An easier one today I think The questions 1 What is the world’s most widely used psychoactive drug? 2 What does the GPT of ChatGPT stand for? 3 Which construction did IK Brunel call “my first child, my darling”? 4 Where, in the late 19th century, did the Meiji Restoration take place? 5 Katherine Johnson famously made calculations for which organisation? 6 Which UK city has Linen, Cathedral and Titanic quarters? 7 Tudor Close in Rottingdean is said to have inspired what board game? 8 What ended on Black Tot Day in 1970? What links: 9 Barbz; Beyhive; Little Monsters; Lizzbians; Swifties? 10 Connor (1895); Ruth (1921); Aaron (1974); Bonds (2007)? 11 Anne of Denmark; Henrietta Maria; Elizabeth II? 12 Light yellow; muscular; aficionado; to polish? 13 Belmont; Emley Moor; Winter Hill; Crystal Palace; Mendlesham? 14 Man in the Iron Mask; Marquis de Sade; Voltaire? 15 Night of the Hunter; One-Eyed Jacks; Harlem Nights; Whip It?
1 Coke 2 Great Pair of T*** 3 Great Western 4 China 5 NASA 6 Belfast 7 Cluedo 8 Any hope of City getting promoted. What links: 9 German punk bands 10 US Baseball big hitters....home runs in every game in that season. 11 Buried in Windsor 12 taxi shades 13 Communication masts 14 Written in French 15 Robert Mitchum
1 alcohol 3 great western steam ship. which might have actually been called the great eastern. 8 free school milk 9 range of dolls for girls 10 some baseball record or other. most career home runs, perhaps. 13 tv transmitters, perhaps bbc ones specifically.
The answers 1 Caffeine. 2 Generative pre-trained transformer. 3 Clifton Suspension Bridge. 4 Japan. 5 Nasa. 6 Belfast. 7 Cluedo. 8 Royal Navy’s daily rum ration. 9 Nicknames for fanbases: Nicki Minaj; Beyoncé; Lady Gaga; Lizzo; Taylor Swift. 10 Progression of baseball’s career home run record. 11 Mothers of King Charles I, II and III. 12 Definitions of buff. 13 Transmitting stations. 14 Imprisoned in the Bastille. 15 Only film directed by various actors: Charles Laughton; Marlon Brando; Eddie Murphy; Drew Barrymore and if youve not seen Night of the hunter directed by Charles Laughton then you really should. laughton born in Scarborough coincidentally
You can’t argue against a computer’: has the pub quiz lost its soul? The perfect trivia night is an elusive mix of brains, beer and banter, but are slick question-setting companies sapping the scene of its community spirit? please log in to view this image Francisco Garcia Mon 12 Jun 2023 11.00 BST The Hooden Horse is a utilitarian new-ish build pub located in a retail park on the fringes of Margate. It can’t be many people’s idea of a destination boozer but this changes around 8pm every Wednesday, when the place is enveloped in quiz mania. Local radio presenter Mark Cridland has hosted proceedings for the past seven years. “Some weeks it’s 13 teams, or it might be 30,” he chuckles from a corner table as he runs through a last-minute checklist, tucked away from the rapidly filling room. “We have our regulars who are hardcore quizzers. They’re the ones who will let me know if I mispronounce a word.” Every week, thousands of broadly identical scenes can be observed across the country, from the south coast to the outer fringes of the Highlands; from A-road chain pubs to the most idiosyncratic locals. These offerings range from casual to rabidly competitive. Some, such as Cridland’s, are often both. My trip to Thanet was one of several night-time visitations around the country, trying to chart the future of a very British institution. What sort of health was the pub quiz in? How did it work? And what did the apparently inexorable rise of professionalised pub quiz companies mean for a pastime more traditionally associated with homespun volunteer spirit? The pub quiz occupies its own specific corner of the British psyche. It is, after all, almost universally regarded as an invention from these isles. Some of the most reliable pub historians trace things back to late-1950s Merseyside and Lancashire, when about 4,000 people became involved in the organised quiz leagues that sprang up from Bootle to Southport, although the Guinness Book of Records makes mention of a night in Yorkshire dating from 1946. The Liverpool Echo of 30 October 1963 carried an interview with a Mr Jack Robinson, “one of the men who has been on the