Free weekly pub quiz - week 44, 2026
26 Oct - 1 Nov 2026. Four rounds of ten questions (European cities, World cities & landmarks, History & dates, Music & culture), plus a bonus Halloween and Samhain round of 10, a team answer sheet, a host sheet with answers and a source for every question, and a tiebreaker. Print it, read it out, done in about an hour.
Free for bars and cafés to print and use. No account, no ads.
How to run it in about 60 minutes
You need: the question sheet for the host, one team answer sheet per team, pens, a phone timer and a small prize.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0:00 (5 min) | Welcome. Teams of up to 5, one sheet per team, no phones for answers. 1 point per correct answer, 50 points in total. |
| 0:05 (10 min) | Round 1. Read each question and its four options twice, leave about 30 seconds, teams tick one letter. After question 10 read the answers while teams swap sheets and mark them. |
| 0:15 (10 min) | Round 2, same rhythm. |
| 0:25 (5 min) | Break. Note each team's score on the scoreboard on the host sheet; this is when the bar sells drinks. |
| 0:30 (10 min) | Round 3. |
| 0:40 (10 min) | Round 4. The hardest questions are at the end of each round. |
| 0:50 (10 min) | Round 5, the Halloween bonus round (optional, adds 10 points). Then the final tally. |
| 1:00 (5 min) | Final tally while music plays. If teams are level for a prize place, read tiebreaker T1: closest year wins; T2 if still level. |
| 1:05 (5 min) | Results from last place to first, prize, and a word about next week. |
- Disputes: the host's word is final. Every answer on the host sheet links to its source; questions come from public encyclopedia facts, so correct anything you know to be out of date.
- Make it friendly for people who come alone: invite single guests to join a table, or pair them up at the start.
- Want more? Host from a TV with countdown and a live scoreboard for free in Host mode, or use a city kit.
Question sheet - week 44
26 Oct - 1 Nov 2026
Round 1 - European cities
1. Poffertjes, the small Dutch pancakes, are traditionally served with what?
- A. Powdered sugar and butter
- B. Cheese and mustard
- C. Salted herring and onion
- D. Peanut sauce and cucumber
2. The Luxor Obelisk on the Place de la Concorde was gifted to France in the 1830s by which country?
- A. Egypt
- B. Italy
- C. Greece
- D. Ethiopia
3. Calçots, grilled at Catalan 'calçotades', are a type of what?
- A. Green onion
- B. Leek bulb
- C. Asparagus
- D. Artichoke
4. The Musée d'Orsay is housed in a former what?
- A. Royal palace
- B. Fish market
- C. Army barracks
- D. Railway station
5. Which part of Amsterdam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
- A. The Jordaan district
- B. Vondelpark
- C. The 17th-century canal ring inside the Singelgracht
- D. The Rijksmuseum
6. What was the original name of the Roman town that became Paris?
- A. Lugdunum
- B. Lutetia
- C. Massilia
- D. Burdigala
7. The most popular Karelian pasty has a thin rye crust with a filling of what?
- A. Potato
- B. Salmon
- C. Lingonberries
- D. Rice
8. The Stade de France in Saint-Denis was initially built for which tournament?
- A. The 1998 FIFA World Cup
- B. Euro 1984
- C. The 1992 Winter Olympics
- D. The 2003 World Athletics Championships
9. Which architect designed the white Zubizuri footbridge over the Nervión in Bilbao?
- A. Frank Gehry
- B. Santiago Calatrava
- C. Norman Foster
- D. Zaha Hadid
10. Which planner devised the grid layout of Barcelona's Eixample district?
- A. Antoni Gaudí
- B. Josep Puig i Cadafalch
- C. Ildefons Cerdà
- D. Lluís Domènech i Montaner
Round 2 - World cities & landmarks
11. The Fifth Avenue entrance of the New York Public Library's main building is flanked by a pair of stone what?
- A. Sphinxes
- B. Eagles
- C. Bears
- D. Lions
12. How many NBA championships did the Chicago Bulls win in the 1990s?
- A. Four
- B. Five
- C. Six
- D. Seven
13. Which Toronto team won its first NBA championship in 2019?
- A. Toronto Maple Leafs
- B. Toronto Argonauts
- C. Toronto Raptors
- D. Toronto FC
14. Toronto is the capital of which Canadian province?
- A. Ontario
- B. Quebec
- C. Manitoba
- D. Nova Scotia
15. Which island in New York Harbor served as the main US immigration station from 1892 to 1954?
- A. Ellis Island
- B. Randalls Island
- C. Governors Island
- D. Roosevelt Island
16. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burned in which month?
