1. A real-life albino who lived near the island of Mocha off the southern coast of Chile was said to have inspired this work of fiction. Which work of fiction am I talking about?.
2. This gemstone got its name from the Greek for ‘not intoxicating’, due to the medieval superstition that it would protect the wearer from drunkenness. Name it.
3. Identify the martial art shown in the visual on the right.
4. The largest conventional bombs used in WWII, weighing up to 12000 lbs, were commonly referred to as... what?
5. Complete the set: Reston, Marburg, _____.
6. Butch Cassidy’s first crime was committed in this Colorado town, which today is the site of a major indie film festival. The town shares its name with a rare ore of gold and silver. Name it.
7. It was known as Urania in ancient Greece, and Harpaston in ancient Rome. The modern version of this sport dates from 1917; it was included in the 1936 Berlin Olympics at the specific request of Adolf Hitler. Which sport?
8. How do we better know the AM General M-998 High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle?
9. My middle name is ‘Danger’ (really!). My ostensible profession is ‘fashion photographer’. My favourite car is a 1967 Jaguar SKE. Who am I?
10. Which widely used statistical technique gets its name from the fact that its blend of randomness and repetition is very similar to that observed in gambling?
11. Martin Luther referred to Reason as ‘the great whore’. Jonathan Swift took the Spanish phrase for ‘the whore’, and named an imaginary land after it; the inhabitants of this land are brilliant logicians, fond of mathematics and astronomy, but utterly lacking in common sense. Name this land.
12. Rapa Nui was first ‘discovered’ by a Dutchman named Jacob Roggeveen on 5 April 1722. How do we better know him/her/it?
13. Connect with a single word: the writer Kurt Vonnegut, the composer Franz Schubert, and the rock musician Captain Beefheart.
14. This word can be literally translated as ‘the works’, since it refers to a combination of solo and choral singing, declamation and dancing. Which word?
15. According to ancient Greek tradition, the poet _____ of Icaria not only invented Tragedy, but was the first person ever to appear on stage as an actor in a play. He lends his name to Gilbert and Sullivan's first-ever collaboration (sadly lost today), and to an English word. Name him.
16. Connect with a single word: the largest helicopter ever built, a unit of volume equal to roughly 100 gallons, a bumbling character from contemporary culture, a humbling character from classical culture, and a term commonly used in ‘America’s national pastime’.
17. Four ships (the Red Dragon, the Hector, the Susan and the Ascension) under the command of Captain James Lancaster sailed from Woolwich in February 1601. What was this the beginning of?
18. Though some taxonomists place them in their own division, the Mycophycophyta, they are actually symbiotic organisms consisting of algae (or cyanobacteria) and filamentous fungi. What?
19. The vicuña, alpaca, and guanaco are all varieties of... what?
20. Andre 3000 and Big Boi together form... what?
21. “It was beauty killed the beast” – whose epitaph is this?
22. Connect with a single word: a dye with formula C16H10N2O2, the duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, a newly-launched low-cost airline, the plant Isatis tinctoria, and a make of car.
23. I studied grammar, rhetoric and logic (the classical trivium) at the University of Avignon, before studying medicine at the University of Montpellier. I rose to become Physician-in-Ordinary to King Henri II of France, but am now remembered for something quite unrelated to medicine. Who am I?
24. Her most famous quote was “I want to be alone”, although she herself always claimed that what she actually said was “I want to be left alone”, which has a very different connotation. Who?
25. North America’s oldest sport is also currently its fastest growing, at all levels from youth to professional. It was invented by Native Americans as a martial yet spiritual pastime for young braves. The Jesuit missionary Jean de Brebeuf was the first European to see this sport played; subsequently it became popular with French pioneers, and then with the English and Americans. Some of the terms used in this sport are ‘box’, ‘crease’, ‘pick’ and ‘pocket’. Which sport is this?
26. (Audio) Most examples of this musical form are written as technical exercises for piano students; the audio clip you just heard is an exception, since it's appreciated in itself for its musical qualities. Identify the musical form.
27. Mohammed Al-Fayed bought Harrod’s for £615mm. What did William Seward buy for $7mm?
28. Arthur Conan Doyle’s brother-in-law created a ‘master thief’ to rival Doyle’s own creation of the master detective Sherlock Holmes. Name him (i.e., name the thief).
29. There is a pattern that connects answers 2 through 29 above. What is it? (This question carries double credit).
You can read the answers here.
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