River journeys, wooden spoons and one giant blueberry – take the Thursday quiz

There are no questions about turmeric in the quiz, but we do have one about a wooden spoon. Photograph: twomeows/Getty

Life is short, they say. Not when you are facing a deadline, a blank page, and have to come up with 15 exciting and topical questions. Then time feels like wading through treacle, each moment an agony of pondering just how to keep people amused and entertained while stretching their knowledge. Still, all that is a problem for someone else, as the Thursday quiz simply flies haphazardly on to the page, as you are probably able to judge from its erratic quality. It is just for fun. There are no prizes. Let us know how you got on in the comments.

The Thursday quiz, No 152

1. 

   Who is the first minister in Wales?

   1. Hannah Blythyn

   2. Gwen Cooper

   3. Vaughan Gething

   4. Jeremy Miles

2. 

   What was floated down the Hudson River in New York last week after months of refurbishment?

   1. The retired Space Shuttle Endeavour

   2. A retired British Airways Concorde plane

   3. A retired Saturn V rocket from the Apollo programme

   4. One very naughty miniature dachshund

3. 

   This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz. She knows that bear attacks are no laughing matter. Which European country just declared a state of emergency in a northern town after five people were injured in a second bear attack in three days?

   1. Slovakia

   2. Bulgaria

   3. Romania

   4. Czech Republic

4. 

   Definitely a laughing matter, however, was the woman who went viral on TikTok after she was filmed being hoisted up by an automatic shutter. The moment has now been immortalised in a mural. Where?

   1. Tonteg, Wales

   2. Drumlaghy, Northern Ireland

   3. Nairn, Scotland

   4. Chatteris, England

5. 

   The Thursday quiz has established that they give world records out for anything these days, which doesn't deter it from asking you about them. This week: the world's largest blueberry (not pictured). How much more than a regular blueberry did it weigh?

   1. Five times more than the average blueberry

   2. 10 times more than the average blueberry

   3. 25 times more than the average blueberry

   4. 50 times more than the average blueberry

6. 

   The Thursday quiz knows you love the royal family, and will have closely followed Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, launching a new lifestyle brand on Instagram. What has she called it?

   1. American Madeira Farmstead

   2. American Ionian Vineyard

   3. American Riviera Orchard

   4. American Jardín Haçienda

7. 

   Nora Ephron wrote When Harry Met Sally, which was a huge hit in the late 80s. But she made her directorial debut in 1992 with which movie that included Julie Kavner, Carrie Fisher and Dan Aykroyd in its cast?

   1. Sleepless in Seattle

   2. Mixed Nuts

   3. You've Got Mail

   4. This is My Life

8. 

   Every fan of Sapphire & Steel (not pictured, that's just two blokes with some hot stuff) knows "all irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension. Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life." Steel can be assigned, and frequently was. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, but to make stainless steel, more than 10.5% of it needs to be which element?

   1. Zinc

   2. Chromium

   3. Tungsten

   4. Magnesium

9. 

   You've always wanted to pass GCSE media studies, right? Try this one. Which of these is a definition of "iconography"?

   1. The props, costumes, objects and backgrounds associated with a particular genre

   2. Where one media product references another text

   3. The combination of elements to maximise profits within a media organisation or product

   4. The coming together of previously separate media industries and/or platforms

10. 

    It is time for jazz club. Nice. What instrument is John Coltrane best known for playing?

    1. Piano

    2. Saxophone

    3. Bass

    4. Kazoo

11. 

    One question about every country taking part in the Euro 2024 finals this summer. This week: Portugal. And it is a football one to boot. In which city are club side Benfica based?

    1. Porto

    2. Braga

    3. Coimbra

    4. Lisbon

12. 

    Two sporting questions in one Thursday quiz? Lucky you. Who "won" the wooden spoon in the men's Rugby Union Six Nations championship by coming last?

    1. England

    2. France

    3. Ireland

    4. Italy

    5. Scotland

    6. Wales

13. 

    It is the anniversary of the former archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer being burned at the stake (not pictured). Sorry to remind you of that Thomas. Who was on the English throne at the time?

    1. Edward VII

    2. Mary I

    3. Elizabeth I

    4. Ron from Sparks

14. 

    The Cambodian prime minister, Hun Manet, has ordered a ban on what vehicle feature?

