Independent, The (London): 10 Questions A quiz by Jeremy Beadle

1. What part of the body is linked by: King Edward's nickname; a type of cup of wine offered to a person on horseback who is about to depart on a journey; Verdi's piece from Il Trovatore (1853) depicting Spanish gypsies praising hard work, good wine and women?

2. Fibres from the plant Urtica dioica are so strong that Britain's Ministry of Aircraft Production once used them as reinforcement for experimental plastic aircraft panels, gear wheels and other machine parts. Problems with the enormous quantities required, and processing, halted production. How is the plant more commonly known?

3. What links Michael Gregsten and Valerie Storey to Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio?

4. Despite its reputation, Dublin's is only 73cm, while London's is 75cm, New Orleans' is 177cm, Singapore's is 215cm, and that of Mawsynram, in the Meghalaya state of India, is about 12 metres! To what do these figures refer?

5. What is the longest race in the flat season?

6. Why should gangster Bugsy Siegel and fortune hunter Charles Wells be thankful to the 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal?

7. According to Relate, infidelity is the third-most-common cause of marital discord and breakdown " what is number one?

8. Which major athletic event's title doesn't describe the sport?

9. Who made Adenoid Hynkel dictator of Tomania?

10. A horse has 40, a dog has 42, a cat has 30. How many has an adult human?

Answers on page 48

10 Answers to Jeremy Beadle's quiz (see page 11)

1. The ear, and more specifically the bones inside it. Hammer of the Scots; stirrup cup; the Anvil Chorus. 2. The stinging nettle. 3. Hanratty. James Hanratty hanged for the murder of Gregsten and shooting of Storey (the A6 murder); Hanks played Carl Hanratty, the policeman who captured Frank Abagnale (DiCaprio), in the movie Catch Me If You Can. 4. Average annual rainfall. Meghalaya only has one season " the monsoon season. It usually rains at night. 5. The Grand National. It may be over fences, but it is run in the flat season. 6. Pascal is credited with inventing roulette. Siegel opened the first major casino in Las Vegas; Charles Wells was The Man Who Broke the Bank of Monte Carlo. 7. Lack of communication. Continual arguments is second. 8. Marathon. 9. Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator. 10. 32 " teeth.