General Knowledge 'A' Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anise

There is plenty of Alcohol in ouzo usually around 40% ABV), but that is not what provides the distinctive flavor. That particular taste comes from anise, or aniseed. Indeed, aniseed oil is also used for treating colds and flu, and we all know how awful most medicines taste! Curiously, ouzo is clear but if you mix it with water or ice it turns milky. This is because oil of anise is soluble in alcohol, but not in water.

Answer: The Apartment

Billy Wilder (real name Samuel), won seven Oscars including the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in 1988. Three of those came in 1961 for 'The Apartment'. He has also won in 1946 (Director and Screenplay) for 'The Lost Weekend' and in 1951 (Screenplay) for 'Sunset Boulevard'. in 1961, Lemmon lost the 'Best Actor' award to Burt Lancaster ('Elmer Gantry') and Elizabeth Taylor ('Butterfield 8') beat MacLaine for the 'Best Actress' award. Of the alternatives, 'The Alamo' starred John Wayne as Davy Crockett and Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie, and was another 1960 nominee for 'Best Picture'. 'Anatomy of a Murder' was an Otto Preminger film starring Jimmy Stewart and George C. Scott that was nominated in 1959. 'Avanti!' was a later Billy Wilder production, a 1972 comedy starring Jack Lemmon.

Answer: Wind Speed and Pressure

There are numerous types of anemometers, but the original and simplest form is the 'cup anemometer' invented in 1846. It looks something like a weather vane, but with cups rather than points at the end of the four spokes. As the wind causes the cups to move, so a central spindle turns, allowing the speed of the wind to be measured.
Of the alternatives, a cellometer measure the height of cloud base, a nephoscope measure the velocity of clouds, and a hygrometer measures humidity.

Answer: Anthony Eden

The 1st Earl of Avon, Antony Eden, would probably have been remembered fondly by history for his time as Churchill's Foreign Secretary during WWII were it not for his disastrous 21-month spell in the top job. His time as Prime Minister (1955-57) was blighted by the 'Suez Crisis' that ruined his reputation as a statesman and ultimately brought about his downfall. Most polls put him as one of the (if not the) least successful of all 20th-Century Prime Ministers. Of the alternatives, Douglas-Home was actually Lord Home before becoming Prime Minister.

He is the last member of the House of Lords to become PM, and the only person to renounce his peerage to become PM. Attlee took his seat in the House of Lords as Earl Attlee and Viscount Prestwood, while Asquith became the 1st Earl of Oxford & Asquith.

Answer: David Keel

British secret agent John Steed, played by Patrick Macnee, was teamed with a variety of partners in his 16 years and 187 episodes on 'The Avengers' and 'The New Avengers'. His first partner was Dr. David Keel (played by Ian Hendry), who departed at the end of the first series.
1962 saw the introduction of the first of many female partners for Steed -- anthropologist Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman). 1965 saw the introduction of Emma Peel, Diana Rigg replacing Blackman, who had left to film 'Goldfinger'. Steed's last 'sidekick' in the original incarnation was Tara King (played by Canadian actress Linda Thorson), who completed two series in 1968-69.
After almost a decade off-screen, Steed returned for two seasons of 'The New Avengers' in 1976. This time he had two partners, Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt) and Purdy (Joanna Lumley).

Answer: Alberto Juantorena

Alberto Juantorena Danger was born in Cuba in 1950. He reached the semi-final of the 400m in Munich in 1972, but only started running the longer distance a few months before the Montreal games. Not considered a serious contender, he led for most of the 800m final and finished with a new World Record that was only broken by Sebastian Coe three years later.

He then set a new low-altitude World Record in winning the 400m final to record a double that will stand as unique at least until the 2012 Games. Of the alternatives, Babers is another double Olympic gold medalist, winning the 400m and 4x400m relay for the USA at the 1984 games. So, too, is Great Britain's Albert Hill, who completed the 800m and 1500m double in Antwerp in 1920. Scottish sprinter Allan Wells just failed to complete his double in Moscow in 1980, winning the 100m but collecting the silver medal in the 200m.

Answer: Anthony Minghella

'The English Patient' dominated the 1997 Oscars, winning nine statuettes from its 12 nominations including 'Best Picture' and 'Best Supporting Actress' (Juliette Binoche) as well as 'Best Director'. Minghella was nominated again in 2000, this time in the 'Best Adapted Screenplay' category for his work on 'The Talented Mr Ripley'.

He was born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight in 1954 and died from complications arising from cancer surgery in 2008. The alternatives have all been nominated more than once for a 'Best Director' Oscar. Allen has won once (for 'Annie Hall' in 1977) from six nominations, although he has also won twice as a screenwriter. Taiwan's Ang Lee won at the second attempt, in 2005 for 'Brokeback Mountain', making him the first Asian winner of the award. Robert Altman was nominated five times but never won.

