The King of Quizzes is here for another puzzling year!
December 23, 2019 3:01 AM Subscribe
The King William's College General Knowledge Paper 2019-20 has arrived! It's that time of year again, when all you lovely nerds get to pull out your most obscure bits of knowledge and put them together to make a big beautiful trivia pie! Here are the questions to the 115th King William's College quiz, and here is a spreadsheet upon which to record our collective efforts. Go forth and populate!
2.6 is Patrick O'Brian
11.7 is Calcutta
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 3:51 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
11.7 is Calcutta
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 3:51 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Added three answers to the spreadsheet:
1. 3 Somerset Maugham ("The Moon and Sixpence")
7.10 In the pines, in the pines where the sun never shines (I think that's what they're getting at, as the song continues "I'll shiver when the cold winds blow")
15/4 Winsor and Newton, makers of sable paintbrushes
posted by valetta at 3:58 AM on December 23, 2019
1. 3 Somerset Maugham ("The Moon and Sixpence")
7.10 In the pines, in the pines where the sun never shines (I think that's what they're getting at, as the song continues "I'll shiver when the cold winds blow")
15/4 Winsor and Newton, makers of sable paintbrushes
posted by valetta at 3:58 AM on December 23, 2019
Yes, 3 is definitely forensic science.
3.3 is Professor John Glaister and the Jigsaw Murders.
3.10 is Sir Bernard Spilsbury, and it's a reference to Operation Mincemeat, aka 'The Man Who Never Was'.
posted by Major Clanger at 4:01 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
3.3 is Professor John Glaister and the Jigsaw Murders.
3.10 is Sir Bernard Spilsbury, and it's a reference to Operation Mincemeat, aka 'The Man Who Never Was'.
posted by Major Clanger at 4:01 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Section 4 are all Counts. (4.5 is Count Fosco from the Woman in White, 4.6 Count Vronsky from Anna Karenina, 4.7 the Count of Monte Cristo.)
posted by jeudi at 4:02 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by jeudi at 4:02 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Oops no, just realised section 7 is titled "Gloucestershire" so my answer for 7.10 is geographically inappropriate. Deleted.
posted by valetta at 4:07 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by valetta at 4:07 AM on December 23, 2019
Sorry, I’m not nearly English enough for this.
posted by hwestiii at 4:15 AM on December 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by hwestiii at 4:15 AM on December 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
12.1: The Armenian dram (nip in the meaning of a drink, as in a wee dram)
12.4: The Haitian gourde? (this seems wrong - are gourds always sweet?!)
12.5: The Honduran córdoba (Córdoba in Spain is home to the Mezquita)
12.8: The Guatemalan quetzal (trogons and quetzals are both in the same order of birds)
12.10: The Costa Rican colón (:)
posted by mdonley at 4:21 AM on December 23, 2019
12.4: The Haitian gourde? (this seems wrong - are gourds always sweet?!)
12.5: The Honduran córdoba (Córdoba in Spain is home to the Mezquita)
12.8: The Guatemalan quetzal (trogons and quetzals are both in the same order of birds)
12.10: The Costa Rican colón (:)
posted by mdonley at 4:21 AM on December 23, 2019
12.6 is the Albanian lek, I think.
posted by pemberkins at 4:47 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by pemberkins at 4:47 AM on December 23, 2019
Of the ones I looked at, I only knew one, and that answer was Teddy Roosevelt. Guess I'm too American for it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:00 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:00 AM on December 23, 2019
12.3: The Greek drachma (The largest amphitheatre in the Balkans is in Durrës, Albania, and was called the Amphitheatrum Dyrrhachium in Latin)
12.7: The Aruban florin (Leonardo da Vinci was born near and lived in Florence)
posted by mdonley at 5:17 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
12.7: The Aruban florin (Leonardo da Vinci was born near and lived in Florence)
posted by mdonley at 5:17 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
5.2 is a Wonka Bar, no?
Also, per the Quiz folks: "A Latin phrase is always printed at the top of the quiz: "Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est". Freely translated, this means 'The greatest part of knowledge is knowing where to find something'. However, be warned – using Google or a similar search engine may not always deliver the expected results!"