Merseyside quiz scene since it started”. “It’s a jolly good way of enjoying yourself,” said Robinson, “and learning at the same time.” Phones away, please: the rise and rise of the online pub quiz Despite their growth, the format has broadly remained the same. Word puzzles, picture and music rounds, as well as a high-stakes “wipeout round” to close the game. Writing the questions alongside his two business partners is a painstaking process, taking about 60 hours a week between them, before being fired across to in-house verifier Rob, “who we call ‘the robot’, he’s just incredible”. The more venues they’ve accumulated, the higher the stakes: “If there’s a medical question, for instance, you might have a doctor or a nurse in the room. You have to research things so thoroughly. Of course, it has to be perfect but you can’t get too bogged down. It has to be fun as well.” On a damp Tuesday night in mid-April, I made my way down to a pub about a mile from my local. My partner and I had been meaning to try out the quiz night for several weeks. If not quite a shock, it felt odd to be presented with the latest Inquizition offering. It was as good and evenly judged as ever, though it was hard to shake the slight feeling of deja vu and deflation. All the right questions were being asked, just in the wrong pub. The host felt unfamiliar, as did the setting. We got through it fine, though the cosiness and vaguely conspiratorial feeling of the best quizzes was missing. This evidently wasn’t the case in Margate. I had wanted to know what kept Mark Cridland coming back, year after year. It was the buzz, although there had been changes during his time in the hot seat. “I’ve seen quite a few places bringing in the online quizzes,” he explained. It wasn’t something he felt much enthusiasm over. “People have told me that it isn’t the same as having a quizmaster. For one thing, you can’t argue against the computer.” At heart, it was a simple format, with simple joys. “People love to argue the toss over anything. It’s a little community, isn’t it? And that’s what pubs are made for.”
5.25 not bad. Good quiz...Yes, indeed NotH classic film with Mitchum alongside a young Shelley Winters.
Saturday the 17th Good luck The questions 1 Which three current national capitals have hosted the Winter Olympics? 2 Eliza Davis protested to Dickens that which character was a negative stereotype? 3 What is the world’s heaviest snake? 4 Hitler, Mussolini and FDR all died in which month? 5 What type of mechanical device is a paternoster? 6 In US medicine, DSM-5 is the list of what? 7 The Grand Banks lie off which Atlantic island? 8 Where were three Carlist wars fought in the 19th century? What links: 9 Middle; archbishop or urban; 360 degrees; 50th anniversary; acceded 1837? 10 Arcesius; Laertes; Odysseus; Telemachus? 11 All-seeing eye; square and compasses; sheaf of corn; acacia tree? 12 Argentina; Australian Aboriginal; Bangladesh; Japan; North Macedonia? 13 Rod Steiger; Robert De Niro; Tom Hardy; Stephen Graham? 14 Bual; malmsey; sercial; verdelho? 15 Mecca (4th); Shanghai (3rd) Kuala Lumpur (2nd); Dubai (1st)?
2. ***in 3. Anaconda 6. I’m not 100% on whether it’s a medical or insurance thing, but it’s a list of psychological medical conditions 11. Symbols of freemasonry
5. One of those lifts that run side by side on a loop. 7. Newfoundland 10. I know Telemachus was the son of Odysseus, so maybe it's his male family line. 12. Flags have a sun on them 13. Not 100% but at least 3 have played Al Capone on film
darn! i missed the word winter. old exam failng, not reading the question properly. oh well. most saturdays i'm lucky to get any right.
1. Oslo, Sarajevo (bit of a trick question), Beijing. Has Berlin been relagated? 6. Classification of mental health conditions used in underwriting of both health and life insurance coverage. 7. Newfoundland. 8. Spain. 10. Greek mythological lineage... 14. Piss artists (fortified wine).
1 Tokyo, Sarajevo, Ottawa 2 ***an from Oliver Twist 3 Donald Trump 4 April 5 Measures the length of feet 6 banned substances 7 Nova Scotia 8 Balkans What links: 9 No idea 10 All played up top for Greece 11 Don't exist in reality 12 Changed their names at some point. 13 All have played Dracula 14 Musical instruments 15 Housed worlds tallest building at one point