Quiz #80

Which British natural historian and famed presenter of wildlife documentaries turns 100 years old on May 8?

Question 2

What type of food is named in the title of a 1972 number one single released by Don McLean?

Question 3

On the Met Office list of weather map symbols, what type of weather is represented by a dark cloud above one rain drop and one snowflake?

Question 4

According to the Old Testament, what is contained within the Ark of the Covenant? 

Question 5

What UK fastfood chain shares its name with the nickname for the Yeomen Warders of His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign’s Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary?

Question 6

What links 555 and 646 in the US, 01632 and 07700 in the UK, 19900 in France, and 0103348 in South Korea?

Question 7

What two US state capitals sit on the Mississippi River?

Question 8

All directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, what are the three films in the Dollars Trilogy, also known as the Man with No Name Trilogy?

Question 9

What four countries border the Czech Republic?

Question 10

Make the longest word possible from the following letters: AEOPRRSTT

Round 1 points
(Maximum: 24)

Round 2

Question 1

What single-word term is used for the service that aims to counter loneliness and social isolation by matching volunteers with people who live alone, primarily those who are elderly?

Question 2

With over 100 different species, what type of crab is known for males having one over-sized claw, which is used for fighting, burrowing, and heat regulation?

Question 3

What is the International System of Units, or SI, unit for measuring energy?

Question 4

What Middle Eastern food is the subject of a so-called ‘war’ due to multiple countries claiming it to be their national dish, with Lebanon petitioning for it to be given Protected Geographical Status and the world record for the largest serving of the food being frequently contested by cooks from Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel?

Question 5

On January 8, 1936, the Kashf-e hijab decree, literally meaning ‘unveiling decree’, banned Islamic veils and coverings in which Middle Eastern country?

Question 6

Which American musical family holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations, with 95, 45 being for Alfred, 22 for his nephew Randy, 15 for son Thomas, 11 for brother Lionel, plus one each for brother Emil and son David?

Question 7

The central characters of the television series The X-Files, which ran from 1993 to 2002, and portrayed by actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, FBI agents Mulder and Scully had what first names?

Question 8

In engineering and industry, a HMI is a screen that allows a person to see, interact and control a process, such as regulating a temperature or opening and closing valves by pressing the screen. For what do the letters HMI stand in this context?

Question 9

In mathematics, what are the first four digits of Euler’s number?

Question 10

In Canada, what are the colloquial terms for the 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, $1, and $2 coins? The terms for the cent coins are the same as those used in the US, while the terms for the dollar coins are derived from the animal shown on the $1 coin.

Round 2 points
(Maximum: 21)

Total points
(Maximum: 45)

Round 3

Question 1

The common blackbird belongs to the genus Turdus. By what name are animals in the Turdus genus better known?

Question 2

Psalm 137 is the basis of which 1970 song by Jamaican group The Melodians, which was famously covered by Boney M in 1978?

Question 3

Written and compiled by 17^th-century French author Charles Perrault, the fairy tale collection Contes de ma mère l’Oye refers to which well-known children’s character when its title is translated into English?

Question 4

In medical terminology, the seven cervical spine bones in the neck are referred to as C1 to C7. After what figure from Greek mythology is the C1 bone also named due to its role in holding the skull up?

Question 5

What letter of the alphabet was used for the naming of the various train units built by General Motors’s Electro-Motive Division, or EMD, between 1939 and 1960, with the trains becoming famous for pulling freight across the US and being referred to as ‘covered wagons’ or ‘bulldogs’ due to their round-nosed design?

Question 6

Formally named by economist Mason Gaffney in 1998, and an offshoot of the Georgism economic theory which argues that land and not labour should be taxed, the ATCOR economic theory stands for ‘all taxes come out of ____’?

Question 7

Alex Zanardi, who passed away on May 1, made his name in which two sports, the second – in which he won four Olympic gold medals – coming after he lost both his legs in 2001 during an accident doing the first?

Question 8

In 2017, the UK changed several aspects of its practical driving test, including removing the three-point turn and reversing around a corner elements. What three possible reverse or reverse-including manoeuvres could instead be included in the test?

Question 9

Through what four named bodies of water must a boat navigate to travel from the end of the Suez Canal to the Arabian Sea? Two of the named water bodies are gulfs, one a sea, and one a strait.

Question 10

In the US television show The Brady Bunch, what were the names of the six children, three of whom were boys and three girls?

Round 3 points
(Maximum: 21)

Total points
(Maximum: 66)

Round 4

Question 1

On April 27, Canadian energy company Arc Resources agreed to a $22bn buyout offer from which other fossil fuels giant?

Question 2

First elected in 2023, Buu Nygren is the controversial president of which North American tribe?

Question 3

Also the name of a London theatre and arts centre, what is a fortified defensive outpost or gatehouse situated outside the entrance to a city or castle called?

Question 4

Celebrating 75 years of the centre through performances representing UK artistic movements since 1951, the one-off ‘You Are Here’ live event at London’s Southbank Centre on May 3 was a collaboration between theatre director Paulette Randall, costume designers Carson McColl and Gareth Pugh, and which Academy Award- and BAFTA-winning British film director?

Question 5

Which NFL team had the number one pick in the 2026 NFL draft on April 23, only the second time it has had the number one overall pick since 1960, and first time since it moved to its new home city in 2020?

Question 6

Leading its best-of-7 playoff series against the Eastern Conference top seed Detroit Pistons 3-2, playing at home, and leading by 24 points in the third quarter, which 8^th seed NBA basketball team was said to have suffered one of the worst ‘chokes’ in the league’s history on May 1 after it scored only 19 points in the entire second half – including a run of 23 consecutive missed shots – to ultimately lose the game by 14, before then also losing the decisive game 7 as well?

Question 7

Although the classification has since been broken further to include Ugaritic and Amorite, in 1908 German linguist Carl Brockelmann defined what two language groups as ‘Northwest Semitic’ – one of which includes the languages of Hebrew and Phoenician, and the other being still spoken today in various forms in parts of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and India?

Question 8

What are the three species of manta ray? One is named for the water body in which it is found, one for the habitat where it lives, and one for its size.

Question 9

What words follow the number 5 in the current names of the four spin-off freeview channels run by the UK’s Channel 5? The channels respectively focus on fast-paced drama and crime; arts and documentaries; soaps, drama, erotic drama, comedy, and reality; and American shows, particularly police procedurals.

Question 10

Of the 27 nations that joined the Board of Peace established in January 2026 by US President Donald Trump, which five are listed as ‘free’ countries by civil liberties watchdog Freedom House?

Round 4 points
(Maximum: 20)

Total points
(Maximum: 85)

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 all relate to what chemical element?

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: 95)