Thursday news quiz: wildlife mystique, a museum leak, and Liz Truss speaks

Liz Truss is, back, Back, BACK! Photograph: x.com/trussliz

Welcome back to the Thursday news quiz – a weekly exercise in trivia, triumph and asking: “How on earth did that make headlines in the Guardian?” As always, there are no prizes except the possibility of feeling unbearably smug when you get one right, and the knowledge that the official dog of the quiz, Willow, would be delivering you her very best side-eye every time you guess incorrectly. Let us know how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 227

1. 

   Thursday quiz favourite Liz Truss (pictured) is back in the limelight with her exciting new YouTube production. What is it called?

   1. The Liz Truss Podcast

   2. The Liz Truss Report

   3. The Liz Truss Show

   4. The Liz Truss Delusion

2. 

   Who is Justin Trudeau (pictured) in a relationship with that got made Instagram official?

   1. Gwen Stefani

   2. Katy Perry

   3. Grimes

   4. Avril Lavigne

3. 

   Which museum has announced that 300 to 400 items in its Egyptian department (not quite pictured) were damaged by a water leak in November?

   1. The Louvre, Paris

   2. British Museum, London

   3. Museo Egizio, Turin

   4. Klow Institute of Egyptology, Syldavia

4. 

   The annual review by the tech company NordPass of the top 200 most common passwords used in the UK found which was the most popular?

   1. 123456

   2. password

   3. admin

   4. R0N_FR0M_5P4RK5

5. 

   For some reason Fifa decided to give Donald Trump a peace prize that resembles the world being dragged down into hell (pictured). Which of these sets of countries are making their debuts in the Fifa men's World Cup next summer?

   1. Cape Verde and Uzbekistan

   2. Haiti and Jordan

   3. Curaçao and Tunisia

   4. Paraguay and Scotland

6. 

   Who has been named the new president of the Royal Society of Literature?

   1. Cressida Cowell

   2. Elif Shafak

   3. Lemn Sissay

   4. Amelia Williams

7. 

   This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday news quiz, outside a building named after her. She wants to know what incredibly British food thing somebody threw over the crown jewels display in the Tower of London. It was …

   1. Apple crumble and custard

   2. A Greggs steak bake

   3. Brown Windsor soup

   4. A family-sized Arctic roll

8. 

   This week's feline interloper is Kate Bevan's internet-famous Daphne, who generally disapproves of quizzes. And most other things. She wants to know which wild animal has been spotted in Norfolk for the first time in 500 years?

   1. A wild lynx

   2. A wild beaver

   3. A wild pine marten

   4. A very well behaved miniature dachshund

9. 

   In a shameless attempt to get its name in the papers, Rightmove has named which place as the 'happiest place to live' in Great Britain (which is definitely in that picture somewhere)?

   1. Gosport, Hampshire

   2. Keswick, Cumbria

   3. Chatteris, Cambridgeshire

   4. Skipton, North Yorkshire

10. 

    Here is Karl-Heinz, with his opening lines, which almost rhymes. This week the Thursday quiz imagines the German soccer ace would like to know which film begins 'There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs'

    1. The Warriors

    2. A Clockwork Orange

    3. Trainspotting

    4. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

11. 

    The award-winning Italian games developer Santa Ragione has said its latest horror game has been banned from sale by Steam and the Epic Games Store. Which animal is it named after?

    1. Horses

    2. Bears

    3. Ravens

    4. 30-50 feral hogs

12. 

    India’s Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha (not pictured) has become the youngest player in chess history to earn an official Fide rating. How old was he when it was awarded?

    1. Three years, seven months and 20 days

    2. Four years, seven months and 20 days

    3. Five years, seven months and 20 days

    4. Six years, seven months and 20 days

13. 

    A statue of RoboCop (not pictured) has been erected where?

    1. Chicago

    2. Detroit

    3. Seattle

    4. Innsmouth

14. 

    It is time for On this day with Brian May! And his badger! 11 December is the 20th anniversary of an oil depot catching fire in Hemel Hempstead, England. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen's legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – which depot?

    1. Cooperfield

    2. Hayefield

    3. Wilderfield

    4. Buncefield

15. 

    And finally, people have been warned not to pick up what (not pictured, that's just a random guy, it is fine to pick them up on the beach) that has been washing up on the shores of West Sussex?

    1. Lego pieces

    2. Latex gloves

    3. Inflatable flamingos

    4. Bunches of bananas

Solutions

1:C - The mind of the Thursday quiz has been truly boggled, 2:B - She posted pics of the pair together in Japan, 3:A - They really are having an annus horribilis, aren't they?, 4:C - People are stupid, huh?, 5:A - It might feel like a debut to some Scotland fans, as they haven't qualified since 1998, 6:B - The British-Turkish writer was elected after a vote among the society’s fellows, with the outgoing president, Bernardine Evaristo, describing her selection as ‘terrifically inspired’, 7:A - Take Back Power said it carried out the stunt to demand the UK government establishes a permanent citizens’ assembly with the power to 'tax extreme wealth and fix Britain', 8:B - 'This animal just appeared in our reserve. No one knows where it’s come from, but it’s found what I consider a perfect beaver habitat,' said the manager of the reserve where it has been hanging out, 9:D - Well, their little publicity-seeking plan seemed to work, didn't it?, 10:B - The novel gifted us a lot of pop culture word artefacts, including ultraviolence, Moloko, Heaven 17, 11:A - The 'horses' that appear in the game are not actually horses, but nude humans wearing horse heads that appear to be permanently affixed, and wow, that does sound a bit weird, 12:A - He edged out the previous record holder, his compatriot Anish Sarkar, who was three years, eight months and 19 days when he got a rating. Surely life is too short even at that age to spend that much time playing chess?, 13:B - The original movie was set there, 14:D - A string of failures led to the fire, 15:D - Hmmmmm, delicious bunches of bananas covered in salt water and sewage

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 one of the loveliest modern Christmas tunes Sunshine by Sia instead?

Sunshine by Sia