Quiz #64

What American reality game show television series, which is based on a Swedish programme called Expedition Robinson and has had several international spin-off series since it launched in 2000, will start its 50^th series in February, the 18^th consecutive series to be set in Fiji?

Question 2

The short-sleeved nemaki, which literally translated as ‘sleepwear’ and is used for sleep or lounging at home or a spa, and the yukata, which means ‘bathing robe’ and is worn at bathhouses or as casual summerwear, are variants of which more widely known Japanese garment?

Question 3

In English publisher John Newbery’s 1765 collection Mother Goose’s Melody, the nursery rhyme now known as Jack and Jill featured two boys rather than a boy and a girl. What name, involving a single letter change from the name Jill, did the second boy have?

Question 4

Which English city has seen its refuse workers maintaining industrial action since January 6 2025, with a full strike running since March, meaning limited refuse collection and no recycling facilities for 1.2m people?

Question 5

What UK nature and heritage organisation, with more than 5 million members, was formed on January 12 1895 by Octavia Hill, Robert Hunter, and Hardwicke Rawnsley?

Question 6

What ingredient is the key difference in the preparation of French style ice cream versus Philadelphia style ice cream?

Question 7

Situated in Russia’s most north-eastern territory, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and the closest sizeable settlement to the International Date Line, the Russian town of Anadyr has a flag showing what two animals, specifically a predator holding its prey? The same two animals also draw tourists to Katmai National Park and Preserve on the other side of the dateline.

Question 8

All forms of Christianity, what are the three largest religions in Europe based on by how many people self-describe as believers?

Question 9

Which five countries produce the most potatoes in the world? 

Question 10

Make the longest word possible from the following letters: ACDDDEIRS

Round 1 points
(Maximum: 25)

Round 2

Question 1

In international paper sizes, what A paper size measures 297mm by 420mm?

Question 2

On January 8 Thom Tillis , the Republican Party senator for North Carolina and co-Chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, concluded a speech to the US senate by saying “I’m sick of stupid” in response to disparaging remarks about Denmark and claims the US should take over Greenland made by which member of the US Presidential administration?

Question 3

Using the dd-mm-yyyy format, what is the next palindromic date?

Question 4

On January 10, non-league side Macclesfield Town, playing in England’s 6^th tier, generated one of English football’s great shocks by knocking which team – the holders – out of the FA Cup in the 3^rd round?

Question 5

In parodies of the song made by Brendan Grace and The Wurzels in the 1970s, what piece of farming equipment was substituted into the song Brand New Key – otherwise known as The Rollerskate Song – by American folk singer Melanie?

Question 6

According to the American Mini Pig Association, a pig with a ‘point’ colour pattern should have white where on its body?

Question 7

Both achieving a rating of 1.2 out of 10, the two lowest rated films on the film website IMDB are Daniel der Zauberer and Smoleńsk, with plots that respectively deal with assassins trying to kill the person who finished third on a television talent show and a journalist investigating the plane crash that killed a country’s president in 2010. From which two countries are Daniel der Zauberer and Smoleńsk productions?

Question 8

The 1971 Spanish-Italian-French-British comedy western The Legend of Frenchie King united which two European actresses, both sex symbols of the 1960s and both of whom passed away in the past four months?

Question 9

What are considered the ‘four great inventions’ of ancient Chinese civilisation?

Question 10

In which five countries did the following songs respectively spend 16 consecutive weeks at number one during the 1990s: Verdammt, ich lieb’ dich by Matthias Reim, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams, 7 Seconds by Youssou N’Dour and Neneh Cherry, One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, and Il mio nome è mai più by LigaJovaPelù.

Round 2 points
(Maximum: 19)

Total points
(Maximum: 44)

Round 3

Question 1

The latitudes at 30° north and 30° south are nicknamed after what type of animal?

Question 2

To convert degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit, one needs to multiply the Celsius figure by 1.8 and then add what number?

Question 3

Named for the Sechseläuten festival in April in which an effigy of a snowman is burnt and then blown up on a pyre, Sechseläutenplatz is the main square in which European city?

Question 4

Known for its resistance to urban pollution, which led to it being exported to cities around the world, the London plane tree is a hybrid of an Oriental plane tree and what other species? The tree can be seen across Central Park in New York, lining the Champs-Élysées in Paris, and across much of Melbourne, Buenos Aires, and Johannesburg, as well as other cities.

Question 5

Which Nigerian author’s 21-month old son died on January 7, resulting in condolences from Nigeria’s president and accusations of hospital negligence by the author’s sister-in-law, a doctor?

Question 6

In 2006 American football’s NFL swapped part of its referee uniform from traditional white ‘knickerbockers’ to black trousers for what type of games?

Question 7

On a Windows operating system, the pressing of what two buttons acts as a shortcut to toggle between open windows? On an Apple OS system one of these buttons is changed to ‘command’ to achieve the same action.

Question 8

Which three countries – one in Africa and two in Asia – sat bottom of the World Press Freedom Index 2025, compiled by French organisations Reporters Without Borders?

Question 9

What are the only five English Premier League football clubs whose current manager has been in their position for longer than three years? This refers to the manager’s current tenure, so excludes Everton’s David Moyes, who was rehired on January 11 2025 but had previously spent 11 years as the club’s manager from 2002 to 2013.

Question 10

Due for release in 2026, the Forza Horizon 6 racing computer game will allow players to race around the streets of various locations in Japan. What six other countries have players been able to explore in the previous five titles in the series – all chosen for their scenery but five of which have had an F1 world champion driver?

Round 3 points
(Maximum: 22)

Total points
(Maximum: 66)

Round 4

Question 1

Measuring 251cm, or 8”2, the world’s tallest man, Sultan Kösen, suffers the growth-causing condition acromegaly due to a benign tumour on which gland?

Question 2

In 2017 the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the word ‘dhobi’ was offensive due to its association with subjugation under the caste system. With what role were the dhobi mostly associated?

Question 3

On British canal boats, what single digit number is traditionally painted on the side of a boat run by a self-employed worker?

Question 4

What American R’n’B singer had chart hits in Europe in the 1980s with songs including One Day I’ll Fly Away and You Might Need Somebody, leading to her winning a 1982 Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist – despite not being British. She had limited success in her native country, with her only appearances in the top 100 being as guest vocalist on The Crusaders’s Street Life and a duet with Rick Springfield?

Question 5

Although Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, the planet’s ‘equatorial bulge’ means the point furthest from the Earth’s surface is the peak of the highest mountain in which country?

Question 6

A rock fortress carved out of an inselberg – or isolated rock formation – the Sri Lankan UNESCO World Heritage Site Sinhagiri (or Sigiriya) is named for which animal, giant feet of which have been carved either side of the entrance to the stairway up to the fortress?

Question 7

Although now owned by BMW and simply known as ‘Mini’, the Mini car brand was originally released by the British Motor Corporation in 1959 under the names of which two car companies which had merged to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952?

Question 8

Vinyl records are made with a mixture of PVA copolymer and PVC monopolymer. While PV stands for polyvinyl, for what substances do the letters A and C stand?

Question 9

The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 when what four British colonies combined?

Question 10

In December consumer magazine Which? released its ‘Products of 2025’ list. What types of product were the top eight entries, made by Amazfit, Skoda, Asda, TCL, Google, Beko, Shark, and the RSPB respectively?

Round 4 points
(Maximum: 22)

Total points
(Maximum: 88)

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.

In what century did all of the following events take place?

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: 103)