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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Martin Belam

Musical riots, 1984 books, and extra-long bread – take the Thursday quiz

Bakers with a big baguette
French bakers have set a new world record for the longest ever baguette. But who held the record before? Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters

Just like Natalie Elphicke, the Thursday quiz thought about chucking in all its principles and everything it stood for by defecting to a Wednesday or a Friday, but it turns out there was very little publicity in that, so it couldn’t be bothered. Fourteen questions this week on topical news, general knowledge, and things found down the back of the sofa. It is just for fun, but let us know how you get on in the comments.

The Thursday quiz, No 159

  1. Scotland

    Who is the new leader of the SNP and first minister of Scotland?

    1. Harriet Jones

    2. Neil Gray

    3. Màiri McAllan

    4. John Swinney

  2. Plates and cutlery set out for dinner

    Which 1970s "delicacy" has been given a new lease of life after inexplicably becoming popular with the young ones via TikTok?

    1. Wall's Viennetta

    2. After Eight mints

    3. Cottage cheese

    4. Salad cream

  3. Take That

    You won't probably remember the name of Daniel Rooney, who got pressed into service as support for Take That (pictured) at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow. He got the gig after which star's flight was cancelled?

    1. Will Young

    2. Matt Cardle

    3. Olly Murs

    4. Rylan

  4. Bernard Hill

    We lost Bernard Hill, well known for his turn as Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s 1982 BBC series Boys from the Blackstuff (not pictured). But who did he play in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy (also not pictured)?

    1. Gríma Wormtongue

    2. Witch-king of Angmar

    3. Théoden, king of Rohan

    4. Denethor, Steward of Gondor

  5. French bakers

    France has reclaimed the world record for the longest baguette after enduring the national shame of the record being held since 2019 by bakers in which country?

    1. Italy

    2. Switzerland

    3. Belgium

    4. Lithuania

  6. Punch and Judy

    It is believed to be the anniversary of the first performance of the forerunner to the Punch and Judy show in London in 1662. No wonder they burnt the city down four years later to try and stop it spreading. In a Punch and Judy show, which animal traditionally tries to steal the string of sausages?

    1. A monkey

    2. A fox

    3. A crocodile

    4. A very naughty miniature dachshund

  7. Willow, the official dog of the Thursday quiz

    This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz. She will be watching Eurovision this weekend. Which Swedish city is hosting it?

    1. Helsingborg

    2. Stockholm

    3. Gothenburg

    4. Malmö

  8. Ballet shoes

    Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring caused a right old stramash when it was premiered in 1913 for its avant-garde nature. Indeed some people – probably erroneously – claim there was a riot when it was first performed. Where?

    1. Moscow

    2. Paris

    3. Milan

    4. London

  9. Ariana Grande

    Ariana Grande is lovely and has sold over 90m records but she will be absolutely furious if you don't put her first four albums in the correct order of release. Which of these is it?

    1. Yours Truly; Dangerous Woman; Positions; Sweetener

    2. Yours Truly; My Everything; Sweetener; Thank U, Next

    3. Yours Truly; Dangerous Woman; Sweetener; Eternal Sunshine

    4. Yours Truly; My Everything; Dangerous Woman; Sweetener

  10. Depeche Mode

    It is Dave Gahan's birthday today. Enjoy the silence, Dave! We just can't get enough! What does the name Depeche Mode mean in French?

    1. Unpleasant type

    2. Punishment dome

    3. Heat loss

    4. Fashion update

  11. Anti-monarchy protest

    Which number Henry was king of England in 1250?

    1. Henry I

    2. Henry II

    3. Henry III

    4. Henry XXX–L

  12. UEFA

    One non-football question about every country taking part in the Euro 2024 finals this summer. This week: Poland. Which of these delightful Polish cities is farthest south?

    1. Kraków

    2. Gdańsk

    3. Poznań

    4. Łódź

  13. Some snookering

    The Thursday quiz nearly fell asleep writing this question but who won the world snooker title in Sheffield at the weekend?

    1. Luke Littler

    2. Kyren Wilson

    3. Jak Jones

    4. Ron from Sparks

  14. Books

    Hans K Clausen is making a sculpture using 1984 copies of George Orwell's novel 1984 in the place he wrote it. Where?

    1. Wigan Pier

    2. Jura

    3. St Ives

    4. Paris

Solutions

1:D - He was voted in by MSPs eight days after Humza Yousaf announced his departure, 2:C - Influencers’ inventive recipes using the high-protein dairy product have apparently boosted trade by 40% for one producer, 3:C - It was Olly Murs. Daniel Rooney had been playing in a hotel bar across the road. Bless. It is a shame the Thursday quiz wasn't drinking in a hotel bar across the road from the venue, because it could have easily taken the slot and bellowed out over-written questions with sarcastic asides for 20 minutes, 4:C - He lead the Rohirrim into the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. The picture is Hill in The Criminal in 2000, 5:A - Some bakers in Como had stolen the baguette crown. Reports that France is now planning a revenge raid on the world record for the largest pizza with pineapple on it were unconfirmed at the time of going to press, 6:C - Just an everyday tale of domestic abuse, baby battery, evading the law and *checks notes* confronting Satan and getting away with it all, 7:D - Four cities bid for the event, with Malmö winning out over Stockholm, Gothenburg and Örnsköldsvik, 8:B - It was first performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, and certainly made an impression, although it was quite a few years later before the word "riot" got attached to it. People probably tutted and gasped, that is what the Thursday quiz reckons, 9:D - She has released seven studio albums in total and before you start snarking in the comments about never having heard of her, her 90m record sales make her one of the worldwide bestselling artists in the 21st century, 10:D - It was the name of a magazine, and Radio One DJs spent half of the 1980s pronouncing it de-pey-shay mode for some reason, 11:C - It was Henry III, who reigned from 1216 to 1272. Henry number one and number two both reigned in the 1100s, and Henry IV didn't get his hands on the crown until 1399, 12:A - Well done if you managed to turn your back on Poznań, Gdańsk and Łódź, and well done the Thursday quiz which enjoyed trying to find all those character accents on its keyboard, 13:B - Apparently his nickname is "The Warrior" and now the Thursday quiz regrets being sarcastic about snooker in case he comes round to duff the Thursday quiz in, 14:B - Clausen said his installation, the Winston Smith Library of Victory and Truth, is still taking donations and is about 100 volumes short of the target. In return, each donor receives an enamelled pin-badge as a gesture of thanks – and possibly a lifetime of surveillance

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, he is not working today so you will just get his out of office and anyway, did you do the apostrophe quiz earlier in the week?

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