ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Which country’s two-word name roughly translates as ‘Men of integrity, Father’s House’?

2.

Which country’s name roughly translates as 'Lion City'?

3.

Where in an animal cell are you most likely to find a substance known as chromatin?

4.

Where in the human body will you find the foramen magnum?

5.

What do the pit organs of snakes allow them to detect?

6.

What do the ampullae of Lorenzini of sharks allow them to detect?

7.

Which country do ex-number one female tennis players Jelena Jankovic and Ana lvanovic represent?

8.

Which country did ex-number one male tennis player Gustavo Kuerten represent?

Sp.

What date was given to the name of the movement organised by Fidel Castro with the aim of overthrowing Batista in 1959?

1.

Which character from Greek mythology is described by Homer as a beautiful Trojan youth who was kidnapped by Zeus (in the form of an eagle) and taken to Olympus to act as cup-bearer to the gods?

2.

Which Australian born author wrote the series of four novels featuring Mary Poppins?

3.

Which cheese, one of only seventeen British products to be granted Protected Designation of Origin status by the European Commission, may only be produced in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, which precludes it from being produced in its namesake village in Cambridgeshire?

4.

Which character in the Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the first to find a golden ticket and the first to leave the tour when he falls in to a chocolate river while trying to drink from it?

5.

Which British pottery manufacturer was established in Stoke-on-Trent in 1767 and was famed for its blue Italian-style transfer decorated pottery and porcelain goods, which are still produced to this day?

6.

Which American actress is best known for her biographical film roles, notably for her portrayals of Tina Tumer, Betty Shabazz and Rosa Parks?

7.

Which hugely popular game originated in Italy as a form of lottery but began to take on its current form when it was used as an educational tool to teach times tables, spelling, and even history, to 19th century German schoolchildren?

8.

Which American stand-up comedian who was born in Georgia but who now largely lives and works in the UK, is a regular on shows such as Have I Got News For You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI?

ROUND 3 - Paired Music Round

The first 4 questions are loosely about 'one hit wonders' whilst the last 4 questions are about bands with names taken from foreign languages

1.

Which Canadian synth pop band had their only UK top 10 hit in 1983 with The Safety Dance?

2.

Jane Wiedlin had her only solo UK top 40 hit in 1988 with Rush Hour, but of which LA-based band had she been a member?

3.

Which duo made their only appearance in the UK charts with the single Uptown Top Ranking, which reached number one in  I977?

4.

Though this band criminally failed to make the UK top 40 singles chart, their festive single Christmas Wrapping has become a staple of every shop’s soundtrack throughout November and December, while another of their singles, I Know What Boys Like has been covered by a number of bands including Shampoo.  Name this New York-based new wave band.

5.

Which classic 80s band have a French name which can be very loosely translated as ‘fast fashion'?

6.

Which band, who had a hit with Fade To Grey, take their name from a French word for a body part?

7.

Which Cardiff-based indie pop band, whose song You! Me! Dancing! is currently being used on a Budweiser advert, have a name which means ‘the peasants’ or ‘country dwellers’ in Spanish?

8.

Which French band, whose songs are all covers of punk, new wave and post punk tracks performed in a bossa nova style, take their name from a French cinema movement of the 1950s and 1960s, which included directors such as Godard and Truffaut?

ROUND 4 - Science & Nature

1.

Which scientist is held as the pioneer of the binomial classification system in taxonomy?

2.

Which man is said to have remarked that "all science is either physics or stamp collecting"?

3.

Which marine creature is sometimes called the 'sea canary' due to its high pitched calls?

4.

Which moon of Neptune is the seventh largest in the solar system and is named after one of Poseidon’s sons in Greek mythology?

5.

 ln which organ of the body will you find the pia mater, arachnoid and dura mater?

6.

Which property, represented in thermodynamics by the letter 'S', is associated with disorder in a system?

7.

White, black, Indian and Javan are four of the five species of rhinoceros.  Name the fifth.

8.

Which protein, usually coupled with myosin in contractile cells such as muscles, is a major component of a cell's cytoskeleton?

Sp1

"lf l have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" is a quote often attributed to Newton in a letter to which other prominent scientist?

Sp2

Which big cat of Asia is also known as an ounce and is unable to roar?

ROUND 5 - Hidden theme

1.

Which now ubiquitous device was first seen in 1935 when a version known as the Black Maria was designed by Gerald Hale?

2.

Which band from Detroit, Michigan achieved their highest UK single in 2003 with their track Danger! High Voltage! which got to number 2?

3.

What name links a popular alcoholic beverage with the nickname of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke?

4.

What type of supernatural being was Metatron, who was said to have stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac?

5.

For which publication, currently edited by Graydon Carter, did the late Christopher Hitchens work as a columnist?

