Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.
Bertrand Russell
Category Archives: memes
May Quiz Questions
Each month we’re posing six pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. As always, they’re designed to be difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers – so have a bit of fun.
General Knowledge (2)
- What is a grimoire?
- Which British coin was introduced in February 1971 and withdrawn from circulation in December 1984?
- The wood of a cricket bat is traditionally from which type of tree?
- In the United States, who is second in presidential line of succession after the Vice President?
- Which film concerns the declaration of war by Freedonia against neighbouring Sylvania?
- The velocipede was a nineteenth-century prototype of what?
Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.
April Quiz Answers
Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.
Geography
- In what country would you find Mount Kilimanjaro? Tanzania
- What is the largest desert in Asia? Gobi Desert
- Which river flows through the Grand Canyon? Colorado River
- Which country bordering India measures it’s success in terms of “gross national happiness”? Bhutan
- Which country makes up more than half the western coastline of South America? Chile
- There’s a town in the Peloponnese region of Greece with a namesake food item known for its purple colour and smooth meaty texture. What is this fruit? Kalamata Olive
Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2024.
This Month’s Poem
The Hunting of the Snark (opening)
Lewis Carroll
“Just the place for a Snark!” the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.
“Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true.”
The crew was complete: it included a Boots –
A maker of Bonnets and Hoods –
A Barrister, brought to arrange their disputes –
And a Broker, to value their goods.
A Billiard-marker, whose skill was immense,
Might perhaps have won more than his share –
But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense,
Had the whole of their cash in his care.
There was also a Beaver, that paced on the deck,
Or would sit making lace in the bow:
And had often (the Bellman said) saved them from wreck
Though none of the sailors knew how.
Find this poem online at Poetry Foundation
Ten Things
This year our Ten Things column each month is alternating between composers and artists a century at a time from pre-1500 to 20th century. As always, there’s no guarantee you will have heard of them all!
Ten Artists Born in 16th Century
- Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
The Peasant Wedding
- Nicolas Poussin
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini
- Anthony van Dyck
- Giuseppe Arcimboldo
- El Greco
- Nicholas Hilliard
- Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
- Frans Hals
- Hendrick Avercamp
This Month’s Quote
Never ascribe to malice that which can adequately be explained by incompetence.
Napoleon Bonaparte
April Quiz Questions
Each month we’re posing six pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. As always, they’re designed to be difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers – so have a bit of fun.
Geography
- In what country would you find Mount Kilimanjaro?
- What is the largest desert in Asia?
- Which river flows through the Grand Canyon?
- Which country bordering India measures it’s success in terms of “gross national happiness”?
- Which country makes up more than half the western coastline of South America?
- There’s a town in the Peloponnese region of Greece with a namesake food item known for its purple colour and smooth meaty texture. What is this fruit?
Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.
March Quiz Answers
Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.
Language
- The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States, but in this context, bald doesn’t mean hairless. The bald part of the bird’s name comes from an Old English word meaning what? White
- What is the study of mushrooms called? Mycology
- Where would you find together a verso and a recto? In a book (left and right pages)
- In medieval times armies had a simple yet effective weapon to impede the advance of enemy cavalry or infantry. It was typically made of metal and had four sharp points arranged so that one point always faced upward when thrown on the ground. What was it called? Caltrop
- “Width”, “wagon”, “stand” and “leader” can all follow which word to make new words? Band
- Which commonly used word in the English language originates from the religious saying, God be with ye? Goodbye
Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2024.
This Month’s Poem
Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelly
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed
And on the pedestal these word appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’
Find this poem online at Poetry Foundation
Ten Things
This year our Ten Things column each month is alternating between composers and artists a century at a time from pre-1500 to 20th century. As always, there’s no guarantee you will have heard of them all!
Ten Composers Born in 16th Century
- William Byrd
- Thomas Tallis
- Claudio Monteverdi
Domenico Fetti: Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
- Carlo Gesualdo
- Orlando Gibbons
- Christopher Tye
- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
- Orlande de Lassus
- Andrea Gabrieli
- Giles Farnaby
