Brexit
1 Which foreign politician hailed Leave’s win in the EU referendum as a “Victory for freedom!”?
a Geert Wilders
b Norbert Hofer
c Donald Trump
d Marine Le Pen
2 Which London borough had the highest percentage of Remain voters in the EU referendum, at 78.6 per cent?
a Lambeth
b Ealing
c Merton
d Hammersmith and Fulham
3 Which of these newspapers did not support Leave?
a Sunday Express
b Sunday Times
c Mail on Sunday
d Sunday Telegraph
4 Boris Johnson caused controversy by suggesting to an Italian economics minister that Italy would allow the UK access to the single market in order to safeguard exports of what?
a Parma ham
b Prosecco
c Pasta
d Parmesan
5 In a YouGov poll asking voters how they thought fictional characters might vote in the EU referendum, who was viewed as most likely to vote Leave?
a Jim Royle
b Basil Fawlty
c Alan Partridge
d Mary Poppins
US politics
6 Which of these words did Donald Trump use most frequently during the three
presidential debates?
a Unbelievable
b Wonderful
c Tremendous
d Amazing
7 During his campaign, Trump suggested the father of his rival Ted Cruz could have been linked to whose assassination?
a John F Kennedy
b Robert F Kennedy
c Martin Luther King
d Anwar Sadat
8 What was Nigel Farage’s description of Trump during the second debate, in which he had to defend himself against assault charges and seemed to invade Hillary Clinton’s space?
a “A big silverback gorilla”
b “A mighty mountain
of a man”
c “A great white shark
sniffing blood”
d “A defiant, strong lion”
9 At a New York fundraiser in September, Hillary Clinton was assailed for saying that “half” of Donald Trump’s supporters could be described as “a basket of . . .” what?
a Unmentionables
b Deplorables
c Awfulness
d Idiocy
10 Which of these states did not swing from the Democrats to the Republicans in the 2016 US presidential election?
a Iowa
b Pennsylvania
c Ohio
d Virginia
UK politics
11 In August, which former cabinet minster was photographed firing off a machine-gun, Rambo-style, while on holiday in Vietnam?
a George Osborne
b Michael Gove
c Nicky Morgan
d Ken Clarke
12 Who claimed in his autobiography, Speaking Out, that the idea Jeremy Corbyn will take Labour back to power is a “leftist utopian fantasy”?
a David Miliband
b Ed Balls
c Alastair Campbell
d Neil Kinnock
13 In the first round of voting in the Conservative leadership contest, who received the support of 34 MPs?
a Liam Fox
b Michael Gove
c Andrea Leadsom
d Stephen Crabb
14 Who won in the Politician category at GQ magazine’s Men of the Year awards?
a Boris Johnson
b Nigel Farage
c Sadiq Khan
d Jacob Rees-Mogg
15 Labour now boasts the largest number of members of any political party in western Europe. What was the party membership figure by September?
a 388,400
b 551,000
c 776,300
d 917,000
Around Britain
16 What did Sergeant Colin Norden, a Cambridgeshire police officer, call “the biggest organised crime group” in the country because of a racket in picking wild berries and selling them on?
a Scouts
b Ramblers’ Association
c Women’s Institute
d Camra
Related
17 Despite public demand for the name Boaty McBoatface, after whom was the UK’s new polar research ship eventually named?
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a Michael Palin
b David Attenborough
c Ranulph Fiennes
d Bear Grylls
18 London’s new railway Crossrail will be given what name when it opens in December 2018?
a The Regal Line
b The Elizabeth Line
c The Queen Line
d The Windsor Line
19 A new Royal Bank of Scotland £10 note will be the first to carry a picture of a woman who is not a member of the royal family. Who?
a Mary Somerville
b Muriel Spark
c Flora MacDonald
d Winnie Ewing
20 Which of these products briefly became scarce in Tesco supermarkets this year after a price disagreement with the supplier, Unilever?
a Pot Noodles
b Colman’s Mustard
c Bisto
d Marmite
21 According to the Office for National Statistics’ happiness index, which religion has the highest happiness rating?
a Hinduism
b Buddhism
c Christianity
d Judaism
22 A study found that which biscuit can endure the most number of dunks into a cup of tea before breaking apart?
a Bourbon
b Custard cream
c Digestive
d Rich Tea
World
23 The Cuban leader Fidel Castro died in November at the age of 90. Ten US presidents held office during his time in power, but who was Fidel’s first US counterpart?
a Harry S Truman
b Dwight D Eisenhower
c John F Kennedy
d Lyndon B Johnson
24 Archaeologists used laser technology to discover a number of hitherto lost medieval cities in the jungles of which country?
a Guatemala
b Thailand
c Cambodia
d Brazil
25 Maria Grazia Chiuri became the first female creative director of which fashion house?
a Valentino
b Givenchy
c Louis Vuitton
d Christian Dior
26 Which European country voted to reject a proposal to introduce a guaranteed basic income for all its citizens?
a Finland
b Norway
c Switzerland
d Austria
27 In which US city were 11 police officers shot, five of them fatally, by at least two snipers at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in July?
a New Orleans
b Atlanta
c Dallas
d St Louis
28 Adama Barrow won Gambia’s presidential election. As a student in London, he once worked as a security guard for which high-street retailer?
