A Hotchpotch of 'H's Trivia Quiz

Answer: Harrier

The harrier is a hunting dog that probably first bred in England in the Middle Ages and was recognised as an official breed by the American Kennel Club in 1885. It resembles a small English foxhound or a large beagle.

The Harrier military jet was first developed in the 1960s by the UK aircraft manufacturer Hawker Siddeley. It was initially designed as a V/STOL (vertical/short take off and landing) attack aircraft and a naval version designed to fly from aircraft carriers - known as the Sea Harrier - was also developed. Harriers have since been operated by military forces around the world for over 50 years.

The picture clue shows the bird of prey called a northern harrier.

Answer: Happy New Year

Swedish pop group ABBA consisted of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group first rose to fame when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Waterloo'. They went on to produce numerous hit albums and number one singles, including 'Mamma Mia', 'Dancing Queen' and 'Super Trouper'. The latter appeared on the album of the same name with a festive (but not particularly cheery) song called 'Happy New Year', whose lyrics marked the end of the 1970s:

"No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
It's the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Now's the time for us to say..."

Happy New Year indeed. The picture shows a New Year's Eve fireworks display over London.

Answer: Herculaneum

While the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD is most famous for destroying the Roman city of Pompeii, it also took out several other settlements in the surrounding area, including Herculaneum. The volcanic ash that buried the city also preserved many of the buildings and treasures, as well as the remains of the unfortunate residents who were unable to escape. The archaeological remains now form the basis of a thriving tourist industry that needs to be carefully managed in order to ensure the conservation of the site.

The Herculaneum Pottery company was founded in the 1790s, a time when images from the excavation of the city of Herculaneum were influencing fashion and design across Europe (and the famous Wedgwood Pottery had named a factory after the Italian region of Etruria). They were perhaps best known for producing creamware with printed designs. The company had failed by 1841 but the Port of Liverpool subsequently opened the Herculaneum Dock on the site.

The incorrect options were all made up from the names of three of the Labours of Hercules combined with common endings for Roman place names. The picture clue shows the constellation Hercules.

Answer: Harper

'Two and a Half Men' was predominantly about the lives of brothers Charlie and Alan Harper and Alan's son Jake (the half). It first aired in 2003, but the character of Charlie Harper was written out in 2011 after a much-publicised row between Charlie Sheen, the actor who portrayed him, and the show's production team.

The former England footballer David Beckham and his wife Victoria (of Spice Girls fame) had three sons - Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz - before their first daughter, Harper Seven, was born in 2011.

The picture clue shows a mockingbird - a creature that appears in the title of an extremely famous novel by Harper Lee.

Answer: Hg

Mercury is a metallic element and has the chemical symbol Hg because it was formerly known as hydrargyrum. The old name was derived from the Greek words for water and silver, which provided a good description of the element's appearance at room temperature. If you're looking for mercury around the house then you'd be likely to find it in old thermometers, electronic equipment or the fillings in your teeth - however, given the fact that it is extremely toxic, its use is controversial and in decline.

H. G. Wells (or Herbert George Wells to give his full name) wrote dozens of works of both fiction and non-fiction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, he is probably best remembered for his science fiction novels of the 1890s, which included 'The Island of Doctor Moreau' and 'The Invisible Man' in addition to 'The War of the Worlds' and the novella 'The Time Machine'.

The picture clue shows the planet called Mercury. He is the symbol for helium, Hf is hafnium and Ho is holmium.

Answer: Hamilton

'Hamilton: An American Musical', written and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, first appeared on Broadway in 2015 and won 11 Tony awards the following year. It tells the story of the life of Alexander Hamilton - a signatory of the United States Constitution and the first man to hold the role of US Secretary of the Treasury - who famously lost his life following a duel with Aaron Burr.

