Rosebery #11

Question 1

In a career spanning six decades, who directed over 50 feature films, including Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho?

Answer 1

(Alfred) Hitchcock

Question 2

First introduced by the Danish chemist S.P.L. Sørensen in 1909, what measurement is currently defined as the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion activity in a solution?

Answer 2

pH

Question 3

What ancient Greek currency unit was also the currency unit of modern Greece from 1832 until 2001, when it was replaced by the euro?

Answer 3

drachma

Question 4

What jelly-like substance, obtained from red algae, can be used in place of gelatin in desserts but is often used as a solid substrate for microbiological work in petri dishes?

Answer 4

agar

Question 5

In Art Speigelmen’s “Maus,” which depicts his father’s experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor, what were the Germans represented as?

Answer 5

cats

Question 6

Which comic book artist and writer was known for combining film noir and manga influences in his comic art creations such as Sin City and 300?

Answer 6

(Frank) Miller

Question 7

What is the title of the graphic autobiography by Marjane Satrapi that depicts her childhood in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution, adapted into an animated film in 2007?

Answer 7

Persepolis

Question 8

What is the common name for the warm-blooded vertebrates of the class Aves, characterized by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, and the laying of hard-shelled eggs?

Answer 8

birds

Question 9

The Berlin specimen is the iconic example of which genus of bird-like dinosaurs that is transitional between non-avian dinosaurs and modern birds?

Answer 9

Archaeopteryx

Question 10

Which species of flightless birds, endemic to New Zealand, were the tallest birds to have ever existed, until they hunted to extinction about 600 years ago?

Answer 10

(giant) moa

Question 11

Adult female chickens are known as hens. What are younger females known as?

Answer 11

pullet(s)

Question 12

To the nearest whole centimeter, calculate both the length of a diagonal of a square with sides of 10 cm and the length of an axial diagonal of a cube with edges of 10 cm.

Answer 12

14 cm and 17 cm

Question 13

In 793, what Northumbrian abbey was destroyed by the Vikings, shocking Christian Europe and beginning the Viking Age?

Answer 13

Lindisfarne

Question 14

What term described the members of the lowest-ranking socio-economic class of Viking society: the slaves who were the servants of the Karls and Jarls?

Answer 14

thrall(s)

Question 15

What was the name for Leif Erikson’s attempted North American colony, the best evidence for which is the archaeological site of L’Anse aux Meadows?

Answer 15

Vinland

Question 16

In Norse mythology, what was the name of the immense tree that connected the Nine Worlds?

Answer 16

Yggdrasil

Question 17

From what language did English borrow the word, “tsunami?”

Answer 17

Japanese

Question 18

From what language did English borrow the word, “fiesta?”

Answer 18

Spanish

Question 19

From what language did English borrow the word, “klutz?”

Answer 19

Yiddish

Question 20

From what language did English borrow the word, “jungle?”

Answer 20

Hindi

Question 21

From what language did English borrow the word, “chauffeur?”

Answer 21

French

Question 22

From what language did English borrow the word, “gulag?”

Answer 22

Russian

Question 23

From what language did English borrow the word, “graffiti?”

Answer 23

Italian

Question 24

From what language did English borrow the word, “hooligan?”

Answer 24

Irish (accept Gaelic)

Question 25

What American modernist artist, who was married to art dealer and photographer Alfred Stieglitz, is best known for her paintings of enlarged flowers and New Mexico landscapes?

Answer 25

(Georgia) O'Keeffe

Question 26

What Summer Olympic sport is performed on a piste, 14 metres long and 1.5 to 2 metres wide?

Answer 26

fencing

Question 27

In which country is Benghazi, the site of a 2012 Islamic militant group's attack against U.S. government facilities that was an issue in the 2016 election?

Answer 27

Libya

Question 28

If you're chatting with someone online and they type "AFK," what will they be, temporarily?

Answer 28

away from keyboard

Question 29

What is the most common meter in English poetry, most famously used by William Shakespeare in his plays and sonnets?

Answer 29

iambic pentameter

Question 30

What former The Daily Show with Jon Stewart correspondent now hosts his own Emmy-award-winning show on HBO called Last Week Tonight?

Answer 30

(John) Oliver

Question 31

What flavouring is derived from the seed pods of orchids that were originally native to Mesoamerica?

Answer 31

vanilla

Question 32

The Eureka Rebellion, instigated by gold miners who were rebelling against the colonial authority, was a significant event in the history of which country?

