Thursday’s child has far to go, says the popular rhyme. In this case, Thursday’s child has 15 questions to go. They will be about topical news and general knowledge, they will feature Ron from Sparks and Kate Bush and two hidden Doctor Who references, and you will have fun doing them and then let us know how you got on in the comments. It is just for fun – there are no prizes. Enjoy! The Thursday quiz, No 32 1.GENTER-LY DOES IT: New Zealand’s Green party politician Julie Anne Genter did something quite unusual this week for a second time. What? Cycled to hospital while in labour to give birth Superglued herself to the gates of New Zealand’s parliament as an environmental protest Adopted a rare yellow-eyed penguin, which is only native to New Zealand Announced that she’d started a European Super League™ and then had to back down a couple of days later Reveal 2.CUBIST MASTERPIECE: The Czech president, Miloš Zeman, did what in a clear Perspex cube this week? Gave a memorial speech for Imre Nagy Held an audience with Pope Francis Swore in Petr Fiala as prime minister of the Czech Republic Announced that he’d started a European Super League™ and then had to back down a couple of days later. Reveal 3.EXISTENTIAL CRISIS: Founding member club of the European Super League™ Manchester United have hired Ralf Rangnick as their interim coach after disastrously finding themselves placed only above 84 of the 92 teams in the English professional league structure. The horror. Who did he last coach? RB Leipzig Schalke 04 1899 Hoffenheim Ulm 1846 Reveal 4.MUSIC: Everybody appears to be watching the Beatles documentary Get Back. Who joined the Fab Four playing keyboards on their final concert on the roof of the Apple Corps building on Savile Row? Steve Winwood Billy Preston Keith Emerson Kate Bush Reveal 5.A SONG THAT SINGS ITSELF: That’s a 1984 Sparks song that is filled with possibilities. But that’s not important right now. Which of these ISN’T a musical by the late Stephen Sondheim, who sadly died this week? A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Little Shop of Horrors Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Sunday in the Park With George Reveal 6.ON THIS DAY: On 2 December 1823 the US president James Monroe outlined what became known as the Monroe doctrine. But which of these was part of it? The US said it would seek to expand south into what is often referred to as central America The US said it would link the value of the US dollar to the silver standard The US said it sought to spend at least 10% of tax revenues each year on funding its military The US said it would remain neutral in wars between European powers Reveal 7.STRANGE BEASTS: Windermere is one of the most beautiful places in England, and legend has it that it is home to strange creatures comprised of a hedgehog’s body with the tail of a squirrel and wings like a bee. But what are they called? Whizz bangers Busy lizzies Whizzermajigs Tizzie whizzies Reveal 8.TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE: Who intervened this week when they discovered that the quote ‘In the last five years the bee population has dropped by a third. If bees were to disappear from the face of the Earth, humans would have just four years left to live’ had been wrongly attributed to them? Caroline Lucas David Attenborough Richard Dawkins Greta Thunberg Reveal 9.GEOGRAPHY: What is the name of the range of mountains that stretches through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in the north of Africa? Drakensberg mountains Rwenzori mountains Simien mountains Atlas mountains Reveal 10.SCIENCE NEWS CORNER: Researchers say they have found that clusters of frog cells can undergo a form of replication never before seen in plants or animals. The spherical clumps can give rise to ‘offspring’ by sweeping up loose cells and swashing them into yet more clusters. But what are the clumps known as? Nurdles Xenomorphs Xenobots Drahvin Reveal 11.ENSEMBLE CASTS: Which critically acclaimed HBO series features Kieran Culkin, Natalie Gold and Peter Friedman among its cast? Boardwalk Empire The Sopranos Succession Curb Your Enthusiasm Reveal 12.TINTINOLOGY: In the Tintin story King Ottokar’s Sceptre by Hergé, the two fictional antagonistic countries in the Balkans are Syldavia and … ? Borduria Monrovia Turmezistan Transnistria Reveal 13.BROUGHT TO YOU BY FIZZY DRINKS: Who set a world record by falling 39km (24 miles) out of the sky in a heavily sponsored stunt in 2012? Felix Baumgartner Dar Robinson Mike Hughes Larry Walters Reveal 14.HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU: It is Britney Spears’s birthday today. Happy birthday, Britney! But what year was her debut hit, Baby One More Time, released? 1994 1996 1998 2000 Reveal 15.THAT’S NOT WHERE THEY GOT THE NAME: Storm Arwen caused havoc across Britain at the weekend. But who was Arwen’s father in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings? Faramir Théoden Elrohir Elrond