Precious medals, Bruce’s albums and a snapping turtle – take the Thursday quiz

Bruce Springsteen in 2017 – can you put his earliest albums in order? Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

What better way to shake off the mid-February blues than the regular shifty collection of vaguely topical, wilfully obscure and downright silly questions from the Thursday quiz? There are no prizes, it really is just for fun, but we still love to hear how you’ve got on in the comments.

The Thursday quiz, No 147

1. 

   The Body Shop has collapsed into administration in the UK. It was founded by Anita Roddick when?

   1. 1966

   2. 1976

   3. 1986

   4. 1996

2. 

   Who will be the next president of Finland after winning an election runoff?

   1. Alexander Stubb

   2. Teemu Pukki

   3. Pekka Haavisto

   4. Mika Vainio

3. 

   Organisers have announced that Paris Olympic and Paralympic medals will contain chunks of what?

   1. A meteorite that fell on France in 1924 during the last time Paris hosted the Olympics

   2. Lutetian limestone from the Paris basin

   3. Iron from the Eiffel Tower

   4. One very naughty miniature dachshund

4. 

   El Centro in southern California experienced how many earthquakes in a 25-minute period this week?

   1. 7

   2. 13

   3. 17

   4. 23

5. 

   For some inexplicable reason Netflix made a TV drama about Prince Andrew's disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis on the BBC’s Newsnight in 2019. Who is playing Maitlis?

   1. Emma Stone

   2. Jenna Coleman

   3. Gillian Anderson

   4. Keeley Hawes

6. 

   This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, resting soundly in the knowledge that sniffer dogs at Boston airport sniffed out what?

   1. A smuggled tortoise

   2. A cache of powdered tiger's penises

   3. Four mummified monkeys

   4. 30-50 feral hogs

7. 

   Fluffy (not pictured), an alligator snapping turtle native to swamps and rivers in southern parts of the US, was rescued after being found in which English county?

   1. Cumbria

   2. Northumberland

   3. Cheshire

   4. Lincolnshire

8. 

   Would you put the first four Bruce Springsteen albums into the correct order?

   1. Greetings from Asbury Park NJ; Darkness on the Edge of Town; Born to Run; The River

   2. Greetings from Asbury Park NJ; The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle; Darkness on the Edge of Town; Born in the USA

   3. Greetings from Asbury Park NJ; Darkness on the Edge of Town; The River; Nebraska

   4. Greetings from Asbury Park NJ; The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle; Born to Run; Darkness on the Edge of Town

9. 

   What is the name of the lead character in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, who is [SPOILERS] a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse?

   1. Clementine

   2. Leda

   3. Clara

   4. Odette

10. 

    Nancy Astor is was the first woman to take her seat in parliament in London, but who was the first woman elected to be an MP in Westminster?

    1. Constance Markievicz

    2. Mabel Philpson

    3. Vera Terrington

    4. Harriet Jones

11. 

    It is the anniversary of Canada adopting its maple leaf national flag in 1965. Which of these is a description of Canada's de facto flag prior to that date?

    1. The union flag in the top left corner of a light blue flag featuring a coat of arms

    2. The union flag in the top left corner on a red flag featuring an illustration of three snow-capped mountains

    3. The union flag in the top left corner on a dark blue flag featuring an illustration of three snow-capped mountains

    4. The union flag in the top left corner on a red flag featuring a coat of arms

12. 

    One question about every country taking part in the Euro 2024 finals this summer. Talking of flags, this week: France. Mainland France is bordered by eight countries. All of them have one colour in common in their flags. Which colour?

    1. Blue

    2. Green

    3. White

    4. Red

13. 

    Football authorities are proposing yet more tinkering with the beautiful game by introducing a new card for dissent and tactical fouls which would lead to players spending 10 minutes in a "sin bin". What colour cards are they proposing be introduced?

    1. Blue

    2. Green

    3. White

    4. Pink with yellow polka-dots in homage to Mr Blobby

14. 

    Every fan of Sapphire & Steel knows "all irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension. Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life". Jet can be assigned. The bulk of the gemstone jet (not pictured) is which element?

    1. Carbon

    2. Iron

    3. Tin

    4. Tungsten

15. 

    Thursday quiz favourite Taylor Swift was at the Super Bowl, and her current squeeze Travis Kelce and his Kansas City Chiefs won. But did Kelce score any points during the game?

    1. Yes – Travis Kelce scored points for the Kansas City Chiefs during the Super Bowl on Sunday

    2. No – Travis Kelce did not score points for the Kansas City Chiefs during the Super Bowl on Sunday

Solutions

1:B - Roddick opened her first shop in Brighton in 1976, expanding rapidly through a franchise model., 2:A - Stubb, of the National Coalition party, declared victory on Sunday night and said the role would be “the greatest honour” of his life., 3:C - The 18-gram hexagon tokens, representing the shape of France, are made of iron taken from the tower during past refurbishments then stored for years in a warehouse whose location is secret. They sit in the centre of the gold, silver and bronze medals., 4:B - The rapid cluster of earthquakes came two days after a 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit several miles north-west of Malibu on Friday. Authorities said no major damage or injuries had been reported., 5:C - It features Anderson as Maitlis and Rufus Sewell as Andrew. Billie Piper is in it, and the Thursday quiz still can't quite fathom the point., 6:C - No charges were filed in connection with the discovery of the monkeys, which had apparenlty been brought into the US for personal consumption as "bushmeat". Ummmmkay., 7:A - A local dog walker had spotted the exotic creature bathing in the shallow waters of Urswick Tarn, a small lake near Ulverston. The turtles have no natural predators, can grow to about 80cm and live for up to 70 years, with powerful jaws capable of breaking through bone. The picture is a rather more cute baby turtle from Nicaragua., 8:D - All four of them were certified at least double platinum in the US., 9:D - Like many famous ballets, it received poor reviews at its premiere but has gone on to become one of the most loved classics of the genre., 10:A - Markievicz was elected in December 1918 to represent Dublin, St Patrick's, but as a member of Sinn Féin she opted not to take up her seat in Westminster in protest., 11:D - The Canadian red ensign was never formally adopted as Canada's national flag, but it was widely used rather than the union flag. , 12:D - The eight countries are Belgium, Monaco, Spain, Andorra, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and all of them have red elements in their flags., 13:A - The Thursday quiz shakes its head slowly., 14:A - Jet is around 75% carbon and 12% oxygen with sulfur and hydrogen making up most of the balance and is a product of the decomposition of wood from millions of years ago., 15:B - Kelce had 9 receptions for 93 yards (roughly 180 ancient Sumerian cubits) but he didn't score any points. Harrison Butker, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Patrick Mahomes and Mecole Hardman were involved in the moves and kicks that secured the 25-22 victory in overtime.

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   We hope you had fun – let us know how you got on in the comments

If you really do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers – and can show your working – feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com, but remember the quiz master’s word is final and he is still trying to make up his mind about the Last Dinner Party.