University Challenge Roads Questions

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Peter350
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Peter350 »

hoagy_ytfc wrote: Fri Jan 04, 2019 00:28 There was a good Only Connect question recently with a "red herring" that it could be about roads.

It was the 2nd round where you had to predict the fourth thing in a sequence.

First one comes up, "M1". One is obviously thinking roads.
But then the second one is "M17"...
I watched it as well. What really threw me was when they showed the nations alongside and I was like “There’s never been an M1 in Wales!”
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by hoagy_ytfc »

Peter350 wrote: Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:11 I watched it as well. What really threw me was when they showed the nations alongside and I was like “There’s never been an M1 in Wales!”
Oh yeah, forgot about the nations bit.

The third one was A23, which looked roady again
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IAN
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by IAN »

Another roads question on 'Only Connect' a few minutes ago - Press the green button to watch it from the start.

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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Euan »

IAN wrote: Mon Jan 07, 2019 20:07 Another roads question on 'Only Connect' a few minutes ago - Press the green button to watch it from the start.

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I wonder if they managed to get a hold of some SABRE fantasy ideas...
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by tom1977 »

The clues:
M23 East Sussex
M11 Suffolk
M275 Isle of Wight
M5 Cornwall

What is the connection?

Bonus trivia question: where is the M96?
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Chris Bertram »

tom1977 wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:11 The clues:
M23 East Sussex
M11 Suffolk
M275 Isle of Wight
M5 Cornwall

What is the connection?

Bonus trivia question: where is the M96?
None of them quite make it as far as those destinations?

And M96 is at the National Fire College in Moreton-in-Marsh. Obligatory "sheesh" for that one ...
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by A303Chris »

Chris Bertram wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:18
tom1977 wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:11 The clues:
M23 East Sussex
M11 Suffolk
M275 Isle of Wight
M5 Cornwall

What is the connection?

Bonus trivia question: where is the M96?
None of them quite make it as far as those destinations?

And M96 is at the National Fire College in Moreton-in-Marsh. Obligatory "sheesh" for that one ...
Or they end in adjacent counties, West Sussex, Cambridgeshire (especially as the M11 doesn't head towards Suffolk), Hampshire, Devon
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by A303Chris »

Chris Bertram wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:18
tom1977 wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:11 The clues:
M23 East Sussex
M11 Suffolk
M275 Isle of Wight
M5 Cornwall

What is the connection?

Bonus trivia question: where is the M96?
None of them quite make it as far as those destinations?

And M96 is at the National Fire College in Moreton-in-Marsh. Obligatory "sheesh" for that one ...
Or they end in adjacent counties, West Sussex, Cambridgeshire (especially as the M11 doesn't head towards Suffolk), Hampshire, Devon
The M25 - The road to nowhere
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by tom1977 »

A303Chris wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 13:46
Chris Bertram wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:18
tom1977 wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:11 The clues:
M23 East Sussex
M11 Suffolk
M275 Isle of Wight
M5 Cornwall

What is the connection?

Bonus trivia question: where is the M96?
None of them quite make it as far as those destinations?

And M96 is at the National Fire College in Moreton-in-Marsh. Obligatory "sheesh" for that one ...
Or they end in adjacent counties, West Sussex, Cambridgeshire (especially as the M11 doesn't head towards Suffolk), Hampshire, Devon
Both answers are good enough for the point. The answer (IIRC) is that these are the nearest motorways to counties without a motorway. No bonus points for getting the A96 question correct!
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Moore_O »

tom1977 wrote: Wed Jan 09, 2019 15:10 No bonus points for getting the A96 question correct!
The guess 'Somewhere in Scotland' should have got some credit even though it wasn't right.
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Euan »

It would have been really impressive had they said something along the lines of "But Aberdeen is nowhere near any motorways!"

Having said that, even a very faintly rough idea of the geographical spread of motorway numbers is above average in itself.
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by orudge »

Has anyone here tried to go on Mastermind with “the British road network” as their specialist subject? Not sure if that would make a good subject for them though!
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by ellandback »

orudge wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 13:02 Has anyone here tried to go on Mastermind with “the British road network” as their specialist subject? Not sure if that would make a good subject for them though!
I have a vague recollection that someone once tried to go on with a specialist subject of "Road routes from [?Lutterworth] to anywhere in mainland Britain", or something like that, but it was rejected.
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Euan »

I would imagine any specialist subject would have to be wide ranging enough to ask a reasonable number of questions that are not ridiculously obscure. It's hard to imagine them asking anything like "The B3111 is one of two B roads in central Bath, what is the number of the other road?"

Remember as well that it is prime television and it would be unfair if the questions went so deep into the subject that hardly any of the viewers could guess any answers on their own.
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by the cheesecake man »

ellandback wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 13:12
orudge wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 13:02 Has anyone here tried to go on Mastermind with “the British road network” as their specialist subject? Not sure if that would make a good subject for them though!
I have a vague recollection that someone once tried to go on with a specialist subject of "Road routes from [?Lutterworth] to anywhere in mainland Britain", or something like that, but it was rejected.
Close: it was Letchworth:

http://ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Mastermind_Subjects
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Graham »

A few years ago there was an Only Connect sequences question in which the first clue was :

M12

One of the few times I have been able to give the correct answer from only one clue...
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by FleetlinePhil »

At very much the other end of the quizzing spectrum, an episode of The £100k Drop this week featured two contestants who could not correctly identify the warning sign for an uneven road, thinking it more likely to be that for a hump-backed bridge. :facepalm:

At least they rejected speed humps and wet road as possibilities, and they did put a small amount of their stake on uneven road as a back-up so were able to continue in the quiz. Not sure I'd want a lift off them, though.
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Glen »

orudge wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 13:02 Has anyone here tried to go on Mastermind with “the British road network” as their specialist subject? Not sure if that would make a good subject for them though!
Dave Vitty did "British Motorways" as his subject, but didn't really revise the subject, so didn't do very well (but far from the worst in a celebrity show).

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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Owain »

Euan wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 22:55 I would imagine any specialist subject would have to be wide ranging enough to ask a reasonable number of questions that are not ridiculously obscure. It's hard to imagine them asking anything like "The B3111 is one of two B roads in central Bath, what is the number of the other road?"
A road-obsessed pedant with some local knowledge might reply:

"The B3118 just about qualifies as 'central Bath', but the B3111 is suburban .... it's on the wrong side of the river for starters!" :P
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Re: University Challenge Roads Questions

Post by Bryn666 »

FleetlinePhil wrote: Fri Jan 11, 2019 14:32 At very much the other end of the quizzing spectrum, an episode of The £100k Drop this week featured two contestants who could not correctly identify the warning sign for an uneven road, thinking it more likely to be that for a hump-backed bridge. :facepalm:

At least they rejected speed humps and wet road as possibilities, and they did put a small amount of their stake on uneven road as a back-up so were able to continue in the quiz. Not sure I'd want a lift off them, though.
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