Answer 32

Australia

Question 33

What is the more common name for a hand-held converging lens?

Answer 33

magnifying glass

Question 34

What kind of filter is often applied to sunglasses to reduce glare from reflections by horizontal surfaces?

Answer 34

(vertical) polarizing

Question 35

Who is generally credited with building the first reflecting telescope in 1668, the design using a spherically ground metal primary mirror and a small diagonal mirror?

Answer 35

(Isaac) Newton

Question 36

What term is used to describe the longest-wavelength waves on the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths ranging from 1 meter to hundreds or thousands of meters?

Answer 36

radio (waves)

Question 37

I was created in the early 16th century in Italy, possibly over a period of years. Shortly thereafter, I was moved from Italy to France, where I remain to this day. I was famously stolen in 1911 and not returned for two years.My model was Lisa del Giocondo, which is one reason why my Italian name is La Gioconda, "the happy one." The other reason is my smile. What am I?

Answer 37

Mona Lisa

Question 38

Some of Oceania is part of an almost entirely submerged mass of continental crust that sank after breaking away from Australia 60–85 million years ago. What is the name of this continent?

Answer 38

Zealandia (or Tasmantis)

Question 39

A significant percentage of the revenue of the government of which Polynesian island country comes from royalties from its Internet country code .tv addresses?

Answer 39

Tuvalu

Question 40

By what other name is the Chilean island of Rapa Nui, famous for its nearly 1000 monumental statues, commonly known?

Answer 40

Easter Island

Question 41

The sparse population of which British Overseas Territory is descended mostly from H.M.S. Bounty mutineers and the handful of Tahitians who accompanied them?

Answer 41

Pitcairn Islands

Question 42

What term is used to describe the thin, wispy, stranded clouds formed at high altitudes?

Answer 42

cirrus

Question 43

What is the highest category on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, used for hurricanes with a maximum sustained wind speed of higher than 251 km/h?

Answer 43

(Category) 5

Question 44

The meteorological phenomenon called virga occurs when rain does what before it hits the ground?

Answer 44

evaporates

Question 45

What term is used to describe the temperature to which an air mass must be cooled to become saturated with water vapour? Any lower and the vapour will condense out of the air.

Answer 45

dew point

Question 46

Fill in the blank: "If you can keep your BLANK when all about you/Are losing theirs and blaming it on you."

Answer 46

head

Question 47

Fill in the blank: "This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a BLANK."

Answer 47

whimper

Question 48

"I wandered lonely as a BLANK/That floats on high o'er vales and hills."

Answer 48

cloud

Question 49

"You may trod me in the very dirt/But still, like BLANK, I’ll rise."

Answer 49

dust

Question 50

Anansi the Spider, Reynard the Fox, Coyote, and Br'er Rabbit are all examples of what kind of character in folklore?

Answer 50

trickster(s)

Question 51

What Shakespearean character, based on a character from English folklore also known as Robin Goodfellow, describes himself as "that merry wanderer of the night?"

Answer 51

Puck

Question 52

What character from the 16th century Chinese classical novel "Journey to the West," is supernaturally strong, fast, and capable of transforming himself . . . except for his tail?

Answer 52

Monkey King (or Sun Wukong)

Question 53

What Greek god plays the trickster in many myths and, in addition to his other roles, is the patron of thieves and the inventor of lying?

Answer 53

Hermes

Question 54

In rhetoric, what Latin term is used to describe the fallacious argumentative strategy in which the person making the argument is attacked rather than the substance of the argument itself?

Answer 54

(argumentum) ad hominem

Question 55

Which Canadian golfer, who consistently ranked in the top 10 on the PGA circuit in the early 2000s, is generally regarded as the greatest Canadian golfer of all time?

Answer 55

Mike Weir

Question 56

In 2008, who won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Act Ever for a song released more than 20 years earlier but still often played due to the popular phenomenon of Rickrolling?

Answer 56

(Rick) Astley

Question 57

Which gas was named from the Greek for “water forming” by the chemist Antoine Lavoisier?

Answer 57

hydrogen

Question 58

Which chef popularized French cuisine in America, beginning with her debut cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking?"

Answer 58

(Julia) Child

Question 59

The films "The Blues Brothers" and "Wayne's World" started off as sketches on which late-night television variety show?

Answer 59

Saturday Night Live

Question 60

In 1931, speculative attacks on its currency forced Britain (followed by Canada) to abandon what, which allowed the use of monetary policy to stimulate the depressed economy?

