Early in this period of isolation Rachael proposed a weekly quiz for all those who wished to participate and/or contribute. Needless to say I have taken my turn and these quizzes are what I came up with. Enjoy. If you want the answers please email me. I will be delighted to oblige.
Unashamedly plagiarised from Richard Osman's BBC2 show!
Rhyming Pairs
1. The writer of the Pentateuch/A son of a Mary (Matt 27:6)
2. This city wasn’t built in a day/A big fat book
3. Longest river in England/Pretty stones
4. Completely ridiculous/Monarch found in a Leicester car park
5. To make uncomfortably self-conscious/Island famous for its Tweed
6. Maid of Orleans/Tea Clipper at Greenwich
7. Law courts in London/central character in Minder
8. Curly-haired water dog toy, miniature, std/Viennese dessert of pastry and sweet filling
9. Ultravox hit from 1983, City of Tuscany
Dating Closest gets the point
First University
First Vaccine
The first Initial Public Offering, shares
What’s the sum? NB These were designed to tap into the interests of the specific teams. Each question has a numerical answer; what is the operator required to achieve the given result?
1. The Tasks of Hercules, Catharine Hepburn Oscars (3)
2. Queen’s grandchildren, Beckham children (32)
3. Sons of Gideon, Sons of Abdon (2800)
4. Phil Collins UK no ones, Eagles US no ones (8)
5. Moons of Mars, Moons of Neptune (7)
6. Days in 3.5 times, Days in Daniel 12:11 (30)
7. Battle of Actium, accession of Queen Cleopatra VII (20)
8. Symphonies of Beethoven, Symphonies of Mahler (81)
9. Eponymous dwarves, Eponymous Dalmatians (707)
You spell awful Dictionary definitions of words, but can you spell them to get the point?
1. A complicated set of movements
2. Willing to help, kind, obliging
3. Thoughts spoken alone or to oneself
4. A variety of things
5. To honour or remember
6. Unconventional or irregular behaviour
7. A formal assurance usually in writing
8. Unrehearsed, spontaneous
Uniquely Listing
Kings of Judah from the division onwards (20)
Presidents of the USA whose surnames do not contain T (33)
Twentieth-century UK Prime Ministers (20)
Member states of the EU (27)
Answer Smash
1. City of David/Destination of Clopas and friend with Jesus
2. A man who lost all his children/Smallest book of the Hebrew Scr.
3. The river of Israel/Prophet exiled in Babylon
4. Father of Shechem/Uncle of the Queen
5. Longest river in Scotland/US singer whose albums incl. Red & 1989
6. Film 1986 Hogan & 16:48 15/11/2021Kozlowsky/Scottish baked speciality currants, sultanas, almonds
7. Scientific journal Official bird USA
8. Yellow-coloured dog that brings things back/shade of red
9. Musical instrument of the Highlands/Solo album by Paul McCartney
10. A measurement of water pressure/the role of Nebuchadnezzar in the image
Alas we didn't have time for all the above and the Akel's of Dalwhinnie were the victors with 12 points. Well Done!
How Many?
1. Bible books
a) in the Hebrew Scriptures?
b) in the Greek Scriptures?
c) in total?
2. Chapters?
3. Verses? (NB NWT has at least 24 fewer than KJV)
4. Words - to 2 sig figs to allow for variation in translation?
5. Unique Hebrew/Chaldee words?
6. Unique Greek words?
7. Bible books with 50 or more chapters?
(bonus points - name them for 1 point each and state the number of chapters for another point each)
8. Gospels?
9. Epistles?
10. Named judges in the eponymous book?
11. Kings
a) prior to the partition?
b) post - Judah?
c) post - Israel?
(3 bonus points available for certain additional information)
Longest/Shortest - excluding the Psalms
12. Longest book Hebrew Scriptures?
13. Longest book Greek Scriptures?
14. Which of the above is longer?
15. Shortest book Hebrew Scriptures?
16. Shortest book Greek Scriptures?
17. Longest chapter?
18. Longest verse Hebrew Scriptures?
19. Longest verse Greek Scriptures?
20. Shortest verse
a) KJV?
b) NWT?
Who?
21. How many known authors?
22. Who wrote the largest proportion of the Bible?
23. Who wrote the letter to the Hebrews?
24. Who wrote the largest proportion of the Greek Scriptures?
When?
25. When were the chapters added?
26. When were the verses added?
(2 points each for correct year, 1 point each for correct century)
Without giving too much away, I think that is a maximum of 44 points.
For each sequence, what comes next and why? Where relevant, state direction of sequence. Two points per question. Time limit 20 minutes.
