A quick favour that I would like to direct ATM. I have been asked to host a pub quiz at work next week, as part of our end of year celebrations. I was wondering if anyone has any nice questions I could pose my colleagues. I have come up with a few ideas and I have looked at some internet pub quizzes, but I’d prefer a few interesting ideas. That said, I do have to go to work with these people so I’d prefer if they didn’t all hate me by the end of this!
All questions (and answers) appreciated
Something I learned today:
There is only one 8-digit UK 0800 telephone number still in use today. To whom/what does it belong?
Answer will be given after me lunch if no-one gets it (no Googling!).
It’s Dial a Disc.
Or that woman with the spatula that I used to ring when I was 14.
1) No
2) *thwack*
2) You might want to wash that spatula.
It is of course Childline, which is still 0800 1111. I bet you can all still sing that number to the jingle tune.
Sorry, I’ve only got the jingle for the “gay exchange” now.
The only place name in England with an exclamation mark?
Westward Ho!
You’re forgetting Bloody Hull!
I can’t see that town name without thinking “massive letdown.”
I posted my favourite pub quiz question on another thread a while back (https://theafterword.co.uk/overly-pedantic-pub-quiz-grievance/#comment-177636):
A famous poet and author, who first coined the phrase “the love that dare not speak its name” to describe homosexuality, was found guilty of libel and sentenced to 6 months in prison. While incarcerated, he wrote his last major poetic work. Who brought the case against him?
That’s a great link (and a great question). Thanks
Which band recorded the theme music to Hithchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and what is it called?
Oohhh ooohh ohh! I know, I know!
The Eagles – Journey of the Sorcerer
Give yourself a Shiny!
Without referring back to the aforementioned Hotly Disputed Pub Quiz Answers thread referenced above, someone on FB posted the covers of Ziggy Stardust and Pink Floyd’s Animals yesterday and asked what the connection was. Turns out that one Giles Gilbert Scott designed both the iconic red telephone box pictured on Bowie’s sleeve and Battersea Power Station.
Ah yes – you said you didn’t want them all to hate you by the end…
I was going to suggest that Like You Do by the Lightning Seeds would fall into the same category but I misremembered the sleeve; it doesn’t include Liverpool (Anglican) Cathedral.
There’s a live Bunnymen album that does though. Hmmm, good idea
Which country has remained at war with Japan ever since 1945?
Wales.
Wrong. Russia. A little spat over the Kurile Islands apparently.
Bangui
I think I’ve posted this before, but what the hell…..
What’s the connection between the Rabbit Rabbit hitmakers and the Slim Shady….. ?
Oohhh ooohh ohh! Me, sir!
By coincidence, I was watching the BBC4 documentary on the RRHM and this was mentioned.
For those that didn’t know…..
Before they teamed up to write songs about bunnies, Chas Hodges (guitar) and Dave Peacock (bass) were sessions musicians who played with Labi Siffre and notably on the track “I Got The….”, which was sampled by Eminem for his hit “My Name Is…”
The old trusty “what’s the biggest-selling 12-incher* of all time.”
Bonus point for either the catalogue number (FAC73), or what sleeve designer Peter Saville
copied wholesalewas inspired by (the 5.25″ floppy disk).(*) Paging Moose and Mini…
Blue Monday – New Order, easy.
Easy for us, maybe, but I bet there are a few civilians/youngsters who don’t know. It was 34 years ago!
I used to host 4 pub quizzes Mon-Thurs and a pop quiz on Sundays for over 10 years, so I reckon I have a bit of experience in this sphere @pawsforthought. I am going to give you just one tip, the questions you ask must be answerable by the participants. Never ask a question that nobody is able to answer. What I mean is, if a question isn`t answered by someone the reaction, when they are given the answer should be `Damn, I knew that`.
Unfortunately I gave away all my quizzes so I am unable to supply any questions,
Someone suggested multiple choice for such a thing. Good tip though, thanks.
I’d modify that slightly by saying that an other way of producing an acceptable question is where the audience can get close to working out the answer by means of an educated guess. This will often be where there are in reality only so many possible answers.
Examples would be of the “Which English cathedral has the tallest spire, largest bishop’s palace?” type. Another would be my largest city/football/rugby question below.
Which London sporting venue hosted both the first association football international and the first FA Cup final?
Kennington Oval.
Which is the largest city in England (in terms of population) that has a professional rugby team but doesn’t have a professional football team?
Wakefield?
Well done. Works as a question because not many people realise Wakefield is a city. Several people have guessed Salford.
This season I believe a number of Hullensians would say say Hull. Its the Professional bit that is the sticking point.