- A. June
- B. August
- C. October
- D. December
17. The High Line park in Manhattan was built on a former what?
- A. Canal
- B. Aqueduct
- C. Airport runway
- D. Elevated freight railway line
18. The 'Moreton Bay bug', a Brisbane seafood favourite, is what kind of animal?
- A. A prawn
- B. A crab
- C. A slipper lobster
- D. An oyster
19. Which architect designed the Art Deco Chrysler Building?
- A. Raymond Hood
- B. William Van Alen
- C. Daniel Burnham
- D. Cass Gilbert
20. The name Toronto is generally traced to a Mohawk word meaning what?
- A. Place of many beavers
- B. Where the river meets the lake
- C. Where there are trees standing in the water
- D. Land of the frozen shore
Round 3 - History & dates
21. What was the theme of Zaragoza's Expo 2008?
- A. Space exploration
- B. Water and sustainable development
- C. Feeding the planet
- D. Cities of the future
22. Which Cologne bridge has been covered with love padlocks since 2008?
- A. Hohenzollern Bridge
- B. Deutz Bridge
- C. Severin Bridge
- D. Mülheim Bridge
23. Which 512-metre mountain offers the highest views over Barcelona?
- A. Tibidabo
- B. Montjuïc
- C. Montserrat
- D. Turó de la Rovira
24. Which French bread's artisanal know-how was added to UNESCO's intangible heritage lists in 2022?
- A. The croissant
- B. The brioche
- C. The baguette
- D. The fougasse
25. From which city was Finland's capital moved to Helsinki in 1812?
- A. Turku
- B. Tampere
- C. Oulu
- D. Vyborg
26. Around which year was Valencia founded by the Romans as Valentia Edetanorum?
- A. 44 BC
- B. AD 711
- C. AD 1238
- D. 138 BC
27. 'Fazer Blue', from the company Karl Fazer founded in Helsinki in 1891, is famous as what?
- A. Milk chocolate
- B. Liquorice
- C. Rye bread
- D. Ice cream
28. Which city was the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602?
- A. Delft
- B. Amsterdam
- C. Middelburg
- D. Rotterdam
29. According to legend, which animal landed on James I's flag in 1238 as he was about to enter Valencia?
- A. A bat
- B. An eagle
- C. A dove
- D. A raven
30. The Royal Palace of Madrid stands on the site of which building that burned down in 1734?
- A. The Buen Retiro Palace
- B. El Escorial
- C. The Liria Palace
- D. The Royal Alcázar
Round 4 - Music & culture
31. The Pinacoteca di Brera is which kind of institution?
- A. A science museum
- B. A university
- C. A theatre
- D. An art museum
32. Which painter's frescoes decorate vaults and domes of Zaragoza's Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar?
