Books

Writings of Note

When a city is as littered with intriguing curiosities as this one, you need a framework to make sense of it all. What better framework than the Underground system? We'll take a stroll along a stretch of Tube line, learning about the secrets and oddities we pass along the way.Walks

Strolls through time

Sick of doing quizzes that ask ‘what’s the capital of Albania?’ You either know it or you don’t, and either way there’s no fun. A really good question should be one you can work out, a challenge you enjoy even if you don’t get the answer in the end. For example:Quizzes

For the curious

Blog

Musings & trifles

Magic

Team-building through tricks

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Books

Writings of Note

When a city is as littered with intriguing curiosities as this one, you need a framework to make sense of it all. What better framework than the Underground system? We'll take a stroll along a stretch of Tube line, learning about the secrets and oddities we pass along the way.Walks

Strolls through time

Sick of doing quizzes that ask ‘what’s the capital of Albania?’ You either know it or you don’t, and either way there’s no fun. A really good question should be one you can work out, a challenge you enjoy even if you don’t get the answer in the end. For example:Quizzes

For the curious

Blog

Musings & trifles

Magic

Team-building through tricks

Question Time

A Journey Round Britain's Quizzes

History, trivia and the odd pint

Question Time
Buy Question Time at Amazon

That noble British institution - the quiz. Tootling round the country to attend them was great fun, from a pub quiz in Edinburgh to a corporate quiz in Birmingham, from a charity quiz in Hampshire to a journalists' quiz in Parliament (a redefinition of the word ‘competitive'.) I learned all sorts of things: Napoleon had a morbid fear of cats ... Doritos were invented at Disneyland ... the standing long jump is a condition of entry to the Brazilian police. Men have to do 2.14 metres, women 1.66 metres.

The trips revealed a lot about what makes a good quiz question. Silly can work: ‘Barry Manilow had a hit with “I Write the Songs" - did he write that song?' (You can't possibly know it - the fun's in the guessing. As it happens he didn't.) Then there are the ones that sound difficult but aren't: ‘Ingvar Kamprad grew up on a farm called Elmtaryd near the village of Agunnaryd in Sweden. Which firm did he found in 1943?' If you're stuck, write down his initials followed by those of the farm and the village.

And that was just the stuff I learned from the quizzes themselves. There was also plenty of delightful trivia about the places I went to. Did you know, for instance, that the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh keeps its clock three minutes fast, to help people catch their trains at the station next door? Or that the Eb of the bell in Nottingham's Council House is the lowest note of any bell in Britain?

If you didn't, remember it for the next quiz you go to.

 

‘The best book about quizzes is Mark Mason's startlingly good “Question Time".' Spectator

‘Mason's signature bouncy style manages to keep what could be niche subjects totally gripping and he guides us around the country while he is at it ... This is the one I will be giving to everyone for Christmas.’ Daily Mail

‘A must-have book for any quiz-lover ... Mason weaves funny anecdotes with local trivia in a witty account of his trips round these isles.' The Times

‘A charming and proud observation on the cherished institution of the quiz ... Mason's thirst for knowledge is infectious.' Always Trust in Books blog

 

 

 

 

Content

London Bus

A London double decker bus can lean further from the vertical without falling over than a human can. What a great way of learning about centres of gravity. The reason a Routemaster can lean so far is that there's a great long strip of pig-iron welded to its base, keeping you top-deckers safe as you go round corners. If you want reassuring photographic evidence, click here