General Knowledge 31

Question 1

How high, in feet, should a tennis net be at the centre?

Answer 1

3 feet

Question 2

Maris and Lilith are the former wives of which sitcom brothers?

Answer 2

The Crane Brothers (Frasier)

Question 3

What is the equivalent word for someone who is like an uncle?

Answer 3

Avuncular

Question 4

The first lines of which popular children’s song translate into English from the original French as ‘skylark, nice skylark, skylark, I shall pluck you’?

Answer 4

Alouette, Gentille Alouette

Question 5

William Shakespeare wrote plays about seven real English kings since 1066. Name any five of the kings.

Answer 5

John, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Richard III and Henry VIII.

Also wrote about Edward III.

Macbeth was also a real Scottish King who came to the throne by killing his cousin Duncan in battle.

Shakespeare is believed to have been a co-author of The Reign of King Edward the Third, an anonymous Elizabethan play printed in 1596. While not included in the First Folio, the play is now considered a part of Shakespeare’s works by many publishers and editors, who attribute a significant portion of the text to him, though the extent of his contribution and other co-authors remain a subject of debate.

Question 6

In the book of Beatrix Potter, what kind of animal is Mrs Tiggy-Winkle?

Answer 6

Hedgehog

Question 7

Who was the cook on the fictional Hispaniola?

Answer 7

Long John Silver (in ‘Treasure Island’)

Question 8

Which Englishman was the world Table Tennis champion in 1928, six years before winning the first of his three Wimbledon Tennis Championships?

Answer 8

Fred Perry

Question 9

How is the bell-tower in the Campo dei Miracoli in Tuscany better known?

Answer 9

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Question 10

Name five feature films directed by Alfred Hitchcock which have precisely four words in their title.

Answer 10

Juno and the Paycock, Mr and Mrs Smith, Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder

Question 11

What is the currency used in Egypt?

Answer 11

(Egyptian) Pounds

Question 12

If a Scottish person described themself as ‘peely-wally’ what would they be?

Answer 12

Feeling sick/off-colour

Question 13

Which city in Saudi Arabia is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad?

Answer 13

Medina

Question 14

What kind of cheese is the English town of Melton Mowbray famous for?

Answer 14

Stilton

Question 15

Name any five of the next eight biggest countries by population after China and India.

Answer 15

USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh

Question 16

In New Zealand, in what month of the year do the clocks go back?

Answer 16

March

Question 17

Which strikingly coiffured Scotsman was the men’s 2022 PDC World Darts champion?

Answer 17

Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright

Question 18

What specific product was advertised for many years with the line ‘How do you eat yours?’?

Answer 18

Cadbury’s Creme Egg

Question 19

Which gangster dated singer Blousey Brown, managed boxer Leroy Smith, and was involved in an attempted hit on crime lord Dandy Dan?

Answer 19

Bugsy Malone

Question 20

Name the five independent countries whose common name in English has one syllable.

Answer 20

France, Spain, Greece, Chad, Laos

Question 21

According to the regulations of each game, which is the smallest: a squash ball, a golf ball or a table tennis ball?

Answer 21

Table tennis ball (38.2mm)

Question 22

Which product was advertised by John Barnes with the words ‘after 90 minutes of sheer hell’?

Answer 22

Lucozade (Sport)

Question 23

What town in Northamptonshire is sometimes known as Little Scotland for its large community of Scottish migrant workers?

Answer 23

Corby

Question 24

What surname links a ‘Pop Idol’ winner, a snooker player, and a one-time professional wrestler?

Alan - Snooker player

Answer 24

McManus

Mick McManus.

Pop Idol winner was Michelle McManus

Question 25

Name five of the eight women who have been married to one of the four Beatles.

Answer 25

Cynthia Powell (Lennon), Maureen Cox (Starr), Linda Eastman (McCartney), Pattie Boyd (Harrison), Yoko Ono (Lennon)

Question 26

On which day does the action of both ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Die Hard II’ take place?

Answer 26

Christmas Eve/24th December

Question 27

Which is the only one of the 150 longest rivers in the world that flows out into the Mediterranean?

Answer 27

Nile

Question 28

Police cars often contain ANPR devices - what does ANPR stand for?

Answer 28

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Question 29

Which song begins with the line 'I follow the Moskva down to Gorky Park'?

Answer 29

Wind of Change (by The Scorpions)

Question 30

Name five British boxers to have won an Olympic gold medal since 2000.

Answer 30

Audley Harrison, James DeGale, Luke Campbell, Nicola Adams (twice), Anthony Joshua ## Footnote Audley Harrison