Ultimate Pub Quiz Super Genius - May 2026 (Quiz 284)

It's the first Monday of the month so it's time for your May edition of Ultimate Pub Quiz Super Genius.

Once again Mark is here with an eight round, forty question pub quiz and if you can score the full forty you will earn the title of Ultimate Pub Quiz Super Genius.

For this month's quiz Mark would love to hear your score so please do send them to pubquizsupergenius@gmail.com and he will read them out in the next episode.

Good Luck!

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Live quizzes played here: https://mixlr.com/marks-live-pub-quiz

Music:

"Not As It Seems" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Scheming Weasel (slower version)" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"March of the Spoons" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Casa Bossa Nova" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi there, it's Mark here. We've made it to the first Monday of the month, so it's time for your main edition of Ultimate Pub Quiz Super Genius. As always, I have 8 rounds and 40 questions, and if you have 40 correct answers, you will achieve that title of Ultimate Pub Quiz Super Genius. However, from this month, I've decided to bring back the old ranking system that I used to use in the early days of this podcast. So, whatever your score, you will receive a rating. And you will need that full 40 to become an Ultimate Pub Quiz Super Genius. But don't worry about any of that as I will explain it all later. I also have a plan about how to make this show a little bit more interactive, and I will let you know a little bit more about that in the middle break section of this show. Right then, I think we should get started. Here come your first two rounds for this main edition of Ultimate Pub Quiz Super Genius. Round 1 this month is very much a staple in pub quizzes. However, I don't think I've ever played it before on this podcast, so hopefully it'll be fun and it is a what's the link round? So the first four questions of this round are general knowledge. However, all of the answers are linked to something. And for question five, you'll need to work out what links those four answers. It'll make sense as you play, so very best of luck as we start your May Quiz with round one, what's the link? Question one. In the UK, the full name of the Special Forces Unit commonly known as the SAS is the special air what in the UK the full name of the special forces unit commonly known as the SAS is the special air what question so Robert De Niro Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci all star in which 1995 Martin Scorsese movie Robert De Niro Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci all star in which 1995 Martin Scorsese movie Remember in this round you are looking for the link between the answers. Question three The War and Peace Author Leo Tolstoy was born in which country The War and Peace Author Leo Tolstoy was born in which country Question 4 Which Rihanna song contains the lyrics so shine bright you and I were beautiful Which Rihanna song contains the lyrics so shine bright you and I were beautiful and question five What links the four previous answers of this round? So have a look at the answers you've got and see if you can work out what the link is. So what links the four previous answers of this round? Okay, I'm revealing all the answers for that round very soon. But before we do that, we're going to play round two. So if you haven't figured the link out yet, you can still keep on thinking about it as we play this second round. And round two this month is it says in the phrase. So I'm about to give you a phrase, and all the answers in this round can be spelt using letters from that phrase. So if your answer contains a letter that isn't in the phrase, it won't be the right answer. And if you're listening to this on the day of release, it is a very topical phrase because your phrase is May the Fourth be with you. And that is spelt M for Mike, A for Alpha, Y for Yankee, T for Tango, H for Hotel, E for Echo, F Foxtrot, O for Oscar, U for uniform, R for Romeo, T for Tango, A for hotel, B for Bravo, E for Echo, W for whiskey, I for India, T for Tango, H for hotel, Y for Yankee, O for Oscar, U for uniform. So very best of look as we play this, May the Fourth be with you. It says in the phrase. And question one is this In 1994 Oasis had a UK number one with the album Definitely What? Remember all the answers in this round can be spelt using words in the phrase May the Fourth be with you. In 1994 Oasis had a UK number one with the album Definitely What? Question 2 The full name of the government organization commonly known as the FCA is the Financial Conduct What and that is A for Alpha. The full name of the government organization commonly known as the FCA is the financial conduct what? Question three. Ryan