100 Trivia Questions

1. Which French monarch reinstated the divine right of the monarchy to France and was known as `The Sun King' because of the splendour of his reign?
2. The `Wicked Bible', printed in 1631, became so called because the word `not' was omitted from which of the Ten Commandments?
3. Which eponymous hero of a work first published in 1902 was warned of the dangers lurking in a nearby garden with the words `Your father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mr. McGregor'?
4. Which European patron saint was once a ruler of Bohemia and has given his name to a Square in Prague?
5. Which Italian term describes a virtuoso passage, usually for a solo instrument near the end of a concerto, originally intended to have an improvisatory character.
6. Which boxer, representing Canada, won the 1988 Olympic Super-Heavyweight Gold Medal, defeating Riddick Bowe of the USA in the final?
7. Which competition was one by Eimear Quinn with `The Voice' in 1996, this being the fourth win in five years for her country?
8. Which battle, whose 250th anniversary was celebrated in April 1996, was fought on a part of Drummossie Muir whose name translates from the Gaelic as `stinking bog'?
9. Which fibre is produced from two species of of Corchorus plant, was first exported to the west from India in in the 1790s and from 1822 was manufactured commercially into yarn in Dundee?
10. Which Jane Austen heroine was told by her father, ``Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.''?
11. Strenuous exercise can cause a build-up of which acid in the muscles.
12. Which commission was established in 1948 but adopted its present name in 1973 under the Fair Trading Act and has embraced the Competition Act since 1980?
13. Which performing arts complex was opened was opened in 1973 and was reported by National Geographic magazine as having had its roofline variously described as clam shells, full blown sails or a huddle of nuns in a high wind?
14. In chemistry, which organic compounds are characterised by the functional group COOH?
15. Which British physicist, whose four equations form a complete description of the inter-relation of electric and magnetic fields, gave his name to the c.g.s. unit of magnetic flux?
16. Who became Governor of Hong Kong after he lost his position as MP for Bath in the 1992 General Election?
17. From 1955 to 1957, the English soldier and field marshall Sir John Harding was Governor-General of which island during the terrorist campaign against its British administration?
18. What name is given to the popular Greek spirit flavoured with aniseed?
19. In AD 324, which Roman emperor claimed Byzantium as a new Rome for the Eastern empire?
20. The first Violin Concerto in G minor by which composer, born in Cologne in 1838, has been voted Britain's favourite piece of classical music in each of the last three years when Classic FM has compiled a `Hall of Fame' from its listeners' votes?
21. Which seven word phrase originated in the United States as the title of a 1936 book on business psychology by Dale Carnegie?
22. Cecil Day Lewis' character Nigel Strangeways, whom he created in the detective novels which he wrote under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake, is widely believed to be based on which poet friend of the author?
23. The Russian modern pentathlete Boris Onischenko was disqualified from the 1976 Olympics for cheating in which of the five disciplines?
24. Which Sheffield-born pop star was described in `Select' magazine as having `The wit of Alan Bennett in the body of Kenneth Williams'?
25. In September 1995, France exploded a test nuclear weapon approximately 700 miles south-east of Tahiti at which atoll in the South Pacific?
26. The Kalahari Desert covers part of Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, but lies primarily within which land-locked country?
27. What number results from adding the number of Noble Truths of Buddhism to the number of Pillars of Islam?
28. Charles II, also known as Charles the Mad, reigned in Spain from 1665 until 1700 and was the last Spanish monarch of which dynasty?
29. Which architect of the 19th century Gothic Revival was born in 1812 and is probably best known for his work, with Charles Barry,x on the Houses of Parliament?l
30. Which novelist, winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize for Literature, wrote "The Silent Don", published in two parts as "And Quiet Flows the Don" and "The Don Flows Home to the Sea"?
31. Which poet was born in 1572 and appointed Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1621?
32. What name is given to goods sold not primarily to make a profit but to attract customers so that they might buy other goods?
33. Which creature is related to the sloth and the anteater, is found primarily in South America, and can be three, six and nine banded?
