Weekly Quiz #23
A free weekly 20-question general knowledge quiz
Welcome to the 23rd 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
Taking its inspiration from the final line of the original theme song, Life’s Still Unfair is the subtitle of a four-part miniseries airing in April that follows on from which TV series (2000-2006) centred around a dysfunctional American family?
In the 33rd match between the two teams, which country defeated England for the first time ever in the Six Nations rugby championship last weekend?
Set for release this week, Perfect Imperfection is the debut album by which French football icon, who was named Overseas Player of the Decade in the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards in 2003?
Rapper turned politician Balendra Shah looks set to become the next prime minister of which country after his Rastriya Swatantra Party won a landslide election last week?
Released in cinemas last week, which Pixar film follows animal lover Mabel Tanaka, whose mind is transferred into a robotic beaver so she can communicate with animals?
Celebrated this year from March 3-5, which major Hindu spring festival is also known as the Festival of Colours, and celebrates the eternal and divine love between deities Radha and Krishna?
In February, the 2026 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards saw Éanna Hardwicke win the Best Actor Award for his portrayal of which Irish former footballer in the film Saipan?
Mixed bag
The 1933 song Carioca, the 1960s bossa nova classic The Girl from Ipanema and the title of the 1978 Barry Manilow song Copacabana all refer to which city?
At 5,959m, what is the highest mountain in Canada, and second-highest in North America?
The term DRS is used in motorsport to refer to a component of bodywork that can be adjusted to increase top speed and promote overtaking, and in cricket to refer to a technology-based system to assist match officials. Name the three words that represent either term.
The mineral known as iron pyrite, or fool’s gold, is a compound of iron and which other element?
In French cuisine, what name is given to a mixture of diced vegetables, typically two parts onion, one part carrot, and one part celery, cooked on low heat? It is used as a flavour base for a wide variety of dishes.
Which English woman was nicknamed the Nine Days Queen after she was proclaimed queen following the death of Edward VI in 1553, until she was deposed and replaced by her cousin, Mary I?
First proposed after newspaper reports of the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese, which psychological theory states that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim in the presence of other people?
“You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.”
These lines are from the poem On Children, one of 26 prose poetry fables that make up the 1923 book The Prophet, by which Lebanese-American poet?
Pictures
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, which abbey lying around 1km off the coast of mainland Normandy is the most-visited tourist attraction in France outside Paris?
A boon to online quizzers everywhere, who is the founder and CEO of Zoom?
This is an image from which 2016 farm life simulation game, one of the best-selling of all time, that was solo developed by Eric Barone (aka ConcernedApe)? In the game, players control a character who inherits their grandfather’s dilapidated farm in the titular location.
The Nightmare is a 1781 oil painting by which Swiss artist (1741-1825)?
Which American actress (b. 2002) is best known for her roles as roommate Enid Sinclair in the Netflix series Wednesday (2022-present) and as main cast member Natalie in A Minecraft Movie (2025)?
And that’s this week’s quiz! I hope you enjoyed it.
Answers
Malcolm in the Middle. Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair will see Frankie Muniz reprise his role as Malcolm almost 20 years after the end of the original series, now living happily with his daughter and girlfriend. He has to rejoin the family chaos to attend his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary party. The subtitle comes from the song Boss of Me by They Might Be Giants, the theme song for the original series, which ends with the line “Life is unfair.”
Italy. On the same weekend where Scotland scored a surprise victory over France, Italy defeated England 23-18 for their first win in the 33 matches between the two countries. Since joining the Six Nations Championship in 2000, Italy have finished last 18 times, and at one point had a seven-year, 36-match losing streak in the tournament. You love to see it.
Eric Cantona. Cantona retired from football just before his 31st birthday in 1997. After being sent off in 1995, Cantona launched an infamous “kung-fu” style kick towards a Crystal Palace fan in the crowd, a moment which would later be ranked number 12 in Channel 4’s 2002 poll 100 Greatest Sporting Moments. Cantona released his first single, The Friends We Lost, back in 2023, which the Guardian described as “seriously good,” saying, “Take Nick Cave, add a splash of Leonard Cohen, sprinkle with Serge Gainsbourg and you might have something approximating Eric Cantona’s first single.” When asked if the greatest-ever French player was Michel Platini or Zinedine Zidane, he replied, “No, it is me.”
Nepal. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won a landslide in the country’s first elections since the 2025 Gen-Z protests that ousted long-time prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli. Balendra Shah, also known as Balen, is a structural engineer and former rapper who also won the Kathmandu mayoral election in 2022.
Hoppers. In the film, scientists have secretly developed a new technology to improve wildlife research, known as the Hoppers program, which allows a human consciousness to “hop” into a robotic animal and experience life as that species. Critics have called the film “top-drawer Pixar”, a return to “vintage form”, and “Pixar’s best film in years,” and it had the biggest box office opening for an original animated film since 2017’s Coco.
