Round 1
Question 1
What medical profession is sometimes shortened to the abbreviation PT?
*Physiotherapist is PT, and patient is Pt.
1 point
Question 2
Directed by Andy Serkis, a child-friendly animated adaptation of which novel by George Orwell has received widely negative reviews from critics, with particular attention drawn to the loud animation style, wacky characters, and decision to include a happy ending in which all the animals learn their lesson and restart their project?
*As well as poor film-making and annoying characters, critics have pointed out an irony in Angel, an independent film studio, adapting a famously anti-Stalinist book into a pro-communism/anti-corporate message, all while it sells out to capitalism. Review site Geeks + Gamers said the adaptation may be the worst film ever made.
1 point
Question 3
At the 2026 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, boxer Aziz Abdul has said he hopes to win gold and become the ‘new king of Scotland’, a reference to his grandfather, who was which African leader?
*Ugandan national Amin was also a boxer in his youth before becoming a revolutionary leader and then military dictator renowned for his use of murder, torture, and disappearances. Amin was the subject of the book The Last King of Scotland, plus its film adaptation.
1 point
Question 4
The final stage of the 2026 Tour de France was shortened from 133km to 89km because French security forces had to be moved to deal with what issue affecting the country?
1 point
Question 5
The name of what type of warfare comes from the Spanish for ‘little war’?
1 point
Question 6
What day of the week completes the title of the song originally composed by Hungarian Rezső Seress about which an urban legend has arisen relating to high levels of post-listening suicide, and a cover of which by Billie Holiday was banned by the BBC in 1941 due to it being deemed bad for troop morale: Gloomy _?
1 point
Question 7
Former English footballer and football manager Kevin Keegan died on July 20, aged 75. With which German team did Keegan play when he twice won the European Footballer of the Year, winning the award in 1978 and 1979? And what type of hairstyle did Keegan help popularise in the late 1970s, although it is seldom used by men now?
Perm
2 points
Question 8
In the summer of 1816, at the Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva, Claire Clairmont, John Polidori, and which three other writers met for an evening of reading ghost stories, which ultimately led to the writing of the books Frankenstein and The Vampyre?
*After reading French ghost story anthology Fantasmagoriana, Byron suggested each person write a ghost story in the coming days. Godwin, who married Shelley in December the same year having already given birth to two of his children by the age of 19, came up with the idea of Frankenstein, while Polidori would turn Byron’s idea into the novel The Vampyre. The summer also saw Claire, Mary’s stepsister, become pregnant with Byron’s child.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Mary Shelley)
3 points
Question 9
Of the eight numbers between 1 and 10, which four are composite numbers?
*Composite numbers are the opposite of prime numbers, being numbers that have factors which are not only 1 and itself.
6
8
9
4 points
Question 10
Make the longest word possible from the following letters: AEHMORRTW
Heartworm
Up to 9 points
(*length of word equates to points awarded)
Round 1 points
(Maximum: 24)
Round 2
Question 1
In his first speech as new UK Prime Minister, made on July 20 outside 10 Downing Street, Andy Burnham announced a policy goal to end what?
1 point
Question 2
In 1949, what city known for industry and banking was rejected as a potential capital city for the new country of West Germany because it was felt the city’s importance would make West Germans overly comfortable with the new set up, thus weakening the argument for reunification with East Germany?
*The smaller town of Bonn was instead chosen for the capital in order to give the impression this was a temporary state of affairs. West Germany’s founding Chancellor Konrad Adenauer would later say ‘Bonn was a beginning, a city without a past’. Although German reunification in 1990 once more made Berlin the nation’s capital, many government offices remain in Bonn.
1 point
Question 3
The largest insect that ever lived is often thought to be Meganeura, which lived around 280-300 million years ago. Although there is some debate about its scientific classification and subsequent evolutionary path, to what type of modern insect is Meganeura most closely linked?
*Reconstructed models of Meganeura, one of several large ‘griffenflies’, make each of its wings about 33cm-35cm long, its total wingspan around 75cm, and its body length at over 40cm.
