A few more questions from last week’s quiz.  One set are all about Feb 16th (the date of the quiz) and another set are all about last year.  The quiz was originally scheduled for Jan 19th when 2010 would have been fresher in the memory.  I had to scrap my set of questions based on Jan 19th.

Basically they are both general knowledge in all but name.

February 16th

1. Television used to close down between 6pm and 7pm in what was called the ‘toddlers’ truce’. This ended on February 16th of which year??
2. Which Wimbledon singles champion was born on February 16th 1959?
3. On February 16th 2006 the US Army decommissioned the last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or MASH. What was the number of the MASH unit in the TV series of the same name?
4. February 16th 1950 was the birthdate of Peter Hain, but where was he born?
5. On February 16th of 1947 William Lyon Mackenzie King became the first person to be a citizen of which country?
6. John Schlesinger was born on February 16th 1926. For which film did he win the Oscar for best director in 1969? (The film itself won the Oscar for best picture, the first X-rated film to do so)
7. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in December 1997 but only came into force on February 16th of which year after ratification by Russia satisfied the so-called “55% clause”??
8. Author Iain Banks was born on February 16th 1954. What was the name of his first published novel?
9. Walter Winterbottom died on February 16th 2002, aged 89. He was the first person to hold which job?
10. The Elks was founded on February 16th 1868 in New York when it changed its name from ‘the Jolly Corks’ Membership was opened to African Americans in the 1970s and women were allowed to join in the 1990s after a court case, but which significant group is still banned from membership?

2010

1. The 2010 Nobel prize for literature was won by Mario Vargas Lhosa. What nationality is he?
2. On what date did Ed Miliband become leader of the Labour party?
3. In February a charity single by Helping Haiti reached No. 1 in the UK charts. What was the song?
4. The World Cup finals were held in South Africa in 2010. Which was the only one of the 32 finalists to not lose a game?
5. In the general election, the Tory manifesto was called “invitation to join the government of Britain” and the Lib Dem manifesto was called “Change that works for you/Building a fairer Britain”. What was the Labour manifesto called?
6. In January David Tennant made his last appearance as the Doctor. Who replaced him?
7. In June 2010 Kevin Rudd resigned as PM of Australia. Who replaced him as Labor Prime Minister?
8. Who celebrated their 70th birthday in 2010 by performing in a run of 6 sell out concerts at the Albert Hall and releasing an album which reached No. 3?
9. In June 2010 British Airways apologised after a photograph in a staff magazine showed a frequent flyer boarding pass in which name?
10. Which country officially ceased to exist on October 10th 2010?

On reflection, I think that the last one is unfairly difficult.  Most of the others that you don’t know you could have an educated guess at, but this was one of the few that absolutely nobody got right.  In its own way that is very poignant: last year a country officially ceased to exists as a country and we didn’t even notice.  The people who live there have a sense of national identity every bit as strong as ours I am sure.

The first No. 10 is possibly my favourite question.

Feel free to post answers below.