Charles Babbage, Lyra Belacqua and Frankie Goes to Hollywood

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All the answers here are linked in some way. Once you’ve spotted the connection, any you didn’t know the first time around should become easier.

1. According to Guinness World Records, which book of the 2020s is the fastest-selling non-fiction title of all time?

2. Which mechanical calculator was created by Charles Babbage in the early 19th century?

3. In the Bible, which Phoenician city — now in Lebanon — is mentioned alongside Sidon as a future target of God’s wrath?

4. What’s the UK title of the novel in which Lyra Belacqua first appears?

5. Which anthology TV series did Netflix buy from Channel 4 in 2015?

6. Which 1998 romcom starring Gwyneth Paltrow coined a new phrase?

7. Which former member of the Buggles produced all the number one UK singles by Frankie Goes to Hollywood?

8. In the second world war, what kind of weapon was a Russian T-34?

9. In the first world war, what was the British soldiers’ slang for Ypres?

10. What six-letter word can mean a handbag, a fastener and a group of eggs in a nest?

Click here for the answers

James Walton is co-host of “The Booker Prize Podcast”