For a number of years at our Christmas gatherings we played games – not such a simple task when there are five generations taking part. It doesn’t happen now my grandmother, who loved playing them, has left us. It fell to me to construct them and so my Christmas Quiz was always a multi-choice affair which gave the youngest child as much chance of getting the right answer as my very clever father. As I devised this one, please feel free to use it at your own gatherings over the festive season, should you so wish. Merry Christmas everyone and a very Happy New Year.
1. In 12,000 years, the Pole Star will be replaced by another star that will appear not to move. Which star will it be?
a) Deneb b) Arcturus c) Vega d) Acrux
2. Who was known as the ‘Warrior Queen’?
a) Hippolyta b) Joanna the Mad c) Boadicea d) Joan of Arc
3. What is your tarsus?
a) Ankle b) Big toe c) Thumb joint d) Knuckle
4. What was the population of England in 1086, when the Doomday Book was compiled?
a) One million b) Two million c) Three million d) Four million
5. What did the 12th century Japanese emperor use as ink to copy out a Buddhist religious work?
a) The blood of his favourite Pekinese b) Octopus ink c) Cochineal, a ground beetle d) His own blood
6. Strabismus is another name for which affliction of the eyes?
a) Cateracts b) Lazy eye c) Short-sightedness d) Squint
7. What is mordanting?
a) Fixing dye into cloth b) Composing words on a gravestone
c) Feeling depressed d) Attending a funeral when you don’t know the deceased
8. What did ‘Unready’ mean when first attributed to Ethelred?
a) Unprepared b) Deficient in counsel c) Lacking in wit d) Unskilled with a sword
9. The derrick crane was named after Dick Derrick. What was his occupation?
a) Fisherman b) Winchman c) Hangman d) Jailor
10 Which is the longest part written by Shakespeare?
a) Lear b) Hamlet c) Henry V d) Othello
11 What is a group of hounds called?
a) A mute of hounds b) A cry of hounds c) A hunt of hounds d) A bay of hounds
12 What are fingerlings?
a) Small cucumbers b) The next size up from elvers c) Small salmon d) Original name of fish fingers
13 Which famous Indian is buried at Gravesend, Kent?
a) Ghandi b) Pocahontas c) Chief Sitting Bull d) V.S. Naipaul
14 If a rabbit’s front teeth were not worn down by eating, how long would they grow?
a) 2 feet b) 6 feet c) 8 feet d) 10 feet
15 What is the average diameter of a bolt of lightning?
a) Just over 20 cm b) Just over 15 cm c) Just over 10 cm d) Just over 5 cm
16 What is a localisation of pus called?
a) Blister b) Boil c) Abscess d) Infection
17 What two brothers are the bright stars in the Gemini named after?
a) Caster & Pollux b) Romulus & Remus c) Phobos & Deimus d) Hypnos & Thanatos
18 How do male moths find female moths at night?
a) They see the patterns on their wings in ultra-violet b) They can taste them c) They can hear them d) They can smell them