1 point
Question 4
A common bagel topping, what type of food is lox?
1 point
Question 5
What gas is currently used in the slaughter process of approximately 90 per cent of the UK’s pigs, despite on-going campaigns by organisations such as Compassion in World Farming and the RSPCA to ban it on cruelty grounds, and an October 2025 independent government report recommending its use be prohibited ‘to prevent pigs experiencing avoidable pain, distress or suffering at slaughter’?
*CO2 use to stun animals prior to slaughter, has benefits in being cheaper and more hands-off than techniques such as electrical stunning, meaning slaughterhouse workers are safely away from the animal, require less training, and are less likely to abuse an animal through handling. However, critics note that rather than the image of animals gently falling asleep, the experience is more akin to choking within a gas chamber, causing high levels of distress, gasping, and convulsions. They also say gases such as argon cause a body less respiratory trauma.
1 point
Question 6
What group of passerine birds has become synonymous with the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin, despite him reportedly paying little specific attention to them during his five weeks on the Galápagos Islands, barely mentioning them in The Origin of Species, and needing to be told by ornithologist John Gould that his specimen collection comprised a recognisable group of similar birds rather than 13 distinct birds?
*Darwin had only recognised six of his 13 finch bird specimens as finches, roughly classifying others as gross-beaks, orioles, and blackbirds. However, Gould was able to tell Darwin what he had collected, and Gould and Gould’s wife Elizabeth drew the famous Galápagos finches sketch that appeared in the book Zoology of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle. Darwin later said that hearing Gould speak about the possible transmutation of species was ‘the moment of my conversion’, and 23 years later published his work The Origin of Species. Although finches were a part of Darwin’s broader theory, it appears the level of inspiration they provided was exaggerated in the 1930s, when the term ‘Darwin’s finches’ first became used, which in 1947 became the title of a book by evolutionary biologist David Lack.
1 point
Question 7
The Jiashen Incident of 1644, in which rebel leader Li Zicheng led a peasant army against ruling authorities, is seen as a key moment in the transfer between which two Chinese imperial dynasties – the last two major dynasties the country had before the monarchy was removed in 1912?
*Although Li, who had grown up impoverished, briefly declared himself emperor after defeating the Ming forces, he himself was removed by Qing forces within a month, leading to a new dynasty that ended with republicans removing Pu Yi in 1912, concluding over two thousand years of imperial rule in China.
Qing
2 points
Question 8
The list of the 10 drivers with the most Formula 1 Grand Prix victories in history features which three drivers that are currently still driving in the sport?
Max Verstappen
Fernando Alonso
3 points
Question 9
The name of American insurance company GEICO is an acronym of what four words – words that make some believe it was once a federal company but actually refers to the first group of customers it targeted after being established in the 1930s?
*GEICO has always been a private company, and is now owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the company of which Warren Buffet is the majority shareholder.
Employees
Insurance
Company
4 points
Question 10
Private luxury railway operator Rovos Railway sells a 16-day Dar es Salaam to Cape Town train journey which takes passengers through which five countries?
*2026 prices for the journey range from $16500 to $28600. Online reviews range from those stating it is five-star elegant luxury through the landscapes of Southern Africa, to those saying they waited over a day for a replacement engine and a short safari excursion required an eight-hour bus round trip.
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Botswana
South Africa
5 points
Round 2 points
(Maximum: 20)
Total points
(Maximum: 44)
Round 3
Question 1
What is the official name of the distinctive red ‘pointing stick’ joystick control that has appeared in the centre of IBM and Lenovo Thinkpad laptop keyboards since 1992?
1 point
Question 2
What is the name of the American writer who wrote the short stories Rip Van Winkel and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?
1 point
Question 3
Consisting of approximately 360 different species, many of which are considered highly dangerous, elapidae is a family of what type of animal?
*Elapids have permanently erect front fangs, with the family including copperheads, death adders, kraits, sea snakes, mambas, cobras, tiger snakes, and taipans, with the inland taipan being the most venomous snake in the world.
