Strange distances, surprise candidates and Sherlock Holmes – the Thursday quiz

Philip Porter of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London dressed as the famous detective. But who is writing the new Sherlock Holmes story? Photograph: Alessandro Della Bella/EPA

Near where the quiz master lives there is a car emblazoned with the slogan: “Get ready to meet Jesus”. It belongs to a local Bible shop. It always feels quite threatening as the vehicle approaches at speed while you are crossing the road. Anyway, here are 14 questions approaching you at speed, on topical news, general knowledge and really nerdy things that appeal to the quiz master’s sense of mischief. Have fun, and let us know how you get on in the comments.

The Thursday quiz, No 157

1. 

   This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz. She likes barking at pigeons, gulls, ravens, magpies – you name it, really. She knows a nine-year-old boy from Derbyshire has won this year's European gull-screeching championship, and she would probably bark at him too. But where was the competition held?

   1. Belgium

   2. Netherlands

   3. Norway

   4. France

2. 

   Taylor Swift fans have been flocking to a London pub that gets a namecheck on her new album. What is the pub called?

   1. The Black Cross

   2. The Black Dog

   3. The Black Duke

   4. The Black Keys

3. 

   Voyager 1 phoned home again. Awwwww. The little spaceship that could has been flying so long it doesn't even know that Pluto (pictured) isn't a planet any more. When was Voyager 1 launched by Nasa?

   1. 5 September 1967

   2. 5 September 1977

   3. 5 September 1987

   4. 5 September 1997

4. 

   Who has been announced to write a new Sherlock Holmes adventure approved by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s family, which will focus on Prof Moriarty?

   1. Richard Osman

   2. Raymond Benson

   3. Val McDermid

   4. Gareth Rubin

5. 

   It was the London Marathon at the weekend. The standard distance of a marathon running race is 26 miles and 385 yards due to some weirdness with the royal family at the 1908 London Games. What is that in kilometres?

   1. 40.195 km

   2. 42.195 km

   3. 44.195 km

   4. 46.195 km

6. 

   You've always wanted to pass GCSE electronics, right? Well try this one. Which of the following is an input device that detects changes in light level?

   1. Thermistor

   2. Diode

   3. LDR

   4. Lamp

7. 

   It is imperative for some reason that you put the first four albums by Earth, Wind & Fire into the correct chronological order of their release. Which of these is it?

   1. Earth, Wind & Fire; The Need of Love; Open Our Eyes; Spirit

   2. Earth, Wind & Fire; Last Days and Time; Head to the Sky; I Am

   3. Earth, Wind & Fire; Last Days and Time; That's the Way of the World; Open Our Eyes

   4. Earth, Wind & Fire; The Need of Love; Last Days and Time; Head to the Sky

8. 

   It is the anniversary of Oliver Cromwell's birth today. When did he become Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland?

   1. 1553

   2. 1603

   3. 1653

   4. 1693

9. 

   Nottingham Forest surprised the football world with a statement on their social media channels on Sunday. What did they say?

   1. "Removing Gateshead from the National League play-offs due to ground regulations is against the spirit of sporting integrity and meritocracy so vital to our sport. In solidarity with Gateshead, NFFC will be contributing £10,000 towards their ground refurbishment"

   2. "The scrapping of FA Cup replays for teams in League One and League Two in order to please the handful of clubs regularly competing in Europe is a bitter blow to the football pyramid, and NFFC is proud to say it voted against the changes"

   3. "We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options"

   4. "In response to a campaign by our loyal fans, and in light of the cost of living crisis, the club has decided to freeze ticket prices for next season. We urge other clubs to do the same"

10. 

    One non-football question about every country taking part in the Euro 2024 finals this summer. This week: Slovenia. Slovenia's flag is white, red and blue, but what is depicted on the coat of arms?

    1. Three mountains and three stars

    2. A two-barred cross on a mountain top

    3. Three castle turrets

    4. One very naughty miniature dachshund

11. 

    A Belgian man was acquitted on a charge of drunk-driving this week for an unusual reason. What was it?

    1. It transpired that the police who arrested him were also drunk so their evidence was inadmissible

    2. He has a rare condition whereby the body produces its own alcohol

    3. He claimed that at the time of the offence his dog was driving and in control of the car

    4. He said a big boy did it and ran away

12. 

    All five Spice Girls reformed briefly at a 50th birthday party held for one of them. Whose party was it?

    1. Mel B

    2. Victoria Beckham

    3. Emma Bunton

    4. Melanie C

    5. Geri Halliwell

13. 

    Which unlikely candidate is standing to become the president of Iceland?

    1. A giant yellow fishing trawler named Guðbjörg ÍS-46

    2. A dog called Astriker

    3. The glacier Snæfellsjökull

    4. Ron from Sparks

14. 

    Here is this week's question about the Wombles. Which beloved star narrated the original BBC television series in the 1970s?

    1. Bernard Cribbins

    2. Eric Norman Thompson

    3. Kenneth Williams

    4. Bernard Bresslaw

Solutions

1:A - A jury of gull lovers in the coastal resort of De Panne awards points based on screeching (75% of the total) and acting (25%). As part of his act, Cooper Wallace lunged at a large cone of chips held by his sister Shelby, much as a very naughty miniature dachshund might do too, 2:B - Swift cheerily notes: "And so I watch as you walk into some bar called The Black Dog, and pierce new holes in my heart." The pub is in Vauxhall if you want to arrange a Thursday quiz night there, 3:B - It was launched in 1977. Pluto got sacked as a planet by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, and now plies its trade as a dwarf planet alongside the likes of Eris, Haumea, Makemake and Gonggong, 4:D - He follows in the footsteps on Anthony Horowitz, who wrote two officially endorsed Sherlock Holmes novels in the 2010s. Raymond Benson has written James Bond novels and Val McDermid has written for Miss Marple, 5:B - Organisers in 1908 wanted the race to start at Windsor Castle and finish under the king's nose at the White City stadium, and that eventually became the standard international distance, the equivalent of about 91,000 ancient Sumerian cubits. Organisers also usually chuck in a bonus metre every kilometre or so to minimise the risk they have accidentally made it too short, the heartless fiends, 6:C - A light-dependent resistor (LDR) detects changes in light level. If you picked this one, you've earned one point towards your fictional GCSE electronics qualification, 7:D - Formed in Chicago by Maurice White in the late 1960s, and including prominent members such as Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson over the years, the band have sold more than 90m records, 8:C - Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector from December 1653 until his death in September 1658, and is remembered not just for his role in deposing and executing Charles I, but also for his brutal campaign in Ireland with the New Model Army, and then trying to install his own son as his successor, leading to some people concluding they may as well have just stuck with a royal family in the first place, 9:C - The FA is now "investigating" the social media post, and Luton Town are investigating how, if they are so influential on officials, they can be in a relegation battle, 10:A - It is. The three peaks represent the top of Mount Triglav. Sadly very few, if any, national flags feature very naughty miniature dachshunds, 11:B - Delivering the verdict, the judge emphasised that the defendant, who was not named, did not experience symptoms of intoxication, 12:B - Victoria's husband, David Beckham, posted the clip on his Instagram. That photo is from the Olympics by the way, 13:C - The campaign, which has an environmental angle, is using Angela Marie Snæfellsjökuls Rawlings as a proxy, as although the glacier meets most criteria to stand (it is a resident of Iceland and is over 35) it doesn't have a civil registration number, 14:A - Cribbins narrated 60 episodes of The Wombles between 1973 and 1975. Tune in next week for the last of our regular series of Womble questions

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 could be watching the latest Depeche Mode video instead.