19 What did the Ark of the Covenant contain?
a) The Rosetta Stone b) The tablets of the 10 Commandments
c) The Holy Grail d) The Dead Sea Scrolls
20 If you suffer from musophobia, what are you afraid of?
a) Music b) Museums c) Musicians d) Mice
ANSWERS
1. In 12,000 years the Pole Star will be replaced by another star that will appear not to move. Which star will it be?
a) Deneb b) Arcturus c) Vega d) Acrux
2. Who was known as the ‘Warrior Queen’?
a) Hippolyta b) Joanna the Mad c) Boadicea d) Joan of Arc
3. What is your tarsus?
a) Ankle b) Big toe c) Thumb joint d) Knuckle
4. What was the population of England in 1086, when the Doomday Book was compiled?
a) One million b) Two million c) Three million d) Four million
5. What did the 12th century Japanese emperor use as ink to copy out a Buddhist religious work?
a) The blood of his favourite Pekinese b) Octopus ink c) Cochineal, a ground beetle d) His own blood
6. Strabismus is another name for which affliction of the eyes?
a) Cateracts b) Lazy eye c) Short-sightedness d) Squint
7. What is mordanting?
a) Fixing dye into cloth b) Composing words on a gravestone
c) Feeling depressed d) Attending a funeral when you don’t know the deceased
8. What did ‘Unready’ mean when first attributed to Ethelred?
a) Unprepared b) Deficient in counsel c) Lacking in wit d) Unskilled with a sword
9. The derrick crane was named after Dick Derrick. What was his occupation?
a) Fisherman b) Winchman c) Hangman d) Jailor
10 Which is the longest part written by Shakespeare?
a) Lear b) Hamlet c) Henry V d) Othello
11 What is a group of hounds called?
a) A mute of hounds b) A cry of hounds c) A hunt of hounds d) A bay of hounds
12 What are fingerlings?
a) Small cucumbers b) The next size up from elvers c) Small salmon d) Original name of fish fingers
13 Which famous Indian is buried at Gravesend, Kent?
a) Ghandi b) Pocahontas c) Chief Sitting Bull d) V.S. Naipaul
14 If a rabbit’s front teeth were not worn down by eating, how long would they grow?
a) 2 feet b) 6 feet c) 8 feet d) 10 feet
16 What is the average diameter of a bolt of lightning?
a) Just over 20 cm b) Just over 15 cm c) Just over 10 cm d) Just over 5 cm
16 What is a localisation of pus called?
a) Blister b) Boil c) Abscess d) Infection
17 What two brothers are the bright stars in the Gemini named after?
a) Caster & Pollux b) Romulus & Remus c) Phobos & Deimus d) Hypnos & Thanatos
18 How do male moths find female moths at night?
a) They see the patterns on their wings in ultra-violet b) They can taste them c) They can hear them d) They can smell them
19 What did the Ark of the Covenant contain?
a) The Rosetta Stone b) The tablets of the 10 Commandments c) The Holy Grail d) The Dead Sea Scrolls
20 If you suffer from musophobia, what are you afraid of?
a) Music b) Museums c) Musicians d) Mice
I did not do very well, I only got 10 correct. Merry Christmas Sarah.
Merry Christmas to you, too, Carla. I’m VERY impressed you scored so highly:))
I always used to say to my kids that my head was full of useless tidbits of knowledge.
And clearly you were right! The best my oh-so-very-clever offspring managed was 6:))
What a nice way to spice up the Christmas gathering! 🙂
🎆 A very Merry Christmas to you Sarah!! 🎄
Thank you! And to you, Maddalena:)
Merry Christmas, Sarah! Wow, this quiz is way too taxing for my brain at the moment, but I hope you have fun😁
It’s designed to be difficult, so those over-achieving brainiacs didn’t tromp over everyone else:)))
That was fun. And I only got a few of these right. LOL
And Merry Christmas!
Oh dear, I got 5! Hope you had a good Christmas!
I designed this to be more about taking part than winning:))). So I’m impressed!
Ha! Great quiz! I knew 2…guessed correctly on a few more but whew, great work finding some challenging trivia! I hope it was a happy day for your family 😊
Thank you, Anne:). Yes… we played the game yesterday and the clever-clogs in the family were very indignant at just how unreasonably difficult I’d made it, while the children were happily able to guess along with the adults. Just as I’d intended:))
WOW! I really need to get into more games. The most we did was a few rounds of Christmas Candyland Christmas Eve, and The Snowman Game (from the Raymond Briggs story) earlier that week. 😦 But we were the ones doing all the running around to different family homes during Christmas week–no less than FIVE Christmases. Uffdah! I think I’ll make everyone come to us next year. 🙂
We don’t play all that many games these days, alas. We used to play a whole lot more when my grandmother was alive.
As for travelling between FIVE different Christmases – yikes! You will definitely have to be less mobile next year…