Round 1
Question 1
In a rowing crew, at which end of the boat does the stroke sit?
*The stroke works with the coxswain to drive the rowing’s rhythm, and sits in the number eight seat in an eight-person crew. The middle ‘engine room’ seats are where the most powerful rowers are positioned, while the bow rowers need to have enough technique to keep the boat pointing in the desired direction.
1 point
Question 2
Although there is only about a 130000 difference, which is higher: the number of people in the People’s Liberation Army in China, or the number of people employed in franchises of US fastfood chain MacDonald’s around the globe?
*The PLA has about 2.03m members, while MacDonald’s claims to employ 1.9m people through its franchises.
1 point
Question 3
How many squares make up each ‘tetrimino’ block that falls from the top of the screen in the computer game Tetris?
*Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov called his blocks tetriminoes as a play on tetromino, the word for a shape made of four squares, which was first used in the 1950s and mixes the prefix tetra- (four) with the word domino.
1 point
Question 4
Originally performed by Tony Renis and covered by artists such as Pat Boone and Engelbert Humperdinck, the Italian song Quando Quando Quando sees the singer repeatedly asking his romantic interest what single-word question, if the title is translated into English?
1 point
Question 5
Anyone But You, 10 Things I Hate About You, and She’s the Man are all romantic comedy films based on the works of which writer?
*Anyone But You is based on Much Ado About Nothing, 10 Things I Hate About You is based on The Taming of the Shrew, and She’s the Man is based on Twelfth Night. Arguably the most critically acclaimed film based on a Shakespeare play – as opposed to a straight adaptation – is Akira Kuwosawa’s Ran (based on King Lear), while the Broadway musical Kiss Me Kate, a reworking of The Taming of the Shrew, has run since the 1940s and been turned into two films.
1 point
Question 6
What is the English name for the area known in Germany as Schwarzwald?
1 point
Question 7
Both advertised as containing electrolytes and therefore a way for athletes to effectively rehydrate after exercise, what are the names of the rival ‘___ade’ drinks released by Pepsi and Coca-Cola respectively?
Powerade
2 points
Question 8
Labelled as the record-breaking song that many people have never heard of, Rein Me In last week broke the record for the most weeks spent at number one in the UK singles chart when it reached 20 non-consecutive weeks at the top. Who are the two performers on the track?
*Cultural commentators with widely noted that streaming and downloads have effectively ended ‘monoculture’ in music, with less people listening to chart radio stations and therefore having no idea what is happening in the charts. Moreover, with calculations trying to equate a number of streams to a single sale – which alter if songs have been out for a long time – and a song only needing around 60000 streams to become number one, modern music charts are broadly seen as less relevant than they once were.
Olivia Dean
2 points
Question 9
Unlike fellow UK TV cooks Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, and self-styled potato queen Poppy O’Toole, who all use three ingredients plus seasoning in their recipes, Delia Smith uses what four ingredients – plus salt and pepper – in her recipe for mashed potato?
Butter
Milk
Cream (or crème fraîche)
4 points
Question 10
Make the longest word possible from the following letters: AAIMNOPRY
Up to 9 points
(*length of word equates to points awarded)
Round 1 points
(Maximum: 23)
Round 2
Question 1
As of August 5, the US had officially had over 6300 cases of Cyclospora infection, with the food or waterborne parasite being labelled as the cause of ‘explosive diarrhoea’ in at least 15 states. What food product is believed to be at the centre of the outbreak, with Taylor Farms – which supplies the likes of Walmart and Taco Bell – recalling its product after being named as a possible source?
*With many people likely to have managed symptoms at home without seeking medical help, the number of total cases has been estimated to be over 11000. Two people, both already with underlying health conditions, are believed to have died from catching Cyclospora during the outbreak.
1 point
Question 2
What organisation was founded in 1899 by Wisconsin travelling salesmen Samuel Hill and John Nicholson with the aim to distribute the New Testament around the world?
*Named for the Biblical figure Gideon, who is described as been guided by God to raise a modest army against the Midianites but ultimately killed an entire town as well as two kings, Gideons International is famous for distributing Bibles throughout hotels, but also does so on the street, via the armed forces, and – with some controversy – at schools.
