Pancakes and Pub Quiz

Key and guidelines for the host:

Bright yellow highlight: Sections of the quiz; there are three sections
Light yellow highlight: Pub quiz questions. These are to be read out loud
Bolded text: The correct answer to the question. For the first section, you’ll read the multiple
choice options, and the for the second two sections you’ll just read the question.

Team creation: Have participants split into teams of 3-4 when they arrive. Each team should
receive a piece of paper and writing utensils to write down their answers. Give folks ~10
minutes to form teams and get to know each other.

Game play: Each team is responsible for writing down answers on the provided sheet of paper.
There are three sections, and 62 questions in total. Give the teams ~1 minute to answer the
questions.

Scoring: Have the teams score each other's answers. You can go through the answers and
then have each team report the score the the team that they graded. The team with the highest
points wins!

PART I
Berlin Questions – 1 pt each
(We’re going to warm up with this round, so each question is multiple choice. But
because this makes it easier, each question is only worth one point.)

#1. Berlin is said to get its name from an Old Polabian word meaning:
a. Swamp
b. Bear
c. Under the oaks
d. Fire mountain

[Although the origin of the name Berlin is uncertain. It is popularly consider to have its roots in
the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of today’s city, and may be related to the
Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- (“swamp“).]

#2. When did Berlin become the capital of Germany?

a. 1701
b. 1806
c. 1871
d. 1933

[When Germany was founded in 1871, following the Wars of Unification against Austria,
Denmark, and France, Berlin became the capital of this new state.]
#3. True or False: Berlin has more bridges than Venice?
a. True
b. False

[There are more than 1,700 bridges in Berlin. Which means not only does Berlin have more
bridges than Venice. It has more bridges than Venice, Amsterdam, and Stockholm combined.]

#4. When was the Berlin Wall built?

a. 1960
b. 1961
c. 1965
d. 1972

[Constructed on August 13th 1961 by the East German government, the Berlin Wall would stand
for another 28 years 3 months and 28 days until the ‘Fall of the Wall’ on November 9th 1989.]

#5. Which US President spoke in 1987 and called on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to ‘Tear
down this Wall’?
a. Jimmy Carter
b. Ronald Reagan
c. George H.W. Bush
d. Bill Clinton

[US President Ronald Reagan spoke on the western side of the Brandenburg Gate in June
1987, not only calling for Gorbachev to “Tear down this Wall” but importantly for many Berliners
to “Open this Gate” – as the Brandenburg Gate was at that time inaccessible, stranded in the
‘Death Strip’ of the Berlin Wall.]

#6. Which of these colours is not on the Berlin flag?

a. Red
b. White
c. Black
d. Yellow

[The Berlin flag is black, red, and white. Not to be confused with the German flag, which is
black, red, and gold.]

#7. Around which river was the original centre of Berlin built?
a. Spree
b. Rhine
c. Oder
d. Lech
[Like many cities, Berlin originally grew around a river – the river Spree. In fact it was here that
two settlements – one called Berlin and the other called Cölln grew before being merged into
one city in 1710 by Prussian King Frederick I.]

#8. Which of the following people was NOT born in Berlin?

a. Frederick the Great
b. Adolf Hitler
c. Marlene Dietrich
d. Alexander von Humboldt

[Although Adolf Hitler would become a naturalised citizen of Germany in 1932 – following his
appointment as a low-ranking official for the city of Braunschweig – the future Führer was born
in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn and remained an Austrian citizen until renouncing his
citizenship in 1925 to become a stateless individual for the next seven years.]

#9. Which animal is featured on Berlin’s coat of arms?

a. Polar bear
b. Bear
c. Eagle
d. Lion

[The oldest preserved and known seal of Berlin is from 1253. It depicts the Brandenburg Eagle
spreading its wings and was supposedly the seal of Berlin’s first mayor Marsilius. However, in
1709, for the first time a bear appeared on the Berlin coat of arms, formerly alongside the
eagles of Brandenburg and Prussia. The present day Berlin coat of arms was introduced in
West Berlin in 1954, while the East German government used a slightly different version – both
making use of the bear, that had by that time become something of a city mascot. Take a trip
around the German capital today and you will see the bear everywhere…]

#10. What is the capital of the state of Berlin?

a. Berlin
b. Mitte
c. Alexanderplatz
d. Rotes Rathaus

[Berlin is not only a city but also a state – the capital of the state of Berlin is…Berlin.]

