Witches - 31/10/11

1. In some ancient witching recipes, they ask you to stir the pot widdershins – what does that mean?
Anti-clockwise

2. In which state is Salem, where the famous witch trials took place?
Massachusetts

3. In which decade was the last person to be imprisoned in Britain for being a witch?
1940s (1944)

4. According to the book and stage musical Wicked, what is the name of the Wicked Witch of the East – the sister of the main character Elpheba?
Nessa/Nessarose

5. In the Steeleye Span song, who is the ugliest in the north country?
Alison (Gross)

6. Which book by Arthur Miller used the Salem witch trials to commentate on 1950’s American culture?
The Crucible

7. Which historical figure, accused of being a witch, was nicknamed the Maid of Orleans?
Joan of Arc

8. Introduced in the Harry Potter books, if a witch is a mudblood, what does that mean?
Her parents are muggles/non-witches

9. Who sang the song Witchy Woman originally?
The Eagles

10. Which Shakespeare play opens with three witches atop a heath asking “When shall we three meet again?”
Macbeth

Connections - 31/10/11

1. What disease did Marilyn Monroe, Enrique Iglesias and Margaret Thatcher all reportedly suffer from?
Insomnia

2. Who took the Christmas No. 1 slot in 2009?
Rage against the Machine

3. What name is given to the individual rectangular textboxes that make up a spreadsheet?
Cell

4. Who is Frank Lampard’s fiancée?
Christine Bleakley

5. Which first name connects Fisher, the actress who played Prinecss Leia in the original Star Wars triology, and Bradshaw, the main character in Sex and the City?
Carrie

6. Which famous geyser was the first in Yellowstone National Park to receive its name?
Old Faithful

7. Which letter is represented in the NATO phonetic alphabet by the name of a month?
N

8. Which Maroon 5 song includes the lyrics “And there ain't nobody who can comfort me, oh yeah. Why won't you answer me? The silence is slowly killing me, oh yeah?”
Misery

9. What is 44 times 32?
1408

10. What connects these?
Stephen King works

Literary Monsters - 31/10/11

1. Which book is subtitled “The Modern Prometheseus”?
Frankenstein

2. In which epic would you find the monster “Grendel”?
Beowulf

3. In the Roald Dahl book, what to do the witches try to transform all the children into?
Mice

4. Which writer, as well as his more famous poems, write the short stores “The Telltale Heart,” “The masque of the Red Death,” and “The Pit and the Pendulum”?
Edgar Allen Poe

5. Which horror book, made into a 1990 film, features the character Pennywise the Dancing Clown?
It

6. Which character in literature sacrificed himself to defeat the Balrog?
Gandalf (the Grey)

7. Which science fiction author created the monster Cthulu?
HP Lovecraft

8. Complete the title of the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith: Pride, Prejudice and WHAT?
Zombies

9. What connects Darren Shan, Bella Swann and Lady Margalotta?
All vampires

10. Which monster has “terrible tusks and terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws”?
The Gruffalo

General Knowledge - 24/10/11

1. Which food gets its name from the Aztec word for testicle – Ahuacatl?
Avacado

2. What did Charlie Chaplin, Benito Mussolini, Kevin Keegan and Dickie Bird all choose to call their autobiography?
My Autobiography

3. In mathematics, what is the opposite of integration?
Differentiation

4. Which company is the dog Fernville Lord Digby famous for advertising?
Dulux

5. In what month is fathers’ day in the UK?
June

6. Which battle of 1066 shares its name with a premiership football ground?
Stanford Bridge

7. Which name is shared by the Roman Goddess who watches over children, and the island nation where you would find the Bay of Pigs?
Cuba

8. If you put the chemical symbols of the elements phosphorous, indium and potassium next to each other, which colour would you spell out?
Pink

9. The films The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption and 1408 are based on works of literature by which famous author?
Stephen King

10. What happened to Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans in 1964 that lead to their names going down in history?
Last people executed in the UK

