Latest questions: 9 August 2022

These questions were inspired by those used in Weeks 1 and 2 of the 2021–2 season in Stockport Quiz League, by the Smart Alex (Questions 1 to 13) and the Railway (14 to 28). The Week 1 questions were originally set (by the Smart Alex) for use in League Week 11 of the 2019–20 season, which was cancelled due to the COVID–19 pandemic.

Wolfsburg – famous as the home of Volkswagen – is the fifth largest city in which German state?		Lower Saxony
The English name of which herb (also a boy's name, albeit one rarely if ever used nowadays) is derived from the Greek word for 'royal'?		Basil
Who is the famous daughter of Doria Ragland – an American social worker, who has also worked as a make–up artist, a travel agent and a yoga instructor?		Meghan (Markle), Duchess of Sussex
"We came into the world like brother and brother; And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another" is the last line of which Shakespeare play?		The Comedy of Errors
What was the name of the military base in Baghdad, where Saddam Hussein was hanged in 2006 and his cousin, Ali Hassan al–Majid (a.k.a. Chemical Ali) in 2010?		Camp Justice
Which pop group, formed in 1998 by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, starred in their own 13–part CBBC television series in 1999?		S Club 7
Named after the geographer and philanthropist who was a partner in the firm founded by his grandfather to manufacture domestic appliances, what is Australia's fourth largest desert?		The Simpson Desert
Familiar to fans of Harry Potter, what's the name of the Queen of Sicilia in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale?		Hermione
Which famous stately home in the north–west of England is home to the Earls of Derby?		Knowsley Hall
What was the first football club to be managed by Brian Clough and Peter Taylor?		Hartlepools (sic) United
Which river – the sixth longest in the USA, and a major tributary of the Mississippi – rises in Colorado, and flows through Kansas and Oklahoma before joining the Mississippi in the state to which it gave its name?		The Arkansas River
Which American novel, first published in 1852, is said (by Wikipedia) to be the second–best–selling book of the 19th century, after the Bible?		Uncle Tom's Cabin
Which song is this? Written in 1979 by the Irish singer–songwriter Pete St. John, in the style of a folk ballad, it's become a popular anthem among Irish sports fans. Set during the Great Famine of the 1840s, both its title and in its chorus mention a small town in County Galway.		The Fields of Athenry
Taking its title from the iconic American tourist attraction at which it was set, which 1953 film has been described (by Wikipedia as the film that "elevated [Marilyn Monroe] to star status", and was followed six months later by Gentlemen Prefer Blondes?		Niagara
More famous later as that of a cartoon character, what was the name of the dummy that made ventriloquist Arthur Worsley famous in the 1950s?		Charlie Brown
Born in Penge, South London, in 1926, Bob Blackman performed his novelty act on various light entertainment shows in the 1970s, including Tiswas and Tommy Cooper's Just Like That. Describe the act in as few words as possible.		Mule Train, tin tray
What name has been commonly used in North America, since some time in the 20th century, for the card game more properly known as Patience?		Solitaire
In which English town would you find a statue of the scientist Humphry Davy, who was born there in 1778?		Penzance
What's the official state sport of Wyoming?		Rodeo
Paddy Moloney, who died in 2021, was the leader of which traditional Irish folk band, formed in Dublin in 1962? In 1989 they were awarded the honorary title of 'Ireland's Musical Ambassadors' by the Irish government.		The Chieftains
Which politician published a memoir in 2020, entitled A Promised Land?		Barack Obama
Which poet and author was appointed in 2022 as the UK's twelfth Children's Laureate?		Joseph Coelho
Which technology giant has its origins in a research project, nicknamed BackRub, begun in 1996 by two PhD students at Stanford University, California?		Google
Which famous scientist appeared in the first logo of the Apple Computer Company, along with a quotation from Wordsworth's Prelude?		Isaac Newton
Which boy's name was invented by Walter Scott, for the father of the title character in his novel Ivanhoe?		Cedric
Who is the famous great–grandson of Ali Kemal, a Turkish journalist and politician who was brutally murdered by supporters of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1922?		Boris Johnson
Matthew Healy, the son of actors Tim Healy and Denise Welch, is the front man of which indie rock band?		The 1975
Which brewing company took its name from the town where it was founded in 1993, but moved in 1998 to Peterborough (25 miles away), where its Brewery Tap is now Europe's largest 'brewpub'?		Oakham Ales

© Haydn Thompson 2022