    1. Political stickers on the backs of cars

    2. Colour-changing LED headlights

    3. Furry dice hanging from the rear-view mirror

    4. Musical vehicle horns

15. 

    The regulator Ofcom has concluded that the GB News channel broke impartiality rules on five separate occasions when sitting Tory MPs served as news presenters. What punishment has it handed the channel?

    1. Nothing. Nada. Zip

    2. They have fined Lee Anderson 30p

16. 

    BONUS OMD QUESTION: OMD and promoters AEG have made a donation to food banks in Wirral and Liverpool after the M&S Bank Arena Liverpool gave them a partial refund on their concert booking for what reason?

    1. A problem with the ticketing system meant more than half the crowd were delayed entering the arena

    2. The heating wasn't working at the arena and the audience got cold

    3. A power cut – ironically during their song Electricity – cut the gig short

    4. 30-50 feral hogs got into the dressing room and ate all their pre-gig snacks

Solutions

1:C - Gething will become the first Black leader of a European country when he is confirmed. He described his rise to the top as “an extraordinary point of history” and said he hoped it would encourage other Black people to follow him into public life., 2:B - The plane has lived at the Intrepid ​​Museum in Manhattan after its supersonic flights came to an end in 2003, and it was taken away for restoration last August., 3:A - Liptovský Mikuláš declared a state of emergency while a hunt was carried out for the animal seen rampaging through the town near the Tatra mountains. A 49-year-old woman was treated in hospital for an injury to her shoulder, and a 72-year-old man for a cut to his head, while a 10-year-old girl and two adults suffered scratches and bruises, 4:A - Anne Hughes, 72, was unhurt after being lifted several feet off the ground and dangling upside down while clinging to her shopping trolley. Now every time she walks past her local shop when the shutters are down she can be reminded of the magical moment thanks to the Welsh artist Tee2Sugars., 5:B - Picked on 13 November in New South Wales, so probably a bit manky by now, the piece of fruit was last week officially recognised by the Guinness World Records as the world’s heaviest blueberry. It was about the diameter of a golf ball. This would not have got on to Roy Castle's Record Breakers when the Thursday quiz was but a child., 6:C - In Meghan’s first social media post since 2020, American Riviera Orchard was announced via nine Instagram posts that together showed the brand’s gilded logo and crest. Exciting stuff., 7:D - Starring Julie Kavner, it was co-written with Ephron's sister Delia. Sleepless in Seattle would follow in 1993., 8:B - As well as the Chromium, Nickel is usually added, too. The chromium forms a passive film that keeps the steel from corroding. Steel was played by David McCallum., 9:A - For example, in a police series you would expect to see uniforms, blue flashing lights, a scene of crime tape, one of the blokes being a bit of a hard lad, etc. Well done if you picked this option – you've got one point towards your fictitious media studies GCSE. , 10:B - Coltrane was right at the forefront of the free jazz movement., 11:D - They are indeed the main rivals of Sporting Lisbon in the country's capital., 12:F - Wales lost all of their matches and in any sensible sport would have been relegated so that Georgia or Romania or someone else got a chance to play some tier-one sides and become more competitive for future World Cups. But that would mean the big unions losing out on gate revenue so be off with you and your quaint "sporting meritocracy" arguments for developing the game., 13:B - Cranmer, having been instrumental in Henry VIII's reformation, was imprisoned and treated as a heretic when Catholic Mary came to the throne. Despite recanting, his execution was ordered nonetheless. On the day of his death he told them exactly where they could stick his false recantations, although those weren't his precise words., 14:D - He told police across the country to immediately take action against any vehicle whose normal horn has been replaced by a tune-playing one by ripping it out and restoring the standard honking type., 15:A - This text left intentionally blank as the Thursday quiz has no further comment to make., 16:B - Despite their best efforts to warm people up with hits such as Enola Gay, Sailing on the Seven Seas, that one about Joan of Arc, the other one also about Joan of Arc but in waltz time with electronic bagpipes on it and so forth, the audience got cold. They had the opposite problem at their Wolverhampton gig where apparently people fainted with the heat. The quiz master saw them at Southend and will be seeing them again at the weekend.

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 – feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com, but remember the quiz master’s word is final and you haven’t lived until you’ve listened to Magic Onion by The Lovely Eggs.