Quiz Jam
Question: On 10th Dec 1868, where were the first traffic lights were installed in the UK?
A: The Bishops Gate in the City of London
B: The Marble Arch
C: The Houses of Parliament
Answer: The House of Parliament: Installed by the railway engineer J. P. Knight, they resembled railway signals of the time, with semaphore arms and red and green gas lamps for night use. The gas lantern was turned with a lever at its base so that the appropriate light faced traffic. It exploded on 2 January 1869, injuring the policeman who was operating it.
Question: Which famous British band included Bishopsgate in one of their songs ?
A: The Beatles
B: The Rolling Stones
C: Coldplay
Answer: The Beatles: John Lennon references Bishopsgate in The Beatles song “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” from the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song announces a travelling circus appearing at Bishopsgate. Lennon sings: “The celebrated Mr. K performs his feat on Saturday at Bishopsgate/The Hendersons will dance and sing as Mr. Kite flies through the ring, Don’t be late!” While the inspiration for the song was a playbill advertising Pablo Fanque’s Circus Royal’s February 1843 performance in Rochdale (part of Greater Manchester), Lennon changed the site to Bishopsgate in order to rhyme the lyric with “Don’t be late!”. Paul McCartney also performed a song called Bishopsgate at a one-off gig in 1970. Bishopsgate is also mentioned by British band Bloc Party in the song “Ion Square” from their 2008 album Intimacy, where the speaker chronicles the beginnings of a relationship using several London locations.
Question: When this truck was first registered, if all the track of the London Underground were laid end to end, how far would it reach?
A: 135 miles
B: 249 miles
C: 353 miles
Answer:249 miles: Correct at October 2012 249 miles/402km is the total length of the London Underground network, just 45% of which is in tunnels. The number of miles/km travelled by each Tube train each year is a staggering 114,500 miles/184,269km, at an average speed of 33km per hour/20.5mph.
Question: When this truck was first registered, how many Michelin star restaurants does London have?
A: 11
B: 55
C: 91
Answer: 55: Correct at October 2012 there are 55 Michelin star restaurants in London, including 7 two star, and 2 three star establishments.
Question: Which market street in London boasted the first electric street light?
A: Electric Avenue, Brixton
B: Ray St, EC1
C: LEB’s Head Office, New Broad Street, EC2
Answer: Electric Avenue, Brixton: Best known from the Eddy Grant hit, Electric Avenue was so named in the 1880′s as the first shopping street to be lit by electricity.
Question: Where is the only road in Britain on which you drive on the right?
A: Savoy Court
B: Bishopsgate
C: The M1 Motorway
Answer: Savoy Court: For more than 100 years now vehicles, be they horse drawn or mechanical, have entered and left ‘Savoy Court’ on the right-hand side of the road. This is due primarily to the construction of the ‘court’. When approaching and leaving the hotel it is easier to do so while driving on the right-hand side of the road. Savoy Court is privately owned property. It is not a public thoroughfare as it leads only to the hotel itself. Therefore driving on the right-hand side of the road does not contravene British traffic regulations.
Finally, it may be of interest to note that when being chauffeured in a horse-drawn carriage the lady or dignitary would traditionally sit behind the driver. By approaching the hotel on the right-hand side of the road, either the chauffeur or the hotel’s doorman was able to open the door without walking around the car. This would allow the lady to alight from the carriage and walk straight into the hotel. Rory Macfarlane, Press Office, Savoy Hotel, London WC2.
Question: What is the “Bishopsgate Tower” better known as?
A: The Gherkin
B: The Pinnacle
C: The Shard
Answer: The Pinnacle, also known as The Bishopsgate Tower and The Helter-Skelter, is a 288 m (945 ft), 63-storey partly constructed skyscraper in the centre of London’s main financial district, the City of London. It is one of several major towers planned for London, others being Shard London Bridge, Heron Tower, 122 Leadenhall Street and the 20 Fenchurch Street redevelopment. On completion, it will become the tallest building in the City of London and the second tallest building in both the United Kingdom and the European Union, after the 310 m (1,020 ft) Shard London Bridge, which is due for completion in May 2012.
Question: The first modern coin-operated vending machines introduced in London in the early 1880s, sold what?
A: Post Cards
B: Newspapers
C: Snuff
Answer: During the early 1880s, the first commercial coin-operated vending machines were introduced in London, England and dispensed post cards. English publisher and bookshop owner, Richard Carlisle invented a vending machine for selling books, around the same time.
