THE 1980’s QUIZ BOOK
By John Barber
Copyright 2011 John Barber
Smashwords Edition
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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The 1980’s Quiz Book
This quiz book is split into 20 different categories. All of the questions relate to news stories from the 1980’s – few if any made the national headlines. Some categories have more questions than others; but all have multi-answer selections. The answers appear at the end of the book in their own section.
All of these questions are from real life news stories. I have cheated a few times by placing a question that arises from a story but is not really of the 1980’s Apologies. Some questions have been placed in a different category so as not to make the answer too easy. Wherever possible the core of the news story is included with the answer so that a quiz master can explain the scoring.
This is not just a standard quiz book but a reference and library facility for quiz masters looking for new and unique questions, and people who find the bizarre fascinating. You may get the answer wrong but you may also raise a smile.
Table of Contents: number of questions in brackets
Animals (16)
Arts (28)
Business (33)
Crime (20)
Death (13)
Employment (16)
Entertainment (17)
Food & Drink (19)
Health & Beauty (7)
History (8)
Homes & Gardens (5)
Language (6)
Legal (24)
Miscellaneous (27)
People (11)
Politics (9)
Records (15)
Sport (23)
Travel (21)
Answers to all questions are linked at the end of each section
ANIMALS
1. How did Rollo the Pyrenean Mountain Dog make the news in Port Isaac Cornwall
A) He chewed off 14 car wing mirrors
B) He had a specially designed seat in which he carried his owner’s son
C) He walked 500 miles back home after accidentally getting locked in the removal van
2. How many eggs can a female Colorado beetle lay at a time
A) 10
B) 100
C) 800
3. What is a Mokele-Mbembe
A) A South African spider
B) A Kenyan breed of small dog
C) An African dinosaur
4. What did a man get a prison sentence for having sex with in Greece
A) Pelican
B) Cow
C) His neighbours pedigree spaniel
5. What did Major Adrian Coles found
A) Wild animal hunting grounds in Hampshire
B) The British Hedgehog Preservation Society
C) Save the Otter Project (STOP)
6. Why did Venice import jackdaws
A) To feed on pigeon eggs
B) To eat left over food in the city square
C) Considered a lucky omen
7. How much methane is released into the atmosphere every year by animals
A) 100 million tonnes
B) 45 million tonnes
C) 24 million tonnes
8. What are Siphonapterists
A) Flying dinosaurs
B) Bog and stagnant water habituating flies
C) Suppliers of fleas
9. What did Carnation produce in 1984
A) Cat milk
B) Animal shaped biscuits
C) Birth control dog food
10. How long was Michel the earthworm
A) Four foot
B) Five foot
C) Six foot
11. What did the British Equestrian Team take with them to the Seoul Olympics
A) Grass making machine
B) Snow making machine
C) Water purfiers
12. What held up an eight lane highway in Tokyo
A) A Papier-mache Godzilla
B) Ducks
C) A heavily pregnant elephant
13. What returned to Mountfitchet Castle, Essex
A) Deer
B) Kestrels
C) Eels
14. Why did Ernie Perkins invest in 3000 pigs
A) To annoy the villagers who complained about smells
B) An Enterprise Allowance Grant to educate schoolchildren about farming
C) He was paid by a supermarket chain to dispose of out of date food
15. What was the organisation TAR
A) Taunton Against Rats
B) Tarantulas And Reptiles
C) Teachers for Animal Rights
16. Why were ferrets rescued by the RSPCA
A) They used by the unemployed to catch rabbits
B) Illegal ferret racing clubs
C) Putting a ferret down your trousers was popularised by a TV show
ARTS
1. What famous fictional character is associated with Whitby, North Yorkshire
A) Count Dracula
B) Peter Pan
C) Biggles
2. What did Dublin Council pay £20,000 for
A) A bust of James Joyce
B) A blank canvas
C) A fake painting
3. What comic featured Billy Bunter
A) Magnet
B) Topper
C) Boys Own Paper
4. What was Carl André’s Tate Gallery exhibit made from
A) Cardboard
B) Rotten fish
C) Bricks
5. What was Grieg’s advice on his Concerto in C Minor
A) It must never be performed in public
B) It was only to be played at his funeral
C) It always had to be the first piece played at any recital
6. Why did Eva Garner refuse to play the Carillon any more
A) It was making her feet swell
B) It needed cleaning
C) She wanted to play happy music
7. How long did the Irish Government’s film on the history of Ireland run for
A) 55 minutes
B) 6 hours
C) 24 hours
8. How did Trevor James advertise his newly formed Hyde Orchestra in Manchester
A) The World’s Worst Orchestra
B) It was a naturist group and performers wore no clothes
C) They hired an open top bus to perform along Manchester’s streets
9. Why was 15 minutes cut from a BBC World Service broadcast of Karl-Heinz Stockhausen’s ‘Hymnen’
A) To allow time for the Shipping Forecast
B) It sounded like a radio being re-tuned and would make people confused