Quotations - 24/10/11

1. Which movie ends with the lines “Boo…! Kitty?”
Monsters Inc

2. Complete the title of the song from Avenue Q – the internet is for what?
Porn

3. Which 20th century actress and model once told people "It's not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on" after appearing naked in a calendar shoot?
Marilyn Monroe

4. The first rule of fight club is very famous – you don’t talk about fight club – but what is the second rule of fight club?
“you DO NOT talk about fight club”

5. Which book opens with the line “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” and ends with the line “And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea”?
Rebecca

6. What six words finish this quotation from the movie Labyrinth: “Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen, for my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great —“
You have no power over me

7. Which famous TV series begun its very first episode with the line “Eurgh, stinks in here dunnit?!”
Eastenders

8. Which manxome mythical creatures lives in the tulgey wood?
The Jabberwock

9. In which movie would you find the quote “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”?
Jaws

10. Which children’s book opens with “A mouse takes a stroll through a deep dark wood, a fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good”
The Gruffalo

Geek Culture - 24/10/11

1. What are Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm collectively known as?
The Fantastic Four

2. What is the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard most famous for creating?
Church of Scientology

3. Which sci-fi character, voted by Empire magazine as the 25th greatest movie character ever, was voiced by Frank Oz?
Yoda

4. What company do the main characters in the show “The IT crowd” work for?
Reynholm Industries

5. Kathryn Janeway is famous for being the captain of which Starfleet ship?
Voyager

6. What does the internet abbreviation ROFL stand for?
Rolling on the floor Laughing

7. What connects Onix, Alakazam, Gloom and Mew?
Pokemon

8. What is the name of the king who returns in Tolkein’s book “The Return of the King”?
Aragorn

9. Which rock band is named after a device used to generate high voltages?
Van de Graaf Generator

10. The late Liz Sladen played which companion in Doctor Who, who had her own spin-off children’s sci-fi show?
Sarah-Jane Smith

Places - 24/10/11

1. Complete the set of London Places – Kings Cross, Liverpool Street, Marylebone and where else?
Fenchurch Street (Monopoly Stations)

2. Which Canadian province gives its name to a letter in the NATO phonetic alphabet?
Quebec

3. In which company was JRR Tolkein born?
South Africa

4. Earlier today the International Cricket Council launched the official rankings for the Twenty20 form of cricket, but which country is currently sitting at the top?
England

5. In which state of the USA is the Amarillo that Tony Christie is famous for trying to find the way to?
Texas

6. Which UK TV series is set in the town of Portwen?
Doc Martin

7. If you were to list all the Great Lakes in order alphabetically, which would come first?
Erie

8. In which country will the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 take place?
Azerbaijan

9. In which city would you be if you could see Picasso’s Guernica; watch a football match at the Bernebau stadium or catch an aeroplane from Barajas airport?
Madrid

10. What is the second largest continent in the world?
Africa

Numbers - 17/10/11

1. How many inches long is the world’s longest cucumber? (3 either way)
47 (so 44-50)

2. The band, whose song Stay Another Day went to Christmas No. 1 in 1994, is called East… what?
17

3. How many points did Wales score in their rugby world cup match against France at the weekend?
8

4. If you spell onomatopoeia (correctly) how many letters does it contain?
12

3. How much (in pence) does a British first class stamp currently cost?
46

5. Over the years, how many different mentors have there been on the UK X-factor judging panel? (Not including guest judges)
8 (Simon, Louis, Sharon, Danii, Cheryl, Tulisa, Kelly and Gary)

