Quiz on Scotland

What affectionate nickname is given to Scotland's most famous lake monster?

• Morag
• Nessie ✓ (Correct answer)
• Champ
• Bessie

Source: Nessie's legend exploded after a famously faked 1934 'surgeon's photograph'.

Which instrument is most associated with traditional Scottish military bands?

• Accordion
• Fiddle
• Harp
• Bagpipes ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: The Great Highland bagpipe was once classed as an instrument of war by Scottish courts.

What is the capital city of Scotland?

• Edinburgh ✓ (Correct answer)
• Glasgow
• Aberdeen
• Dundee

Source: Though Glasgow is bigger, Edinburgh has been Scotland's capital since the 15th century.

Which of these is the national flower of Scotland?

• Heather
• Bluebell
• Rose
• Thistle ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: The prickly thistle supposedly saved Scots when invading Norsemen stepped on it and cried out.

Which of these is the national animal of Scotland?

• Lion
• Red deer
• Unicorn ✓ (Correct answer)
• Golden eagle

Source: The unicorn has been Scotland's national animal since the 1500s, chosen as a proud, untameable beast.

Which mountain is the highest peak in the British Isles?

• Snowdon
• Ben Macdui
• Ben Nevis ✓ (Correct answer)
• Cairn Gorm

Source: At 1,345 metres Ben Nevis tops the British Isles, and its summit is cloudy most days of the year.

Which dish is traditionally served at a Burns Night supper?

• Haggis ✓ (Correct answer)
• Black pudding
• Cullen skink
• Scotch egg

Source: Haggis is a savoury pudding of sheep's offal, oats and spices, toasted at Burns suppers.

Which is the most populous city in Scotland?

• Edinburgh
• Glasgow ✓ (Correct answer)
• Aberdeen
• Dundee

Source: Glasgow has roughly twice the population of the capital, Edinburgh.

What is the Scottish name for the celebration of New Year's Eve?

• Beltane
• Samhain
• Hogmanay ✓ (Correct answer)
• Ceilidh

Source: Hogmanay's 'first-footing' tradition says a dark-haired visitor brings luck for the new year.

Which loch has the largest surface area in Great Britain?

• Loch Ness
• Loch Lomond ✓ (Correct answer)
• Loch Awe
• Loch Tay

Source: Loch Lomond covers the most surface, though deeper Loch Ness actually holds more water.

Which Edinburgh-born actor was the first to play James Bond on screen?

• Roger Moore
• David Niven
• Michael Caine
• Sean Connery ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Edinburgh's Sean Connery was the original 007, debuting in 1962's Dr. No.

Which Edinburgh-born inventor patented the telephone?

• Thomas Edison
• Alexander Graham Bell ✓ (Correct answer)
• Guglielmo Marconi
• Nikola Tesla

Source: Edinburgh-born Alexander Graham Bell secured his telephone patent in 1876.

Which Scottish scientist discovered penicillin in 1928?

• Joseph Lister
• Edward Jenner
• Alexander Fleming ✓ (Correct answer)
• Louis Pasteur

Source: Fleming spotted penicillin by accident when mould contaminated a forgotten petri dish.

Which 1996 film about heroin addicts is set in Edinburgh?

• Shallow Grave
• Filth
• Trainspotting ✓ (Correct answer)
• Naked

Source: Danny Boyle's 'Trainspotting' turned Edinburgh's drug underworld into a global cult hit.

Which poet wrote the words to the song 'Auld Lang Syne'?

• Walter Scott
• Robert Burns ✓ (Correct answer)
• Robert Louis Stevenson
• Arthur Conan Doyle

Source: Robert Burns' 'Auld Lang Syne' is now sung worldwide every New Year's Eve.

Which monarch was beheaded in 1587 on the orders of Elizabeth I?

• Margaret Tudor
• Anne Boleyn
• Lady Jane Grey
• Mary, Queen of Scots ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Mary, Queen of Scots spent 19 years imprisoned before her cousin Elizabeth I had her executed.

Which king led the Scots to victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314?

• Robert the Bruce ✓ (Correct answer)
• William Wallace
• Bonnie Prince Charlie
• Rob Roy

Source: Robert the Bruce's win at Bannockburn was secured against a much larger English army.

In the Highland Games, the caber toss involves flipping what object?

• A heavy stone
• An iron hammer
• A wooden pole ✓ (Correct answer)
• A leather ball

Source: The caber toss is judged on the accuracy of the flip, not the distance thrown.

Which flavour is characteristic of whiskies from the island of Islay?

• Smoky and peaty ✓ (Correct answer)
• Sweet and sherried
• Floral and honeyed
• Spiced vanilla

Source: Islay whiskies get their smoky punch from peat fires used to dry the barley.

On which Scottish island group is the Neolithic village of Skara Brae found?

• Isle of Skye
• Orkney ✓ (Correct answer)
• Shetland
• Isle of Lewis

Source: Skara Brae on Orkney is older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids.