Speaking of tongues

How many languages are recognized as being currently in use anywhere in the world today?

A) Fewer than 100
B) Between 100 and 999
C) Between 1,000 and 9,999
D) 10,000 or more

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Chinese Checkers

The well-known board game Chinese Checkers is a direct descendant of another game that was invented in Victorian times. What was it?

A) Draughts
B) Halma
C) Ludo
D) Mah Jongg

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Musical family

To which of the following better-known musical instruments are the bombard, the curtall, the heckelphone and the sarrusophone most nearly related?

A) The clarinet
B) The French horn
C) The oboe
D) The trumpet

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The specialist

In France and England, from medieval times to the early eighteenth century, the recommended treatment of one special ailment involved a visit not to a physician but to the reigning king or queen. What area of the body was involved in the condition that required the “royal touch”?

A) The elbows
B) The eyes
C) The feet
D) The neck

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Mrs. Agamemnon

After his wife Helen was abducted, Menelaus, king of Sparta, sailed with a vast army against Troy to recover his stolen bride. At his side was his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, whose own wife was Helen’s sister. What was her name?

A) Briseis
B) Cassandra
C) Clytaemnestra
D) Iphigenia

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The Scottish king

The second-last Gaelic king of Scotland was revered by his contemporaries as a wise and just ruler. His 17-year reign ended with his death in battle in 1057 AD, less than a decade before the Norman conquest of England. What was his name?

A) Duncan
B) Lulach
C) Macbeth
D) Malcolm

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Tohubohu

What is tohubohu?

A) A buttery substance derived from yoghurt
B) Chaos and confusion
C) George Orwell’s term for religious ritual
D) The annual council meeting in Polynesian villages

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Renaissance man

Girolamo Cardano, the great 16th-century mathematician, physician, astrologer and scholar who founded probability theory, led a colorful and controversial life that included time spent in prison for the crime of…

A) Casting the horoscope of Jesus Christ
B) Employing the square roots of negative numbers
C) Murdering his daughter-in-law
D) Practising medicine without a license

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Shakespeare’s last play

Which play of William Shakespeare’s is generally believed to be the last written entirely by him?

A) Hamlet
B) Henry VIII
C) The Tempest
D) The Winter’s Tale

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Hand-to-hand

The game of American handball is played by two, three or four players on a small court surrounded by walls, and involves striking a ball with the hand instead of a racquet. A similar game has been played in England for centuries. What is it?

A) Fives
B) Hurling
C) Palmetto
D) Schoolball

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