Link’s game, an aide’s shame and a poor lost Norfolk seal – take the Thursday quiz

A newborn grey seal pup on the beach in Norfolk. But where did one get lost? Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

Scientifically proven to be the fourth Thursday in the month, it marks yet another chance for you to tackle 15 questions on vaguely topical news subjects and general knowledge. Filled with repetitive in-jokes and hidden references to children’s favourite Doctor Who to spot, it is just for fun and there are no prizes. But let us know how you got on in the comments, and make the quiz master laugh to earn bonus points.

The Thursday quiz, No 92

1. 

   NEW ZEALAND POLITICS: Now that Jacinda Ardern has stepped down, who is the new prime minister of New Zealand?

   1. Bill English

   2. Giles Kent

   3. Chris Hipkins

   4. Grant Robertson

2. 

   JOB SEARCH: Google's parent company has announced that it is to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide in the latest tech layoff round. But what is the name of Google's parent company?

   1. Alphabet

   2. Boss

   3. ByteDance

   4. Meta

3. 

   AWARD-WINNING MOVIES: Which movie is leading this year's Bafta awards with a record-equalling 14 nominations?

   1. Tár

   2. Everything Everywhere All at Once

   3. The Banshees of Inisherin

   4. All Quiet on the Western Front

4. 

   SEAL CRAZY: Last week Norfolk was in the quiz because of a record number of seal pups. Now one of them (not pictured) had to be rescued after it was found stranded outside where?

   1. Istanbul Delight kebab shop in Hemsby

   2. A1 Cabs office in Cromer

   3. Carousel Amusements in Sheringham

   4. The Rumsey Wells pub in Norwich

5. 

   OVER THE MOON: Buzz Aldrin, who famously once punched someone who said the moon landings were a hoax, got married again. Neil Armstrong was with him on the moon in 1969. Who remained in orbit on the Apollo 11 command module while Buzz and Neil were taking their giant steps?

   1. John Herschel Glenn

   2. Alan Shepard

   3. Michael Collins

   4. Glyn Williams

6. 

   RATHER YOU THAN ME: It is the birthday of the Suleman octuplets (not pictured, you'd need 14 more feet for a start). They were the first known octuplets to survive their infancy and widely covered in the media. The circumstances of their IVF birth continue to cause controversy – but when were they born?

   1. 1989

   2. 1999

   3. 2009

   4. 2019

7. 

   ON THIS DAY: The constitution of India took effect on 26 January 1950. Who was the first president of India?

   1. Rajendra Prasad

   2. Zakir Husain

   3. Varahagiri Venkata Giri

   4. Giani Zail Singh

8. 

   ROMAN THINGS: The so-called "year of the four emperors" saw Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian sitting in the big chair. But which year?

   1. AD49

   2. AD59

   3. AD69

   4. AD79

9. 

   GCSE SCIENCE CORNER BUT WRITTEN BY AI: The Thursday quiz asked ChatGPT "Write a multiple choice question about GCSE level science with three incorrect options" and it replied "Which of the following is not a fundamental force of nature?"

   1. Gravity

   2. Friction

   3. Electromagnetism

   4. Strong nuclear force

   5. Weak nuclear force

10. 

    VIDEO GAMES: In which video game do you play as Link, despite him not being the titular character?

    1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

    2. Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!

    3. Luigi's Mansion 3

    4. Horace Goes Skiing

11. 

    FOR SHAME: A senior aide to Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has apologised after admitting his mother had scolded him and told him she was “ashamed” of him after he did what?

    1. Was found drunk and asleep on the Tokyo subway

    2. Had his hands in his pockets while the prime minister spoke

    3. Was spotted not clearing up after his dog had fouled a Tokyo pavement

    4. Made a “careless and not deliberate” mistake with his taxes to the tune of ¥800m (£5m)

12. 

    MUSIC THAT YOU CAN DANCE TO: That is a 1986 song by Sparks that claims to be "hotter than your momma will ever be". But when people were dancing at the legendary Haçienda club in Manchester, they were dancing in a venue which had been assigned which Factory Records catalogue number?

    1. Fac 10

    2. Fac 51

    3. Fac 201

    4. Fac 293

13. 

    ART FOR ART'S SAKE: Which artist (not pictured) whose work had once occupied the fourth plinth of Trafalgar Square (not pictured) has called for the rolling programme of sculptures to end?

    1. Rachel Whiteread

    2. Antony Gormley

    3. David Shrigley

    4. Mark Wallinger

14. 

    MOCKTAIL O'CLOCK: This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz. She doesn't drink cocktails – or mocktails – but she is worrying about what you would traditionally put in a Shirley Temple drink apart from the grenadine?

    1. Iced tea

    2. Coca-cola

    3. Ginger ale

    4. A slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick

15. 

    SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT: Which of these is the correct order for the first four albums released by Kate Bush (not pictured) in the UK?

