The big quiz of the year

Okay, let’s get the really bad stuff out of the way quickly… On top of the pandemic, wildfires destroyed around 47m acres of Australia and 5m acres of the US West Coast, an explosion devastated Beirut, there were severe border clashes between China and India and government crackdowns on protests in Belarus, Bulgaria and Poland. Oh, and a plague of murder hornets. 

But in a year of bad news, which of these pieces of GOOD news finally arrived?

a)      The Falkland Islands were declared free of landmines, 38 years after the end of the conflict with Argentina.

b)      Living microbes were discovered on Venus.

c)      Jacob Rees-Mogg volunteered to pay UK corporation tax on his offshore investments.

2/ What is X AE-12?

a)      The chemical formula for hydroxychloroquine.

b)      The title of Eminem’s first studio album in two years, released on January 17.

c)      The name of Elon Musk’s baby with his girlfriend, musician Grimes.

3/ Which of these did NOT close, fall into administration or file for bankruptcy in 2020?

a)      The Boy Scouts of America.

b)      Quibi, the $1.75bn short-form streaming platform launched in April by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman.

c)      The People’s Republic of North Korea, after Kim Jong-Un was reported to be dead or in a vegetative state.

4/ Casting your mind back to the early days of lockdown, what was the assumed name of the star of documentary series Tiger King?

a)      Joe Exotic

b)      Captain Tom

c)      Qasem Solemani

5/ Why did women worldwide (and men too) have cause to celebrate on February 24?

a)      Jacinda Ardern won a landslide second victory in New Zealand.

b)      Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.

c)      Rishi Sunak replaced Sajid Javid as Chancellor of the Exchequer

6/ What closed in mid-March as a pandemic precaution?

a)      The visitors’ gallery in the House of Commons.

b)      Mount Everest

c)      The Cheltenham Festival

7/ Who presented a handwritten note to the media saying “our marriage is strong and we remain together”?

a)      Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as they stepped back from royal duties in January.

b)      Kim Kardashian, shortly after husband Kanye West had a meltdown at his presidential rally.

c)      Dominic West and his wife Catherine FitzGerald after pictures of West appearing to canoodle with co-star Lily James in Rome appeared.

8/ How much less than nothing was West Texas Intermediate oil worth on April 20, following the biggest every single-day point drop in the Dow Jones?

a)      -$5 a barrel  

b)      -$17.12 a barrel

c)      -$37.63 a barrel

9/ Who featured on Cardi B’s salacious single WAP, which got numerous commentators’ knickers in a twist?

a)      Megan Thee Stallion

b)      Robert Thee Bruce

c)      Timo Thee Chalamet

10/ Which of these things did NOT happen on April 27th?

a)      Donald Trump suggested that drinking bleach might be a good preventative measure against Covid-19

b)      Johnny Depp and Amber Heard tried to patch up their differences over Zoom to avoid going through a damaging and embarrassing trial at the Royal Courts of Justice.  

c)      NASA released what it declared to be “real” Navy footage of unidentified flying objects, recorded in 2004 and 2015.  

11/ Who was Carrie Symonds and Boris Johnson’s son Wilfred named for?

a)      First World War poet Wilfred Owen.

b)      Winston Churchill – there was a mix-up at the registration of the birth.

c)      His great-grandfather Wilfred ‘Johnny’ Johnson, who flew Wellington Bombers in the Second World War, before becoming a hill farmer in Exmoor.

12/ Culture secretary Oliver Dowden suggested a disclaimer should be inserted in the opening credits of a TV programme. What was it and which programme?

a)      A warning before The Crown that some bits of it are made up.

b)      A reminder to teenagers (and adults) before Normal People that actually, sex is rarely that brilliant and rarely happens between people who look that good.

c)      A message before the Queen’s Gambit noting that young people shouldn’t go down to the basement to play chess with a janitor without a chaperone.

13/ Keir Starmer became Labour leader on April 4, winning the vote on the first round, but by what percentage?

a)      48%

b)      52%

c)      56%

14/ Which of the below represented a sincere – or at least heartfelt – apology this year?

a)      Mining group Rio Tinto, explaining that a “series of decisions, actions and omissions over an extended period of time” led it to blow up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge caves in Western Australia, which were sacred to Aboriginal peoples.

b)      Rihanna, who announced “I do not play with any kind of disrespect to God or any religion” after a song played during a lingerie fashion show for her Savage x Fenty brand was found to have remixed a sacred Islamic text.

c)      Home Secretary Priti Patel saying “I care deeply about delivering on the commitments we have made to the people of this country and I acknowledge that I am direct and have at times got frustrated,” when found to have “unintentionally” bullied civil servants (but not, apparently, to have broken the ministerial code).

