Thursday news quiz: stranded punters, ice-cream quitters and a very naughty choir

These little cherubs from Westminster Cathedral choir would never step out of line, but which cathedral choir did? Photograph: Martin Argles/The Guardian

It is time once again for the Thursday quiz, newly restored to the Guardian website after a summer hiatus. If you are new to the format, think of it as a mix between a topical news quiz and a pub quiz, but sillier. Much, much sillier. There are no prizes, it is just for fun, but let us know how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 215

1. 

   At least 900 tourists were stranded near which famous South American tourist attraction after protesters blocked train tracks with rocks?

   1. Sugarloaf Mountain

   2. Lake Titicaca

   3. Iguazú Falls

   4. Machu Picchu

2. 

   Researchers monitoring a melting glacier on the Marmolada, the largest peak in the Italian Dolomites (pictured), said they were astonished to witness a tourist navigating one of its trails on what?

   1. Roller skates

   2. Pogo stick

   3. An electric unicycle

   4. A troop of escaped macaques

3. 

   The FBI director, Kash Patel (pictured), appeared for a hearing in front of the US Senate judiciary committee wearing a tie featuring the logo of which European football team?

   1. Barcelona

   2. Liverpool

   3. Inter Milan

   4. Fulchester United

4. 

   Which show won best drama series at the 2025 Emmy awards?

   1. The Last of Us

   2. Severance

   3. Slow Horses

   4. The Pitt

5. 

   A Ben & Jerry’s co-founder (not pictured, that is the product) has stepped away from the ice-cream brand after nearly 50 years, claiming it has lost its independence. Which one?

   1. Ben

   2. Jerry

   3. Ron

   4. Derek

6. 

   A choir has been suspended for singing an "inappropriate hymn" in a cathedral (not pictured, that is a big church in Rome and the quizmaster). Where?

   1. Peterborough

   2. Bangor

   3. Ripon

   4. Crimpton-on-Sea

7. 

   A baffled bride (not pictured) has solved the mystery of the awkward-looking stranger who crashed her wedding four years ago. Who was it?

   1. Andrew Hillhouse

   2. Francis Millmouse

   3. Derek Fillrowse

   4. Gary Barlow's massive son

8. 

   Some heartless fool has been shooting at donkeys in southern California. What is the name of the latest victim (pictured), who is recovering after being found with a blue arrow protruding from her right shoulder?

   1. Cupid

   2. Treacle

   3. Poppy

   4. Dugga Doo

9. 

   Rome’s mayor (not pictured) has ordered a woman (also not pictured) to stop feeding dozens of what (honestly, the picture is completely irrelevant) that have overrun an apartment block?

   1. Cats

   2. Foxes

   3. Pigeons

   4. Feral hogs

10. 

    A digital assistant (not pictured, that is K-9, Doctor Who's digital assistant) that helps people navigate government services online has become the first "virtually created" AI cabinet minister in which country?

    1. Montenegro

    2. Albania

    3. Croatia

    4. Slovenia

11. 

    This is Willow, the increasingly chonky official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz. She wants to know where in England is to repeal a bylaw that made trumpet playing, carpet beating, wanton singing and "inciting any dog to bark" illegal?

    1. Hull

    2. Teignmouth

    3. Gosport

    4. Wirral

12. 

    Who briefly eclipsed that other guy as the richest man in the world?

    1. Amancio Ortega

    2. Larry Ellison

    3. Bobson Dugnutt

    4. Larry Page

13. 

    This week's guest canine is Nutmeg, who remained stoic while the Thursday quiz made a somewhat ill-advised drunken late-night approach to her owner at a tube station to get the photo. Nutmeg wants to know which country just appointed its first female prime minister after protests about a national social media crackdown?

    1. Bangladesh

    2. Vietnam

    3. Nepal

    4. Syldavia

14. 

    John Daly not only ruined a good walk but made it into the PGA Tour Champions record books with the highest-ever score on the par-five 12th hole at the Sanford International. How long did his ball-thwacking saga last?

    1. He took 14 shots

    2. He took 19 shots

    3. He took 23 shots

    4. He took 42 shots

15. 

    And finally … a report by the thinktank Common Wealth claims the UK public has paid how much to shareholders of key industries since privatisation?

    1. £1,057

    2. £50bn

    3. £100bn

    4. £200bn

Solutions

1:D - Peru's tourism minister, Desilú León, told local radio that 1,400 tourists were evacuated on Monday but 900 remained stranded in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to the much-visited cultural site, 2:C - A researcher said: "It was very unusual to see someone on such a vehicle. We were astonished. We don’t want to demonise him, but why take risk when you don’t need to?" They helped not to demonise him by publishing video of the incident that went viral, 3:B - You too can get the look – the tie is available from the club's website for £15, 4:D - Like the rest of the UK, where The Pitt isn't available, the Thursday quiz has not seen it and so cannot pass any judgment on the decision, 5:B - Jerry Greenfield has ushered himself out the door marked 'do one'. He had been there nearly a year for every day Liz Truss was UK prime minister, 6:B - The choir apparently sang a specially composed Canticle of Indignation. The Thursday quiz thinks it saw Canticle of Indignation at Download festival in 2008, 7:A - Apparently he had turned up at the wrong church for a wedding he was meant to be attending and found it increasingly hard to extricate himself from the situation, 8:A - Animal services and the Riverside county sheriff’s department responded and Cupid is now standing again and on the mend, 9:C - Poor pigeons, they are just hungry little critters, 10:B - The Thursday quiz thinks they've made a great publicity coup out of adding a "chatbot" to a website and labelling it an "AI minister", but what does the Thursday quiz know?, 11:D - As if any very naughty miniature dachshund would accept any bylaw concerning dog behaviour, 12:B - He is a co-founder of the software company Oracle, apparently, 13:C - Sushila Karki, the former chief justice of Nepal, took the oath of office late on Friday, after several tense days of negotiation, 14:B - It seems he hit seven straight shots into the water and frankly at that point the Thursday quiz would have gone home and found something less boring to do instead, 15:D - Well isn't that just lovely, eh?

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 Porcupine by Sparks instead? It has the impeccable Self Esteem starring in it too.

Porcupine by Sparks