    1. Never For Ever, The Kick Inside, Lionheart, Hounds of Love

    2. The Kick Inside, Lionheart, Never For Ever, The Dreaming

    3. The Kick Inside, Never For Ever, Lionheart, The Dreaming

    4. The Kick Inside, Lionheart, Never For Ever, Hounds of Love

Solutions

1:C - Hipkins was formally selected by Labour’s caucus at the weekend, to replace Ardern after the prime minister’s shock resignation last week. He was sworn in on Wednesday., 2:A - Alphabet’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, said the redundancies followed a “rigorous review” of the business, amid the suggestion it had over-hired during the pandemic when demand for tech services boomed. The company also owns, under the Google umbrella, YouTube and the Android mobile operating system., 3:D - Edward Berger’s devastating Netflix drama about an idealistic German soldier sent to the trenches has been named frontrunner at this year’s British Academy of Film and Television Awards. The film is shortlisted for 14 prizes, including best film, director, supporting actor and adapted screenplay. This means it ties with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) as the film with the most nominations not in the English language. Everything Everywhere All at Once is leading the Oscars nominations., 4:A - Marine and Wildlife Rescue was called to the scene at 11pm on Friday after the organisation was sent pictures of the grey seal pup outside Istanbul Delight kebab shop in Hemsby, hundreds of metres inland. The juvenile marine mammal was in good health and it was loaded on to a stretcher and carried back to the beach. “The pup must have just been looking for some shelter, but got disoriented and kept heading inland," said one of the rescuers. There was no mention of what it had ordered., 5:C - It was Collins who got to whizz around the moon but not set foot on it. Alan Shepard was the first US astronaut, and he landed on the moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission. John Herschel Glenn was the first US astronaut to orbit the earth, circling three times in 1962. Glyn Williams was aboard the Zeus IV flight in 1986., 6:C - Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Jonah, Makai, Josiah and Jeremiah were born on 26 January, 2009 and while there are huge debates about the ethics of the event, bless them and the rest of their lives, it wasn't something they chose. Like their names., 7:A - Prasad was president for 12 years and 107 days. After initially being appointed he was elected twice. Zakir Husain was the third president who took on the role in 1967, and Varahagiri Venkata Giri was president for five years starting in 1969. Giani Zail Singh was the first Sikh to become president when he took office in 1982., 8:C - All the excitement happened in AD69, when Otho murdered Galba in the January, then killed himself in April after being defeated by Vitellius. Vitellius was killed by a mob in the December and replaced by Vespasian, and all of them were probably emperors for longer than Liz Truss was prime minister., 9:B - First off, it can't count. But asked to explain the answer it said "Friction is not considered a fundamental force of nature because it is a type of non-conservative force, meaning that it cannot be derived from a potential energy function. The four fundamental forces of nature are gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force.", 10:A - Taking something like five years to develop and ending up being a great open world showcase of the Nintendo Switch's abilities, it was released in 2017 and is one of the best-selling video games of all time, having shifted more than 27m copies., 11:B - The deputy chief cabinet secretary revealed on YouTube that his mother had read comments that he was “disgracing his parents” after he was caught with his hands in his trouser pockets as Fumio Kishida spoke to reporters in Washington. Kihara appeared chastened by an angry phone call from his mother, who told him she was “ashamed” and suggested he “sew up his pockets”., 12:B - Factory gave catalogue numbers to lots of obtuse items, but your options here included Fac 10, which was Joy Divsion's Unknown Pleasures album, Fac 293, which was the EnglandNewOrder single World In Motion, and Fac 201, which was the Dry bar on Oldham Street. Factory's Haçienda club at 11/13 Whitworth Street West opened May 1982 and closed in 1997. It is not known if Ron from Sparks ever danced there., 13:A - Part of her reasoning was that the works often fail to then find permanent homes. “I think it has run out,” she told the Guardian, “there have been some really great projects". She suggested that the 24-year history of the programme could be displayed on a board near the plinth, or on a phone app. The Thursday Quiz has to be honest with you – the fourth plinth will end up being a permanent statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II on a horse. It is just a question of how we get there and who pays for it., 14:C - Iced tea and lemonade goes in an Arnold Palmer, cola and grenadine syrup make a Roy Rogers, but a Shirley Temple is traditionally a non-alcoholic drink made with ginger ale and a splash of grenadine, garnished with a maraschino cherry. Willow prefers water., 15:B - The run of albums of The Kick Inside, Lionheart, Never For Ever and The Dreaming from 1978 to 1982 preceded a three year gap. Kate Bush returned in 1985 with the hugely successful Hounds of Love album. Incidentally the picture is from an attempt in Australia to set a world record for the most people dressed up as the Kate Bush Wuthering Heights video gathered in one place. I guess you have to pass the time in Australia somehow.

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   We hope you had fun – let us know how you got on in the comments

If you think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, please feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com but remember the quiz master’s word is final and he is likely to ignore you.