This weekend's Saturday quiz once again challenged readers with a eclectic mix of questions spanning history, geography, arts, and sports. For those who have been mulling over the clues, here is the full breakdown of the answers.
From Monarchs to Moon Phases: The Main Questions
The quiz opened by asking which Briton has the most statues erected in their honour. The correct answer is Queen Victoria, whose imperial legacy is physically commemorated in countless towns and cities across the UK and the former British Empire.
It then probed geographical knowledge, asking which parts of the world have no assigned time zones. The answer is the North and South Poles, where all longitude lines converge.
In the art world, the record-breaking portrait of Elisabeth Lederer by Gustav Klimt recently sold for a staggering $236 million. In Olympic sport, Germany's Isabell Werth is considered the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in the discipline of dressage.
Literature was represented by the Old English poem 'The Battle of Maldon', which commemorates the historic battle of AD 991. The oldest university in the Netherlands is Leiden University. The quiz also recalled the tragic death of American rock and roll pioneer Eddie Cochran, who died in a car accident in Bath in 1960.
Finally, for amateur astronomers, the phase that follows a full moon is the waning gibbous.
Deciphering the Connections
The 'What links' section required lateral thinking to find the common thread between seemingly disparate items.
The connection for Freud's unconscious drives (id), a Kipling poem (If–), a moon of Jupiter (Io), existing (is), and Pennywise (It) was the prefix 'i-'.
A series of beloved fictional characters – Phoebe Buffay from Friends, Frankenstein's monster, Lisa Simpson, Spock from Star Trek, and Elle Woods from Legally Blonde – are all known to be vegetarians.
Geographical locations Mount Ulysses in British Columbia and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico represent the approximate northern and southern extents of the vast Rocky Mountains range.
The links for L. Frank Baum, Gregory Maguire, Stephen Schwartz, and Jon Chu all relate to the cultural phenomenon of 'Wicked'. Baum created the Land of Oz, Maguire wrote the 'Wicked' novel, Schwartz composed the songs for the musical, and Chu directed the recent film adaptations.
In music, 'Mr Brightside' by The Killers, 'Wonderwall' by Oasis, 'All of Me' by John Legend, and 'Take Me To Church' by Hozier are all notable for being among the UK's biggest-selling songs never to have reached number one on the official singles chart.
A numerical clue referencing PM Brown (4), industrialist Ford (3), king Longshanks (2), and saint More (1) leads to the engine numbers from Thomas the Tank Engine: Gordon (4), Henry (3), Edward (2), and Thomas (1).
The final link, concerning footballers Idrissa Gueye, Ricardo Fuller, Lee Bowyer, and Kieron Dyer, is an infamous one: they are all players who have been sent off for fighting their own teammates during professional matches.
A Weekly Tradition of Trivia
The Saturday quiz remains a popular fixture for those looking to test their general knowledge across a wide and often surprising array of topics. From royal history and high art to sporting trivia and pop culture, it offers a rigorous and entertaining mental workout.
Whether you aced the round on fictional vegetarians or were stumped by the moon phases, the quiz continues to be a celebrated challenge for curious minds across the country.
