Crooked pubs, listed churches and scouting chaos – take the Thursday quiz

An Australian scout looking as if they haven’t scored too well on this week’s quiz. But where was the chaotic scouting jamboree being held? Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

“Good news, everyone,” as Prof Farnsworth might observe in Futurama. Once again you face 15 questions on the latest quirky news, general knowledge, and any number of obscure things that have caught the quiz master’s roving eye this week. Plus some jokes thrown in. Do let us know how you get on in the comments.

The Thursday quiz, No 120

1. 

   HAPPY HOLIDAY: Several hundred people were taken ill at the World Scout Jamboree due to a heatwave, and then hundreds more were evacuated due to the weather. But where was it being held?

   1. South Africa

   2. Peru

   3. Vietnam

   4. South Korea

2. 

   LEAVE THE CAPITAL: What is the name of the president of Niger, ousted in the recent coup?

   1. Abdourahamane Tchiani

   2. Mohamed Bazoum

   3. Mahamadou Issoufou

   4. Mamadou Tandja

3. 

   OSWALD DEFENCE LAWYER: How has former US vice-president Mike Pence described the entourage of lawyers that surrounded Donald Trump as he attempted to cling to power after the 2020 election?

   1. A pack of heretics

   2. A gaggle of crackpots

   3. A mob of asshats

   4. A pandemonium of doofuses

4. 

   GOD-BOX: The church of Our Lady of Fatima in Harlow, Essex, has been given Grade II* listing by the government on the advice of Historic England to protect its historic and architectural significance. Which album cover did it appear on?

   1. The Chemical Brothers’ 1998 album, Brothers Gonna Work It Out.

   2. The Fall's 1996 album, The Light User Syndrome

   3. Orbital's 1996 album, In Sides

   4. Fatboy Slim's 1996 album, Better Living Through Chemistry

5. 

   JOKER HYSTERICAL FACE: This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz. She knows that comedians including Dara Ó Briain and Jason Manford offered support to actor Georgie Grier, but can't remember why. Was it because …

   1. Only one person turned up to her Edinburgh show

   2. She lost a role in EastEnders after being linked to a Just Stop Oil protest

   3. She actually broke her leg on stage

   4. She was knocked over on stage by an onrushing 30-50 feral hogs

6. 

   THE BAD STUFF: Fifty-seven swimmers fell sick and got diarrhoea (not pictured) at the world triathlon championship after swimming along the UK coastline. Where?

   1. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

   2. Blaidd Drwg, Pembrokeshire

   3. Sunderland, Tyne and Wear

   4. Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria

7. 

   PETTY THIEF LOUT: MPs have been paid £10m from second jobs and freelance work over the past year. What proportion of that total was earned by former prime minister Boris Johnson

   1. 18%

   2. 28%

   3. 38%

   4. 48%

8. 

   A LOT OF WIND: The basic annual salary of a member of parliament in the House of Commons is £86,584. When did Mid Bedfordshire MP Nadine Dorries last speak in parliament?

   1. 7 July 2022

   2. 5 Dec 2022

   3. 13 February 2023

   4. 4 April 2023

9. 

   LAST ORDERS: Britain’s 'wonkiest pub', which dates back to 1765, has been gutted by fire just days after being sold to a private buyer for alternative use. Where?

   1. Dawlish, Devon

   2. Himley, West Midlands

   3. Staithes, North Yorkshire

   4. Keswick, Cumbria

10. 

    WINGS: Iraq’s prime minister has ordered an investigation into how what escaped from its crate in the cargo hold of an Iraqi aircraft as it was due to depart from Dubai airport?

    1. A bear

    2. A snake

    3. A horse

    4. One very naughty miniature dachshund

11. 

    THERE'S A GHOST IN MY HOUSE: Kuwait has banned hit Australian horror film Talk to Me over what?

    1. A scene where a character recites a verse of the Qur’an

    2. The casting of trans actor Zoe Terakes

    3. A scene featuring a kangaroo which has been deemed animal cruelty

    4. A map which briefly appears in the background in which Kuwait is shown as part of Iraq

12. 

    HIT THE NORTH formerly NORTH OR SOUTH WITH THE POKÉMON MEOWTH: Which of these African nations is farther north?

    1. Angola

    2. Nigeria

    3. Mali

    4. Gabon

13. 

    GREENWAY: Green Gartside is the frontman and songwriter for which band?

    1. Catfish and the Bottlemen

    2. Super Furry Animals

    3. Gene Loves Jezebel

    4. Scritti Politti

14. 