(Of course football can mean rugby in Kingston upon Hull, and there are two of those so it could be misinterpreted.)
The practice of referring to rugby league as “football” only really pertains in towns without a significant football presence, and is a bit old fashioned anyway.
If you watch This Sporting Life the word rugby isn’t used once.
‘Appen.
Not just league.
Leicester Football Club is the Tigers. The roundballers are Leicester City FC for a reason
I thought it was Warrington?
Not a city.
Rather than the usual standard question and answer stuff, why not have a round where the teams have to determine as many answers as possible….
e.g.
– name all the countries in Africa
– name all the teams in the Championship
– etc etc
Point for each correct answer and it’s the kind of round that encourages teamwork (but the downside is in this day and age, it’s too easy to Google the answers)
Name all the Carry On Films – that kept us quiet for a while at a Pub Quiz.
Damn my memory for forgetting Constable and Spying
(yes, I am still bitter)
Or all US states that end in A… from memory I think there are 27
Speaking of which here’s a mini thread…….
Which is the only letter not contained in a US state (Q)
Which letter is contained only once in the names of any British Football team? J… St Johnstone.
Which professional football team plays at the highest ground in England (WBA)
Which team has a prison on it’s badge? (Everton – Everton Lock Up)
US States which start and end in same letter (Alabama, Arizona, Alaska, and Ohio)
Football Teams start and end with same letter (Aston Villa, Celtic, Charlton Athletic, Dundee United, East Fife, East Stirlingshire, Liverpool, Kilmarnock, Northampton Town, York City)
If all English football league teams were placed in alphabetical order, which would be first?
AFC Bournemouth.
Um, Accrington Stanley?
Showing off time. I once did a quiz pre -google and the question was how many Carry On films were made for the recognized franchise. The bonus was the team who could name the most,i asked the quizmaster if he’d throw in a round of drinks if we could name them all in order.
As a Carry on Nut it was fish in a barrel.
Three of my old favourites.
What was unusual about the 1973 FA cup final?
What is the only song, by the same artist, to have been number 1 & number 2 in the charts at the same time? – Just for clarity, it is the exact same song, no remix flim flam, no 12 inch version, the same song by the same act at the same time (I am expecting this to be answered very quickly).
What have the following 3 former UK number 1 singles have in common?
Beatles – The ballad of John & Yoko
David Bowie – Space oddity
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody – (again, I am expecting a very swift reply/ answer)
Did the re-enter the charts at the death of one of the artists in question?
The three No. 1 singles all have titles that don’t feature in the song’s lyrics.
1973 Cup Final was unusual for the orange ball
Was it a Wembley Trophy plastic ball – present in most kids back gardens, often found under a hedge, smelling a bit with soldering iron marks where repairs had been effected
Was 1 and 2 at the same time Elton John – Candle In The Wind?
Re: number 1 and 2 at the same time – was it a Beatles song that appeared on a single and on an EP?
Re: the former UK number 1 singles – did Rolf Harris play the Stylophone on all three?
BD – I am the walrus was the B side of the 1967 christmas number 1 Hello goodbye, & it was also a track on the Magical mystery tour EP which was number 2 in the same chart.
HR – No, not a posthumous number 1/ re-entry
Rolf Harris is not the connection either.
Old favourite of mine: Who was the only president of the USA to have been the leader of a trade union?
Old Dutch.
Is correct. Screen Actors Guild.
This was in our pub quiz last Sunday. How many millionaires were created in the first ever National Lottery Draw?
None – IIRC the first prize was shared.
The best quiz question I’ve ever heard was a simple one. Will a Tic Tac pass through the hole in a Polo?
Everyone has an opinion, but it’s unlikely that any team will have both sweets.
Isn’t that from the Bible? I may be wrong. We had a fairly liberal RE teacher, you know.
I’ve just Googled that (bored, you see), and the first result was from the Telegraph…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11398003/How-long-does-it-take-for-a-TicTac-to-dissolve-in-your-nose.html
Doesn’t answer the question, though, so I’ll just have to buy both sweets.
How many roads are there in the City of London?
Answer: None (plenty of Streets, Lanes, Alleys, Hills, Yards etc, but no “Roads”)
This piece of trivia is not 100% true, as since the revision of the boundaries, half of Goswell Road is now in the City Of London – but it is only half a road, therefore not a whole Road)
Who is the only player to score in the Glasgow, Merseyside and Manchester and derbies?
Andrei Kanchelskis
The Only Player Who’s Played In The Merseyside, Old Firm, North London and Manchester Derbies?
Kolo Toure
I did a quiz once where one round was identifying spices by smell alone. That was fun.
Three football teams with swear words in?