6. In the book by Agatha Christie, how many little Indians are there?
10

7. Today is Eminem’s birthday, but how old will he be? (3 either way)
38 (so 35-41)

8. According to the Proclaimers hit song, how many miles would I walk to fall down at your door?
1000 (500 and 500 more)

9. What is the maximum amount of characters allowed in one tweet on twitter?
140

10. In the name of the famous band, how many seconds to mars are there?
30

Fashion - 17/10/11

1. Where would you wear an epaulette?
On your shoulder

2. What colour clothes did the lady wear in Chris de Burgh’s famous song?
Red

3. Which comedian wrote the book “The Boy in the Dress”?
David Walliams

4. Which fashion designer who died last year was known as “the Hooligan of English Fashion”?
Alexander McQueen

5. In which musical will you find the song “You’re never fully dressed without a smile”?
Annie

6. Who wore a famous conical bra designed by Jean Paul Gautiere?
Madonna

7. What was the name of the fashion magazine at the centre of the film “The Devil Wears Prada”?
Runway

8. Which former model created, and currently hosts and judges, on the reality TV show “America’s Next Top Model”?
Tyra Banks

9. Which villain in a famous series of horror movies wore a fedora?
Freddy Kreuger

10. Which item of clothing did Alexandra Burke break in the 2009 song?
Heels/Shoes

TV & Radio - 17/10/11

1. Which actor, who was in the TV series Heroes, came out as gay yesterday?
Zachary Quinto

2. Which local radio station has the tagline “Playing what we want”?
Jack FM

3. Before his big break in the music industry, Justin Bieber was shot dead as a bit-actor in which American TV series?
CSI

4. Spell the surname of Hyacinth Bucket, the main character of the sitcom Keeping Up Appearances

5. What are Mark Labett, Shaun Wallace, Paul Sinha and Ann Heggerty collectively known as?
The Chasers

6. Which TV show’s theme tune begins with the lyrics “Every day when you’re walking down the street, everybody that you meet has an original point of view”?
Arthur (the Aardvark)

7. In the radio game show “Just a Minute”, what are the three rules that mean a contestant may interrupt you?
Hesitation, Deviation, Reptition

8. Which first name is shared by the Coronation Street actress who passed away this weekend and the character she played?
Betty

9. What was the TV alter-ego of Ben Collins until he got fired for telling everyone who he was?
The Stig

10. On which Radio 4 show, would you hear the words “South Fitzroy, mainly easterly or north-easterly 4 or 5 occasionally 6 showers, moderate or good occasionally poor”?
Shipping Forecast

Food & Drink - 17/10/11

1. What is so controversial about Baby Gaga ice cream?
It’s made with human milk

2. Which French vegetable stew lends its name to a 2007 Disney Pixar film?
Ratatouille

3. Which former England rugby captain is in the final of Celebrity Masterchef 2011?
Phil Vickery

4. Which Eurovision song contest winner shares its name with a cocktail?
Buck’s Fizz

5. What fruit gives Midori its flavour?
Melon

6. In the kid’s TV show The Herb Garden, what kind of animal is Parsley?
A lion

7. A finger of what is just enough to give a kid a treat?
Fudge

8. Who controversially tried – and enjoyed – Marmite and cheese sandwiches instead of his usual favourite in a 2007 advertising campaign?
Paddington Bear

9. Which 1960’s supergroup containing Eric Clapton shares its name with the ingredient that provides the bulk of the Scottish pudding Cranachan?
Cream

10. Which dairy food company caught the attention of a lot of people and made it to the top 100 charts after their advert featuring boyband “The Churned” was shown during the X-factor live shows?
Yeo Valley

In the News - 10/10/11

1. Which former CEO of Apple died last week?
Steve Jobs

2. The sequel of which horror film has controversially been allowed to play in UK cinemas, but only after nearly three minutes of footage was cut including “a man with barbed wire wrapped around his penis raping a woman”?
The Human Centipede

3. Why was the name “Maisy James” in the newspaper this weekend?
Evicted from the Big Brother house

4. Tomorrow is Dawn French’s birthday, but how old will she be? (3 years either way)
53 (so accept 50-56)

5. Which musician married for the third time yesterday in a low-key ceremony?
Paul McCartney

6. Twenty years ago today, Margaret Thatcher made a famous speech, that “this lady was not…” what?
For turning

7. The English Rugby team were knocked out of the world cup at the weekend, but by which team?
France

8. Which singer was awarded four awards at this year’s mobos and has also confirmed that she would be a judge on the talent show The Voice?
Jessie J

