The following is a part one series of General Knowledge 'themed quizzes' (each with 10 questions) which I have used in the 'Colchester Quiz League' Good luck. The answers are at the end of each quiz. The link to Part 2 is at the bottom of the page.

Before I begin (and with apologies to the ladies), here's another costume that managed to defy the laws of gravity and stayed up? How? 

For the record: The character Elvira is played by Cassandra Peterson

Quiz One: The theme is 'Spys'
1.          Contempt proceedings began on July 12, 2001 against the Sunday Times for publishing exacts of which book by Peter Wright?
2.          In which country was World War One spy 'Mata Hari' born?
3.          What was the real Christian name of the British Intelligence officer 'Kim' Philbey, who famously defected in 1963?
4.          In which continental country is there a town called SPY, it's co-ordinates being lat 50 29N, long 04 43E?
5.          Who became the first actor to receive equal billing with a white star playing Alexander Culp in the 60s TV spy series 'I Spy'?  
6.           What was the name of the character played by Mary Ann Mobley and then Stephanie Powers as 'The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.?
7.          The music 'The Devil's Gallop' was used as the theme for which radio & subsequent TV programme?
8.          Who played the role of Alec Leamas in the 1965 film 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold'?
9.          What was the name of the character played by Alec Guinness in the TV series 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'?
10.        Carly Simon had a top 10 hit with the song from the James Bond movie 'The Spy Why Loved Me. What was that songs' title?

 

ANSWERS
1. Spycatcher 2. Netherlands 3. Harold (Adrian Russell Philbey)
4. Belgium 5. Bill Cosby  6. April Dancer
7. Dick Barton - Special Agent 8. Richard Burton 9. George Smiley
10. Nobody Does It Better

Quiz 2 - Famous Browns
1.          During which century did the landscape architect Lancelot 'Capability' Brown live and work?
2.          The last footballer (up to & including 2001) to play for England with the surname 'Brown' made his only appearance in 1971 v Wales, when on the books of West Bromwich Albion. Name him.
3.          How did the famous American abolitionist John Brown die on December 2, 1859?
4.          What was the Christian name of John Alcock's partner with whom he made the first non-stop flight over the Atlantic in 1919?
5.          The Musical 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' tells the story of one of the survivors of which nautical disaster? 
6.           Who wrote the novel 'Tom Brown's School Days'?
7.          In which US state is the city of Brownsville?
8.          Which Australian actor appeared in the films 'Cocktail' and 'Gorillas In The Mist' as well as the TV series 'The Thorn Birds'?
9.          In which field did the French born Englishman Ford Maddox Brown, born in 1821 and died in 1893, achieve fame?
10.        Which top 10 hit of 1959 by 'The Browns' tells the story of little Jimmy Brown?

 

ANSWERS
1. 18th (1715-1783) 2. Tony 3. Hanged
4. Sir Arthur Whitten (Brown)  5. Sinking of the Titanic  6. Thomas Hughes 
7. Texas 8. Bryan Brown 9. As a Painter 
10. The Three Bells

Quiz 3 - Lovers
1.          The first romantic idol of the silver screen was Rudolph Valentino. In which country was he born?
2.          What was legendary lover Casonova's Christian name?
3.          What was the name of the daughter borne to Lady Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson?
4.          Nell Gwynne was the celebrated mistress of which King of England?
5.          Did St.Valentine, the Patron Saint of Lovers, who was originally a Roman priest and martyr, die in the year 269 B.C. or 269 A.D.?
6.           During the making of which film did Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton fall in love?
7.          Which famous novel, completed in 1928, is set in Wragby Hall, in the Midlands?
8.          During December of which year did King Edward VIII abdicate, in order to marry the divorcee Mrs Wallis Simpson?
9.          Whitney Houston had a top 10 in 1988 with 'The Greatest Love Of All'. Who had the original hit with that song in 1977?
10.        In Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet', how do the two lovers die?

 

ANSWERS
1. Italy 2. Giovanni Giocomo 3. Horatia
4. Charles II 5. A.D. 6. Cleopatra
7. Lady Chatterly's Lover 8. 1936 9. George Benson
10. Romeo poison's himself. Juliet stabs herself.