Hamilton the city is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, an island in the Atlantic Ocean located about 1,100 km (680 miles) off the coast of North Carolina. The first English settlers arrived in Bermuda in the first decade of the 17th century and Hamilton was declared the capital in 1815. Bermuda sits at the north-eastern point of the Bermuda triangle (hence the picture clue), an area of the Atlantic associated with the mysterious disappearance of planes and ships.

William and Benjamin Harrison, Warren Harding and Herbert Hoover are all former US Presidents.

Answer: Hagar

'Hägar the Horrible' is a comic strip set in the Middle Ages, that follows the life of a Viking warrior who regularly sets sail across the North Sea to raid England or France. Despite this European setting, it was created by American cartoonist Dik Browne and satirises life in modern-day America. The picture clue shows a Viking helmet - which you might notice bears little resemblance to the stereotypical image of Viking warrior headgear.

The biblical Hagar appeared in Genesis. She was the servant of Sarah, the first wife of Abraham, who decided to offer her up to her husband as a second wife when Sarah herself proved unable to have children. Hagar gave birth to a son, Ishmael, but later fell out of favour when Sarah became pregnant at the somewhat unlikely age of 90.

Hannah and Hephzibah were both biblical mothers, but Hosea was a male prophet.

Answer: Halo

The 'Halo' was introduced into Formula One racing and other junior categories in 2018 following several years of research to develop a device capable of protecting drivers' heads from flying debris in open-cockpit racing. It is a reinforced bar that curves round above the driver's head, with a support strut that connects to the chassis in front of the driver. While its introduction caused significant criticism from both drivers and fans because of its somewhat ungainly appearance on the car, tests proved that it increased a driver's chance of surviving accidents such as the one that claimed the life of the teenage Henry Surtees (son of the 1964 world champion, John Surtees) in 2009. In that case a loose wheel had come across the track and hit Surtees on the head while he was travelling at over 100 miles per hour.

The first video game in the 'Halo' series was published for Microsoft's X-Box system in 2001. Versions for other systems and a whole host of sequels and spin-offs then followed. The story behind the games is pure sci-fi - a fictional future where humans have spread out across the galaxy and are engaged in a long-running war with a group of religious aliens. The series has been critically acclaimed as including some of the best games in the 'first-person shooter' genre.

The picture clue shows an angel - a heavenly creature commonly associated with wearing a halo!

Answer: Harvey

'Harvey' starred James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd, a man who spent most of his time in his local bar, introducing everyone he met to his invisible rabbitty friend. Josephine Hull played Elwood's sister, Veta, who feared for his mental health and had him committed to a sanatorium. Harvey actually turned out to be a pooka - a mischievous creature from Celtic myth. The film was based on a play of the same name by Mary Chase and Stewart gained a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role, while Hull won the award for Best Supporting Actress.

William Harvey (1578-1657) was an English scientist who gained medical degrees from the Universities of Padua and Cambridge in 1602 before going on to be the personal physician of both King James I and King Charles I of England. He spent many years studying the workings of the human body and first published his theories regarding the circulation of blood in his 1628 work 'De Motu Cordis' - the full English title of which is 'An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings'.

The picture clue represents a hurricane. In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused over 100 deaths and billions of dollars worth of damage, particularly from major flooding in the Houston area of Texas.

Answer: Hedwig

Putting together a 'HEAD' and a 'WIG' gives 'Hedwig' - Harry Potter's pet owl in the well-known series of novels by JK Rowling and the films based on them.

Hedwig was Harry's 11th birthday present from Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At the start of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorceror's) Stone', Professor Dumbledore sent Hagrid to find Harry after he failed to accept his place at the school. Once Hagrid tracked Harry down and informed him about the existence of witches and wizards, the pair took a trip to London's magical shopping district Diagon Alley to get Harry's school supplies. While they were there Hagrid purchased a beautiful snowy owl for Harry from Eeylops Owl Emporium. Of course, Hedwig wasn't just a pet, but a loyal friend and a highly skilled post-delivery owl. She remained with Harry throughout his time at Hogwarts, before being killed by a Death Eater shortly before Harry's 17th birthday.