The amended title page from first edition of Shake-Speares Sonnets. Image Wikimedia Commons
The first question concerns an event that happened on May 20th and, like the others, is connected to ‘Shakespeare’.
One
On this day, Shakespeare’s sonnets were first published. In what town or city, and in which century, was this?
Two
Who portrayed Elizabeth I in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love?
Three
Falstaff is a comic opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play … and scenes from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, by William Shakespeare.
This quote from the text of the Wikipedia article about Verdi’s Falstaff has had a Shakespeare play removed from it. What play?
Four
In Julie Taymor’s 2010 film adaptation of which Shakespeare play did Helen Mirren play Prospera, Duchess of Milan?
Five
The port-city of Messina is the setting for a Shakespeare comedy. What comedy, and on what island is the port-city of Messina?
Each question refers to a quote from the beginning of a novel and has some questions about the quote.
One
Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of … on which a … and a … lay crossed.
The opening words of Ulysses by James Joyce are quoted above. What three words have been omitted?
Answers: Lather; mirror; razor.
Ulysses, set in Dublin on 16 June 1904, parallels Homer’s Odyssey and Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It explores themes like antisemitism, sexuality, and Irish nationalism through its allusive and stylised narrative.
Two
Once there were four children whose names were Peter, …, Edmund, and ….
What are the two girls’ names missing from these opening lines?
Answer: Susan; Lucy.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, published in 1950, is the first part of the seven part The Chronicles of Narnia. It tells the story of four children who discover Narnia through a wardrobe. They help Aslan defeat the White Witch and establish the Golden Age of Narnia.
Three
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a … man in possession of a good …, must be in want of a ….
What three words are omitted from the opening words of an 1813 English novel, and what is that novel?
Answers: Single; fortune (and) wife. Pride and Prejudice.
Pride and Prejudice, a novel of manners by Jane Austen, follows Elizabeth Bennet’s character development as she learns about hasty judgements and the difference between superficial and actual goodness. The novel explores the societal pressures faced by the Bennet family, particularly the need for their daughters to marry well to secure their future.
Four
The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer. They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and … rode among them, nervous with excitement. This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king’s justice done. It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of …’s life.
The same name has been omitted twice from the above opening quote. What is that name, and what 1996 novel is the quote from?
Answers: Bran; A Game of Thrones.
A Game of Thrones, the first novel in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, is an epic fantasy set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The novel, praised for its political intrigue and historical influences, won the 1997 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and was later adapted into the HBO television series Game of Thrones.
Five
Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own.
What novel, published in 2000, opens with the above quote? Who wrote it, and what recurring protagonist is introduced in it?
Answers: Angels & Demons; Dan Brown (and) Robert Langdon.
Angels & Demons, a 2000 mystery-thriller novel by Dan Brown, introduces Robert Langdon and features conspiracies, secret societies, and the Catholic Church.
Each question refers to a quote from the beginning of a novel and has some questions about the quote.
One
Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of … on which a … and a … lay crossed.
The opening words of Ulysses by James Joyce are quoted above. What three words have been omitted?
Two
Once there were four children whose names were Peter, …, Edmund, and ….
What are the two girls’ names missing from these opening lines?
Three
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a … man in possession of a good …, must be in want of a ….
What three words are omitted from the opening words of an 1813 English novel, and what is that novel?
Four
The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer. They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and … rode among them, nervous with excitement. This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king’s justice done. It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of …’s life.
The same name has been omitted twice from the above opening quote. What is that name, and what 1996 novel is the quote from?
Five
Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own.
What novel, published in 2000, opens with the above quote? Who wrote it, and what recurring protagonist is introduced in it?
Each question refers to a quote from the beginning of a novel.
One
A name appears in the first short sentence of chapter 1 (‘Loomings’) of a book by Herman Melville, which was originally published in London in October 1851 and in New York one month later. Three questions.
What is the name from the first sentence?
What was the two word title of the book as published in London in October 1851?
What was the longer title of the book as published in New York in November 1851?
Answers
Ishmael
The Whale
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale.
The opening sentence of the book commonly known as Moby-Dick (or Moby Dick) is ‘Call me Ishmael.’ Moby Dick is a novel by Herman Melville, published in London in October 1851 as The Whale and a month later in New York City as Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. It is dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Moby Dick is generally regarded as Melville’s magnum opus and one of the greatest American novels. — Encyclopædia Britannica
Two
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. … …, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of … …, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.