Reynolds voices a super speedy snail in which 2013 animated movie Ryan Reynolds voices a super speedy snail in which 2013 animated movie. Question four Which nautical unit of length is equal to six feet? Which nautical unit of length is equal to six feet? And question five final question of this it says in the first round What was the title of Amy Winehouse's first UK Top Ten single? What was the title of Amy Winehouse's first UK Top 10 single? Okay then that is the first two rounds done and dusted. Here come your answers. Give yourself a point for everyone that you got correct. Round 1 was the what's the link? Round? And question 1 in the UK, the full name of the special forces unit commonly known as the SAS is the Special Air Service. Question 2 Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci all-star in the 1995 Martin Scorsese movie Casino. Question 3. The One Piece author Leo Tolstoy was born in Russia. Question 4. The Rihanna song that contains the lyrics. So Shine Bright, you and I were beautiful is Diamonds. And for question 5, you need to work out the link between those answers: Service, Casino, Russia, and Diamonds. And I can now tell you they are all words that feature in the titles of James Bond movies. So service on Imagine Secret Service, Casino, Casino Royale, Russia from Russia We Love, and Diamonds, Diamonds Are Forever. So as a final point for the round, if you worked out that the link was that they are all words in James Bond titles. And I think they're also all books as well. So if you said James Bond books or James Bond films, congratulations, give yourself that final point. Round two was this month's It Says in the phrase round. And your phrase was May the Fourth be with you. And question one. In 1994, Oasis had a UK number one with the album Definitely Maybe. Question 2. The full name of the government organization commonly known as the FCA is the Financial Conduct Authority. Question 3. Ryan Reynolds voices a super speedy snail in the 2013 animated movie Turbo. Question 4. The nautical unit of length that is equal to 6 feet is Fathom. And question 5. The title of Amy Weinhouse's first UK Top 10 single is Rehab. So very well done if you said that. Okay then I hope you made a good start, but don't worry if you didn't, as there are still plenty of points available. Right then, round three is this month's music round. And it's all about hits in the month of May over several different years. So very best of luck as we play round three, the May Hits Music Round. Question one. Which song that was UK number one single in May 1999 contains the lyrics? Tell me why ain't nothing but a heartache, tell me why ain't nothing but a mistake. Which song that was UK number one single in May 1999 contains the lyrics, tell me why ain't nothing but a heartache, tell me why ain't nothing but a mistake. Question two in May 1973 Drive in Saturday was a UK top 10 single for which British singer songwriter? In May 1973 Drive in Saturday was a UK top 10 single for which British singer songwriter? Question 3 Which May 1983 UK number one album contains the tracks wanna be starting something Beatis and Billy Jean Which May 1983 UK number one album contains the tracks wanna be starting something Beatis and Billy Jean Question 4 Fill in the blank from these lyrics from the Ting Tings May 2008 UK number one single That's not my name They call me Hell they call me blank They call me her they call me Jane So fill in this blank from the May 2008 UK number one single That's not my name which is by the Ting Tings They call me Hell they call me blank they call me her they call me Jane And question 5 is a guess of the year question Black Velvet by Ilana Miles Opposite A track by Paula Abdul with the Wildpear and Killer by Adamski were all UK top 10 singles in May of which yeah Black Velvet by Alana Miles Opposite Attract by Paula Abdul with the Wild Pay and Killer by Adamski were all UK top 10 singles in May of which yeah Ok answers coming up soon but before we do that we need to play round four Round four is a themed round and the theme is the word impossible So very best of luck as we play this impossible themed round Question 1 in the Mission Impossible Film Series which British actor plays the field agent Benji Dunn in the Mission Impossible Film Series which British actor plays the field agent Benji Dunn Question 2 Impossible Princess is a 1997 album by which Australian pop star Impossible Princess is a 1997 album by which Australian pop star Question three Impossible is nothing is a famous advertising slogan for which sportswear brand Impossible is nothing is a famous advertising slogan for which sportswear brand Question four The Impossible Fortune is a 2025 novel by which British writer The Impossible Fortune is a 2025 novel by which British writer and question five of this impossible themed round who hosts the British TV quiz