The first question is related to today’s date, August 14th. It is about two monarchs who featured prominently in a work by William Shakespeare. The other questions are also about real monarchs who have been portrayed in fiction.
The first page of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from the First Folio. Image Wikipedia
One
On 14 August, King Duncan I of Scotland was killed in battle by his cousin, Macbeth, who then succeeded him. This death and succession occurred in the what century?
Two
In the 1995 made-for-television movie, Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Sophie, a young Prussian princess who marries an immature future Tsar. The film’s title is what Sophie eventually becomes known as. What is the film’s title?
Three
Katharine Hepburn won the best actress Oscar for her role as Henry II’s queen in this 1968 film. What was the film and what was the queen’s name?
Four
In this 2023 film, Catherine Walker plays an Archduchess of Austria who becomes the French Queen, while Vanessa Kirby is an Empress Consort and first wife of the title character. What is the film?
Five
Madonna’s 2011 film W.E. is a historical romance involving what 20th-century royal couple?
Phoebe Ann Mosey was born this day in 1860. Named ‘Little Sure Shot’ by Sitting Bull, she was a star in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. What was her stage name?
— Answer: Annie Oakley
Oakley never failed to delight her audiences, and her feats of marksmanship were truly incredible. At 30 paces she could split a playing card held edge-on, she hit dimes tossed into the air, she shot cigarettes from her husband’s lips, and, a playing card being thrown into the air, she riddled it before it touched the ground
Opha May Johnson (2 Feb 1900 – Jan 1976) was the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. This is a photo of her shortly after enlisting, c. 1918. Image Wikipedia
Women were permitted to enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time on August 13th. In which decade of the 20th century did this occur?
— Answer: 1910s (1918)
Women first enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1918, Private Opha May Johnson being the first woman to enlist. Although deactivated after the First World War there was a significant increase during World War II. The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 made women a permanent part of the Marine Corps.
Opha May Johnson monument, St. Paul’s Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C. Image WikipediaAlfred Hitchcock’s birthplace. Image Wikipedia
Four
Alfred Hitchcock, the renowned film director and producer, was born today in 1899. In which city was he born?
— Answer: London, UK
Alfred Hitchcock, an English-born American director, was renowned for his suspenseful films and TV programmes, characterised by a macabre sense of humour and a bleak view of humanity.
On 13 August 1624, Cardinal Richelieu was appointed principal minister in France. Who was the monarch who made this appointment?
— Answer: Louis XIII
Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) served as the chief minister to King Louis XIII of France from 1624 to 1642. His primary objectives, which he largely achieved, were the establishment of royal absolutism in France and the end of Spanish-Habsburg dominance in Europe.
Alfred Hitchcock, c. 1960s. (Question 4) Image Wikipedia
One
What Cold War event led to 13 August 1961 being known as Barbed Wire Sunday?
Two
Phoebe Ann Mosey was born this day in 1860. Named ‘Little Sure Shot’ by Sitting Bull, she was a star in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. What was her stage name?
Three
Women were permitted to enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time on August 13th. In which decade of the 20th century did this occur?
Four
Alfred Hitchcock, the renowned film director and producer, was born today in 1899. In which city was he born?
Five
On 13 August 1624, Cardinal Richelieu was appointed principal minister in France. Who was the monarch who made this appointment?
A quagga died in Amsterdam Zoo on 12 August 1883. Native to South Africa, the quagga was a type of…
Answer: Zebra
The quagga, a subspecies of plains zebra, was native to South Africa, where it was found in vast herds on the great plains, but is now extinct. It had a reddish-brown body with dark stripes and a white underside.
Two
What ‘Q’ links the novelist Herman Melville with Special Agent Dana Scully?
Answer: Queequeg
Queequeg, a Polynesian royal with facial tattoos, befriends Ishmael in Moby-Dick and becomes a harpooner on the Pequod. In The X-Files Scully names her dog Queequeg after the Moby-Dick character and used the name as her email handle and home alarm password.
Three
In which fictional series does Max Quordlepleen, a comedian and host, appear hosting a show at Milliways?
Answer: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he said, ‘the Universe as we know it has been in existence for over one hundred and seventy thousand million billion years and will be ending in a little over half an hour. So, welcome to Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe!’
With a gesture he deftly conjured another round of spontaneous applause. With another gesture he cut it. “I am your host for tonight,” he said, “my name is Max Quordlepleen.” — The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Pan Books).
Four
What ‘Q’ is a capital city which sits on the equator and is officially known as San Francisco de …
Answer: Quito
Officially known as San Francisco de Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is the highest national capital city in the world. It is the political and cultural centre of Ecuador, with a rich history dating back to its incorporation into the Inca Empire in the late 15th century.
Five
Quirinus Quirrell is a character in the works of which novelist?
Answer: J.K. Rowling
In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter stories, Quirinus Quirrell, Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, is possessed by Voldemort during Harry’s first year at Hogwarts. Harry defeats Quirrell, allowing Dumbledore to arrive and Voldemort to flee, resulting in Quirrell’s death.
The first question relates to today’s date, August 12th, and contains a word beginning with a ‘Q’. The rest of the questions follow a ‘Q’ theme, either with a ‘Q’ in the question or answer.
One
A quagga died in Amsterdam Zoo on 12 August 1883. Native to South Africa, the quagga was a type of…
Two
What ‘Q’ links the novelist Herman Melville with Special Agent Dana Scully?
Three
In which fictional series does Max Quordlepleen, a comedian, appear hosting a show at Milliways?
Four
What ‘Q’ is a capital city which sits on the equator and is officially known as San Francisco de …
Five
Quirinus Quirrell is a character in the works of which novelist?