Quiz 4 - Money
1.          What sum of money is denoted by the slang term 'A Pony'?
2.          What is Hong Kong's equivalent of the 'FT-SE 100' index?
3.          For which then Division One Football Club did Richard Money make 14 appearances in 1980?
4.          In which of Dicken's novels does Mr Micawber say: 'Annual income £20. Annual expenditure: £19-19-6d. Result, happiness. Annual income £20. Annual expenditure £20-0-6d. Result, misery'?
5.          What is the unit of currency in Peru?
6.           Who (2001) presents BBC 2's mid-day financial programme 'Working Lunch?
7.          The US gold reserves are held at a military base at Fort Knox. In which US state is Fort Knox?
8.          The film 'The Magnificent Seven' was based on the Japanese film 'The Seven Samurai'. Which very well-know western of 1964 was similarly based on the Japanese film 'Yojimbo'?
9.          Who or what is a moneywort?
10.        Who, in 1979, scored a top 5 hit with the song 'Money'?

 

ANSWERS
1. £25 2. Hang Seng  3. Liverpool
4. David Copperfield  5. Nuevo Sol 6. Adrian Childs
7. Kentucky 8. A Fistful of Dollars 9. A perennial herb
10. Flying Lizzards

QUIZ 5 - MOTHERS
1.          Which alcoholic drink is nicknamed ‘Mother’s Ruin’?  
2.          Who was the mother of King James I of England and VI of Scotland?  
3.          Born in Albania in 1910, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979?  
4.          Which actress is the mother of actress Mia Farrow?  
5.          Born in 1488 in Knaresborough, in a cave, how do we better know the prophetess Ursuala Sontheil, who predicted such events as the Great Fire of London and the defeat of the Spanish Armada, as well as her own death in 1561?  
6.           In Greek mythology Oedipus unwittingly fulfilled a prophecy when he unknowingly married his mother. What was his mother’s name?  
7.          In Alaska is there a Lake called Lake Mother Goose or Lake Mother Hubbard?  
8.          Which TV cartoon mother is voiced by Julie Kavner?  
9.          In which 1987 film does Danny de Vito play a timid middle-aged man still living with his overbearing mother?  
10.        Which record, in 1972, became the first No.1 UK single to include reference to one’s maternal parent in it’s title?  
 

 

ANSWERS
1. Gin 2. Mary Queen of Scots 3. Mother Teresa
4. Maureen O’Sullivan 5. Mother Shipton 6. Jocasta 
7. Lake Mother Goose 8. Marge Simpson 9. Throw Momma From The Train 
10. Mama Weer All Crazee Now  by Slade

QUIZ 6 - COLOURS

1.          How was King William III of England, who ruled from 1689-1702 also known?
2.          How did we better know the TV puppet whose real name was Paul Metcalfe and who voiced by Francis Matthews?
3.          In a popular animated film of 1968, what was the name of the wicked bunch of people who suck the colour out of people and bop them on the head with apples?  
4.          What was the name of the Serbian secret society who were pledged to the liberation of Serbs from Hapsburg & Ottoman rule, who on June 28, 1941 assassinated the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand, which led to the outbreak of WWI?  
5.          Which player scored the only goal of the 1980 Football League Cup final, when Wolves beat Nottingham Forest 1-0?  
6.           Based on the Butlin’s Red Coats, what colour coats did the entertainments staff at Maplins in the TV series ‘Hi De Hi’ wear?  
7.          What was the title of a 1956 comedy starring Alastair Sim as an assassin lured out of retirement to do away with a pompous politician, the film’s title being the name of a seaside hotel where the deed is to take place?  
8.          Which of the planets, the 4th from the sun, is known as ‘The Red Planet’?  
9.         

Why was America’s famous White House painted white in the early 19th Century?

a)     White was the only colour available

b)     To hide smoke stains after it was burned by the British in 1812

c)      It was the then President’s wife’s favourite colour  
10.      Which record was a No.1 hit in 1955 for both Perez Prado and Eddie Calvert?  

