I continue to be in awe of the panellists in “Round Britain Quiz” on Radio 4 as I catch up on the new series - fluently pulling out pieces of obscure “general” knowledge and tracing the connections which the question-setter had woven together. (But if they are stumped, as sometimes happens, then the host mercifully - both to the panellists and the audience - gives hints and nudges - at the cost of the points to be awarded at the end.)
[Read More]Quizzes in the Goldilocks Zone
On the challenges of pitching quiz questions just right
At the pub quiz - “What is a hyperbola?”
Among those of us around the table were three mathematicians, wondering what definition they were looking for…
[Read More]Book Closing Lines Quiz (October 2021)
In May 2020 I compiled a quiz based on the openings of a variety of books on our bookcases - a mixture of the well-known and the slightly obscure, the literary and the popular, with a dusting of SF/fantasy sprinkled in. I’ve now put together a second quiz, this time on book endings.
This page has the book endings but not the answers - there is a version with answers also available.
[Read More]Book Closing Lines Quiz (October 2021) - with answers
In May 2020 I compiled a quiz based on the openings of a variety of books on our bookcases - a mixture of the well-known and the slightly obscure, the literary and the popular, with a dusting of SF/fantasy sprinkled in. I’ve now put together a second quiz, this time on book endings.
This page includes the book closing lines and the answers: there is a spoiler-free version with only the questions also available.
[Read More]A Tom Stoppard riddle
Can you identify two Tom Stoppard plays represented by a single picture?
As my mind wandered while assembling some flat-pack furniture, I was (perhaps inordinately) pleased with myself for coming up with a riddle about one of my favourite playwrights.
[Read More]A Tom Stoppard riddle - with answer
Can - or did - you identify two Tom Stoppard plays represented by a single picture?
As my mind wandered while assembling some flat-pack furniture, I was (perhaps inordinately) pleased with myself for coming up with a riddle about one of my favourite playwrights.
[Read More]Book Opening Lines Quiz (May 2020)
A quiz to identify 32 books from their openings - the well-known and the slightly obscure, the literary and the popular, with a dusting of SF/fantasy
I recently compiled a quiz based on the openings of a variety of books on our bookcases. It is a mixture of the well-known and the slightly obscure, the literary and the popular, with a dusting of SF/fantasy sprinkled in.
This page has the questions only: when you’re ready, there is a version of the quiz with answers also available.
[Read More]Book Opening Lines Quiz (May 2020) - with answers
I recently compiled a quiz based on the openings of a variety of books on our bookcases. It is a mixture of the well-known and the slightly obscure, the literary and the popular, with a dusting of SF/fantasy sprinkled in.
This page includes the book openings and the answers: there is a spoiler-free version with only the questions also available.
[Read More]