6.

Which institution has as its motto Dominus Illuminatio Mea, which translates as 'The Lord is my Light'?

7.

Which area, said to be inspired by the Mount Auburn Cemetery, was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead?

8.

Which British female journalist found herself in a rat-filled coffin in 2004 during the third series of l’m a Celebrity . .Get Me out of Here!?

Sp.

Which title links George IV of England with Luitpold of Bavaria?

ROUND 6 - Literature pairs

1.

Despite high profile defenders such as Virginia Woolf and E M Forster, which British novel featuring the protagonist Steven Gordon, first published in 1928, was judged as ‘obscene’ by a somewhat over-sensitive British court because it 'defended unnatural practices between women'?

2.

Which novel was banned in the province of Hunan, China in 1931 for its portrayal of anthropomorphized animals acting on the same level of complexity as human beings?

3.

Which fictional crime-writer appears in several of Dorothy L Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey novels as the aristocratic sleuth’s love interest and, eventually, wife?  They meet in the 1930 novel Strong Poison when Wimsey tries to prevent her being convicted for her boyfriend’s murder.

4.

Which fictional crime writer created by Agatha Christie and loosely based on the author herself features in several novels, usually alongside Hercules Poirot helping to solve the mysteries in an indirect way?

5.

Which American author’s most recent novel Imperial Bedrooms, published in 2010, is a follow-up to his debut novel Less Than Zero which was first published 25 years earlier?

6.

Porno, first published in 2002, is the sequel to which infamous novel, first published in 1993 and made into a film three years later?

7.

What is the name of the Gentlemen's Club, where Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes can invariably be found in the four Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tales in which he appears?

8.

What is the name of the Gentlemen's Club of which Bertie Wooster is a member in the Jeeves and Wooster books by P G Wodehouse?

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

What is the name of the Radio 4 Dickensian spoof written by Mark Evans which ran for four seasons and featured Tom Allen, Geoffrey Whitehead and Anthony Head and which was moved to BBC2 for a one-off special under a different title over Christmas and with a different cast and plot?

2.

What is the name of the fantasy spoof (which very loosely parodies Lord of the Rings) currently broadcasting its third series on Radio 4 which features Stephen Mangan, Sophie Winkleman and Dave Lamb as a group of 'questers' attempting to retrieve the Sword of Aznagar before the despicable Lord Darkness (played by Alistair McGowan) can get his hands on it?

3.

Which legendary singer/songwriter released an album entitled 50 Words for Snow in December 2011 featuring vocals from Stephen Fry and Elton John?

4.

Who released his debut blues album Let Them Talk in April 2011 which reached number 2 in the UK album chart and features guest vocalists including Tom Jones?

5.

What caused panic when they failed to appear at 5pm on May 31st 2011 only to reappear again four hours later?

6.

2011 began dramatically in Ambridge when Nigel Pargiter fell off a roof much to the dismay of many Archers listeners, but what was he doing when he fell?

7.

What is the capital of South Sudan which gained independence from Sudan in 2011?

8.

What is the capital of East Timor which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002?

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Which broadsheet paper was first published under the title The Daily Universal Register?

2.

Which devilish cryptic crossword is currently published in The Sunday Times?

3.

In astronomy what word is used to describe the phenomenon of the wobbling of the axis of a spinning body such as a planet?

4.

In astronomy what word is used to describe the amount by which the orbit of an astronomical body deviates from a perfect circle?

5.

What colour was the first artificial dye?

6.

What colour does starch turn iodine solution?

7.

In the film Memento the lead character suffers a brain injury that renders him unable to form new long term memories (and so lives a life that is wiped clean of new memories every l0 minutes or so).  Which part of his brain is he purported to have damaged?

8.

In the film Dr Strangelove, Dr Strangelove suffers from a notable case of 'Alien hand syndrome'.  Although having several potential causes, it is best documented in cases following surgery (to treat epilepsy) that neurologically separates the two hemispheres of the brain. What structure in the brain is cleaved during such a surgery?

ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

Which country’s two-word name roughly translates as ‘Men of integrity, Father’s House’?

Burkina Faso

2.

Which country’s name roughly translates as 'Lion City'?

Singapore

3.

Where in an animal cell are you most likely to find a substance known as chromatin?

In the nucleus

4.

Where in the human body will you find the foramen magnum?

The skull

5.

What do the pit organs of snakes allow them to detect?

Infra-red radiation

6.

What do the ampullae of Lorenzini of sharks allow them to detect?

Electrical signals

7.

Which country do ex-number one female tennis players Jelena Jankovic and Ana lvanovic represent?

Serbia

8.

Which country did ex-number one male tennis player Gustavo Kuerten represent?

Brazil

Sp.

