Nuclear pests, Hockney’s best and dozens of swimming tortoises – take the Thursday quiz

This particular Galápagos giant tortoise has some questions for you. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty

The Thursday quiz has taken a brief respite from shouting “chicken jockey” and throwing popcorn at fellow cinemagoers, giving it just long enough to cobble together today’s offering between screenings of the Minecraft movie. Silently waiting for you, like a creeper about to blow up your base, you will find 15 questions that veer from the topical, to general knowledge, to pop culture and back. There are no prizes, but we always love to hear how you’ve got on in the comments.

The Thursday quiz, No 205

1. 

   Workers at the Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor in Somerset have warned that the construction site has been overun by what?

   1. Mice

   2. Spiders

   3. Rats

   4. Very naughty radioactive miniature dachshunds

2. 

   A couple fled the eco retreat they ran in Sweden, leaving behind 158 barrels of human waste among other things. Where did they flee to?

   1. Belize

   2. Suriname

   3. Nicaragua

   4. Guatemala

3. 

   Which team has – incredibly – managed to get themselves relegated from the Premier League in England with a record seven matches to go?

   1. Ipswich Town

   2. Southampton

   3. Leicester City

   4. Melchester Rovers

4. 

   A prince in which country has lost a legal battle to claim social security benefits on top of his royal allowance?

   1. Belgium

   2. Netherlands

   3. Spain

   4. Syldavia

5. 

   Jack Black plays the main protagonist in the Minecraft Movie, who has the same name as the protagonist in the game. What is it?

   1. Brian

   2. Steve

   3. Alex

   4. Derek

6. 

   Which European capital city is hosting a retrospective exhibition featuring 456 works by David Hockney?

   1. Madrid

   2. Rome

   3. Riga

   4. Paris

7. 

   Dozens of which breed of tortoises have washed up in Florida after being swept from their homes during Hurricane Helene last summer (not pictured, that is the Pokémon Blastoise looking pretty freaking cool)?

   1. Marmoset tortoises

   2. Woodchuck tortoises

   3. Gopher tortoises

   4. Feral hog tortoises

8. 

   This week a new tunnel is opening underneath the Thames in London. What is it called?

   1. The Silvertown tunnel

   2. The Irontown tunnel

   3. The Steeltown tunnel

   4. The Ronald Mael tunnel

9. 

   It's scores on the doors with Swindon’s Diana Dors. This week, the statue wants to know how many points you get, as a driver, for winning a Formula One grand prix, by being the fastest person to go round in circles for a couple of hours

   1. 12 points

   2. 15 points

   3. 20 points

   4. 25 points

10. 

    It's Karl-Heinz and his opening lines. This week the Thursday quiz imagines the German soccer legend would like to know which Charles Dickens novel begins: 'My father’s family name being Pirrip, and my christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip'

    1. Our Mutual Friend

    2. Great Expectations

    3. Martin Chuzzlewit

    4. A Tale of Two Cities

11. 

    Authorities in Greece have prevented which famous Greek director from filming at the Acropolis, on the grounds that the planned shots were not compatible with the symbolism and values of the building?

    1. Costa-Gavras

    2. Athina Rachel Tsangari

    3. Jacqueline Lentzou

    4. Yorgos Lanthimos

12. 

    Here is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, with this week's flag question. What colour is the star on Morocco's red flag?

    1. Black

    2. White

    3. Green

    4. Yellow

13. 

    Today is the anniversary of RMS Titanic setting sail en route to pranging an iceberg. Which English dock did she leave on 10 April 1912?

    1. Portsmouth

    2. Southampton

    3. Newhaven

    4. Shoreham-by-Sea

14. 

    It is Daisy Ridley's birthday today. Happy birthday Daisy! May the force be with you! Which planet in the Star Wars universe do we first meet her on in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, where she is a scavenger?

    1. Dagobah

    2. Coruscant

    3. Jakku

    4. Skaro

15. 

    Who won Guardian invertebrate of the year 2025?

    1. Milnesium tardigradum

    2. The giant Gippsland earthworm

    3. The dark-edged bee-fly

    4. Chris Martin falling through a trap door

Solutions

1:C - Eeeeeeeew, 2:D - Double eeeeeeeewwww!, 3:B - Ooops!, 4:A - The cheek, 5:B - A big shout-out to the youngest child of the Thursday quiz for their Minecraft Thursday quiz logo work here, 6:D - The 456 works on display at the Fondation Louis Vuitton span 1955-2025, 7:C - They aren't great swimmers, so are quite lucky that they got washed ashore in a habitat that can support them, 8:A - It will connect Silvertown on the northern side with the Greenwich peninsula on the south of the Thames, 9:D - You get 25 points for a win for some reason, 10:B - The whole novel is narrated from Pip's point of view, 11:D - The scenes in question depicted 70 dead bodies placed between two of the Greek citadel’s key sites as part of forthcoming 'sci-fi comedy' Bugonia, 12:C - The green star represents the five pillars of Islam, 13:B - She left Southampton on her maiden and only voyage, which was to be the start of a regular route that called at Southampton – Cherbourg – Cobh (then known as Queenstown) – New York and then landed at Plymouth in England on the return leg, 14:C - We first meet her on Jakku, where she is salvaging parts from crashed and abandoned imperial spaceships stuck out in the desert, 15:A - It was the humble tardigrade, destined, along with discarded bits of plastic and cockroaches, to be the only thing that survives the seemingly inevitable nuclear destruction of the planet. Some of them even went to the moon, you know

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 Burnt at the Stake by the stupendously good Wych Elm instead?

Burnt at the Stake by Wych Elm