Rio’s record, giant dogs and a psychic crocodile – take the Thursday quiz

This crocodile isn’t psychic, but it does have some questions for you … Photograph: Brian Cassey/AAP

Last week in the comments one user suggested they were going to try to work the new Thursday quiz Minecraft movie-related catchphrase – “Chicken jockey your way out of that one, sunshine” – into a meeting at work, which is to be applauded, and hopefully will inspire more people to do so. But before going out to spread the message, you are faced with 15 questions, mixing up topical news, general knowledge and pop culture trivia in the usual fashion. Enjoy!

The Thursday quiz, No 209

1. 

   What attracted a record estimated crowd of 2.1 million to Brazil's Copacabana beach on Saturday night?

   1. An Ariane Grande concert

   2. A Shakira concert

   3. A Lady Gaga concert

   4. A troop of escaped macaques riding 30-50 feral hogs engaged in a crime spree

2. 

   Soviet-era spacecraft Kosmos 482 (not pictured) has been stuck in orbit since 1972, and is expected to crash to Earth shortly. It failed its mission, which was to visit which heavenly body?

   1. The heavenly body of Venus

   2. The heavenly body of Mars

   3. The heavenly body of the moon

   4. The heavenly body of Uranus

3. 

   Who will announce the UK vote at next week's Eurovision song contest?

   1. Hannah Waddingham

   2. Ncuti Gatwa

   3. Claudia Winkleman

   4. Alan Cumming

4. 

   Who won snooker's world championship in Sheffield at the weekend?

   1. Zhao Xintong

   2. Si Jiahui

   3. Pang Junxu

   4. Ron from Sparks

5. 

   Rockstar Games upset gaming nerds, including the quiz master, by announcing it was delaying Grand Theft Auto VI until May 2026. How long will it have been by then since Grand Theft Auto V was released?

   1. Six years and eight months

   2. Eight years and eight months

   3. 10 years and eight months

   4. 12 years and eight months

6. 

   Reform UK is back to having five MPs after they won the Runcorn and Helsby byelection. By how many votes?

   1. Six votes

   2. 12 votes

   3. 24 votes

   4. 1,057 votes

7. 

   Here is Karl-Heinz with his (almost) opening lines. This week the Thursday quiz imagines the German soccer legend would like to know which TV series starts with someone saying "[REDACTED], have a seat. My understanding from your family physician, Dr Cusamano, is you collapsed? Were unable to breathe? Possibly a panic attack?"

   1. Breaking Bad

   2. The Sopranos

   3. Succession

   4. Mad Men

8. 

   This week's flag question is about Tajikistan (some bold-looking sheep from there pictured). What emblem does the Tajikistan flag have in the middle of it?

   1. A pattern of 12 stacked yellow stars

   2. A yellow sun

   3. A yellow crown surmounted by an arc of seven stars

   4. One very naughty miniature dachshund

9. 

   Here is farther or nearer with Geordie Alan Shearer. This week we imagine the England soccer legend wants to know, if he leaves his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne, which is farther or nearer – Reykjavík in Iceland or Helsinki in Finland?

   1. Reykjavík in Iceland is nearer to Newcastle upon Tyne than Helsinki in Finland

   2. Helsinki in Finland is nearer to Newcastle upon Tyne than Reykjavík in Iceland

10. 

    It is the anniversary of Joan of Arc (not pictured) lifting the siege of Orléans and turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War, although it didn't work out particularly well for her personally. Which year?

    1. 1229

    2. 1329

    3. 1429

    4. 1529

11. 

    It is Chris Frantz's birthday today. Happy birthday, Chris! He was drummer for which superb new wave/post-punk band?

    1. Television

    2. Devo

    3. Talking Heads

    4. Bombalurina featuring Timmy Mallett

12. 

    The holders of the record for world's tallest and world's shortest dogs had a meet'n'sniff. What are their names?

    1. Gemma the chihuahua and Roland the great dane

    2. Pearl the chihuahua and Reginald the great dane

    3. Opal the chihuahua and Raymond the great dane

    4. Millie the chihuahua and Gibson the great dane

13. 

    Some absolute fool of a Took bartered 5kg of what to get a ticket to Bodø/Glimt v Tottenham tonight?

    1. Cloudberry jam

    2. Jarlsberg cheese

    3. Semi-dried fish

    4. Very naughty miniature dachshunds

14. 

    This is Willow (twice). She is the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, and can't stop thinking about Valerie, the recaptured very naughty miniature dachshund who lived alone on Kangaroo Island for ages. Which Australian state does Kangaroo Island belong to?

    1. New South Wales

    2. South Australia

    3. Western Australia

    4. Queensland

15. 

    Also in Australia, Speckles the psychic crocodile predicted who would win the Australian election. Did Speckles get it right?

    1. Yes, Speckles correctly predicted an Anthony Albanese victory

    2. No, Speckles incorrectly predicted a Peter Dutton victory

Solutions

1:C - Gagacabana exceeded the previous record of 1.5 million people set by Madonna, 2:A - The "uncontrolled re-entry" of the landing capsule could happen on 10 May, and since it was designed to withstand crashing through the atmosphere of Venus, space boffins believe it may survive intact, 3:B - The Doctor Who star will have appeared in an episode titled The Interstellar Song Contest earlier in the day, 4:A - Zhao has won 42 of his first 44 games since returning from a suspension after he was embroiled in a match-fixing and gambling scandal, 5:D - Grand Theft Auto V made its debut in September 2013, 6:A - Turnout in the contest was a 46.3%, and Reform overturned a Labour 14,700-vote majority, 7:B - Technically she says "Mr Soprano, have a seat" first, but that kind of gives the game away …, 8:C - Apparently the crown represents the Samanid dynasty and Tajik people, and there are seven stars as the number is significant in Persian mythology, 9:A - Iceland's capital is about 1,500km away from Alan Shearer's hometown, while Helsinki is about 1,670km away. Top bins!, 10:C - Yes, she was active in the 15th century before the English decided to bring that to a very unpleasant conclusion, 11:C - He was also part of Tom Tom Club with Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth. The pair have been married since 1977, 12:B - Reginald is said to be the size of a small horse and Pearl is 9.14cm tall, a mere fraction of an ancient Sumerian cubit, 13:C - Torbjorn Eide, a production manager at a fish farm in Senja, offered 5kg of boknafisk, a Norwegian delicacy worth nearly 2,500 Norwegian crowns (£182), in exchange for a ticket, 14:B - Karta Pintingga, as it is called in the Kaurna language, is Australia's third largest island, and part of South Australia, and the Thursday quiz is getting increasingly sceptical about Valerie's story, given she appears to have returned from "the wild" fatter and healthier than when she ran away … hmmmmm, 15:B - Chicken jockey your way out of that one, sunshine

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 and are absolutely 100% positive you aren’t attempting to factcheck a joke – you can complain about it in the comments below. Why not watch Dancing on Volcanoes by Gwenno instead?

Dancing on Volcanoes by Gwenno