Latest questions: 30 May 2023

These questions were inspired by those set for use in Week 11 of the 2022–3 season in Macclesfield Quiz League, by the Harrington Academicals.

Which English poet wrote Parlement of Foules (a.k.a. Parliament of Fowls) – containing one of the earliest references to the idea that St. Valentine's Day is a special day for lovers?		Geoffrey Chaucer
Salvador, Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte, Manaus and Recife are major cities in which country?		Brazil
The Great Barrier Reef is off the coast of which Australian state?		Queensland
Which of the Earth's continents has the lowest annual precipitation?		Antarctica
Which cricketer holds the record for the fastest ever Test century for England – 76 balls, against Australia at The Oval in 1902?		Gilbert Jessop
Which poisonous element was widely used in Victorian times, in home decor – especially wallpaper – to give a green colour?		Arsenic
Which 1980 film was directed by Alan Parker, and starred Irene Cara as Coco Fernandez?		Fame
Which cartoon character was created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox, in 1942, as a "parody/homage" to Superman?		Mighty Mouse
What was the name of the highwayman under whose influence Dick Turpin is said to have turned from his life of petty crime to a career as a highwayman? He died in 1737, aged 24 or 25, after being shot (possibly by Turpin) in a robbery that went wrong.		Tom King
Name the former front man of The Jam, who played lead guitar and sang backing vocals on Oasis's Champagne Supernova.		Paul Weller
Who was Emperor of Rome in AD 64, when two–thirds of the city was destroyed by fire?		Nero
In Disney's 1973 film Robin Hood, what type of animal was the Sheriff of Nottingham?		A wolf
Which British politician married the concert pianist Marion Stein – the (divorced) former wife of the Earl of Harewood – in 1973?		Jeremy Thorpe
Which non–profit social network, founded in 2016 by German software developer Eugen Rochko and named after a prehistoric mammal, gained 30,000 users in April 2022 following Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter?		Mastodon
Which actress starred in the Powell & Pressburger films The Red Shoes (1948), The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), and Peeping Tom (1960)?		Moira Shearer
Pollo is the Italian word for which food item?		Chicken
Geschichte is the German word for which area of study?		History
The American nuclear scientist Albert Ghiorso was involved in the discovery of a record twelve elements. The last of them was given what name, in honour of Ghiorso's colleague who was involved in the discovery of nine of the twelve and one other?		Seaborgium (atomic number 105)
What's the English name for the archipelago or group of islands known to the French as Les Îles Anglo–Normandes?		The Channel Islands
According to Philip Larkin, who "fill you with the faults they had, and add some extra, just for you"?		Your Mum and Dad
Which Private Eye journalist stood for the Dog Lovers' Party, against Jeremy Thorpe in the North Devon constituency, at the 1979 General Election?		Auberon Waugh
La forma dell'acqua (1994) – published in English in 2002, as The Shape of Water – was the first novel to feature which fictional detective?		Inspector (Salvo) Montalbano
The name of which type of medicine is derived (counter–intuitively) from the Greek, meaning 'opposing life'?		Antibiotic
Born in Jamaica in 1938, and General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union from 1992 to 2003, who was the first black leader of a major British trade union?		Bill Morris (now Baron Morris of Handsworth)
Which Times columnist, a former music journalist and TV presenter, wrote the feminist memoir How to Be a Woman – first published in 2011?		Caitlin Moran
Cloten (whose mother is named in the Dramatis Personae simply as 'Queen') is the unpleasant stepson of which Shakespeare title character?		Cymbeline
Birkenstock, founded in 1774, is a German brand of what wearable items?		Shoes (sandals)
Which South American rodent, living at altitudes of up to 14,000 feet in the Andes, is said to have the densest and softest fur of all land–dwelling mammals?		The chinchilla
Famous for its annual fashion show, featuring a bevy of supermodels promoted by the company as "Angels", what is the USA's largest lingerie retailer (or was, from the early 1990s until at least 2020)?		Victoria's Secret
Petrobras, a state–owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry, is the largest company (by revenue) in which country?		Brazil
Which award–winning climbing book, about a harrowing descent from Siula Grande in the Andes in 1985, was filmed in 2003, featuring interviews with the author (British climber Joe Simpson) and his two expedition companions?		Touching the Void

© Haydn Thompson 2023