Wikiquiz: General Knowledge Quiz #1

 As I mentioned previously on this blog, I have taken to writing various quizzes for Wikiquiz.org (https://wikiquiz.org/quizzes.php). For posterity's sake, I plan to begin posting questions and answers from my various quizzes on this blog after the quiz has completed. Here is the first general knowledge quiz I wrote for the site.

1. The name of which geologic period, which directly precedes the Cretaceous, comes from a sub-alpine range which straddles the French-Swiss border?

ANSWER: JURASSIC

2. The horns of a rhinoceros are made primarily of which protein, which also composes human hair and fingernails?

ANSWER: KERATIN

3. Which NL East team won the 2021 MLB World Series, marking their first world series win since 1995?

ANSWER: Atlanta Braves

4. In Greek myth, Oedipus kills which mythological creature after answering a riddle about the ages of man?

ANSWER: The Sphinx

5. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, popularly known as AMLO, is the current President of what nation?

ANSWER: MEXICO

6. Which credit card company, America’s largest in terms of cards in circulation, was founded by Bank of America as a competitor to MasterCard?

ANSWER: VISA

7. Theodor Geisel is the birth name of which pseudonymous children’s author and illustrator?

ANSWER: DR. SEUSS

8. Which pollen-producing part of a flower consists of an anther and filament?

ANSWER: STAMEN

9. “Stay” is a 2021 hit single for Justin Bieber and which 18-year old Australian singer?

ANSWER: THE KID LAROI

10. Which actor is known portrayed Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons? This actor may be best remembered for portraying Captain Quint in Jaws.

ANSWER: Robert SHAW

11. HARD Which Arabic term, which may be represented by a single finger, represents the Islamic conception of the oneness monotheistic nature of Allah?

ANSWER: TAWHID

12. What name is shared by the founder of the fast food chain Wendy’s and a cast member of SCTV?

ANSWER: Dave THOMAS

13. Victorinox is a company headquartered in which country? The demonym of this country appears in the name of Victorinox’s most popular product.

ANSWER: Switzerland

14. In which board game, which dates back to 5,000 BCE, do players roll dice in a race to “bear off” 15 checkers from a distinctly patterned board?

ANSWER: BACKGAMMON

15. Which HBO war drama miniseries takes its name from a line in the St Crispin’s Day speech from Henry V?

ANSWER: BAND OF BROTHERS

16. Electrons, muons, tauons, and neutrinos are examples of which elementary particle, a non-colored fermion?

ANSWER: LEPTON

17. “You Sexy Thing” and “Every 1’s a Winner” are hits for which British soul band?

ANSWER: HOT CHOCOLATE

18. In 2021, a military coup led by Mamady Doumbouya overthrew Alpha Conde, the then-president of which country?

ANSWER: GUINEA

19. Which 1975 Indian film, which revolves around two criminals who are recruited by law enforcement in order to apprehend a dangerous bandit, became the top grossing Indian film ever upon release, and is considered among the best Indian films of all time?

ANSWER: SHOLAY

20. Which Polish-Lithuanian military leader and namesake of a 1794 uprising is today best known for being the namesake of a natural formation over 8,000 miles from his place of birth?

ANSWER: Tadeusz Koscuiszko

21. Gorillas in the Mist is an account of the study of gorilla groups conducted by which primatologist, murdered in Rwanda in 1985?
ANSWER: Dian FOSSEY

22. Following her appearance on Squid Game, Jung Ho-Yeon was announced as a Global House Ambassador for Fashion, Watches and Jewelry for which luxury fashion house?

ANSWER: LOUIS VUITTON

23. Bronze is an alloy primarily consisting of copper and what other metal with an atomic number of 50?

ANSWER: TIN

24. What name is shared by the protagonist of Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, and the title of a Booker Prize winning 2018 novel by Anna Burns?
ANSWER: MILKMAN

25. Which Croatian midfielder was awarded the Golden Ball during the 2018 FIFA World Cup?

ANSWER: Luka MODRIC

26. EASY The name of which US state comes from the Feast of Flowers, a traditional Spanish celebration of Easter?
ANSWER: FLORIDA
27.  EASY Which NFL team is named for a work by Edgar Allan Poe?

