General Knowledge Bits and Pieces Quiz

Answer: Kirk Stevens

Kirk Stevens was a Canadian snooker player who turned professional in 1978 when he was 20 years old. Kirk was born August 17, 1958, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the 1980 world championship, Kirk reached the semifinals but lost to Alex Higgins 16-13. Between 1984 and 1985, Kirk was ranked number four in the world. In a televised event (Benson & Hedges Masters), Kirk made a 147 maximum break, which wasn't achieved again until 2007 by the Chinese player Ding Junhui.

Kirk left the international circuit in 1992-1993, but he continued to compete in the Canadian Amateur Championship, where he won in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2008.

Answer: Norway

NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

NATO is a group of countries that joins forces to help member states defend against third parties in the event of an attack. The organisation was first put together on 4 April 1949. The US, UK, and France all have nuclear weapons. From 1999 up until 2024, NATO had added 16 new members to the organisation.

Answer: 2.8 billion miles

Neptune is so far away, it would take around 12 years to reach the planet, depending on where Earth and Neptune were in their respective orbits. Neptune has several moons, with the largest being Triton. In 1977 the spacecraft Voyager left Earth and reached Neptune in 1989.

Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun. Of all the planets in our solar system, Neptune is not the largest, but it is said to be the densest due to its mass. The planet is made up of methane and ammonia, hot, dense fluid that includes water.

Answer: True

The construction of the dingo fence in Australia began in the 1880s. The idea behind the fence was to try and keep the dingoes out of the fertile land. The length of the fence is 3479 miles long (5600 kilometres). Due to its length, it is one of the longest structures in the world.

A dingo is a medium-sized wild dog that is native to Australia. Due to its domesticated ancestry, the dingo is considered a feral dog.

Australia is the only nation in the world that is both an island and a continent.

Answer: Jalebi

Jalebi is generally considered the national sweet of India. It is made by deep-frying fermented batter and then soaking it in sugar syrup, saffron, and cardamom. The recipe varies in different parts of India. It is a chewy and crispy type of dessert. Very nice too!

Answer: Flying Fish Cove

Christmas Island is located in the Indian Ocean around 900 miles (1448 km) northwest of Australia. Captain William Mynors named the island on Christmas Day in 1643. In 1888 the island was taken over by the British, and the first colony was established at Flying Fish Cove. The colony was named after a British survey ship called the "Flying Fish," and is now known as the capital of Christmas Island. On the first of January 1958, Australia bought the island from the British for just under three million pounds, and the island then became an Australian territory. The island now celebrates the transaction every year on 1st October. The event is one of the biggest events of the year and is enjoyed by all the people on the island.

Majuro is the capital of the Marshall Islands. Apia is the capital of Samoa, and Fort-de-France is the capital of Martinique.

Fun fact: Christmas Island is home to the largest crab in the world, the coconut crab, which is also known as the "robber crab." It has been recorded that the crab can grow up to three feet long (1 meter). Due to its size, this crab can break open coconuts with ease with its massive claws.

Answer: Thailand

"The Bridge over the River Kwai" was originally a novel written by the French novelist Pierre Boulle in 1952. In 1957, a film based on the novel was released in the UK and the US. English film director David Lean, with screenwriters Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, produced the film. Burma's railway construction in 1942-1943 serves as the historical backdrop for this fictional movie.

The film basically is about British prisoners of war building a bridge over the River Kwai connecting Thailand and Burma. The first stage of the build was done poorly by the prisoners and Japanese engineering. Nicholson, who was a British commander, told his men that they needed to build a bridge that the British Army could be proud of and that it would be a tribute to his men when the war was over. The film then tells you the story of the build and things that happen along the way. I'm not going to tell what happens at the end of the film because it would spoil the fun. It's well worth watching.

The film won seven Academy Awards and is considered one of the best films ever made.

Answer: Burmese python

It's hard to think of the Burmese python in America, as it's not a native species. Originally, the Burmese python would be found in Southeast Asia. It is most probable that people kept them as pets, and when they got too large, they released them in the Everglades. The first Burmese python was recorded in South Florida in the 1930s, and in the 1990s, they were recorded in the Everglades National Park. From around 2000, the python was officially recognised as a reproducing population.

This snake will kill and just about eat anything from crocodiles, alligators, and river otters. One of the biggest problems is this snake has no natural predators and so has killed off 90% of the native species that live in and around the Everglades.

With an average of 20 to 50 eggs laid each year, the Burmese python is a prolific breeder. With a 20-year life expectancy on average, the population has increased astronomically in a short period of time.

Answer: The Campaign for Real Ale

CAMRA was founded in 1971 in Dunquin, County Kerry, Ireland. The original founders were Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Jim Makin, and Bill Mellor. The idea behind the group was that beer had become too much of a mass-produced product with no flavour and taste compared to when beer was made by local brewers. The group grew quite quickly, with friends and beer drinkers in general supporting the group. CAMRA is a voluntary organisation that encourages the making and selling of real ale, cider, and perry and keeps the traditional pubs alive.

Additionally, there was a periodical called "What's Brewing," which focused on issues like beer duty, licensing regulations, and beer supply to bars and was based on the issues that CAMRA fought on. The newspaper closed and moved online in April 2021.

Worldwide, there are over 136,000 members and over 200 branches in the UK. The demand now for real ale has made a massive stride, with thousands of new brewers producing real ale. In the UK, supermarkets now keep a good range of real ales, and some supplies are brewed locally.

Answer: It is fried on one side only

Where the term "sunny side up" came from is not known for certain. However, the term is generally thought to have started in the US in and around 1887. The term "sunny side up" means to be fried on one side only until the egg white is set, but the yolk remains liquid.

Other terms for frying eggs are over easy, over medium, and over well. There are several ways to cook an egg apart from being fried. Other ways of cooking are poached eggs, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, and omelettes. Eggs are probably the most versatile food you can get!