Arsenal, Scunthorpe and Manchester f@#!:ing United
She were only a footballer’s daughter, but she loved ‘er udders feeled and ‘er arse ‘n all.
‘Course it’s the Europeans who are the real rude boys
Spurting Lesbian
Borussia Mingeandgladbach
Muckyboy Tel Aviv
Deportivo La ComeOnYa
RubinOneOut Kazan
Racing Two-hander
Crotchless Panathinaikos
etc
The Young Boys Of Bern
Wouldn’t have thought them all that rude per se..?
Assgropers of Zurich on the other hand…
I’d echo Baron Harkonnen’s advice above – a question that nobody can answer is not a good question. People want to enjoy themselves, not made to feel stupid. An answer that elicits an “of course” or a feeling that it could have been guessed works.
It’s possible to have a question with more than one route to the answer – I’ve asked “who is the world’s only flying pachyderm?” for example, which is another way of asking “what is a pachyderm?” If you know that a pachyderm is an elephant, great; if not, you may guess that it’s Dumbo by virtue of being the only one of its kind to fly (it helps further if the round us about children’s literature).
A favourite of mine is the connection between the main town on Mull, a South American river, the capital of New Zealand and SW19?
Agreed
A decent quiz question is one that doesn’t involve just guess work.
“In what year was The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole published” is a rubbish question,
“In 1982, Sue Townsend published which book” is a better question
Good advice. I’ve got a first draft, but I reckon I needs a fair bit of tweaking.
The Wombles
Damn.
The Wombles is clearly the correct answer. Gettable if you know Tobermory is on Mull, Orinoco is the river, Wellington is the capital of NZ, or SW19 is the postcode for Wimbledon Common (amongst other locations).
The Wombles.
Dumbo never actually existed. He is a fictional character.
Noooooooooooo
Hmmm … I always thought those ears were unfeasibly large. That explains it.
The first group to have a #1 hit single & album both sides of the Atlantic at the same time was…..?
Maybe not first group, but deffo first artist – 1971 (when else)
Rod Stewart – Maggie May & every picture tells a story.
Yep
….of course Men At Work, with “Down Under” & “Business As Usual”
What is the connection between the following?
Squeeze – Up the Junction
Roxy Music – Virginia Plain
Madness – The Prince
Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing
Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells
Is there a session musician common to all of these? Rick Wakeman?
Is the title the last words of the song (and appears nowhere else)?
Yes Sir !
You can add ‘Here, There & Everywhere’ to that list an’ all.
And you can add Warren Zevon’s “Empty-handed heart” to that list, too.
And Jackson Browne’s “Late for the Sky” (I think).
see also:
Billy Bragg – Greetings To The New Brunette
Pogues – Misty Morning Albert Bridge
Dire Straits – Private Investigations
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Fortunate Son
John Grant – Queen Of Denmark
Made of Stone (Stone Roses)
In a similar vein, can you name a well known English folk song which has two alternative titles, one of which is the first three words and the other of which is that last two words (both which word groups only appear at that point in the song)?
No one?
OK the answer is the song “Our Captain Called” also known as “Fountains Flowing”. It’s on the June Tabor/Oysterband album Ragged Kingdom.
Just Like Heaven -The Cure
Went to a pub quiz last night for the first time in ages. Did well in the first two rounds 17/20 and 16/20.
Picture round at the end 2/10. Didn’t win.
Though we won a pint between four of us. ‘Four bendy straws please’
Ewww! Saliva exchange!
Oh one of the questions was who had a hit with Mellow Yellow?
Unsurprisingly I knew the answer. He probably invented the pub quiz.
I always like
Give the “real” names of Scooby Doo and Shaggy.
(That’s the cartoon Shaggy who owns Scooby Doo, not the IWMHM.)
Scoobert Doo and Norville Rogers I think
Correct!
Bonus point, name the rest of Scooby’s gang.
I can’t, but hey…
Fred, Velma and Daphne of course. Scrappy Doo doesn’t count.
Well, he doesn’t do much now that the little bastard’s been sealed in a block of concrete and buried under the M25.
….er, apparently.
Half points.
You know the drill, surnames too…
Fred Doo, Velma Doo, and, er… Daphne Don’t.
according to my 8 yr old it’s Fred Jones, Daphne I. Cant-remember and Velma Dinkley. Not sure he’s right about all of them.
Norville?
Zoinks! C’mon chase me…
Whenever I have run quizzes I have found that a “top to tail” round – where the last letter of the previous answer is the first letter of the next answer – works well. It makes for plenty of discussion around answers, and allows for some educated guesswork.
