Welcome to the Thursday quiz, where each stab at humour is “even less funny than previous risible attempts” according to one satisfied customer in the comments the other week. You face 15 questions on topical news and general knowledge, with a side-serving of sarcasm and in-jokes. There are no prizes but let us know how you got on in the comments. The Thursday quiz, No 55 1.DOCTOR NEW: Ncuti Gatwa will take over from Jodie Whittaker as the Time Lord in Doctor Who. In which Netflix series does he star as Eric Effiong? Stranger Things Emily in Paris Sex Education Bridgerton Reveal 2.ART FOR ART"S SAKE: Irene Demas and her husband Tony, from Ontario, look set to be able to retire after putting up for auction a painting that they swapped with an artist for what in the 1970s? Some large salmon Grilled cheese sandwiches A set of deckchairs A small gold ring with the words "Ash nazg durbatulûk" engraved on it Reveal 3.FERAL HOGS: We regret to inform you that the wild boars of Rome have been at it again. What have been forbidden in a large swathe of northern Rome to help people avoid contact with the animals? Picnics – boars are attracted to the food Letting dogs off the lead – the feral hogs have been attacking family pets Fruit trees without netting – to prevent fruit dropping to the floor where it makes a tasty boar treat Karaoke – Italian wild boars are notoriously partial to a good old sing-song Reveal 4.GCSE SCIENCE CORNER: What does a potometer measure? Carbon dioxide diffusion into the blood Glucose uptake into the blood Oxygen diffusion into the lungs Water uptake in a plant Reveal 5.LITERATURE: George Elliot"s Middlemarch is set between 1829 and 1832. But when was it first published? In eight instalments in 1851 and 1852 In eight instalments in 1871 and 1872 In eight instalments in 1891 and 1892 In eight instalments in 1901 and 1902 Reveal 6.AMATEUR HOUR: That is a 1974 Sparks song where she"ll let you know "when you turn pro". But that"s not important right now. A Virgin Atlantic transatlantic flight had to turn back last week after what amateur shenanigans happened on board? It turned out the first officer had not completed his final flying test Two TikTok influencers tried to film themselves joining the Mile High Club in first class A group of lads on a stag do got stuck after trying to see how many of them could get into the same toilet at once The pilot announced he was forming a European Super League™ and then had to make a very public and humiliating U-turn Reveal 7.IT"S A DOG"S LIFE: A Massachusetts family got a surprise when they found a stray puppy and brought it home. What did it turn out to be? A baby racoon A baby brown bear A baby coyote A baby Sasquatch Reveal 8.ROAD SIGNS AROUND THE WORLD: This road sign from Brazil means what? No electric vehicles No parking End of the expressway No Ebeneezer Goode Reveal 9.FIBONACCI NUMBERS: First described in Indian mathematics, and forming a sequence where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, F₁₂ is 144. But 144 is the square of which number? 12 64 1,440 20,736 Reveal 10.CITIES IN DISGUISE: Which city in north-east England is based around settlements formerly known as Pons Aelius and Munucceaster, which is sometimes modernised as Monkchester? Newcastle upon Tyne Durham Leadworth Sunderland Reveal 11.WHY THE LONG FACE?: A standard 40m x 20m dressage arena has which letters clockwise around the edge of the arena, starting with the entrance? V, C, E, H, F, M, B and G A, K, E, H, C, M, B and F D, X, G, H, F, M, B and K H, O, R, S, E, Y and DANCE Reveal 12.HEAD FOR HEIGHTS: John Kelly, a 37-year-old data scientist, broke the record for scaling all Wainwright fells in the Lake District in five and a half days. How many are there? 214 164 114 84 Reveal 13.ALLONS-Y: The website Wikivoyage lists 23 locations visited by fictional Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne"s novel Around the World in Eighty Days, none of them by hot air balloon. Number 15 is Salt Lake City, Utah, US. But which year did Salt Lake City host the Winter Olympics? 1996 1998 2000 2002 Reveal 14.ENSEMBLE CASTS: What is the name of the two old guys in the balcony who are always heckling Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show? Randalls and Staten Tesla and Edison Hudson and Vanderbilt Statler and Waldorf Reveal 15.MUSIC: Which artist celebrated their 60th birthday this week by putting £1,000 behind the bar for fans in 60 different pubs? Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays Paul Heaton of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South Kate Bush of Kate Bush and the Thursday Quiz