- A. Diego Velázquez
- B. El Greco
- C. Francisco Goya
- D. Joaquín Sorolla
33. Several of Stockholm's museums and galleries are found on which island just east of the city centre?
- A. Södermalm
- B. Kungsholmen
- C. Djurgården
- D. Lidingö
34. Which painter, famous for muted still lifes of bottles and vases, was born in Bologna?
- A. Amedeo Modigliani
- B. Giorgio de Chirico
- C. Umberto Boccioni
- D. Giorgio Morandi
35. The Stockholm Metro is often called the world's longest what?
- A. Tunnel
- B. Escalator
- C. Art gallery
- D. Bicycle path
36. In which Madrid museum is Picasso's 'Guernica' exhibited?
- A. Museo Reina Sofía
- B. Museo del Prado
- C. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
- D. Museo Sorolla
37. What type of bridge is the central section of Amsterdam's Magere Brug (Skinny Bridge) over the Amstel?
- A. A cable-stayed bridge
- B. A white-painted wooden bascule (drawbridge)
- C. A stone arch bridge
- D. A floating pontoon bridge
38. Lyon's airport is named after which Lyon-born aviation pioneer and writer?
- A. Jules Verne
- B. Louis Blériot
- C. Roland Garros
- D. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
39. Barcelona's annual La Mercè festival honours which figure?
- A. Saint George
- B. Saint Joseph
- C. Our Lady of Mercy
- D. Saint John
40. Which march is the traditional closing encore of the Vienna New Year's Concert?
- A. Radetzky March
- B. Rákóczi March
- C. Triumphal March
- D. Washington Post March
Round 5 - Bonus: Halloween and Samhain
41. What was Samhain, the Gaelic festival that is one of the roots of Halloween?
- A. A Roman festival for the goddess Pomona
- B. A Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest and the start of winter
- C. A Christian feast for the martyrs of Rome
- D. A Norse midwinter feast
42. Which vegetable was traditionally hollowed out and carved into a jack-o'-lantern in Ireland and Scotland?
- A. Pumpkin
- B. Turnip
- C. Potato
- D. Beetroot
43. In which of these countries is 1 November NOT a national public holiday?
- A. Spain
- B. Portugal
- C. France
- D. The Netherlands
44. Which sweet is typical of Spanish pastry shops around 1 November?
- A. Roscón de Reyes
- B. Huesos de santo
- C. Panettone
- D. Pan de muerto
45. On 1 November, Portuguese children go from door to door saying "Pão-por-Deus" ("bread for God"). What do they receive?
- A. Small cakes, nuts, fruit and sweets
- B. School textbooks
- C. Candles for the cemetery
- D. Cinema tickets
46. In Catalonia, what is traditionally eaten at the Castanyada, the All Saints' celebration?
- A. Roasted chestnuts and panellets
- B. Paella and turrón
- C. Churros with hot chocolate
- D. Tortilla and croquetas
47. Mexico's Day of the Dead is linked to 1 and 2 November. What is 2 November called in the Catholic calendar?
- A. All Souls' Day
- B. All Hallows' Eve
- C. Ash Wednesday
- D. Candlemas
48. Trick-or-treating traces back to which older custom?
- A. Guising: going house to house in costume for food, in Scotland and Ireland
- B. A Roman harvest procession
- C. Christmas carol singing in Germany
- D. A Lenten fasting ritual in Spain
49. Is 1 November (All Saints' Day, Allerheiligen) a public holiday in every German federal state?
- A. Yes, in every federal state
- B. No, only in five federal states
- C. Only in Berlin
- D. No, it is not observed anywhere
50. "Halloween" is a contraction of "All Hallows' Eve". It is the evening before which feast?
- A. All Saints' Day (All Hallows' Day)
- B. All Souls' Day
- C. Midsummer
- D. Epiphany
Tiebreaker (host reads it only if teams are level)
T1. In which year does the oldest surviving document that mentions Amsterdam date from?
Write a year. The team closest to the correct year wins.
Team answer sheet - week 44
26 Oct - 1 Nov 2026
Round 1 - European cities
- 1ABCD
- 2ABCD
- 3ABCD
- 4ABCD
- 5ABCD
- 6ABCD
- 7ABCD
- 8ABCD
- 9ABCD
- 10ABCD
Round score: ____ / 10
Round 2 - World cities & landmarks
- 11ABCD
- 12ABCD
- 13ABCD
- 14ABCD
- 15ABCD
- 16ABCD
- 17ABCD
- 18ABCD
- 19ABCD
- 20ABCD
Round score: ____ / 10
Round 3 - History & dates
- 21ABCD
- 22ABCD
- 23ABCD
- 24ABCD
- 25ABCD
- 26ABCD
- 27ABCD
- 28ABCD
- 29ABCD
- 30ABCD
Round score: ____ / 10
Round 4 - Music & culture
- 31ABCD
- 32ABCD
- 33ABCD
- 34ABCD
- 35ABCD
- 36ABCD
- 37ABCD
- 38ABCD
- 39ABCD
- 40ABCD
Round score: ____ / 10
Round 5 - Bonus: Halloween and Samhain
- 41ABCD
- 42ABCD
- 43ABCD
- 44ABCD
- 45ABCD
- 46ABCD
- 47ABCD
- 48ABCD
- 49ABCD
- 50ABCD
Round score: ____ / 10
Tiebreaker and total
Tiebreaker answer (a year): ________
Total score: ____ / 50
Tick one letter per question. Overwritten answers do not count.
