Countdown Quiz

Answer: Flying Finn

Paavo Nurmi won his gold medals during the 1920s. During his career he set 22 world records in distances from 1500 metres to 20 kilometres. Politics saw him barred from racing at the 1932 Olympics, where he wanted to retire after winning a marathon gold medal. He retired shortly afterwards and went on to become a successful businessman and one of Finland's wealthiest citizens.

Paavo Nurmi is one of a number of Finnish sportsmen to have been given the 'Flying Finn' nickname. Initially bestowed on successful Finnish long-distance runners, over thirty Finns have had the nickname. Other sports covered include various motor sports, winter sports, tennis and even soccer.

Answer: Blue-ringed octopus

The three or four varieties of blue-ringed octopus are found on coral reefs and tidal pools between Japan and Australia. It has been calculated that a large adult (measuring 25 cm) has enough venom to kill ten large adults. The toxin involved is identical to that found in such animals as puffer fish, poison dart frogs, a couple of ribbon worms, a horseshoe crab, some snails and a South American sea squirt, amongst others. The common link is a toxin-producing bacteria which lives in a symbiotic relationship with its host.

There is no antidote to the neurotoxin so treatment is to provide artificial respiration until the paralysis caused by the neurotoxin, wears off several hours later.

Answer: Seven Samurai

Regarded by some as one of the best Japanese films ever made, this three-hour historical drama was directed by Akira Kurosawa. In the West, Kurosawa became known for his samurai cinema films of which this was his first. At the time it was the most expensive film made in Japan, coming in three times over-budget, however it also proved to be financially successful. The formula has been revisited several times in, for example, "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) and "Battle Beyond the Stars" (1980).

The photo shows a statue of Kusunoki Masashige, a 14th century samurai warrior known for his selfless display of samurai loyalty.

Answer: Paper

Most types of wasp are parasitoidal, living within and devouring their host, and so have no need to make nests. Social species of wasp, such as the hornet and yellow jacket, do make nests. Wasps lack wax-producing glands and so they have come up with some alternative solutions. Paper-making is one such solution.

A wasp will use its mandibles to scrape wood fibres from the likes of logs, wooden posts or cardboard. Using saliva and chewing the fibres turns it into a pulp which can then be used to build the walls of the nest. Only the queen wasp overwinters and nests usually deteriorate over winter with a fresh nest built in the Spring.

Most but not all social wasps use paper to make their nests; alternative materials include clay, sand, mud and vegetable fibres (rather than wood fibres), with binding materials including saliva, resin and silk. Sometimes these alternatives are used to supplement paper structures.

Answer: Five Eyes

With it roots in the 1941 Atlantic Charter (which set out the post-war goals of the Allies), a secret treaty for signals intelligence co-operation was signed in 1946 between the UK and USA, later expanded to take in the other FVEY countries. Its main role from the 1950s was said to be intelligence gathering against Cold War foes.

Various whistle-blowing revelations from the 1990s revealed that FVEY also carried out surveillance on a variety of organisations including the United Nations, some high-profile personalities (such as British musician John Lennon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Nelson Mandela) as well as their own citizens. In order to circumvent national laws, FVEY members are said to spy on each other and then pass on the intelligence gained.

There are also the intelligence alliances called Nine Eyes (which added Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Norway) and Fourteen Eyes (with Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden added), according to some sources.

A pug (similar to the one in the photo) named Frank is a character first appearing in the 1997 'Men in Black' film. He plays the part of a Remoolian extraterrestrial in disguise, who provides some key intelligence.

Answer: The Four Feathers

Best known of Manson's books, it is largely set in the late 19th century colonial Sudan. The backdrop was the Mahdist War, a religious uprising by the Sudanese against the Egyptians, a British protectorate at the time, and then the British. The war is perhaps best remembered for the Siege of Khartoum, which ended with the massacre of General Gordon and his defenders in 1885 two days before the relief column arrived.

In the book, the four white feathers were given to Harry Faversham by his three army friends and by his fiancée when breaking off their engagement. The feathers were meant to signify his cowardice. His actions in the book result in each accepting the return of the feathers.

Answer: Regal

It is the Regal, and not its replacement the Robin, that appears in these TV shows. In "Mr Bean", it usually comes off worse in its encounters with Mr Bean's British Leyland Mini. The Robin has also had a TV career, making appearances in such British TV shows as "Scrapheap Challenge" and "Top Gear".

Reliant produced cars over a 65-year period in both three and four-wheeled models, many of them with fibreglass bodies. The Scimitar was their (four-wheeled) sports car model which was manufactured over a 22-year period.

The photo is intended to show a cat with a regal look.

Answer: The Lord of the Rings

Jupiter was the Roman king of the gods so the photo could be said to show a lord and his rings. The epic fantasy series by British author JRR Tolkien consists of "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King".

After the success of "The Hobbit", the publishers called for a sequel. An early draft of "The Silmarillion" was rejected by the publishers and instead Tolkien wrote "The Lord of the Rings". "The Silmarillion" was published posthumously.

There have been various adaptations of the book series over the years including the multi-award winning "The Lord of The Rings" series (2001 - 2003), directed by Peter Jackson and which garnered 17 Oscars.

Answer: Pear

The pear is from the rose family of trees and is also the name given to the fruit from the tree. Pears have been eaten for a long time, perhaps even in prehistoric times with the first trees believed to have come from China. The photo shows a cactus known as the prickly pear, from the opuntia genus. The fruit from the cactus also goes by the same name. It is not related to the pear tree.

The solo bird is the partridge. First appearing in English around 1780, the song is believed to be French in origin. The current version has been around for over 100 years and starts:

"On the First day of Christmas my true love sent to me
a Partridge in a Pear Tree."

Answer: Japan

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and served as a long-range fighter aircraft for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. It had several names however their pilots tended to be refer to them as Rei-sen (or Zero), based on the last digit of the Imperial year in which the aircraft was introduced into service. The Imperial year was 2600 (1940), based on the founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. Strangely, perhaps, the Imperial year was first officially used in 1873 and abandoned after 1945.