General Knowledge Quiz

[D6130]

The Fortingall Yew tree, in the village churchyard -- one of the oldest trees in Britain: estimates of its age vary from 1,500 to 9,000 years -- it thus very likely dates back at least to New Testament times.

....and probably before the birth of P. Pilate Esq.

Absolutely correct.....although the other - less likely - answer that I would have accepted is that it's alleged to be the nearest settlement to the geographical centre of Scotland.

Your turn to swing the axe!

 

[Calthrop]

....and probably before the birth of P. Pilate Esq.

Absolutely correct.....although the other - less likely - answer that I would have accepted is that it's alleged to be the nearest settlement to the geographical centre of Scotland.

Your turn to swing the axe!

Thank you.

Which Norfolk coastal settlement is renowned in "birders' " lore, as the unofficial birdwatching capital of England? -- this largely stemming from doings half a century and more ago, when the disseminating of "hot" information was much less sophisticated and easy than it is nowadays.

Just re "geographical centre" matters -- while without a scientific understanding of this stuff, I have a "gut" scepticism about all such doings; suspect that the worthies of the places re which such claims are made, confect the stuff in order to "boost" their settlement. For instance, the business about Haltwhistle being the geog. ctr. of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland -- hmmm...

 

[Gloster]

Happisburgh?

 

[Calthrop]

Sorry -- not Happisburgh ("Hazebruh" -- as we know, they pronounce funny in Norfolk).

 

[OhNoAPacer]

Cley.

Twitches would phone to report rare bird sightings or to see if any sightings had been reported.

 

[DaleCooper]

Thank you.

Which Norfolk coastal settlement is renowned in "birders' " lore, as the unofficial birdwatching capital of England? -- this largely stemming from doings half a century and more ago, when the disseminating of "hot" information was much less sophisticated and easy than it is nowadays.

Just re "geographical centre" matters -- while without a scientific understanding of this stuff, I have a "gut" scepticism about all such doings; suspect that the worthies of the places re which such claims are made, confect the stuff in order to "boost" their settlement. For instance, the business about Haltwhistle being the geog. ctr. of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland -- hmmm...

Holme-next-the-Sea

 

[Calthrop]

Cley.

Twitches would phone to report rare bird sightings or to see if any sightings had been reported.

Indeed -- Cley next the Sea (roughly equidistant between Wells-nest-the-Sea and Sheringham). The "intelligence centre" and phone hot line were located in Nancy's Cafe in Cley. (Superb book -- Birders: Tales of a Tribe, by Mark Cocker -- tells of that scene, among many other things.)

@OhNoAPacer -- for you to tantalise us with the next avian marvel.

Holme-next-the-Sea

As it happens, you and @Gloster, with your alas incorrect responses: geographically bracketed the correct one !

 

[OhNoAPacer]

Beginning in 1902 the longest existing sporting relationship is between The Wimbledon Tennis Championship and which company?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Slazenger?

 

[OhNoAPacer]

Slazenger?

Is the correct answer.

Your may serve the next question.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

What's the third longest river in Great Britain?

 

[Calthrop]

Wild guess -- the Spey?

 

[DaleCooper]

Thames

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Wild guess -- the Spey?

No, not the Spey. Most sources have that as the ninth-longest.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Thames

No, not the Thames. That's said to be the second longest.

 

[Gloster]

Trent?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Trent?

That's the one. ~185 miles from Biddulph Moor to the Humber Estuary. Your turn to go with the flow and pose the next question.

 

[Gloster]

The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers are the two longest rivers in the United States (and only differ in length by a mile). What is the longest river entirely within the USA?

 

[D6130]

Colorado?

 

[Gloster]

Colorado?

No: it ends up running through Mexico.

 

[Calthrop]

Arkansas?

 

[Gloster]

Arkansas?

Indeed it is the Arkansas River: 1,443 mile long.

Back to you.

 

[Calthrop]

River was a pure guess ! Feel I've been hogging things a bit lately -- open floor, please

 

[DaleCooper]

River was a pure guess ! Feel I've been hogging things a bit lately -- open floor, please

Next question:

What is a polynya?

 

[D6130]

A dyslexic parrot?

 

[xotGD]

A type of volcanic eruption?

 

[DaleCooper]

A dyslexic parrot?

There must be a word for that but this isn't it.

A type of volcanic eruption?

No, it's something very different.

 

[Gloster]

A gap in the Arctic ice?

 

[DaleCooper]

A gap in the Arctic ice?

That's right, a Russian word apparently. Your turn...

 

[Gloster]

That's right, a Russian word apparently. Your turn...

It is all those submarine/spy thrillers that I read.

The Pale was the name for the area in Ireland that was under English control in the late Middle Ages, but there was a second, slightly later area called the Pale (sometimes Pale of…) elsewhere in which the English writ ran. Where?