What date was given to the name of the movement organised by Fidel Castro with the aim of overthrowing Batista in 1959?

26th of July

1.

Which character from Greek mythology is described by Homer as a beautiful Trojan youth who was kidnapped by Zeus (in the form of an eagle) and taken to Olympus to act as cup-bearer to the gods?

Ganymede

2.

Which Australian born author wrote the series of four novels featuring Mary Poppins?

P L Travers

3.

Which cheese, one of only seventeen British products to be granted Protected Designation of Origin status by the European Commission, may only be produced in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, which precludes it from being produced in its namesake village in Cambridgeshire?

Stilton

4.

Which character in the Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the first to find a golden ticket and the first to leave the tour when he falls in to a chocolate river while trying to drink from it?

Augustus Gloop

5.

Which British pottery manufacturer was established in Stoke-on-Trent in 1767 and was famed for its blue Italian-style transfer decorated pottery and porcelain goods, which are still produced to this day?

Spode

6.

Which American actress is best known for her biographical film roles, notably for her portrayals of Tina Tumer, Betty Shabazz and Rosa Parks?

Angela Bassett

7.

Which hugely popular game originated in Italy as a form of lottery but began to take on its current form when it was used as an educational tool to teach times tables, spelling, and even history, to 19th century German schoolchildren?

Bingo

8.

Which American stand-up comedian who was born in Georgia but who now largely lives and works in the UK, is a regular on shows such as Have I Got News For You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI?

Reginald D Hunter

ROUND 3 - Paired Music Round

The first 4 questions are loosely about 'one hit wonders' whilst the last 4 questions are about bands with names taken from foreign languages

1.

Which Canadian synth pop band had their only UK top 10 hit in 1983 with The Safety Dance?

Men Without Hats

2.

Jane Wiedlin had her only solo UK top 40 hit in 1988 with Rush Hour, but of which LA-based band had she been a member?

The Go Gos

3.

Which duo made their only appearance in the UK charts with the single Uptown Top Ranking, which reached number one in  I977?

Althea and Donna

4.

Though this band criminally failed to make the UK top 40 singles chart, their festive single Christmas Wrapping has become a staple of every shop’s soundtrack throughout November and December, while another of their singles, I Know What Boys Like has been covered by a number of bands including Shampoo.  Name this New York-based new wave band.

The Waitresses

5.

Which classic 80s band have a French name which can be very loosely translated as ‘fast fashion'?

Depeche Mode

6.

Which band, who had a hit with Fade To Grey, take their name from a French word for a body part?

Visage

7.

Which Cardiff-based indie pop band, whose song You! Me! Dancing! is currently being used on a Budweiser advert, have a name which means ‘the peasants’ or ‘country dwellers’ in Spanish?

Los Campesinos!

8.

Which French band, whose songs are all covers of punk, new wave and post punk tracks performed in a bossa nova style, take their name from a French cinema movement of the 1950s and 1960s, which included directors such as Godard and Truffaut?

Nouvelle Vague

ROUND 4 - Science & Nature

1.

Which scientist is held as the pioneer of the binomial classification system in taxonomy?

Carl (or Carolus) Linnaeus

2.

Which man is said to have remarked that "all science is either physics or stamp collecting"?

Ernest Rutherford

3.

Which marine creature is sometimes called the 'sea canary' due to its high pitched calls?

The beluga whale

4.

Which moon of Neptune is the seventh largest in the solar system and is named after one of Poseidon’s sons in Greek mythology?

Triton

5.

 ln which organ of the body will you find the pia mater, arachnoid and dura mater?

The brain

6.

Which property, represented in thermodynamics by the letter 'S', is associated with disorder in a system?

Entropy

7.

White, black, Indian and Javan are four of the five species of rhinoceros.  Name the fifth.

Sumatran

8.

Which protein, usually coupled with myosin in contractile cells such as muscles, is a major component of a cell's cytoskeleton?

Actin

Sp1

"lf l have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" is a quote often attributed to Newton in a letter to which other prominent scientist?

Robert Hooke

Sp2

Which big cat of Asia is also known as an ounce and is unable to roar?

Snow leopard

ROUND 5 - Hidden theme

1.

Which now ubiquitous device was first seen in 1935 when a version known as the Black Maria was designed by Gerald Hale?

The parking meter

2.

Which band from Detroit, Michigan achieved their highest UK single in 2003 with their track Danger! High Voltage! which got to number 2?

Electric Six

3.

What name links a popular alcoholic beverage with the nickname of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke?

Strongbow

4.

What type of supernatural being was Metatron, who was said to have stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac?

An angel

5.

For which publication, currently edited by Graydon Carter, did the late Christopher Hitchens work as a columnist?

Vanity Fair

6.