a Marks & Spencer
b Argos
c John Lewis
d Boots
29 Which politician was heavily criticised for having a personal barber who earns €10,000 a month?
a Matteo Renzi
b Joachim Gauck
c Mariano Rajoy
d François Hollande
Sport
30 The 23 March is a special day for sport, as three of Britain’s four most successful Olympians, in terms of gold medals won, share a birthday on that date. Which of the four men won his medals despite being born on 28 April?
a Chris Hoy
b Steve Redgrave
c Bradley Wiggins
d Jason Kenny
31 In which sport did Great Britain win most of its gold medals from the Rio Olympics?
a Rowing
b Cycling
c Swimming
d Sailing
32 Great Britain took second place in the Rio Paralympics table with 147 medals (including 64 gold) behind which country?
a China
b Russia
c United States
d Germany
33 Which Scottish golf course was removed from the list of possible venues for the Open Championship after it voted to retain its “men only” membership policy?
a Turnberry
b Muirfield
c Carnoustie
d Royal Troon
34 Who appeared on the BBC’s Match of the Day wearing only his underpants, after he promised to do so if Leicester City won the Premier League?
a Alan Shearer
b Mark Lawrenson
c Ian Wright
d Gary Lineker
35 Which British tennis player won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon?
a Laura Robson
b Naomi Broady
c Johanna Konta
d Heather Watson
36 Borussia Mönchengladbach changed their name to “A German Team” on Twitter in response to fans of which UK side being unable to spell the name?
a Liverpool
b Celtic
c Aberdeen
d Manchester City
Arts and books
37 Love by All Sorts of Means was Brendan King’s biography of which writer, whom he worked for as secretary and assistant for 23 years?
a Beryl Bainbridge
b Penelope Lively
c Doris Lessing
d Barbara Pym
38 Which former Blue Peter presenter published the debut novel The Butcher’s Hook?
a Valerie Singleton
b Mark Curry
c Konnie Huq
d Janet Ellis
39 Which comedian and television presenter’s painting of David Beckham’s tattoos was part of the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition?
a Nick Hancock
b Justin Lee Collins
c Harry Hill
d Leigh Francis
40 Which artist acquired exclusive rights to “Vantablack”, said to be the “blackest black” pigment of paint?
a Grayson Perry
b Chris Ofili
c Jeremy Deller
d Anish Kapoor
41 Which musical won 11 Tony Awards from 16 nominations, falling one short of the all-time record held by The Producers?
a School of Rock
b Hamilton
c Waitress
d Fun Home
42 Who was the only Briton to make the Forbes Top Ten list of the world’s highest-paid comedians?
a Peter Kay
b Frankie Boyle
c Kevin Bridges
d John Bishop
Science and media
43 In the first 15 years of Wikipedia, which person’s entry was edited the most?
a Justin Bieber
b Barack Obama
c Adolf Hitler
d George W Bush
44 A study found the average smartphone user touches their device how many times a day?
a 137
b 589
c 1,457
d 2,617
45 The wildlife TV presenter Chris Packham controversially suggested that children should be encouraged to eat which local wildlife?
a Snails
b Earthworms
c Tadpoles
d Grasshoppers
46 Researchers found that the milk of which Australian marsupial is capable of killing antibiotic-resistant human pathogens?
a Tasmanian devil
b Red kangaroo
c Quokka
d Tiger quoll
47 Scientists suggested which sixth “basic taste” to describe the flavour of bread and potatoes?
a Starchiness
b Solid
c Heavy
d Glutinous
Media
48 Which national newspaper closed after only nine weeks of operation?
a New Day
b New European
c First News
d 24
49 Which newspaper led the investigation that brought Sam Allardyce’s time as England manager to an end after 67 days?
a Times
b Daily Telegraph
c Daily Express
d Observer
50 Which magazine published Sean Penn’s interview with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán that Mexican officials claim led them to the drug kingpin’s hiding place?
a Esquire
b New Yorker
c Rolling Stone
d Vice
Film, TV, music
51 Spike Lee’s latest film, Chi-Raq, is a modern-day adaptation of which play by Aristophanes?
a The Clouds
b Lysistrata
c The Frogs
d The Birds
52 Which film won the
Golden Globe award for
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, despite being neither a musical nor a comedy?
a Carol
b The Big Short
c Steve Jobs
d The Martian
53 Who played the title role in Fleabag, the TV adaptation of her 2013 Edinburgh one-woman play of the same name?
a Joanna Vanderham
b Zawe Ashton
c Phoebe Waller-Bridge
d Immy Waterhouse
54 Who became the highest-grossing female film star of all time?
a Jennifer Lawrence
b Scarlett Johansson
c Zoë Saldana
d Nicole Kidman
55 Which German film by the director Sebastian Schipper was shot in a single, continuous take?
a Victoria
b Mary
c Anna
d Eva
56 The season finale of Westworld revealed the existence of which other theme park?
a Space World
b Medieval World
c Gangster World
d Samurai World
57 The video for Kanye West’s song “Famous” did not feature which of these people in the form of a naked sleeping waxwork?
a Barack Obama
b Anna Wintour
c Donald Trump
d Bill Cosby
58 Which musician released the online animal rights game This Beautiful Creature Must Die in collaboration with Peta?
a Paul McCartney
b Morrissey
c Moby
d Dave Navarro
59 The Eurovision Song Contest-winning song “1944” commemorated which event?
a D-Day landings
b Deportation of the
Crimean Tatars
c Battle of Monte Cassino
d Liberation of Leningrad