Answers to Ian’s Trivialus 8 June 2025

Answers

1. Britain, France and Spain

2. a) – Odin

3. Nintendo Switch 2

4. False – there are only three, Germany, China and Japan.

5. Porcelain

6. The latest Republican’s budget bill which, according to Trump, is “Big and Beautiful” but will increase the national debt of $36 trillion by more than 10%. Pork is a political term for spending that members of Congress get approved for their own home state or region. For example, a Senator in Wisconsin might link a plan for roads in Detroit to a national budget for something else, to get the local expenditure passed. It’s a common practice and is the main reason why the US government has so much debt. Musk’s criticism of the bill has led to a seemingly irreversible feud between him and the President.

7. Porgy and Bess

8. Aldous Huxley

9. The Netherlands – Geert Wilders, leader of the populist Party for Freedom (PVV) withdrew from the coalition forcing new elections which will only take place in October.

10. They are all different techniques for negotiating the high jump.

11. b) – 10 feet.

12. Samuel Taylor Coleridge – In Xanadu.

13. Pasteurisation

14. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. In the women’s final on Saturday, Coco Gauff defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka.

15. Captain James Cook

16. Military Intelligence – MI5 deals with the identification and neutralisation of domestic threats from within the UK, while MI6 is tasked with the same for external threats.

17. The market dominance of Ticketmaster which has a near monopoly in the major markets. It certainly is a direct beneficiary of increased revenues from concerts, and its dynamic pricing models exploit market forces leading to higher prices. But it’s a bit more complicated than this. Market forces are basically determining prices, and artists are demanding more from live shows with the internet having undermined music sales.

18. Audrey Hepburn – Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Truman Capote.

19. c) – from the name of Roman circus riders (desultores) who leapt from one horse to another.

20. Wyoming – the Old Faithful geyser.