Question: Which was the first European country to issue banknotes?
A: Sweden
B: Germany
C: England
Answer: The first proper European banknotes were issued by Stockholms Banco, a predecessor of the Bank of Sweden, in 1660, although the bank ran out of coins to redeem its notes in 1664 and ceased operating in that year.
Question: What is the one place in all of Great Britain that the Queen cannot visit?
A: House of Commons
B: House of Lords
C: 10 Downing Street
Answer: The reason the Queen is not allowed into the House of Commons Chamber dates back to the time of King Charles I during the power struggle between the King and Parliament, which ended with Civil War and the King’s execution. In January 1642 King Charles I and his armed men came to the House of Commons to arrest five of its Members for treason, but the wanted men had already fled. The Speaker, William Lenthall, politely gave up his chair for the King who demanded to know where they were. Kneeling at the King’s feet the Speaker replied with words that have become famous in parliamentary history. ‘May it please Your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here, and I humbly beg Your Majesty’s pardon that I cannot give any other answer than this to what Your Majesty is pleased to demand of me.’ This reply left no doubt as to where the Speaker’s first duty lay. The king had no choice but to leave and the role of the Speaker as the representative, or spokesperson, of the House of Commons was firmly established. Since that day no monarch has entered the House of Commons Chamber, which is why the State Opening of Parliament takes place in the House of Lords.
Question: What is the correct way to address a bishop?
A: Sir
B: Your Grace
C: My Lord
Answer: ‘Lord Bishop’ is a traditional form of address used for bishops since the Middle Ages, an era when bishops occupied the feudal rank of ‘lord’ by virtue of their office. Today it is sometimes still used in formal circumstances for any diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion or Roman Catholic Church (except in countries, such as the United States, where this title is deemed inappropriate); it is not restricted to the 26 Church of England bishops who sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual. Bishops in the House of Lords are addressed as The Right Reverend Prelate the Lord Bishop of …
Question: What was the name of the first computer to defeat a World Chess Champion in a tournament?
A: Deep Blue
B: Deep Thought
C: Deep Space
Answer: Deep Blue was a chess-playing computer developed by IBM. On May 11, 1997, the machine won a six-game match by two wins to one with three draws against world champion Garry Kasparov.[1] Kasparov accused IBM of cheating and demanded a rematch, but IBM refused and dismantled Deep Blue.[2] Kasparov had beaten a previous version of Deep Blue in 1996
Question: Who’s statue stands in front of the Warrington Guardian Newspaper offices in Warrington?
A: Oliver Cromwell’s
B: Winston Churchill’s
C: Franklin Roosevelt’s
Answer: The statue of Oliver Cromwell was a gift from the prominent civic figure and non-conformist, Frederick Monks. He offered the statue to the Mayor of Warrington at the beginning of the tercentenary year, a gift which was accepted in July 1899.
Question: Which band took their name from a leisure centre in Swindon?
A: Nirvana
B: Oasis
C: Reef
Answer: Originally known as The Rain, Liam Gallagher (Vocals) suggested that the band name be changed to Oasis. This change was inspired by an Inspiral Carpets tour poster that hung in the Gallagher brothers’ bedroom. One of the venues the poster listed was the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon.
Question: The world’s first hospital X-ray unit was installed in which Glasgow hospital in 1896?
A: Glasgow Western Infirmary
B: Glasgow Royal Infirmary
C: Southern General Infirmary
Answer: X-rays were discovered by Willem Rontgen in 1895. By 1896 Dr James Thomas Bottomley (1845-1926), Lord Blythswood (1835-1908) and Dr John Macintyre (1857-1928) of Glasgow Royal Infirmary were collaborating to develop radiographic apparatus for medical use. The world’s first hospital X-ray unit opened in the Royal’s electrical department under Macintyre’s direction that year and Macintyre (with additional assistance from Lord Kelvin) made great strides in improving practical techniques of radiography and produced the first X-ray cinematograph.
Question: Where was the world’s first public ATM installed in the UK?
A: Enfield
B: Heathrow Airport
C: Park Royal
Answer: In simultaneous and independent efforts, engineers in Sweden and Britain developed their own cash machines during the early 1960s. The first of these that was put into use was by Barclays Bank in Enfield Town in North London, United Kingdom,[7] on 27 June 1967. This machine was the first in the UK and was first used by English comedy actor Reg Varney, at the time so as to ensure maximum publicity for the machines that were to become mainstream in the UK.
