The 'Others' and 'Nevers' of Sherlock Holmes Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. It is common knowledge that Holmes found 'the needle' stimulating and clarifying to an idle mind. The seven-percent solution of cocaine even spawned a movie. What other narcotic did Sherlock use?

Answer: Morphine

In 'The Sign of Four' Watson asks, 'Which is it today, morphine or cocaine?' Although in 'The Man with the Twisted Lip' we find Holmes disguised in an opium den, other than 'passive' fumes, there is no evidence that he partook of opium.

2. Dr. John H. Watson apparently has a nickname, as his wife calls him by it in 'The Man with the Twisted Lip'. What is the good Doctor's other name?

Answer: James

The wife of an opium addict seeks the aid of the Watsons. Mrs. Mary Watson offered her wine and water (on a doctor's salary you wouldn't think they'd water down the grog!) and says, 'Tell us about it. Or should you rather that I sent James to bed?'

3. Inspector Lestrade gets the lion's share of the headlines, but which other member of the professional force runs second in mentions in the stories?

Answer: Tobias Gregson

Gregson appears in 'Sign of Four', 'Wisteria Lodge', Greek Interpreter', 'Study in Scarlet', and 'Red Circle'. Holmes said Gregson was the smartest of the Scotland Yarders. Hopkins is in 'Black Peter', 'Gold Pince-Nez', 'Missing Three-quarter' and 'Abbey Grange'.
Bradstreet in 'Twisted Lip', 'Blue Carbuncle' and 'Engineers Thumb'.
Coventry only in 'Thor Bridge'.
Lestrade turns up in a whopping 14 stories and Holmes said Lestrade is 'the best of the professionals.'

4. 221B Baker Street may well be the most famous address in the world. It still receives enough mail to employ a full time secretary just to answer it all. But how many other refuges did Holmes have in greater London?

Answer: 5

In 'Black Peter' Watson states that Holmes had at least five refuges in different parts of London, in which he was able to change his personality. Okay, 'at least' could mean more that five but we're certain of five and that was the highest choice.

5. If you've stuck with me this far, you probably know that Prof. James Moriarty is described by Holmes as 'The Napoleon of Crime'. The Professor had two brothers; one was a Station Master in west England. What was the title and name of the other brother?

Answer: Col. James

In 'The Final Problem' we find the Professor's brother Col. James Moriarty defending the memory of the Professor. (With two James Moriartys in the same house the problems caused when the mail came may well have been what made the Prof. so evil.) Holmes felt that Dr. Leslie Armstrong could fill the Prof's shoes were he to turn his great talents from good to evil in 'Missing Three-quarter'.
Col. Sebastian Moran was the Prof's Chief of Staff and his salary ran to �6000 a year in 'Valley of Fear'. The Earl of Maynooth's son, the Hon. Ronald Adair, was shot by Moran in 'Empty House'.

6. Now for some of the nevers of Sherlock Holmes. That the great detective smoked a pipe is known to all. Which of the following pipes did Holmes never use in the stories?

Answer: Drop stem calabash

The drop stem calabash pipe that is so readily associated with Sherlock was never in the stories; it was adopted by early Holmes portrayer William Gillette. Gillette didn't want his face obscured and so chose the calabash, which dipped below his chin.

The briar root is in two stories, 'Sign of Four' and 'Twisted Lip'. One must assume the clay to be the favourite as it is mentioned in no less than five stories. The cherry-wood 'was wont to replace his clay when he was in a disputatious, rather than meditative mood' ('Copper Beeches').

7. Sherlock Holmes was quite an accomplished violinist. He had other interests outside of crime. Which of the following was never an interest of the great detective?

Answer: British politics

In 'Study in Scarlet' Watson lists Holmes' limits, one of which is nil knowledge of politics. Holmes authored over a dozen works including 'A Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with some Observation upon segregation of the Queen' ('Last Bow'), a monograph on dating old manuscripts ('The Hound'), and one on the polyphonic motets of Lassus ('Bruce-Partington'). (See World Book for details on Lassus, whew!).

8. The wounds of Dr. Watson are noted in several of the tales. Which of these did the good Doctor never suffer?

Answer: A bullet through the left hand

In the opening paragraphs of 'Study in Scarlet' Watson lists his misfortunes due to his Afghan service, one of which was a Jezail bullet 'which shattered the shoulder bone and grazed the sub-clavian artery'. This bullet is second only to the JFK assassination bullet as we find in 'Sign of Four' that it also injured the doctor in the leg. 'Killer' Evans also managed to graze Watson's thigh in 'Three Garridebs'.

9. In 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' Holmes comments that he has handled '500 cases of capital importance'. We have Watson's reports of 60 of those cases, but more than 70 others are alluded to but not chronicled. Which of the following was never mentioned in the stories?

Answer: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding' was authored by Agatha Christie but details of this will have to be found in her quiz.
The other three were all mentioned by Watson and have the makings of rollicking tales. Hopefully someone will stumble across that old dispatch box that for years resided in the vaults of Cox & Co. and print these and the other 70 for us.

10. And finally, Doyle is credited with 56 official short stories and 4 novels about the world's greatest Detective. Which of the following titles never came from the pen of Sir Arthur?

Answer: The Seven Percent Solution

Nicholas Meyer (IMHO the best of the pretenders) wrote three fine Sherlock Holmes novels: 'The Seven Percent Solution', 'The West End Horror' and 'The Canary Trainer'. The latter of which is a case mentioned by Watson but not chronicled in the originals.
Other suggested reading used as reference for this quiz:
'The Complete Sherlock Holmes' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
'The Sherlock Holmes Encyclopaedia' by Orlando Park
'The World of Sherlock Holmes' by Martin Fido

Source: Author maynooth

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bullymom before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Hopefully this quiz will give you a bit more insight into Sherlock Holmes, the world's first consulting detective, and 'the best and the wisest man whom I have ever known'.

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