#11. From 1949 the seat of government of West Germany was in which city?
a. Berlin
b. Bonn
c. Cologne
d. Munich
[Whilst East Berlin would serve as the defacto capital of East Germany from 1949 until 1990;
the West German government was based in Bonn – a city of around 300,000 located in the
most populous of the current 16 German states: North Rhine-Westphalia. From 1990 to 1999,
Bonn also served as the seat of government – but no longer capital – of reunited Germany.]

#12. What is the name given to the Berlin underground?

a. Subway
b. S-Bahn
c. Metro
d. U-Bahn

[The Berlin underground network is known as the U-bahn. Whilst the S-bahn trains are
predominantly overground (although with some notable exceptions), there are also some
instances where the U-bahn appears overground too (albeit only for a few stations on the line).]

#13. How many museums are there on Berlin’s Museumsinsel?

a. 3
b. 4
c. 5
d. 6

[There are 5 museums on Berlin’s Museumsinsel: the Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the
Alte National Galerie, the Pergamon Museum, and the Bode Museum. In July 2019, the James
Simon Gallery was completed as the sixth building on the island and acts as a visitors centre.]

#14. Roughly how many people live in Berlin?

a. 2 million
b. 2,5 million
c. 3,6 million
d. 7,2 million

[According to government statistics, there are 3.669.491 residents in Berlin as of December 31st
2019.]

#15. Berlin was previously the capital city of which European power that no longer exists?
a. Austro-Hungarian Empire
b. Yugoslavia
c. Prussia
d. West Ukranian People’s Republic

[From 1701, Berlin served as the capital of the Imperial Kingdom of Prussia – which would grow
to become the largest state in Germany following Unification in 1871, with Berlin from that point
serving as the capital of the united country. The Kingdom of Prussia continued as a Germany
until 1918 when it was abolished in favour of a republic.]
#16. What was the name of the royal family that established the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701?
a. The Habsburgs
b. The Wettins
c. The Wittelsbachs
d. The Hohenzollerns

[Elector Frederick III of the House of Hohenzollern established the Kingdom of Prussia by
crowned himself “King in Prussia” and taking the title of Frederick I on 18 January 1701.]

#17. Where did US President John F. Kennedy give his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech?
a. Alexanderplatz
b. The Brandenburg Gate
c. The Rathaus Schöneberg
d. Potsdamer Platz

[Kennedy spoke to an audience of 120,000 from a platform erected on the steps of Rathaus
Schöneberg on June 26th 1963 – at that time the building served as the seat of the state senate
of West Berlin and as the seat of the Governing Mayor – future West German Chancellor Willy
Brandt.]

#18. Which city is connected to Berlin by the ‘Bridge of Spies’?

a. Potsdam
b. Dresden
c. Stettin
d. Brandenburg

[Officially known as the Glienicker Brücke, this green bridge connects Berlin with the
neighbouring city of Potsdam but also connects the state of Berlin to the state of Brandenburg –
which incidentally also has Potsdam as its capital. The Glienicker Brücke served as a Cold War
era crossing point between West Berlin on one side and East Germany on the other – and as
the only crossing point in the city that fell completely under the control of the Soviet authorities it
was used to facilitate a number of spy exchanges. Including the exchange on February 10th
1962 of captured U2-pilot Francis Gary Powers for Soviet Colonel Rudolf Abel.]

#19. What is the name of the official residence of the President of Germany?
a. The Reichstag
b. Schloss Charlottenburg
c. Schloss Bellevue
d. The Stadtschloss

[Schloss Bellevue has been the official residence of the President of Germany since 1994. Its
name derives from the French – “beautiful view” – to refer to the vantage point it has over the
nearby river Spree.]
#20. Which former Berlin airport is now a city park?
a. Schönefeld
b. Johannisthal
c. Gatow
d. Tempelhof

[Now known as Tempelhofer Feld, this city park was opened in 2008 and is located on the site
of the former Tempelhof airport. During the Cold War era this airport was used by US
occupation forces and played an important role in the Berlin Airlift.]

#21. Complete this famous quote by East German leader Walter Ulbricht from June
1961…”Nobody has any intentions of…”
a. …starting a war with the West.”
b. …building a Wall.”
c. …invade West Berlin.”
d. …closing the East German border.”