1 point
Question 3
The cause of auroras on multiple planets, and capable of moving at over a million miles per hour, what is the name of the consistent stream of charged plasma particles made up mostly of electrons and protons that is emitted into space by the sun?
*The solar wind is believed to be eroding the atmosphere of Mars.
1 point
Question 4
The same chemical that gives bananas their smell, isoamyl acetate is used in the defence mechanism of honeybees, which release it when they sting. What does the release of isoamyl acetate do when a honeybee stings?
*Although bananas contain the same chemical used in honeybee defence, bees can tell the difference between a banana and a call to attack. Indeed, bees will eat banana if it is available and no better food is present, although it is not recommended to feed the fruit to hives due to toxins, the potential to attract other insects, and many better foods being available.
1 point
Question 5
In the 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, by Victor Hugo, street dancer Esmeralda keeps an intelligent animal companion named Djali, which is capable of doing counting and spelling tricks. What type of animal is Djali?
1 point
Question 6
In an effort to ensure clowns do not copy other clowns’ looks, clowns membership association Clowns International has registered clown makeup designs since the 1940s by painting them on what type of foodstuff?
1 point
Question 7
Which two famous American puppeteers performed opposite each other in the roles of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy in The Muppets, and Bert and Ernie in Sesame Street, from the 1960s until one of the pair died in 1990, with the other passing on his roles to puppeteer Eric Jacobsen in the early 2000s?
*Amongst his many puppeteer roles, Jim Henson played Kermit, Ernie, and Rowlf the dog. Oz played Miss Piggy, Bert, and Fozzie Bear, plus many others.
Frank Oz
2 points
Question 8
15 of the 20 tallest skyscrapers in Europe are situated in Russia. The other five are situated in which three cities – one in Eastern Europe, one in Western Europe, and one in Eurasia?
London (x2)
Istanbul (x2)
3 points
Question 9
As well as being named in the 2026 World Cup Dream XI, Manchester City and Spain footballer Rodri won what four honours during the 2025-2026 football season – three with his teams, and one as an individual?
FA Cup
League Cup
World Cup Golden Ball (best player at World Cup)
4 points
Question 10
On July 30, Finland became the first nation to have its football association withdraw a previously sent letter of support for the re-election of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, which was then followed by similar withdrawals by the football associations of Wales, Serbia, and England. Which five European nations had not written a letter of support for Infantino in the first place?
Sweden
Denmark
Germany
Romania
5 points
Round 2 points
(Maximum: 20)
Total points
(Maximum: 43)
Round 3
Question 1
On which part of the human body might Beau’s Lines, Mees’ Lines, or Muehrcke’s lines be found?
*Beau’s lines are grooves in the fingernails. Mees’ lines and Muehrcke’s lines are both stripes across the fingernails which suggest a health condition.
1 point
Question 2
What are fraktur, uncial, court hand, and secretary?
1 point
Question 3
In the upcoming 2026 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will travel the furthest during the regular season, primarily due to them playing their opening game in Melbourne, Australia. Prior to the introduction of international games, what team usually travelled the most during the regular NFL season, with its nearest team being two states and about 1300km (800 miles) away, and its furthest possible in-country trip being 5300km (3300 miles) each way?
*Although they are not scheduled to play each other every year, Seattle’s longest potential journey is to Miami, while its shortest is the annual trip to the 49ers. The 49ers will set a league travel record in 2026, as the Australia game, another in Mexico, and flights to the likes of New York and Atlanta, plus return trips for their home games, will see them cover over 61000km (38000 miles). At the other end of the list, the Carolina Panthers will travel 14000km (8700 miles) in a schedule that does not need them to go further than Minnesota.
1 point
Question 4
Known in the local Dharawal language as Kamay, what Australian location was given its English name by Captain James Cook in reference to the numerous natural specimens collected there by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander?
1 point
Question 5
Warmer winters in North America have been associated with the large rise in numbers of Dermacentor albipictus, a serious and frequently deadly problem for moose in Canada and northern USA. What type of animal is Dermacentor albipictus?