Jim Lovell, Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13. (March 25, 1928—August 7, 2025). Image Wikipedia
One
In 1968, what became the first crewed spacecraft to reach the Moon, orbit it and return?
Answer: Apollo 8
Apollo 8, launched on 21 December 1968, became the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. During its mission, the crew orbited the Moon ten times, conducting various tasks such as photography and navigation, while also transmitting telecasts worldwide. The spacecraft safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 27 December, 147 hours after launch. This question was prompted by the death of Jim Lovell, aged 97, on 7 August 2025. He flew to the Moon and back twice but never landed.
Two
The 1999 Open Championship was decided in a play-off between Jean Van de Velde and which two other players?
Answer: Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie
Jean Van de Velde, ranked 152nd, nearly won the 1999 Open Championship but famously collapsed on the 18th hole. His triple-bogey seven led to a playoff, which he lost to Paul Lawrie.
What word is missing from the end of the above quote?
Answer: Christianity
Nietzsche’s quote suggests that he viewed both Christianity and alcohol as ‘narcotics’, substances or influences that dull the senses and provide an escape from reality.
Four
Which Canadian province is named after the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, born in 1848?
The above quote is the opening line of which poem?
Answer: Anthem for Doomed Youth
Wilfred Owen’s poem Anthem for Doomed Youth, written in 1917, vividly captures the horrors of war. Enlisting in the British army in 1915, Owen was sent to France with the Lancashire Fusiliers to fight in the trenches during World War I. In 1917, during his first six months of battle, his troop was gassed and forced to sleep in an open field of snow. One incident involved Owen spending several days huddled in a foxhole near the body of a fallen soldier. These experiences profoundly impacted Owen as a poet, leading to rapid maturity. The poems written after January 1917 are characterised by anger at war’s brutality, and pity for those who ‘die as cattle’.
Is it true or false that velociraptors were only about the size of turkeys?
Answer: True
Velociraptor, commonly known as “raptor,” is one of the dinosaur genera most familiar to the general public. This is largely due to its prominent role in the Jurassic Park films. However, in reality, Velociraptor was roughly the size of a turkey, considerably smaller than the approximately 2 metres (6.6 feet) tall and 90 kilograms (200 pounds) reptiles depicted in the novels and films. These depictions were based on members of the related genus Deinonychus.
Is it true or false that P.T. Barnum started his career as a showman by publicly displaying an elderly African slave he claimed was George Washington’s 161-year-old former nursemaid?
Answer: True
In 1834 he moved to New York City, where he found his vocation as a showman one year later when he successfully presented Joice Heth, a wizened Black woman whom he advertised as the 161-year-old nurse to Gen. George Washington. On her death, however, the story was exposed as a hoax.
Is it true or false that if broccoli is left unharvested, each green bud usually produces a flower with four yellow petals?
Answer: True
Broccoli, a nutritious vegetable from the mustard family, is high in fibre and vitamins. It can be eaten fresh or cooked and should be dark green with firm stalks. If left unharvested, those buds produce yellow flowers with four petals and dry capsule fruits called siliques.
Four
Is it true or false that elephants can communicate with each other using ambisonic calls?
Answer: False
Elephants can communicate with each other using infrasonic calls that are below the range of human hearing. They also stomp messages on the ground that can be felt and understood by other elephants miles away.
Five
Is it true or false that on Venus, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east?
Answer: True
Venus is unusual because it spins the opposite direction of Earth and most other planets…
…And because Venus rotates backwards, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
Is it true or false that velociraptors were about the size of turkeys?
Two
Is it true or false that P.T. Barnum started his career as a showman by publicly displaying an elderly African slave he claimed was George Washington’s 161-year-old former nursemaid?
Three
Is it true or false that if broccoli is left unharvested, each green bud usually produces a flower with four yellow petals?
Four
Is it true or false that elephants can communicate with each other using ambisonic calls?
Five
Is it true or false that on Venus, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east?
On 9 August 1942, Dmitri Shostakovich’s 7th symphony premiered in a besieged city. Can you name that city?
Answer: Leningrad
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 was premiered in Leningrad on 9 August 1942 during the Nazi siege. Despite the musicians’ starvation and the orchestra’s limited rehearsal time, the performance was a success, bolstered by a Soviet military offensive and broadcast to German lines.
Two
Construction of the campanile of the Cathedral of Pisa, also known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, began on this day. In which century did this construction commence, and approximately how long did it take to complete?
Answer: 12th Century and 199 years (two centuries) to complete
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, a freestanding bell tower in Pisa, Italy, is known for its nearly four-degree lean due to an unstable foundation. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world, receiving over 5 million visitors annually.
Three
Answer: Jesse Owens and long jump
Jesse Owens, an exceptionally gifted athlete, won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, defying Adolf Hitler’s hopes of showcasing Aryan supremacy. Owens’ achievements, which also include setting three world records in one hour in 1935, remain unparalleled.
Four
Born in Maryborough, Queensland, on 9 August 1899, this writer is best known for her Mary Poppins books. Who is she?
Answer: P.L. Travers
P.L. Travers, an Australian-English writer, authored the Mary Poppins books, a series of eight children’s books illustrated by Mary Shepard. The books follow the magical nanny Mary Poppins and her adventures with the Banks children. Walt Disney adapted the books into two musical films: Mary Poppins (1964) and its sequel, Mary Poppins Returns (2018). A stage musical, created by Disney Theatrical and Sir Cameron Mackintosh, ran on Broadway from 2006 to 2013.
Five
On this day in 1945, Bockscar sealed a place in history. Who or what was Bockscar?
Answer: Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Bockscar, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, dropped the second nuclear weapon on Nagasaki during WWII. It was one of 15 Silverplate B-29s used by the 509th Composite Group.
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