Host sheet with all answers and sources (spoilers - open when you are ready)
Host sheet with answers - week 44
26 Oct - 1 Nov 2026
Round 1 - European cities
1. Poffertjes, the small Dutch pancakes, are traditionally served with what?
- A. Powdered sugar and butter ✓
- B. Cheese and mustard
- C. Salted herring and onion
- D. Peanut sauce and cucumber
Answer: A - Powdered sugar and butter (Amsterdam, level 1/3) Wikipedia: Poffertjes
2. The Luxor Obelisk on the Place de la Concorde was gifted to France in the 1830s by which country?
- A. Egypt ✓
- B. Italy
- C. Greece
- D. Ethiopia
Answer: A - Egypt (Paris, level 1/3) Wikipedia: Luxor Obelisks
3. Calçots, grilled at Catalan 'calçotades', are a type of what?
- A. Green onion ✓
- B. Leek bulb
- C. Asparagus
- D. Artichoke
Answer: A - Green onion (Barcelona, level 1/3) Wikipedia: Calçot
4. The Musée d'Orsay is housed in a former what?
- A. Royal palace
- B. Fish market
- C. Army barracks
- D. Railway station ✓
Answer: D - Railway station (Paris, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Musée d'Orsay
5. Which part of Amsterdam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
- A. The Jordaan district
- B. Vondelpark
- C. The 17th-century canal ring inside the Singelgracht ✓
- D. The Rijksmuseum
Answer: C - The 17th-century canal ring inside the Singelgracht (Amsterdam, level 2/3) UNESCO World Heritage: 1349
6. What was the original name of the Roman town that became Paris?
- A. Lugdunum
- B. Lutetia ✓
- C. Massilia
- D. Burdigala
Answer: B - Lutetia (Paris, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Paris
7. The most popular Karelian pasty has a thin rye crust with a filling of what?
- A. Potato
- B. Salmon
- C. Lingonberries
- D. Rice ✓
Answer: D - Rice (Helsinki, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Karelian pasty
8. The Stade de France in Saint-Denis was initially built for which tournament?
- A. The 1998 FIFA World Cup ✓
- B. Euro 1984
- C. The 1992 Winter Olympics
- D. The 2003 World Athletics Championships
Answer: A - The 1998 FIFA World Cup (Paris, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Stade de France
9. Which architect designed the white Zubizuri footbridge over the Nervión in Bilbao?
- A. Frank Gehry
- B. Santiago Calatrava ✓
- C. Norman Foster
- D. Zaha Hadid
Answer: B - Santiago Calatrava (Bilbao, level 3/3) Wikipedia: Zubizuri
10. Which planner devised the grid layout of Barcelona's Eixample district?
- A. Antoni Gaudí
- B. Josep Puig i Cadafalch
- C. Ildefons Cerdà ✓
- D. Lluís Domènech i Montaner
Answer: C - Ildefons Cerdà (Barcelona, level 3/3) Wikipedia: Eixample
Round 2 - World cities & landmarks
11. The Fifth Avenue entrance of the New York Public Library's main building is flanked by a pair of stone what?
- A. Sphinxes
- B. Eagles
- C. Bears
- D. Lions ✓
Answer: D - Lions (New York, level 1/3) Wikipedia: New York Public Library Main Branch
12. How many NBA championships did the Chicago Bulls win in the 1990s?
- A. Four
- B. Five
- C. Six ✓
- D. Seven
Answer: C - Six (Chicago, level 1/3) Wikipedia: Chicago Bulls
13. Which Toronto team won its first NBA championship in 2019?
- A. Toronto Maple Leafs
- B. Toronto Argonauts
- C. Toronto Raptors ✓
- D. Toronto FC
Answer: C - Toronto Raptors (Toronto, level 1/3) Wikipedia: Toronto Raptors
14. Toronto is the capital of which Canadian province?
- A. Ontario ✓
- B. Quebec
- C. Manitoba
- D. Nova Scotia
Answer: A - Ontario (Toronto, level 1/3) Wikipedia: Toronto
15. Which island in New York Harbor served as the main US immigration station from 1892 to 1954?
- A. Ellis Island ✓
- B. Randalls Island
- C. Governors Island
- D. Roosevelt Island
Answer: A - Ellis Island (New York, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Ellis Island
16. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burned in which month?
