Weekly Quiz #12
A free weekly 20-question general knowledge quiz
Welcome to the 12th weekly quiz!
As always, we’re aiming for interesting questions that could come up in future quizzes across a range of difficulties and topic areas: new stuff, traditional quiz areas, “I should know this but I don’t” questions. Enjoy.
Questions
In the news
Each week I include a few questions about recent events that are likely to come up in some way soon in the world of quiz. I personally find it helpful, as they’re frustrating ones to miss!
Taking its name from a US motto, which 2025 Apple TV series by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan follows author Carol Sturka, one of 13 people immune to an event where humanity is transformed into a peaceful hive mind?
A year after he fought a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, boxer-influencer Jake Paul fought which British former heavyweight champion last weekend, losing by knockout?
Which Northern Irish designer and Dior Creative Director won his third consecutive Designer of the Year award at the 2025 Fashion Awards this month?
Returning to the world of The Cider House Rules and the orphanage in St. Cloud’s, Maine, Queen Esther is the latest novel by which American author?
One of only two Jamaicans in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which musician who died last month starred as anti-hero Ivanhoe Martin in the 1972 film The Harder They Come, the soundtrack of which is said to have “brought reggae to the world”?
In his third attempt, José Antonio Kast was last week elected the next president of which South American country? He will take over from 39-year-old Gabriel Boric in March next year.
A recent viral TikTok trend has seen women collecting local rocks and convincing their partners or relatives that they purchased them as a display item from which expensive American lifestyle brand?
Mixed bag
Used widely in official and other contexts in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, in the Indian numbering system, a lakh is equivalent to what number?
Since the inception of the English Premier League in 1992, seven teams have won the title, only five of which remain in the top-flight league for the current 2025-26 season. Name either of the other two teams, both of which are in the second-tier EFL Championship.
What name is shared by the first ship to circumnavigate the world, the capital city of the Seychelles, and the capital city of the Canadian province British Columbia?
Sandor Clegane, Lyanna Mormont, and Edmure Tully are characters from which fantasy book series and its 2011-2019 TV adaptation?
Which figure from Greek mythology lends his name to a thought experiment about identity over time, concerning whether a ship that has had all its components replaced one by one would remain the same ship?
Which severe form of pneumonia gets its name from a 1976 outbreak that occurred during a convention of American veterans at a Philadelphia hotel?
Which two netball positions are the only ones allowed to score goals directly?
Which Catalan cellist (1876-1973), known for his recordings of Bach’s Cello Suites, was described by Fritz Kreisler as “the greatest man who ever drew a bow”?
Pictures
Over four times higher than Niagara Falls and twice the height of Victoria Falls, Kaieteur Falls is among the world’s most powerful and largest single drop waterfalls by volume. It is located on the Potaro River in central Essequibo Territory, in which South American country?
This is an example of which French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables, which also titles an Oscar-winning 2007 film?
The 1565 painting The Hunters in the Snow was one of a series of seasonal landscape works by which Flemish artist, also known for his genre paintings of peasant scenes?
Pictured below, which British actress (b. 1995) is known for her roles as Olivia in Sex Education (2019-21) and Kate Sharma in Bridgerton (2022-present)?
This is an image of which large wading bird native to tropical East Africa, known for its tendency to stay still for long periods?
And that’s this week’s quiz! I hope you enjoyed it.
Answers
As always, I include a little bit of extra info with the answers. I find this extra detail helps me anchor the relevant information in the question in richer context, and thus helps me remember answers that I missed when they come up next time.
Pluribus. The title refers to the US motto e pluribus unum, or “out of many, one”. The first two episodes broke Apple TV’s viewership record for a drama series launch, surpassing the Season 2 premiere of Severance.
Anthony Joshua. In a clear mismatch, the 36-year-old Joshua dominated and defeated Paul via knockout in the sixth round, Paul’s first knockout loss of his 14-fight professional career.
