Thursday news quiz: hasty exits, horny bees and naked Nordics

This bumblebee has some questions for you … Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Reuters

The Thursday quiz is still 15 questions about topical news and general knowledge, but is once again horribly discombobulated by appearing at 6.30am instead of its traditional 11am slot. Why? Because its author is moonlighting on the First Edition newsletter for a few weeks and has realised he could get away with shamelessly plugging the quiz if it was available. As ever, there are no prizes, but we do love to hear how you got on in the comments. Now for some coffee. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 223

1. 

   Who won the 2025 Booker prize for fiction?

   1. Benjamin Wood with Seascraper

   2. Tash Aw with The South

   3. David Szalay with Flesh

   4. Liz Truss with Ten Years to Save the West

2. 

   It was resignations all round at the BBC, with Tim Davie (pictured) shepherding himself out the door marked: 'Do one'. Also departing was the head of BBC News. Who?

   1. Deborah Turness

   2. Tom Fussell

   3. Leigh Tavaziva

   4. Ronald Mael

3. 

   Which children's TV entertainment brand has admitted to selling headbands to kids without warning about the dangers of button batteries contained within?

   1. Bluey

   2. The Wiggles

   3. Monkey Dust

   4. Peppa Pig

4. 

   This is Willow, the official dog of the Thursday quiz, who rarely wears any clothes. But which European nation is the keenest on nudism, according to a recent survey?

   1. Sweden

   2. Norway

   3. Denmark

   4. Syldavia

5. 

   It is approaching the time of year when various dictionaries announce different 'words of the year'. What has Collins announced was its word of the year, despite being two words?

   1. Vibe coding

   2. Six seven

   3. Aura farming

   4. Dugga Doo

6. 

   Which of these pop stars is the latest to criticise Donald Trump for using their music, apparently commenting on Instagram: 'Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda'?

   1. Ariana Grande

   2. Sabrina Carpenter

   3. Olivia Rodrigo

   4. Kate Bush

7. 

   Mandy Young (not pictured) has been contacted by her local council (pictured) after a complaint that …

   1. Her ducks were quacking at antisocial hours

   2. Her horses were neighing too much

   3. Her sheep kept bleating during the night

   4. Her 30-50 feral hogs were making more noise than Chris Martin falling through a trapdoor

8. 

   The ferry company DFDS apologised after what happened on one of its vessels (not pictured)?

   1. A crew member announced the ship was sinking over the PA as a prank

   2. A pornographic film was played on the lounge television by mistake

   3. A school trip was accidentally supplied with alcoholic drinks

   4. A bowl of petunias crashed into the deck while thinking: 'Oh no, not again'

9. 

   Two football fans have been banned from attending matches for three years after doing what to try to watch Southampton v Portsmouth?

   1. Breaking in the ground the night before the game and hiding in a storeroom

   2. Hiring a cherrypicker and raising it over St Mary’s Stadium

   3. Smuggling themselves into the luggage compartment of Portsmouth's team coach

   4. Wearing hi-vis jackets and carrying radio equipment to pretend to be stewards

10. 

    Which member of the cast said they had stopped eating meat after working on Wicked: For Good?

    1. Jonathan Bailey

    2. Peter Dinklage

    3. Colman Domingo

    4. Jeff Goldblum

11. 

    This week's guest canine is the lovely Rosie. She wants to know which Star Wars universe actor has said they would consider returning to the franchise only if Disney doesn’t 'succumb to fascism'?

    1. Diego Luna, who played Cassian Andor

    2. Oscar Isaac, who played Poe Dameron

    3. Genevieve O'Reilly, who played Mon Mothma

    4. Pedro Pascal, who played Din Djarin

12. 

    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 the words ‘Nothing to be done’?

    1. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

    2. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

    3. The Caretaker by Harold Pinter

    4. A Troop of Escaped Macaques Contemplates the Void by Gary Barlow’s massive son

13. 

    And now, least or most with Liberace’s ghost. This week the Thursday quiz imagines the ghost of Liberace would like to know which of these musicals has won the most Olivier awards?

    1. Billy Elliot the Musical

    2. Hamilton

    3. Les Misérables

    4. My Fair Cthulhu

14. 

    A new species of 'horned' bee (not pictured, these are just some lovely basic bees) discovered in Australia has been given a somewhat demonic name. What is it?

    1. Megachile (Hackeriapis) beelzebub

    2. Megachile (Hackeriapis) nimon

    3. Megachile (Hackeriapis) mephistopheles

    4. Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer

15. 

    And finally … on this day with Brian May! And his badger! 13 November 1940 is the anniversary of the release of Walt Disney's animated musical film Fantasia. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen's legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – which of these animals dance the ballet in the Dance of the Hours sequence?

    1. Hippos

    2. Flamingos

    3. Penguins

    4. Very naughty miniature dachshunds

Solutions

1:C - Written in spare prose, the novel explores masculinity, class, migration, trauma, sex and power, just like the Thursday quiz does, 2:A - Ronald Mael doesn't work for the corporation, although Sparks did once have a single called Now That I Own the BBC, 3:B - The yellow and black Emma Bow headbands were recalled in August 2024 by the manufacturer CA Australia over safety concerns for young children who could choke, 4:C - 54% of Danes said they had been in the nip while out and about, 5:A - It describes the practice of writing software by telling an AI what you want something to do and it writes the code. The Thursday quiz is investigating whether 'vibe quizzing' can make a similar effort, 6:C - The comment was later taken down, but not before screenshots were captured and circulated widely, 7:B - The Thursday quiz suggests the person making the complaint switch off their television set and go out and do something less boring instead, 8:B - Children were left traumatised, apparently, as the adult movie started playing after coverage of an F1 race. Researchers believe being forced to watch cars go round in a processional circle for two hours may also have contributed to their distress, 9:D - Police described it as 'a ridiculous plot', although it wasn't clear whether they meant what the two fans had done or the idea that anybody wanted to watch Portsmouth that much, 10:D - He said he had been affected by the film series’ themes of animal cruelty to such an extent that he had stopped eating meat, although he still eats fish, 11:B - He said: 'Yeah. I mean, I’d be open to it, although right now I’m not so open to working with Disney. But if they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great', 12:A - It’s spoken by Estragon, struggling with his boot, 13:B - Hamilton is one of several musicals to have received seven of the things, 14:D - It is named after lucifer, the morning star, 15:A - It features Madame Upanova and the hippo corps de ballet, as well as ostriches, elephants and alligators. No badgers though, booooooo

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 I Am the Fear by IST IST instead?

I Am the Fear by IST IST