This quote is from Part 1, Chapter 1 of a novel originally published in 1949. In the second sentence, a person’s name has been omitted from the start, and the two-word name of the building that person is entering is also missing.
Who is the person named in the first two words of the second sentence?
What building is that person entering?
Answers
Winston Smith
Victory Mansions
The quote is from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four. In a totalitarian future, Winston Smith rebels against the Party and its omnipresent leader Big Brother. He starts a furtive love affair and seeks truth, but is arrested, tortured, and brainwashed until he betrays his lover and accepts the Party’s reality—losing his independence and capacity for dissent.
Three
It was a pleasure to burn.
This quote opens a 1953 novel by Ray Bradbury.
What novel is the quote from?
What does the title refer to?
Who is the protagonist in the novel?
Answers
Fahrenheit 451
The temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns
Guy Montag
Fahrenheit 451, a 1953 dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury, depicts a future American society where books are outlawed and ‘firemen’ burn them. The novel explores themes of censorship, the impact of mass media, and the preservation of knowledge. It was inspired by the Second Red Scare, book burnings in Nazi Germany, and Bradbury’s concerns about censorship in the United States.
Four
We slept in what had once been the ….
The opening line from a 1985 dystopian novel with a title which is reminiscent of the constituent parts of a work by Geoffrey Chaucer.
What type of room, often found in a school, which ‘We slept in‘?
Who was the author of the book?
Answers
Gymnasium
Margaret Atwood.
The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood, explores themes of female oppression and resistance in a patriarchal society. The title is similar to the names of stories, ie The Knight’s Tale in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. The novel, set in the Republic of Gilead, won the Governor General’s Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award.
Five
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded … …. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think … … are a pretty neat idea.
This quote is missing four words:
What two words follow ‘a small unregarded …’ and complete the first sentence?
What two words near the end of the quote ‘… are a pretty neat idea.’?
Answers
Yellow sun
Digital watches
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams, follows Arthur Dent’s adventures after Earth’s destruction. The franchise includes radio, novels, comics, TV, games, stage shows, and a film.
Each question refers to a quote from the beginning of a novel.
One
A name appears in the first short sentence of chapter 1 (‘Loomings’) of a book by Herman Melville, which was originally published in London in October 1851 and in New York one month later. Three questions.
What is the name from the first sentence?
What was the two word title of the book as published in London in October 1851?
What was the longer title of the book as published in New York in November 1851?
Two
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. … …, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of … …, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.
This quote is from Part 1, Chapter 1 of a novel originally published in 1949. In the second sentence, a person’s name has been omitted from the start, and the two-word name of the building that person is entering is also missing.
Who is the person named in the first two words of the second sentence?
What building is that person entering?
Three
It was a pleasure to burn.
This quote opens a 1953 novel by Ray Bradbury.
What novel is the quote from?
What does the title refer to?
Who is the protagonist in the novel?
Four
We slept in what had once been the ….
The opening line from a 1985 dystopian novel with a title which is reminiscent of the constituent parts of a work by Geoffrey Chaucer.
What type of room, often found in a school, which ‘We slept in‘?
Who was the author of the book?
Five
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded … …. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think … … are a pretty neat idea.
This quote is missing four words:
What two words follow ‘a small unregarded …’ and complete the first sentence?
What two words near the end of the quote ‘… are a pretty neat idea.’?
No theme today, just five general knowledge questions.
Statue of Helvetia on the Federal Palace of Switzerland, Bern. Image Wikimedia Commons
One
The image shown is that of ‘Statue of Helvetia on the Federal Palace of …’. What country finishes the previous statement, and in what city is the Federal Palace located?
Answers: Switzerland; Bern.
Helvetia, the national personification of Switzerland, is depicted with flowing clothing, with the Swiss flag, braided hair, and often with shield and a wreath. The name derives from the Helvetii, a Gaulish tribe.
Two
The …, or boreal forest, is the world’s largest land biome. In North America, it covers most of inland Canada, Alaska, and parts of the northern contiguous United States. In Eurasia, it covers most of Sweden, Finland, much of Russia from Karelia in the west to the Pacific Ocean (including much of Siberia), much of Norway and, some of the Scottish Highlands, some lowland/coastal areas of Iceland, and areas of northern Kazakhstan, northern Mongolia, and northern Japan (on the island of Hokkaido).
