50 for fun; POST PUZLLER: Phil Brown's trivia quiz.

Byline: Phil Brown

1 Which ancient Greek city-state had five annually-elected ephors, whose powers included the right to arrest their kings for misconduct in war?

2 Which leading composer and equally eminent poet collaborated for the well-known 1936 short film Night Mail?

3 Hej, Gamle Man (Hello, Old Man) was the first song released together by the members of which later-famous group?

4 Which fellow Russian tennis star knocked top seed Maria Sharapova out of this year's French Open?

5 Which psychiatrist developed, in 1921, a still-widely used and stillcontroversial character test based on people's reactions to 10 specific inkblot shapes?

6 Which spectacular British bird has the scientific name of Aquila chrysaetos?

7 In which city has Jamaican runner Usain Bolt just set a new 100 metres world record of 9.72 seconds?

8 Belgian Firmin Lambot, who won at the age of 36 in 1922, remains the oldest victor in which major sporting event?

9 In the fictional Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood, which monarch is supposed to have founded the Torchwood Institute?

10Ronas Hill is the highest point of which British island group?

11Which world-famous US TV series has just agreed a deal with its stars for a 20th season of the show, reportedly giving some of them pounds 200,000 per episode?

12In which country is the European Space Agency's main spaceport from where launches are made?

13Which well-known actor and exhusband of Audrey Hepburn died this week at the age of 90?

14In the news this week, MOA- 2007-BLG-192Lb is the rather uncatchy name for the smallest what yet known to science?

15Ellas Otha Bates was the birth name of which revered and influential musician who died this week?

16The small Californian town of Cupertino has been the HQ of which giant computing firm since April 1, 1976?

17Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity is (logically enough) the motto of which organisation?

18Acol and Goren are among many systems used in which popular game?

19In which year (10 either way) did southern England see the Swing Riots, an agricultural equivalent of the Luddites, which saw hundreds of threshing machines destroyed under the supposed leadership of "Captain Swing"?

20Which former English Premiership footballer now turning out for Barcelona has just become the sixth player to win 100 caps for France?

21Pre-war Hollywood star Clara Bow was the original "It Girl" - but which British author of books then considered racy originally coined the term?

22Which Australian batsman currently holds the record for (non-wicketkeeper) catches in Test matches?

23Which actor connects The Naked Jungle, Planet Of The Apes and Wayne's World 2?

24Which actress played beautiful murder suspect Maria Gambrelli in 1964 "Pink Panther" film A Shot In The Dark?

25The veteran reggae musician Winston Rodney is now known by what was the name of his group - taken in turn from a nickname for Kenyan leader Jomo Kenyatta. What is it?

26Since World War 2, only two UK prime ministers have returned to that office after a spell in opposition - can you name them?

27The "Great Schism" which divided Christianity into what would become the Roman Catholic and Orthodox branches took place in which year?

28Lying a few miles off the coast of Venezuela, the island of Aruba is a "constituent country" within which European kingdom?

29Which of the United States of America was the last of the 48 "continental" states (ie not including Alaska and Hawaii) to achieve statehood, in 1912?

30Which ocean's deepest point is closest to the centre of the Earth?

31In which European country were at least 60,000 people, and perhaps as many as 200,000, killed by an earthquake and following tsunami in December 1908?

32To which continent is the antiseptic-yielding creosote bush native?

33Who wrote cutting 17th century comedy Tartuffe, which provoked the Archbishop of Paris into threatening to excommunicate anyone who acted in or even watched or read it?

3 4Which sparkling trade-named perry was developed more than 50 years ago by the Shepton Mallet brewer and cider-maker Francis Showering?

35Which country invaded Mexico in the 1838 Pastry War, so named because the invading country provoked it by claiming colossal damages for a pastry chef's losses caused by Mexican soldiers 10 years earlier?

36The EHF Champions League is a prestigious European tournament in which sport?

37Which chemical element was first recognised (though not isolated) in 1789 when scientist Martin Klaproth analysed a Ceylonian jargoon gemstone?

38In which organ of the body would you find the corpus callosum?

39In which long-running TV programme is the central location modelled on the real-life location of Fassett Square?

40In Ireland, camogie is a women's sport virtually identical to which men's sport?

41In which of Shakespeare plays do we find "fillet of a fenny snake"?

42Which British royal ceremony dating back to medieval times was, on March 20 this year, conducted in Northern Ireland (in Armagh) for the first time ever?

43Moseley Shoals and Marchin' Already were big-selling 1990s albums from which rock group?

44Comedians Monty Python's Flying Circus have released many albums, but only ever had one song in the UK singles chart - what was it?

45To which country is the longnosed bandicoot a native?

46At which Hollywood studios did a major fire make headlines at the weekend?

47The LodgerA Story Of The London Fog was the first thriller directed by which master of the genre?

48Since 2004, the Ediacaran period has been officially used by geologists for the period between 600 million and 542 million years agoit is named after a range of hills in which country?

49Which singer had a major transatlantic 1988 hit with Don't Worry, Be Happy?

50In which film of 2001 did the actress Anne Hathaway play what proved her breakthrough role of Mia T

ANSWERS

1 Sparta; 2 Benjamin Britten and WH Auden; 3 Abba (not yet under that name); 4 Dinara Safina; 5 Hermann Rorschach; 6 The golden eagle; 7 New York; 8 The Tour de France; 9 Queen Victoria; 10 The Shetlands; 11 The Simpsons; 12 France (Kourou in French Guiana, an overseas department of France); 13 Mel Ferrer; 14 Planet outside our solar system; 15 Bo Diddley; 16 Apple, Inc; 17 The FBI; 18 Contract bridge; 19 In 1830; 20 Thierry Henry; 21 Elinor Glyn; 22 Mark Waugh (though he may soon be overtaken by Rahul Dravid); 23 Charlton Heston; 24 Elke Sommer; 25 Burning Spear; 26 Winston Churchill and Harold Wilson; 27 In 1054; 28 The Netherlands; 29 Arizona; 30 The Arctic's (the Eurasian Basin at 17,881 feet down, since the Earth is a slightly flattened sphere); 31 Italy (centred on the city of Messina); 32 North America; 33 Moliere; 34 Babycham; 35 France; 36 Handball; 37 Zirconium; 38 The brain; 39 EastEnders (Albert Square; Fassett Square is in Hackney borough); 40 Hurling; 41 Macbeth (part of the three witches' potion recipe); 42 The giving of Maundy money; 43 Ocean Colour Scene; 44 Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life; 45 Australia; 46 Universal Studios; 47 Alfred Hitchcock; 48 Australia; 49 Bobby McFerrin; 50 The Princess Diaries

CAPTION(S):

What was actress Anne Hathaway's breakthrough film? See question 50