 

ANSWERS
1. William of Orange 2. Captain Scarlet 3. Blue Meanies (The film being 'Yellow Submarine)
4. Black Hand 5. Andy Gray  6. Yellow
7. The Green Man 8. Mars 9. B
10. Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White

 

QUIZ 7 - JAPAN  

1.          Name 2 of the 4 main islands that comprise Japan.
2.          Name the two Japanese cities upon which the Allies dropped an atom bomb in 1945?  
3.          What is the Japanese equivalent of the Ftse 100 Index?  
4.          Which Briton won a gold medal in the 20km walk at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics?  
5.          Which of the James Bond films was set in Japan?  
6.           Which religion has its origin in ancient indigenous traditions and may be defined as an agglomeration of nature worship; tribal cult, hero worship, and reverence for the Emperor?  
7.          In the opera ‘The Mikado’, which is set in Japan, what is the name of the cheap tailor under sentence of death for flirting, but who is reprieved and subsequently is raised to the exalted rank of Lord High Executioner?  
8.          Who wrote the 1989 best selling novel Shogun, which was subsequently made into a TV mini-series, starring Richard Chamberlain?  
9.          What is the name of the Japanese dish of thinly cut beef strips and vegetables, served with noodles?  
10.        Name either of the two top 10 hits in the 1980s for the group Japan.  

 

ANSWERS
1. Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku or Kyushu 2. Hiroshima & Nagasaki 3. Nikkei
4. Ken Matthews 5. You Only Live Twice 6. Shinto
7. Ko-ko 8. James Clavell  9. Sukiyaki 
10. Ghosts or I Second That Emotion

QUIZ 8 - GUNS
1.          Who manufactured the .45-calibre peacemaker revolver, known as the most famous handgun in America’s west?
2.          Which character did James Arness play in the TV series GUNSMOKE?  
3.          Was the inventor of the Thompson Sub-Machinegun, John T.Thompson, a General in the US or British Army?
4.          Ben Gun is a character in which famous novel?  
5.          What was the Christian name of the inventor of the famous Winchester repeating rifle Mr Winchester. Was it Stanley or Oliver?  
6.           Which footballer made 6 appearances for Scotland between 1990 and 1994, whilst on the books of Norwich City?  
7.          During which famous 19th Century conflict did Richard Gattling invent his famous gun?  
8.          Who played Paladin in the 50s TV series ‘Have Gun Will Travel’?  
9.          What was the name of the gun firm started by two gunsmiths whose Christian names were Horace & Daniel?  
10.        Which rock’n’roller scored a top 20 hit in 1960 with ‘Pistol Packin’ Mama?

 

ANSWERS
1. Samuel Colt 2. Marshall Matt Dillion 3. British Army
4. Treasure Island 5. Oliver 6. Bryan Gunn
7. American Civil War 8. Richard Boone  9. Smith & Wesson
10. Gene Vincent

QUIZ 9 - EDWARDS
1.          In which century did Edward I accede to the throne of England?
2.          Which author, who was born in Holloway in 1812, the 20th son of a stockbroker, travelled widely during his life, publishing accounts of    Italy, Albania & Corsica and wrote his most famous work in 1845 for the grandchildren of the Earl of Derby, under whose patronage he was at the time?  
3.          What was the name of the character played by Edward Woodward in the TV series ‘The Equaliser’?
4.          Which composer is probably best known for his ‘Pomp & Circumstances’ marches?
5.          What is the capital city of Canada’s smallest province Prince Edward Island?
6.           What nickname was given to Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III, the nickname possibly being given posthumously and referring to armour worn at the Battle of Crecy?  
7.          Which footballer, who made over 300 League appearances for Chelsea between 1962 & 1973, subsequently managed that Club between 1975 & 1977?  
8.          How do we better know the actor born Emanuel Goldberg in 1893?  
9.          Who was the Russian Foreign Minister from 1985 to 1990?
10.        Which pop star, who topped the UK charts in 1953 with ‘Outside of Heaven’ in the 50s was married to film stars Debbie Reynolds & then Elizabeth Taylor?

 

ANSWERS
1. 13th (1272) 2. Edward Lear 3. Robert McCall
4. Edward Elgar 5. Charlottetown 6. The Black Prince
7. Eddie McCreddie 8. Edward G.Robinson 9. Edward Shevardadze 
10. Eddie Fisher

QUIZ 10 - AN EQUINE QUIZ
1.          Which is both the oldest and the longest in distance of the 5 English classic flat races?
2.          Which cowboy of the big and small screen rode a white horse called Topper?  
3.          Who scored pop success in 1972 riding ‘A Horse with No Name’ into the charts?  
4.          Which character, played by Alan Young, was the owner of TV’s talking horse Mr Ed?  
5.          Which is the smallest breed of pony, that was developed in Argentina, from Shetland Pony stock?  
6.           In Greek mythology, the winged horse Pegasus is reputed to have sprung from the slain blood of who?  
7.          Which famous service actually ran for less than 2 years between St.Joseph Missouri & Sacramento, California, in the 1860s?  
8.          What colour will Lipizzaner horses, as used by the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, be?  
9.          Are the famous Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian or American side of the River Niagara?  
10.        A horse called Commanche was the only survivor from one half of the combatants of which famous 19th Century battle?  