Jonathan Anderson. Anderson designed Rihanna’s red outfit for her 2023 Super Bowl half-time performance, in which she announced her second pregnancy. He joined Dior as Creative Director in May this year and is also known for his eponymous label JW Anderson.
John Irving. The new book is set a few decades before the events of The Cider House Rules, and also features the character of Dr Wilbur Larch, director of St. Cloud’s.
Jimmy Cliff. Cliff was known for popularising reggae internationally, and for songs such as You Can Get It If You Really Want It (1970) and Many Rivers to Cross (1969), as well as covers of Wild World and I Can See Clearly Now. Bob Dylan apparently called Cliff’s song Vietnam (1970) the best protest song he had ever heard.
Chile. Kast’s Republican Party of Chile received more than 58% of the vote against the left-wing coalition candidate Jeanette Jara, who served as Minister of Labor and Social Provision under Boric.
Anthropologie. The clothing and home decor retailer has over 250 stores globally, and according to Cosmopolitan, “Anthropologie’s stuff is expensive, sometimes excessively and inappropriately so…All that is to say, the notion that Anthropologie would be selling a rock-looking object for $1000 is not that hard to believe.” The brand even got in on the trend, setting up a fake rock collection in-store.
100,000. Lakh is typically written as 1,00,000. 100 lakh is known as a crore (10 million). Both lakh and crore are in common usage.
Leicester City or Blackburn Rovers. The Kenny Dalglish-managed Blackburn Rovers won the title in the 1994-95 season, with 24-year-old Alan Shearer top scoring with 34 goals, including three hat-tricks, and getting Premier League Player of the Season. Leicester City’s 2015-16 win is widely considered one of the greatest sporting shocks of all time.
Victoria. The Victoria was the only ship of Magellan’s fleet of five that completed the circumnavigation on his 1519-1522 expedition, along with around 40 of the original 270 crew.
Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire. The novel series (which is still unfinished…) is called A Song of Ice and Fire, and the TV series takes its name from the first book, A Game of Thrones. Sandor Clegane (aka The Hound) was played by Rory McCann. Lyanna Mormont was the breakout role of then 11-year-old Bella Ramsey, and Edmure Tully was played by Tobias Menzies.
Theseus. The Ship of Theseus paradox concerns whether an object is still the same after having all its components replaced with others over time. Greek historian Plutarch wrote, “they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and strong timber in their places, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.”
Legionnaires’ disease. A meeting of the more than 2,000 members of the American Legion at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel saw 182 cases and 29 deaths. The Legionella bacterium was identified and found to be breeding in the cooling tower of the hotel’s air conditioning system.
Goal shooter and goal attack. There are seven positions in netball: goal shooter, goal attack, wing attack, centre, wing defence, goal defence, and goal keeper.
Pablo Casals. Casals discovered a tattered copy of the music for Bach’s Cello Suites in a second-hand shop in Barcelona in 1890, aged 13. They were not widely known or performed before the 20th century, and Casals is credited with popularising them.
Guyana. The combination of height and volume of Kaieteur Falls is unique, with a 226m single drop and an average flow rate of 663 cubic metres per second.
Ratatouille. The word derives from Occitan, and is related to the French verb touiller, meaning “to stir up”. The 2007 Pixar film won the Best Animated Feature Academy Award and was nominated for four others.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Hunters in the Snow was one of a series of works depicting the seasons commissioned by art collector and banker Nicolaes Jonghelinck, who owned 16 of Bruegel’s paintings at the time of his death.
Simone Ashley (born Simone Ashwini Pillai). Ashley’s breakout role was Kate Sharma opposite Jonathan Bailey in the second series of Bridgerton in 2022, a year which also saw her named to the TIME100 Next list of rising stars. She will also feature in 2026’s The Devil Wears Prada 2.
The shoebill (also known as the whale-headed stork, whalebill, and shoe-billed stork). The bird can grow as tall as 152cm (5 feet) and has been observed eating baby crocodiles. Its intimidating stare has also seen it become a popular internet meme.