Whitaker's Almanack Quiz Book (Whitaker'S)

529 Pages·2004·2.12 MB·English

by  Nick Rennison

WHITAKER’S ALMANACK
QUIZ BOOK
A & C BLACK
LONDON

Whitaker’s Almanack
Quiz Book
A & C BLACK
LONDON
A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd harvested from managed sustainable
37 Soho Square, London W1D forests.
3QZ
Whitaker’s Almanack published
Whitaker’s is a Registered trade
annually since 1868
mark ofJ. Whitaker and Sons Ltd,
© A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd
Registered Trade Mark Nos. (UK)
ISBN 0-7136-7035-5 1322125/09; 13422126/16 and
1322127/41; (EU) 19960401/09,
eISBN-13:978-1-4081-0292-3
16, 41, licensed for use by A & C
Designed by:Fiona Pike Black (Publishers) Ltd.
Jacket photographs:© Corbis
Typeset in India by: Wordstop,
The publishers make no repre-
Madras, India
sentation, express or implied,
Printed and bound in the EU by:
with regard to the accuracy of
William Clowes, Beccles, Suffolk,
the information contained in
Great Britain
this book and cannot accept
legal responsibility for any errors
All rights reserved. No part of
or omissions that take place.
this publication may be repro-
duced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by A CIP catalogue record for this
any means - electronic, mechani- book is available from the
cal, photocopying, recording or British Library.
otherwise, without prior written
permission ofthe publisher. EDITORIAL STAFF
Author:Nick Rennison
A & C Black uses paper produced Editor-in-Chief:Lauren Simpson
with elemental chlorine-free pulp Editor:Inna Ward
4
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 7 Food and Drink 140–143
Gardens and Gardeners 144
BELIEFS 9
General Knowledge 146–177
Beliefs 10–17
How Many? 178
Christianity 18
Phobias 180
Eastern Religions 20
Trains, Boats and Planes 182
Gods and Goddesses 22
Islam 24 GEOGRAPHY 185
‘Isms’ 26 Africa 186
Judaism 28 The Americas 188
Mythology 30–33 Asia 190
Philosophy 34–37 Australia 192
Religious Leaders 38 Bridges 194
Buildings 196
BUSINESS AND POLITICS 41
England 198–201
Advertising Slogans 42
English Cities 202
British Parliament 44
Europe 204
British Politics 46
Lakes and Rivers 206
British Prime Ministers 48–51
London 208
Business Acronyms 52
Man-made Wonders 210
Business 54
Mountains and Volcanoes 212
Currencies 56
Northern Ireland 214
Economics and Economists 58
Places 216–221
People in Business 60
Scotland 222
Political Quotations 62
Seas and Oceans 224
Spies and Intelligence 64
UK Islands 226
US Presidents 66–69
Wales 228
World Leaders 70
World Politics 72–75 HISTORY AND HERITAGE 231
American History 232
FILM, TELEVISION AND RADIO77
Ancient Greece and Rome 234
Animals on TV 78
The Ancient World 236
Cartoons 80
Archaeology 238
Children’s TV 82
The Bible 240
Film 84–101
British History 242–247
Horror Films 102
British Princes and Princesses 248
Movie Star Names 104
Castles and Stately Homes 250
Oscars 106
Cathedrals and Churches 252
Radio 108
Dates 254
TV Characters 110
Famous Murders 256
TV Comedy 112
Great Battles 258
Television 114–127
Monarchs 260
TV Soaps 128–131
Museums and Galleries 262
Westerns 132
Women in History 264
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE 135 World History 266–271
Car Registration 136 World War 1 272
Colours 138 World War 2 274
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LANGUAGE AND PEOPLE 411
LITERATURE 277 Birthplaces 412
American Literature 278 Celebrities 414–419
Crime Fiction 280 Eponyms 420
Fictional Characters 282 Explorers 422
Fictional Places 284 Famous Women 424
General Literature 286–291 ‘Firsts’ 426
Kids’ Books 292–295 Husbands and Wives 428
Novels and Novelists 296–299 Initials 430
Poetry 300–305 Nicknames 432
Pseudonyms 306 Parents and Children 434
Quotations 308 People 436–443
Science Fiction and Fantasy 310 Quotations 444
Shakespeare 312–315 Saints and Sinners 446
Weird Words 316 What are they remembered for? 448
Words 318
SCIENCE, ASTRONOMY
MUSIC AND THE ARTS 321 AND NUMBERS 451
Architecture 322 Astronomy 452
Art and Artists 324–329 Biology 454
Classical Music 330–335 Calendars 456
Dance 336 Chemistry 458