- A. June
- B. August
- C. October ✓
- D. December
Answer: C - October (Chicago, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Great Chicago Fire
17. The High Line park in Manhattan was built on a former what?
- A. Canal
- B. Aqueduct
- C. Airport runway
- D. Elevated freight railway line ✓
Answer: D - Elevated freight railway line (New York, level 2/3) Wikipedia: High Line
18. The 'Moreton Bay bug', a Brisbane seafood favourite, is what kind of animal?
- A. A prawn
- B. A crab
- C. A slipper lobster ✓
- D. An oyster
Answer: C - A slipper lobster (Brisbane, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Thenus orientalis
19. Which architect designed the Art Deco Chrysler Building?
- A. Raymond Hood
- B. William Van Alen ✓
- C. Daniel Burnham
- D. Cass Gilbert
Answer: B - William Van Alen (New York, level 3/3) Wikipedia: Chrysler Building
20. The name Toronto is generally traced to a Mohawk word meaning what?
- A. Place of many beavers
- B. Where the river meets the lake
- C. Where there are trees standing in the water ✓
- D. Land of the frozen shore
Answer: C - Where there are trees standing in the water (Toronto, level 3/3) Wikipedia: Toronto
Round 3 - History & dates
21. What was the theme of Zaragoza's Expo 2008?
- A. Space exploration
- B. Water and sustainable development ✓
- C. Feeding the planet
- D. Cities of the future
Answer: B - Water and sustainable development (Zaragoza, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Expo 2008
22. Which Cologne bridge has been covered with love padlocks since 2008?
- A. Hohenzollern Bridge ✓
- B. Deutz Bridge
- C. Severin Bridge
- D. Mülheim Bridge
Answer: A - Hohenzollern Bridge (Cologne, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Hohenzollern Bridge
23. Which 512-metre mountain offers the highest views over Barcelona?
- A. Tibidabo ✓
- B. Montjuïc
- C. Montserrat
- D. Turó de la Rovira
Answer: A - Tibidabo (Barcelona, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Barcelona
24. Which French bread's artisanal know-how was added to UNESCO's intangible heritage lists in 2022?
- A. The croissant
- B. The brioche
- C. The baguette ✓
- D. The fougasse
Answer: C - The baguette (Paris, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Baguette
25. From which city was Finland's capital moved to Helsinki in 1812?
- A. Turku ✓
- B. Tampere
- C. Oulu
- D. Vyborg
Answer: A - Turku (Helsinki, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Helsinki
26. Around which year was Valencia founded by the Romans as Valentia Edetanorum?
- A. 44 BC
- B. AD 711
- C. AD 1238
- D. 138 BC ✓
Answer: D - 138 BC (Valencia, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Valencia
27. 'Fazer Blue', from the company Karl Fazer founded in Helsinki in 1891, is famous as what?
- A. Milk chocolate ✓
- B. Liquorice
- C. Rye bread
- D. Ice cream
Answer: A - Milk chocolate (Helsinki, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Fazer
28. Which city was the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602?
- A. Delft
- B. Amsterdam ✓
- C. Middelburg
- D. Rotterdam
Answer: B - Amsterdam (Amsterdam, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Dutch East India Company
29. According to legend, which animal landed on James I's flag in 1238 as he was about to enter Valencia?
- A. A bat ✓
- B. An eagle
- C. A dove
- D. A raven
Answer: A - A bat (Valencia, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Valencia CF
30. The Royal Palace of Madrid stands on the site of which building that burned down in 1734?
- A. The Buen Retiro Palace
- B. El Escorial
- C. The Liria Palace
- D. The Royal Alcázar ✓
Answer: D - The Royal Alcázar (Madrid, level 3/3) Wikipedia: Royal Palace of Madrid
Round 4 - Music & culture
31. The Pinacoteca di Brera is which kind of institution?
- A. A science museum
- B. A university
- C. A theatre
- D. An art museum ✓
Answer: D - An art museum (Milan, level 1/3) Wikipedia: Pinacoteca di Brera
32. Which painter's frescoes decorate vaults and domes of Zaragoza's Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar?
