Thursday news quiz: badges, badgers and bad decisions

This snake has got some questions for you … Illustration: Anaïs Mims/The Guardian

Welcome to the Thursday quiz, 15 questions designed to see whether you’re the one asking the questions this week, or whether you’ve been happily swaying along to someone else’s melody – or about to be yeeted out of Downing Street like an inept contestant on The Traitors. You will be tested on topical news, general knowledge and pop culture. There are no prizes, but you can let everybody know how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 234

1. 

   Winter Olympic organisers were very careful not to deny that who may have lip-synched during the opening ceremony for Milano Cortina 2026?

   1. Sabrina Carpenter

   2. Katy Perry

   3. Mariah Carey

   4. Ron from Sparks

2. 

   Which country has faced social media mockery for a commemorative coin (not pictured) of Queen Elizabeth II (actually pictured) that people say looks more like Mrs Doubtfire, Brendan O’Carroll's Mrs Brown or Shrek than the late monarch?

   1. Canada

   2. Australia

   3. New Zealand

   4. Borduria

3. 

   As part of their festival-goer badge award, girl guiders are encouraged to do what to prepare for going to a festival?

   1. Spray-paint or decorate their wellies

   2. Learn how to start a fire

   3. Practise putting up a tent in the dark

   4. Get sorted for Es and wizz

4. 

   This Pokémon is Octillery, hanging with a friend. How many hearts does an octopus have?

   1. One

   2. Two

   3. Three

   4. Four

5. 

   This week's guest canine is Ralph, whom the quiz master met in a pub in St Albans. He wants to know what happened to YouTuber Jack Doherty at the weekend?

   1. He was banned from a Las Vegas casino after live-streaming himself harassing gamblers during Super Bowl betting weekend

   2. He was barred from PGA Tour events after he appeared to pay a spectator to shout during a player’s pre-shot routine

   3. He was thrown out of a Winter Olympics venue after attempting to film a prank video involving a curling stone

   4. He was thrown off a flight after insisting his emotional support macaque was allowed to sit in the cabin

6. 

   It is Christina Ricci's birthday today. Happy birthday Christina! It should have been on a Wednesday, obviously. Talking of which, what is the name of the character she plays in the Netflix show Wednesday?

   1. Bianca Barclay

   2. Asenath Waite

   3. Valerie Kinbott

   4. Laurel Gates

7. 

   It is also Steve Hackett's birthday today! Happy birthday, Steve! Squackett! Which band did he used to be the lead guitarist for?

   1. Uriah Heep

   2. Yes

   3. Supertramp

   4. Genesis

8. 

   Farther or nearer with Geordie Alan Shearer! This week we imagine the England soccer legend wants to know if he leaves his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne, which is farther or nearer: Toronto, Canada or Astana, Kazakhstan?

   1. Toronto, Canada is nearer to Newcastle upon Tyne than Astana, Kazakhstan

   2. Astana, Kazakhstan is nearer to Newcastle upon Tyne than Toronto, Canada

9. 

   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 play begins with Martha saying 'Jesus H Christ' as George tries to shhhhh her?

   1. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

   2. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

   3. Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill

   4. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

10. 

    This week's geography round features the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles, where this incredible looking hummingbird lives. Martinique is part of the EU because it still belongs to which colonial power?

    1. Spain

    2. Portugal

    3. France

    4. Syldavia

11. 

    Least or most with Liberace's ghost. This week, the Thursday quiz imagines the ghost of Liberace would like to know which of these teams has won the most men's FA Cup finals in England?

    1. Tottenham Hotspur

    2. Newcastle United

    3. Blackburn Rovers

    4. Arsenal

12. 

    Which member of a British band has requested music they composed be removed from the soundtrack of the box office smash Melania featuring Melania Trump (pictured, twice)?

    1. Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead

    2. Johnny Marr of The Smiths

    3. Graham Coxon of Blur

    4. Timmy Mallet of Bombalurina

13. 

    Which type of bird has baffled ornithology boffins (the correct technical term) by rocking up unexpectedly in Montréal?

    1. A European blackbird

    2. A European Robin

    3. A European goldfinch

    4. A European Derek

14. 

    On this day with Brian May! And his badger! 12 February is the anniversary of Bill Clinton being acquitted in his impeachment trial. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen's legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – who the only other president was, apart from Donald Trump, to face an impeachment trial?

    1. Grover Cleveland

    2. John Tyler

    3. Andrew Johnson

    4. Bobson Dugnutt

15. 

    The quiz master was in Norwich earlier this week to go to see Suede, but unexpectedly there was loads of graffiti about Emma Bunton's 50th birthday. How peculiar. Anyway, which Spice Girl was she?

    1. Sporty Spice

    2. Pepper Spice

    3. Posh Spice

    4. Scary Spice

    5. Baby Spice

    6. Five Spice

    7. ZX Spectrum Spice

    8. Why don't you just switch off your television set and go out and do something less boring instead Spice

Solutions

1:C - Carey took to the stage to sing Domenico Modugno’s Nel Blu, dipinto di Blu in Italian, followed by one of her own songs, 2:B - The $5 and 50c silver coins, created by Royal Australian Mint to commemorate the centenary of the queen’s birth, were released in an online ballot, 3:A - To get the badge, girl guides need to demonstrate they can cook suitable food in advance to save money, do some activities such as making flower headbands, decorate their wellies, and make a flag to help identify their tent, and then actually go to a festival. It sounds great, 4:C - They have three hearts, the odd little precious things they are. In the Pokédex, Octillery is described as 'It traps enemies with its suction-cupped tentacles then smashes them with its rock-hard head', 5:B - He has 30 million YouTube subscribers for what is, frankly, the 21st century equivalent of Beadle's About, 6:D - No spoilers in the comments please!, 7:D - Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums between 1971 and 1977, 8:B - Astana, Kazakhstan, is only about 4,680km from Newcastle upon Tyne, whereas Toronto, Canada, is about 5,470km away, a difference of about 1,659,000 ancient Sumerian cubits. Top bins! Also, those people complaining the other week that the answer was wrong because it is faster and less distance to drive to Birmingham than to Aberdeen – as if the question isn't clear about 'as the crow flies' measurement – can see themselves out the door marked 'do one', 9:B - The brutal marital showdown kicks off with a late-night, booze-soaked argument between George and Martha that only escalates from there. The Thursday quiz has no further comment, 10:C - Martinique remains an overseas department of the French Republic, 11:D - Arsenal have won the thing 14 times!, 12:A - Paul Thomas Anderson and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, the director and composer, respectively, for Phantom Thread, have requested that music from the 2017 film be removed, 13:B - The bird’s normal home range is western Europe, from Scotland to Turkey and as far north as Sweden during breeding season, and visiting Iceland on a seasonal migration stop. Presumably it is going to have a hard time finding a mate in Quebec, 14:C - The House of Representatives adopted 11 articles of impeachment against Johnson in 1868, but like every US president to be impeached, he was acquitted, 15:E - She was nicknamed Baby Spice because she was the youngest member

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 She Goes by Girl Group instead?

She Goes by Girl Group