Answer 60

gold standard

Question 61

Which event was part of the track and field athletics program at the Olympics from 1900 to 1920 and consisted of two teams of eight, each trying pull the other six feet forward?

Answer 61

tug-of-war

Question 62

What term describes the synthesized electronic music made for the programmable sound generator sound chips used in vintage computers, consoles, and arcade machines?

Answer 62

8-bit (or chiptune)

Question 63

What animated character first appeared in the opening credit sequence of the first Inspector Clouseau film, in which the detective searched for a diamond of the same name?

Answer 63

Pink Panther

Question 64

In which game, played on a plastic mat, might a player hear the instruction, "Right hand yellow?"

Answer 64

Twister

Question 65

In which battery-operated game of physical skill might a player attempt to retrieve the patient's Funny Bone?

Answer 65

Operation

Question 66

In which three-dimensional board game do players at first cooperate to build a working Rube Goldberg-like machine before attempting to capture opponents' game pieces?

Answer 66

Mouse Trap

Question 67

What city was the capital of Ptolemaic, Roman, and Byzantine Egypt and is currently the second-largest city in Egypt?

Answer 67

Alexandria

Question 68

Which of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, for many centuries one of the tallest man-made structures in the world, was located in Alexandria?

Answer 68

Lighthouse (or Pharos) (of Alexandria)

Question 69

The Ptolemaic pharaohs, to unify Egypt and Greece, invented the cult of which god, who was made the protector of Alexandria?

Answer 69

Serapis

Question 70

What prominent Hellenistic female philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer was murdered by a Christian mob, possibly incited by the bishop of Alexandria?

Answer 70

Hypatia

Question 71

What term is used to describe a phase transition in which a gas transforms into a solid without passing through the liquid phase?

Answer 71

deposition

Question 72

What metallic element is known for having a melting point above room temperature, but below normal human body temperature – hence, the metal will melt in a person's hands?

Answer 72

gallium

Question 73

In which state of matter, first described by chemist Irving Langmuir in the 1920s, is a substance extremely electrically conductive because its atoms have been ionized?

Answer 73

plasma

Question 74

Among the many things named after me are a penguin species and two galaxies. I gave the Pacific Ocean its name. I was born in Portugal and died in the Philippines. I organized the Spanish expedition to the East Indies that resulted in the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Who am I?

Answer 74

(Ferdinand) Magellan

Question 75

What day is celebrated on March 8 every year? It was historically celebrated by communist countries before being adopted by the United Nations in 1975.

Answer 75

International Women's Day

Question 76

What Himalayan massif has the highest fatality-to-summit ratio of any of the highest peaks? The ascent via the south face is considered by many to be the most difficult of all climbs.

Answer 76

Annapurna

Question 77

The overture to which opera is Gioachino Rossini's best-known piece of music, in part for its use as the theme music for The Lone Ranger in radio, television and film?

Answer 77

William Tell

Question 78

What hormone, primarily produced by the pineal gland, regulates wakefulness and is used as a medicine to treat insomnia?

Answer 78

melatonin

Question 79

After the 1919 season, the Boston Red Sox owner sold which player to the Yankees, beginning Boston's 86 year championship drought and the "Curse of the Bambino" superstition?

Answer 79

(Babe) Ruth

Question 80

The antielectron, the antimatter particle with the same mass as the electron but oppositely charged, is for historical reasons more commonly known as what?

Answer 80

positron

Question 81

What long-running animated children's television show revolves around the lives of an anthropomorphic aardvark and his friends and family?

Answer 81

Arthur

Question 82

What downloadable puzzle game is one of the first and most successful "freemium" games, still making approximately $700 million a year, 6 years after its release?

Answer 82

Candy Crush (Saga)

Question 83

What was the name of Ebenezer Scrooge's deceased business partner in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol?

Answer 83

(Jacob) Marley

Question 84

What Imperial unit for volume is equal to 2 pints or one-quarter of a gallon?

Answer 84

quart

Question 85

What working dog breed, often considered the most intelligent of all domesticated dogs, was developed in northern England and lowland Scotland for herding livestock, especially sheep?

Answer 85

border collie

Question 86

What is the oldest post-secondary institution in Canada, established in 1663 in Quebec City?

Answer 86

(Universite) Laval

Question 87

What American singer-songwriter wrote and performed "Nobody Does It Better" from the James Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me, but is best known for her song, "You're So Vain?"

Answer 87

(Carly) Simon

Question 88

What is the highest score possible in ten-pin bowling, achieved by bowling 12 strikes in a row?

Answer 88

300