Mystery blobs, maligned cities and that terrible Oasis sketch – take the Thursday quiz

Last week’s 100 raccoons story arrived in what is considered “the witching hour” at the Thursday quiz – the time when funny animal stories are published too late on the Wednesday to be included that week, but will be too old by the time the next Thursday rolls around. Still, at least those critters got an honourable mention in this opening blurb. Also last week, there seemed to be some confusion about a quiz that advertises itself as featuring jokes having “Star Wars Episode II: The Wrath of Khan” as an incorrect answer option. For those upset, we can only apologise, and say “may the force be with you, Captain Kirk! Exterminate!” as you tackle this week’s 15 questions on topical trivia, general knowledge and pop culture. Which includes jokes. Enjoy!

The Thursday quiz, No 182

1. Who won the 2024 Nobel prize in literature?

   1. Jon Fosse of Norway

   2. Mo Yan of China

   3. Han Kang of South Korea

   4. Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of the UK

2. Donald Trump demonstrated his famed mental acuity by telling residents in City X that if they didn't vote for him, their city would end up being a right old dump like City X, while he was literally speaking in City X. Which city is City X?

   1. Chicago

   2. Detroit

   3. Philadelphia

   4. Atlanta

3. The Wimbledon tennis tournament has announced that next year it is replacing what with robots?

   1. Ball boys and girls

   2. Line judges

   3. People selling strawberries and cream

   4. Andy Murray

4. Whose foot do researchers believe that have found on Chomolungma, also known as Mount Everest?

   1. Edward Wheeler

   2. George Mallory

   3. Sandy Irvine

   4. The Abominable Snowman

5. Nimbys in Scotland are angry at the proposal to put up a heritage plaque in Edinburgh commemorating a famous kiss from which Netflix series?

   1. One Day

   2. Heartstopper

   3. Sex Education

   4. Emily in Paris

6. The World Conker Championships has been plunged into scandal after what was discovered in the pocket of the men's champion?

   1. A small bottle of vinegar

   2. A vial of superglue

   3. A metal replica conker

   4. An amulet of power from Sutekh the Destroyer

7. This week's geography round takes us to El Salvador, which is bordered by two countries in Central America. Which two?

   1. Guatemala and Honduras

   2. Guatemala and Nicaragua

   3. Honduras and Mexico

   4. Costa Rica and Nicaragua

8. Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, doesn't know much about opera, but she does know that 18 people were treated for severe nausea after performances of Florentina Holzinger’s Sancta, which features live sex and piercing. Where was it being performed?

   1. Lille, France

   2. Rotterdam, Netherlands

   3. Warsaw, Poland

   4. Stuttgart, Germany

9. It's the joy of scores on the doors with Swindon’s Diana Dors. This week the statue wants to know: if you are playing darts and you narrowly miss the treble 20 and instead score immediately to the left as you look at the board, which treble did you hit?

   1. Treble five

   2. Treble eight

   3. Treble 12

   4. Treble 16

10. We also welcome the return of Karl-Heinz and his opening lines. This week the Thursday quiz imagines the German football legend would like you to point out which Harold Pinter play starts with Ben saying to Gus: "Kaw! What about this? Listen to this!" and then reading a story from a newspaper

    1. No Man's Land (1974)

    2. The Caretaker (1959)

    3. The Birthday Party (1957)

    4. The Dumb Waiter (1957)

11. In a sentence you never thought you'd read, the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has had to apologise after feeding what to the popular TikTok content creator Liz Plank?

    1. A French fry

    2. A Dorito chip

    3. A Carolina Reaper pepper

    4. A very naughty miniature dachshund

12. Saturday Night Live caused a full-on transatlantic diplomatic incident with their Oasis skit, which appeared to feature approximately 1,057 different attempts at British regional accents. Who were the hapless cast members pretending to be Liam and Noel?

    1. Sarah Sherman and James Austin Johnson

    2. Heidi Gardner and Dana Carvey

    3. Chloe Fineman and Mikey Day

    4. 30-50 feral hogs in a trenchcoat and Ron from Sparks

13. The America's Cup (not pictured) has been in the news because everybody loves boats. Which two nations are competing?

    1. Great Britain and Italy

    2. The US and New Zealand

    3. New Zealand and Great Britain

    4. Italy and the US

14. Mysterious gooey blobs have been baffling boffins by washing up on the shores of where?

    1. Costa Rica

    2. China

    3. Chile

    4. Canada

15. How much did Thursday quiz favourite Taylor Swift donate to relief funds after Hurricane Milton hit Florida?

    1. $5m

    2. $3m

    3. $1m

    4. $1,057

Solutions

1:C - Han Kang won for her "intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life", 2:B - Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, the very stable genius told Detroit residents: "Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if [Kamala Harris is] your president. You’re going to have a mess on your hands.", 3:B - The tournament is replacing line judges with electronic line calling, 4:C - They think it belongs to Irvine, who accompanied George Mallory on the climb 100 years ago from which they never returned. Mallory's body was discovered in 1999. It is still unclear whether they died on the way up or on the way back down, 5:A - Netflix has applied to Edinburgh city council for permission to fit the red plaque at the foot of the steps on the Vennel, a path beside the city’s medieval wall that offers an Instagrammable view of the Grassmarket and the castle, 6:C - The Thursday quiz's lawyers wish to point out that 82-year-old champion David Jakins denies foul conker play, 7:A - Guatemala is to the north, Honduras to the east, and El Salvador has a Pacific Ocean coastline , 8:D - The Austrian artist has previously suggested that her opera was less designed to mock the church than explore parallels between the conservative institution on the one hand, and kink communities and BDSM subcultures on the other. That's not how the Thursday quiz remembers going to the opera, 9:A - Five is directly to the left of the 20 at the top. Top darts!, 10:D - It is The Dumb Waiter. Ben and Gus are the two characters in that play, in a room together seemingly waiting for instructions. And then the fun begins …, 11:B - Intended as a promo for Joe Biden's Chips legislation – it is a terrible pun, you see – people decided it looked like Whitmer and Plank were mocking communion, 12:A - The feral hogs might have sounded more like they were from Manchester, 13:C - It is the first British appearance in something like 60 years, which is why suddenly sailing is a thing in the news when it isn't the Olympics, 14:D - Described as "slimy on the outside, firm and spongy on the inside and surprisingly combustible", they have been washing up in large amounts in Newfoundland and are yet to be identified. The Thursday quiz thinks it once saw Mysterious Gooey Blobs at the Hope and Anchor in about 1993, 15:A - Five million big bucks indeed. Well done, Taylor

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 Something in the Air (but not the Thunderclap Newman one) by Lauren Mayberry instead?