C) The tape was too short for the whole piece
10. How did sound engineers muffle microphones
A) Condoms
B) Bicycle inner tubes
C) Wine glasses
11. How long was the performance of Erik Satie’s Vexations at Presteigne
A) 3 hours
B) 12 hours
C) 17 hours
12. Why was famous French actor Jean Louis Barrault booed off the Barbican stage
A) His jokes insulted the English audience
B) No one in the audience could speak French
C) The audience was expecting Marcel Marceau the mime artist who had to cancel
13. What was David Mach’s Polaris sculpture on London’s South Bank made from
A) Used tyres
B) Spare parts from submarines
C) Disposable nappies
14. Why was a statue removed from the Welsh town of Brecknock
A) It was created by an Englishman
B) It was a nude male
C) It was a sculpture of the wrong Dai Llewllyn
15. What book was found in the medical section of W H Smith
A) Bury my heart at Wounded Knee
B) The story of Emergency Ward Ten
C) Biography of Dr Hook
16. Which inspiration for a Beatles song retired
A) Eleanor Rigby
B) The Stationmaster at Ryde
C) Meta Davis
17 What ruined the travelling art show from the Merseyside Artists
A) The vans drove to the wrong town
B) The work was hung upside down
C) Visitors thought the transport was the show
18 Why did Robert Lenkiewicz’s mural upset local people in Plymouth
A) He painted them nude
B) He portrayed them as angels and devils
C) It was painted on the side wall of a funeral parlour
19. What was Lillian Schwarz’s theory on the identity of the Mona Lisa
A) It was Leonardo’s mother
B) it was a portrait of Leonardo as a woman
C) It was Leonardo’s mistress
20 Why were the police called to Swansea’s Brangwen Hall
A) Neighbours thought the cast of Pirates of Penzance were real robbers
B) The fireworks and explosions were from a rehearsal for the 1812 Overture
C) Hundreds of drunks turned up when it was discovered that the heat for Miss Swansea was actually for Miss Nude Swansea
21. What was removed from a 1426 painting of Adam and Eve by Masaccio
A) The snake
B) God
C) Branches covering Adam and Eve’s private parts
22. What kind of orchestra was unique to York University
A) None of the players were music students at the University
B) The first complete Javanese Gamelan Orchestra
C) All of the instruments were medieval replicas
23. What was the mystery of the Mona Lisa discovered by Dr John Asmus of the University of California
A) Her smile was once wider
B) Her hands had been made smooth to make her look younger
C) Her necklace had been removed
24 Who were Peter Froude’s writing associates
A) An English historian, a Chinese pavement artist, A Swedish au pair and an Iranian prince in exile
B) An American cattle rancher, a University lecturer, a French translator and a Russian mining engineer
C) A Scottish taxi driver, a Welsh sheep farmer, An Irish plumber and an English charlady
25 Who celebrated his 50th anniversary in 1987
A) Dennis the Menace
B) Desperate Dan
C) Korky the Kat
26. What took 430,000 square feet of cloth
A) The costumes in Berlin Opera’s version of Das Ring
B) Coverings for the National Gallery’s summer show
C) Pont Neuf
27. What caused friction between Stoke and Litchfield
A) The venue for the North Western heats of the National Brass Band Championship
B) A statue of the Captain of the Titanic
C) Funding for a Poet in Residence
28 What did behavioural artist Georgio Spiller dress as for the 1982 Venice Art Festival that offended public decency
A) A male sex organ
B) Jesus Christ on the cross
C) Romeo and Juliet nude on the balcony
BUSINESS
1. What did the Sisters of Our Lady of Grace and Compassion sell to raise funds
A) Nuns habits
B) Dust
C) Prayer sheet templates with names left blank
2. What is exempt from road tax
A) Vehicles with a disabled sticker
B) Home Office delivery vans
C) Lorry loads of manure
3. The Japanese ran a 500cc car and two motorcycles on what
A) Oil extracted from the peel of 11,000 tangerines
B) Methane gas from the manure of 100 pigs
C) Refined car battery acid
4. What was reported to be the fastest growing retail sector in Great Britain in 1981
A) Take Away shops
B) Computer shops
C) Sex shops
5. What does red and gold signify in China
A) Health and wisdom
B) Wealth and vigour
C) Power and influence
6. What was mixed with salt on Midlands motorways as a better de-icer
A) Confiscated wine
B) Animal urine
C) Untreated sewerage
7. Why was Proctor & Gamble accused of devil worship
A) Their product range reached 666
B) They sponsored a re-make of The Omen
C) Their logo was a circle of 13 stars and the man in the moon
8. What do men prefer at 0.43 mm high and women 0.404 mm
A) Toilet seats
B) Hipsters
C) Car radios
9. How did employees at Airspace, Ebbw Vale start their day
A) A singalong
B) A bouncy castle
C) A quick jog around the outside of the factory
10. What extra treat did 500 Bassett shareholders receive
A) A tour of Pontefract’s liquorice fields
B) The winner of a lucky draw was to have a new liquorice sweet named after them
