Round 1
Question 1
What is the general name of the multiple species of bird in which the male is called a peacock and the female a peahen?
1 point
Question 2
In agriculture, Lamlac, Kidimilk, and Capragno are leading brands of what type of product?
1 point
Question 3
Lasagna and panini are loan words in English, taken from Italian. Although accepted in English, what would be grammatically incorrect about the common English language usage of these two words in their original language?
*Lasagna refers to a single sheet of wide pasta, and thus the multi-sheet dish would be lasagne. Conversely, panini technically refers to multiple panino sandwiches. However, English does correctly use spaghetti (multiple pieces of spaghetto) and linguine (multiple pieces of linguino). Gnocchi is multiple gnoccho.
1 point
Question 4
After nearly 5000 road deaths occurred on British roads in 1926, the UK’s 1930 Road Traffic Act introduced several key road safety measures, including making dangerous driving and drunk driving both offences, introducing a limit on the amount of continuous hours a person could drive, and making vehicle insurance compulsory. However, what did the act also remove, a move many would view as counter-intuitive for road safety?
*Speed limits were removed because so many people were ignoring them, to the extent that it was deemed to be undermining road safety laws. However, with casualties still increasing, speed limits were re-introduced in 1934. The highest number of fatalities on a British road in a single year was 9196 in 1941, compared to around 1500 that happen a year currently.
1 point
Question 5
Lone Pine, outside Brisbane, Australia, is the oldest and largest sanctuary in the world for what native Australian animal?
*Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was started in 1927 when Claude Reid decided to rescue two koalas, which where then named Jack and Jill. The sanctuary currently has over 100 koalas, as well as 75 other species of animals. A type of bacteria found in the gut of koalas has been named Lonepinella koalarum in honour of the sanctuary.
1 point
Question 6
According to the early biographical reference work De Viris Illustribus, Carthage general Hannibal secured a 2nd century BC naval victory over King Eumenes II of Pergamon after ordering his men to catapult clay pots containing what type of animal at their opponents, who duly left their positions?
1 point
Question 7
The popular Japanese dish oyakodon literally means ‘parent and child donburi’. To what two ingredients are the words parent and child referring?
*Donburi are basic dishes in which ingredients are served on a large bowl of rice, often accompanied by miso soup. Initially dismissed as ‘dog food’, they became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries with people who didn’t have time for a fully laid out meal.
Egg
2 points
Question 8
In classical music, which three German composers are nicknamed The Three Bs?
Ludwig van Beethoven
Johannes Brahms
3 points
Question 9
What four star signs in the western zodiac occur during the first three calendar months of the year?
Aquarius
Pisces
Aries
4 points
Question 10
Make the longest word possible from the following letters: BEGIJRTTU
Up to 9 points
(*length of word equates to points awarded)
Round 1 points
(Maximum: 24)
Round 2
Question 1
From 1959 to 1989, Merald Knight and his cousins William Guest and Edward Patten were the members of which famous soul backing group that supported Merald’s famous younger sister?
*Although The Pips became known as the backing group to Gladys Knight, they originally started in 1952 as a family singing group when the members were children, with Merald and Gladys’s sister Brenda and William’s sister Eleanor included and Edward only joining in 1959 when Brenda and Eleanor left. A non-relative, Langston George, was also briefly a Pip, singing with the group from 1959 to 1961.
1 point
Question 2
Popular in Latin America and similar to a mullet, a hairstyle with shaved sides but kept long on top and the back is named for what number due to its shape?
*The cut is known as El Siete.
1 point
Question 3
Which Academy Award-winning actor has become well known for many his eccentric film performances, with his portrayal of Big Daddy in Kick Ass described as ‘a malfunctioning robot with a bondage fetish’ by The Guardian, his role in Gunslingers as ‘full-tilt goofy with an accent that sounds like a laryngitic, born-again Macho Man Randy Savage’ by Roger Ebert, and his screaming of ‘Not the bees! My eyes!’ in a remake of The Wicker Man now a well-known GIF?
*Cage won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1996.
