b <NO_N Q_CúA_Cú 1"The Dame made a curtsey, the dog made a bow, The Dame said 'Your servant', the dog said 'Bow-wow'". Who was The Dame ? Mother Hubbard 2What and where is "Ares Vallis" ? Arid plain on Mars 3What comes between Graham Hill and Jim Clark ? McLaren, Brands Hatch 4What are the three daughters of Zeus collectively known as ? Charities/ 3 Graces 5"The Band" started by backing Bob Dylan under what name ? The Hawks 6What is it that has arms, beams, a train, flags, mails, sails, petty singles with pounces and clap ? A hawk 7A portmanteau word is made by combining two other words so that their meaning is packed into one. "Motel" = Motor and Hotel, etc. What words were combined for - "Cyborg" ? Cybernetic and Organism 8... and "Bit" in a computing context ? Binary and Digit 9... and "Transistor" ? Transfer and Resistor 10Which flower owes its name to its resemblance to a turban ? A tulip 11What is our name for a southern European shrub which was known in Latin and Old French as "Sea Dew" and is often planted in graveyards as a symbol of remembrance ? Rosemary 12Which plant derives its name from the Greek "Thuos" meaning sacrificial incense and was a key ingredient of judges' posies and the Maundy posy ? Thyme 13Which government department owes its name to the Old French word for a chess board ? The Exchequer 14Its number was changed from 4-6-2 4468 to 60022 and it broke the previous record of 114 mph by some 11 mph in July 1938. Name it. Mallard 15Which is the driest Champagne ? Brut. (Sec, meaning "dry", is actually sweet) 16Who made his horse Consul and Priest and what was the animal's name ? Caligula - "Incitatus" 17The knightly "favour" of a lady's sleeve appears in the arms of at least three families. What is the heraldic name for this sleeve ? A Maunch 18By law, what are the permitted dimensions of an individual's private flag ? Double its height in length 19At a party I met a Lusitanian, a Batavian and an Ausonian. From which European countries did they come ? Portugal, Holland and Italy respectively 20How should music be played "Col legno" ? Using the back, or wood, of the bow 21Which composer had, as his mistress, Lola Montez among many others; so much so that she said that she had no objections to being his mistress, but she would not be one of his mistresses ? Franz Liszt 22Which was the "Merciless" parliament ? That of February 1388 when opponents of Richard II managed to dominate parliament and convict his friends of treason 23The opening words are crucial to the success of a work so, which are these : "Mr Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes ? Animal Farm 24... "Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Bonapartes" War and Peace 25... "In the summer of the Rona year 699, now described as the year 55 before the birth of Christ, the Proconsul of Rome, Gaius Julius Caesar turned his gaze upon Britain" Churchill's "A history of the English Speaking Peoples" 26... "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show" David Copperfield 27Which composer was called "Mon Petit" by his mistress or by a special nickname "Chip-chip" ? Chopin, by George Sand 28The tune to which "Deutchland Uber Alles" is sung was by Haydn, but who wrote the words (in which there is none of the world-conquering which many foreigners misguidedly believe) ? August Heinrich Hoffmann 29Which is the odd one out : walrus, tiger, fox, seal, badger and bear ? Seal, whose young is a calf, the rest have pups 30What connects a peal, a sprod, a smolt and a kelt ? They're all salmon 31If milk boils over, particularly onto the fire, what by old tradition should be thrown on the fire to avert bad luck to the cow that gave the milk ? Salt 32On the north eastern coast, fishermen regard eggs as unlucky, so much so that they use circumlocution when referring to them. Circumlocution being the operative word, what do they call them ? Roundabouts 33What colour is considered to be unlucky in theatrical circles particularly for curtains in a stage set ? Yellow 34What bird is abhorred by actors and any reference or representation of it is taboo on stage ? Peacock 35What did Groucho Marx say carrying a rabbit's foot was a sign of ? Either you are a good friend or a good shot with a gun 36Its name, in English, translates as "Lovable egg" and when it hatches its owner has to attend to its every need ; its lifespan is up to 32 days. What is its name ? Tamagotchi 37What four-letter word can mean : down/fluff, chimney, fishing net, widen/splay ? Flue 38What is the proper name for the three-legged symbol for the Isle of Man ? Triskeles 39Where should you find Mad Margaret and Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd ? Cornwall (Ruddigore) 40Most places drive on the right-hand side of the road. Where did they transfer from right to left on 30th July 1978 ? Okinawa 41Which is the oldest continuous national parliament in the world, celebrating its millenium in 1979 ? Tynwald, Isle of Man 42This city, in the U.K., derives its name from the tribe known as the Hreope People and it has the earliest city charter. Which city is it ? Ripon, North Yorkshire 43In which year did Scotland change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar ? 1600 (except St Kilda, 1912) 44The year 2000 is the Chinese year of what ? Dragon 45There are three sorts of twilight. When does Civil Twilight occur ? When the centre of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon 46Diamond, Corundum, Topaz, Quartz, Orthoclase, Apatite, Fluorite, Calcite, Gypsum - what word completes the sequence ? Talc - The hardness scale devised by the German mineralogist Mohs in 1812 47What rare event, that last happened in 1882, will take place on 8th June 2004 and again on 6th June 2012 ? The transit of Venus across the face of the sun 48What weighs 50 lb in the U.K. and 48 lb in the U.S.A. ? A bushel of barley 49There are four types : up, down, strange and charmed. Of what ? Quarks 50What is Rheum Rhaponticum better known as ? Rhubarb 51What are classed as Lagomorpha ? Rabbits and hares 52Who discovered LSD ( Lysergic acid diethylamide) and when ? Albert Hoffman, April 1943 53Where would you find the following festivals : Rains Retreat (July-October), End of the Rains Retreat (October), Kathina Ceremony (November), Festival of Lights (November), New Year (13/16 April), etc ? Thailand 54What is the name of the two-beats-to-the-bar dance which takes its name from a Mack and Johnson song (1923) about the town that saw the first ballet in America in 1735 ? Charleston 55"Offshore", "Rites of Passage", "Midnight's Children" . then what ? Schindler's Ark (Booker Prize winners) 56The ancient Olympic games awarded the winners what ? A branch of wild olive, the Greeks' sacred tree 57How many competitors took part in the first modern Olympic games ? 311 from 13 countries, of whom 230 were from Greece 58The record of 0.00084 mph was set on 12th August 1889 in Jubbulpore, India, for what ? Tug o' War - 12ft in 2hr 41min 59It was concocted in 1875 at Madras by Col. Sir Neville Chamberlain and its name came from the nickname given to first-year cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. What was it ? Snooker 60It was first sold in New York in 1857 by Joseph C. Gayetty at 50c for 500 sheets. What was it ? Lavatory paper