Similarly, I have often had a round where all answers are numbers and add up to a year. So all answers might add up to, say, the last year in which there were two General Elections in one year (1974). You then just have to (obviously) find ten numbers that add up to 1974 (another “in which year” question would help).
Just remembered, another one that always works well is taking a couple of news events from last year and asking which month they happened in. If it is a round of ten questions and each month will only appear once there is a process of elimination. It always provides plenty of debate within teams – which is what people really want in a quiz I reckon.
Another round that works well is “identify the flavour of crisps”. A few family bags of assorted crisps will cover everybody, and involves all members of the team
Trouble is you get all those silly flavours these days – sour cream, real ale, gorgonzola, foie gras, Wagon Wheel and Pineapple…
I’d have to be very drunk indeed to try Foie Gras, Wagon Wheel & Pineapple crisps, let me tell you!
Sour Cream, Real Ale & Gorgonzola is much more my style. In a butty with a sprinkle of vinegar, lovely grub!
Not sure how to word this…
Name the two most successful german-born male tennis players ( in terms of grand-slam victories)…
MacEnroe was born on a US airbase in Germany wasn’t he?
He was indeed… The answer is therefore, Boris Becker and John McEnroe.
Boris Becker and Boris Becker?
There have been 44 Presidents of the USA yet Trump is the 45th? How so?
Grover Cleveland had two separate terms of office, and so was the 22nd and 24th President of the US.
Which English county has the longest coastline?
It’s either Cornwall, Kent or Northumberland. Or somewhere else.
My money would be on Cornwall, no?
Moosey’s last suggestion is on the money – it’s somewhere else.
Not Cornwall, Kent or Northumberland.
Any other guesses from interested Afterworders?
No guesses cos I looked it up. Interesting.
Contentious. I guess you’re going to say Essex – but, according to the OS website it is Cornwall.
Hmmm … yes.
Upon further investigation, it would seem that recent remeasurements by the OS have deposed Essex from its position as the English county with the longest coastline. I wasn’t aware of that.
The No.1 position is now held – rather predictably – by Cornwall.
So apologies to Moosey and paws for saying that they were wrong!
https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/2017/01/english-county-longest-coastline/
Coastlines are Fractal.
TMFTL.
I think this might be my favourite challenge to a “correct” answer ever but, as you know, all resistance can be squashed by the immortal phrase “That’s not the answer I have written down here..”
‘Which county’s coastline is the longest, when measured using accepted photo-surveying or other methods of data-capture, to the level of accuracy associated with those methods, as supplied with the OS’s large-scale vector data sets?’
Look at the card, mate. See, it says “Vatican City”. I didn’t set these questions, I have to go by what’s on the card… etc
They can’t let us have anything, can they? Maybe we can still have “the county with the most Basildon in it.”
This really is rather fun. A few from me. Mostly nicked from a previous AW thread!
Which British artist had the first US number one hit?
Which US city has the nickname The Big Easy?
What is the only comedy album to have topped the UK album charts?
Where was the comedy series Father Ted set?
Acker Bilk
Max Boyce
Craggy Island
Should know the other one but my befuddled brain has seized.
Nice work, Rigid. And your team mates got the last one.
I think it is safe to assume that Mr Bilk is the only Acker to ever be in the US top ten.
Another good one is: What is Mr Bilk’s real first name?
(It’s Bernard).
Which US city has the nickname The Big Easy?
New Orleans. Or “N’Orlins” as the locals call it.
That would be N’awlins. There ain’t no R
Which west-country town claims to be ‘the birthplace of powered flight’?
Who was the only Formula 1 driver to win the title posthumously?
I looked these up, because I had not a clue and was intrigued.
Chard, in Somerset, is the birthplace of powered flight. John Stringfellow’s Aerial Steam Carriage, “Ariel”, 1848.
Jochen Rindt won the 1970 F1 drivers championship despite having been killed earlier practising for the Rome Grand Prix.
Correct.
Chard also had a reputation for being the Home of Inexpensive Negotiable Affection and Chemical Refreshment, in Somerset. . .
Which company, by number produced, is the biggest manufacturer of tyres in the world?
What connects the Black September terrorist group and Doctor Who?
The tyres one is Lego.
That Dr Who question is brilliant. I hope someone knows the answer.
Just in case they don’t, the answer is – 4th Doctor’s assistant Leela was named after Black September terrorist Leila Khaled.
Thanks Sniffity.
I would never have come anywhere near that answer in my guesses.
Would DFB have known that I wonder?