1 point
Question 4
After having no recorded locally transmitted cases for 30 years, what South American nation became in March only the second country in the world that the World Health Organization has acknowledged as having successfully eliminated leprosy, joining Jordan, which received the acknowledgement in 2024?
*Between 2012 and 2023, 47 cases of leprosy were recorded in Chile, but none were acquired locally. At least 200000 cases of leprosy are recorded globally each year.
1 point
Question 5
‘Quality never goes out of style’ is the advertising slogan of which American clothes company?
1 point
Question 6
A Greek oracle, a servant, 12-year old Magdalena van Ruijven, and the artist’s daughter Maria have all been considered as the possible subject of what famous painting, although curators at the Mauritshuis in The Hague, where the painting hangs, believe she is most likely simply a figure used to show a facial expression?
*Mauritshuis curators note that when the painting was put up for auction in 1696 it was listed as a tronie rather than conterfeytsel – that is, a face rather than a portrait – meaning the painting was probably not commissioned to represent any particular person.
1 point
Question 7
The mummified remains of what two types of non-human animals were found in a 4500-year old necropolis in the Egyptian village of Saqqara in 2018, with both animals associated with the divine and deities in Ancient Egypt?
*Dozens of cat mummies were found in three tombs, while the rarer find of mummified scarab beetles included two that had been specially wrapped in linen and placed in a sarcophagus decorated with beetle images.
Scarab beetle
2 points
Question 8
What are traditionally the three key ingredients to make marshmallows?
Water
Gelatin
3 points
Question 9
The UK has a new prime minister, who has formed a new government. What four people now hold the four Great Offices of State – namely the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, and Foreign Secretary?
John Healey
Shabana Mahmood
Ed Miliband
4 points
Question 10
Between August 1964 and June 1965, Motown group The Supremes had five consecutive US number one singles, becoming the first artist or group to top the US charts with five consecutive releases. What were these songs?
*The streak was broken when Nothing But Heartaches went to number 11, but the group’s next single, I Hear a Symphony, took them back to the top. The group then had four consecutive number ones across 1966 and 1967 with You Can’t Hurry Love, You Keep Me Hangin’ On, Love is Here and Now You’re Gone, and The Happening. In total, 12 Supremes songs topped the US chart.
Baby Love
Come See About Me
Stop! In the Name of Love
Back in My Arms Again
5 points
Round 3 points
(Maximum: 20)
Total points
(Maximum: 64)
Round 4
Question 1
What computer game character, which first appeared in 1996, is a genetic mutation of an Australian marsupial and spends his games destroying items, doing whirlwind spins, knocking enemies off screen, and riding barely controllable vehicles and animals in an effort to thwart villain Dr Neo Cortex?
1 point
Question 2
Often used in dentistry for the creation of fillings, amalgam is an alloy in which a metal such as silver or tin is mixed with what other metallic element?
*Although amalgam has been known as a possible dentistry material since the 7th century, used extensively since the 19th century, and there exist no recorded cases of it causing mercury poisoning, over 150 countries have agreed to phase out its use by 2034 as part of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Critics also say that dental waste accounts for roughly 5 per cent of mercury wastewater emissions.
1 point
Question 3
Dutch singer Glennis Grace has become internationally known for her similarity to which US superstar singer who died in 2012, with Grace now frequently performing tribute concerts of the star’s songs, including being hired by the Sultan of Brunei to perform at his son’s 50th birthday party?
*Although she won Dutch talent show Soundmixshow at 15, performed for the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest at 27, topped the Dutch charts at 33, and reached the final of America’s Got Talent at 39, it is Grace’s physical and vocal similarities to Houston that have given her a legion of followers who never had the opportunity to see Houston during her life. Fellow Whitney tribute singer Belinda Davids, from South Africa, has also found success after appearing on Britain’s Got Talent and Got Talent España, while broad Whitney fandom has also led to the posthumous success of the jukebox musicals The Bodyguard and Queen of the Night, touring tribute shows Forever Whitney and Saving All My Love For You, the hologram An Evening with Whitney tour which ran for four years, the documentary feature Whitney, and the biographical musical film Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
1 point
Question 4
186 Fleet Street, London, is the real former address of the Dundee Courier and the fictional address of which murderous ‘penny dreadful’ character who first appeared in 1846?
