Answers to Ian’s Trivialus 11 January 2026

Answers

1. Pâte à choux – or Choux pastry.

2. Brigitte Bardot – champion of the right and loathed by the left, she’d been living a reclusive life since retiring from the cinema at the age of 39 in 1973 at the height of her fame.

3. Queen Victoria

4. Clint Eastwood

5. Iran – the government at first sought to calm things down by firing the head of the central bank, but it is now adopting a harsher tone stating that there will be “no leniency” towards protestors.  President Trump has warned that the US will hit Iran hard if it continues to kill people.

6. Stamen

7. Madeira

8. Grok – the attack against Grok could be considered a bit pointed and selective as most AI platforms will generate similar images if requested.  Elon Musk has responded by restricting access to Grok to paying subscribers, but whether this move will satisfy his critics is a moot point.

9. George Foreman in 1994, at the age of 45, beat Michael Moorer for the IBF and WBA titles.  Prior to this date he had last been world champion in 1973.

10. Winston Churchill - in a famous 1946 speech in Fulton, Missouri, describing the ideological and political barrier that had descended across Europe post WW II.

11. c) – 70%

12. The inadequate fire safety measures in place in the establishment.   Fire and safety checks were last carried out in 2019 and are supposed to be carried out annually. It appears this was the responsibility of the owners.

13. A gourmet is someone who prides themselves on being able to appreciate the finer points of food and drink.  A gourmand also appreciates food and drink, but just loves to eat, sometimes to excess.

14. Cambodia

15. The possibility that President Trump will now attempt to seize Greenland despite it being a self-governing territory belonging to Denmark.  It’s probably more irrational scaremongering – the US is unlikely to seize Greenland without the consent of its allies.

16. Jethro Tull who invented a seed drill in 1701 and, later a horse-drawn hoe that revolutionised agricultural practice in England and the world.

17. A red ochre – used by shepherds to mark sheep.

18. Winston Churchill

19. False – it is actually a shuttlecock.

20. b) – Inchon. General Douglas MacArthur.