- A. Diego Velázquez
- B. El Greco
- C. Francisco Goya ✓
- D. Joaquín Sorolla
Answer: C - Francisco Goya (Zaragoza, level 1/3) Wikipedia: Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
33. Several of Stockholm's museums and galleries are found on which island just east of the city centre?
- A. Södermalm
- B. Kungsholmen
- C. Djurgården ✓
- D. Lidingö
Answer: C - Djurgården (Stockholm, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Djurgården
34. Which painter, famous for muted still lifes of bottles and vases, was born in Bologna?
- A. Amedeo Modigliani
- B. Giorgio de Chirico
- C. Umberto Boccioni
- D. Giorgio Morandi ✓
Answer: D - Giorgio Morandi (Bologna, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Giorgio Morandi
35. The Stockholm Metro is often called the world's longest what?
- A. Tunnel
- B. Escalator
- C. Art gallery ✓
- D. Bicycle path
Answer: C - Art gallery (Stockholm, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Stockholm Metro
36. In which Madrid museum is Picasso's 'Guernica' exhibited?
- A. Museo Reina Sofía ✓
- B. Museo del Prado
- C. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
- D. Museo Sorolla
Answer: A - Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Guernica (Picasso)
37. What type of bridge is the central section of Amsterdam's Magere Brug (Skinny Bridge) over the Amstel?
- A. A cable-stayed bridge
- B. A white-painted wooden bascule (drawbridge) ✓
- C. A stone arch bridge
- D. A floating pontoon bridge
Answer: B - A white-painted wooden bascule (drawbridge) (Amsterdam, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Magere Brug
38. Lyon's airport is named after which Lyon-born aviation pioneer and writer?
- A. Jules Verne
- B. Louis Blériot
- C. Roland Garros
- D. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ✓
Answer: D - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Lyon, level 2/3) Wikipedia: Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport
39. Barcelona's annual La Mercè festival honours which figure?
- A. Saint George
- B. Saint Joseph
- C. Our Lady of Mercy ✓
- D. Saint John
Answer: C - Our Lady of Mercy (Barcelona, level 2/3) Wikipedia: La Mercè
40. Which march is the traditional closing encore of the Vienna New Year's Concert?
- A. Radetzky March ✓
- B. Rákóczi March
- C. Triumphal March
- D. Washington Post March
Answer: A - Radetzky March (Vienna, level 3/3) Wikipedia: Vienna New Year's Concert
Round 5 - Bonus: Halloween and Samhain
41. What was Samhain, the Gaelic festival that is one of the roots of Halloween?
- A. A Roman festival for the goddess Pomona
- B. A Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest and the start of winter ✓
- C. A Christian feast for the martyrs of Rome
- D. A Norse midwinter feast
Answer: B - A Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest and the start of winter (Halloween) Samhain is a Gaelic festival on 1 November that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It originated in Ireland and was also widely observed in Scotland and the Isle of Man. Wikipedia: Samhain
42. Which vegetable was traditionally hollowed out and carved into a jack-o'-lantern in Ireland and Scotland?
- A. Pumpkin
- B. Turnip ✓
- C. Potato
- D. Beetroot
Answer: B - Turnip (Halloween) In the 19th century, turnips (and mangel-wurzels) were hollowed out and carved as lanterns for Halloween in parts of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. The pumpkin became the usual choice in the United States and Canada. Wikipedia: Jack-o'-lantern
