The questions in the 'Worlds' are a little different from what you might typically encounter in domestic quizzes. For some this is a very welcome change - since a number of quizzers find the different emphasis enables them for once to outscore players who perhaps habitually beat them.

Some people thrive on the "international" nature of World Quizzing Championships questions - it gives them a decided edge over people with a greater appetite for local knowledge.

As always, whatever set of questions you face, we would say “Don’t panic”. True, the winner of the WQC is likely to acquire the status of ‘Quiz god’ - and there will be many taking part worthy of such an accolade – but 90 to 95% of the field will simply be measuring themselves against their own personal standards, with no pretence of actually winning anything. Remember, it's supposed to be fun as well as edifying.

OK, so what about the sort of questions you will face or, more to the point, what won’t you be asked? Well, remember this is the antithesis of a pub quiz, it is a global quiz for a global audience. DON’T expect questions about local TV soaps, local politics or any other local interest stories. DO expect questions about mythology, the Olympic Games, Disney films, the Solar System, wildlife, and Nobel Laureates; in short, expect questions quizzers from Buenos Aries, Monrovia and Sydney might possibly know the answers to  because quizzes from all over the world are playing.

One thing you will encounter in this quiz are questions YOU think are very easy. However, competitors abroad might find the same question is a real toughie. Then again, a question they think is a gimme might have you scratching your head - it's just a question of outlook. This is one of those quizzes where an outward looking mind and a well-worn passport can pay dividends.

To round-off, here's a sample of some questions quizzers have encountered at past WQC events.

Culture
1 - In which century did Arizona, New Mexico & Oklahoma become states of the USA ?
ANS: 20th (1912, 1912 & 1907)

2 - People found to be speaking which language were persecuted in Japan, Germany & Russia during the 1930s?
ANS: Esperanto

3 - What did Ramon Mercador use to kill Lev Bronstein?
ANS: Ice pick (Bronstein aka Trotsky)


Civilisation
1 - In which French town near Paris can you find ‘Disneyland Europe’?
ANS: Marne-la-Vallée

2 - In later times the 'Ancient Wonder' the Colossus of Rhodes was identified with many deities, including Apollo, but who was the actual subject of Chares’ great statue?
ANS: Helios

3 - The President and Vice President of which country survived an assassination attempt (2004) on the eve of a general election?
ANS: Taiwan


Entertainment
1 - Which Icelandic pop group was formed on June 8, 1986, the day that the lead vocalist, Mrs. Gundmundsdottir, gave birth to a son?
ANS: The Sugarcubes (vocalist was Björk)

2 - Name the US author on whose book the hit TV-series 'Sex and the City' was based ?
ANS: (Candace) Bushnell

3 - Truman Capote's famous 1959 crime novel 'In Cold Blood' has a dedication to her. She helped him research the book. As a child he had spent several summers visiting a relative who lived next door to her family. Accordingly, when she wrote her only novel she based the character Charles Barker Harris, called 'Dill' for short, on the young Capote. Name this Pulitzer Prize winning writer, born in Monroeville, Alabama in 1926?
ANS: (Nelle) Harper Lee ('To Kill A Mockingbird')


Lifestyle
1 - The name Jeans (as in ‘Blue Jeans’) is derived from the name of which European city?
ANS: Genoa (Fr. Genes)

2 - Ageusia is the technical name for the severe impairment, or complete loss of which of the body’s senses?
ANS: Taste

3 - What would a polyandric women have more than one of?
ANS: Husband


Media
1 - He was forced to refuse the Nobel Prize in 1958; who wrote the novel 'Doctor Zhivago', which was later turned into a successful movie starring Omar Sharif?
ANS: Boris Pasternak

2 - Michael Douglas is the only person in history to have won Academy Awards for acting and producing. He won his Best Actor Oscar for the film ‘Wall Street’. For which film did he share the Oscar as co-producer of the Best Picture?
ANS: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

3 - Mallanaga Vātsyāyana lived between the 4th and 6th century AD and is believed to be the author of which influential text that is still in print around the world today?
ANS: Kama Sutra


Sciences
1 - One form of amblyopia develops in 2-3 % of the population before the age of 5. What is this condition’s common name?
ANS: Lazy Eye

2 - Which is the brightest planet when viewed from Earth?
ANS: Venus

3 - In external appearance these mammals resemble large rabbits, but in internal anatomy (particularly dentition) are related to both horses and elephants. Found in Africa and parts of the Middle East, some species are tree dwellers, while others live on the ground. By what name are they commonly known?
ANS: Hyrax(s)


Sport & Leisure
1 - In PC games what is meant by a ‘F.P.S.’-game, such as ‘Half-Life’ & ‘Doom’?
ANS: First Person Shooter

2 - Who won the Formula 1 world driver’s championship in 1982 although winning only one of his 15 starts?
ANS: (Keijo) ‘Keke’ Rosberg

3 - Which action performed with the cape in bullfighting takes its name from an incident which occurred as Jesus of Nazareth was led to his crucifixion in Jerusalem?
ANS: Veronica (She wiped the face of Christ)


World
1 - Which Asian country is known to the people who live there as Druk Yul, which can be translated as 'land of the thunder dragon'?
ANS: Bhutan

2 - What is formed by the Islands of St.Paul, Filfla, Cominotto, Comino, Gozo, and one bigger island?
ANS: Malta

3 - After the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus and Mars, what is the ninth largest object in our solar system?
ANS: Ganymede (Jupiter’s biggest satellite is larger than Mercury and Pluto)