GAME
QUERY

GAME
QUERY

THE MIND-STRETCHING
ECONOMIST QUIZ

Philip Coggan, Josie Delap, Geoffrey Carr,
John Prideaux and Simon Wright

Published under exclusive licence from The Economist by
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Copyright © Philip Coggan, Josie Delap, Geoffrey Carr, John Prideaux, Simon Wright, 2017

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Where opinion is expressed it is that of the author or authors and does not necessarily coincide with the editorial views of The Economist Newspaper.

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eISBN 978 1 78283 426 7

CONTENTS

A SEVERE CONTEST

To answer all the questions in this book, you will need to be a polymath. The volume is divided into 12 parts, representing the 12 themed sections of The Economist. Each section has 50 questions, making 600 in all. Many people think The Economist only covers economics or politics. This is far from the case. As this foreword was being written in June 2017, the latest issue had articles on elephants, Goethe, global football, opioid abuse in Montana, Chinese civil rights lawyers and an obituary for Roxcy O’Neal Bolton, a feminist who campaigned to have storms named after men as well as women.

The questions in the quiz that awaits you are similarly wide-ranging. In fact, they were beyond the wit of any one individual to devise. Several of the authors are members of the Economist quiz team, which regularly does battle with other publications under the name “Marginal Futility”, an economics joke that our publishers cruelly rejected as a title for the present volume. (At least we fought off their suggestion of “Megabrains”.)

Mega or not, the brain of one individual usually contains unexpected treasures, and it is the joy of a quiz to bring them to light. Our business affairs editor once amazed us by knowing the star sign of Justin Bieber. Unexpected lacunae, on the other hand, are galling. The author will never recover from the shame of being defeated in a tiebreak question over the date of the Alamo siege. It was 1836, if you must know, not that it’s in the book.

And neither is Mr Bieber. The matter of general knowledge quizzes is often disparaged as “trivia”. But in this era of “post-truth” politics, facts are important. Being stumped by the questions is not a failure; it is an opportunity to be better informed. Many of the answers in the back of the book are discursive, explaining the background to the question and some common misconceptions. Polls show that people regularly overestimate figures such as the proportion of immigrants in the population and the amount of money spent on foreign aid; they are also poor at differentiating between risks. Americans are 13.43 times more likely to die from choking on a piece of food than from terrorism, for example.

As a weekly newspaper, we interpret and select the news. Inevitably and openly, that means many of our articles are opinionated. But we aim to back up our opinions with facts; every piece has to survive the rigorous attention of the research department.

The whole process is a collective effort. That’s why, ever since The Economist was founded in 1843, it has not featured individual bylines. (An exception is made for our special reports.) Michael Lewis, the author of The Big Short, once said the anonymity of our authors was designed to hide our callow youth; alas, a look at the greying heads in our newsroom proves him wrong.

Just like the paper, this book is a collective effort. A team of five from various editorial departments devised the questions. The rounds don’t carry individual bylines but our identities are no secret. The authors are Geoffrey Carr, Philip Coggan, Josie Delap, John Prideaux and Simon Wright. And, just as with each week’s issue, everything had to be fact-checked; Lisa Davies of our research team did the honours.

The one thing more enjoyable than getting a tricky question right is knowing that a friend or family member would get it wrong, a fact we had ample opportunity to learn during the composition of this book. Rest assured, none of us could have answered all the questions in the sections we didn’t write. That being so, it may seem unnecessary to single out particular questions as difficult – but for those who like an extra challenge, that’s what we’ve done. These “super-hard” questions (and their answers) are clearly marked with a

Perhaps it was inevitable that The Economist would produce a quiz. Every week its contents page proclaims our desire to take part in “a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.” These are words to live by. Time to press forward.

Philip Coggan

THE QUESTIONS

BENIGHTED
KINGDOM

Britain

1.    Which British monarch has reigned the longest?

2.    How many people in the last 100 years have become prime minister without first having stood as party leader in a general election?