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:28 AM on December 23, 2019
Also, per the Quiz folks: "A Latin phrase is always printed at the top of the quiz: "Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est". Freely translated, this means 'The greatest part of knowledge is knowing where to find something'. However, be warned – using Google or a similar search engine may not always deliver the expected results!"
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:28 AM on December 23, 2019
5.10 Ritter's Sport Schokolade; English packaging (UK-Ireland): "Quality in a Square."
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:32 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:32 AM on December 23, 2019
No, 12.7 is the Ethiopean Birr because of Birr Castle, where "Leviathan of Parsonstown" (A big ol' telescope) lives.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:34 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:34 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I went ahead and filled in Cajal for 8.8 given that it’s (probably*) the only answer (I think it’s the answer anyway) that I have tattooed on me.
* Unless there’s a Blade Runner / Sean Young answer
posted by supercres at 5:40 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
* Unless there’s a Blade Runner / Sean Young answer
posted by supercres at 5:40 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
3.4: The body of Roberto Calvi, an Italian banker, was found hanging beneath London's Blackfriar's Bridge in 1982. Loads of people were involved in the prosecutions that followed, so I don't which particular individual the quiz has in mind.
6.3: Maud. Come into the Garden Maud is a poem by Tennyson, later set to mesic as a popular song. Its first verse goes like this:
Come into the garden, Maud,
For the black bat, night, has flown,
Come into the garden, Maud,
I am here at the gate alone ;
And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad,
And the musk of the rose is blown.
6.6: These are all the items Peter Rabbit steals from Mr McGreggor's garden in the Beatrix Potter story.
8.6: I was thinking this must be England's Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649, but the jure uxoris thing doesn't seem to fit him. (The phrase means "by right of his wife" suggesting someone who is king only because he married a queen.)
10.10: The playwright Ben Jonson killed an actor called Gabriel Spenser in a 1596 duel. Spenser appeared in a controversial Jonson play called The Isle of Dogs, but that's as far as I can get with this one.
16.3: MPs in Britain's House of Commons can retire only by accepting the post of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds.
18.3: Before becoming President of the Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky played that role in his sitcom Servant of the People.
18.5: The sailor and the nurse kissing in Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous 1946 Times Square photo.
18.9: Japan's monarchy is known as the Chrysanthemum Throne. Naruhito inherited that throne from the abdicating Akihito in May 2019.
That's all I got.
posted by Paul Slade at 5:41 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
6.3: Maud. Come into the Garden Maud is a poem by Tennyson, later set to mesic as a popular song. Its first verse goes like this:
Come into the garden, Maud,
For the black bat, night, has flown,
Come into the garden, Maud,
I am here at the gate alone ;
And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad,
And the musk of the rose is blown.
6.6: These are all the items Peter Rabbit steals from Mr McGreggor's garden in the Beatrix Potter story.
8.6: I was thinking this must be England's Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649, but the jure uxoris thing doesn't seem to fit him. (The phrase means "by right of his wife" suggesting someone who is king only because he married a queen.)
10.10: The playwright Ben Jonson killed an actor called Gabriel Spenser in a 1596 duel. Spenser appeared in a controversial Jonson play called The Isle of Dogs, but that's as far as I can get with this one.
16.3: MPs in Britain's House of Commons can retire only by accepting the post of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds.
18.3: Before becoming President of the Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky played that role in his sitcom Servant of the People.
18.5: The sailor and the nurse kissing in Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous 1946 Times Square photo.
18.9: Japan's monarchy is known as the Chrysanthemum Throne. Naruhito inherited that throne from the abdicating Akihito in May 2019.
That's all I got.
posted by Paul Slade at 5:41 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
4.1 is Count Paul Jovian, character in House of the Four Winds by John Buchan. (filled in)
I didn't fill in 1.4, but SW19 is Wimbledon, and in 1919 Suzanne Lenglen wore a dress above the calf, served overhand, etc. So probably her, but I can't figure out what Divine Intervention is slang for.
posted by freecellwizard at 5:56 AM on December 23, 2019
I didn't fill in 1.4, but SW19 is Wimbledon, and in 1919 Suzanne Lenglen wore a dress above the calf, served overhand, etc. So probably her, but I can't figure out what Divine Intervention is slang for.