 

ANSWERS
1. St. Leger 2. Hopalong Cassidy  3. America
4. Wilbur Post 5. Falabella 6. Medusa
7. Pony Express 8. White/Grey 9. Canada
10. Battle of the Little Big Horn (It was General Custer's horse)

QUIZ 11 - NUMBERS
1.          Who wrote the novel 101 Dalmatians?
2.          How many sides would a dodecahedron figure have?  
3.          In which TV series is there a character called “Seven of Nine”?  
4.          How many dimes are there in an American dollar?
5.          What was the name of Bertolt Brecht’s 1929 adaptation of John Gay’s the Beggar’s Opera?  
6.           Name either of the names of Kings of England of which, since 1066, there have only been one of.  
7.          In which 1995 Terry Gilliam directed film did Bruce Willis star as James Cole alongside Madeline Stowe as Kathryn Railly?  
8.          In the song, the 12 days of Christmas, what gift did my true love give to me on the 7th day of Christmas?  
9.          How many stars are there on the flag of Australia?  
10.        Name two of the 7 records that topped the charts in the 1980s that included a number in it’s title?

 

ANSWERS
1. Dodie Smith 2. Twelve 3. Star Trek: Voyager
4. Ten 5. The Threepenny Opera 6. Stephen or John
7. Twelve Monkeys 8. Seven Swans a Swimming 9. Six
10. 'One Day In Your Life', 'Seven Tears', 'Goody Two Shoes', '99 Red Balloons', 'Two Tribes', '19' or 'One Moment In Time'

QUIZ 12 - RABBITS
1.          In which sport could a player be referred to as a ‘rabbit’?  
2.          In whose garden was Peter Rabbit’s father caught & killed and then made into a pie?
3.          Fill in the missing country to complete a breed of rabbit: …….. Dwarf?
4.          Which country singer had minor hits with the songs ‘Anyway Which Way But Loose’ and ‘I Love A Rainy Night’?  
5.          What was the name of the 6 foot invisible rabbit that inebriate Elwood P.Dowd, played by James Stewart, alone could see in the 1950 film  that was named after that invisible rabbit?  
6.           If the collateral adjective for cats is feline, was is the collateral adjective for rabbits?  
7.          Which big screen cartoon rabbit was voiced by Charles Fleischer?  
8.          Of what was Margaret Armitage the first in Britain?
9.          If a group of monkeys is described as a troop of monkeys, how is a group of rabbits described?  
10.        Who wrote the ‘Brer Rabbit’ stories?

 

ANSWERS
1. Cricket 2. Mr McGregor’s 3. Netherland
4. Eddie Rabbit   5. Harvey 6. Lepine or Lapine
7. Roger Rabbit (in Who Framed Roger Rabbit) 8. Bunny Girl at London’s Playboy Club (opened in 1966) 9. Colony
10. Joel Chandler Harris (Uncle Remus was the narrator of the stories)

QUIZ 13 - BRIDGES
1.          The Clifton Suspension bridge spans which river?  
2.          By what name is the New Bridge at St.John’s College in Cambridge amore commonly known?
3.          At 1,410 metres in length, which is the longest bridge in the UK?
4.          A set of stamps was issued in the UK in 1964 to commemorate the opening of which bridge?  
5.          Which Bridge, across the River Thames, designed by John Wolfe-Barry & Sir Horace Jones and constructed between 1881 & 1894?
6.           What are the names of the two actor sons of actor Lloyd Bridges?  
7.          Footballer Barry Bridges played for three London Clubs. His first Club was Chelsea for whom he made 174 League appearances, scoring 80 goals, between 1958 and 1965 for Chelsea. Name either of the other 2 London Clubs he played for making over 70 appearances for both?  
8.          In which year did Simon & Garfunkel top both the UK & US singles & album charts with ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’?  
9.          What was the name of the character played by Alec Guinness in the famous 1957 film ‘Bridge Over The River Kwai’?  
10.        Which character did Angela Baddeley play on TV and in which period drama did she play the character?  