Which institution has as its motto Dominus Illuminatio Mea, which translates as 'The Lord is my Light'?

Oxford University

7.

Which area, said to be inspired by the Mount Auburn Cemetery, was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead?

Central Park

8.

Which British female journalist found herself in a rat-filled coffin in 2004 during the third series of l’m a Celebrity . .Get Me out of Here!?

Jennie Bond

Sp.

Which title links George IV of England with Luitpold of Bavaria?

Prince Regent

ROUND 6 - Literature pairs

1.

Despite high profile defenders such as Virginia Woolf and E M Forster, which British novel featuring the protagonist Steven Gordon, first published in 1928, was judged as ‘obscene’ by a somewhat over-sensitive British court because it 'defended unnatural practices between women'?

A Well of Loneliness

(by Radclyffe Hall)

2.

Which novel was banned in the province of Hunan, China in 1931 for its portrayal of anthropomorphized animals acting on the same level of complexity as human beings?

Alice ’s Adventures In Wonderland

(accept Alice In Wonderland)

3.

Which fictional crime-writer appears in several of Dorothy L Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey novels as the aristocratic sleuth’s love interest and, eventually, wife?  They meet in the 1930 novel Strong Poison when Wimsey tries to prevent her being convicted for her boyfriend’s murder.

Harriet Vayne

4.

Which fictional crime writer created by Agatha Christie and loosely based on the author herself features in several novels, usually alongside Hercules Poirot helping to solve the mysteries in an indirect way?

Ariadne Oliver

5.

Which American author’s most recent novel Imperial Bedrooms, published in 2010, is a follow-up to his debut novel Less Than Zero which was first published 25 years earlier?

Brett Easton-Ellis

6.

Porno, first published in 2002, is the sequel to which infamous novel, first published in 1993 and made into a film three years later?

Trainspotting

7.

What is the name of the Gentlemen's Club, where Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes can invariably be found in the four Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tales in which he appears?

Diogenes Club

8.

What is the name of the Gentlemen's Club of which Bertie Wooster is a member in the Jeeves and Wooster books by P G Wodehouse?

The Drones Club

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

What is the name of the Radio 4 Dickensian spoof written by Mark Evans which ran for four seasons and featured Tom Allen, Geoffrey Whitehead and Anthony Head and which was moved to BBC2 for a one-off special under a different title over Christmas and with a different cast and plot?

Bleak Expectations

2.

What is the name of the fantasy spoof (which very loosely parodies Lord of the Rings) currently broadcasting its third series on Radio 4 which features Stephen Mangan, Sophie Winkleman and Dave Lamb as a group of 'questers' attempting to retrieve the Sword of Aznagar before the despicable Lord Darkness (played by Alistair McGowan) can get his hands on it?

Elvenquest

3.

Which legendary singer/songwriter released an album entitled 50 Words for Snow in December 2011 featuring vocals from Stephen Fry and Elton John?

Kate Bush

4.

Who released his debut blues album Let Them Talk in April 2011 which reached number 2 in the UK album chart and features guest vocalists including Tom Jones?

Hugh Laurie

5.

What caused panic when they failed to appear at 5pm on May 31st 2011 only to reappear again four hours later?

The pips

(Greenwich time signal on Radio 4)

6.

2011 began dramatically in Ambridge when Nigel Pargiter fell off a roof much to the dismay of many Archers listeners, but what was he doing when he fell?

Taking down a banner reading 'Happy new year'

7.

What is the capital of South Sudan which gained independence from Sudan in 2011?

Juba

8.

What is the capital of East Timor which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002?

Dili

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Which broadsheet paper was first published under the title The Daily Universal Register?

The Times

2.

Which devilish cryptic crossword is currently published in The Sunday Times?

Mephisto

3.

In astronomy what word is used to describe the phenomenon of the wobbling of the axis of a spinning body such as a planet?

Precession

4.

In astronomy what word is used to describe the amount by which the orbit of an astronomical body deviates from a perfect circle?

Eccentricity

5.

What colour was the first artificial dye?

Purple

(it is called Aniline purple or Perkin's mauve)

6.

What colour does starch turn iodine solution?

Deep blue-black

(accept purply blue-black)

7.

In the film Memento the lead character suffers a brain injury that renders him unable to form new long term memories (and so lives a life that is wiped clean of new memories every l0 minutes or so).  Which part of his brain is he purported to have damaged?

Hippocampus

(this actually happened in real life to a subject known as HM)

8.

In the film Dr Strangelove, Dr Strangelove suffers from a notable case of 'Alien hand syndrome'.  Although having several potential causes, it is best documented in cases following surgery (to treat epilepsy) that neurologically separates the two hemispheres of the brain. What structure in the brain is cleaved during such a surgery?

Corpus callosum