posted by freecellwizard at 5:56 AM on December 23, 2019
10.9 is Chislehurst (The Adventure of Abbey Grange).
posted by Paul Slade at 6:13 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Paul Slade at 6:13 AM on December 23, 2019
I'm now fairly sure 8.6 must be Philip II of Spain, who became England's king when he married Queen Mary in 1554. He lost that title when Mary died four years later, and later launched the doomed Spanish Armada against his old Kingdom. He died of cancer, so where the "draconian barber" comes in I don't know.
posted by Paul Slade at 6:39 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Paul Slade at 6:39 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'm stuck with Patrick Russell (see http://theherpetofaunalbiologygroup.weebly.com/uploads/1/4/1/5/14155652/patrick_russell.pdf) for 2.3 but it is unclear about his dates of practicing inoculation, nor can I find reference to any children (I would presumably have been expecting a further Patrick Russell). Methinks I am mistook.
posted by aesop at 6:51 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by aesop at 6:51 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
the vaccination one is confusing because it seems to refer perfectly to Robert Jenner, son of Edward Jenner. But I can't find out whether his middle name was Patrick, or something like that.
posted by Miko at 7:03 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Miko at 7:03 AM on December 23, 2019
14.7 could be the 'Round O' (big round window that used to be lit as a beacon) at Arbroath Abbey... which was dedicated to Thomas Becket.
posted by theory at 7:12 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by theory at 7:12 AM on December 23, 2019
@Paul Slade Could it be a reference to the"Singeing of the King of Spain's beard"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singeing_the_King_of_Spain%27s_Beard#Singeing_the_King_of_Spain's_beard
posted by aesop at 7:29 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by aesop at 7:29 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
8.6: I was thinking this must be England's Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649, but the jure uxoris thing doesn't seem to fit him. (The phrase means "by right of his wife" suggesting someone who is king only because he married a queen.)
He's not in the usual rolls, but Phillip II of Spain was King of England by right of his marriage to Bloody Mary. Sir Francis Drake singed the beard of Spain (i.e. Cadiz).
13.10 is Bithynia
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 7:30 AM on December 23, 2019
He's not in the usual rolls, but Phillip II of Spain was King of England by right of his marriage to Bloody Mary. Sir Francis Drake singed the beard of Spain (i.e. Cadiz).
13.10 is Bithynia
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 7:30 AM on December 23, 2019
you utter beast
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 7:31 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 7:31 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
17.7 is Charing Cross, from The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez
posted by theory at 7:38 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by theory at 7:38 AM on December 23, 2019
@Paul Slade Could it be a reference to the"Singeing of the King of Spain's beard"?
I bet that's it. One of the more obscure meanings of the word "draconian" is "dragon-like" - and Sir Francis Drake once carried a dragon on his coat of arms.
posted by Paul Slade at 7:49 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I bet that's it. One of the more obscure meanings of the word "draconian" is "dragon-like" - and Sir Francis Drake once carried a dragon on his coat of arms.
posted by Paul Slade at 7:49 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
6.2. Yamagata Aritomo (a leader of the Meiji Restoration who I absolutely don't know mainly because he features in Rurouni Kenshin) was a talented garden designer and it seems his most famous garden is in the Higashiyama Hills of Kyoto. But I'm not really sure about this.
posted by sukeban at 7:51 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by sukeban at 7:51 AM on December 23, 2019
I figured out 13.4 and 13.5 and I updated the spreadsheet and I'm only saying it here because I think it's the first time I've ever been able to help with this.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:52 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:52 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
14.1 makes me think of the 'Clock of the Long Now' to be built at Mount Washington in Nevada, but I don't think construction has begun yet
posted by theory at 7:54 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by theory at 7:54 AM on December 23, 2019
1.19 - Theodore Roosevelt, died 1919
4.8 - Rudolf Hess?
16.2 - ton/tonne?
18.10 - Edith Cowan $50
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 8:00 AM on December 23, 2019
4.8 - Rudolf Hess?
16.2 - ton/tonne?
18.10 - Edith Cowan $50
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 8:00 AM on December 23, 2019
6.7 is the Archibald Craven manor in Secret Garden, I believe.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 8:01 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by DrAstroZoom at 8:01 AM on December 23, 2019
8.5 which king was assassinated with his own sword while besieging his sister’s inherited city?