34. In which city did Hitler and his supporters invade the Burgerbraukeller to stage the abortive Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923?
35. Which symphonic piece by Saint-Saens is based on a poem by Henri Cazalis, in which the fiddler Death summons skeletons from their graves at midnight?
36. The shoreline of the Caspian Sea lies on states of the former Soviet Union and which other country?
37. Which pope, a member of the Medici family, excommunicated Martin Luther and appointed Henry VIII Defender of the Faith in England?
38. People with the hereditary disease sickle cell anaemia, particularly distributed among the black population of all continents, are resistant tow which disease?
39. In electronics, what term is used for the range of frequencies within which the performance of a circuit or amplifier does not fall below a specified amount?
40. `I met a traveller from an antique land' is the opening line of which poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley?
41. Which Australian, nicknamed the Roehampton Rocket, achieved the unique feat of winning lawn tennis's grand slam twice, once as an amateur and once as a professional?
42. Which film, released in 1995 and taking it's title from a phrase used by Claude Rains' character in the 1941 film Casablanca, starred Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne?
43. Between 1948 and 1957 John Costello was twice Taoiseach, or Prime Minister of the Irish Republic, but who was the Taoiseach before and after Costello and between his two terms?
44. `And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai' are the opening words (in the Authorised Version) of which book of the Old Testament?
45. In the United Kingdom, land identified as having flora and fauna, or geological or physiological features, needing protection may be designated as a SSSI. What do these initials represent?
46. Which king was supposedly described by Henry IV of France as `the wisest fool in Christendom'?
47. Which illuminated book of the gospels, considered a masterpiece of the Hiberno-Saxon style, can be found in the library of Trinity College, Dublin?
48. Based on the author's early experiences, which novel by Jack London recounts the Alaskan adventures of Jack Thornton and his dog Buck?
49. Which writer was appointed Professor of American Studies at the University of East Anglia in 1970?
50. Also known as the Norway lobster or the Dublin Bay prawn, by what name is Nephrops Norvegicus known when sold in food shops and restaurants?
51. First established by Fanny Waterman and Marion Harewood in 1963, an international piano competition has been held every three years in which English city?
52. What was the name of the USA's planned system of combating incoming nuclear missiles which was represented by the initials SDI?
53. What name is commonly given to the type of fly whose scientific name is Musca Vomitoria, sometimes known as the blow fly?
54. Which British mathematician, who in 1854 published `Investigations of the Laws of Thought' is, with Augustus De Morgan, considered to be one of the founding fathers of mathematical logic?
55. Which colonel in the lathe seventeenth century posed as a clergyman in order to enter the Tower of London to steal the crown jewels?
56. If you flew due south from Aberdeen, what would be the last English county that you would fly over before encountering the English Channel?
57. Whose law states that the rate of diffusion of a gas is inversely proportional to the square root of its density?
58. Which fictional character, who combined the roles of gentleman burglar and England cricketer, was created by E. W. Hornung and has been played on screen by Ronald Coleman and David Niven?
59. Whihc thriller series became in 1946 the first daily radio serial broadcast by the BBC, and use `The Devils Gallop' by Charles Williams as its signature tune?
60. Which village in Galilee was the venue of the marriage at which Christ, agreeing to replenish the dwindling supply of festive drinks, turned water into wine?
61. Will Hutton, author opf the book ``The State We're In'', was appointed Editor of which Sunday broadcast newspaper in March 1996?
62. In which game is a goal scored when the ball passes between the central posts, and a behind scored when it passes between the central posts and a behind post?
63. In Dostoevsky's novel ``Crime and Punishment'', what is the name of the impoverished student who kills an old pawnbroker for her money?
64. The inscription on the tomb of which King in Westminster Abbey includes the words `Malleus Scotorum hic est', meaning `Here is the Hammer of the Scots'?
65. Which overture by Brahms, first performed at Breslau in 1881, makes use of four German studen songs including `Gaudeamus Igitur'?