The above quote from Wikipedia describes a biome whose name has been omitted. What is that missing name?
Answer: Taiga.
taiga /ˈtʌɪɡə / ▸ (the taiga) noun [mass noun] the swampy coniferous forest of high northern latitudes, especially that between the tundra and steppes of Siberia: the coniferous forest of the taiga.
– ORIGIN late 19th century: from Russian taĭga, from Mongolian. — Oxford English Dictionary
Three
What word completes the title of this 1957 sci-fi novel: The Midwich …; and who wrote it?
Answers: Cuckoos; John Wyndham.
The Midwich Cuckoos, a 1957 sci-fi novel by John Wyndham, explores moral ambiguities in an English village where women become pregnant by aliens.
Four
What calendar was replaced in England by the Gregorian in 1752?
Answer: Julian.
The Julian calendar, proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, is a solar calendar with a leap year every four years. It gained one day every 128 years compared to the solar year, leading to a drift against the solar year. The Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582, corrected this by eliminating occasional leap days, reducing the average year length to 365.2425 days. Although introduced in 1582 it took a lot longer to be adopted by individual nations. As stated in the question England adopted it in 1752 but Greece and turkey did not adopt until the 1920s and Saudi Arabia’s adoption of it was not until 2016.
Five
Who played the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk television series which originally aired between 1978 and 1982?
Answer: Lou Ferrigno.
The Incredible Hulk is a CBS series starring Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. Banner, a scientist transformed by gamma radiation, travels the U.S. helping others while pursued by reporter Jack McGee. The series aired 80 episodes from 1978 to 1982, starting with a pilot on November 4, 1977. In 1988, New World Television acquired filming rights from MCA/Universal for TV movies to conclude The Incredible Hulk series, with NBC broadcasting. They produced three films: The Incredible Hulk Returns, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and The Death of the Incredible Hulk, directed by Nicholas J. Corea and Bill Bixby.
No theme today, just five general knowledge questions.
Statue of Helvetia on the Federal Palace of …. Image Wikimedia Commons
One
The image shown is that of ‘Statue of Helvetia on the Federal Palace of …’. What country finishes the previous statement, and in what city is the Federal Palace located?
Two
The …, or boreal forest, is the world’s largest land biome. In North America, it covers most of inland Canada, Alaska, and parts of the northern contiguous United States. In Eurasia, it covers most of Sweden, Finland, much of Russia from Karelia in the west to the Pacific Ocean (including much of Siberia), much of Norway and, some of the Scottish Highlands, some lowland/coastal areas of Iceland, and areas of northern Kazakhstan, northern Mongolia, and northern Japan (on the island of Hokkaido).
The above quote from Wikipedia describes a biome whose name has been omitted. What is that missing name?
Three
What word completes the title of this 1957 sci-fi novel: The Midwich …; and who wrote it?
Four
What calendar was replaced in England by the Gregorian in 1752?
Five
Who played the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk television series which originally aired between 1978 and 1982?
These questions all relate to people born this day, 15th May, and where they were born.
One
Born on this day in 1914, the Sherpa who, along with Edmund Hillary, was the first to stand on the summit of Mount Everest. Who was this Sherpa, and in what country was he born according to either his own autobiography or a later biography co-written by his son?
Answers: Tenzing Norgay (aka Sherpa Tenzing); (either) Nepal or Tibet.
Conflicting accounts exist regarding his birthplace so either Nepal or Tibet is acceptable. Tenzing Norgay was born to Tibetan parents in either in Nepal or Tibet, and likely grew up in Khumbu, Nepal. His birth name was Namgyal Wangdi, and at some point in his childhood, he took the name Tenzing Norgay. Norgay and Hillary stood on the summit of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953.
Two
Born this day in 1937, the woman who would become the first female U.S. Secretary of State. Who was she, and in what city was she born?
Answers: Madeleine Albright; Prague.
Madeleine Albright, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), was the first female U.S. Secretary of State (1997-2001) and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (1993-1997). Her family fled Czechoslovakia twice, first due to Nazi occupation and later due to a communist coup, eventually settling in the United States. As a human rights advocate, Albright championed military intervention, democracy, and human rights, notably advocating for NATO bombings in Kosovo. After leaving government service, she founded the Albright Group and supported Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns.
Three
Abraham …, born on this day in 1905, a clothing manufacturer, became famous for a short piece—less than 30 seconds—of 8 mm film captured in Texas in 1963. What was Abraham’s surname, in what country was he born and what event did the film capture?