show impossible Who hosts the British TV quiz show impossible? Okay then let's find out how you got on in those two rounds because here come the answers. Give yourself a point for everyone that you got correct. Round three was the May Hits Music Round and question one, the song that was a UK number one single in May 1999 that contains the lyrics Tell Me Why in Nothing But a Heartache, Tell Me Why in Nothing But a Mistake is I Wanted That Way by the Backstreet Boys. So very well done if you said I Wanted That Way. Question 2 In May 1973, Drive in Saturday was a UK top ten single for the British singer-songwriter David Bowie or Boy, I'm never quite sure how to pronounce that, but well done if you said David Bowie or David Bowie. Question three the May 1983 UK number one album that contains the tracks Wanna Be Startin' Something, Beat It, and Billy Jean is Thriller by Michael Jackson. So that's a point for Thriller. Question four. I asked you to fill it in the blank from some lyrics from the Ting Tings song That's Not My Name, which was a hit in May 2008. The lyrics where they call me Hell, they call me Stacy. So that's a point for Stacy. And question five, final question of the music round, Black Velvet by Lana Miles, Opposite Attract by Paula Abdul with the Wild Pear. And Killer by Adamski were all UK top 10 singles in May 1990. So that's a final point for the round if you said 1990. Round four was all about the word impossible. And question one. In the Mission Impossible film series, the British actor who plays the field agent Benji Dunn is Simon Pegg. Question 2. Impossible Princess is a 1997 album by the Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. Question 3. Impossible is nothing is a famous advertising slogan for the sportswear brand Adidas. Question 4. The Impossible Fortune is a 2025 novel by the British writer Richard Osman. And question 5. The host of the British TV quiz show Impossible is Rick Edwards. So final point for the round if you said that. And now it's time to play the relaxing music and have a quick breather from the quiz as we are halfway through this month's show. Now I told you at the start I had an idea that I wanted to share with you about how to make this quiz more interactive. And from this month, it would be great if you could start sending me your scores by my email address, which I'll give you in a moment. So all you need to do is once you have your final score for this quiz, in the subject heading, put me a quiz, then in your message, give me your name or your team name and your score for this quiz, and I will read them all out in this section of the show next month, and we'll see who has the highest score from everybody who's emailed in. And also you'll be able to compare your score against other listeners. And the email address you need to send me your quiz score is pubquizupergenius at gmail.com. So that's pubquizsupergenious at gmail.com. I suggest you email me as soon as you can, as I do have to record these episodes a little bit ahead of time. So the sooner you send it to me, the more likely it is that I will say it before I record the next episode. I am only going to read out scores that are sent to that email address just to keep things simple. So please do get in touch. PopQuenius at gmail.com and then hopefully if I get some responses, we will see how everybody got on next month. Right then, that's break time over. Let's play the second half of your main edition of Ultimate PubQuiz Super Genius. Round five is this month's wordplay round. So very best of luck, and here we go. And the first two questions in this wordplay round are anagrams, and question one Which plant is an anagram of Slouchy Knee? And for Natalie, that is spelled S for Sierra, L for Lima, O for Oscar, U for uniform, C for Charlie, H for hotel, Y for Yankee, K for Kilo, N for November, E for Echo, E for Echo Which plant is an anagram of Slouchy Knee Question 2 Which British actress is an anagram of Malonic Viola? And phonetically that is spelt M for Mike A for Alpha L for Lima O for Oscar M for November I for India C for Charlie V for Victor Aye for India O for Oscar L for Lima A for Alpha Which British actress is an anagram of Melonic Biole? The next two questions in this round are initials questions and question three Which African country has the initials BF and that is B for Bravo F for Foxtrot Which African country has the initials BF Question 4 Which 1943 Enid Blyton book has the initials TMFT? And that is T for Tango M for Mike F for Foxtrot T for Tango Which 1943 Enid Blayton book has the initials TMFT and we are finishing this word play around with an element spelling question so question five which mode of transport can you spell if you write down in this order the chemical symbols for helium, lithium, cobalt, platinum and urbium. Which mode of transport can you spell if you write down in this