Hello

Welcome to pro-quiz.com.  Thanks for registering with us and if you are at all interested in question and answer quizzes it will be to the advantage of us both. 

I say 'question and answer' quizzes because unlike the UK and Europe, the word 'quiz' in the USA also refers to a school or college exam.  Like we have our end of term exams, the Americans have their quizzes.  Sorry Americans - this is just a bit of information for the Europeans.  It makes it a bit difficult for us to get up in the Google rankings with our quiz sites since we are in competition with your schools and colleges for the key word 'quiz'!!

Not only that, but the word is also becoming popular for the personality type of question and answer analysis.  You know the kind of thing - answer the questions right and you will find out that your boyfriend loves you, or that your are a nerd!  Answer 'A'; and get 5 points which makes you a genius, but answer 'C' and minus 4 which means you will never ever have sex in your whole life!

So, for those of us trying to promote our quiz sites, it is extremely difficult with our word being hijacked in this way.  There are over 35,100,000 sites with the word 'quiz'!  Don't even bother to try finding them all! I can understand why many restrict themselves to th UK market.  However, I firmly believe there are plenty people out there who need and want a quiz of our kind, and I will continue to offer it to them.

This newsletter is going to be weekly.  When I started my last quiz site I tried to get some interactivity, even a question and answer session, but only one guy responded and I had to turn him down and inform him that no one was interested. I am willing to try again.

I offered to buy some American and Australian quizzes, but the same guy answered, so I gave the same answer back to him. I've come to the conclusion that this is the only guy who reads these newsletters so I shall try to keep them brief - just for him.  Or is it her?

I will give you weekly free quizzes in the newsletter - of the 20 question variety. You will get a 20 question quiz every week - also look for the 100 question "Quiz Of The Week" in our Complete Quiz page - you get it in either of two formats as described on the relevant webpage. The first pair appear on Monday 15th August.

These are essentially the same quiz in two different formats so it is a choice - there will be an element of similarity in the questions!

The snowball question at my regular Sunday evening quiz at the Rifleman's arms, Blaenavon, Wales has reached £140.  The question I asked on Sunday was "How many tales are in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales?".  No one got it - the answer is at the end of the newsletter.

The question was going to be that or one of the first two in the free quiz. So here it is.  This is not intended to be an easy quiz. the next free quiz will be easy, but not this one.  Let me know how many you genuinely could answer correctly.  I would guess an average of 8 -10.  It is not set deliberately to try to beat you, but the questions are examples of what I have come across in pub quizzes over the past two weeks.  In the next newsletter I will show you how it should be done, and how the questions below could be rephrased to give an average score 5 - 6 points higher.

1.  What are the four first names of Prince William?
2.  How many substitutes are allowed in a game of baseball?
3.  What do the Americans call reindeer?
4.  Who wrote lyrics and the tune to Twinkle Twinkle Little star
5.  Which character from literature sang the song 'Twinkle twinkle little bat'?
6.  And while on literature, who wrote HMS Ulysses?
7.  What age was Robin Cook when he died last week?
8.  Who is the only Prime Minister to have held the other three major positions of
     Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer?
9.  What would have been his official address had he also held the position of 
     Chief Whip?
10. In what country did the Chindits spend most of their war?
11. "He swallowed his pride and a cough drop" is an example of what figure of
      speech?
12. What was the name of "The Last of the Mohicans"? (What was Hawkeye's real  
      name?).
13. What is protium?
14. What about the seahorse is unusual for sea creatures? 
15. In the Roman army, what was the usual established strength of a 'century'?
16. What is the derivation of the word 'salary'?
17. At what Olympics was Tommy Smith sent home for his clenched fist salute?
18. What common coniferous tree loses its leaves in winter?
19. What word, when you remove an 'S' becomes plural?
20. What is the difference between Irish and Scotch Whisky?

So there you have it.  I have been criticised for giving quizzes which are too easy, so try that one for size.  Back to the normal 'easy' next week where I expect an average score of 15 -17.  I am rarely wrong in my estimation after over 40 years in this business.

Here are the answers:

1.  William Arthur Phillip Louis.
2.  Seven.
3.  caribou.
4.  Jane Taylor - music:  no one knows; it is from the traditional French Ah! Vous
     dirai-je, Maman".  Mozart based a tune on it, but it did not originate from it.
5.  The Mad Hatter.
6.  Alistair MacLean
7.  59.
8.  James Callaghan.
9.  12, Downing Street.
10. Burma
11. A zeugma (even sounds like a cough drop!).
12. Chingachgook (Nathaniel Poe).
13. The most common isotope of hydrogen.
14. the male incubates and rears the young in a pouch.
15. 80
16. From salarium (argentium) which were special issues of salt given to Roman
     soldiers.
17. Mexico City, 1968 (with John Carlos).
18. Larch
19. Princess - there are others.
20. Irish (like American) whiskey is spelled with an 'e'. Scotch, the real stuff, is
      whisky!

I nearly forgot - it is generally accepted that there are 24 Tales, though that number has been disputed.  That's my final answer though!

So there you are.  A hard quiz for a change. Now click
 
HERE for a free 5 round quiz in pdf form, or
HERE for it in Word form.

You can use it in your local pub quiz, or for any type of quiz you may hold.  Or just try it yourself for fun

Also, my regulars need not fear.  I am working on something for you all, including Dave , Carol, Andy , Mark, Sophia, Marjory, Margaret et al!!