3.    What is the Barnett formula?

4.    What proportion of the population of England and Wales is Muslim? (You can have 2% either side.)

5.    In which decade did Britain get its first female MP?

6.    What does the Salisbury convention stipulate?

7.  Only one politician has held all four great offices of state: home secretary, foreign secretary, chancellor of the exchequer and prime minister. Who?

8.    What is the highest rate of income tax ever imposed in Britain and when?

9.    In 2006 Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent who fled to Britain, was poisoned with polonium while eating at a London restaurant. What kind of cuisine did it serve?

10.  A “great paper-weight that for half a century sat upon men’s minds, and when she was removed their ideas began to blow about all over the place haphazardly”. Who was H. G. Wells describing?

11.  Which politicians were the inspiration for Butskellism and what are the four pillars on which it stood?

12.  In 1976 Britain earned which dubious economic honour?

13.  In 2010 Sir Peter Viggers was forced to resign as an MP after claiming £1,645 on expenses for what?

14.  “I count my blessings for the fact I don’t have to go into that pit,” remarked who of what in 1991?

15.  The parliamentary constituency of Dartford is notable for what?

16.  What do both the largest and smallest constituencies (by population) have in common?

17.  Which saintly figure did Margaret Thatcher misquote outside 10 Downing Street after becoming prime minister in 1979?

18.  Among Britain’s prime ministers since the beginning of the 20th century, a) what is the most common university attended; and b) how many did not attend university?

19.  To what did Harold MacMillan respond with the words “Perhaps we could have a translation, I could not quite follow” in 1960?

20.  Harold MacMillan’s “wind of change” speech signalled the beginning of the end of the British Empire in which part of the world?

21.  In what year was the voting age lowered to 18?

22.  Which was the first band to perform on Top of the Pops, the BBC’s chart show?

23.  Who traditionally lived at 12 Downing Street?

24.  Of the four great offices of state, which has never been held by a woman?

25.  Which Labour foreign secretary also won an Olympic silver medal and a Nobel prize? And in what sport and what field?

26.  To which British prime minister was President John F. Kennedy related by marriage?

27.  Stephen Ward, a key figure in the Profumo affair, which ended in the resignation of John Profumo, a secretary of state for war under Harold MacMillan, was a member of which profession?

28.  If an MP applies for the Chiltern Hundreds, what is she doing?

29.  Only one British prime minister has been assassinated. Who?

30.  In 1981 what did the “Gang of Four” do?

31.  The following were nicknames for which prime ministers? a) The Unknown Prime Minister b) Man of Peace c) The Coroner d) Dizzy e) Grey Man

32.  In a career spanning half a century, what was Winston Churchill’s first ministerial position and in what year was he appointed to it?

33.  The word Tory, now a nickname for a member or supporter of the Conservative Party, originally meant what?

34.  Which country residences are traditionally given to: a) the prime minister b) the chancellor of the exchequer c) the foreign secretary?

35.  As well as being the first female mayor and magistrate in Britain, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first woman to qualify in which profession?

36.  What were the fishing disputes between Britain and Iceland between the 1950s and 1970s known as?

37.  Of whom did Denis Healey, a former Labour chancellor, say the following? a) debating with him was “like being savaged by a dead sheep”; b) “He has the face of a man who clubs baby seals”; c) “Yes I have been on a diet but not the ________________ one. I don’t want to look like death warmed up.”

38.  Sake Dean Mahomet, a Muslim Indian soldier born in 1759, is credited with opening Britain’s first what?

39.  The first UK-wide referendum was held in what year and on what subject?

40.  In 1915 Cecil Chubb was the last private owner of which national landmark, which he bought as a present for his wife?

41.  In which restaurant, now closed, did Tony Blair allegedly promise Gordon Brown that if elected prime minister he would serve only two terms before resigning in the latter’s favour?

42.  After Tony Blair’s visit to Camp David in 2001, George W. Bush joked that they had taken the “special relationship” to a new level because he and the prime minister used the same brand of what?

43.  Who married Margaret Kempson in 1942 and Margaret Roberts in 1951?

44.  Ronald Millar, a scriptwriter and dramatist, wrote screenplays for MGM and adapted several C. P. Snow novels for the stage. He was also a speechwriter for three ministers. Which was his most famous line and for whom?

