Once again the task that lies before you is 15 vaguely topical and general knowledge questions, littered with repetitive in-jokes that long since stopped being entertaining. You will meet Ron from Sparks. You will meet Kate Bush. You will have several Doctor Who references to spot. And after the fuss everybody made about the Eiffel Tower question last time around, this week you will not have to measure anything in feet. There are no prizes, it is just for fun. Let us know how you get on in the comments. The Thursday quiz, No 43 1.EYES TO THE RIGHT: As soon as you saw this story you knew it was an absolute Thursday quiz shoo-in. A bored security guard drew eyes on this painting called Three Figures in a Russian gallery. Who was the painting by? Anna Leporskaya Sara Alexandri Nadia Popov Elena Kostenko Reveal 2.AYES TO THE RIGHT: The Sénat is the upper chamber in France"s parliamentary democracy. How many senators are there? 212 348 415 About 800 – the same as the number of people able to sit in the House of Lords in the UK Reveal 3.YOUR CALL"S VERY IMPORTANT TO US: That"s a 2002 song by Sparks where "then she said: Please hold". But that is not important right now. Last week a woman in Canada contacted the wrong police force 3,000 miles away during an emergency. Which English constabulary did she contact? Cheshire Durham Hampshire Norfolk Reveal 4.TO BOLDLY GO: Scientists have announced that they have discovered a third planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the solar system. What have they called it? Proxima c Proxima d Terrus Proxima Bob Reveal 5.GCSE SCIENCE CORNER: Three of these options are the names of hormones in the human body. One of them is the name of a hormone in plants. Which is the plant hormone? Triiodothyronine Thyroxine Amylin Auxin Reveal 6.ENSEMBLE CASTS: Jennette McCurdy and Ariana Grande starred together in which of these Nickelodeon shows? Bucket & Skinner"s Epic Adventures Bella and the Bulldogs Sam & Cat Kenan & Kel Reveal 7.¡AY, CARAMBA!: A combination of a poor harvest, price inflation and activity by criminal gangs is reported to have led to a shortage of which important ingredient at restaurants in Mexico? Tomatoes Limes Rice Refried beans Reveal 8.LITERATURE: Harper Lee made her name with her novel To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960. In 2015, a second book with her name on it was published. What was it called? What Real Courage Is Go Set A Watchman Go See Eddie Nightmare of Eden Reveal 9.HAPPY BIRTHDAY: It was Christopher Eccleston"s birthday yesterday. Happy birthday, Chris! But where was he born? Salford Stockport Rochdale Warrington Reveal 10.WHO AM I? I started my professional career as as a radio sports commentator, before becoming a union leader. I then went on to become the oldest person – at the time – to become president of the US. Who am I? Jimmy Carter Harry S Truman Ronald Reagan Lyndon B Johnson Reveal 11.HE WAS A GOOD BOY: Norwegian ship"s dog Bamse became a heroic mascot of the Free Norwegian Forces during the Second World War. When his time was over, he was buried with full military honours in which Scottish port town? Stornoway Rosyth Leith Montrose Reveal 12.SPOT THE BALL: The Winter Olympics continue and so does our exciting new round. Where was the curling stone in the original picture? A B C D Reveal 13.ALLONS-Y: Wiki Voyage lists 23 locations visited by fictional Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne"s Around the World in Eighty Days. No 3 is Turin, Italy. But when did Turin host the Winter Olympics? 2014 2006 1994 1992 Reveal 14.FIBONACCI NUMBERS: First described in Indian mathematics, and forming a sequence where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, F₀ is zero. But what is the Celsius equivalent of absolute zero in Kelvin? −173.15 °C −273.15 °C −373.15 °C −473.15 °C Reveal 15.MUSIC: In 1989 Pet Shop Boys wrote the song Nothing Has Been Proved for the movie Scandal. Who sang it for them? Liza Minelli Marianne Faithful Dusty Springfield Kate Bush