I'm pretty sure this is Sancho II of Castile, the city was Zamora and the sister Queen Urraca. But according to the closest source (search for "Chronica") Vellido Dolfos killed Sancho with his golden arrow, not his sword.
posted by sukeban at 8:08 AM on December 23, 2019
I'm pretty sure this is Sancho II of Castile, the city was Zamora and the sister Queen Urraca. But according to the closest source (search for "Chronica") Vellido Dolfos killed Sancho with his golden arrow, not his sword.
posted by sukeban at 8:08 AM on December 23, 2019
4.3 is Count Ribbing. The question is a reference to the Verdi opera, A Masked Ball, which was originally about the assassination of Gustav III of Sweden but which Italian censors forced Verdi to change the opera to be about the assassination of a governor in colonial Massachusetts. Samuel in the American version of the opera is Count Ribbing in the Swedish version.
posted by jonp72 at 8:30 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by jonp72 at 8:30 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
9.1 is Horatio Hornblower, the title character in a series of sea-going novels by CS Forester, who begins his naval career on a ship called The Justinian.
[Strictly speaking, the question should therefore have read "on The Justinian". You'd think the dons at King William college would know that!]
posted by Paul Slade at 8:47 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
[Strictly speaking, the question should therefore have read "on The Justinian". You'd think the dons at King William college would know that!]
posted by Paul Slade at 8:47 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
4.10 is Count Basie. That's all I got.
posted by TwoToneRow at 9:02 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by TwoToneRow at 9:02 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
8.1. who fell to Pardiñas in Madrid? José Canalejas, assassinated by the anarchist Manuel Pardiñas.
I swear I've spent an hour googling about Ramón Pardiñas (who was the Pardiñas who got all the street names) and not being able to link him to Madrid at all.
posted by sukeban at 9:03 AM on December 23, 2019
I swear I've spent an hour googling about Ramón Pardiñas (who was the Pardiñas who got all the street names) and not being able to link him to Madrid at all.
posted by sukeban at 9:03 AM on December 23, 2019
13.2 refers to Operation Bernhard, a programme by the Nazis to forge British banknotes. When Germany was defeated in 1945, the stash of forged notes were dumped in Lakes Toplitz and Grundlsee.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:06 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Paul Slade at 9:06 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
10.2 would be Jeremiah Clarke, wouldn't it? Writer of the Trumpet Voluntary once attributed to Henry Purcell.
10.4 would be Hubert Parry, who set William Blake's Jerusalem
10.9 WIlliam Walton and Balshazzar's Feast
10.10 I presume is Gilbert and Sullivan - so part 10 is all English composers.
posted by Grangousier at 9:07 AM on December 23, 2019
10.4 would be Hubert Parry, who set William Blake's Jerusalem
10.9 WIlliam Walton and Balshazzar's Feast
10.10 I presume is Gilbert and Sullivan - so part 10 is all English composers.
posted by Grangousier at 9:07 AM on December 23, 2019
10.5 is Elgar - the reference is to Nimrod from the Enigma Variations.
posted by Grangousier at 9:08 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 9:08 AM on December 23, 2019
10.7 is Holst - Jupiter from the Planets Suite was repurposed as a hymn, I Vow to Thee My Country. I cheated and looked it up - village is Thaxted.
posted by Grangousier at 9:10 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 9:10 AM on December 23, 2019
10.8 is, I'm guessing, Benjamin Britten and Noyes Fludde as featured in Moonrise Kingdom - the juvenile involvement refers to the children portraying the animals.
posted by Grangousier at 9:11 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 9:11 AM on December 23, 2019
"Desperation, Pacification, Expectation, Acclamation and finally Realization" - This was Fry's milk chocolate - the wrapper carried drawings of a boy in each of those states waiting for his confectionery (or Five Boys, as the bar was known).
posted by Grangousier at 9:16 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Grangousier at 9:16 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
14.10. I think it must be the name of his tribe. Kerchak is the leader of a gorilla tribe who fights Tarzan in the original Tarzan of the Apes novel. Wikipedia tells me that they reconcile on Kerchak's deathbed, when he appoints Tarzan as his successor. The tribe decides that forevermore it will be known as "the tribe of Kerchak".
