Thursday news quiz: resignations, recriminations and a mysterious doorbell menace

Angela Rayner isn’t an answer in this quiz – but you will have to have remembered resignations in Japan and France to get maximum points. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

After a summer hiatus, the Thursday quiz is back, back, back, baby! For new readers, that means every Thursday on the Guardian app or website you face 15 questions on stories that have been in the news the week before, alongside a smattering of general knowledge and pop culture. Think of it like a combination between a topical pub quiz and Trivial Pursuit. As you will discover, it also doesn’t entirely take itself seriously.

For regular and returning readers, thank you so much for your many kind emails and comments about the absence of the quiz this summer. Rest assured, having had weeks and weeks to think about and redesign the format, it is basically still going to be the same old nonsense. There are no prizes, it is just for fun, and we love it when you tell us how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 214

1. 

   Rather like Angela Rayner (pictured), Japan's prime minister recently had to usher themselves out of the door marked 'do one'. Who just resigned in Tokyo?

   1. Fumio Kishida

   2. Yoshimasa Hayashi

   3. Shigeru Ishiba

   4. Takako Akashi

2. 

   France has also just yeeted their prime minister out the door. Who has taken over as the third prime minister Emmanuel Macron (pictured) has had to appoint in a year?

   1. Gérald Darmanin

   2. Sébastien Lecornu

   3. François Bayrou

   4. Léon Colbert

3. 

   Which running event has had to apologise after putting a map of the wrong city on its medals?

   1. Boston Marathon

   2. Göteborgsvarvet

   3. Broad Street Run

   4. Great North Run

4. 

   A Sydney daycare centre is facing questions after a child (not the one pictured) was sent home with the wrong guardian (also not pictured). Who collected the wrong child?

   1. A grandmother

   2. A grandfather

   3. An uncle

   4. 30-50 feral hogs

5. 

   Bruce Springsteen is to release an electric version of his acclaimed 1982 album named after which state?

   1. Nebraska

   2. Idaho

   3. Indiana

   4. Syldavia

6. 

   A woman (not pictured) who was immediately sacked when she insulted her manager during a row won an unfair dismissal case after it was decided that what she said wasn't a sackable offence. What did she call her manager?

   1. Arsehole

   2. Prick

   3. Dickhead

   4. Knobber

7. 

   It has emerged that David Bowie was working on a musical set in the 18th century when he died. What was it to be called?

   1. The Watcher

   2. The Witness

   3. The Beholder

   4. The Spectator

8. 

   Terry Dunn, 54, stepped up to offer to play in goal for which team facing an injury crisis?

   1. Dorking Rovers

   2. Dorking United

   3. Dorking Wanderers

   4. Atlético Dorking

9. 

   This is Willow, the increasingly chonkier official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz. She wants you to tell her the name of the place in the US where 11 cats have been battling it out to be elected mayor?

   1. Somerville, Massachusetts

   2. Bridgeport, Connecticut

   3. Ellsworth, Maine

   4. Lewistown, Pennsylvania

10. 

    The Guardian's restaurant critic Grace Dent (pictured) has got the gig as the new presenter of Masterchef. Who will present alongside her?

    1. Angela Hartnett

    2. Anna Haugh

    3. Clare Smyth

    4. Ron from Sparks

11. 

    Michael Caine (pictured) is taking a break from blowing the bloody doors off in retirement to appear in one final movie. Which one?

    1. Now You See Me 2

    2. Quicksand 2

    3. The Italian Job 2

    4. The Last Witch Hunter 2

12. 

    This week's guest canine is Ella, a therapy dog that the Thursday quiz met in the pub in Brighton. She heard there was a fire at the old BBC Television Centre in West London. She wants to know when the BBC sold the building.

    1. 2002

    2. 2009

    3. 2012

    4. 2019

13. 

    Who has been declared the Catholic church’s first millennial saint by Pope Leo (pictured)?

    1. Elena Guerra

    2. Artémides Zatti

    3. Carlo Acutis

    4. Gary Barlow's massive son

14. 

    Which golfer (not pictured, that is the thing they thwack) inexplicably decided to reveal that they had woken up in a pool of their own vomit in an Indianapolis hotel room celebrating their Ryder Cup selection?

    1. Tyrrell Hatton

    2. Bobson Dugnutt

    3. Webb Simpson

    4. Brandt Snedeker

15. 

    And finally, in Germany, a prankster (not pictured) who kept ringing doorbells in an apartment block in Bavaria turned out to be what?

    1. A magpie

    2. A spider

    3. A slug

    4. A very naughty miniature dachshund

Solutions

1:C - He was in the role for 343 days, roughly the equivalent of seven Liz Trusses, 2:B - Lecornu replaces François Bayrou, who resigned on Tuesday after losing a confidence vote, 3:D - In what could be an amazing act of trolling, the map appeared to be of Sunderland, not Newcastle, 4:B - Everything was fine, but the child's actual family got a huge shock and a childcare educator has been stood down, 5:A - The original 1982 release featured recordings Springsteen made on a four-track tape recorder rather than with a full band in the studio, 6:C - Tee hee! The Thursday quiz said some rude words, 7:D - The work was based around a daily newspaper of the same name that was published between 1711 and 1712, 8:C - Atlético Dorking isn't quite such an outlandish suggestion, as the women's team that the Thursday quiz supports – London Seaward – appear to have changed their name to Atlético London., 9:A - Some people have a lot of time on their hands, don't they?, 10:B - The Irish chef has already become a regular on the BBC’s cooking programmes, and both have previous experience as guest judges on the show, 11:D - He will be reprising his role as a priest, 12:C - Having opening in 1960 as one of the first ever purpose built TV studio complexes, it was sold in 2012 with lots of the old offices converted into flats. Rumours that the Thursday quiz has repeatedly tried to purchase the flat that used to be the Doctor Who production office have been denied, 13:C - Acutis, who died of leukaemia aged 15, built multilingual websites to spread Catholic teaching, later earning him the nickname 'God’s influencer', 14:A - I mean, it isn't like the Thursday quiz hasn't ever done it either, it is just the quiz wouldn't be telling everybody in interviews, 15:C - The slug had been sliding up and down the bell plate, creating havoc in the building

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 Wolf by Kathryn Joseph instead?

Wolf by Kathryn Joseph