A Slice of November Pi Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sir Edwin Lutyens

Sir Edwin Lutyens is famous for the many beautiful houses he designed, as well as the government buildings in New Delhi. The Cenotaph was built in 1920 from Portland stone, replacing the original structure, which was made of plaster and wood. It was built in 1919 for the Victory Parade that marked the end of WWI.
'Cenotaph' is a Greek word meaning 'empty tomb'.

Question by Invinoveritas

Answer: Gough Whitlam

I think Australians were in shock when they realised that the Queen's representative in Australia had the power to remove an elected government. This gave great impetus to the Republican movement. Malcolm Fraser was the leader of the Opposition and was termed "Kerr's cur" by Mr Whitlam. Whitlam famously stated "Well may we say God save the Queen, because nothing will save the governor-general!". Kerr's career and health plummeted after the dismissal. A sad episode in Australian history.

Question by em1958

Answer: The Lord Mayor's Show

The Lord Mayor's Show is one of the most colourful and enjoyable processions on the London events calendar. It first started way back in the 12th century. Since 1952 it has been held on the second Saturday in November. It is a family event and all ages flock to the show, which in 2011 comprised around 6,000 participants, 200 vehicles, 20 carriages (including the 254-year-old gold Lord Mayor's State Coach), 70 floats, 150 horses and 20 marching bands. The event starts at 11am and covers a distance of three miles, travelling first from Mansion House to the Royal Courts of Justice. There, the Lord Mayor takes an oath of allegiance to the sovereign before the procession returns to Mansion House via Victoria Embankment. In the evening there is a spectacular fireworks display over the Thames between Waterloo and Blackfrairs Bridges.

Question submitted by gracie3

Answer: Windsor Castle

The 1992 fire started in the Queen's Private Chapel and rapidly took hold, raging for fifteen hours and destroying many architecturally important parts of the castle, including the Brunswick Tower. The intensity of the fire, which also destroyed many priceless and irreplaceable items from the Royal Collection, was so severe that at one point over 200 firefighters from four neighbouring counties were attending the blaze in addition to the local Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Although there were unfortunately some injuries to firemen and castle personnel, thankfully there were no deaths.

The major renovation work to the castle took five years to complete and the £36½ million was part-funded, at the Queen's insistence, by revenue raised by opening Buckingham Palace to the public for the first time. In a speech at the end of the year, the queen described 1992 as her 'annus horribilis' (horrible year), the November fire coming on top of many family troubles.

Question submitted by Jennifer5

Answer: Answer Me

David Whitfield took "Answer Me" to number one on 6th November, but the following week Frankie Laine took over the top spot, and held onto it for the next eight weeks. David Whitfield then made a come back on the 11th December taking over the number one place for a further week.

Record charts in the UK began in 1952 when the "New Musical Express" copied the idea of a hit parade from "Billboard" magazine in America. Although various other organisations copied the idea and produced their own version of the chart, the one produced by New Musical Express was considered the official British singles chart until March 1960.


Question by Christinap

Answer: QANTAS

The Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (QANTAS), affectionately known as the "Flying Kangaroo" was the brainchild of Australian Flying Corps officers Paul McGuiness and W. Hudson Fych. They developed the idea after a 51 day road trip from Longreach to Katherine in 1919 to survey the route of an air race from the UK. After the race they sought and secured financial backing from grazier Fergus McMaster to create the airline.

QANTAS was initially based in Winton and began operating in 1921 with a war surplus Avro biplane. The company began by offering joyrides, demo flights and an air taxi service and the following year it ran a scheduled mail service between Charleville and Cloncurry.

In 1927 QANTAS opened the Brisbane Flying School and the following year they signed on to operate medical flights as needed for the fledgling Aerial Medical Service (later the Flying Doctor Service) based in Cloncurry.

QANTAS ran its first international flight in 1935 and two years later began operating flying boats. In 1959 they became the first airline outside the U.S. to take delivery of jet planes, seven Boeing 707s.

The kangaroo become the logo in 1944 when QANTAS named its Indian route the Kangaroo Service. Wings were added to the kangaroo in 1947 and QANTAS became known as the Flying Kangaroo. Although the wings disappeared in 1984 when the logo was updated, the nickname stuck.

Question compiled by Leith90

Answer: Robert Catesby

The plot was meant to trigger a revolt throughout England and to restore a Catholic monarch. The conspirators who were caught, including Guy Fawkes, were tried the following year and were convicted and sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered. Sir Ambrose Rockwood and Thomas Percy were also conspirators in the plot. In England, to this day, the thwarting of the plot is still celebrated with bonfires and fireworks on 5th November and effigies of Guy Fawkes are often burned on the fires.

Question submitted by Ronny 8

Answer: Nat Turner

Mat Turner's mother and grandmother had both been brought from Africa to America to work as slaves. They had a great hatred of slavery which they passed on to their son. He was intelligent and had been taught to read by one of his master's sons. He became very religious and from the time he was a child he experienced visions which led him to believe that god had chosen him to lead the slaves to freedom. In 1831 he was sold to Joseph Travis and, although his master was a kind man, when Nat saw a solar eclipse he believed that god was finally telling him to act. In August of that year Nat Turner and seven followers killed Travis and his family in the rebellion. About fifty whites were killed but the massive uprising that Turner had hoped for did not occur. Three thousand militiamen were sent to stop the rebellion and about a hundred innocent slaves were killed. Nat turner was tried and executed in November in Jerusalem, Virginia.

Question submitted by Calpurnia09

Answer: True

Movember, or Novembeard as it is sometimes called, was started in Adelaide in 1999. The fungus of mustache growth quickly spread and it is now almost a worldwide phenomenon. There are strict rules around suitable mustache growth.

Question submitted by irishtinytim

Answer: Wampanoag

The first harvest at Plymouth Plantation was gathered in 1621. There were 53 survivors from the 101 pilgrims who had crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower, and they were joined by 90 Wampanoag. The natives joined the pilgrims to hunt for meat, and they spent three days feasting together on deer, corn and shellfish - not much like the traditional turkey dinner on offer nowadays.

Question by Invinoveritas