Thursday again so soon. Ahead of you 15 questions on topical trivia, general knowledge, and slightly random things that the quizmaster remembers from the 1990s. Or was it the 1980s? Anyway, you know the drill by now: there’s Kate Bush and Ron from Sparks and bonus points in the comments for any hidden Doctor Who references you can spot – there are at least three this week. There are no prizes, it is just for fun. Let us know how you get on the comments. The Thursday quiz, No 46 1.BOWLER OF THE CENTURY: The Thursday quiz wishes to start by paying tribute to one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Shane Warne. His family have accepted the offer of a state funeral from which Australian state, where he was born? Queensland New South Wales Victoria Tasmania Reveal 2.SO FILL UP YOUR GLASSES AND JOIN IN THE SONG: We also lost the lovely Lynda Baron this week. She was in three separate Doctor Who stories between 1966 and 2011 – but what was the name of the character she played in the children’s show Come Outside between 1993 and 1997? Auntie Mabel Aunt Sally Aunt Flo Nurse Gladys Emmanuel Reveal 3.FUNNY FACE: That’s a 1981 Sparks song where they “looked a lot like a Vogue magazine”, but that’s not important right now. Which British TV comedy show is launching its own worldwide streaming platform? Taskmaster Mrs Brown’s Boys Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway Hi-de-Hi! Reveal 4.SWEET BABY CHEESES: The World Championship Cheese Contest takes place each year in Wisconsin – famed for its cheeses, I guess. Anyway, which type of Swiss cheese has won it for the second consecutive time? Emmentaler Gruyère Raclette Wensleydale Reveal 5.HAPPY BIRTHDAY: It is the wonderful Neneh Cherry’s birthday today. Happy birthday, Neneh! What was her hugely successful and brilliant debut album called? Raw Like Sushi Manchild Homebrew Kisses on the Wind Reveal 6.ON THIS DAY: It is also the quizmaster’s mum’s birthday today. Happy birthday mum! She’s 75 you know! But it is also the anniversary of the first successful telephone test by Alexander Graham Bell. What was the first thing he said? “Mr Watson, confirm please!” “Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you!” “Ahoy-hoy, Mr Watson!” “Mr Watson, I’ve just founded a European Super League!” Reveal 7.ALSO ON THIS DAY BUT IN SPACE: In 1977 astronomers announced the discovery of rings around Uranus. I know. I know. How many rings around Uranus do astronomers currently say there are? 17 13 11 7 Reveal 8.GCSE SCIENCE CORNER: Mosquitos can pass malarial parasites to humans. The little scumbags. What name is given to an organism that transmits a disease? Vector Antigen Symbiote Zygon Reveal 9.LITERATURE: Which of Iris Murdoch’s books won the Booker Prize in 1978? The Sea, the Sea Rites of Passage Under the Net The Time of Angels Reveal 10.SCULPTURE OF A GODDESS Swindon boasts a sculpture trail that includes works by Hideo Furuta and Jon Buck. But which glamorous movie and TV star from the town is celebrated with a statue outside a multiplex cinema at Shaw Ridge leisure park? It isn’t the statue in the picture by the way. Barbara Windsor June Whitfield Diana Dors Hattie Jacques Reveal 11.WELL, THIS IS AWKWARD: The National Portrait Gallery has acquired its first painted self-portrait by a black female artist, Everlyn Nicodemus’s Självporträtt, Åkersberga. How long, since the collection was first founded, has it taken for that to happen? 166 years – the collection was founded in 1856 126 years - the collection was founded in 1896 106 years – the collection was founded in 1916 86 years – the collection was founded in 1936 Reveal 12.PLUMBER, BUT: 10 March is celebrated by some people as Mario day, as if you look at the date Mar 10 and squint really hard it sort of looks like it spells Mario. It is no “May the fourth be with you”, that’s for sure. But what was the early 1980s Nintendo game where Mario was unusually cast as the villain? Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Derby Donkey Kong"s Revenge Donkey Kong Jr Reveal 13.ALLONS-Y: The website Wikivoyage lists 23 locations visited by the fictional Phileas Fogg in Jules Vernes’ novel Around the World in 80 Days. No 6 is Aden, Yemen. But what is the name of the ancient construction used to channel rainwater into drinking water for the city? The Wadi Ham Dam The Narva Reservoir The Tanks of Khemed The Cisterns of Tawila Reveal 14.FIBONACCI NUMBERS: First described in Indian mathematics, and forming a sequence where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, F₃ is two. But which of these statements is true about the number two? It is the smallest prime number It is the only even prime number It is one of only two prime numbers that are consecutive to each other All three of the above are true Reveal 15.MUSIC: Which of these acts had a hugely successful album with It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back? Wu-Tang Clan OutKast Public Enemy Kate Bush