    KICKER CONSPIRACY: Which Lioness got sent off for England against Nigeria in their round of 16 match at the Fifa women's world cup?

    1. Georgia Stanway

    2. Lauren James

    3. Lauren Hemp

    4. Keira Walsh

15. 

    MAD MOCK GOTH: The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, is reportedly suing which musician for defamation after they publicly called her 'racist' and 'fascist'?

    1. Andrew Eldritch from Sisters of Mercy

    2. Brian Molko from Placebo

    3. Robert Smith of The Cure

    4. Ron from Sparks

Solutions

1:D - The event has drawn 43,000 young Scouts from 158 countries. But due to the extreme heatwave taking place in South Korea, several hundred of those present have been treated for heat-related illnesses including headaches, dizziness and exhaustion., 2:B - Bazoum assumed the role in 2 April 2021, and was deposed on 26 July 2023. Abdourahamane Tchiani has assumed the role of head of state. Mahamadou Issoufou preceded Bazoum, and Mamadou Tandja was deposed in 2010., 3:B - Pence told Fox News: 'The president specifically asked me, and his gaggle of crackpot lawyers asked me, to literally reject votes, which would have resulted in the issue being turned over to the House of Representatives, and literally chaos would have ensued.' At the time, Pence notably did not say anything like that in public., 4:A - Its appearance on the cover of the dance music duo’s album was not a factor in upgrading the church’s protected status, rather its innovative, 'in-the-round' design, with a freestanding altar in the middle of its 500 seats visible to all in the congregation, plus its vibrantly coloured glass windows bathing the church in glorious light were key., 5:A - The actor and writer Georgie Grier posted on Twitter: 'There was one person in my audience today when I performed my one woman play, Sunsets at #edfringe. It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s fine…?.' This is more people than would turn up to a play version of the Thursday quiz, one imagines., 6:C - About 2,000 people participated in the events last weekend, which included a swim off Sunderland’s blue flag Roker beach. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it would be testing samples from those who were ill to establish the cause of the illness and any common pathogens., 7:D - Johnson, who stepped down from the role last year to give Liz Truss a crack at ruining the economy, earned £4.8m. About 90 other Conservative MPs brought in approximately £4.75m – an increase from nearer to £4m in 2021. A much smaller number of Labour, SNP and Lib Dem MPs also brought in outside income of just over £400,000., 8:A - Did we mention that her salary for this is £86,584 per year?, 9:B - Firefighters were called on Saturday night to the Crooked House pub, in Himley near Dudley in the West Midlands, which gained its name after it started sinking into the ground due to mining subsidence in the area. Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands, said there were 'a lot of questions' surrounding the fire, and he didn't just mean question nine of the Thursday quiz., 10:A - Iraqi Airways said it wasn’t to blame for the bear’s escape, despite it escaping on an Iraqi Airways plane. Which sounds rather like the Thursday quiz explaining to the editor it was late filing this week because the official dog ate its homework., 11:B - The Hollywood Reporter first reported on the decision, which they confirmed was based entirely on the presence of Terakes, an Australian actor who identifies as non-binary and trans-masculine. Terakes issued a statement on Sunday, describing the decision as being 'targeted and dehumanising. Our film doesn’t actually ever mention my transness, or my queerness. I am a trans actor who happened to get the role. I’m not a theme. I am a person'. The Thursday quiz says it is a cracking film and Terakes is great in it., 12:C - The eighth-largest country in Africa, landlocked Mali is in the north-west of the continent, with both Algeria and Mauritania bordering it to the north., 13:D - Born Paul Julian Strohmeyer, Green has been the only constant feature of Scritti Politti, whose best known hits include The Word Girl, Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) and Oh Patti., 14:B - Coach Sarina Wiegman said Lauren James had 'in a split second lost her emotions' after the 21-year-old was sent off in England’s penalty shootout win over Nigeria in Brisbane. The Lionesses came through a nervy encounter 4-2 on penalties to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, and there was nothing 'kicker conspiracy' about it, James deserved to go for standing on a prone Michelle Alozie., 15:B - Molko made the comments during a performance by the band at the Sonic Park festival in Stupinigi outside Turin in July. 'Giorgia Meloni, piece of shit, fascist, racist,' he appeared to shout in Italian in footage posted on social media by fans who attended the gig. Prosecutors opened an investigation against Molko for insulting the state institutions a week later.

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, feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com, but remember the quiz master’s word is final and Edith Piaff said it better anyway.