Quiz #66

Prior to co-founding the successful coffeehouse chain that bears his name, Canadian Tim Horton played what sport professionally?

Question 2

As well as a more famous nickname, what American city is sometimes referred to as NOLA?

Question 3

What colour is used to describe sensationalist journalism that utilises exaggeration and provocative headlines in order to capture readers’ attention, and is often closely linked to the media empire built by William Randolph Hearst in the late 19^th– and early 20^th-centuries?

Question 4

In the Monty Hall problem, a player on a theoretical game show has a choice of three doors, with a prize hidden behind one of the three. After the player picks a door, the game show host opens one of the non-chosen doors to reveal it does not contain the prize. With now only two doors remaining, should the player change their pick if they want to win the prize, based on statistical probability?

Question 5

Billionaire Larry Ellison has been in the news after his yacht Izanami, named for the Shinto deity of creation and death, was quickly renamed. What negative publicity had come with the original Izanami name?

Question 6

Although doubts have been raised about the story’s veracity – not least because the incidents have been written as having occurred in both the 12^th and 17^th centuries and also appeared in a 1602 horror story – the Ostrich Inn in Colnbrook, England, is said to have been the location of 60 murders committed by the landlords installing hinges on what item, sending unsuspecting travellers through a trapdoor into boiling water?

Question 7

What are the two colours of fat, or adipose tissue, that exist in humans and other mammals?

Question 8

What are the three certificates or coverages that a vehicle must have in order to be permitted on a public road in the UK?

Question 9

From 2021 to 2024, in the run up to Paris Olympics, four commemorative  €2 coins were released featuring the French symbols Marianne, Génie de la Liberté, La Semeuse, plus Greek hero Heracles, partaking in Olympic sports in front of what four Paris landmarks?

Question 10

Make the longest word possible from the following letters: CCDEEINNY

Round 1 points
(Maximum: 24)

Round 2

Question 1

On Saturday January 24, 2026, climber Alex Honnold free soloed the exterior of what skyscraper that had once been the tallest building in the world, with the event shown live on Netflix and raising ethical questions about broadcasting potentially deadly events on television?

Question 2

Having postponed its release date from October in order to avoid competition from Taylor Swift, and then brought it forward to a relatively quieter week for major releases, which British singer had his 16^th number one album on the British charts last week, breaking the record previously held by The Beatles?

Question 3

The evangelical Christian broadcasting network PTL was hit by major scandal in the 1980s, eventually resulting in its founder Jim Bakker being imprisoned for fraud. Since his release, Bakker has rebranded PTL as standing for Prophets Talking Loudly, but for what three-word phrase did the letters PTL originally stand?

Question 4

London company Lock & Co. specialises in making high-end examples of what type of clothing item?

Question 5

Regarded as one of nature’s most spectacular migratory gatherings as little as 20 years ago, the migration of what type of butterfly between the US and Mexico has been heavily hit by pesticides, deforestation, flooding, and the killing of milkweed, on which its caterpillars are 100% reliant for food?

Question 6

From the 1970s until 2016, when the shooting of a police officer brought a re-evaluation of the area, the self-governing Christiania neighbourhood of Copenhagen was famous for authorities tolerating the selling of what illicit item on its ‘Pusher Street’, also colloquially known as the ‘Green Light District’?

Question 7

What are the only two countries in South America that do not have a border with Brazil?

Question 8

In the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, James Bond emerges from the ocean in tight blue swimming shorts, a gender reversal of the scene in the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day in which Giacinta ‘Jinx’ Johnson emerges from the ocean in a bikini, which itself is a callback to Honeychile ‘Honey’ Ryder doing so in the 1962 film Dr. No. Which actors played James Bond, Jinx Johnson, and Honey Ryder in these scenes?

Question 9

The German alphabet consists of the 26 letters in the Latin alphabet – those being A to Z – plus what four additional letters?

Question 10

For what five words do the letters in the acronym ‘scuba’ stand?

