The What's Next? General Miscellany Quiz

Answer: China

Those named in the question make up the seven largest countries.

At 17.1 million square kilometres, Russia is easily the world's largest by area.

With 9.984 million square kilometres, Canada is a little over half the size of Russia. In addition, its 202,080-kilometre coastline gives it a longer shoreline than any other nation.

Now comes the caveat, the USA is third only because of its overseas territories - a total of 9.83 million square kilometres.

China would be larger than the USA but for the overseas territories bit - and there is another caveat - if you added in disputed territories, China would be the world's second largest nation by area.

The sources here are worldatlas.com and statista.com, both supported by the United Nations Statistics Division. Several other sources reverse USA and China.

Answer: Seinfeld

"M*A*S*H" - "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" (Series Finale) was watched by 50.15 million viewers on February 28, 1983.

"Cheers" - "One for the Road" (Series Finale) was watched by 42.36 million viewers on May 20, 1993.

"Dallas" - "Who Done It?" was watched by 41.47 million viewers on November 21, 1980.

"Seinfeld" - "The Finale" was watched by 40.5 million viewers on May 14, 1998.

"Roots" - Part 8 (Series Finale), was viewed by 36.38 million people on January 30, 1977. Seven other "Roots" episodes were in the top 20.

"The Cosby Show" - "Say Hello to a Good Buy" was watched by 36.1 million viewers on January 22, 1987.

"The Thorn Birds" - Part 3 was watched by 35.99 million viewers on March 29, 1983.

[Source: "Business Adviser", based on Neilsen ratings.]

As a bit of perspective, at the time this quiz was written in January 2020, the largest ever US television audience had been the 114m who tuned in to Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015.

Answer: Frigga

In English we talk about Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, all of which are connected to Norse mythology.

Tyr (Tuesday) comes from Tiu, or Tiw, the Anglo-Saxon name for Tyr, the Norse god of war. Woden (Wednesday) was the supreme deity. Thor (Thursday) was the god of thunder. Frigga (Friday) was the wife of Odin, aka Woden.

Note: the anglicised name Frigga is used here as an answer. Authorities in Norse mythology would tell you their spelling is Frigg.

Answer: Thunderball

Those four movies were made in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965.

Connery reprised the role in "You Only Live Twice" (1967); "Diamonds are Forever" (1971); and "Never Say Never Again" (1983).

At the risk of courting controversy among 007 fans, if you include unofficial and other media productions, 12 actors had portrayed James Bond by the end of 2019.

They were Barry Nelson (on TV), Bob Holness* (on radio), Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Christopher Cazenove (TV documentary), Timothy Dalton, Michael Jayston (on radio), Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig, and Toby Stephens (on radio).

* Yes, British television viewers, the Bob Holness of "Blockbusters" fame.

Answer: Green

All seven are the colours.

Useful mnemonics to remember them include Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain; Roy G. Biv; Read Only Your Good Books In Vegas; and Rinse Out Your Granny's Boots In Vinegar.

Answer: Are You Lonesome Tonight

Okay, where do I begin on the interesting information? The four we were looking for are those listed by "Billboard" magazine as topping their Hot 100 since 1958. These four are all credited to Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires.

Now we get to murkier territory. According to "Billboard", the seven listed in this question are the total of Hot 100 chart-toppers by Presley. (As of January 2020).

From their list:
"A Big Hunk O' Love" peaked at number one on August 10, 1959.
"Stuck On You" peaked at number one on April 25, 1960.
"It's Now Or Never" topped out at number one on August 15, 1960.
"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" peaked at number one on November 28, 1960.
"Surrender" peaked at number one on March 20, 1961.
"Good Luck Charm" peaked at number one on April 21, 1962.
"Suspicious Minds" got to the top on November 1, 1969.

Hmm, I hear you say: "I thought Elvis had 18 US number ones".

As a note of caution, several authorities disagree on the number of chart-toppers Elvis had - and some commentators are pretty scathing of the research of other people.

Some say there were 18 chart toppers; some say 16; some say 14; but "Billboard" now only lists seven on the Hot 100 after ruling double-A sides no longer qualified. (And, of course, Elvis had several number ones before the Hot 100 was introduced in 1958.)

In 2002, RCA Records released a compilation album "ELV1S: 30 No. 1 Hits" that included 18 US chart-toppers and 12 that reached number one in the UK, but not the US. The track listing included pre-Hot 100 releases and double A sides.

Answer: Donnerstag

The seven are: Montag (Monday); Dienstag (Tuesday); Mittwoch (Wednesday); Donnerstag (Thursday); Freitag (Friday); Samstag (Saturday); Sonntag (Sunday).

Once upon a time, the days of the week were named by the Babylonians after the gods of the seven ancient planets. These were perpetuated by the Romans, but in around the 4th Century AD, Germanic peoples replaced those names with their own Teutonic gods.

To put it simply, Montag comes from the word mond, moon. Dienstag comes from the German god of the war. Mittwoch literally means "mid week". Donnerstag is "thunder's day" and is named after the god of thunder. Freitag literally means "free day". In some parts of Germany, Samstag is also called Sonnabend, "sun day eve". Sonntag is sun day, after the sun god.

Answer: Beryllium

Those listed are the top seven in the Periodic Table.

Hydrogen is number one, Helium is two, Lithium is three, Beryllium is four; Boron is five; Carbon is six and Nitrogen in seven.

All are gasses. Nitrogen and oxygen are the most common. The air that we breathe is composed of about 78% nitrogen (N2) and about 21% oxygen (O2).

Answer: Messines

The sequence of WWI battles for Aussies was Fromelles (July 1916); Pozières (July to August 1916); Bullecourt (April to May 1917); Messines (June 1917); 3rd Ypres (September and October 1917); Dernancourt (April 1918); Villers-Bretonneux (April 1918); Hamel (July 1918); and Amiens (August 1918).

In addition, Australian soldiers fought at Gallipoli in 1915 and Palestine 1916‒18.

The Royal Australian Navy, meanwhile, was also involved. HMAS Sydney sank the German raider Emden in November 1914 and a naval and military expedition seized German New Guinea in September 1914.

Answer: Mount Steele

All seven listed are in the top ten mountains that rise from the Canadian Province of Yukon.

Two others, Mount Saint Elias and Mount Hubbard, are on the border between Yukon and Alaska and are also claimed by the USA.

Mount Logan rises to 5,956m, 19,541ft. Mount Lucania reaches 3,080m, 10,105ft. King Peak is 1,073m, 3,520ft tall. Mount Steele reaches 760 m, 2,493 ft.

Mount Logan is also the second-highest peak in North America.

The Saint Elias mountain range is 'home' to 19 of the tallest 20 mountains in Canada, or the US/Canada border.