It is the seventh day of the seventh month, and what better way to celebrate it than by doing a quiz written by the seventh son of a seventh son? Unfortunately we don’t have one of those, so you will have to make do with the regular old Thursday quiz instead. Fifteen vaguely topical and general knowledge questions with a few jokes chucked in along the way. You will meet Ron from Sparks, Kate Bush, and of course you have a hidden Doctor Who reference to spot. There are no prizes. It is just for fun. Please don’t fact-check the punchlines. The Thursday quiz, No 63 1.BOBSPEED YOU GENTLEMINIONS: Teenagers are being turned away from the cinema for being dressed too smartly as part of the baffling #Gentleminions trend – but what is the correct name of the film they are trying to see? Minions: The Menace of Gru Minions: The Gru Awakens Minions: The Revenge of Gru Minions: The Rise of Gru Reveal 2.WE"VE GONE CASHLESS, SORRY: Which African nation"s central bank is introducing a new gold coin called the Mosi-oa-Tunya coin, named after the famous waterfall that also carries the colonial name Victoria Falls Zambia Botswana Zimbabwe Malawi Reveal 3.X MARKS THE SPOT: What is being offered to young people in Japan this week to encourage them to turn out for elections? Free noodles A free pet goldfish Free pens Free condoms Reveal 4.MONA HAMMOND: Described as a "trailblazer" and "pioneer", we lost Mona Hammond this week. Her best-known role was as Blossom Jackson in EastEnders, but what was the name of the Channel 4 sitcom she starred in as Auntie SuSu? No Problem! The Fosters Chef! Desmond"s Reveal 5.APPLIED MATHEMATICS, BUT TO PIZZA: A thread about the relative areas of pizza went viral on Twitter last week. Which of these purchases gives you more pizza by area? Buying one 10" pizza Buying two 8" pizzas Buying three 6" pizzas Reveal 6.GCSE SCIENCE CORNER: Which of these metals can be found abundantly on planet earth in its elemental metallic state? Lithium Gold Potassium Calcium Reveal 7.WHY THE LONG FACE?: Black Beauty was immediately successful when published in 1877 and is seen as a forerunner of the "pony book" genre. But who wrote it? Anna Sewell E Nesbit Gwendoline Pritchard Enid Blyton Reveal 8.WEIRD WORDS: According to the Collins online English dictionary, what does "octothorp" mean? A symbol that is used in printing, in mathematics and, commonly, on a telephone keypad also known as the hash sign A term used in heraldry for a double quatrefoil A word used in bookbinding as another term for eighteenmo A spinning machine for wool or cotton in which eight fibres are twisted and wound continuously Reveal 9.DICTATOR"S SON: That is a 2015 song featuring Sparks where someday "he"ll return with a rebel force". But that"s not important right now. Ferdinand Marcos Jr praised his dictator father while being sworn in as Philippines president. What year did his father get deposed? 1978 1986 1991 1999 Reveal 10.FERRIC OXIDE: What, according to a leaked report this week, is riddled with rust and in need of repair? Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, US Eiffel Tower in Paris, France Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE Ronald Mael in Sparks Reveal 11.EURO 2022: The women"s Uefa European football championship has started in England. The Netherlands are the reigning champions. But which year was the first official Uefa women"s championship final held? 1968 1978 1984 1992 Reveal 12.1966 AND ALL THAT: A series of questions that aren"t about football leading up to the 2022 Fifa World Cup, which is being held in a country which won"t be safe for LGBTQ+ fans. The 1938 Fifa World Cup was held in France. But which of these is the original title of the French national anthem before it came to be known as La Marseillaise? Chant de guerre pour l"Armée du Rhin (War Song for the Army of the Rhine) La Madelon (I"ll Be True to the Whole Regiment) Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse (Sambre-et-Meuse Regiment) Marche Lorraine (Lorraine March) Reveal 13.MANET OR MONET: Who painted this? Édouard Manet Claude Monet Reveal 14.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. No 23 is Liverpool, England. In 2008 it was named as what? The UK"s Green Champion Eco-city A UNESCO world heritage site European Capital of Culture The new home of television channel Channel 4 Reveal 15.THIS WOMAN"S WORK: Kate Bush"s two well deserved UK No 1 singles were 44 years apart. But which of these pairs of events were also 44 years apart? The Suez crisis sees Israel, the UK and France invade Egypt, and US president Bill Clinton"s impeachment trial that ends in acquittal The Suez crisis sees Israel, the UK and France invade Egypt, and the launch of Apple"s iTunes software The Suez crisis sees Israel, the UK and France invade Egypt, and the Concorde Air France flight 4590 crash, which takes place shortly after take-off in Paris The Suez crisis sees Israel, the UK and France invade Egypt, and Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her golden jubilee