Eighties Music 338 Computing 460
Fashion 340 Constellations 462
Gilbert and Sullivan 342 Dinosaurs 464
Jazz 344 Famous Scientists 466
Music and Arts 346–351 General Science 468–473
Musicals 352 Geology 474
Nineties Music 354 Inventions and Inventors 476
Opera 356–359 Mathematics 478
Seventies Music 360 Medicine 480–483
Sixties Music 362 Physics 484
Theatre 364–367 Planets 486
THE NATURAL WORLD 369 Weather 488
Animals 370–373 SPORT 491
Animals ofBritain 374–377 Boxing 492
Birds ofthe World 378–381 Cricket 494
British Birds 382 English Horse Racing 496
Cats and Dogs 384 Football 498–501
Farm Animals 386 Football Club Nicknames 502
Fictional Animals 388 Football History 504
Horses and Ponies 390 Golf 506
Insects 392–395 Olympics 508–511
Natural History 396–401 Rubgy 512
Plants and Flowers 402–405 Sport 514–523
Reptiles and Amphibians 406 Sporting Trophies 524
Trees 408 Tennis 526
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INTRODUCTION
BY NICK RENNISON, AUTHOR
Never before has society been so obsessed with facts, statistics, general knowledge
and trivia…and that’s why we have published the first ever edition ofthe Whitaker’s
AlmanackQuiz Book. With a growing abundance oftelevision shows and magazines
dedicated to quizzes, people can be found pitting their wits against each other on
all manner ofsubjects just about everywhere - at home, at work or in the pub. There
is no doubt that accumulating banks ofuseful (and useless!) information has become
a national pastime…and it’s compulsive!
If, like me, you are fanatical about facts and figures and have a thirst for general
knowledge, you’ll find it hard to put this book down. Whether you are a quiz
compiler, a pub quiz addict or you simply love asking and answering questions, the
Whitaker’s Almanack Quiz Bookprovides the ultimate quiz challenge and is lots offun
for all the family. Covering a wide range ofboth general and esoteric topics you’ll
be able to test your knowledge on almost every conceivable subject.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
There are twelve categories, arranged alphabetically, and within each category there
is a selection ofquizzes, also arranged alphabetically. For example, under Language
and Literature you’ll find quizzes on Novels and Novelists, Poetry, Shakespeare and
Weird Words. Turn to page 5 for a full list ofcontents.
Quizzes are categorised as Novice, Expert or Genius which correspond to easy (or
not so easy!), medium and hard levels of difficulty. In addition, each category is
accompanied by a number ofbrain images - one brain for Novice, two brains for
Expert and three brains for the Genius category. These enable you to check the
difficultly level ofa particular quiz at a glance. I would like to add that I cannot be
held responsible for any squabbles that may arise in regard to whether a quiz is easy,
medium or difficult!
Each quiz comprises ten multiple-choice questions with three possible answers. The
answers can be found at the end ofeach quiz so unlike other quiz books you don’t
need to turn the book upside down or trawl to the back for the solutions!
While I was compiling this book, many people suggested questions for inclusion.
My thanks go especially to Andee Anantha, Giri Anantha (for his astonishing
knowledge ofsports, in particular football), Brenda Binns, Travis Elborough, Andy
Miller, Eileen Rennison, Philip Rennison and John Thewlis. At A &C Black, Lauren
Simpson and Inna Ward were very helpful, supportive and (above all) patient
editors. Most of all I would like to thank Eve Gorton. She devised hundreds of
questions for this book and, without her assistance and encouragement, I would not
have been able to finish it.
Nick Rennison
The Whitaker’s Almanack Quiz Book is compiled with the authority ofits sister publication,
Whitaker’s Almanack, which has a 137-year tradition of providing authoritative reference
material on almost every aspect oftoday’s rapidly changing world.
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BELIEFS
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