On Sunday night “The Shape of Water” won the Best Picture Oscar for 2017. The Oscars ceremony always rewards films that were released the previous year. Last year’s ceremony rewarded films that were released in 2016. “The Godfather” (Best Picture Oscar 1972) was the big winner on 27 March 1973. Robert de Niro collected his… Continue reading Oscars, Trivia and a minor quibble about dates
HHeLiBeBCNOF: you can say it out loud (H-heli-beb-cnof) to learn, or to remind yourself of, the first nine elements in the Periodic Table. They represent hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine. The next 11 elements can also be said out loud: nee-nam-gall-sips-clark-ca (NeNaMgAlSiPSClArKCa). The elements in question are: neon, sodium, magnesium,… Continue reading Word of the Week: HHeLiBeBCNOF
Aegilops is “an abscess or ulcer of the inner canthus of the eye, especially when involving a lacrimal duct or the lacrimal sac”. It is also “any grass of the southern European genus Aegilops, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern varieties of domestic wheat”. Like many of the definitions in these Word of… Continue reading Word of the week: aegilops
I didn’t get enough sleep last night. Like many other sports fans here in the UK I stayed up late to watch the Superbowl, Philadelphia Eagles winning their first title against defending champions the New England Patriots. Unlike most other sports fans I hadn’t planned to spend the early hours of Monday morning this way,… Continue reading Word of the week: Superbowl
This earlier piece set the following challenge: How many countries can you think of which have the same number of letters as their capital cities? If you haven’t tried it yet, take a look at that earlier piece and give it a go. You’ll find some background information and a few tips. A reasonable level… Continue reading Countries and capital cities with the same number of letters (the answers)
Here’s a trivia challenge for you regarding countries and their capitals. How many countries can you think of which have the same number of letters as their capital cities? There’s a link to the answers at the end of this page, but first some tips and some background information. This is a different mental challenge… Continue reading Countries and capital cities with the same number of letters
You are probably familiar with “Vogue”, Madonna’s worldwide hit from 1990. If not, here’s the official video from YouTube, which shows the accompanying dance moves. Vogue, as a verb, is defined by the Oxford Dictionaries website as, “Dance to music in such a way as to imitate the characteristic poses struck by a model on… Continue reading Word of the week: Vogue
This earlier piece contained a challenge based on the titles of UK #1 hit singles: 33 songs where the first word (or words) of the title were also the title of another song that reached #1. Here are the clues again, followed by the answers. The clues The first song title consists of a single… Continue reading More Pop Trivia: titles of UK #1 hits contained within other #1s (the answers)
It’s time for some more pop trivia based on songs that have reached #1 in the UK charts. If this sort of thing doesn’t appeal to you, look away now. Last September (blimey, four months ago already) I posted this piece about UK #1 hits whose titles run on (and on, in some cases). The… Continue reading More Pop Trivia: titles of UK #1 hits contained within other #1s
The format of the BBC quiz show “Mastermind” has barely changed since it was first broadcast in the 1970s. In the opening rounds four contestants each answer two minutes’ worth of questions on a special subject and then have two and a half minutes on general knowledge. In later rounds (semi-finals, the grand final) there… Continue reading “Mastermind” and Special Subjects
The Compartments 