He was given an Academy Honorary Award at the 2006 Oscars, shortly before his death.

Answer: White

A pure Aylesbury Duck will have white feathers, orange feet and legs, and a pink bill. These ducks have been bred primarily for the meat trade for some 300 years. As their name implies, they originated in the region around the English town north of London from which they take their name.

Answer: Adam & the Ants

These were Adam & the Ants' only UK #1 singles and both came from the 'Prince Charming' album. Curiously, that album stalled at #2 on the album chart, whereas their previous album, 'Kings of the Wild Frontier', had made it to the top sport.
The band was fronted by Stuart Leslie Goddard, who later enjoyed a moderately successful career as both a solo artist and an actor under the name Adam Ant.
Of the alternatives, Air Supply had their only US #1 single in 1981 with 'The One that You Love', which followed 'All Out of Love' which had made it to #2 the year before; Aneka was a female solo artist from Scotland who topped the UK singles chart in 1981 with 'Japanese Boy', and Alice Cooper scored their only UK #1 much earlier, with 'School's Out' in 1972, although they did get to #2 with 'Poison' in 1989.

Answer: Alaska

The Alexander Archipelago consists approximately 1,100 volcanic island that stretch some 300 miles into the Pacific Ocean off the southeastern coast of Alaska. The largest town in the region is Juneau, Alaska's state capital, although it is located on the mainland.

The most populous settlement actually on the islands is Sitka: with a population of around 9,000 it is Alaska's 4th-largest city. It is also the largest city by area in the whole of the USA. Sitka is located on the western side of Baranof Island, the most mountainous of the islands that make up the archipelago. Alaska's eighth largest island, it is about the same size as Delaware.

The other major population centre on the archipelago is Ketchikan, population approximately 7,500 and Alaska's fifth-largest city. Located on Revillagigedo Island, which is only slightly smaller than Baranof, Ketchikan is known as 'The Salmon Capital of the World'.

It is also the gateway to the 'Misty Fjords National Monument', making Ketchikan the most popular tourist destination on the archipelago.

Answer: Maude Adams

Maude Adams twice played a 'Bond girl', first in 1974 as Andrea Anders in 'The Man with the Golden Gun', and then again in 1983 as the title character in 'Octopussy'. Born Maud Solveig Christina Wikström is Sweden in 1945, she established the record as the oldest 'Bond girl' at 38 with her appearance in 'Octopussy'. Of the alternatives, Andress also played a Bond girl twice, first as the memorable Honey Ryder in 'Dr. No' and then as Vesper Lynd in 'Casino Royale' in 1967 at the age of 31. Wakabayashi played Bond's Japanese love interest, Aki in 'You Only Live Twice' but was only aged 26. D'Abo played KGB agent Kara Milovy in 'The Living Daylights' but was only 27 at the time.

Answer: November 30

As the patron saint of Scotland, St. Andrew's Day on November 30 is technically Scotland's 'National Day' and it has been an official national holiday there since 2006. Having said that, the two biggest annual 'party nights' in Scotland still remain 'Hogmanay' (New Year's Eve) and 'Burns Night' (January 25).
The alternatives are the feast days of other Patron Saints in the British Isles -- March 1 is St. David's Day (Wales), April 23 is St. George's Day (England) and March 17 is St. Patrick's Day (Ireland). Sadly, though, while St. Patrick's Day is widely celebrated throughout the UK, most English people could not even tell you the date of St. George's Day and it certainly is not widely celebrated.

Answer: Alias Smith & Jones

What can I say? It obviously looks a bit dated now, but if you're not old enough to have seen 'Alias Smith & Jones' when it first ran in the early 1970s, try to catch a couple of episodes on cable. Sadly, the death of Pete Duel at the end of 1971 effectively curtailed the show (although there was one more series with Roger Davis joining Ben Murphy). Great series, though, and I'm not a great fan of Westerns. Of the alternatives, the 1959 TV series 'The Alaskans' also featured a pair of questionable character, Silky Harris (a pre-007 Roger Moore) and Reno McKee (Jeff York). 'Grizzly Adams' lasted for two series in 1977-78 with Dan Haggerty as the title character. 'Brisco County' was a rarity -- a western series in the 1990s, and it was predictably short-lived, lasting just one season in 1994.

The main character was a bounty hunter played by Bruce Campbell, who is perhaps better known as the star of the 'Evil Dead' films.

