The MSE Christmas pub quiz 2012 Answers

Round 1: "Martin’s what is…?"

The key to this round is that I wrote every question without looking up the answer. Whether that helps or hinders you, who knows?

1. What is a lagoon?
   The definition must include the concept that it’s a smaller body of water separated from a larger one by a bank – preferably sea water.
2. What is a dreidel?
   A four-sided spinning top to celebrate Chanucah.
3. What is Roe versus Wade?
   It’s the binding court case in the US that dictated pro-choice was legal.

4. What is Bombay duck?
   A small, semi-transparent fish found in the Arabian Sea off the west coast of India. It’s often seen as a delicacy.
5. What is transubstantiation?
   The Catholic belief that when eating the wafer and drinking wine in holy communion, it literally becomes the body of Christ rather than just represents it, which is what Protestants believe.
6. What is a googolplex? – Exact answer please.
   10 to the power of 10 to the power of 100 (10 to the power of 10 is a googol).
7. What is the Knesset?
   It’s the Israeli parliament.
8. What is Medina?
   It’s the 2nd holiest place in the Islamic world, and also a city in Saudi Arabia.
9. What is the Dewey Decimal system?
   The system of book clarification in a library.
10. What is the Aldwych group? – Clue, it relates to universities.
    It is the name for the grouping of student unions that relate to the Russell Group of universities. It’s so-called because it was founded in 1994 with a meeting on the Aldwych in London by LSE – by then general secretary Martin Lewis. (This question was added in to be deliberately difficult as I thought it was the easiest round, plus the teams had jokers, so I wanted to make it tougher.)

Round 2: The Olympics

1. How many players compete in each team in a game of wheelchair rugby?
   4 players.
2. When did Steve Redgrave win his first gold?
   1984 at the LA Games
3. What are the names of the London 2012 mascots? (Half a point for each)
   Wenlock and Mandeville
4. What’s the knockout throw in judo called?
   An ippon.
5. How many Olympic medals of any colour has Michael Phelps won?
   22.
6. What was Victoria Pendleton disqualified from the team sprint for?
   She overtook her team-mate before the end of the lap, where she was allowed to.
7. Name one other British heptathelete in the Olympics, whose last name wasn’t Ennis.
   Louise Hazel.
   Katrina Johnson Thompson.
8. Name two of the three track and field world records broken during the Olympics. You need to name the event and the winner.
   Men 4×100 – Jamaica
   Women 4×100 – USA
   Men’s 800m – David Rudisha, Kenya.
9. In which event did Jessica Ennis break the world record for during the heptathlon?And where would she have come in the individual final for that event with that performance?
   12.54s in the 100M hurdles, meaning she would’ve come 3rd.
10. London 2012 was which number Olympiad? Name the official number.
    30th.

Round 3: Places

For each of the following give what it is and its location (either city or county depending on what’s most relevant). In the event of a dispute (eg, another place of the same name) – hard cheese!

1. Lime Street
   A. A station. B. Liverpool.
2. Ringway
   A. An airport. B. Manchester.
3. The Bullring
   A. Shopping and leisure centre. B. Birmingham.
4. Mumbles Mile
   A. Pub crawl stretch.  B. Swansea.
5. Little Venice  
   A. Stretch of canals. B. London.
6. Giant’s Causeway
   A. Rock formation. B. Antrim.
7. Steel Rigg
   A. Part of Hadrian’s Wall. B. Northumberland.
8. Electric Brae
   A. Road that seems to defy gravity. B. Ayrshire.
9. The Needles
   A. Chalk rock stacks. B Isle of Wight.
10. The Shambles
    A. Medieval street. B. York.

Round 4: General knowledge

1. What happens at 9.53pm every night in London, every day of the year?
   The Ceremony of the Keys to lock the Tower of London.
2. What are the Chiltern Hundreds?
   A office used as a sinecure to allow an MP to resign his or her seat.
3. What is a sinecure?
   An office that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service.
4. Who has sold more records – Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones?
   Led Zeppelin.
5. Which country is known as the "Sugar Bowl of the world"?
   Cuba.
6. What was New York City originally called?
   New Amsterdam.
7. The speed of a computer mouse is measured in which unit?
   Mickey.
8. In 2010, which institution topped Forbes’ list of billionaire Universities?
   Harvard.
9. Which group were originally called "Carl and the Passions"?
   The Beach Boys.
10. What colour is Mr Spock’s blood? Plus a bonus point for the colour of Dr Spock’s.
    Green. Dr Spock was a childcare expert who wrote a book, so his is red.