9. Which footballer had a bad week after his Dad is being investigated for fraud and he was sent off during England’s match against Montenegro?
Wayne Rooney

10. Which celebrity, more famous for sleeping with ex-Prime Minister John Major, was voted out of Strictly Come Dancing this weekend?
Edwina Curry

Child's Play - 10/10/11

Round 2 – Child’s Play

1. Which was the only UK Christmas number one that was sung by somebody who wasn’t from Earth?
Mr. Blobby

2. Who’s the most famous resident of the UK village of Greendale?
Postman Pat

3. Which child star had a hit with “Whip my hair”?
Willow Smith

4. What’s the name of the yellow tellytubby?
Laa-laa

5. Which kids’ TV show featured the twins Phil and Lil?
Rugrats

6. In Disney’s adaptation of the Dickens book Oliver Twist, what kind of animal was Oliver?
A cat

7. Which famous seaside puppet show that dates back to the 17th century has more recently come under fire for encouraging domestic abuse?
Punch and Judy

8. In which book do Veruca Salt and Augustus Gloop appear?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

9. Which actor was the star of the 2011 film Mr Popper’s Penguins?
Jim Carrey

10. Which TV characters, who first appeared during Watch with Mother in the 1950’s, spoke the fictional language of Oddle Poddle?
Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men

Places - 10/10/11

1. If you listed all the countries in the world alphabetically, which would be first and which would be last? (half a point for each)
Afghanistan; Zimbabwe

2. Which cartoon character and his family live at 43 Cherry Street, Langley Falls, Virginia?
Stan Smith/American Dad

3. Which British town, also the setting for the sitcom The Office, completes the famous poem by John Betjemen: “Come, friendly bombs, fall on where – it isn’t fit for humans now”?
Slough

4. Where in the UK would I be if I could see Rita, The Blade and Air?
Alton Towers

5. In which country was Celine Dion born?
Canada

6. Which salad, containing walnuts and apples, gets its name from the hotel where it was first made?
Waldorf

7. Who was famously kept trapped at 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney?
Nemo

8. What planet does the Doctor, star of Doctor Who, originally come from?
Gallifrey

9. Which city gave its name to a 2009 Paloma Faith single about how her boyfriend left her “for another lady”?
New York

10. In which country is Jacob’s Creek, where the famous wine is produced?
Australia

Animal Kingdom - 10/10/11

1. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, what is the most regulation-size tennis balls a dog has got in its mouth at the same time?
5

2. In the Disney film Bambi, what kind of animal was Flower?
Skunk

3. What was Pickles the dog famous for finding in a hedgerow in South London?
The stolen Jules Rimet/World Cup trophy

4. Which singer is famous for releasing the 2010 album Animal?
Ke$ha

5. What kind of animal is Spongebob Squarepant’s pet Gary?
Snail

6. Which animal has breeds including Cockapoo?
Dog

7. Who had a hit with “Eye of the Tiger”?
Survivor

8. Which books characters include pigs Snowball and Napoleon and horses Boxer and Clover?
Animal Farm

9. Which controversial animal rights group who dumped a pile of horse manure outside Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant has celebrity advocates including Justin Bieber?
PETA

10. Chi Chi, Gao Gao, Shi Shi and Tian Tian are all types of which animal?
(Giant) Panda

Connections - 03/10/11

Connections

1. In which sport may you hear the terms "gully", "powerplay" and "full toss"?
Cricket

2. Which song did Lady Gaga dedicate to suicide victim Jamey Rodemeyer at the iHeartRadio festival last weekend?
Hair

3. What is the nickname of Peregrin Took in Lord of the Rings, which is also the name of a variety of apple?
Pippin

4. To which state of the USA did Chandler Bing accidentally agree to move to after falling asleep in a board meeting in the TV series Friends?
Oklahoma

