Latest Questions: 31 January 2012

Which sport was one of only two that were open to men only in the 2008 Olympics, but will not be included in 2012?

Baseball

The other sport that was open to men only was boxing; this will be open to women in 2012. Softball was open to women (not men) in 2008 and previous Olympiads as an alternative to baseball; this too has been dropped for 2012.

In the Book of Genesis, who is described as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time”?	Noah
In the Book of Genesis (and also in the Lloyd Webber musical), what is the name of the Captain of the Pharaoh's Palace Guard, into whose household Joseph is sold as a slave?	Potiphar
Securitate was the secret police service of which European country?	Romania
Benjamin Britten’s composition A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is based on a theme by which composer?	Henry Purcell

Its subtitle is Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell.

The Mannerheim Line was erected in the 1920s and 1930s as a defence against a potential attack by the Soviet Union, in which country?	Finland
Which Arabic term, featured in the lyrics of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, means “In the name of God”?	Bismillah
Which African country's national football team is nicknamed the Super Eagles?	Nigeria
Which African country's national football team is nicknamed the Indomitable Lions?	Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Which member of the Bloomsbury Group married the famous Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova in 1925?	John Maynard Keynes
On which island is the Costa Smeralda, including the holiday resort of Porto Cervo?	Sardinia
Who organised the Irish Parliamentary Party, said to be the first professionally organised political party, in 1882?	Charles Stewart Parnell

I'm not sure what's meant by "the first professionally organised political party". Wikipedia does say that it was one of the first parties to appoint a Whip.

Kim Jong-Il, the "supreme leader" of North Korea, died in December 2011. What was the name of his father, whom he succeeded in 1994?	Kim Il-sung
In which English county is Lulworth Cove?	Dorset
Who is currently starring as the Wizard of Oz, at London's Palladium theatre?	Michael Crawford
What is the only group that included a mother and son and has achieved a UK number one hit?	Lieutenant Pigeon

The hit in question was the execrable Mouldy Old Dough.

Which adjective describes an offering to a supernatural being, and in Christian worship is most commonly used for candles lit to offer a prayer for the dead?	Votive
Which collection of stories features Sir Thopas, the Manciple, and the Canon’s Yeoman?	The Canterbury Tales
Which historic document includes the following words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."?	The American Declaration of Independence
In Lew Wallace's novel, and in the 1959 film starring Charlton Heston, what is Ben-Hur's first name?	Judah
Which record label was founded in 1984 by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, and helped to popularise hip hop and urban music by promoting acts such as LL Cool J, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys?	Def Jam
Name one of the two ten-letter words in the English language that both start and end with the letters “th”.	Thirteenth Thousandth
Which horse won the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day 2011, having previously won it in four consecutive years from 2006 to 2009?	Kauto Star
To the nearest hundred miles: how long is the Great Barrier Reef?	1,600 miles
Which town or city was the birthplace of Muammar Gaddafi, his final stronghold in the civil war of 2011, and the place where he was killed by rebel forces? (It was largely destroyed in the associated fighting.)	Sirte (pronounced Sirt)
A shamouti is an alternative name for a famous variety of which fruit?	(Jaffa) orange
Which geographical feature was known to native Americans as "Six Grandfathers", and was given its English name in 1885, after a prominent New York lawyer?	Mount Rushmore
On which Scottish island is Duart Castle, the traditional seat of Clan McLean?	Mull
Which disease is named after the Greek for coal (because of the black lesions it causes)?	Anthrax
In the 1994 film Interview with the Vampire, Lestat de Lioncourt is played by Tom Cruise. But who plays Louis de Pointe du Lac, the vampire of the title, who was turned into a vampire by Lestat?	Brad Pitt
What is the title of the musical play that Eric Idle "lovingly ripped off from" the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail?	Spamalot
Who was the guitarist in The Smiths, and Morrissey's main songwriting partner?	Johnny Marr

His real name was John Maher - her changed it to avoid confusion with the drummer of the Buzzcocks, who had exactly the same name.

Which former world champion was the first boxer to defeat Joe Louis in a professional fight?	Max Schmeling
To whom did Joe Louis lose in his last professional fight?	Rocky Marciano
Who took the world heavyweight title from Joe Louis in 1950, and was the only man to go the distance with Rocky Marciano in a world title fight?	Ezzard Charles
Which novel by Margaret Atwood is set in a country called Gilead - situated roughly in what is now known as New England?	The Handmaid's Tale
Which Shakespeare play is set in "Athens, and a wood near it"?	A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Who is said to have attracted crowds of 100,000 to Yankee Stadium (New York) in 1952, 185,000 to Wembley in 1954, 1.12 million to Seoul in 1973, and a quarter of a million to the Maracana Stadium (Rio de Janeiro) in 1974?	Billy Graham
Maybe not a term they would use themselves ... but what does a gricer have a particular interest in?	Railways (accept trains)
In which city was King Canute buried?	Winchester

The bones were later moved to the new cathedral (building started 1079). Then in the English Civil War, Parliamentary forces scattered them on the floor and they were all mixed up.

Which best-selling novel, first published in 2003, took its title from a remark made by Sherlock Holmes in a short story entitled Silver Blaze?	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Which Commonwealth country was formerly known as the Ellice Islands?	Tuvalu
The winter capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is Jammu; what is the summer capital?	Srinagar
In The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, who is the only human left alive (after the Earth is destroyed), apart from Arthur Dent?	Trillian
Who was Archbishop of Canterbury at the time of the abdication crisis (i.e. in 1936)?	Cosmo Lang
Which 1989 film starred Richard Pryor as a blind man and Gene Wilder as a deaf man?	See No Evil, Hear No Evil
Which city was known to the Romans as Vindobona?	Vienna
To which family of plants do the apple, peach, cherry and strawberry belong?	Rose (rosaceae)

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Latest Questions: 31 January 2012