A few years ago I was a regular at a pub quiz hosted by a guy who was endlessly inventive in creating interesting rounds. Two that spring to mind if you could recreate them:
One was a standard picture round, but all of the pictures were of dreadful celebrity lookalikes, and you had to work out who they were meant to be. I still remember the howl of incredulity when we were informed that one of the answers was supposed to be Bruce Forsyth.
One week instead of a music round, we had recordings of Jim Bowen on Bully’s Prize Board, and from his puns you had to work out what prize he was describing.
Otherwise, it’s usually fun to ask teams to name all the Number One singles by a big artist like Michael Jackson, George Michael or David Bowie. It’s always surprising to learn which ones did / didn’t actually reach the top.
An alternative (and crueller) variant to the Jim Bowen idea is to use Ted Roger’s clues from 3-2-1. the one below is from an actual show. See how you get on (no googling!)
“The Arches Might Provide A Clue, Not Strolling But He’s Going Too”
The clue was a piece of Sheet Music.
We had one recently in a Prince round: match the 4 singles with their highest UK chart positions (1, 4, 6 and 25):
Purple Rain
When Doves Cry
Raspberry Beret
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
I was quite chuffed to get this one.
There were five Beatles singles, released between Ringo joining the band and their breakup, which were not UK number ones on initial release. Which ones were they?
Love me do
Please please me
SFF/PL
Come together/ Something
4 points for the admiral of our Afterword fleet.
No. 5 was Let It Be / You Know My Name (Look Up The Number). Their last pre- disbandment announcement single. It stalled at No. 2.
Who are the brain police?
How many fibers are intertwined in a Shredded Wheat biscuit?
Which Disney character’s design was derived from a sketch made by Adolph Hitler?
Was it Anschluss Antelope?
Klu Klux Klam?
Bit of a trick question.
The actual answer is Herbie!
*doffs cap*
Since 1948, three circuits have hosted the British Grand Prix for Formula 1 cars. Brands Hatch, Silverstone and which other?
Who was the only Formula 1 driver to win the World Championship in a car bearing his own name?
Donnington Park – Ayrton Senna’s brilliant drive in the rain with an underpowered car
(oh, hang on … that was the European Grand Prix)
British Grand Prix = Aintree
(there has been a British Grand Prix at Brooklands, but I think these were non-Championship Races/pre-F1)
Jack Brabham
Yep, Aintree, Brabham.
Donnington was European GP, Brooklands was pre-F1 and pre-war.
I was just about to say Goodwood, but that was probably pre- F1 too.
I think Goodwood may have hosted non-Championship F1 races. Possibly Oulton Park, too. Lots of F1 drivers back in the 60s and early 70s took part in saloon car and GT races at those circuits, on their days off.
Point of order. Only 2 “n”s in Donington Park.
Davidstow?
One of my current favourite facts:
Who is Guy Garvey’s mother-in-law?
and one I found out last weekend on an Easter egg hunt:
Ralph Vaughn-Williams was related to which two other famous Britons on his Mother’s side?
Diana Rigg for Guy Garvey.
Correct!
‘Kinnell! What a way to find this out!
Rachel Stirling became unavailable because of a fat fortysomething northern bloke…
2016 actually becomes worse four months after it bastard finished!!
Josiah Wedgwood and Charles Darwin are related to RVW
Yep to both of those – sorry, not been back to here for a few days.
In which sport was Fred Perry world champion in 1929?
Table tennis
10 points to Mr (or Ms) atcf!
John Le Mesurier starred in Dad’s Army and also had a small role in The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.
Which instruction featured heavily in the dialogue of both programmes?
Don’t panic!
Well done, Wilson.
Brain the size of a planet and I’m reduced to identifying Booker Prize nominees and 90s Eastenders stars from poorly photocopied mugshots…
Don’t talk to me about life.
It’s one of Neil Young’s worst albums.
Late entry:
What unusual double did Gladys Knight & The Pips achieve in May 1961?
They won Criss Cross Quiz and the Charity Shield?
Two versions of the same song, “Every Beat Of My Heart”, entered the US Hot 100.
One, on Fury records, was credited to Gladys Knight. The other, on Jay records, was credited to The Pips.
Both were performed by Gladys Knight & the Pips but were recorded at different times.
That’s a decent record. But then I don’t know which one I’ve heard. So I may be wrong.
*head explodes a la Scanners*
Just when you’d come to terms with that news, did you know they also re-recorded it for Motown in 1970?
I would rate Gladys Knight as Motown’s best ever female vocalist. A wonderful singer.
I used to run quizzes and found that two of the most popular rounds were to name U S States from a map of the USA ( or countries in Europe from a map of Europe) and where the answer to the last question was an anagram of all the previous answers.
Another good one is / are the sea areas used in the Shipping Forecast.