Pub Quiz (!)
Created by Laurence J MacGuire a.k.a Liu Jian Ming aka 刘建明
Bangkok, 2020/05/15
Part 1
Assholes from left to right
1
Which American politician “accidentally” shot a colleague in the face?
Dick Cheney. Harry Whittington subsequently apologized for what Dick Cheney’s family had gone through.
2
Which Muslim leader improsomed his entourage in the Ritz-Carlton hotel when he suspected them of embezzling funds?
Muhammad Bin Salman
He may or may not have also instigated the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
3
Which African dictactor was known for his cohort of female bodyguards?
Muamar Gaddafi
4
Which are the two Spain influenced countries that took wildly different approaches to drugs?
Mexico decriminalised all drugs, while Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines legalised the murder of drug dealers.
5
Under the leadership of which Asian leader were “Abnormal beards” banned?
Xi JinPing, a.k.a. Xitler
6
Which South American leader murdered hundreds, then fled to the UK and never faced trial?
Maggie Thatcher had a soft-spot for Augusto Pinochet, who was also influenced by Chicago laissez-faire capitalism scholars.
7
Which war time leader had previously wanted to be a painter, but was rejected from art school?
Without knowing the painters identity, an art critic recently said Adolf Hitler’s paintings were “unremarkable” and showed a “profound disinterest in people”
8
What is Richard Nixon famed to have said shortly prior to his resignation?
I am not a crook.
9
Which USSR politician is known for having said “One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic”
Holding the number 2 spot on the deathtoll top 10, Joseph Stalin.
10
Who is number 1?
During the cultural revolution, Mao Ze Dong ordered farmers to forge steel, and encouraged the killing of 4 pests – Swallows, rats, flies and mosquitos – resulting in an ecological disaster, then famine.
78 Million people died under his rule.
Part 2
Awesome Women
1
Which world politician announced that both the easter bunny and tooth fairy were “essential workers”?
Jacinda Ardern, the PM of New Zealand. She also added that the “essential workers” might be too busy to come to all homes, giving an out to poorer parents.
2
A US naval officer born in 1906 is credited to have invented programming languages that ressemble english. What is her name?
Grace Hopper helped developer the UNIVAC 1 machine, as worked on early compilers that would form the basis for COBOL; a language still used at banks like KA.
3
Marie Curie and her husband, (lucky) Pierre, are known for which of their discoveries?
Their major discoveries, and cause of their untimely deaths, Polonium and Radium.
4
Harriet Tubman, an African-American slave who escaped, made 13 return trips to rescue her family.
What is the name of the network that helped her do so?
The “underground railroad” was a network of routes and safehouses for slaves to escape servitude into Northern states and Canada.
5
Which charater of a famous movie franchise set in the future is known for challenging gender politics and saving the world N times?
In the movie series Alien(s), Ellen Ripley fought Xenomorphs 4 times, over the course of 200 years, saved two ships, and three planets.
6
In 1937, the first woman to attempt flying around the world disappeared, no wreckage was ever found; who was she?
Amelia Earhart; her disappearance remains one of the worlds greatest mysteries.
7
What did Jane Goodall, the world famed anthopologist, study over most her career?
Jane Goodall has basically lived with Chimpanzees for 40 years.
8
This 19th century pirate controlled 300 ships, 30000 pirates, and entered battle with the British and Portugese empires.
Who was she?
Ching Shih, a Chinese ex-prostitute during the Qing dynasty ran one of the worlds biggest pirate operations.
9
This English born aristocrat is known to have worked on the Babbage machine, and developed the first computer algorithm during the 19th century.
Ada Lovelace
10
Which member of Northern English nobility came to Thailand in 2019?
Liam’s Mom.
Part 3
Random Shit
1
Of which food do the French consumme approximately half a kilo, yearly, per-capita?
Snails
2
Which publicly traded company depicted in the popular media resorted to gambling when it ran into financial difficulties shortly after it’s creation?
FedEx, launched in 1971, ran into massive liquidity problems, and after having tried everything else, the founder flew to vegas, and turned the company’s last 5000 dollars into 27000, enough to cover expenses for a week.
3
Which novel or film had the main character repeat “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”.
Stephen King’s The Shining, starring Jack Nicholson, Scatman Crothers, and others whom no one remembers, spent months typewriting the phrase over 2 or 3 reams of paper.
4
Which publicly traded company committed fraud and financial crimes, leading to 30000 layoffs, the suicide of a board member, and the introduction of the Sarbanes Oxley auditing regulations?
Shotly before their demise, Enron held the state of California hostage during the electric blackouts. They had been cooking the books, and borrowing heavily against themselves; and wall street was complicit.
5
In the 80s, New York city saw a wave of pop-art and grafiti. One person emerged as a public figure in the movement, most often stenciling stick figures with themes of babies, dogs, or homosexuality.
When he died of AIDS in 1990, Keith Haring’s estate was turned into a non-profit to provide funding and imagery to AIDS related causes.
6
What does the Thai word “Singto” mean?
Lion, as is the logo of Singha beer.
7
Which edible product is Bill Cosby known for having advertised heavily in the 70s and 80s?
Jell-O
8
In communist China, which western child cartoon has been censored because it resembles its dear leader?
Winnie the pooh
9
Through a genetic quirk, which visible clue indicates a cat is female?
Being 3 colored.
10
What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?