Trivia Time: 20 questions on the month of May

Here’s some more Expat Living trivia for you! This time around, we’ve got 20 questions on the month of May, covering everything from festivals and events held in the fifth month of the year, to history, language and more. You May as well get started…

#1 In the annual cheese-rolling festival held in the UK in May, competitors chase a giant wheel of what type of cheese down a steep hill: Brie, Double Gloucester or Jarlsberg? 

#2 Name one of the two signs of the horoscope associated with May.

#3 Which date in May is named “Star Wars Day”, and why? 

#4 May Day celebrations are held in many places to mark the return of spring, and often include what medieval dance tradition? 

#5 An anagram of May is “yam”; name an anagram of another month of the year.

#6 What world famous horse race is usually held on the first Saturday in May?

#7 April’s birthstone is diamond and June’s is ruby. What is May’s? 

#8 May is an autumn month (rather than a spring month) in all of the following countries but one; which one? New Zealand, Algeria, Peru, Indonesia

#9 How many of the months that come earlier in the year than May have fewer than 31 days?

#10 Towel Day, celebrated on 25 May each year, is a tribute to which popular British science fiction and comedy author who died in 2001?

#11 The Empire State building first opened on 1 May in which year, 1891, 1911 or 1931?

#12 Cinco de Mayo on the 5th of May commemorates a Mexican military victory over who, France, the UK or the US?

#13 What is known as the international distress call?

#14 What’s the name of the colourful international song competition (whose entrants are mostly from Europe) held annually in May and broadcast around the world?

#15 “Maggio” is the word for May in which language?

#16 The “Palme d’Or” (“Golden Palm”) is the highest prize given out at which annual film festival awards held annually in May? 

#17 Who wrote the line, “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May”?

#18 In some parts of Europe and the US, May the 29th is a day for placing what unusual item on top of your refrigerator as a symbol of prosperity: a pillow, a pencil case or a pineapple? 

#19 May is the shortest month to spell, with just three letters; what’s the longest? 

#20 What do “April showers” bring in May, according to a popular expression?

Bonus

Who am I?
(If you can answer correctly on the first clue, you get 10 points, but you lose a point for each additional clue you require after that.)

• I was born on 31 May, in 1930. (10)
• I was nicknamed “Samson” at birth because of my large size (5.2kg, or 11 pounds 6 ounces). (9)
• I’m an American, and a descendant of one of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower. (8)
• In my teens and early 20s, I worked as a lifeguard. My swimming skills came in handy when I had to swim to safety after being involved in a light plane crash. (7)
• I’ve had other jobs over the course of my life, including as the mayor of a city in California for a few years, but that’s not what I’m best known for. (6)
• In the 1950s, I started acting in TV and film; I would go on to star in more than 60 movies. (5)
• I’m also a highly successful director, earning multiple Oscars and other awards. (4)
• I’m an extremely tall actor, with a habit of speaking my lines “through my teeth”, or through a grimace. (3)
• Some of my biggest films as actor or director include Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven and Dirty Harry. (2)
• I am Clint who? (1)

All the answers!

#1 Double Gloucester
#2 Taurus and Gemini
#3 May the 4th; it’s a play on the famous quote from the movie, “May the Force (Fourth) be with you”
#4 Dancing around the maypole
#5 There aren’t many! March has “charm”, and April has “ripal” (an adjective meaning “located on a riverbank”)
#6 The Kentucky Derby
#7 Emerald
#8 Algeria
#9 Two: February and April
#10 Douglas Adams
#11 1931
#12 France; Cinco de Mayo is sometimes incorrectly described as Mexico’s Independence Day, but that day is celebrated not on 5 May but on 16 September
#13 “Mayday”; this has nothing to do with the celebration known as May Day, but is adapted from the French phrase “venez m’aider” or “come and help me”
#14 The Eurovision Song Contest, or just “Eurovision”
#15 Italian
#16 Cannes Film Festival
#17 William Shakespeare (in “Sonnet 18”)
#18 Pillow (yes, “Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day” is a thing…)
#19 September, 9 letters
#20 April showers bring May flowers

Bonus: Clint Eastwood

For more great reading, head to our Living in Singapore section!

Shamus Sillar

While he has worked as a magazine editor since 2003, Shamus also has a PhD in Roman History (useful!) and is a published author. He writes mostly on travel but also covers food, history, sport, trivia and more, across Expat Living’s publications and websites in Singapore and Hong Kong.