Answer: Archibald Joseph

Archibald Joseph Cronin was born in 1896 in Cardross, Scotland. He created the character of Dr. Finlay on which the long-running BBC TV series 'Dr. Finlay's Casebook' was based.
Many of his novels were adapted for films including 'The Citadel', which was nominated for 'Best Picture' and earned Robert Donat a 'Best Actor' nomination, 'The Keys of the Kingdom' for which Gregory Peck earned a nomination, and 'The Green Years' from which Charles Coburn was nominated. This says a great deal about the strength of the leading characters created by Cronin.

Answer: Atlas

The Atlas Mountains effectively separate the northwest African coastlines on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic from the Sahara Desert.
The highest peak is the Atlas range is Jbel Toubkal in the 'Toubkal National Park', about 40 miles south of Marrakesh in southwestern Morocco. Standing 13,671 feet, it is comparable to the highest peaks on Hawaii and only about 2,000 feet less than Mont Blanc, Europe's highest point.

Answer: 1931

The English Football League began with just 12 teams in 1888 -- five from Lancashire (Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley and Preston), one from Merseyside (Everton), three from the Birmingham area (Wolverhampton, Aston Villa and West Bromwich), one from the West Midlands (Stoke) and two from the East Midlands (Notts County and Derby). It is hardly surprising, then, that Northern and Midlands teams dominated the early years.
The league soon expanded and split into two divisions and by 1905 there were 20 teams in the top division. That number increased to 22 after WWI, but it was still dominated by Northern and Midlands teams. In the 1920s, Huddersfield Town won three consecutive titles. At the end of the 1920s, Aston Villa had won the title six times, Sunderland five, and Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday four each. But the time for one Southern team was fast approaching... Arsenal had been promoted to the top division in 1919 despite not actually winning Division 2. They have been in the top division of English football ever since -- by far the longest unbroken run by any team. They won their first title in 1931, but by the end of the decade and the suspension of the league because of WWII, they had five titles to their name.
For the record, a Southern team other than Arsenal would not win a title until Portsmouth claimed back-to-back successes in 1949 and 1950. Both Spurs and Chelsea also broke their ducks in the 1950s.

Answer: Are You Being Served?

Quality always shows through, and 'Are You Being Served' survived despite the fact that its first series aired in direct competition with 'Coronation Street' and thus received relatively poor viewing figures. The repeats did much better, so the series was retained and eventually ran for 13 years. Curiously, although there were 10 series made, there are a total of only 69 episodes. The other options all began in the 1990s. 'As Time Goes By' was created by Colin Bostock-Smith and starred Dame Judi Dench, 'Ab Fab' was created and starred Jennifer Saunders, and 'Ain't Misbehavin' was written by Roy Clark, who was also responsible for classics such as 'Last of the Summer Wine' and 'Keeping Up Appearances'.

Answer: Ash

Ash is a fairly generic name in tree terms, since it covers a wide range of trees, some of which are even coniferous. One distinctive feature they share is the 'helicopter rotor' type seeds.
All types of ash trees produce hardwood that is both very strong but also has some elasticity to it. For this reason, it is used to make things such as baseball bats and handles for tools such as hammers, where strength is essential but some give is also important. In some places it was also used to make bows, although traditional English longbows were generally made from yew.
Of the alternatives, alder is easily stained and polished, which makes it ideal for high quality furniture and top-of-the-line guitars. Aspen burns slowly, so one of its primary uses in for matches. Apple trees are, of course, grown for their fruit, so they are not cut down in large numbers for their wood and there is no widespread commercial use for their wood.

Answer: Amadeus

'Amadeus' dominated the 1985 Oscars, winning eight awards including 'Best Picture' and 'Best Director' for Milos Forman. Those of you who remember seeing it may recall Tom Hulce as the title character. However, F. Murray Abraham co-starred as the composer's rival, Antonio Salieri.

The film achieved a rarity in earning two nominations for the 'Best Actor' Oscar, which was won by Abraham. The alternatives are also 1984 films. David Lean's 'A Passage to India' starred Sir Alec Guiness with Dame Peggy Ashcroft collecting a 'Best Supporting Actress' Oscar, 'All of Me' was a Rob Reiner comedy starring Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin, and 'Police Academy' grossed over $80m and spawned six sequels but, of course, was never mentioned at the Oscar ceremonies, and quite rightly so.

Answer: Portugal

Angola gained its independence from Portugal on November 11, 1975, although Portuguese still remains the official language. Unfortunately, the Angolan Civil War began before the year was out and lasted until 2002 with more than half a million dying in the conflict.
Bordered by Namibia, Zambia and the two Congos with a 1,000-mile Atlantic coastline, Angola is about twice the size of Texas. The UK would fit approximately five times into the country.