Plants & Gardening
Animals
Traditions Around the World
May
Literature
100
What fruit is commonly mistaken for a vegetable and was once believed to be poisonous in Europe?
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
100
What is a female fox called?
Vixen
100
Which Canadian province encourages visitors to kiss a fish to become an honorary local?
The Newfoundland Screech-In ceremony involves kissing a cod — usually in a bar — before drinking a shot of Screech rum to become an honorary Newfoundlander (Christian’s Pub in St. John’s is known for its lively ceremonies). The name comes from — you guessed it — the harsh Screech rum that is bottled in Newfoundland. The ceremonial smooch is commemorated with a certificate (and probably a YouTube video or two).
100
May sits in what season in the Southern Hemisphere?
Autumn
100
What is the best-selling book of all time?
Typically, the Holy Bible is considered to be the best-selling book of all time, with an estimated 2.5 billion copies sold since 1815 (and 2,200 language and dialect translations to boot). However, as I’m sure you can imagine, the records of sales over that length of time are patchy at best, many copies of the Bible are distributed for free (as opposed to “sold” in the traditional sense), and as such the estimation of total sales is very rough.
The Lord Of The Rings is the next most common answer, though some people dispute its inclusion for consideration as it is a series (rather than an individual “book”). It’s estimated to have sold approximately 150 million copies since it was first published in 1954, and those figures are comparatively very accurate. The Hobbit, too, has sold some 100 million copies in its own right.
The biggest total sales figure I could find for an individual, stand-alone book (that no one could dispute), with the most accurate numbers possible, is that of Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince), first published in French in 1943. It has sold 140 million copies since then. However, the most recognisable answer (and the one your quizmaster would likely be looking for at pub trivia) is Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, which has sold 120 million copies since 1997 (meaning it has sold far better over a much shorter period of time, which is usually a factor in the calculation of best-sellers).
200
Which vegetable can be used as a natural dye for fabrics?
Beets (Beta vulgaris)
200
What is the closest living relative to the T-rex?
Chicken
200
Cinco De Mayo and Día de Muertos are both celebrated in which country?
Mexico
200
Which member of the British Royal Family was born on May 24, 1819?
Queen Victoria.
200
True or false: Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes never actually used the now-famous line “Elementary, my dear Watson”.
True. Holmes would, now and then, refer to things as being “elementary”, and he did also call his sidekick “my dear Watson”, but he never once used the two together. He did, however, say “Exactly, my dear fellow” relatively often.
300
What plant is known for its ability to catch insects?
Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)
300
What type of farm animal can sunburn?
Pig
300
What is the name of India's festival of lights celebrated in either October or November?
Diwali
300
What green stone is the birthstone of May?
May’s birthstone is the emerald.
- The emerald is a green type of beryl. Its color ranges from light to rich green; the more saturated hues are more valuable, especially if pure- or blue-green.
- Some of the best emeralds come from South American mines, although perhaps the oldest known came from Egypt. The emerald was a favorite gem of Cleopatra.
300
What name did Charles Dickens finally decide on for his character in this famous literature, before first considering using “Small Sam” and “Puny Pete”?
For his character in A Christmas Carol before settling on “Tiny Tim”?
400
What is the most expensive spice in the world, obtained from the stigmas of a flower?
Saffron (Crocus sativus)
400
What big animal has the highest blood pressure?
Giraffe
400
The haka is a traditional indigenous dance performed in what country?
New Zealand
400
May hasn't always been seen as an optimistic month. Can you fill in the gap in this famous poem '....... in May and you'll rue the day.'
Marry
400
What was the first book published by movable type?
Johann Gutenberg, who invented movable type in 1440, printed the first book, a Latin Bible (now called the Gutenberg Bible) in 1445.
500
Which country is the world’s largest producer of roses?
China
500
Which sea creature can change its gender?
Oyster
500
In which country will you find the Pasola Festival, a mounted spear fighting competition?
Malaysia, Indonesia, Palau or Samoa
Indonesia
500
May was originally called Maius, after the Greek Goddess of what?
She was considered a nurturer of Earth and growing plants. Her Roman equivalent, Bona Dea, was known as the goddess of fertility and named for the Latin word "maius," meaning large. She is also associated with growth and the springtime.
500
Which British prime minister was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature?
Winston Churchill. He got the gong in 1953 “for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values”.
600
What is the tallest species of grass?
Bamboo (Bambusoideae)
600
What creature has a tongue that can measure the length of its body?
Chameleon
600
In Denmark, why do some people get cinnamon chucked over them?
a) They've turned 25 and are unmarried
b) Their birthday is the same day as Christmas
c) They've got married on New Year's Day
d) They're dressing up as a cinnamon swirl
They've turned 25 and are unmarried
600
What are May's birth flowers? Hint, it was in the newsletter.
May’s birth flowers are the Hawthorn and the Lily-of-the-Valley. The hawthorn means hope, while the lily-of-the-valley symbolizes sweetness or the return of happiness.
600
Early in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice shrinks down to a very small size and then has to swim through a river of what?
Her own tears.
700
What plant can grow in the harshest conditions, including the Arctic and Antarctica?
Moss (Bryophyta)
700
Where do sea otters store extra food on their bodies?
A pocket of skin in their armpits
700
In what country has it been a tradition since the 9th century to stick out their tongues when greeting new people?
a) Napal b) Tibet c) Burma d) Myanmar
According to Tibetan folklore, people started doing this as a way to prove they were not the reincarnation of a cruel king from the 9th century who had a black tongue.
700
What are May's zodiac signs?
Taurus: April 21 to May 20
Gemini: May 21 to June 20
700
Fill in the blanks of this Shakespeare quote: “All the world’s a stage, And all the ___ and _____ merely _______.”
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”
Bonus points: The line is taken from As You Like It (Act II, Scene VII).
800
What is the heaviest pumpkin ever grown?
2,624.6 pounds (1,190.5 kg)
800
How many teeth can a crocodile have over its lifetime?
Up to 4,000
800
This traditional instrument was once used to by shepherds to call cattle in the Swiss Alps. What’s it called?
Swisshorn, Naturalhorn, Alphorn or Cowhorn
Alphorn
800
What is May's full moon called?
May’s full Moon, called the Flower Moon, it appeared on Friday, May 5. The name signifies that wildflowers are in full bloom in May in the northern hemisphere.
800
What title did Jane Austen originally give to the book that was eventually published as Pride and Prejudice?
First Impressions.
1000
What is the largest fruit that grows on a tree?
Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
1000
What is the smallest mammal in the world?
Bumblebee bat
1000
In which country are children told to toss their teeth onto their roofs instead of putting them under their pillows when they fall out?
a) Russia b) Italy c) Greece d) Denmark
Greece. The cultural tradition is meant for the child to have a healthy tooth as well as good luck to the family.
1000
What did Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis officially invent in Mat, 1873?
Blue Jeans.
1000
Where does the book Fahrenheit 451 get its name?
The book’s tagline explains its title: “Fahrenheit 451 – the temperature at which book paper catches fire, and burns”.