Election winners, fashionable horses and a tour of stately homes – take the Thursday quiz

Welcome once again to the Guardian’s Thursday quiz, which is tentatively approaching its century like a tail-ender in a Test match unexpectedly having the best innings of their career. Fifteen vaguely topical or general knowledge questions await you, liberally dosed with some in-jokes and sarcasm. There are no prizes, but you can score bonus points if you spot any references to Doctor Who. Let us know in the comments how you got on.

The Thursday quiz, No 98

  1. 1.BALTIC VOTES: The prime minister of Estonia’s party secured first place in the weekend’s elections. Who is the prime minister of Estonia?

    Estonian national flags

  2. 2.STATELY HOMES: Sarah Merker has completed a 10-year quest to do what at 244 different National Trust sites?

    National Trust

  3. 3.SWEET BABY CHEESES: An appeals court in Richmond, Virginia ruled last week that cheese manufacturers in the US could happily label produce as which famous Swiss variety?

    A cheese board

  4. 4.HAPPY BIRTHDAY: It is Barbie’s birthday today. The doll was first introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on 9 March, 1959. Who is playing Barbie in the upcoming Barbie movie being directed by Greta Gerwig?

    Barbie dolls

  5. 5.WHAT WOULD KATHARINE HEPBURN SAY?: That is a 1993 song Sparks wrote for Christi Haydon. But what was Katharine Hepburn’s real name?

    Ron Mael

  6. 6.THE GIRL IS CRYING IN HER LATTE: That is the new single by Sparks. But which of these is how Costa Coffee describes their latte on their website?

    Sparks

  7. 7.THE DIRECTOR NEVER YELLED CUT: That is a 2008 song by Sparks where the director eventually said “that was your best performance yet”. Cate Blanchett stars in the video for the new Sparks single, but which film did she win her first Oscar for, as best supporting actress in 2004?

    Cate Blanchett

  8. 8.EQUATOR, EQUATOR: Because of the lyric in Sparks’ song Equator – “Surely we set it for 3pm, surely we said it was March the 10th” – tomorrow is celebrated as Equator day by Sparks fans. How many countries does the equator of the Earth pass through?

    Blue planet

  9. 9.GCSE SCIENCE CORNER: Which of these is not magnetic?

    Science lady

  10. 10.DO-YOU-THINK-SHE-SAURUS: Fossil collector and palaeontologist Mary Anning died on this day in 1847. But where was she born, where she collected many of her fossils?

    Mary Anning statue

  11. 11.WHY THE LONG FACE: Which fashion designer had horses as part of their show in Paris this week?

    Horses

  12. 12.MATHS WITH GOTHS: Siouxsie wants to know which of the following operations is not reversible in solving an equation?

    Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie And The Banshees

  13. 13.FRIENDS OF DOROTHY: Dorothy on Sesame Street is a goldfish. But who owns her?

    Goldfish

  14. 14.THE LEFTWING ECONOMIC ESTABLISHMENT WITH LIZ TRUSS: Who is the current Governor of the Bank of England?

    Liz Truss

  15. 15.POP STARS IN PARLIAMENT: Deputy leader of the opposition Sussan Ley dressed up as which singer in the Australian parliament as part of ‘a dare’ that raised $200,000 for cancer care?

    Australian Parliament

If you think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, please feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com but remember the quiz master’s word is final and it has been scientifically proven that 99% of the email he receives about the quiz are people fact-checking jokes.

The Guardian

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