*Famous for cutting clients’ throats with his razor and dropping them through the floor to Mrs Lovett for her to turn into pies, ‘The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ is almost certainly a fictional character, despite some claiming he was based on a real London murderer of the 18th century.
1 point
Question 5
Which Asian country’s national flag features the Soyombo, a pyre-like symbol featuring ten elements including a flame above a sun and horizontal crescent moon, two columns, and a yin and yang symbol?
1 point
Question 6
Of the five UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassadors, four are English-speaking actresses. What Brazilian is the only non-actress of the five?
*Football player Marta is shares the role with Anne Hathaway, Emma Watson, Danai Gurira, and Nicole Kidman. There are also 18 UN Women’s National and Regional Ambassadors, eight of whom are actresses or actors, and only one of whom works in science.
1 point
Question 7
The films of British director Alfred Hitchcock did famously badly at the Academy Awards, picking up only six prizes in 52 nominations – and zero for the director. Accounting for 11 of those nominations, what 1940 film was the only Hitchcock film to win Best Picture? And which actress who starred in that film won the only performance award for a Hitchcock film when she won Best Actress for her role in the following year’s Suspicion?
Joan Fontaine
2 points
Question 8
What three countries have the smallest coastline in relation to total country size within Africa, Asia, and Europe respectively? The African country is the second largest in the continent yet has a coastline of only around 40km; the Asian country is larger than Japan, Vietnam, and Malaysia, yet has a coastline only 58km long; and the European country is a Balkan nation with only a 20km coastline.
*DR Congo’s ratio of 0.0163m of coast per km2 of national land area is the smallest in the world, over eight times lower than second place Iraq. If excluding its Dead Sea coastline, Jordan’s ratio of coastline to area is smaller than that of fourth place Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Iraq
Bosnia and Herzegovina
3 points
Question 9
In the television show Game of Thrones, the adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books, four characters get to reign from the Iron Throne before it is destroyed: Robert Baratheon, Joffrey Baratheon, Tommen Baratheon, and Cersei Lannister. How did each of the four die?
Poison
Suicide
Building collapse
4 points
Question 10
In the UK government’s official list of cities, what seven English cities have names consisting of more than one word? Four of the cities include the word ‘on’ or ‘upon’ before the name of a river, two are both approximately 80km away from London – one to the north-west, and the other to the south – and one sits just outside London, between Watford and Luton.
*Two other cities in the UK have multiple word names, both in Wales: St Asaph and St Davids.
Kingston-upon-Hull
Stoke-on-Trent
Southend-on-Sea
Milton Keynes
Brighton and Hove
St Albans
7 points
Round 4 points
(Maximum: 22)
Total points
(Maximum: 86)
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 word proceeds all of the following?
Clue 1
Bug, the English name given to the Pivdennyi Buh river in Ukraine
10 points
Clue 2
Dispersal, an early migration that took humans from the Arabian peninsula to Southeast Asia
9 points
Clue 3
Hummingbird, a 2002 album by US singer Tweet produced by Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Craig Brockman, and Nisan Stewart
8 points
Clue 4
Cassowary, common name for Casuarius casuarius, which is the second heaviest bird in the world and also called the Australian cassowary
7 points
Clue 5
Baptist Convention, the largest Baptist organisation in the world
6 points
Clue 6
Rhodesia, British colony that declared independence in 1965 and was officially recognised as Zimbabwe in 1980
5 points
Clue 7
Ocean, ocean around the continent of Antarctica
4 points
Clue 8
Cross, common name of the constellation Crux which appears on the flags of Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea
3 points
Clue 9
Comfort, flavoured whisky created in New Orleans in 1874
2 points
Clue 10
Hemisphere, the hemisphere of the Earth south of 0° latitude
1 point