1 point
Question 4
Recognised since 2020, the neurological condition ‘mal de debarquement’, or MdDS, mostly occurs after one disembarks after an extended period of time on a boat or plane and is characterised by what sensation?
*MdDS is more severe than the temporary ‘land sickness’ or unsteadiness many people experience when first stepping on land after a boat trip: it lasts longer and can also include fatigue and a ‘brain fog’ inability to concentrate.
1 point
Question 5
In 1951, two comic strips with what same name coincidentally started in the UK and US, with the UK version involving a badly behaved boy known for his red and black striped sweater, and the US version involving a badly behaved boy mostly known for wearing a blue and black striped sweater and red dungarees?
1 point
Question 6
The two species of gorilla, the Eastern gorilla and the Western gorilla, are separated by approximately 900km in rainforest that grows in the basin of which major river?
1 point
Question 7
In the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon Wacky Races, who were the two occupants of the Mean Machine, the only car that never won a race despite the duo’s many villainous but incompetent plans?
*As his dastardly plans to win always backfired, Dick Dastardly came to have the catchphrases ‘curses’ and ‘drat and double drat’, while Muttley was known for his raspy snigger.
Muttley
2 points
Question 8
What were the names of the campaigns Mao Zedong respectively instigated in China from 1956 to 1957, 1958 to 1962, and 1966 to 1976, the consequences of which have widely been viewed as disastrous for the country?
*The Hundred Flowers Movement asked that intellectuals spoke up about problems in the Communist Party in order for it to become closer to the people and improve the party; it was then followed by a crackdown and persecution of those who had spoken up. The Great Leap Forward was an attempt to catapult China to become an economic powerhouse by swiftly moving from an agrarian society to an industrialised society, but resulted in mass famine and persecution of critics and those who reported negative information. Contrary to the Hundred Flowers Movement, the Cultural Revolution openly sought to destroy the intellectual, educated, and scientific areas of society, most famously by setting the student-led Red Guards on campaigns in which they denounced teachers, the educated, or those with wealth or foreign connections, leading to public criticisms, beatings, stigma, and ultimately killing and suicide.
Great Leap Forward
Cultural Revolution
3 points
Question 9
According to researcher Dr. Warren Bird, a leading compiler of church attendance data, the 12 largest Protestant megachurches in the world are all in which five countries – four in Asia, and one in Africa?
*The founder of world’s second largest church, Nigerian David Oyedepo, preaches the ‘prosperity gospel’, which says if you give to the church and charity, God will give you health, peace of mind, and financial reward; he is currently believed to be the world’s richest pastor with an estimated wealth of $150m. The world’s largest church is the Yodoi Full Gospel Church in Seoul, whose founder David Yonggi Cho was convicted in 2014 for embezzling $12m.
India
Philippines
Indonesia
Nigeria
5 points
Question 10
Since the English Premier League began in 1992, which six managers have been fired inside 13 months of winning the league title?
*Roberto Mancini was fired from Manchester City a year to the day after winning the title, while Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri was fired nine months after the club’s famous 500-1 league win. Chelsea fired both Ancelloti and Conte at the end of unsuccessful title defences, and Jose Mourinho seven months after he had won a third title at the club. Liverpool’s Arne Slot won a title in his first year at Liverpool, and was fired at the end of his second year. Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson retired in the summer after he had won a 13th Premier League title.
Claudio Ranieri
Carlo Ancelloti
Jose Mourinho
Antonio Conte
Arne Slot
6 points
Round 2 points
(Maximum: 22)
Total points
(Maximum: 46)
Round 3
Question 1
Corticeira Amorim, based in Portugal, is the world’s largest producer and supplier of what type of wood?
1 point
Question 2
Imperator, Danvers, Nantes, and Chantenay are the four primary ‘western’ cultivars of what vegetable?
1 point
Question 3
In 1981, which nation surprisingly defeated England 2-1 in a men’s football World Cup qualifier, leading to a famously partisan piece of commentary in which the home commentator roll called a list of famous English historical figures before shouting ‘Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher, your boys took a hell of a beating!’?
*The Norwegian commentator was Bjørge Lillelien.