Number Sequences
1. 1 2 3 4 ?5
2. 1 2 4 8 16 ?32
3. 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 ?
4. 1 2 3 5 7 11 17 ?
5. 19 69 20 70 21 ?
Bible Sequences
6. Matthew Mark Luke?
7. Ephesus Smyrna Pergamum ?
8. Othniel Ehud Shamgar Barak ?
9. Nisan Iyyar Sivan ?
10. Saul David Solomon Rehoboam ?
Scotland Sequences
11. Perth Dunkeld and Birnam Pitlochry ?
12. Dornoch Cromarty Beauly Moray Tay ?
13. M9 M80 M73 M74 ?
14. Aberdeen Dundee Perth Inverness ?
15. I&NR I&PJR HR LMS ?
Random Sequences
16. France Brazil Italy Spain Germany ?
17. Snaefell, Slieve Donard, Scafell Pike, Carrountoohill, Snowdon, ?
18. NT ME XP ?
19. Be4 Li3 He2 ?
20. Wilson Heath Wilson Callaghan ?
Art and Literature Sequences
21. The Phantom Menace, The Return of the Jedi, The Empire Strikes Back, ?
22. Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, ?
23. Mostly Harmless, So Long and Thanks for all the Fish, Life the Universe and Everything, ?
24. The Loving Spirit, I'll Never be Young Again, The Progress of Julius, Jamaica Inn, ?
25. 'And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting',
'And Jehovah called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting',
'Now these are the names of Israel's sons who came into Egypt with Jacob',
?
Maximum of 50 points.
The historic county of York was originally divided into three 'ridings', E-W-N. This term comes from the Norse word threthingr which simply means a third. In honour of this unique division amongst English counties the quiz is in multiples of three. Think flat-caps, ferrets and whippets to get yourself into the right frame of mind. And remember, you can always tell a Yorkshireman, but you can't tell him much!
This was designed for clan Wilson, formerly of Hull and Pickering, to make them feel at home, cos they don't yet know anything about Scotland!
Time limit 20 minutes.
Famous Yorkshiremen
1. Playwright, Born Leeds 1934, Talking Heads
2. Artist, Born Bradford 1937, A Bigger Splash
3. Composer, Born Bradford 1867, Brigg Fair
Towns With Missing Letters
4. K_A_E_B_R_U_H
5. B_I_L_N_T_N
6. R_C_M_N_
Towns in Anagram
7. BRAGOCHORUS
8. BITWHY
9. GROAHEART
There are seven cities in Yorkshire. Here are clues to three of them:
10. When I'm gone, switch not off
11. After the funeral, before service
12. A paragon of integrity, this structure must remain water-tight
Three Dales
13. A rhyming dale, domain of Heriot
14. Cheese Grommit!
15. A Bible translator - It's Miles!
Three times Two - Connections
16. The Curate of Haworth, Branwell, Wildfell Hall
17. Theakston, John Smith, Timothy Taylor
18. Rievaulx, Jervaulx, Fountains
19. Tigers, Rhinos, Bulls
20. Brighouse and Rastrick, Black Dyke, Grimethorp Colliery
21. Roseberry Topping, Archy Styrigg, Bishop Wilton
The Answer is in the Question
22. Titus Salt built his wool mills along with a whole town for his workers in Airedale. This town is now a UNESCO world heritage site. What is the name of this town?
23. Associated Dairies is a large company based in Leeds. How is it more commonly known?
24. The Romans called it Eburacum. The Old English, Eoforic. The Welsh is Efrog and the Norse is Jorvik. What is it called today?
Work it Out
25. In the 1950's BR ran a daily service from London Marylebone to Yorkshire. It was called the Master Cutler. Where in Yorkshire was its destination?
26. The Humber Bridge, when built, was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world. Its towers are not parallel. The tops are 36mm further apart than the bottoms. Why? Bonus point - what is its road number?
27. The linguistically challenging Cote de Buttertubs often features in what annual sporting event?
And Finally
28. Which alliterative reformer is perched atop a tall column in Kingston upon Hull?
29. Dick Turpin, famous horse thief and highwayman, apocryphally rode non-stop from London to York where, upon arrival, his horse promptly dropped dead from exhaustion. What was the horse called?
30. There are 11 football league clubs in Yorkshire (2020/21 season), Name three. Points as per division.
Maximum points, theoretically, is 42. The theory depends on the success or otherwise of the clubs in that last question!
This quiz was designed with some shameless self-promotion in mind. I had just published my page Along the A9. The contestants were prior informed that the answers to all the questions are to be found on that page. You may visit the page now, before viewing the questions. You may not refer to it during the quiz. That's cheating!