Speaking of gorillas, while trying to solve the Perry Mason question, I came across this intriguing synopsis of 1952's Mason novel The Case of the Grinning Gorilla: "Mason buys the diary of a drowned woman at an auction," it says, "and after a murder he finds himself confronted by a hypnotized gorilla".
posted by Paul Slade at 9:34 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Speaking of gorillas, while trying to solve the Perry Mason question, I came across this intriguing synopsis of 1952's Mason novel The Case of the Grinning Gorilla: "Mason buys the diary of a drowned woman at an auction," it says, "and after a murder he finds himself confronted by a hypnotized gorilla".
posted by Paul Slade at 9:34 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I had to cheat again to get the details, but it might be of interest to someone - 1.8 is a reference to the death of Prince John, son of George V and Queen Mary.
posted by Grangousier at 9:34 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 9:34 AM on December 23, 2019
1.5 ought to be Bleriot, but that was 1909, not 1919.
posted by Grangousier at 9:40 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 9:40 AM on December 23, 2019
4.7 is, surely Edmond Dantès, a.k.a. the Count of Monte Christo?
posted by Grangousier at 9:50 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 9:50 AM on December 23, 2019
Might 14.4 be the Capitoline Wolf statue? Several locations in Italy. Somerset in Wells for the UK, if that matters...
posted by Chuffy at 10:08 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Chuffy at 10:08 AM on December 23, 2019
10.10 - More research, I'm afraid, but the final Savoy Opera is The Grand Duke or The Statutory Duel - the Savoy Theatre, where they were staged and which they are named after, is on the Strand, attached to the Savoy Hotel and near the Thames.
posted by Grangousier at 10:40 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 10:40 AM on December 23, 2019
11 is places in India - 11.4 is a reference to Kim and 11.5 to Around the World in 80 Days, but I confess I don't know enough about the books to be able to pinpoint the places.
posted by Grangousier at 10:50 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 10:50 AM on December 23, 2019
11.1 is Malgudi - Rajam is a character in R.K. Narayan's Malgudi stories and they start a cricket club called the Malgudi Cricket Club. So yes 11 is places in India (though Malgudi is entirely fictional).
posted by peacheater at 10:56 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by peacheater at 10:56 AM on December 23, 2019
(I don't seem to have access to the spreadsheet at the moment - have requested access).
posted by peacheater at 10:57 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by peacheater at 10:57 AM on December 23, 2019
11.2 is Delhi - it's a reference to Aravind Adiga's novel The White Tiger (which I have read but had to do some Googling to remember the details).
posted by peacheater at 11:02 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by peacheater at 11:02 AM on December 23, 2019
I have reason to believe that 9 are all Horn-something.
posted by Grangousier at 11:07 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 11:07 AM on December 23, 2019
Or something-Horn, of course (viz 9.6)
posted by Grangousier at 11:08 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 11:08 AM on December 23, 2019
10.1 is Purcell; the opera, Dido and Aeneas
posted by PandaMomentum at 11:12 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by PandaMomentum at 11:12 AM on December 23, 2019
Is it just me or are there an unusual number of ducks (and drakes) in this one?
posted by Grangousier at 11:23 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 11:23 AM on December 23, 2019
8.7 is Goya and Granados.
posted by Grangousier at 11:25 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 11:25 AM on December 23, 2019
2.1 is Patrick Gordon
Edit: Requires permission to access the spreadsheet?
posted by Carillon at 11:29 AM on December 23, 2019
Edit: Requires permission to access the spreadsheet?
posted by Carillon at 11:29 AM on December 23, 2019
Is 2 all about Gordons, then? 2.4 could be Gordon's Gin or something served at Gordon's Wine Bar.
posted by Grangousier at 11:31 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 11:31 AM on December 23, 2019
I don't think so about 2 as 2.6 is Patrick O'Brien
posted by Carillon at 11:34 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Carillon at 11:34 AM on December 23, 2019
Patricks, then - 2.4 is actually a reference to Patrick Garvey
posted by Grangousier at 11:36 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 11:36 AM on December 23, 2019
Sorry folks, I have no idea what happened to the spreadsheet, I swear I made it editable before I went to bed! Fixed now, I hope.
