Thursday 5 February 2015

The name 'Kiribati' comes from the local pronunciation of 'Gilberts'

A special guest edition of the ones that got away this week, as the doctor (@NoDrNo to you and me) has taken the reigns! (Apologies in advance.)

Your targets this week:

1+ out of 12: Well done, you beat us!
7+ out of 12: We'd have won with you on our team!

The attendees
1) The statistician
2) The doctor

The ones that got away
1) Which European country has more registered cars than residents?
2) The average American Football game in the NFL is 60 minutes in length and plays out over 185 minutes of real time. For how many minutes in total is the ball in play? You can have 3 minutes either way.
3) A round called "Capital plus letters" in which one had to combine a country's capital, with 2 extra letters (in any positions) to give the answer: e.g. European capital - "to add a number to itself" Answer: Doubling (Dublin) European capital - "What might you call it when one of Santa's reindeer sleeps lightly?"
4) Which comedian was Google's top trend of 2014?
5) 2 point question: Which item appears uniquely on the flags of Guatemala and Mozambique?
6) 2 point question: Which US city was formerly known as Terminus?
7) 2 point question: What percentage of the US congress are millionaires (to within 5%)?
8) 2 point question: Which franchise has made more money, the Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit movies (combined) or the James Bond franchise? NOT adjusted for inflation.

The answers


Our excuses


How did you do? Would you have beaten us (1 or more points)? Would you have helped us win (7 or more points)? Don't forget the 2 point questions! Let the world know with the poll below, then read on for my alternative questions (loosely) inspired by this week's Ones That Got Away!


My alternative questions
1) San Marino claims to be the "oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world", stemming from origins in a Monastic community founded in which century? (You can have a century either way.)
2) What is the name of the trophy awarded for winning the Super Bowl? It's the same as the surname of the Starfox Wingman (pun intended) usually known simply as Falco.
3) Capital plus letters: (South American Capital) "Reasonably reasonable".
4) Which word links the battle cry of the Lost Boys in the Robin Williams movie "Hook" and a track by Skrillex?
5) 2 point question: Which is the only non-quadrilateral national flag? Which is the only square national flag? (And by 'national', we mean pertaining to a country that's a full member of the United Nations blah blah blah.)
6) 2 point question: Which work of post-apocalyptic serial fiction (both a TV series and a comic), set in and around Atlanta, features a journey to a supposed "safe zone" called Terminus? (This is a 2 pointer for being a bit tough.)
7) 2 point question: The longest ever filibuster in the US congress was delivered by Republican Senator Strom Thurmond, as an attempt to block which 1957 Act from being passed? For a second point, which US President signed the Act into law?
8) 2 point question: Which actor has died in both a Lord Of The Rings film and a James Bond Movie? For a second point, name either both characters, or both movies.

The answers


How did you do on my alternative questions? Have another poll!

7 comments:

  1. I'm curious, what answer did they want for 'Something a scientist might do' if 'using a spore' wasn't it?

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    Replies
    1. Man In Lab (Manila) - in fairness the doctor hasn't really given that one justice, I think the clue was "describing a scientist while at work" :)

      Delete
  2. The question was:
    What term might describe a scientist while he is at work?

    I tried to push the word "he" as hard as possible, but realized that when I said "while HE is at work" it sounded like I was a sexist bastard who thought women couldn't be scientists, so I backed down and allowed the excellent using-a-spore. Since I'd definitely specific "one of Santa's reindeer," though, buck-has-rest wasn't quite specific enough. :)

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    Replies
    1. WE WILL NEVER FORGET

      (But yes, we can't actually complain - I'm still impressed you let us get away with using-a-spore...)

      Delete
  3. The flag of the Vatican City is also square.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fair. This is what happens when the doctor writes the quiz - he forgets the all important, Pointless-trademarked "and by 'country' we mean a full member of the United Nations etc. etc.".

      Delete
  4. Great question 3) - best I could do was Chilled

    ReplyDelete