Quizzing Closure...

Here's Kenneth Branagh telling me to
 dream big in my quest for tricky
 questions. TBH, I really wanted a GIF
 of Ken saying 'I'll devise thee brave 
punishments'' from Much Ado About 
Nothing, but the GIF site let me down. 
But, as the saying goes, a not-so-relevant
 bit of Ken is better than no Ken at all.

Well here it is. The morning after the night before. If you read last week's post, you'll remember I was tasked with creating the Sunday night family quiz. This was to be the time when my parents, siblings, and their partners battled to the death with whatever brave punishments I had devised. I spent all week working out suitable rounds, creating questions, and trying to pitch the level of difficulty hard enough for everyone equally, rather than favour the interests of a specific few. It was a tricky balancing act.

In the previous weeks' quizzes, all the standard themes had been done. Lots of sport, lots of general knowledge, and quite a bit of geography. Coming late in the lineup of Quiz Leaders, I had to steer clear of those. (Which is a shame because 'name all the countries of Oceana' would have been a great opening question. But still.) I also caused some familial rumblings of discontent with last week's blog. I was given the advice of one sibling, passed on by another, to make it possible for everyone to get around 70% correct per round. I was also told not to make it too hard.

I had different views. Obviously no one wants to feel thick compared to other people in the quiz. But when it's as difficult for one as it is for another, than I think that's OK. When I watch Only Connect, I am chuffed to bits with myself if I get two or three answers right per show. That was the vibe I wanted. That's how I aimed it to be anyway. I'm still not sure if it panned out that way, but hey. It's done. I enjoyed myself anyway. Basically, there were some easy bits for everyone, some completely impossible bits that required a stab in the dark answer, and some bits that might be work-out-able if you looked at it the right way. As my brother said in the week, during the 'don't make it too hard' convo, 'Nobody needs knowledge, we all need BANTER.' I can only hope I provided that, if nothing else. 

Live action quizzing!

So, why am I banging on about quizzes again today. Well, I thought I'd share the questions I used. Either for your own mental workout, or to use on others. The trouble is, that's easier said than done. Some of the questions were tailor-made for my family. For example in the Only Connect round, the common link between four numbers I listed, was that they were the house numbers of the homes my parents had lived in as a couple, placed in numerical order. There's no point putting that on here. Both for my parents' privacy, as well as the fact literally no one else will have a clue. (Last night, most people seemed to get it, but we know them. We've been to those houses. It wasn't a maths question after all.)

I don't think I can share the Textual References round with you either, although it's a great idea for a quiz. I listed the last text messages that I had received from each of the quizzers. Everyone had to match the family member to the text. Fun! Several of the messages involved family members telling me what starter they wanted for Christmas dinner in 2018. (It should be pointed out that I don't text much, and prefer WhatsApp and Messenger. Some of the texts were truly historical.)

And then there was the Eurovision round. It took the form of a music round, but instead of relying on Eurovision trivia to succeed, the quizzers simply had to identify which country was being represented by the obscure entry I played. It relied on a good ear for languages, picking up an accent, or racial stereotyping. I'm not sure. Sadly, technical difficulties and poor sound quality plagued that round, although the thought was there. But look, I'm waffling. Let's crack on. Below are the more generic questions I can share. Answers are listed at the bottom. It's just for fun, after all. I don't want to leave you hanging and unable to sleep. But enough of me babbling. Let's quiz!

Round One - Shatter That Ceiling!

1. Esther Duflo was the most recent woman to win a Nobel prize, but who was the first?             

2. The first elected head of Government to give birth in office was Benazir Bhutto, but who was the second, and most recent? A point for the name and one for the country.

                           

3. How many women have won an Oscar for Best Director? A point for the number and a point for each correct name.  

                               

4. Zara Phillips was the most recent woman to win BBC Sports Personality of the year, but the first was Anita Lonsbrough in 1962. What was her sport?       

5. At the Academy awards this year, Eímear Noone was the first woman to do something as part of the ceremony. What did she do?

6. What is the name of the first female chancellor of Germany?           

7. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the world's first female head of government, serving as Prime Minister three times between 1960 and 2000. What country was she PM of?                              

8. In the 2016 Olympics, which two field events did the gold medal winning women achieve a greater distance than the gold medal winning men? 

9. In 2018, a statue was unveiled in Parliament Square, to commemorate a woman from history. It is still the only statue of a woman to be displayed in Parliament Square today. Who was the woman being celebrated?               

10. In 2012, the current youngest Nobel prize winner was shot in the head by the Taliban for protesting for the right of girls to be educated. What was her name?           

Round Two - Just Associate (or Only Connect)

Find the connection between each group of four. 

 1.

Emma Hayes

Willie Kirk

Phil Neville

Casey Stoney 

2.

Beavertown Neck Oil

Elvis Juice

Dead Pony Club

Camden Hells 

3.

library

vicarage

the Caribbean

Bertram’s Hotel 

4.

Spike

Blaine

Kenny

Harvest 

5.

 Digestion Boost

Seriously Seeded

Apple and BBQ Ready to Rolls

Coconut and Rum Fun Buns 

6.

everybody

needs

good

with

7.  

Timothy Dalton

Paula Yates

Helen Willets

William Roach 

                                              

                                       Round Three - Book Me In at the Pictures

For the picture round, can you name the book title and the author from these covers?

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

So there you are. Three rounds of quizzing fun that hopefully incorporated the banter as well. The winners last night were Mon and Gav, and their prize? Well, thank you for asking. I will be using the handy Cheerz app that I downloaded a while back, and selecting amusing photos of them from my phone, to turn into fridge magnets. It's the obvious quiz prize for anyone. That'll be in the post just as soon as I've spent the time trawling back through my old photos. For now, I'll leave you to your own quizzing, and bid you a hearty good day.

Have a lovely week, folks.

ANSWERS

1. Shatter That Ceiling!

1.Marie Curie          

2. Jacinda Arden/New Zealand                                

3. One. Kathryn Bigalow.                                     

4. Swimming

5. She conducted the orchestra for a piece of music.

6. Angela Merkel

7. Sri Lanka/Ceylon

8. Discus and hammer

9. Millicent Fawcett.

10. Malala Yousafzai

2. Just Associate (or Only Connect)

1. Managers of women’s football teams.

2. UK-made craft ales.

3. Locations of corpses in Miss Marple books. (Or all mentioned in the title of MM books.)

4. Leeza McAuliffe's siblings.

5. Bread products made by Roberts.

6. The first four words in the Neighbours theme tune lyrics, omitting neighbours.

7. All listed in the Notable People part of Colwyn Bay’s Wikipedia entry.

3. Book Me In at the Pictures

1. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

3. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling

5. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

6. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

7. Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

8. The Famous Five by Enid Blyton

9. The Witches by Roald Dahl

10. Leeza McAuliffe Has Something To Say by Nicky Bond (natch)

11. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

12. Paddington by Michael Bond.