        

ANSWERS
1. Avon  2. Bridge of Sighs 3. Humber Suspension Bridge
4. Forth Road Bridge 5. Tower Bridge  6. Jeff & Beau
7. Q.P.R. & Millwall 8. 1970 9. Col. Nicholson
10. Mrs Bridges in Upstairs Downstairs

QUIZ 14 - SECONDS
1.          Who, on July 21, 1961, became the second American, after Alan Shepherd, into space?
2.          Who was the second of King Henry VIII’s wives to be beheaded?
3.          Hot Love' was the first of 4 UK No.1 hits for T.Rex. What was the title of their second?
4.          Which country is the second largest in area, after Russia?  
5.          Who was the second actor to play Dr Who on the small screen?  
6.           Which British athlete, the then ‘golden girl of British athletics’ won silver in the 800 metres at the Mexico Olympics?
7.          In which century did the Second Crusade to the Holy Land take place?  
8.          Genesis is the first book of the bible. What is the second?  
9.          Jupiter is the largest of the planets. Which is the second largest?  
10.        Which was the second of the James Bond films?  

ANSWERS
1. Virgil S.Grissom 2. Catherine Howard 3. Get It On
4. Canada 5. Patrick Troughton  6. Lillian Board
7. 12th (1148-1149) 8. Exodus 9. Saturn
10. From Russia With Love

   

QUIZ 15 - THE RAILWAYS/TRAINS  

1.          The famous ‘Orient Express’, which began service in 1883, originally ran between Paris and which other city?
2.          In which century did George Stephenson design and build his famous ‘Rocket’ railway engine?
3.          From which London railway terminus would you depart if your destination was Cardiff?
4.          Formed in 1971, what is the name of the principal train operator in the U.S.A.?  
5.          Which famous railway engine was designed & built by Sir Nigel Gresley in Doncaster, in 1923 and by the time it was withdrawn from service in 1963 had clocked up 2,076,000 miles?
6.           In terms of length, which city has the world’s largest underground system, with 391 kms of track?  
7.          On TV, who is Ivor The Engine’s driver?  
8.          Complete the title of this 1979 top 10 for the Electric Light Orchestra: ‘Last Train To ….’?  
9.          In which 1957 film does Van Hefflin play farmer Dan Evans delivering outlaw Ben Wade, played by Glen Ford to a state prison in Arizona?  
10.        Who is the current manager (March 2001) of the Football League team who are nicknamed ‘The Railwaymen’?  

 

ANSWERS
1. Istanbul (Then named Constantinople) 2. 19th 3. Paddington 
4. Amtrak 5. Flying Scotsman   6. London
7. Jones The Steam 8. London 9. 3:10 To Yuma
10. Dario Gradi (Crewe Alexandra)

QUIZ SIXTEEN - SNAKES
1.          Which is the largest species of snake, the longest recorded being 32 feet, 10 inches?
2.          Cleopatra reputedly committed suicide by inducing which species of snake to bite her?
3.          'Green' and 'Black' are both varietes of which snake?
4.          In the Disney film 'The Jungle Book', what is the name of the snake with the hypnotic eyes?
5.          In the song 'Captain Beaky', what is the name of the snake tracked down by Beaky and his gang?
6.           Whose first UK hit was 'Spiders & Snakes'?
7.          What is added to lager (and occasionally blackcurrent) to make the drink snakebite, although due to it's potency it is illegal to serve it in Britain?
8.          Which is the heaviest recorded species of snake, the largest weighing in at 227 kgs, around 500 pounds? 
9.          Who played the role of Snake Blissenden in 'Escape from L.A.' and 'Escape From New York'?
10.        Snake charmers are famous for the manner in which they charm snakes with the use of a small musical instrument, usually a flute, seemingly hypnotising the snakes with the music, but why is this just not possible?

 

ANSWERS
1. (Reticulated) Python 2. Asp 3. Mamba
4. Kaa 5. Hissing Sid 6. Jim Stafford
7. Cider 8. Anaconda  9. Kurt Russell
10. Snakes have no ears and are deaf!

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