Mastermind: Thom Jenkins, VIP Consultant, Doctors Beck & Stone

“Mastermind” is a regular magazine column in which we quiz a Beijing personality on general knowledge as well as on a subject in which they consider themselves to be a specialist.

Contestant: Thom Jenkins, VIP Consultant, Doctors Beck & Stone

Specialist Subject: Pets

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Who wears the Fisherman’s Ring?
Man alive! Mr. Fisherman? No idea. Never heard of it. X

How many Oscar nominations did Titanic receive?
Eleven. Maybe it was 13. Let’s just go for 11. Nominated as opposed to won? Maybe more? Eleven. X

Celine Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest representing which European country?
She’s Canadian, right? French-Canadian? Maybe France? Maybe it wasn’t France. Maybe it was England. X

A ruby anniversary celebrates how many years of marriage?
Hmm, I’m not married. Ruby ... quite nice. Probably married for a while. Forty. Let’s go for 40. √

What’s Brazil’s national dance?
[head hits desk] I know this. Tango or something like that. Salsa. X

SPECIALIST SUBJECT

What do herpetologists study?
Herpetology? Tortoises, I think. Reptiles? Pretty sure it’s reptiles. √

What is the name of Audrey Hepburn’s cat in Breakfast at Tiffany’s?
I love that film. It’s just Cat, isn’t it? √

Which 1983 film features a dog with rabies?
Stephen King … and it’s called Kojo, Koja, Kajo … Nope. X

How many claws does a housecat have?
In total? 18. √

Which country has the most pet dogs?
China’s close to the US on cats. Dogs? It has to be the US, although they do prefer cats. √

FINAL SCORE: 5/10

Answers 1) the Pope 2) 14 3) Switzerland 4) 40 5) samba 6) reptiles 7) Cat 8) Cujo 9) 18 10) US

Verdict: A strong performance in his specialist subject made for Thom’s impressive five out of ten and the second-highest score in Mastermind history. We’re guessing he used to be the teacher’s pet.

This article originally appeared on page 57 of the December issue of the Beijinger.

Click here to see the December issue of the Beijinger in full.

Photo: Sui