order? The chemical symbols for helium, lithium, cobalt, platinum and erbium. Okay, I won't be revealing the answers for this round until we have played next round, round six. So if you're still trying to work out some of those answers, you still have time while we play them next round. And for round six, we are sticking with words as we are playing a five word phrase round. So for each question I will give you a five word phrase that describes something, and all you need to do is work out what I'm describing. It's as simple as that. So eyes down as we play round six the five word phrase round. Question one. Which children's survey series can be described by the five word phrase Elmo teaches letters and numbers. Which children's survey series can be described by the five word phrase Elmo teachers letters and numbers? Question two. Which British landmark can be described by the five word phrase Gormley's Geordie Sculpture has wings. Which British landmark can be described by the five word phrase Gormley's Geordie Sculpture has wings? Question three Which stage musical can be described by the five word phrase London Orphan Boy Wants Mo? Which stage musical can be described by the five word phrase London Orphan Boy Wants Motion four Which Italian city can be described by the five word phrase connected by hundreds of bridges? Which Italian city can be described by the five word phrase connected by hundreds of bridges? And question five final question of this five word phrase round Which famous figure can be described by the five word phrase walked on moon with Armstrong? Which famous figure can be described by the five word phrase walked on moon with Armstrong Okay then it is answer time once again And round five was the wordplay round and question one Slouchy knee is an anagram of the plant honey suckle Question two Melonic Viola is an anagram of the British actress Olivia Coleman Question three The African country that has the initials BF is Pekina Faso So very well done if you said Bikina Faso Question four The 1943 Init Blyton book that has the initials TMFT is the magic faraway tree which I believe had a recent movie version so well done if you said the magic faraway tree and question five The mode of transport that can be spelt if you write down in this order the chemical symbols for helium, lithium, cobalt, platinum and abium is helicopter. That's because helium is E, lithium is LI, cobalt is CO, platinum is PT and Ebium is ER. Put them together and you get helicopter. And round six this month was the five word phrase round. And question one the children's survey series that can be described by the five word phrase. Elmo teaches letters and numbers is Sesame Street. Question two the British landmark that can be described by the five word phrase. Gourmley's Geordie Sculpture has wings, is the Angel of the North. Question three The stage musical that can be described by the five-word phrase London Orphan Boy once more is Oliver. Question four The Italian city that can be described by the five-word phrase connected by hundreds of bridges is Venice. And question five, the famous figure who can be described by the five-word phrase walked on the moon with Armstrong is Buzz Aldrin. So very well done if you said Buzz Aldrin. And here we are at the final two rounds. If you currently have a score of 30 out of 30, you could be in line to get that title of Ultimate Pub Quiz Super Genius. If you can get perfect scores on these last two rounds. So you're about to get three answer options, and all of the questions in this round can be answered by one of those three options. Obviously, as there's five questions and three options, some of those options will be an answer more than once. And as it's May, your three answer options are the three most famous Mays I could think of: Theresa May, Brian May, and James May. So very best of luck as we play round 7, which is which? Question 1. In a 2017 interview, which of these people said the naughtyest thing that they had done was to run through fields of wheat? Was it Theresa May, Brian May or James May? In a 2017 interview, which of these people said the naughtyest thing that they had done was to run through fields of wheat? Was it former British Prime Minister Theresa May, Queen Guitarist Brian May or former Tucky host James May? Question 2. Which of these people wrote a PhD thesis titled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud? Was it Theresa May, Brian May or James May? Which of these people wrote a PhD thesis titled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud? Was it Theresa May, Brian May or James May? Question 3 Which of these people was born during the 1950s? Theresa May, Brian May or James May? Which of these people was born during the 1950s? Theresa May, Brian May or James May? Question four Which of these people is the author of the recipe book or cook? Theresa