43. In which of these countries is 1 November NOT a national public holiday?
- A. Spain
- B. Portugal
- C. France
- D. The Netherlands ✓
Answer: D - The Netherlands (Halloween) The Netherlands' list of national holidays has no 1 November. Spain (Día de Todos los Santos), Portugal (Dia de Todos os Santos) and France (La Toussaint) do observe it as a national holiday. Wikipedia: Public holidays in the Netherlands
44. Which sweet is typical of Spanish pastry shops around 1 November?
- A. Roscón de Reyes
- B. Huesos de santo ✓
- C. Panettone
- D. Pan de muerto
Answer: B - Huesos de santo (Halloween) Huesos de santo ('saints' bones') are marzipan sweets, shaped like bones and originally filled with an egg-yolk sweet. Spanish pastry shops sell them from late October into early November, for All Saints' Day. Wikipedia: Huesos de santo
45. On 1 November, Portuguese children go from door to door saying "Pão-por-Deus" ("bread for God"). What do they receive?
- A. Small cakes, nuts, fruit and sweets ✓
- B. School textbooks
- C. Candles for the cemetery
- D. Cinema tickets
Answer: A - Small cakes, nuts, fruit and sweets (Halloween) Pão-por-Deus ('bread for God') is a Portuguese tradition of All Saints' Day. Children go door to door and are given small cakes, nuts, fruit, chocolates and sweets. Wikipedia: Pão-por-Deus
46. In Catalonia, what is traditionally eaten at the Castanyada, the All Saints' celebration?
- A. Roasted chestnuts and panellets ✓
- B. Paella and turrón
- C. Churros with hot chocolate
- D. Tortilla and croquetas
Answer: A - Roasted chestnuts and panellets (Halloween) In Catalonia the Castanyada celebrates All Saints with roasted chestnuts (castanyes) and panellets, special almond balls covered in pine nuts. Wikipedia: Castanyada
47. Mexico's Day of the Dead is linked to 1 and 2 November. What is 2 November called in the Catholic calendar?
- A. All Souls' Day ✓
- B. All Hallows' Eve
- C. Ash Wednesday
- D. Candlemas
Answer: A - All Souls' Day (Halloween) In the Catholic calendar, All Saints' Day is 1 November and All Souls' Day follows on 2 November. Mexico's Day of the Dead is traditionally celebrated on 1 and 2 November. Wikipedia: All Saints' Day
48. Trick-or-treating traces back to which older custom?
- A. Guising: going house to house in costume for food, in Scotland and Ireland ✓
- B. A Roman harvest procession
- C. Christmas carol singing in Germany
- D. A Lenten fasting ritual in Spain
Answer: A - Guising: going house to house in costume for food, in Scotland and Ireland (Halloween) The history of trick-or-treating traces back to Scotland and Ireland, where guising (going house to house in costume for food or treats) is recorded from at least the 16th century. The phrase "trick or treat" was first recorded in Ontario, Canada, in 1917. Wikipedia: Trick-or-treating
49. Is 1 November (All Saints' Day, Allerheiligen) a public holiday in every German federal state?
- A. Yes, in every federal state
- B. No, only in five federal states ✓
- C. Only in Berlin
- D. No, it is not observed anywhere
Answer: B - No, only in five federal states (Halloween) All Saints' Day is a public holiday in five German federal states: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland. Germany also treats it as a quiet day (stiller Tag), when public entertainment is allowed only if it keeps the day's serious character. Wikipedia: All Saints' Day
50. "Halloween" is a contraction of "All Hallows' Eve". It is the evening before which feast?
- A. All Saints' Day (All Hallows' Day) ✓
- B. All Souls' Day
- C. Midsummer
- D. Epiphany
Answer: A - All Saints' Day (All Hallows' Day) (Halloween) Halloween is the evening of 31 October, the eve of All Saints' Day on 1 November. The word is a contraction of 'All Hallows' Eve'. Wikipedia: Halloween
Tiebreakers
T1. In which year does the oldest surviving document that mentions Amsterdam date from?
Answer: 1275 (Amsterdam) Wikipedia: History of Amsterdam
T2 (only if still level). In which year did the Vienna State Opera house on the Ringstraße open?
Answer: 1869 (Vienna) Wikipedia: Vienna State Opera
Teams write a year; closest wins. Equal distance: use T2.
Scoreboard
| Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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