45.  The package of reforms enacted on October 27th 1986 was known as what and revolutionised what?

46.  What were Britons encouraged to “tell Sid” about in 1986?

47.  Which philosopher most strongly influenced Enoch Powell, a Conservative politician known mostly for his anti-immigration stance and “rivers of blood” speech?

48.  Since 1945 the three largest parliamentary majorities were won by which party leaders, in which years? And what were those majorities (to the nearest 10)?

49.  When he became prime minister in 1970 Edward Heath was unusual in having origins far humbler than those of any of his predecessors and most of his peers. What did his mother and father do?

50.  For what did Britain declare its support in the Balfour Declaration of 1917?

OCCIDENTS OF
HISTORY

Europe

1.    Europe is named after Europa, a figure from Greek myth. Which God abducted her, disguised as a bull?

2.    Who, in Greek myth, was Europa’s son and what is he most famous for?

3.    Which planet has a moon called Europa?

4.    Euro notes all feature different styles of architecture. What is the style on the following notes? a) €20 b) €100 c) €500

5.    The word euro appears on notes in three alphabets. What are they?

6.    Which country’s euro coins feature the following? a) two flying swans b) the Birth of Venus c) a tree

7.    Which European country is the most unequal according to the OECD? And which the least?

8.    Which is the most densely populated country in Europe? And which the least?

9.    How many official languages does the EU have (as of 2017)?

10.  What proportion of the EU population is Muslim? (You can have 2% either side.)

11.  How many European states (excluding the UK) have hereditary monarchs?

12.  Name the last emperors or kings of: a) Austria-Hungary b) Italy c) Portugal d) Greece.

13.  Who was in charge of France at the end of both the Second Republic and the Second Empire?

14.  Which is the fake Eurovision song contest winner? a) “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley” b) “La La La” c) “Un banc, un arbre, une rue” d) “De do do do, de da da da” e) “Ding-a-dong”

15.  Which EU country is most covered by woodland?

16.  Which European country’s flags have: a) a double-headed eagle b) the shape of the country itself c) a yellow sun on a red background?

17.  Charlemagne is generally accepted as being the first Holy Roman Emperor; he was crowned by the Pope in 800CE. But who was the last person to hold the title?

18.  Which was the first European country to give women the vote? And which was the last?

19.  According to the OECD in early 2017, which EU country had the highest government spending as a proportion of GDP?

20.  And which EU country had the lowest government spending as a proportion of GDP?

21.  The EU institutions have four presidents at any time. Which institutions do they lead?

22.  Which wars were ended by: a) the Treaty of Utrecht b) the Congress of Vienna c) the Treaty of Frankfurt?

23.  Put these French monarchs called Charles in chronological order: a) the Fat b) the Simple c) the Wise d) the Bald

24.  Where are the current locations of these historic states? a) The Batavian Republic b) Alclud or Alt Clut c) The Helvetic Republic

25.  Name the country where these political parties operate: a) Vlaams Belang b) Podemos c) Top 09 d) Democraten 66

26.  How many independent states have emerged from the former Yugoslavia?

27.  Britain had to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon in order to leave the EU. But what is the subject of Article 49?

28.  As of 2017, which German Länder is the largest by population? And which is the smallest?

29.  Which German Länder is the largest by area? And which is the smallest?

30.  How many cantons are there in Switzerland?

31.  What are the four official languages of Switzerland? And which fifth language is used on Swiss coins?

32.  Which other European country uses the Swiss franc as its main currency?

33.  Link these Communist leaders with the Eastern European countries they governed: a) Todor Zhivkov b) Gustáv Husák c) János Kádár

34.  It is a running joke that it is impossible to name three famous Belgians. But what were these Belgians famous for? a) Leo Hendrik Baekeland b) Eddy Merckx c) Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston

35.  Where are the following European palaces located? a) Sanssouci b) Nymphenburg c) Het Loo

36.  There is no proof that Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin ever met. But they did live in the same town in the same year. Where and when?

