Google-proof quiz

[snudge27]

I was just reading this article on the BBC website about coming up with pub quizzes that can't be won by an idiot with an iPhone, and thought I'd give the idea a try. So here are 10 questions that I think are fairly Google-proof.

Deadline: Sunday 19th June at 1900hrs

1. What links Mrs. Trellis of North Wales, Odcombe Bob, 60163 Tornado and Percy's Tea Strainer?

2. What is this well-known song?

3. What is this famous film quote, that has been put through many different translations? We have "new " Knight said.

4. If you watch this TV series backwards, it's about a group of islanders who get abducted by an aeroplane.

5. Using the numbers 2, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 25, and only addition, subtraction, division and multiplication, make the number 578.

6. What does this set of statistics represent?

1997 - 1st
1998 - 2nd
1999 - 12th
2000 - 16th
2001 - 15th
2002 - 3rd
2003 - 26th
2004 - 16th
2005 - 22nd
2006 - 19th


7. The title sequence of which TV show involves two gentlemen meeting each other in the street and watching television?

8. What do potato crisps, 2 x (4+8) / 6 (/ meaning 'divided by'), and a former Spanish far-right faction have in common?

9. As well as being an electronics brand, how else would you encounter 'Casio' in industry?

10. What links Stephen Fry, Sir Harold Wilson and Sir Patrick Moore?

[snudge27]

Okay, I've changed question six to make it a bit better (and easier). As well as this, I think it's only fair that I give you categories for each question to make it a little easier for you:

1) Hobbies and Pasttimes
2) Music
3) Films
4) TV
5) Maths
6) Entertainment
7) TV
8.) Sports
9) Science and Technology
10) Awards

[Starkey7]

Surely Music, Films, TV and TV come under Entertainment?

I'm always amused that quizzes contain a disproportionate amount of Entertainment questions/rounds, even though this is just one part of knowledge.

[tubeguru]

Answers submitted - all ten! Let's now see how we all do ...

[snudge27]

Brief reminder, you have until 1900hrs tonight to submit answers.

[snudge27]

Right, that's 1900hrs been and gone, so here are the answers...

1. What links Mrs. Trellis of North Wales, Odcombe Bob, 60163 Tornado and Percy's Tea Strainer?

They are all titles of bell-ringing methods. The full titles are:

Mrs. Trellis of North Wales Treble Dodging Surprise Major

Odcombe Bob Plain Bob Major

60163 Tornado Bob Plain Bob Minor

Percy's Tea Strainer Treble Place Major

2. What is this well-known song?

Bohemian Rhapsody - namely the 'famous' piano part at the beginning of the verses.

3. What is this famous film quote, that has been put through many different translations? We have "new " Knight said.

"We are the knights who say "Ni"" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

4. If you watch this TV series backwards, it's about a group of islanders who get abducted by an aeroplane.

Lost

5. Using the numbers 2, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 25, and only addition, subtraction, division and multiplication, make the number 578.

Numerous answers, so I won't bother listing them all!

6. What does this set of statistics represent?

1997 - 1st
1998 - 2nd
1999 - 12th
2000 - 16th
2001 - 15th
2002 - 3rd
2003 - 26th
2004 - 16th
2005 - 22nd
2006 - 19th

The final placing of the UK entry into the Eurovision Song Contest for each year.

7. The title sequence of which TV show involves two gentlemen meeting each other in the street and watching television?

Peep Show

8. What do potato crisps, 2 x (4+8) / 6 (/ meaning 'divided by'), and a former Spanish far-right faction have in common?

Golf (Chips, four and Bunker)

9. As well as being an electronics brand, how else would you encounter 'Casio' in industry?

Ca2SiO4 (Calcium Silicate) - A byproduct of a blast furnace reaction, commonly known as slag.

10. What links Stephen Fry, Sir Harold Wilson and Sir Patrick Moore?

They have all won the prestigious "Pipe Smoker of the Year Award", awarded by the British Pipesmokers' Council.


Results to follow.

[snudge27]

The results are:

greatkingrat - 5/10 (five attempted - questions 2, 4, 5, 6 & 7)

Edgemaster - 2/10 (two attempted - 1 & 4)

StonePony - 6/10 (nine attempted - 1-8 & 10)

tubeguru - 10/10

Al - 3/10 (three attempted - 4, 5 & 6)

jbom - 2/10 (two attempted - 5 & 6)

Which makes tubeguru the winner!

[tubeguru]

Google-proof my arse ...

Although Peep Show was something of a weird find - I had mentioned to my wife about the credits to the show, and she didn't know the answer either. Later that day she decided to start watching Peep Show through Love Film, by complete coincidence. As we watched the opening credits, she suddenly shouted "TWO MEN MEET IN THE STREET AND WATCH TV!!!!"

What are the chances?

[tubeguru]

Having said that, I only used Google for four of the answers - the others I either knew or worked out. Can we have another one of these?

[snudge27]

Having said that, I only used Google for four of the answers - the others I either knew or worked out. Can we have another one of these?

Which ones did you Google?

[tubeguru]

Bell-ringing (although I knew that Bob was a phrase used in bell-ringing terminology), the golf question, Casio (although I saw Ca and Si and immediately suspected a chemical compound), and the pipe-smokers.

Having said that, I used Wikipedia more than Google. I would argue that no quiz is truly 100% Google-proof. It's all about HOW you search, and what you search for.

[snudge27]

I'll be more than happy to do a second one if there's interest.

I wouldn't mind getting some feedback: which questions worked? Which were far too hard?

If I get a few ideas it'll make it much much easier to come up with 10 cromulent questions.

[Root]

I didn't enter, but I just tried Googling a few things and the answers came up straight away. For example, Googling "Stephen Fry, Sir Harold Wilson and Sir Patrick Moore" brings up the pipe-smoking answer, "Percy's Tea Strainer" brings up bell-ringing, "Spanish far-right faction" brings up Bunker, and so on. The Wikipedia page for Casio suggests the Calcium Silicate page as an alternative.

The only question that I think would not be easily searchable is the pictorial sheet music one.

[tubeguru]

I used a music program I've had for years for the music one - I simply entered the first bar and played it. It came out at double speed, but I knew immediately what it was.