1 point
Question 4
In the game of Pontoon, what is the only hand that beats a pontoon?
*In pontoon, the aim is to get as close to 21 as possible, without going over – or ‘bust’. The hand known as pontoon, consisting of an ace and face card, is worth 21, but can be beaten by a player getting five cards that when added together totals less than 21.
1 point
Question 5
Whilst the ‘cooking up’ of white heroin is generally done using water and heat, preparing brown heroin for injection also requires the use of what other type of substance to increase its solubility?
*Citric acid is the most commonly used acid, although ascorbic is also often used. The National Needle Exchange Forum notes that unsupervised addicts have been known to improvise acids, including the use of soft drinks, vinegar, and cleaning products, causing further damage to the body.
1 point
Question 6
What brand of Irish crisp, or potato chip, is the subject of debates on Irish national identity, existing as different companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the Northern Ireland crisps’ flavour allegedly toned down to suit British tastes?
*The Northern Ireland Tayto company uses the Republic’s Tayto name and mascot, Mr Tayto, under licence, but with differences in taste and Mr Tayto’s image. The crisps have been given the comic nicknames ‘Mr Nordie Tayto’ and ‘Free Statyo’ to represent the longstanding political differences between the nations, as well as ‘Protestant Tayto’ and ‘Catholic Tayto’.
1 point
Question 7
Which two NHL teams will compete the 2026 Stanley Cup Finals, due to start on June 2? Both based in parts of the US not known for ice, one team is making its third trip to the finals despite the franchise only having been established in 2017, and the other is also making its third finals appearance but first since 2006?
*Although the Hurricanes have not been in the finals since 2006, they did reach and lose the Eastern Conference finals in 2019, 2023, and 2025, before finally winning in 2026.
Carolina Hurricanes
2 points
Question 8
What are the three main categories into which computer software can be placed, those being software such as Windows and Linux that do general operations; software that does tasks such as file and memory clean up; and software such as Word and VLC that have a particular purpose?
Utility software
Application software
3 points
Question 9
What were the four largest cities of the Austria-Hungary Empire, which existed from 1867 to 1918? Today, all four of these cities are in different nations.
*The empire’s 5th and 6th largest cities are also now in different nations: Lviv in Ukraine and Krakow in Poland.
Budapest
Prague
Trieste
4 points
Question 10
As listed by the International Association of Movers, based off reporting by Marine Insight, what are usually the seven busiest shipping lanes in the world – albeit one of them is temporarily closed due to the Iran-US-Israel conflict? Note the definition of a shipping lane is a defined, recognised lane, and not a broader area of water such as the South China Sea, which contains at least five different shipping lanes.
*Coming from the Baltic Sea, the Danish Straits – which are different from the Denmark Strait off Greenland – divides into the Øresund, Great Belt and Little Belt to navigate the islands east of Denmark before converging again for the Kattegat and Skagerrak lanes between the country’s north coast and Sweden.
Malacca Strait
Hormuz Strait
Suez Canal
Panama Canal
Danish Straits
Bosphorus Strait
7 points
Round 3 points
(Maximum: 22)
Total points
(Maximum: 68)
Round 4
Question 1
Which 14th-century English king became involved in a power struggle with a group of noblemen named the Lords Appellant, ultimately leading to his downfall when his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, who had previously been exiled, returned and took the crown?
*The Lords Appellant had initial success in restricting Richard’s powers, putting some of his supporters to death. The king was able to wrestle his influence back, with three central Lords Appellant figures respectively murdered, executed, and imprisoned. However, after blocking Henry Bolingbroke from inheriting the House of Lancaster, Bolingbroke raised an army and took the crown as Henry IV, thus ending the House of Plantagenet’s rule and starting the House of Lancaster’s reign over England.
1 point
Question 2
What is the name of the federal office that is responsible for managing the various buildings of the US Capitol complex in Washington, D.C., including the Capitol, the Library of Congress, the US Supreme Court Building, and the US Botanic Gardens?