posted by andraste at 11:39 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by andraste at 11:39 AM on December 23, 2019
The Miss Burdock mentioned in 7.8 is Rosie, so the place she drank cider with Laurie Lee is (*searches*) Slad, in Gloucestershire.
posted by Grangousier at 11:39 AM on December 23, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 11:39 AM on December 23, 2019
Another one that was driving me mad, so I needed to ferret it out - 15.1: "Double Diamond Works Wonders". Demonstrating the rule that the quality of the beer is in inverse proportion to the quality of the advertising. Except Guinness, for some reason.
posted by Grangousier at 11:46 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Grangousier at 11:46 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
freecellwizard: I didn't fill in 1.4, but SW19 is Wimbledon, and in 1919 Suzanne Lenglen wore a dress above the calf, served overhand, etc. So probably her, but I can't figure out what Divine Intervention is slang for."
According to Wikipedia, Lenglen's nickname was "La Divine".
posted by mhum at 12:10 PM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
According to Wikipedia, Lenglen's nickname was "La Divine".
posted by mhum at 12:10 PM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
For 7.1, I found this write-up of a cricket match between Gloucestershire and Worcestershire from 2000 but I don't know if it's significant enough to be the answer to the question.
posted by mhum at 4:07 PM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by mhum at 4:07 PM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
15.7 I found that Williams & Humbert, a distillery mainly known for sherry, was founded by brothers-in-law (see here) but I can't find any hint that they started with an export of raisins. Incidentally, Baskin-Robbins was also founded by brothers-in-law but I think the raisin export business would be a pretty big reach for them.
posted by mhum at 5:35 PM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by mhum at 5:35 PM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
2.3: SIR PATRICK [Cullen]. ...My father practised inoculation until it was made criminal in eighteen-forty. That broke the poor old man's heart, Colly: he died of it. And now it turns out that my father was right after all. You've brought us back to inoculation."--The Doctor's Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:46 PM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:46 PM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
5.2 -- Not just a Wonka Bar, but a Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight.
18.5 -- The photo was taken in 1945, so shouldn't the question be "74 years later"?
posted by billm at 7:36 PM on December 23, 2019
18.5 -- The photo was taken in 1945, so shouldn't the question be "74 years later"?
posted by billm at 7:36 PM on December 23, 2019
6.2 Where is the lofty location of Aritomo’s garden? is probably a reference to the novel The Garden of Evening Mists, which features a gardener named Aritomo who used to be Hirohito’s royal gardener. After being fired by Hirohito, Aritomo goes to Malaysia where he creates a garden in the Cameron Highlands. Based on the “lofty” clue in the question, the Cameron Highlands is probably the answer.
posted by jonp72 at 7:38 PM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by jonp72 at 7:38 PM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Is 11.8 a reference to Black Narcissus? I confess I can't remember such a scene, and am grasping at straws because nuns.
posted by Grangousier at 12:33 AM on December 24, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 12:33 AM on December 24, 2019
Could section 14 be corners on (formula 1?) racetracks ? Tosa corner, Beckett's corner, Remus Kurve ?
posted by BigCalm at 12:50 AM on December 24, 2019
posted by BigCalm at 12:50 AM on December 24, 2019
Very good, yes. Am up to my eyeballs looking up a sport I have no interest in. Hooray.
posted by Grangousier at 2:29 AM on December 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Grangousier at 2:29 AM on December 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
For 7.1, I found this write-up of a cricket match between Gloucestershire and Worcestershire from 2000 but I don't know if it's significant enough to be the answer to the question.
