'N'ticing Nugatory Nuggets of (k)Nowledge Quiz

Answer: Névé

Névé is a type of hard granular snow that can end up as glacial ice. As for Inuit names for snow, you could look at the satirical list of 100 names produced by Phil Jones which includes such gems as MacTla (snow burgers), fritla (fried snow) and gristla (deep fried snow).

Answer: Nicaragua

Conquered in the 16th Century by the Spanish, large chunks of the population succumbed to the diseases brought by the conquistadors. Nicaragua is the largest country by area in Central America; it is also the poorest and least populated.

Answer: Norgay

Born Namgyal Wangdi, his name was changed on the advice of the head lama of Rongbuk monastery. His climbing career started in 1935 with Eric Shipton, a famous British mountaineer. The 1953 expedition was Tenzing's seventh visit to the mountain.

Answer: North By Northwest

"North By Northwest" was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and featured Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. Famous scenes include the attack by crop dusting plane and the Mount Rushmore monument chase. Although up for three Oscars, it lost out on all of them to the ancient Roman drama "Ben-Hur". Alfred Hitchcock also directed "Notorious" and "Number Seventeen", and "North to Alaska" is a 1960 comedy starring John Wayne and Stewart Granger.

Answer: Nightshade

All foods listed contain small levels of alkaloids which are toxic to humans. The tobacco plant is also a member of this family with nicotine being an alkaloid. The Nightshades (or Solanaceae family) are perhaps better known in the medical field where some of the beneficial properties of the alkaloids are used. For example, the Deadly Nightshade (or Belladonna) which produces Atropine, is used to dilate pupils and is invaluable in eye operations.

Answer: Nebuchadnezzar

The Nebuchadnezzar is a 15 litre bottle of champagne and is the equivalent of 20 standard bottles so you would need a few friends to help you finish it off. You can thank the Bible for providing the name - Nebuchadnezzar II was a Babylonian king dating from around 600 BC. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon have been attributed to him. The original but unrelated Nebuchadnezzar I (from around 1100 BC) was also Babylonian but didn't get the honour of having a bottle named after him.

Answer: Nephrologist

These are all parts of the kidney. A nephrologist is a physician trained in treating kidney diseases. The others are specialists as well. A nostologist is a person who studies dementia, perhaps more commonly known as a gerontologist; a necrologist could be described as an obituary writer; and a nephologist specialises in the study of clouds.

Answer: Naseby

The English Civil War was fought between the King (Cavaliers) and the Parliament (Roundheads) over control of the country. It ended with the establishment of a commonwealth which replaced the monarchy. The Battle of Naseby which took place on 14 June 1645, was the key engagement during the first phase of the war. King Charles I and his nephew Prince Rupert of the Rhine and their Cavaliers took on the New Model Army, led by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, and lost badly.

It was not until after the second phase started during his captivity that King Charles I was put on trial then executed after being found guilty of treason.

Answer: Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov was also a noted entomologist, specialising in a relatively modest tribe of butterflies. He wrote "Lolita" during butterfly-hunting trips in western America. He made enough money from "Lolita" to move to Switzerland where he spent the rest of his life based in a hotel in Montreaux.

Answer: Nautilus

The USS Nautilus was launched in 1954 and broke many submarine records due to the extended capabilities provided by its nuclear propulsion. The Nautilus was the first naval vessel to reach the North Pole, achieving this in 1958. She was decommissioned in 1980 and is now a museum. The Nautilus was also the name of the fictional submarine in Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" as well as being a type of pelagic mollusk.