Holi. Holi also celebrates the end of winter and arrival of spring, the blossoming of love, and the triumph of good over evil, as it commemorates the victory of Vishnu, as the fourth avatar Narasimha, over the tyrannical king Hiranyakashipu.
Roy Keane. The 2025 film Saipan covers the public disagreement between Ireland football captain Roy Keane (Hardwicke) and manager Mick McCarthy (Steve Coogan) when the team was preparing in Saipan (in the Northern Mariana Islands) ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It resulted in Keane being removed from the squad and Keane refusing to play again for Ireland under McCarthy.
Rio de Janeiro. The word Carioca is a demonym for inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro. Ipanema is a neighbourhood and beach located in the South Zone of the city, directly adjacent to the neighbourhood and beach Copacabana.
Mount Logan. Named after Canadian geologist William Logan, who founded the Geological Survey of Canada, Mount Logan is located in southwestern Yukon, less than 40km from the border with Alaska. According to X-Men writer Chris Claremont, Mount Logan inspired the adopted real name of the character Wolverine, who is Canadian.
Drag reduction system or Decision Review System. In motor racing, the drag reduction system is an adjustable rear wing of the car aimed at reducing aerodynamic drag. It was used in Formula One from 2011-2025, but is set to be removed for the upcoming 2026 season. In cricket, the Decision Review System is a combination of technologies that help an umpire review a decision, including replays, ball-tracking and prediction, infra-red imaging (Hot Spot) and microphones that detect small sounds such as the ball touching the bat (Snicko).
Sulfur/Sulphur. Fool’s gold or iron pyrite (or just pyrite) has the chemical formula FeS2. Many metal ores are sulfides, such as cinnabar (mercury sulfide), galena (lead sulfide), and stibnite (antimony sulfide). The gas hydrogen sulfide is the source of the characteristic “rotten eggs” odour.
Mirepoix. The diced vegetables in a mirepoix are cooked on low heat for a long time without colouring or browning. While the cooking technique is likely older, the word mirepoix dates from the 18th century and derives from the excellently named Charles-Pierre-Gaston François de Lévis, duc de Lévis-Mirepoix, the aristocratic employer of the cook credited with formalising the technique in French cuisine.
Lady Jane Grey. Lady Jane Grey was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII, the grand-niece of Henry VIII, and the first cousin once removed of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. In June, 1553, the dying Edward VI wrote his will nominating Jane and her male heirs as successors, removing Mary and Elizabeth from the line of succession. She was proclaimed queen and awaited coronation, however support for Mary grew, Jane’s supporters abandoned her, and the Privy Council, which had earlier signed Edward’s letters patent naming Jane successor, changed sides and deposed Jane, naming Mary queen after just nine days. The following year, Jane was viewed as sufficient threat to the Crown that she was beheaded, aged just 16 or 17.
The bystander effect (also called bystander apathy). According to a sensationalised 1964 article in The New York Times reporting the stabbing murder of 28-year-old bartender Kitty Genovese in New York, 38 witnesses watched the stabbings but did not intervene or call police until after the attacker had fled. A 2007 investigation found that there were far fewer eyewitnesses and police were in fact called at least once during the attack. Contemporary research suggests that while the bystander effect might exist in low-stakes situations, it is often overridden by need to act in higher-stakes emergencies. And a 2019 study suggested that while the likelihood of any single person intervening decreases with group size, the overall probability of at least one person doing so increases.
Kahlil Gibran. The Prophet is Gibran’s best-known work. Originally written in English, it has been translated into over 100 languages, and is one of the best-selling books of all time, having sold over 11 million copies in English alone. Gibran’s 1912 novella Broken Wings inspired the 1985 number one song of the same name by Mr. Mister.
Mont-Saint-Michel. The Benedictine abbey was built between the 11th and 16th centuries, with some older parts dating back to the 10th century. At low tide, it is accessible on foot from the mainland.
Eric Yuan. Born in Tai’an in China’s Shandong province, Yuan was inspired to work on telephony software in his first year at university while he took 10-hour train trips to visit his girlfriend, and was looking for an easier way to “visit” her. He moved to Silicon Valley in 1997, and worked for WebEx and Cisco, before leaving to found Zoom in 2011. He was named Time Businessperson of the Year in 2020.
Stardew Valley. As of February 2026, the game has sold over 50 million copies, making it in the top 15 highest selling games of all time. Barone developed the game by himself over almost five years, and he also composed the game’s soundtrack.
Henry Fuseli (born Johann Heinrich Füssli). Fuseli spent much of his career in Britain, becoming a Professor of Painting and Keeper at the Royal Academy of Arts, where he taught artists including Edwin Landseer and David Wilkie. His supernatural-themed paintings such as in The Nightmare, his most well-known work, likely inspired many authors of 19th century Gothic fiction, including Mary Shelley, whose mother Mary Wollstonecraft knew Fuseli and at one time pursued a relationship with him.
Emma Myers. Myers was named in this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30. Alongside her roles in Wednesday and A Minecraft Movie, she also played the main role of Pippa Fitz-Amobi in the British myster thriller A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2024-present).
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