Answers: Zapruder; Ukraine; the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Abraham Zapruder, a Ukrainian-born American clothing manufacturer, captured the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on film in Dallas, Texas. His footage, considered the most complete of the event, captured 26.6 seconds in 486 frames of the motorcade including the fatal headshot (frame 313). He sold the rights of the film to Life magazine, donating part of the proceeds to the widow of J.D. Tippet, the Dallas police officer shot by Lee Harvey Oswald less than an hour after the president’s assassination.
Four
Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) was the eighth book in a series. Who, born this day in 1856, was the author of this book and series, and in what U.S. state was this author born?
Answers: L. Frank Baum; New York.
American author Lyman Frank Baum, best known for his children’s fantasy books set in the land of Oz, especially The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was born in Chittenango, New York. Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth book of Baum’s Oz Series in which Tik-Tok is a ’mechanical man’. He has been termed ‘the prototype robot’, and is widely considered to be one of the first robots to appear in modern literature, though the term ‘Robot’ was not used until the 1920s, in the play R.U.R.
Five
Born this day in 1859, a scientist who, along with his wife, became the first married couple to win a Nobel Prize. Who was this male scientist and in what city was he born?
Answer: Pierre Curie; Paris.
Pierre Curie (1859–1906) was a French physicist and chemist known for his work in crystallography, magnetism, and radioactivity. He shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Curie, marking the first Nobel win by a married couple. Born in Paris, he excelled in mathematics and became a Professor of Physics. With his brother Jacques, he discovered piezoelectricity and invented the piezoelectric quartz electrometer. Their research led to the isolation of polonium and radium, coining the term ‘radioactivity’. Curie’s work on magnetic coefficients and radiation emissions advanced nuclear physics, influencing fields like plate tectonics and nuclear energy. Pierre Curie in 1906, in a street accident in Paris after slipping and being struck by a horse-drawn carriage.
These questions all relate to people born this day, 15th May, and where they were born.
One
Born on this day in 1914, the Sherpa who, along with Edmund Hillary, was the first to stand on the summit of Mount Everest. Who was this Sherpa, and in what country was he born according to either his own autobiography or a later biography co-written by his son?
Two
Born this day in 1937, the woman who would become the first female U.S. Secretary of State. Who was she, and in what city was she born?
Three
Abraham …, born on this day in 1905, a clothing manufacturer, became famous for a short piece—less than 30 seconds—of 8 mm film captured in Texas in 1963. What was Abraham’s surname, in what country was he born and what event did the film capture?
Four
Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) was the eighth book in a series. Who, born this day in 1856, was the author of this book and series, and in what U.S. state was this author born?
Five
Born this day in 1859, a scientist who, along with his wife, became the first married couple to win a Nobel Prize. Who was this male scientist and in what city was he born?
Another five sets of initials for you to flesh out.
One
What, in the American broadcasting industry, do the initials CNN stand for?
Answer: Cable News Network.
CNN, founded in 1980 by Ted Turner, is a 24-hour cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. As of December 2023, CNN had 68,974,000 subscribers in the United States and its programming airs globally through CNN International.
Two
What do the initials stand for in author J.R.R. Tolkien’s name?
Answer: John Ronald Reuel.
J.R.R. Tolkien, an English writer and philologist, authored The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He was a professor at Oxford and a devout Catholic.
Three
What names do the two Rs in American author George R.R. Martin’s name represent?
Answer: Raymond Richard.
George Raymond Richard Martin, who writes as George R.R. Martin, is an American author, screenwriter and television producer, best known for his epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, adapted into the award-winning television series Game of Thrones. He also contributed to the Wild Cards anthology series and the video game Elden Ring.
Four
Geographically in North America what is HOMES, and what does each letter represent?
Answer: The Great Lakes; Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.
The Great Lakes — Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior — a group of five interconnected freshwater lakes on the Canada-US border, are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total area. They formed around 14,000 years ago and have been a major source of transportation, migration, trade, and fishing.
Five
What words are represented by the letters in the abbreviation NASA?
Answer: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NASA, established in 1958, is the U.S. government agency responsible for the civil space program and aeronautics research. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it operates ten field centres and leads various spaceflight programmes, including Artemis. NASA collaborates internationally and domestically, with a budget of $24.4 billion for fiscal year 2026.
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