*Unlike the ticks that are known to attach to humans, dogs, and cats, the winter tick is not a solitary parasite: it links together as large colonies on grass stalks in autumn so that if one attaches to a passing moose, elk, or deer, hundreds or thousands more join it. Moose frequently have patches of 50000 ticks, and sometimes over 100000, with the ticks consuming the most blood during late winter – the time when the host most needs its strength. Studies have found ticks being a major contributing factor in the deaths of 35-70 per cent of young moose, and the cause of ‘ghost moose’, in which excessive scratching removes the animal’s fur and excessive blood loss causes anemia. It is also believed that moose have not encountered winter ticks for long in evolutionary terms, meaning they have not managed to develop a way to control numbers, unlike the ticks preferred host, the white-tailed deer. Some areas of North America have considered increasing the hunting of moose to reduce the number of hosts, thus thinning out the tick population.
1 point
Question 6
Found in a study to have a 72 per cent hunt success rate, what diving bird is known to hit the water at speeds of around 100 km/h, yet survives due to physiological adaptations that include a spongy bone at the base of its bill and air sacs near its organs, which reduce impact stress; no external nostrils and third eyelids which stop water irritating its senses on impact; and eye lenses that change shape so that its vision remains sharp despite moving from air to water?
*Diving from around 30m up, gannets also spin just prior to entering the water, thus allowing it to maintain dive accuracy regardless of waves or wind, with studies of the spin suggesting different gannets have preferred sides, or ‘handedness’. The species’s eyes are also slightly more forward-facing than those of most birds, providing better depth perception for a face-first dive that can take pray as much as 15m below the surface. However, there are occasions in which a gannet can misjudge a dive, which can be fatal. Away from their famous diving behaviour, a 2023 study found that numerous gannets which had survived avian flu had also seen their characteristic blue irises turn black.
1 point
Question 7
What two Austrian cities with populations over 200000 sit on the banks of the Danube?
*As well as four national capitals – Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, and Bratislava – the Danube passes through regional administrative centres such as Novi Sad in Serbia, Galați in Romania, and Linz in Upper Austria.
Linz
2 points
Question 8
According to data for England and Wales collected by the UK’s Health and Safety Executive, what three employment sectors are statistically the most likely to have workers be the victims of violence at work?
*Sales occupations came fourth. The research also found that 38 per cent of the assaults resulted in physical injury, with education moving into the top three sectors when measuring those injured by violence. Additionally, although many who threatened violence were under the influence of alcohol or drugs (40 per cent and 29 per cent), the percentage of those who actually committed violence while under the influence of alcohol or drugs was lower (21 per cent and 17 per cent).
Health and social care
Transport operatives
3 points
Question 9
According to film box office takings tracker Box Office Mojo, The Odyssey is set to become the fifth film in 2026 to bring in $1bn in worldwide ticket sales. What are the other four?
Toy Story 5
Michael
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
4 points
Question 10
The Resin Identification Code, which is frequently seen on the back of plastic packaging as a number inside a triangle of arrows, lists seven types of plastics, those being ‘other’ plus what six others known respectively by the letters PET, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, and PS?
*The code was created by the Society of the Plastics Industry in 1988 and is now overseen by the American Society for the Testing of Materials.
High-Density Polyethylene
Polyvinyl chloride
Low-Density Polyethylene
Polypropylene
Polystyrene
6 points
Round 3 points
(Maximum: 21)
Total points
(Maximum: 64)
Round 4
Question 1
In July, organisers of what US fashion event announced its 2026 edition would take place in Los Angeles rather than New York, as well as confirming Gigi Hadid would return as one of the models? Although no date has officially been announced for the event, it is most likely to follow the two previous years in being on October 15.
1 point
Question 2
Played throughout the Indian subcontinent and associated with gods such as Krishna, the venu and bansuri are transverse – or side-blown – flutes traditional made out of what material?
1 point
Question 3
In 2013, Scottish police force Strathclyde Police were taken to court by drinks maker J. Chandler & Company after officers had tried to implement a system of marking bottles of what notorious ‘tonic’ drink in order to allow them to trace underage drinking back to store owners?
*Between 2007 and 2010, Buckfast appeared in over 5000 Strathclyde Police crime reports. Although no verdict was made in the 2013 case, police Scotland had to apologise to J. Chandler & Company the following year after telling a shop to stop selling the high-caffeine alcoholic drink known colloquially as ‘buckie’, which was originally brewed as a medicinal tonic by monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon.
