Stranded leaders, kissed princes and a dog on a bridge – take the Thursday quiz

Which unlikely person kissed Prince William in public recently? Photograph: WPA/Getty

The quizmaster is back from holiday and so the Thursday quiz can ditch the obtuse pre-written themes and get back to what it is good at – being obtuse but vaguely topical. Fifteen questions on quirky news and general knowledge await you. There are no prizes as it is just for fun, but let us know how you get on in the comments.

The Thursday quiz, No 125

1. 

   BEAUTIFUL ONES: This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, enjoying her holiday visiting the Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol. Who originally designed it?

   1. Robert Stephenson

   2. Thomas Newcomen

   3. Edmund Cartwright

   4. Isambard Kingdom Brunel

2. 

   LAZY: Where does the competition take place to be crowned "laziest citizen"?

   1. Montenegro

   2. Kosovo

   3. Albania

   4. Houses of Parliament, Westminster

3. 

   SHE: The former Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin has quit politics for a new job where?

   1. The Barack Obama Foundation

   2. The Tony Blair Institute

   3. The Angela Merkel Organisation

   4. The Wimpy on Streatham High Road but only on Friday and Saturday evenings

4. 

   STARCRAZY: Which former England footballer (not pictured) kissed Prince William in Pret A Manger in Bournemouth?

   1. Peter Shilton

   2. Chris Waddle

   3. Paul Gascoigne

   4. Tony Adams

5. 

   CAN'T GET ENOUGH: Talking of England, Jude Bellingham starred when England outclassed Scotland at Hampden Park in the 150th anniversary heritage match this week. What was the score?

   1. Scotland 1 England 2

   2. Scotland 1 England 3

   3. Scotland 1 England 4

   4. Scotland 1 England 5

6. 

   LIFE IS GOLDEN: Scientists discovered a mysterious golden orb, described as 'skin-like' on the ocean floor off the coast of which US state?

   1. Alaska

   2. Florida

   3. North Carolina

   4. Washington

7. 

   KILLING OF A FLASH BOY: Police were called to attend a suspected mass killing which turned out to be loads of people lying down doing yoga. Where?

   1. Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk

   2. Chapel St Leonards, Lincolnshire

   3. Dawlish, Devon

   4. Hawkshead, Cumbria

8. 

   INDIAN STRINGS: In the opening lines of its constitution, the country of India is known as India and which other name?

   1. Hindustan

   2. Turmezistan

   3. Aryavarta

   4. Bharat

9. 

   I DON'T KNOW HOW TO REACH YOU: Which G20 leader just got stuck in India after their plane broke down?

   1. Anthony Albanese

   2. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

   3. Justin Trudeau

   4. Emmanuel Macron

10. 

    SHE'S IN FASHION: A life-sized bronze statue of which crime and mystery writer (not pictured) has been unveiled in the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford?

    1. Patricia Cornwell

    2. Agatha Christie

    3. P D James

    4. Jessica Fletcher

11. 

    FILMSTAR: Los Angeles officials have moved to block the demolition of the house where which famous movie star died?

    1. Veronica Lake

    2. Louise Brooks

    3. Jane Russell

    4. Marilyn Monroe

12. 

    ANIMAL NITRATE: Which of these is the chemical formula for nitric acid (not pictured)?

    1. HNO₃

    2. NaN₃

    3. NH₂Cl

    4. 30-50FeHO₃

13. 

    CRACK IN THE UNION JACK: True or false – reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) has been found in the Houses of Parliament in London?

    1. True

    2. False

14. 

    IT'S ALWAYS THE QUIET ONES: Which tech company has sparked outrage among games developers by threatening to introduce a 'runtime fee' when a game utilising its engine is downloaded?

    1. Steam

    2. Unity

    3. ChatGPT

    4. Unreal engine

15. 

    INTRODUCING THE BAND: All the category titles have been references to the indie gods Suede, but which of these facts about the band's relatives is true?

    1. TV personality Clive Anderson is the cousin of Suede's singer Brett Anderson

    2. England rugby union player Alex Codling is the brother of Suede keyboardist and guitarist Neil Codling

    3. TV personality Richard Osman is the brother of Suede's bassist Mat Osman

    4. Former Scunthorpe Utd, Walsall and Doncaster Rovers player Andy Butler is the cousin of former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler

Solutions

1:D - The bridge is actually built to a design by William Henry Barlow and John Hawkshaw, but it is based on an earlier design by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and closely associated with him., 2:A - A lying-down record of 117 hours was set at last year’s contest in the resort village of Donja Brezna, but seven competitors lying down on mats have lasted more than twenty days. The Thursday quiz suspects they have been allowed toilet breaks otherwise, hoo boy, that has to be one stinky hot mess. , 3:B - The job will include advising countries, governments and leaders on policy issues such as good governance, technology, climate and gender equality, she said, 4:C - No, we have no idea why either, 5:B - Harry Kane and Phil Foden also netted at the correct end for England in a match commemorating the first men's international football match, held between the two nations in 1872., 6:A - The smooth object with an intriguing hole at its centre was found at a depth of about two miles by a remote-controlled submarine explorer on the ocean floor off the Pacific coast of Alaska. Researchers are conducting tests and a DNA analysis to work out what the shiny object is. It is clearly from Axos, 7:B - Participants in the class, which was being held at the Seascape cafe, were in the midst of meditation when officers turned up last Wednesday night. In a Facebook post, the cafe said someone had “reported a mass killing” after seeing people on the floor inside the building., 8:D - As it stands today, the opening line of India’s constitution, which was written in English, states: 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states.', 9:C - He was due to return home on Sunday after laying a wreath at a memorial to the Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, but a mechanical fault kept him in India overnight., 10:B - The statue depicts the writer holding a book, seated on a bench overlooking the Kinecroft, an area of open grassland. Sadly, it doesn't feature a giant wasp, which appeared in one of her greatest adventures., 11:D - News that the new owners of 12305 Fifth Helena Drive, where Monroe died aged 36, have filed for demolition permits has attracted widespread outrage., 12:A - It is hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen which combine to form the horribly corrosive substance., 13:A - It is true. A parliamentary spokesperson said it posed no 'immediate risk', presumably freeing up the treasury to ignore the problem and hope it goes away like they did with schools in England., 14:B - Unity stipulated the fee would only be chargeable after a game made $200,000 (£160,000) in 12 months and had at least 200,000 lifetime game installs, but developers nevertheless vented outrage on social media., 15:C - Richard is Mat's younger brother.

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 don’t just email with a hunch about something without checking first because it really gets his goat.