[At a press conference on June 15th 1961, East German leader Walter Ulbrich was asked by
the journalist Annemarie Doherr from the Frankfurter Rundschau whether creating a free city will
involve building a state border at the Brandenburg Gate… to which he replied: “I understand
your question in this way: that there are people in West Germany who want us to mobilise the
construction workers of the GDR capital to build a wall. Am I right? I am not aware of any such
plans. Most of the capital’s construction workers are busy building flats and their manpower is
being put to full use in these projects. Nobody has any intention of building a wall.” Less than
two months later, the construction of the Berlin Wall began on August 13th 1961.]

#22. Which US celebrity is famous for having performed a concert next to the Berlin Wall in
1989 whilst dangling from a crane?
a. David Hasselhoff
b. Mike Tyson
c. Donald Trump
d. Michael Jackson

[Wearing a piano-keyboard scarf and a leather jacket covered in Christmas lights, David
Hasselhoff stood in a bucket crane and performed his song Looking For Freedom to a crowd
gathered near the Brandenburg Gate on New Years Eve in 1989. While famous for his roles in
Nightrider and Baywatch, Hasselhoff has also had a successful musical career, with his album,
also named Looking For Freedom, going triple platinum in Europe in the 1980s. The title track
even managed to reach number 1 in the West German charts.]

PART II:
Geography - 2 pts each
These will not have multiple choice options–so get ready to test your knowledge
#23. What did the Romanians call Rome?
Dacia

#24. What is the world’s driest desert outside the Polar regions
Atacama

#25. Where do you find a cathedral inside a mosque and what is it called?
Cordoba; Mezquita

#26. Which country has the largest number of ancient pyramids?

Sudan

#27. Name the country with the largest muslim population in the world?
Indonesia

#28. Name the only country in Southeast Asia not colonized by Europeans?
Thailand

#29. Where did Fortune cookies originate?

Japan

#30. What is the most prominent religion of the Asian continent?

Islam, Hinduism

#31. Which Asian country is bigger than France, Spain and Germany combined but has a
population of little over two million?
Mongolia

#32. Which European country shares its border with the most neighbors
Germany - 9

#33. Which country is nicknamed ‘The Cockpit of Europe’ because of the number of battles
throughout history fought on its soil?
Belgium

#34 Name the only country through which both the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn pass.
Brazil

#35. What’s the most linguistically diverse COUNTRY in the world?

Papua New Guinea

#36. Which country has the most islands in the world with more than 221,800?
Sweden
PART III
General Questions–2 pts each.
We’re really warmed up now, so let’s have fun. These are also not multiple choice, just
write down your answer on your sheet.

#37. Which Greek conquered Persia around 330 BC?

Alexander the Great

#38. Who was shot by Mark David Chapman in December 1980?

John Lennon

#39. Around the year 1300, which European wrote a book describing the size and wealth of
China?
Marco Polo

#40. Which multi-talented renaissance genius first envisaged the helicopter?

Leonardo Da Vinci

#41. Which footballer said “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars, the rest I just
squandered”?
George Best

#42. Who wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

Ian Fleming

#43. Who was India’s only female prime minister?

Indira Ghandi

#44. In which part of your body would you find the cruciate ligament?
Knee

#45. What is the name of the main antagonist in the Shakespeare play Othello?
Iago

#46. What element is denoted by the chemical symbol Sn in the periodic table?
Tin

#47. How many of Henry VIII's wives were called Catherine?

3

#48. Which popular video game franchise has released games with the subtitles World At War
and Black Ops?
Call of Duty
#49. In what US State is the city Nashville?
Tennessee

#51. Which rock band was founded by Trent Reznor in 1988?

Nine Inch Nails

#52. What is the currency of Denmark?

Krone

#53. Which Tennis Grand Slam is played on a clay surface?

The French Open (Roland Garros)

#54. How many films have Al Pacino and Robert De Niro appeared in together?
Four (The Godfather Part 2, Heat, Righteous Kill, The Irishman)

#55. What was the old name for a Snickers bar before it changed in 1990?
Marathon

#56. Who was the head of state in Japan during the second world war?
Emperor Hirohito

#57. Name the Coffee shop in US sitcom Friends

Central Perk

#58. In what year did Tony Blair become British Prime Minister?
1997

#59. How many times has England won the men's football World Cup?
Once (1966)

#60. What is the capital of New Zealand?

Wellington

#61. Street artist Banksy is originally associated with which British city?
Bristol

#62. From what grain is the Japanese spirit Sake made?

Rice