What's in a name?
That's Capital
Bread and melons and stinky cheese...
Werewood Eyefined?
First of all
100
Marshall Bruce Mathers III is a shady character and would walk 8 mile for a shorter name. Which one?
Eminem
100
Who wrote the foundational theoretical text in materialist philosophy, and critique of political economy, 'Das Kapital'?
Karl Marx, who also wrote, with Friedrich Engels, in 1848, 'The Communist Manifesto'.
100
Why are residents of the U.S. state of Wisconsin known as cheeseheads?
The state is a major producer of cheese and is known as "America's Dairyland"
100
Inside which Austrian landmark would you be able to see the Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School perform?
The Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, built between the 13th and 18th centuries.
100
Which long boy is the best first-born of December 1994?
Busch-boy
200
In 1917, the British monarchy adopted the name of Windsor, with inspiration from Windsor Castle, an existing royal residence. What was the preceding name that they were keen to change?
And for an unspecified extra number of points, why was the name changed?
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
It was a German name and Germany was the enemy during the First World War
200
Which country's capital is Bishkek? (From which Nurbek, the Westin Lounge superviser comes).
Kyrgyzstan
200
Venezuelan Beaver Cheese is one of 43 varieties of cheese mentioned in Monty Python's Cheese Shop Sketch, from 1972. However, there are considerable difficulties in obtaining it in real life.
What is the most significant?
There are no Venezuelan beavers thus the cheese remains fictional.
200
The Merkins, rather misunderstanding history, removed Route 66 from the United States Highway System in 1985. However, most of it still exists. Can you name the 8 states through which is passes?
In a departure from normal scoring procedure, you score 25 points per state but if you get all 8, an additional unspecified number of points will be added.
(Chicago), Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and (Santa Monica), California
200
The Fortingall Yew was planted before any other tree in the UK, it being the oldest known. To the nearest 1000 years, how old is it assumed to be?
5000 years
300
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was, maybe surprisingly, born in Manhattan, but clearly of Italian stock. Too much of a mouthful for the adoring fans, so she calls herself...
Lady Gaga
300
Flying Fish Cove really is the name of the capital of this tropical find. Home to the robber crab and the crazy yellow ant, what is this island called?
Christmas Island
300
Stinking Bishop is a rare cheese made from the milk of Old Gloucester cows and immersed in perry made from the local Stinking Bishop pear.
Demand for the cheese went up 500% in 2005 because of the release of an animated film involving Wallace and Gromit. Which film?
And for an unspecified number of extra points, which fictional, stronger and logically-named version of this cheese was tried by Wallace in "Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention"?
"The Curse of the Were-Rabbit",: Gromit uses it to revive Wallace.
"Stinking Archbishop"
300
The Plain of Jars is on the Xiangkhoang Plateau at the northern end of the Annamese Cordillera.
In which country?
The Plain of Jars (Lao: ທົ່ງໄຫຫິນ Thong Hai Hin, is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos.
The jars were put in place as early as 1240 BC. The Plain of Jars is one of the most important prehistoric sites in Southeast Asia.
300
What does the Latin phrase "primus inter pares" translate as?
First among equals
400
The singer Cherilyn Sarkisian is 78 years old, surprisingly. When married to Sonny Bono, she may have had any easier surname if she'd wanted. However, she has always been known professionally, and more simply as...?
Cher
400
Why is capital punishment so called?
Etymologically, the term capital comes from late Latin capitale, from earlier Latin caput, "head" and refers to execution by beheading
400
The names Parmigiano Reggiano and Parmesan are protected designations of origin (PDO). Which two Italian provinces does the name Parmigiano Reggiano come from?
Parmigiano Reggiano is named after the Italian provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia
400
Tiki bars are, of course, an American invention but with South Pacific influences. What does the word "Tiki" actually mean?
Tiki is the Māori name for the first human.
400
What does the acronym LUCA stand for?
And for an additional unspecified number of points, how old is it?
Last Universal Common Ancestor
At least 3.6 billion years, possibly 4.3 billion years
500
The painter of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is universally known as Michelangelo, but he had a surname... what is it?
(Michelangelo) di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
500
Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao are islands claiming to be in the Leeward Antilles, better known the Dutch Antilles. In fact, Bonaire is still a 'special municipality' of the Netherlands.
In which order would you reach them, going from west to east?
For and unspecified extra number of points, name any one of their capitals.
Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire.
Aruba: Oranjestad
Bonaire: Kralendijk
Curaçao: Willemstad
500
Kadchgall is made by clotting sheep's milk with yogurt, and in some cases camel's milk.
Serat is a sheep's milk cheese, the curds kneaded into a ball before being smoked and dipped in wax as a preservative.
Which country traditionally produces Kadchgall and Serat?
Afghanistan
500
The statue of "Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox" is seen in one of the best films of all time, "Fargo". The character is a well known folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. Claims to his birthplace range from Nova Scotia to Minnesota.
What was his trade?
Lumberjack. The legend may have been based on a real mid 19th-century lumberjack.
Note that "legend" and "folklore" are both recent phenomena in non-native North America.
500
In the process of reverse digestion, in theory only and preferably in ruminants, which part of the process would be first?
Dung!