1 point
Question 3
During World War II, what nickname was given by German soldiers to the Soviet Union’s 588th Night Bomber Regiment, an all-female air force unit famous for low-flying night bombing missions? The nickname relates to the time of day the missions were conducted and the fact the unit was comprised of women flying through the sky?
*Flying multiple missions a night, the Night Witches would often turn off their engines when approaching the enemy, reportedly creating a chilling noise that made soldiers think of approaching witches on flying broomsticks. Their planes were also very low-tech, made from old crop dusters and training aircraft, which may have been to their advantage at low heights when hit: modern weapons shot through their wood and canvas, meaning they could make slow descents and then flee on foot, while high-tech German planes were too fast to engage in effective pursuit or dogfights. However, being low-tech also meant that frostbite was a problem for pilots.
1 point
Question 4
What common profession generally requires people to pass the NCLEX exam in the US, Canada, and Australia, NORCET exam in India, and the NMC ToC exam in the UK, the last of which consists of the CBT and the OSCE – the first of which is a computer-based test of numeracy and knowledge, and the second being a practical element consisting of ten stations?
*Amongst the many acronyms, the NCLEX is the National Council Licensure Examination and NORCET is the Nursing Officer Recruitment Common Eligibility Test. The NMC ToC is the Nursing and Midwifery Council Test of Competence, which uses a computer-based test (CBT) and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE).
1 point
Question 5
By what food-related name are carnivorous plants of the genus pinguicula known, so-called because of the fatty sticky substance they secrete onto their leaves that trap and digest insects?
1 point
Question 6
What 20th-century French writer’s first four books, all concerning the coming of age of a schoolgirl named Claudine, were published under her husband Willy’s name, meaning she received no income for them after the couple’s divorce – although after a period of poverty and at-the-time scandalous lesbian relationships she remarried and found literary success with the works Chéri and Gigi?
*Although Colette had a frequently tumultuous marriage to Henry Gauthier-Villars, who went by the pen name Willy, she also said his earnings as a publisher and writer were the reasons she had the free time to write. As well as her same-sex relationships, Colette caused scandal by having an affair with her teenager stepson.
1 point
Question 7
Rather than the previous idea of four major arms of stars, gas and dust, the Milky Way is now believed to consist of only two major arms, alongside numerous minor arms. Named for constellations, which themselves both have names connected to characters in Greek mythology, what are the names of the two major arms?
*The Carina–Sagittarius Arm and Norma Arm have been relegated to minor arm status.
Perseus
2 points
Question 8
Due to their ability to hold multiple images, which when played in sequence appear as movement, GIF files have become common in short animations, such as those used on private messaging services. For what do the letters GIF stand in this context?
Interchange
Format
3 points
Question 9
Radio stations in the US are usually named after their four-letter call sign, with the first letter being one of which four letters that are internationally designated to radio stations in the US?
K
N
W
4 points
Question 10
What are the names of the eight phase transitions through which a solid, liquid, gas, or plasma changes into another state, such as a liquid becoming a solid when suitably cold or a gas when suitably hot?
Vaporization (boiling, evaporation) (liquid to gas)
Condensation (gas to liquid)
Freezing (liquid to solid)
Sublimation (solid to gas)
Deposition (gas to solid)
Ionization (gas to plasma)
Recombination (plasma to gas)
8 points
Round 4 points
(Maximum: 23)
Total points
(Maximum: 91)
Round 5
In Round 5, there is only one answer. The fewer 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
The shiromuku wedding kimono worn by brides at a Shinto wedding
10 points
Clue 2
The flowers of the plant Gypsophila paniculata, known as baby’s breath
9 points
Clue 3
A symbol of death and mourning in traditional Chinese culture
8 points
Clue 4
The anti-Bolshevik Russian army that fought against Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1922
7 points
Clue 5
The equal combination of green, blue, and red light
6 points
Clue 6
A 1968 album by English pop group The Beatles
5 points
Clue 7
The flag waved by a military seeking a truce or ceasefire, as outlined by the Hague Conventions
4 points
Clue 8
The cassock and zucchetto worn by Popes since the 16th century
3 points
Clue 9
The skin of an adult beluga
2 points
Clue 10
Snow
1 point