Mythical creatures, beloved doctors and Facebook foul-ups – take the Thursday quiz

This mythical creature has some questions for you… Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

With impeccable timing, last week, when there was a very naughty miniature dachshund making the news, the quiz master decided to take the week off, meaning regular quizzers spent hours poring over every detail of Valerie’s exciting story trying to memorise it all in vain.

At least it meant First Dog on the Moon got a free run to do a cartoon about Valerie without cramping the quiz’s style. Back to the usual format this week, with mostly topical questions and a smattering of general and popular culture knowledge in the mix. There are no prizes, but we always enjoy it when you let us know how you got on in the comments…

The Thursday quiz, No 204

1. 

   The WH Smith name is to disappear from the UK high street and be replaced by what?

   1. HKEvans

   2. FBTaylor

   3. TGJones

   4. JRHartley

2. 

   "Space is hard" we were reminded when a test rocket intended to kickstart satellite launches from Europe exploded less than a minute after takeoff from Norway. What was the Isar Aerospace test rocket called?

   1. Commodore

   2. Spectrum

   3. Dragon

   4. Derek

3. 

   The UK's Royal Mail has launched a range of stamps featuring mythical creatures from the British Isles (not pictured), including the Grindylow. What colour are Grindylows reputed to be?

   1. Blue

   2. Red

   3. Yellow

   4. Green

4. 

   We sadly lost Richard Chamberlain, although he had reached the age of 90 and enjoyed a glittering career, so we can't feel too sad. Among the things he was famous for was playing the lead role in Dr Kildare. But what was the first name of the character Dr Kildare?

   1. James

   2. Jason

   3. Jeremy

   4. Jobel

5. 

   We also lost war hero Betty Webb who died aged 101. She spent four years during the second world war code-breaking for the British, where?

   1. Chatsworth Park

   2. Blenheim Park

   3. Bletchley Park

   4. Stockley Park

6. 

   Which company has been given a £165m contract to maintain the Royal Navy’s fleet of 54 Merlin helicopters?

   1. Italian company Leonardo

   2. German company Rheinmetall AG

   3. French company Thales

   4. British company Magpie Electricals

7. 

   Coyote vs Acme will finally be getting released, so everybody can rush to the cinema in 2026 and discover that maybe it just wasn't very good. Which company has picked up the distribution rights?

   1. Sriracha Studios

   2. Vinegar Promotions

   3. Piccalilli Pictures

   4. Ketchup Entertainment

8. 

   It is scores on the doors with Swindon’s Diana Dors. This week the statue wants you to imagine you got a nice new dartboard recently. Lucky, lucky you. What is the number on the bottom of a dart board, the diametric opposite of the 20 at the top?

   1. Three

   2. Five

   3. Seven

   4. Nine

9. 

   It's Karl-Heinz and his opening lines. This week the Thursday quiz imagines the German soccer legend would like you to identify the Jane Austen novel that begins: "About thirty years ago Miss Maria Ward, of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram."

   1. Mansfield Park (1814)

   2. Emma (1815)

   3. Northanger Abbey (1817)

   4. Summer Falls (1819)

10. 

    This week's geography topic is Guinea, in west Africa. What is the capital of Guinea?

    1. Malabo

    2. Conakry

    3. Bissau

    4. Lusaka

11. 

    Today marks the anniversary of the coronation of Edward the Confessor at lovely Winchester cathedral (pictured). In which year?

    1. 943

    2. 1043

    3. 1143

    4. 1243

12. 

    The Thursday quiz isn't averse to talking about itself in the third person, but at least it doesn't reply to its own social media posts forgetting to log into a different account, as it appears happened to Andrew Gee, the independent MP for Calare in New South Wales. How did Andrew Gee describe Andrew Gee on Facebook?

    1. "A fine fellow"

    2. "One of life's best"

    3. "The good guy"

    4. "A hottie"

13. 

    Sam Mendes has cast four actors to play the Beatles in the forthcoming quadruple biopic shenanigans. Which of them is playing John Lennon?

    1. Paul Mescal

    2. Barry Keoghan

    3. Joseph Quinn

    4. Harris Dickinson

14. 

    The White House has said that a deteriorating magnolia tree in its grounds needs to be removed. Who is believed to have planted it?

    1. Former US president Thomas Jefferson

    2. Former US president Abraham Lincoln

    3. Former US president Andrew Jackson

    4. Ron from Sparks

15. 

    April Fool's Day keeps PR departments, and the journalists they email, very busy. Which car manufacturer announced on Tuesday that they were introducing new self-driving toilet cubicles that could be summoned with an app?

    1. Seat

    2. Volvo

    3. Toyota

    4. Hyundai

16. 

    And finally, Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, said she would be sad if we didn't actually do at least one question about Valerie, so, altogether now, on which island has Valerie the very naughty miniature dachshund absconded and lived her best life for 16 months?

    1. Wallaby Island

    2. Kangaroo Island

    3. Kookaburra Island

    4. 30-50 Feral Hogs Island

Solutions

1:C - New owner Modella says the made-up moniker aims to evoke "sense of family", although we'll be the judge of that, thank you, 2:B - Isar Aerospace, which had warned the initial launch could end prematurely, said the test produced extensive data that its team could learn from, which is the kind of thing the Thursday quiz would say if someone asked it why the quiz was getting increasingly weird and niche, 3:D - They hang around marshes and try to drag unwary children to their doom, which sounds like the description of a particularly grim type of ghost Pokémon, 4:A - Chamberlain played the role from 1961 to 1966, 5:C - It is near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. Webb started there aged just 18, 6:A - Leonardo said the extension would help to support 1,000 jobs, including 200 workers at its factory in Yeovil in Somerset, as well as 800 across the wider UK supply chain, 7:D - Warner Bros had shelved it, apparently for tax purposes, but now we will be able to find out about Wile E Coyote's lawsuit over the many faulty Acme products that failed to catch the Road Runner, 8:A - Yes, it is a three that is at the bottom of your imaginary nice new dartboard, 9:A - It is a truth universally acknowledged that a quizzer in possession of good fortune will have just scored a point, 10:B - The port city has a population of at least 1.6 million people, 11:B - He reigned from 1042 until his death in 1066, when he was succeeded by his wife's brother Harold Godwinson, the Liz Truss of short-lived English monarchs, 12:C - As is often the case, the reply by the MP to his own post praising him in the third person was blamed on a "new and inexperienced member of the campaign team", 13:D - Harris is known for his roles in Beach Rats and Babygirl. The four films are slated for release in 2028, 14:C - It was apparently planted in honour of his wife Rachel, who died shortly before he took office in 1829, 15:D - The carmaker also boasted that the toilet used noise-cancelling technology for a more private experience, 16:B - Her owners were on holiday there when Valerie opportunistically helped herself to the door marked "do one"

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 this new video for Talk Talk’s beautiful Time It’s Time instead?

Time It’s Time by Talk Talk, official lyric video