Time limit 20 minutes
1. Who designed the Tay Bridge at Dunkeld?
2. Kelly McDonald was the inspiration for which literary character?
3. Forestry Commission (Scotland) was devolved in 2019. What is it now called?
4. In which Shakespeare play did Birnam Wood feature?
5. The Inverness and Perth Junction Railway Company started building their line in 1861. How long did it take?
6. What two animals feature in a pair of hills on the Druimuachder Pass?
7. Where will you find a bridge over a bridge under a bridge?
8. Who was famously inspired by the Falls of Bruar?
9. Niel Gow was a famous what?
10. Where did the soldier leap?
11. Name the river that falls past the Hermitage.
12. What famous author has an eponymous garden in Birnam?
13. What might you find at Dowally?
14. How high, in feet, is Birnam Hill?
15. What clan calls Blair Castle home?
16. The railway viaduct over the Tay at Logierait has what current use?
17. In what year was the battle of Dunkeld?
18. What distillery historically claims to be Britain's smallest?
19. Dalwhinnie is in Perthshire. True or false?
20. What is unique about the Atholl Highlanders?
21. Who might take you fishing at Dalguise?
22. What feature of Faskally car park is highly recommended?
23. What dramatic glen is found by following the A822?
24. What gastronomic delight might you find at House of Bruar?
25. How long is an Ell?
25 points
Inevitably, this one appeared in the Summer of 2020. The Mrs Smith and I are avid Grand Tour devotees so I put this together to test, not just TdF knowledge, but also general awarenes of the French language and France itself.
Time limit 20 minutes
Qu'ce qu c'est?
1. Le peloton
2. Un bidon
3, Domestique
4, La Flamme Rouge (bonus point - where is it?)
5. La voiture balai (bonus point - where is this, usually?)
L'histoire
6. In what year did the first tour take place? a. 1883 b. 1903 c. 1923
7. How long was the longest ever stage in kilometres? a. 282 b. 382 c. 482
8. Four riders have five General Classification wins each. Name one (bonus points for the others)
9. The rider with the most stage wins is 'the cannibal' Eddy Merckx with 34. Who occupies second place in this list? (bonus point for knowing how many wins.)
10. The fastest ever stage happened in 1999, over 120.9 miles between Laval and Blois, and was won by Mario Cipollini. What was his average speed? a. >15mph b. >20mph c. >30mph
General Classification
11. The leader of the GC is identified by the wearing of a special jersey. What distinguishes it?
12. Road cycling races have an individual winner, but are team events. Yet for additional interest there are three other races within races. Name one. (Bonus points for the others.)
13. In which city does the Tour always finish? (bonus point - name the street)
14. The most visited summit is the Col de Tourmalet. Where is it?
15. When it comes to summit finishes, the highest ever was at the Col de Galibier in 2011. How high is it above sea level, either in feet or metres? (Bonus point if you are within 100 ft/m)
15 points available with additional 10 bonus points on offer.
This was my first quiz. Mostly to see what the locals know about the locality but with some other stuff thrown in, just in case!
Time limit 20 minutes (i.e. half a free Zoom meeting).
1. Glasgow once had four railway termini. Central and Queen Street are the surviving two. Name one of the other two.
2. James Dewar of Kirkaldy (pronunciation) invented what essential item for a Scottish picnic?
3. Carnegie Hall, in New York, is a world-famous music venue. There is another outwith the States here in Scotland. Where?
4. What is the square root of 2 (to 1 decimal point)?
5. What is the highest point in Perthshire?
6. Who is the First Minister?
7. Where is the official residence of the aforementione character?
8. Who was the world's worst poet, resident of Dundee?
9. What is Scotland's deepest loch?
10. Ecclefechan (I just love saying that!) is in Dumfriesshire. Who was its most famous son?
11. What country did Jean Sibelius call home?
12. Likewise, Rene Magritte?
14. Name a Tchaikovsky ballet.
15. What famous singer and songwriter lives near Dunkeld?
16. What was the nationality of the scientist who first identified Corona Virus?
17. The dismantled railway line from Carlisle to Edinburgh was called the Waverley Route. Who or what is Waverley?
18. In Glen Lyon there is a steel bridge that carries the road over the Keltney Burn and built by William Arrol. Name one of his more illustrious constructions.
19. Also Sprach Zarathustra takes about 34 minutes to perform. Sadly the world knows only the first 90 seconds. Who wrote it?
20. General Titus conquered Jerusalem in 70 CE. Name his father.
20 points available.