General Knowledge Quiz

[chrisjo]

'it takes a man in a tweed suit five and a half seconds to fall from the top of Big Ben to the ground'

Who said this on TV in 1972, and what apocryphal phrase attributed to which actor came about as a result.

 

[Gloster]

Michael Caine…not a lot of people know that.

 

[chrisjo]

Michael Caine…not a lot of people know that.

Two thirds right, but you haven't answered the first question

 

[DaleCooper]

Two thirds right, but you haven't answered the first question

James Burke

 

[chrisjo]

James Burke

nope

 

[OhNoAPacer]

I know the catchphrase arose from someone using it doing an impersonation of Michael Caine but can't remember who it was.

 

[DaleCooper]

Was it that bloke who who killed a man in a tweed suit by pushing him off a clock tower?

 

[Peterthegreat]

Peter Sellers?

 

[chrisjo]

Peter Sellers?

Peter Sellers started it on the Parkinson show in 1972. He said:

''This is my Michael Caine impression, Mike's always quoting from the Guinness Book of Records. At the drop of a hat he'll trot one out. 'Did you know that it takes a man in a tweed suit five and a half seconds to fall from the top of Big Ben to the ground? Now there's not many people know that!' ".

But the remark only really caught on when Caine was given the line to say as an in-joke in the film Educating Rita, released in 1983.

@Peterthegreat it's yours.

 

[Peterthegreat]

Thank you.
In 1985 a tv programme was jointly produced by French, Swiss, British, Italian and Luxembourg tv stations.
It aired twice a week in the UK once in French and later dubbed into English.
What was it called?

 

[Gloster]

Châteauvallon? (Dallas-sur-Loire.) And the English dubbing was awful.

 

[Peterthegreat]

Châteauvallon? (Dallas-sur-Loire.) And the English dubbing was awful.

Bien sûr.
And you're also right with your statement.
Unfortunately I can only ask you to set one question.

 

[Gloster]

Where is Cumberland Gap?

 

[chrisjo]

Where is Cumberland Gap?

The second verse of the song Cumberland Gap, recorded by Lonnie Donegan and many others, is serious disinformation!

Cumberland gap ain't nowhere
Fifteen miles from middlesborough
Cumberland gap ain't nowhere
Fifteen miles from middlesborough

 

[Gloster]

The second verse of the song Cumberland Gap, recorded by Lonnie Donegan and many others, is serious disinformation!

Cumberland gap ain't nowhere
Fifteen miles from middlesborough
Cumberland gap ain't nowhere
Fifteen miles from middlesborough

That will mislead you in two ways. Additionally, there are a number of versions of the song. It is the location of the real Cumberland Gap that I want.

 

[Peterthegreat]

Probably somewhere in the USA.

 

[Gloster]

Probably somewhere in the USA.

Well, I think that you ought to be a little more specific.

 

[Peterthegreat]

Well, I think that you ought to be a little more specific.

I would if I could!

 

[DaleCooper]

Pennsylvania comes to mind.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Done it a few times - Cumberland mountains and Appalachians. It is extremely close but not bang on to where the states of TN, VA and KY meet. National Park there too iirc.

 

[Gloster]

Done it a few times - Cumberland mountains and Appalachians. It is extremely close but not bang on to where the states of TN, VA and KY meet. National Park there too iirc.

Correct. It crosses from Virginia to Kentucky just north of where those two states meet Tennessee. The towns on either side are Harrogate and Middlesboro (sic).

Your turn to map out a question.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

About to board a flight. Can’t monitor effectively. Open floor please.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

What was the name of the 19th century cargo vessel on which both Barney McGee and Jimmy McGurk served upon?

 

[CarltonA]

The Irish Rover?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The Irish Rover?

Spot on...I must have sung that song with the folk group at all types of events in the 1960s/1970s more times than I can now remember.

Over now to you to set the next question.

 

[CarltonA]

Thanks.

Which TV series had the theme tune "Sleepy Shores"?

 

[DaleCooper]

Thanks.

Which TV series had the theme tune "Sleepy Shores"?

Was it a travel show called "Holiday" or similar with Judith Chalmers?

 

[CarltonA]

Was it a travel show called "Holiday" or similar with Judith Chalmers?

Not a travel show.

 

[Neo9320]

You sparked a memory so fine in my head I had to look it up. My parents loved that (short lived) show and dad bought the record. I’ll declare myself out but good going to anyone who gets it!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I am wondering if the tune referred to was the one that gave the impression of being a modernised version of a classical piece for piano.