Missing the Winter Olympics? Thanks to this week’s illustration by Anaïs Mims, here is your chance to discover whether you are gracefully landing a flawless triple axel under arena lights to the sound of your favourite tune, or merely skating on the thin ice of ignorance, arms windmilling gently as the cold reality of the answers draws closer. Fifteen questions on topical headlines, pop culture and general knowledge await. There are no prizes, but we always enjoy hearing how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!
The Thursday news quiz, No 236
1.A baby monkey in Japan captured hearts around the world when videos of him befriending a stuffed orangutan, after bullying by other monkeys and rejection by his mother, went viral last week. What is his name?
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2.The head of which body has criticised the BBC for an entirely fictional scene in a drama programme in which some entirely fictional characters impersonate its staff?
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3.Where has received a hefty gift of gold bars worth £2.7m from an anonymous donor with a request for its specific use – to fix the city’s dilapidated water pipes?
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4.The Thursday quiz is genuinely baffled at how long it has taken to build Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia. The final piece of the central tower has been laid in place. But when did construction of the whole thing originally start?
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5.A man (not pictured) in Catania, Sicily (pictured), trained his dog (not pictured) to do what?
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6.Residents of Mumbai are being driven crazy by the musical sounds of a new road, which plays a tune when people drive under the speed limit. Which tune?
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7.Today is the birthday of Jaz Coleman, the lead singer of Killing Joke. Happy birthday, Jaz! Love Like Blood! What was the name of Killing Joke’s much-missed guitarist, who died in 2023?
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8.This week’s guest canine is Anoushka’s dog, Buffy. Awwwwwww. We imagine Buffy likes bones. But whose bones are being put on display to mark 800 years since their death?
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9.Farther or nearer with Geordie Alan Shearer! This week we imagine the England soccer legend wants to know, if he leaves his home town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which is farther or nearer – Reykjavik, Iceland, or Milan, Italy?
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10.Which band (not pictured) almost instantly sold out their comeback concert in Seoul after tickets were released on Monday?
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11.Which MP has rather unexpectedly claimed that the UK is ‘suffering from having a totally unregulated sexual economy’?
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12.Least or most with Liberace’s ghost. This week the Thursday quiz imagines the ghost of Liberace would like to know: which athlete won the most gold medals ever at a Winter Olympic Games?
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13.Fresh from hanging out at the Winter Olympics, the US rapper Snoop Dogg was given a guard of honour at which football club?
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14.On this day with Brian May! And his badger! 26 February is the anniversary (just about) of Galileo Galilei being formally banned by the church from teaching that Earth orbits the sun. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen’s legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – in which year …
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15.And finally … what is the name of the dolphin that has moved into Venice lagoon?
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If you really do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers – and can show your working and are absolutely 100% positive you aren’t attempting to factcheck a joke – you can complain about it in the comments below. Or why not watch Matches by Katherine Priddy instead?
Matches by Katherine Priddy