I'm probably wrong here, but it seems that they rest of that section is taken from novels. Could this be a reference from a PG Wodehouse novel? Some of his novels have taken place in Gloucestershire and lord knows he loved to write about cricket. After all, his Jeeves character is named for a real-life cricket player.
posted by NoMich at 6:29 AM on December 24, 2019
I'm probably wrong here, but it seems that they rest of that section is taken from novels. Could this be a reference from a PG Wodehouse novel? Some of his novels have taken place in Gloucestershire and lord knows he loved to write about cricket. After all, his Jeeves character is named for a real-life cricket player.
posted by NoMich at 6:29 AM on December 24, 2019
OK, by my reckoning we've now just nine questions left with no answer at all on the spreadsheet. They are:
11:3 Where did the doomed old man ride on a long-eared, cream-coloured donkey? [Theme: India]
11:8 Where were three nuns frightened, when a fellow passenger removed his clothes? [Theme: India]
13:1 Whence the ‘two-spotted’ duck? [Theme: Lakes]
14:1 What slope is now chronometric? [Theme: Round & round & round]
14:3 Where might there be help from the north-westerly? [Theme: Round & round & round]
14:6 Where was a suggestion of risotto changed to honour one of the greatest? [Theme: Round & round & round]
14:8 Where is there a reminder of a Cervantes-based première? [Theme: Round & round & round]
15:7 Which dual enterprise began with the initial export of raisins by brothers-in-law? [Theme: Dual enterprises]
15:8 Which dual enterprise created a major outlet for the Lindströms’ product? [Theme: Dual enterprises]
posted by Paul Slade at 6:42 AM on December 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
11:3 Where did the doomed old man ride on a long-eared, cream-coloured donkey? [Theme: India]
11:8 Where were three nuns frightened, when a fellow passenger removed his clothes? [Theme: India]
13:1 Whence the ‘two-spotted’ duck? [Theme: Lakes]
14:1 What slope is now chronometric? [Theme: Round & round & round]
14:3 Where might there be help from the north-westerly? [Theme: Round & round & round]
14:6 Where was a suggestion of risotto changed to honour one of the greatest? [Theme: Round & round & round]
14:8 Where is there a reminder of a Cervantes-based première? [Theme: Round & round & round]
15:7 Which dual enterprise began with the initial export of raisins by brothers-in-law? [Theme: Dual enterprises]
15:8 Which dual enterprise created a major outlet for the Lindströms’ product? [Theme: Dual enterprises]
posted by Paul Slade at 6:42 AM on December 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
Is 7.1 England Their England?
posted by Grangousier at 6:45 AM on December 24, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 6:45 AM on December 24, 2019
Ah, apparently not - that cricket match takes place in Kent. As you were.
posted by Grangousier at 6:54 AM on December 24, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 6:54 AM on December 24, 2019
I'm 100% convinced (and that's obviously a stormzian 100%) that "round and round and round" is Grand Prix, or at least Formula 1 or at least race tracks.
posted by Grangousier at 7:04 AM on December 24, 2019
posted by Grangousier at 7:04 AM on December 24, 2019
11:3 Where did the doomed old man ride on a long-eared, cream-coloured donkey? [Theme: India]
"There was an Old Man of Madras,
Who rode on a cream-colored Ass;
But the length of its ears so promoted his fears,
That it killed that Old Man of Madras."
--Edw. Lear
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:09 AM on December 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
"There was an Old Man of Madras,
Who rode on a cream-colored Ass;
But the length of its ears so promoted his fears,
That it killed that Old Man of Madras."
--Edw. Lear
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:09 AM on December 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
Ah, 7.1 is Cheltenham:
posted by Grangousier at 7:25 AM on December 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
I composed these lines as a summer windJohn Betjeman
Was blowing the elm leaves dry
And we had seventy six for seven
And they had CB Fry.
posted by Grangousier at 7:25 AM on December 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
Trying to Google three three nuns question is throwing up a lot of horrific stories about Catholic nuns being abused by priests in India :(
posted by peacheater at 1:21 PM on December 24, 2019
posted by peacheater at 1:21 PM on December 24, 2019
14:3, help from northwesterly... Could tnis refer to the mistral wind in Provence, and the running of the 2019 French Grand Prix?
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:55 PM on December 24, 2019
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:55 PM on December 24, 2019
Someone (not me) seems to have solved all the outstanding question in section 14. See spreadsheet for details.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:23 PM on December 26, 2019
posted by Paul Slade at 3:23 PM on December 26, 2019
Added a few.
