Bandicoots, phantom bans and metric musicians – take the Thursday quiz

This baby bandicoot has got some questions for you … Photograph: Melbourne zoo/Zoos Victoria

January, notoriously a month that feels a couple of weeks longer than it actually is, is finally behind us, and the shortest month of February begins. But regardless of what month it is, if it is Thursday it must be quiz time. Fifteen questions on topical news and general knowledge await you, liberally sprinkled with a few jokes along the way. There are no prizes, but you can let us know how you got on in the comments …

The Thursday quiz, No 196

1. 

   Which showbiz offspring enlivened the red carpet at the 2025 Grammy awards by wearing a Louis Vuitton outfit set off with a massive gothic castle headpiece (incredibly that is it in the picture)?

   1. Blue Ivy Carter

   2. North West

   3. Jaden Smith

   4. Ron from Sparks

2. 

   An IT glitch locked out UK customers of which bank for almost 24 hours?

   1. NatWest

   2. Barclays

   3. Midlands

   4. Lloyds

3. 

   The good folk of York are up in arms after York Minster planned to do what?

   1. Have a sponsor logo added on to the choir's robes

   2. Convert one of the side chapels into a branch of Costa Coffee

   3. Host a gig by controversial metal band Plague of Angels

   4. Host Chris Martin from Coldplay falling through a trap door

4. 

   Some cute endangered frogs (but not this exact one) have been born at London zoo after a rescue mission in Chile. Yay – go frogs! Which species?

   1. Darwin’s frogs

   2. Drake’s frogs

   3. Drahvin's frogs

   4. Dunlop’s frogs

5. 

   This week, after disinformation spread online, an exasperated first minister of Scotland, John Swinney, was forced to deny that his government planned to ban what?

   1. Battery farmed eggs

   2. Domestic cats

   3. Haggis

   4. Very naughty miniature dachshunds

6. 

   Thursday quiz favourites Sparks have announced a new album for 2025, called Mad!. But when did Mad magazine first begin publishing?

   1. 1947

   2. 1952

   3. 1957

   4. 1962

7. 

   Another Thursday quiz favourite, Liz Truss, hasn't been in the news this week but we bet you are already thinking about her crashing the economy. When did the brilliant video game Crash Bandicoot first come out?

   1. 1986

   2. 1991

   3. 1996

   4. 2001

8. 

   Nine Inch Nails are going on tour in the summer. But if Trent Reznor went to a stridently metric ironmonger, what size nails would he have to buy for his band?

   1. 28mm nails are the same size as 9 inch nails

   2. 128mm nails are the same size as 9 inch nails

   3. 228mm nails are the same size as 9 inch nails

   4. 328mm nails are the same size as 9 inch nails

9. 

   It's scores on the doors with Swindon’s Diana Dors. This week the statue wants to ask you about lacrosse. How many points do you get for a run-of-the-mill bog standard goal in lacrosse?

   1. One point

   2. Three points

   3. Five points

   4. Seven points

10. 

    In which year was the Kvennafrídagurinn, when women in Iceland went on strike to protest against wage discrepancy and demonstrate the vital contribution they made to society?

    1. 1965

    2. 1975

    3. 1985

    4. 1995

11. 

    This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz. She wants to know what Donald Trump Jr has been accused of shooting in Italy, so tell her it was …

    1. A protected species of duck

    2. A protected species of swan

    3. A protected species of goose

    4. A troop of escaped macaques riding 30-50 feral hogs engaged in a crime spree

12. 

    This week's guest dog is Mollie, who is 15 years old, blind, and an absolute sweetie. She wants to know what was the name of the late Marianne Faithfull's famous 1979 comeback album?

    1. Modern English

    2. Old English

    3. Simple English

    4. Broken English

13. 

    This week's geography topic is Guadeloupe (pictured looking very nice indeed). What is the currency of Guadeloupe?

    1. US dollar

    2. Euro

    3. Bolívar

    4. Khôr

14. 

    As she rushed through the door marked "do one" last week to go on loan to Arsenal, the England footballer Chloe Kelly accused which club of attempting to “assassinate her character” and “planting negative stories” about her in the media?

    1. Manchester United

    2. Manchester City

    3. Melchester Rovers

15. 

    And finally, Groundhog Day. What did Punxsutawney Phil predict on Sunday?

    1. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Sunday and predicted six more weeks of wintry weather

    2. Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow on Sunday ushering in an early spring

16. 

    And finally, Groundhog Day. What did Punxsutawney Phil predict on Sunday?

    1. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Sunday and predicted six more weeks of wintry weather

    2. Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow on Sunday ushering in an early spring

Solutions

1:C - The son of Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith, Jaden said last year he was "actively working on being more weird" and the Thursday quiz thinks he has nailed that one, 2:B - The outage came on HMRC’s deadline day for settling self-assessment tax returns and a pay day for many workers. Helpful, 3:C - “This is not merely an issue of taste – this is a question of fundamental ethics and respect,” one member of the York Minster congregation told the Guardian, describing the proposed concert as “an outright insult to the faith it represents”, 4:A - Researchers rushed to Tantauco Park on the southern tip of Chiloé Island after tests confirmed that the lethal chytrid fungus had reached the nature reserve and threatened to wipe out some of the last remaining populations of Darwin’s frogs, 5:B - An external report suggested that consideration be given to “containing” cat ownership in certain rural areas that were also home to red-listed bird species, and then the internet made 2+2=5 as per usual for 2025, 6:B - The first edition appeared in August 1952 – confusingly with a cover date saying October–November, with the strapline "Tales calculated to drive you Mad – humor in a jugular vein", 7:C - The fun platform game came out for Sony's original PlayStation generation in 1996, 8:C - There are roughly 25mm in an inch, which is also roughly one-twentieth of an ancient Sumerian cubit, 9:A - Yes it is just one point for a goal, although in professional lacrosse there can be a two-point goal line which doubles the score if you thwack the ball in from behind it, 10:B - It was on 24 October 1975, and given her tendency to do her own thing and contribute nothing economically to the household, it is possible that Willow the miniature dachshund believes she is part of it and it is continuing, 11:A - A politician from Italy’s Veneto region says he has reported Donald Trump Jr to the authorities for allegedly killing a ruddy shelduck while hunting in Venice lagoon, 12:D - The album is generally regarded as Faithfull's best work and set her up for the rest of her career after difficult years in the early 1970s when she was homeless, 13:B - It is an overseas department of France, and as such is a member of the eurozone, 14:B - Last Thursday, the 27-year-old wrote: “So disappointed to find out tonight that people at the club are briefing journalists against me if I am to sign at a club before the window shuts. They’ve called reporters to assassinate my character and tried to plant negative stories about me in the football media." City’s head coach, Gareth Taylor, described the turn of events as "disappointing"., 15:A - The woodchuck’s weather forecast is an annual ritual that goes back more than a century in western Pennsylvania, 16:A - The woodchuck’s weather forecast is an annual ritual that goes back more than a century in western Pennsylvania. You enjoyed what we did there, right?

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 the new Sparks video instead?

Sparks - Do Things My Own Way (Official Video)