Round 2 points
(Maximum: 20)

Total points
(Maximum: 44)

Round 3

Question 1

What Disney Pixar animation, which won the 2012 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, uses the Calanais Stones on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis as a setting?

Question 2

A slang term for the police, what was the name of the British police crime drama, sometimes labelled a soap opera, that ran on ITV from 1984 to 2010?

Question 3

The town of Romney, West Virginia, is said to have had what distinction during America’s Civil War, having done this at least ten times during the war – with local oral history saying it actually occurred over 50 times?

Question 4

Although relatively rare, where on the human body might a blue naevus develop?

Question 5

All former staffers for the administration of US president Barack Obama, who introduced them at their ‘Crooked Con’ event in Washington D.C. in November 2025, Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett, and Dan Pfeiffer are the hosts of what popular left-leaning political podcast that has run since 2017?

Question 6

In 2012 Christine Ha became the first winner of the US version of the cooking show Masterchef to have what disability?

Question 7

In its annual report on the most common computer passwords in the UK, computer security company Nord Pass found that six of the top eight passwords were the sequence 12345678, to various lengths. What two words also appeared in the top eight?

Question 8

In the 74th Hunger Games, as described in the original Hunger Games book by Suzanne Collins and adapted into the first entry in the Hunger Games film franchise, who are the final three remaining ‘tributes’ in the titular fight-to-the-death competition?

Question 9

A variation on the lamington cake, the Tim Tamington is an Australian dessert that requires what four ingredients, according to biscuit manufacturer Arnott’s?

Question 10

As well as 11 cities in the US, what five cities in Canada and Mexico – two in Canada and three in Mexico – are scheduled to host games in the 2026 men’s football World Cup?

Round 3 points
(Maximum: 20)

Total points
(Maximum: 64)

Round 4

Question 1

In which war is the William Shakespeare play Troilus and Cressida set?

Question 2

What famous New York City jazz club was opened by Max Gordon in 1935 and has hosted many of jazz’s biggest names, such as Miles Davis, Maxine Sullivan, and Thelonious Monk?

Question 3

Since around the 7^th century the Japanese prefecture of Tokushima has been connected to the practice of aizome, the creation of the awa-ai dye from the Perisicaria tinctoria ‘dyer’s knotweed’ plant. Known for its use in samurai robes, and at one time so prevalent that foreign traders named a colour after it, what colour is the awa-ai dye?

Question 4

Derived from the French word for ‘to truss’, what name is given to the collection of belongings a bride would traditionally take to her wedding, honeymoon, and first days as a newly wed?

Question 5

Containing a reference to a big cat, what is the name of the fictional political party mentioned in an internet meme about people acting in disbelief when the obviously cruel or unjust politician or party for which they voted starts acting cruel and unjust towards them?

Question 6

What name, which could be viewed as contradictory, was given to the events around June 15, 1826 in which Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II crushed a mutiny in his empire’s Janissary Force which had been prompted by the Sultan’s wish to replace the force with a new European-style army, leading to an estimated 4000-10000 Janissaries either being killed in battle or executed?

Question 7

The Amur falcon, Amur leopard, Amur tiger, Amur sturgeon, and Amur maple are all named for the Amur river, which forms part of the border between which two countries?

Question 8

Measured by yield – or energy release – in which three countries have the largest non-nuclear artificial explosions of the 21^st century occurred – those being explosions not involving nuclear tests or natural events such as volcanic eruptions? Two occurred at ports, in 2020 and 2015 respectively, while another was at a naval base in 2011.

Question 9

Of the eight grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II, six – William, Beatrice, Eugenie, Peter, Zara, and Louise – are at or went to university. Which four universities did they attend?

Question 10

Despite being up against The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Goodbye, Mr Chips, Of Mice and Men, and Wuthering Heights, the film adaptation of Gone With the Wind dominated the 1939-1940 Academy Awards, picking up eight wins in what categories – including three of the ‘Big Five’, and three technical awards?

Round 4 points
(Maximum: 21)

Total points
(Maximum: 90)

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 colour are 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)