37.  Can you tell which quotes are those of Hitler, and which of Stalin? a) “I believe in one thing only, the power of human will” b) “One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic” c) “Death solves all problems – no man, no problem” d) “What good fortune for governments that the people do not think”

38.  How many counties are there in the Republic of Ireland? And which are the biggest and smallest by area?

39.  Locate these French wines in the right region: a) Muscadet Sèvre et Maine b) Nuits-Saint-Georges c) Sauternes

40.  The euro wasn’t the first attempt to form a common European currency. Which four countries established the Latin Monetary union in 1865?

41.  Which pairs of European countries were united from a) 1814 to 1905 b) 1815 to 1830 c) 1938 to 1945?

42.  The Pope is historically associated with Rome. But in which city did popes reside from 1309 to 1377?

43.  In which European cities are these bridges? a) Erasmus b) Chain c) Vasco da Gama

44.  Which Russian tsars: a) emancipated the serfs b) defeated Napoleon c) started the Crimean war?

45.  It is easy to get confused between the European Court of Justice, which interprets EU law, and the European Court of Human Rights, which is not linked to the EU and covers 47 countries that have ratified the human rights convention. But where are the two courts based?

46.  The EU is noted for its many regulatory bodies. But where are the following based? a) The European Food Safety Authority b) The European Securities and Markets Authority c) The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

47.  Three European countries were among the top five most visited by tourists in 2015, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation. Which were they?

48.  In which EU countries, on the latest data, did citizens have the longest life expectancy at birth? And which two countries had the shortest?

49.  Which Roman emperor a) was the last of the Claudian dynasty b) extended the empire to its greatest size c) was, according to one ancient historian, used as a footstool by the King of Persia?

50.  Which European country was partitioned three times between 1772 and 1795, disappearing entirely in the process?

MENTAL STATES

US

1.  How many people signed the Declaration of Independence?

2.  The original star-spangled banner, about which Francis Scott Key wrote his ditty, got a bit battered in the war of 1812. How many of its golden stars are still visible?

3.  The first notable uprising in America by white settlers against the king took place in 1676. What was it called?

4.  How many elected presidents failed to win a plurality of the popular vote?

5.  Under the Senate’s filibuster rule, 41 senators can band together and block legislation. Each state has two senators, so the senators representing the 21 least populous states can in theory exercise a veto on legislation. The 21 least populous states combined are home to what percentage of America’s population?

6.  Who was the first American president not to own slaves?

7.  Democracy in America, published in 1835, is probably the best book written about American politics. Who was the author?

8.  The site of the Battle of Little Big Horn is in which state?

9.  The gunfight at the OK Corral took place between the Clanton and McLaury gangs and the Earps and Doc Holliday. What were the names of Wyatt’s two brothers who took part in the shootout?

10.  The People’s Party was founded in 1891 and merged with the Democratic Party five years later. How many states did its candidate win in the presidential election of 1892?

11.  Who was the only man to serve as both president of the United States and chief justice of the Supreme Court?

12.  Barack Obama was the last president to win the Nobel peace prize. How many other presidents have won the prize?

13.  In 1922, Rebecca Latimer Felton became the first woman to serve in the Senate. How long was she there for?

14.  Barry Goldwater’s book, The Conscience of a Conservative, which was published in 1960, inspired a failed presidential campaign and became essential reading for a generation of Republicans. But who actually wrote it?

15.  In 1967 the Loving v Virginia case reached the Supreme Court. What momentous decision came out of it?

16.  Which is the longest river in the United States?

17.  Which state gets the most annual rainfall? And which gets the least?

18.  Which state produces the most coal?

19.  Around 28% of land in America is owned by the federal government and most of it is administered by four agencies? Can you name them?

20.  There is no escape from federal income tax but seven states levy no additional income tax. How many can you name?

21.  The American National Election Studies asks those who voted in presidential elections to place the parties on a left–right scale, with government should provide “many more services” on the left, and government should “reduce spending a lot” on the right. What percentage of voters in 2016 could not place the Democratic and Republican parties correctly on a left–right scale?