Origins of place names: 10 questions

1. Which historic region of the world has a name which derives from the Latin for “between rivers”?
2. Which former capital city was named after its founder, who is said to have made a cross in some marshy ground in 1703 and decreed the building of a city there?

Post-apocalyptic literature: 10 questions

1. Which novel by Max Brooks gives eyewitness accounts of a zombie apocalypse?
2. Which planet do the alien attackers come from in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds?

Post-apocalyptic TV, radio and film: 10 questions

1. The terrifying 1984 TV film Threads portrays the aftermath of a nuclear attack on which English city?
2. In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, what is the name of the alien race which destroys the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass?

Hotels: 10 questions

1. How much will it cost you in Monopoly if you land on Mayfair with a hotel?
2. What is the name of the famous Singapore hotel which supposedly invented the Singapore Sling?

Deserts: 10 questions

1. Which band of the 1990s missed you "like the deserts miss the rain"?
2. Which desert of Northern Chile is often considered to be the driest in the world, with some parts having had no rain for at least 400 years.

Wear it, eat it, play it; 10 questions

For each of the following 10 items, say whether you are more likely to wear it, eat it or play it.

1. Hurdy-gurdy 
2. Barretina 

Famous Roberts (and Bobs, Bobbys, Robs and Robbies): 10 questions

Name the Robert (or derivative) from the description



1. Winner of football's 1966 Ballon D'or, the same year as he also won the World Cup

2. Chairman of the Walt Disney Company from 2005 to 2020

Russian words in English: 10 questions

Give the Russian word, also used in English and found in the Oxford English dictionary, from the definition. The number refers to the number of letters in the word

1. Russian word for "Citadel" or "Fortress", generally used with reference to a specific example in English (7)
2. A steam bath with a wooden stove. (5)

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Glass: 10 questions

1. What is the name of the island in Venice famous for the production of glass? It was so important in the 15th century that glassmakers were forbidden on pain of death from leaving the island.
2. According to the popular saying, what should people in glass houses refrain from doing?

Polymaths: 10 questions

1. Which architect was also a reputed scientist, and was appointed Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford in 1661?
2. Which 12th century German saint is primarily known as the composer of works such as Ordo Virtutum, but also wrote several works of philosophy and theology, and was also famed for her botanical and medicinal knowledge?