C) A years supply of liquorice pipes
11. Why didn’t Tide washing powder sell in Denmark
A) All other powders were white; Tide was light blue
B) Tide translates as ‘menstrual flow’
C) The TV advertising campaign was rumoured to feature a trans-sexual
12. Why did Gloucester’s sex shop close at lunch times
A) The owner/manager had to work in her sandwich bar below
B) To protect pupils at the local all-girls school from corruption
C) It was only licensed to trade for six hours a day
13. What did Edward Lambert sell to tourists from his Dublin joke shop
A) His unpaid parking tickets
B) A map of Dublin with streets but no names or index
C) His own shop produced pound notes
14. What could the citizens of Jacksonville, Florida get for 35 cents
A) A call to Dial-an-Insult
B) A state flag
C) A driving license
15. How many distinctive plastic bags did Harrods produce in one year
A) 4.5 million
B) 6.75 million
C) 7.25 million
16. What did Terry Mullarkey convert 5 red telephone boxes into
A) Coffins
B) Shower cubicles
C) Village post boxes
17. What did Californian Lore Harp invent for the benefit of women
A) The padded bra
B) Smear free make up
C) A device to allow them to pee standing up
18. What was special about the armchair invented by Rangebank of Yorkshire
A) All the parts moved
B) It was fitted with a small motor for easy moving
C) It had self sprinkling system in case of fire
19. What did the Blow Home Company of Amsterdam offer
A) Personalised party balloons
B) Home delivery of marijuana
C) Sailing barges on the canals
20. What did Proctor & Gamble introduce for mothers
A) Drop down bras for breast feeding
B) Boy and girl nappies
C) Cream for babies bottoms
21. What was special about the new model from the Bell Telephone Company
A) It glowed when it rang
B) It could play a hundred national anthems
C) It had three different ring tones for different purposes
22. What shrunk in 1988
A) Shirt tails
B) The five pound note
C) Traffic lights
23. What made the Official Receivers office smell
A) The body of a deceased person whose only identification was a compliments slip
B) Thousands of pots of yoghurt
C) It had been relocated over an old sewerage works
24. What did Morphy Richards put out to tender
A) Toast
B) Metal from manufacturing faults in electrical goods
C) Home ironing contracts to test new models
25. What piece of office equipment exploded
A) Fan
B) Copying machine
C) Chair
26. What was put in furniture at the Research Centre of the Shirley Institute to help detect fires
A) Miniature heat sensors
B) Smoke detectors
C) Chemicals
27. What was used to manufacture toilet rolls in Washington
A) Bibles
B) Confidential government files
C) Wood pulp from the Brazilian rain forest
28 What was used in Humberside’s flood defence system
A) Bricks and mortar from the reconstruction of Hull city centre
B) Tyres filled with concrete
C) A mix of compost, grass and cement to form a natural ecosystem
29 What could you hire for your Christmas Party in Essex
A) Essex girls singing carols badly
B) Skinheads to terrify the Managing Director
C) A display by teddy boys on Lambrettas
30. What did shoe maker Timpsons offer at a 20% discount
A) Shoe sizes under size 5
B) One shoe
C) Shoes for odd sized feet
31. What was blunted after two killings in Japan
A) Umbrellas
B) Mobile phone aerials
C) Chop sticks
32. Why did Patricia Osarak have to leave her job as a tea lady
A) Vending machines
B) The tea pot was too heavy
C) She was too slow and the tea got cold
33. How did Italian Railway ticket clerks work to rule
A) They only spoke Italian
B) They only accepted the exact fare
C) They sold tickets even though the last train had gone
CRIME
1. What was the getaway car used by two Glaswegian shoplifters
A) A stolen police panda car
B) A hijacked ambulance
C) A wheelchair
2. What caused two handcuffed prisoners to be recaptured
A) They ran either side of a lamp post still handcuffed together
B) Neither could use their free hand to unlock themselves
C) They couldn’t squeeze threw a narrow doorway and got stuck
3. How did Milan burglar Giovanni Montied delay his capture
A) He posed as a dummy in a shop window
B) He stole a police uniform and joined the chase
C) He ran into a church confessional
4, How did the New Orleans police drag a confession out of Ralph Yates
A) Threaten to put him in a cell with a serial male rapist
B) Placed a boa constrictor around his shoulders
C) Made him drink water and locked the toilet
5. How did Paul Bernier fail to rob a bank in Massachusetts
A) The cashier fainted and he fled
B) The bank had run out of money
C) He locked the keys inside his getaway car
6. How was convicted bank robber Klaus-Peter Zimmer finally cleared
A) An expert had wrongly identified his nose as that of another robber
B) The new notes started to appear in a local casino
C) He was placed in a cell with the real culprit who confessed to him
7. Where did Dan Slater hide two stolen pythons
A) Under his cowboy hat
B) Down his underpants