麻豆社

Tom asked: Ten in 1901, twelve in 1948, seven in 1949 - what might these numbers and dates have to do with reproduction?

Well done if you spotted it was sound reproduction we were talking about. These are the launch dates of three disc formats which dominated the recording industry in the 20th century. The numbers refer to their most common diameters, in inches.

The聽78rpm disc was launched in 1901 with a typical (though far from exclusive) diameter of 10 inches. In 1948 Decca introduced the long-playing record, with a rotating speed of 33 and a third rpm and a typical diameter of 12 inches. The 7-inch 45rpm disc was commercially launched the following year, and for many years popular songs were released on both 78 and 45 formats concurrently.

The Round Britain Quiz 2016 league table after nine matches:

South of England聽 Played 3聽 Won 3聽 Drawn 0聽 Lost 0聽 Total points 48

The Midlands聽 P3聽 W2聽 D0聽 L1聽 Pts 57

Wales聽 P3聽 W2聽 D0聽 L1聽 Pts 55

Scotland聽 P3聽 W2聽 D0聽 L1聽 Pts 49

North of England聽 P3聽 W0聽 D0聽 L3聽 Pts 45

Northern Ireland聽 P3聽 W0聽 D0聽 L3聽 Pts 31

Q1聽 Why might Joel Gray be happy to introduce one who leads you endlessly up (or maybe down?), one who warned against manual contact, and one who wrote about a dried grape and someone possibly big in Glamis and Cawdor?

Q2 (from Rob Butlin)聽 The Queen of Soul, the cricketer who has scored the most test centuries for England and the author of After The Fall, are among a company of sundry folk. Where might they be going?

Q3 (Music)聽 Where, and when, might you expect to find all of these together?

Q4聽 The creator of Jean Valjean, three revolutionary generals, a man who should perhaps have been listened to after the Great War, and the resting-place of Greek heroes. Where in the world do they all converge around聽a star?

Q5聽 Why would Fantin-Latour be attracted by Lord Wavell's anthology, the third album by Public Image Ltd, and a novel by Virginia Andrews?

Q6 (Music & voices)聽 What comes next?

Q7聽(from Peter Stockdale)聽 What's the connection between: Baron Renfrew and Harare's airport; the Dark Tower and a civil war protagonist; and the father of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia and an English satirical poet?

Q8 (from Mrs Chris Rogers)聽 Which is the odd one out among an Argonaut, a Wagnerian opera, and two Nobel prizes in Physics during World War II?

One very speedy, one who made a bear-faced mess of things, and the third in line to the throne, were all looked after by a man from Monmouth: where, and when?

It's just for fun so please don't write to us with the answer - but you can find out if you're right when Tom reveals the answer at the beginning of the next edition.