66. Which ancient track follows the southern slope of the North Downs via Winchester and Canterbury to the Kent coast?
67. What, according to Shakespeare's Macbeth, `knits up the ravelled sleeves of care'?
68. Glyceryl trinitrate belongs to a group of vasodilator drugs used to relieve which condition, linked mainly to diseases of the coronary arteries?
69. The physical constant usually denoted by k and having the value 1.38 * 10^-23 Joules per Kelvin, is named after which Austrian born physicist?
70. The Learmont report into the escape of prisoners from which jail led to the dismissal of Derek Lewis as Director-General of the Prison Service in 1995?
71. Which Florentine building, the work of the architect Giorgio Vasari, was originally constructed to hold the offices of the government judiciary?
72. What three word name is given to the familt of joints which has been used in furniture making for centuries and which is identified by its tongue and mouth components?
73. Fought in Moravia on 2 December 1805, the Battle of the Three Emperors is otherwise known by which name?
74. Widely used in car trim, which metal when added to steel forms protective oxde film on the surface of the steel?
75. Which 1990 film, directed by Tim Burton and described as a modern fairy tale was advertised with the words ``His story will touch you, even though he can't''?
76. In the stories by James Herriot, what surname does he use for the brothers Siegfried and Tristan, the brothers whose vetinary practice he shares?
77. Which country, with and area greater than the combined areas of France, Germany and Italy, was part of the vice-royalty of New Spain, established in 1535 until it achieved independence in 1821?
78. What name is given to the syrup which remains after sugar has been crystallized out of cane and from which rum is made?
79. Which organisation was born out of the the so-called Limehouse Declaration in 1981?
80. The Book of Changes, an ancient book of divination and one of the five classics of Confucianism, is known by which Chinese name?
81. The ``Pilgrim's Chorus'' came from which Wagner opera about a minstrel knight of the thirteenth century?
82. In the third century BC, which Carthagian general led his forcres to victory over the Romans at locations including the Ticinus River, the Trebia Plain and the shores of Lake Trasimene?
83. In which event in the 1908 London Olympics was Dorando Pietri disqualified for being helped across the finishing line by officials?
84. Argon is normally mixed which 20% of which element in the filling of electric filament lamps?
85. Which author completed his `Sword Of Honour' in 1961 with the novel `Unconditional Surrender'?
86. Which land-locked country of North-West Africa beacme an overseas territory of the French Union and was known as French Sudan until it adopted its present name upon independence in 1960?
87. Also known as the missing mass, what term is used for the material of uncertain composition thought to comprise 90% or more of the mass of the universe, undetectable except for its gravitational effect?
88. What name is given to the message which the President of the United States delivers to Congress at the start of each year, roughly equivalent to the Queen's Speech in Britain?
89. In Greek legend, which daughter of Cassiopeia was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster but was rescued by Perseus?
90. Which character created by the comedian Steve Coogan is noted for his lager drinnking and hatred of students?
91. What name is given to the Minoan scripty used by the prehistoric inhabitants of Crete and mainland Greece between 1400 and 1200 BC, which was eventually deciphered by Michael Ventris in 1952?
92. Who entered the University of Konigsberg in 1740 as a theology student, going on fifteen years later to become the Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at the same institution?
93. Which word has entered the language for the practice of raising the price of, or accepting a higher price for, a house after a lower price has been agreed but before the contracts have actually been exchanged?
94. In which fourteenth century alliterative poem by William Langford do a series of allegorical visions appear to the narrator in his dreams?
95. What is the magnitude of the scalar product of two vectors, a and b, if a is perpendicular to b?
96. A privilege granted by the Queen by Letters Patent in 1984, which is the only county entitled to call itself `The Royal County'?
97. Which French scientist demonstrated the germ theory of disease by eliminating bacteria from silkworms in the 1860s, and went on to work on anthrax and cholera?
98. Which Northern Ireland politician has been the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party since 1979?
99. According to the satirical magazine Punch, which single word constituted Mr. Punch's advice to those about to marry?
100. Of which metallic element is stibnite the ore?

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