels were disrupted?  

Question 2

In the 1890s, Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov studied conditioned behaviour by inducing salivation in what type of animal when it encountered a person, sound, or situation in which it would normally be fed?

Question 3

Which is generally regarded as being more padded and therefore thicker: a gilet or a bodywarmer?

Question 4

In the fairy tale Rumplestiltskin, the miller’s daughter is imprisoned and set the task to turn what into gold – a task she can only complete with the help of the curious character Rumplestiltskin?

Question 5

In 1967, Connecticut student Fred DeLuca borrowed $1000 from family friend Peter Buck so he could run a sandwich shop that would pay his way through college. Although the first shop lost money, the pair would become billionaires by expanding and franchising the shop under what well-known name?

Question 6

What month of the year completes the name of a UK campaign encouraging people to not cut their lawns in order to allow flowers to seed and pollinators to establish their populations: No Mow___?

Question 7

What two renewable energy sources supply 100 per cent of Iceland’s domestic electricity, and approximately 85 per cent of the country’s total primary energy?

Question 8

Excluding the few times Captain Kirk was seen wearing a green tunic, what were the three colours of uniforms worn by members of the crew in the original Star Trek TV series?

Question 9

Building on the model developed by Ernest Rutherford, in 1935 scientist James Chadwick showed that atoms were made of what three constituent particles, with one negative particle orbiting two other particles contained within a nucleus?

Question 10

Make the longest word possible from the following letters: BCEPRTTUU

Round 1 points
(Maximum: 23)

Round 2

Question 1

The 10^th edition of the Women’s Rugby World Cup begins on August 22. Which nation will become the first South American nation to ever take part in the tournament, something its men’s team has not managed in its equivalent competition?

Question 2

Drone to Home, Drone SAR, and Sky Paws are all UK organisations using drones to provide what free service? 

Question 3

Early in his career, film director Ridley Scott directed a nostalgic advertisement for what brand of bread, with the advert featuring a boy pushing a bicycle up a hill to the music of Antonín Dvořák’s New World Symphony?

Question 4

The French term of endearment ‘mon petit chou’ literally translates as ‘my little __’, referring to what type of vegetable?

Question 5

Often derided as one of the worst films ever made, the 2003 film The Room has developed a cult following, with audiences engaging in particular behaviour during screenings, including the throwing of what cutlery item at the screen every time one appears in a picture frame behind the actors?

Question 6

Ibiba Mudada and Aarron Stewart, Hema Sabina and Ajai Kalia, and Mike Sumner and Zoe Welch are amongst the couples who have got married after meeting on what dating show, most recently filmed at The Botanist restaurant in Bath and which has spin-off versions in numerous countries around the world?

Question 7

What are the two units of currency used in India, with one being worth one hundred of the other?

Question 8

In the UK, the AIM is the sub-section of the London Stock Exchange dealing with small capital companies. Although it has now officially changed its name simply to AIM, for what did the letters A, I, and M stand when it was established in 1995?

Question 9

In figures released by Japanese trade body BCN+R for the first half of 2025, which three different companies respectively topped the nation’s market share for compact cameras, DSLR cameras, and mirrorless cameras?

Question 10

With its quesadilla kit discontinued in 2023, and not including its ‘tortilla pocket’ line – essentially a wrap – Tex Mex food company Old El Paso currently sells Mexican meal kits in various flavours for what eight types of dish?

Round 2 points
(Maximum: 22)

Total points
(Maximum: 45)

Round 3

Question 1

The sackbut, used during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, was an early form of what musical instrument?

Question 2

Diamonds are categorised as either Type I or Type II depending on whether which chemical element is present as an impurity?

Question 3

Saltstraumen off the coast of Norway, Corryvreckan between the Scottish islands of Jura and Scarba, and Naruto no Uzushio between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Shikoku are all examples of what natural feature?

Question 4

On Monday August 11, four units of the Gravelines nuclear power plant in France had to be shut due to an abundance of what in the water used for cooling the reactor?

Question 5

In English common law, the charge of murder has been defined as causing the death of ‘a reasonable creature in rerum natura’ – a definition that has been rejected by several US states. Broadly, what does ‘in rerum natura’ mean?

Question 6

Halfway through divorce proceedings and followed by a crowd of paparazzi so large the police had to be present, which pop singer generated concerns about her mental health when she shaved her own hair off at the modest Esther’s Haircutting Studio in Tarzana, California in February 2007 after the owner refused to do so, before heading to a tattoo parlour and getting two tattoos? The incident came one day after she had left a Caribbean rehab facility after only one day.

Question 7

In tennis, which players have respectively won the most men’s grand slam singles titles and women’s grand slam singles titles?

Question 8

Not including Peter Burton’s single scene playing the character in Dr No, who are the three actors that have portrayed the character Q in the James Bond film franchise?

Question 9

In what four present day countries were the seven wonders of the ancient world located?

Question 10

In the ballet The Nutcracker, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the ‘Divertissement’ section includes a sequence of four character dances related to specific cultural symbols: chocolate, coffee, tea, and trepak. By what three nationalities and one geographic area are these four dances also referred?

Round 3 points
(Maximum: 19)

Total points
(Maximum: 64)

Round 4

Question 1

DS Smith, Smurfit Westrock, WH Skinner, and GWP Group are all manufacturers of what everyday item?

Question 2

Compiled annually since 2005, The Black List is a collection of the most liked yet still unused whats in the film industry, as voted for by film development executives?

Question 3

What pseudoscience fad diet claims that avoiding acidic foods can affect the body’s pH level, with extreme proponents claiming it can create a low pH environment in which cancers cannot form?

Question 4

Once found more likely perpetrators of terrorism in the US than Islamic fundamentalists, Neo Nazis, or animal rights extremists, what two-word term is used by people who believe that personal autonomy means a person should not be a subject of government law and is therefore immune to – and should fight against – regulation, documentation, taxation, or prosecution?

Question 5

Formerly a city that collapsed around 1000AD, the archaeology site Tiwanaku is in which South American country?

Question 6

Taken from the Italian word for supporters, what is the name of a large banner or visual display created by fans and shown at a sports event, most commonly seen in the home sections of football crowds in which the most dedicated fans are placed?

Question 7

What aquatic animal has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom? And what bird has the largest eyes of any land animal?

Question 8

In the card game Bid Whist, what three elements of gameplay are declared and decided during the bidding?

Question 9

Who were the four members of the English rock band Led Zeppelin?

Question 10

Starting in Chicago and ending in Los Angeles, through which eight US states did the famous Route 66 run?

Round 4 points
(Maximum: 23)

Total points
(Maximum: 87)

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 number answers all of the following?

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: 97)