5. What game does Deep Blue famously play?
Chess

6. Which US city is known as the Windy City?
Chicago

7. Which Paris landmark is famous for the red windmill on its roof?
Moulin Rouge

8. What are Lord Tubbington in Glee; Snowball in the Simpsons and Dinah in Alice in Wonderland?
Cats

9. Which Hans Christian Andersen book was the inspiration for a statue just off the coast of Copenhagen?
The Little Mermaid

10. What do the above ten answers have in common?
All musical theatre shows.

Kings and Queens - 03/10/11

Kings and Queens

1. Which Queen song was voted the top British single of all time in a 2002 survey?
Bohemian Rhapsody

2. In the Shrek series of films, who plays King Harold, Shrek’s father-in-law?
John Cleese

3. What is the name given to Burger King’s signature quarter-pounder hamburger?
Whopper

4. What sport is played at the Queen’s Club in London?
Tennis

5. Which king is the main character of the film The King’s Speech, played by Colin Firth?
King George VI

6. Last week, Stephen King announced that he was writing a sequel to which of his early novels that was made in to a famous film?
The Shining

7. Who played the evil queen in the recent Tim Burton remake of Alice in Wonderland?
Helena Bonham Carter

8. Who is the current landlord of the Queen Vic pub in Eastenders?
Alfie Moon

9. What kind of animal is Timon in Disney film The Lion King?
Meerkat

10. Queen Latifah starred alongside Zac Efron and John Travolta in which musical film?
Hairspray

Literature - 03/10/11

Literature

1. Which 1847 novel was recently made into a movie starring Mia Wasikowksa and Michael Fassbender?
Jane Eyre

2. In one of Dr. Seuss’s famous books, what are the food items that the narrator is quite insistent he does not like whether he’s on a boat, with a goat, in the rain or on a train?
Green Eggs and Ham

3. Whose recently published memoirs are called “Happy Accidents”?
Jane Lynch

4. According to Spike Milligan’s poem, what noise do the cows make “On the Ning Nang Nong”?
Bong

5. Which author wrote the “Perfect Ponies” and “Mermaid & Pirates” book series, and has other books including “Angel” and “Paradise”?
Jordan/Katie Price

6. Jude Law and Morgan Freeman have both played which character from a famous book series in recent TV and film adaptations?
Doctor Watson (from Sherlock Holmes)

7. What is special about the penguins at the centre of kid’s book “And Tango Makes Three” that made it the most complained about book in America in 2010?
Tango has two dads – the penguins are gay parents.

8. Who wrote The Two Gentlemen of Verona?
William Shakespeare

9. What name links the owner of the workhouse where Oliver Twist lived, the nickname of retired cricketer David Lloyd and a bee in Fifi and the Flowertots?
Bumble

10. What is the stage name of musician Richard Melville Hall, which was inspired by a famous book by his namesake Herman Melville?
Moby

Music - 03/10/11

Music

1. Who featured with 3Oh!3 in their collaboration My First Kiss?
Ke$ha

2. Whose death caused Elton John to rewrite his song “Candle in the Wind,” originally to mourn the loss of Marilyn Monroe?
Diana, Princess of Wales

3. Which musical film released this summer was described by one critic as “songs parents can stand and kids can listen to because pretty people sing them”?
Glee [The 3D Concert Movie]

4. What do you get if you add the name of the number one albums released by Adele in January and Beyoncé in June of this year?
25 (21 + 4)

5. Who announced their intention to release a Christmas album called “Under the Mistletoe” this week?
Justin Bieber

6. What year did Britney Spear’s first number one single, “…Baby One More Time” get released in the UK?
1998

7. Which music competition has been won by Lena, Alexander Rybak and Dima Bilan?
Eurovision Song Contest

8. Which artist has had #1 albums with ‘Encore’ and ‘Relapse’, and #1 singles with ‘Stan’ and ‘Smack That’?
Eminem

9. Which American singer-songwriter is better known as “The Boss”?
Bruce Springsteen

10. Una Healey, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Rochelle Wiseman and Vanessa White make up which band?
The Saturdays