May, Brian May or James May? Which of these people is the author of the recipe book or cook? Theresa May, Brian May or James May? And question five. Final question of this witches witch round. Which of these people presented the 2024 documentary The Badgers, The Farmers and Me? Theresa May, Brian May or James May. Which of these people presented the 2024 documentary The Badgers, The Farmers and Me? Theresa May, Brian Me or James Me? Okay, answers for that round coming up in just a couple of minutes. But before we do that, we need to play the final round, round 8, and it is general knowledge. And question 1 of your general knowledge round is this What was the name of the April 2026 NASA mission that successfully sent four astronauts on a flyby around the moon? What was the name of the April 2026 NASA mission that successfully sent four astronauts on a flyby around the moon? Question 2 which takeaway chain has the slogan better ingredients better pizza? Which takeaway chain has the slogan better ingredients better pizza. Question 3 in March 2026 which 78 year old former England manager was appointed as the caretaker boss of Bristol City Football Club? In March 2026, which 78 year old former England manager was appointed as the caretaker boss of Bristol City Football Club? Question 4 in the Chinese Zodiac 2026 is the year of which animal? In the Chinese Zodiac 2026 is the year of which animal and question 5 Final question of this round and the whole quiz. In April 2026, which BBC Children's TV show that features the characters Miss Hooley and Penny Pocket began airing its first new series for 21 years in April 2026 which BBC Children's TV show that features the characters Miss Hooley and Penny Pocket began airing its first new series in 21 years and that was your final 10 questions. Let's reveal those answers and then we can see if you are an ultimate pub quiz super genius. So round seven was the Witch Is Witch Round. And you had the options Theresa May, Brian May, and James May. And for question one, of those three options, the person who in a 2017 interview said that the naughtyest thing they had done was to run through fields of wheat was Theresa May. Question two of those options, the person who wrote a PhD thesis titled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud is Brian May. Question three of Theresa May, Brian May and James May. The person who was born during the 1950s was Theresa May. Theresa May was born in 1956, Brian May was born 1947, and James May was born in 1963. So that's a point if you said Theresa May. Question four of the three options, the author of the recipe book O Cook is James May. And question five, the host of the 2024 documentary The Badgers of the Farmers and Me was Brian May. So final point for the round if you said Brian May. And we finish with general knowledge. And question one The April 2026 NASA mission that successfully sent four astronauts on a flyby around the moon was Artemis II. Question two The takeaway chain that has the slogan better ingredients, better pizza is Papa John's. Question three in March 2026 the 78 year old former England manager who is appointed as the caretaker boss of Bristol City Football Club was Roy Hodgson. Question 4 In the Chinese Zodiac 2026 is the year of the horse. So well done if you said horse and question five in April 2026 the BBC Children's TV show that features the characters Miss Hooley and Penny Pocket that began airing its first new series in 21 years was Ballamori. So that's a final point for this month's quiz if you said Ballamori. Okay then you should now have a score of 40. Using that score you're now going to receive a rating. If you scored between 1 and 9, you are a pub quiz beginner. If you scored between 10 and 20, you are a pub quiz fan. A very solid score of 21 to 30 makes you a pub quiz regular. An excellent score of 31 to 39 makes you a pub quiz expert. But if you managed to get all 40 correct, congratulations, you are now an ultimate pub quiz super genius, so very well done. And that is it for this month's quiz. I will always be here on the first Monday of every month. So I will see you on the 1st of June for next month's quiz. And remember, I would love to hear your scores and read them out in that episode. So the only way you can contact me with your scores is my email pubquizsupergenius at gmail.com. Email me as soon as you can as I do have to record these episodes a little bit ahead of time, and then we can find out how your score compares to the listeners. Right, I think that is everything. Thank you so much for listening and playing along. I hope you're enjoying this new supersized format. I'm really enjoying producing it, so I hope you're enjoying listening and playing along with it. Please do let me know your score on my email address, and I will see you on the 1st of June for the next one. Have a good month and goodbye.