1 point
Question 4
Made during the 1st century, and possibly used for games, to access brothels or changing rooms where images of the emperor’s face could not be used, or as a pricing menu for the illiterate, spintria were Roman coins which had a number on one side and depictions of what on the other? A 3rd century historian recounts a tale of a knight being sentenced to death for carrying such a coin that looked too much like Emperor Caracalla.
*As described by historian Dio Cassius, the knight sentenced to death for bringing a spintria that looked like Caracalla into a brothel ultimately avoided execution because the emperor died before the sentence could be carried out.
1 point
Question 5
Which 20th-century children’s author wrote and illustrated the novels Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse, Gobbolino, the Witch’s Cat, and The Good Little Christmas Tree?
*William’s most famous books all involve a big-hearted innocent character being repeatedly shunned or beaten down by the world as they try to do good, leaving them physically frail, before a deus ex machina ending finally provides the character some joy as a reward for their valiant efforts. Williams also wrote two collections of stories for Girl Guides group The Brownies. Her twin sister Barbara married an Icelandic artist and became famous in Iceland under the name Barbara Árnason.
1 point
Question 6
Widely used from the 1950s to the 1980s – and beyond that in some areas with a poor electricity supply – what device which used carbon paper beneath a sliding mechanism was colloquially referred to as a click clack or zip zap due to the noise it made?
*The raised numbers on credit cards allowed the imprinter to make impressions of them on the paper, which generally created three slips: one for the customer, one for the merchant, and one to be submitted to the card company. Although far slower and less convenient than modern payment terminals, the ‘knuckle buster’ machines had an advantage of not requiring electricity or an internet connection, while face-to-face shop floor credit card fraud required a fraudster to show nerve: merchants would not only have a sheet of ‘hot’ (suspected stolen) cards regularly sent to them, but would directly call the card company for an authorisation code for any purchase above its floor limit and check the card signature on every purchase (an additional security measure taken by many merchants was to bar the use of anonymous PO boxes for over-the-phone purchases). However, human error, having all card details on a single piece of paper, a lack of encryption, and the slow rate of recognising fraudulent payment patterns did leave large vulnerabilities in the payment system.
1 point
Question 7
In the 14th century, Portuguese king Pedro Afonso and Iberian king Pedro I of Castille both had what two epithets? The former received his after reportedly using his bare hands to rip out the hearts of the men who had assassinated his lover Inês, and then having her decapitated corpse exhumed and placed on the throne in order for his court to kiss her hand; the latter had his father’s mistress beheaded and their bastard children – his half-siblings – killed, supposedly stabbing many of them himself, as well as abandoning his wife for another woman after just two days of marriage.
*The epithet ‘the just’ refers to their reputations for administering justice rather than any notion of fairness. 8th century king Fruela I of Asturias, another region in northern Iberia, was also called ‘the cruel’ after personally assassinating his brother. The story of Pedro Afonso exhuming his dead lover may be legend rather than fact, but appears to fit into the broader view of his character.
The Just
2 points
Question 8
The Philippines consists of over 7000 islands divided into what three geographical regions? Of the three, two are named for the country’s largest two islands – the fourth and seventh most populous islands in the world – while the second is named for the sea that sits in the middle of the Philippines archipelago.
Mindanao
Visayas
3 points
Question 9
What are the names of the four main replaceable component pieces that fit together to make the arm of a record player?
Cartridge
Tonearm
Counterweight
4 points
Question 10
What were the original six tokens, or playing pieces, that were included in the Monopoly board game when Parker Brothers began to include them in the game’s box in 1935?
*Many of the original pieces and their successors have been retired over the years, although current manufacturer Hasbro has begun frequently swapping out pieces and producing versions with past or unchosen tokens. The current standard set contains a car, top hat, thimble, Scottie dog, sack of money, cat, penguin, and rubber duck.
Iron
Top hat
Thimble
Boot
Battleship
6 points
Round 4 points
(Maximum: 21)
Total points
(Maximum: 84)
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.
The following are all models of car released by which company?
Clue 1
KZ
10 points
Clue 2
Express
9 points
Clue 3
Kwid
8 points
Clue 4
Kangoo
7 points
Clue 5
Zoe
6 points
Clue 6
Dauphine
5 points
Clue 7
Espace
4 points
Clue 8
Mégane
3 points
Clue 9
5
2 points
Clue 10
Clio
1 point