ANSWER: BALTIMORE RAVENS

28. Shirley Manson is best known as the front woman of which grunge band, which performed the theme song to “The World Is Not Enough?”

ANSWER: GARBAGE

29. In the Yoruba tradition (and in several other African diaspora religions), what is the term for the spirits sent by the supreme creator to help and teach humans? These entities are roughly analogous to loa within the Haitian Voudou tradition.

ANSWER: ORISHA

30. Which swimmer, competing for East Germany in 1988, became the first (and to date, the only) woman to win six gold medals in a single Olympic Games?
ANSWER: Kristin OTTO

31. Which 1994 novel by Abdulrazak Gurnah follows a young boy named Yusuf as he travels around East Africa at the beginning of the 20th century?

ANSWER: PARADISE

32. EASY Which condition, colloquially known as ringing in the ears, takes its name from the Latin for “to ring?”

ANSWER: TINNITUS

33. Which Portuguese diplomat, a chief minister to King Joseph I, who led a campaign of modernization and liberalization of Portuguese government in society, also led Portugal’s recovery following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake?

ANSWER: Marquis of POMBAL

34. Of the five volcanos which form the Big Island of Hawai’i, two are considered active: Mauna Loa, and which other? As of this writing, is currently erupting, and has been since late September 2021.

ANSWER: KILAUEA

35. HARD Which American composer, sometimes associated with the Harlem Renaissance movement, is known for his 1930 “Afro-American Symphony?”

ANSWER: William Grant STILL

36. In which Central Asian sport do players attempt to place the carcass of a goat in a goal while mounted on horseback?

ANSWER: BUZKASHI

37. Which Roman historian wrote Germania, as well as an account of the conquest of Britain by his father-in-law, Agricola?
ANSWER: TACITUS

38. Which Nigerian highlife musician is known for his song “Sweet Mother,” the best selling single ever for an African musician?

ANSWER: Prince Nico MBARGA

39. Which founder of the streetwear fashion company FUBU has appeared as an investor on Shark Tank?

ANSWER: Daymond JOHN

40.  HARD The mouth of Russia’s Lena River opens into which sea, which lies East of the Kara sea and is named for a pair of Russian explorers?

ANSWER: LAPTEV sea

41. Which technique of dying hair, in which dye is hand-painted onto the hair, comes from a French word meaning “to sweep?”
ANSWER: BALAYAGE

42. Which real estate company, specializing in providing office space for tech startups, saw the resignation of co-founder Adam Neumann following a disastrous attempt at an IPO in 2019?

ANSWER: WeWork

43. What is the term in Japanese history for the era coinciding with the reign of Emperor Hirohito? The name for this period is also the posthumous name of Hirohito.

ANSWER: SHOWA

44. Which French Naturalist artist painted The Song of the Lark in 1884?

ANSWER: Jules BRETON

45. Which model organism, an annual flowering plant, is commonly known as thale cress? Please provide either the genius or species name.

ANSWER: ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA

46. Which comedy-mystery Hulu series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, focuses on three strangers who come together to solve a killing which occurred in their Manhattan apartment building.

ANSWER: ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

47. Which symbol, which contains representations of fire, sun, yin, and yang, is the national symbol of Mongolia, appearing on the right hand side of that country’s flag?

ANSWER: SOYOMBO

48. The Nobel Prize in Economics was established in 1968 at the request of which bank, the central bank in Sweden?

ANSWER: SVERIGES RIKSBANK

49. EASY Which helix-shaped macaroni takes its name from the Italian for corkscrew?

ANSWER: CAVATAPPI

50. Which Scottish sailor, marooned from 1704-1709, served as the primary inspiration for the character of Robinson Crusoe?

ANSWER: Alexander SELKIRK