15/ What was cancelled this year for the first time in its 64-year history?

a)      The BAFTA film Awards.  

b)      The Eurovision Song Contest

c)      The Paralympic Games

16/ Who tested positive for Covid after reaching a personal best?

a)      Lewis Hamilton, who equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of seven Formula One titles and became the most decorated racer in the history of the sport, with 94 wins, 97 poles and 163 podiums.

b)      Pope Benedict, who became the longest lived Pope when he reached the age of 93 years, four months, and 16 days, surpassing Leo XIII.

c)      Nadia, a Malayan Tiger at the Bronx Zoo, having given birth to the largest surviving litter on record (eight cubs).

17/ During the Black Lives Matter protests in London in June, what did Andrew Banks of Stansted, Essex do?

a)      He swung from a flag on the Cenotaph.

b)      He tried to pour large amounts of jelly into the box that had been erected around Churchill’s statue.

c)      He travelled to London to “protect statues”, drank 16 pints, and ended up urinating next to the memorial to PC Keith Palmer at the Palace of Westminster.  

18/ Speaking of statues, which figure has NOT (at time of writing) appeared on the plinth from which slave trader Edward Colston was forcibly evicted in Bristol?

a)      Protester Jen Reid

b)      Mary Wollstonecraft with her tits out.  

c)      Darth Vader

19/ On November 5, as Donald Trump raged like the big man-baby he is about alleged fraud in the US presidential election, who tweeted that he should “work on his anger management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend”.

a)      Bong Joon-Ho, who won four Oscars for Parasite.

b)      Kamala Harris.

c)      Greta Thunberg, using the exact words Trump had tweeted at her eleven months before.

20/ Which Nigella Lawson recipe from her new series Cook, Eat, Repeat had viewers boggling?

a)      A “substantial” Scotch Egg that could feed 12 people.

b)      Double-buttered toast.

c)      Chlorinated Chicken Surprise.

21/ Which of these policies did the government not perform a U-turn on?

a)      Allowing an algorithm to predict exam grades.

b)      Refusing to continue to pay for free school meals despite having already caved in once to footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaign.

c)      Brexit.

22/ The novel Shuggie Bain won this year’s Booker Prize but who wrote it?

a)      Douglas Adams

b)      Douglas Stuart

c)      Douglas Hurd

23/ Which of these was the most grimly ironic departure of the year in the entertainment world?

a)      Dancer Kevin Clifton quitting Strictly in March to pursue a stage career.

b)      Matt Baker having to present his final One Show while self isolating.

c)      Andrew Lloyd Webber’s actual cat Mika von Cat getting run over and killed just months after the film of Cats died at the hands of critics and punters.

24/ What was the Kraken?

a)      The unmanned SpaceX rocket that exploded on landing in December.

b)      The lawsuit alleging electoral fraud that attorney Sidney Powell promised to unleash in the US.

c)      The boxer – real name Kubrat Pulav – who faced off against Anthony Joshua at Wembley Arena.

25/ What did Millwall players decide to do after fans booed them for taking the knee in support of Black Lives Matter.

a)      Flicked V signs at every booing gammon in their next game.

b)      Linked arms before the match.

c)      Deliberately lost.

26/ How do you pronounce ‘microwave’ (if you are Nigella Lawson)?

a)      Mee-cro-wah-vay.

b)      Moy-crew-er-vee.

c)      Mick R O’Wave.

27/ What was discovered during excavations at a construction site for Mexico’s new Santa Lucia Airport?

a)      A monolith similar to those found in Utah, Cornwall and Savonlinna in Finland.

b)      A rare edition of Shakespeare’s last play The Two Noble Kinsmen.

c)      The skeletons of 200 mammoths.  

28/ We lost two of the people who feature in the jokes below this year. Who is the odd one out?

a)      Sean Connery’s agent calls and says: “I’ve booked you an audition tomorrow for tennish, okay?” “Tennish?” says Connery? “But I haven’t got my racquet…”

b)      Janet Street-Porter walks into a bar and says: “Can I get a large aperitif?” The barman looks at her and says: “I seriously doubt it.”

c)      How to you turn a duck into a soul singer? Put it in a microwave until is Bill Withers.

29/ Which of these are we not sure we can look forward to in 2021?

a)      Widespread vaccination

b)      A Biden administration

c)      The cancellation of Emily in Paris after one season.

Answers

1 – a, 2 – c, 3 – c, 4 – a, 5 – b, 6 – b, 7 – c, 8 – c, 9 – a, 10 – b, 11 – c, 12 – a, 13 – c, 14 – b, 15 – b, 16 – a, 17 – c, 18 – b, 19 – c, 20 – b, 21 – c, 22 – b, 23 – c, 24 – b, 25 – b, 26 – a, 27 – c, 28 – b, 29 – c