6.9 "My Garden" Thomas Edward Brown
12.9 Dong Vietnam ("Dong with the luminous etc)
13.2 Lake Toplitz (may be better than Grundlsee because big treasure hunts went on in Toplitz)
15.3 Holland & Holland (shot. Get it?)
16.1 Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramway
Does 18.8 have to do with the heat exchanger on the ISS? Otherwise, Frank Zapata.
posted by CCBC at 8:58 PM on December 29, 2019
6.9 "My Garden" Thomas Edward Brown
12.9 Dong Vietnam ("Dong with the luminous etc)
13.2 Lake Toplitz (may be better than Grundlsee because big treasure hunts went on in Toplitz)
15.3 Holland & Holland (shot. Get it?)
16.1 Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramway
Does 18.8 have to do with the heat exchanger on the ISS? Otherwise, Frank Zapata.
posted by CCBC at 8:58 PM on December 29, 2019
A couple of possible lines of inquiry:
The Three Nuns in India -- John Masters? Or that Jewel in the Crown guy? Never read either of 'em.
Raisin B-I-Ls -- Lea & Perrins?
posted by CCBC at 9:07 PM on December 29, 2019
The Three Nuns in India -- John Masters? Or that Jewel in the Crown guy? Never read either of 'em.
Raisin B-I-Ls -- Lea & Perrins?
posted by CCBC at 9:07 PM on December 29, 2019
While I was poring over these questions back on Dec. 23rd I fell to wondering just who had set them: I imagined a tweedy, cricket-loving, Radio 3-listening octogenarian gent or perhaps a committee headed by such an individual. I hazarded that few people any younger than that would, for example, be so thoroughly at home in the works of C.S. Forester.
Looking it up today (having wondered when the answers would be published) I find there's no mystery: the College's quiz page states the questions have been set, since 1997, by one Dr. Pat Cullen (hence, presumably, the answer to 2.3); with a 2004 Guardian interview with the doctor giving his age then as 67.
posted by misteraitch at 5:11 AM on January 2, 2020
Looking it up today (having wondered when the answers would be published) I find there's no mystery: the College's quiz page states the questions have been set, since 1997, by one Dr. Pat Cullen (hence, presumably, the answer to 2.3); with a 2004 Guardian interview with the doctor giving his age then as 67.
posted by misteraitch at 5:11 AM on January 2, 2020
I think 15.7 is William[s] & Humbert, sherry makers (Dry Sack). They were brothers-in-law, but no confirmation on raisins.
posted by CCBC at 4:47 PM on January 2, 2020
posted by CCBC at 4:47 PM on January 2, 2020
misteraitch -- Doctor Cullen has certain interests which reappear on the quizzes (past quizzes are available on line):
medical discoveries/discoverers; sherry; Isle of Man; John Buchan (Buchan family is benefactor of KWC); Ernest Childers/Riddle of the Sands and related literature from early 20thC.; Sherlock Holmes; English sport, cricket, football, rugger, etc.; pre-WWII detective fiction (Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Dashiell Hammett); early Scots history; Shakespeare; English monarchial trivia; older children's book series such as Swallows and Amazons.
His tastes in poetry include Betjeman, Gerald Hopkins, and Edward Lear. Occasionally there will be visual questions about specific paintings and once, a very difficult set of political caricatures. It's not uncommon to select a nation or a region of England as a category.
I haven't found Hopkins this year.
posted by CCBC at 5:10 PM on January 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
medical discoveries/discoverers; sherry; Isle of Man; John Buchan (Buchan family is benefactor of KWC); Ernest Childers/Riddle of the Sands and related literature from early 20thC.; Sherlock Holmes; English sport, cricket, football, rugger, etc.; pre-WWII detective fiction (Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Dashiell Hammett); early Scots history; Shakespeare; English monarchial trivia; older children's book series such as Swallows and Amazons.
His tastes in poetry include Betjeman, Gerald Hopkins, and Edward Lear. Occasionally there will be visual questions about specific paintings and once, a very difficult set of political caricatures. It's not uncommon to select a nation or a region of England as a category.
I haven't found Hopkins this year.
posted by CCBC at 5:10 PM on January 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
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3.5 is Alec Jeffreys whose pioneering work on DNA convicted Colin Pitchfork of the Footpath Murders in Leicester.
3.8 is Keith Simpson who discovered a gallstone which helped to convict John Haigh, the Acid Bath Murderer.
posted by andraste at 3:09 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]