Tall buildings, wrestling monarchs and window ledges: take the new weekly quiz

It is Thursday lunchtime, and so it must be time for the second edition of our exciting new weekly quiz. You’ll face 15 questions on general knowledge and topical news trivia and possibly a couple of terrible jokes in the answer text. It is just for fun and there are no prizes, but do let us know how you get on in the comments below.

The weekly Guardian quiz, No 2

1. UK NEWS: What will be included on marriage certificates in England and Wales for the first time following an overhaul of the system?

   1. The immigration status of the couple

   2. The names of any children the couple have

   3. The names of the mothers of the couple

   4. A Union flag

2. SPACE: Talking of matters of the heart, which object in the solar system has this distinctive heart-shaped marking?

   1. Pluto

   2. Venus

   3. Jupiter's moon Io

   4. Neptune

3. NAME THE FLAG: Which of these African national flags belongs to Ghana?

   1. This one?

   2. This one?

   3. This one?

   4. Or this?

4. GLOBAL NEWS: What is claimed to be Europe’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has been completed and opened so that people who like to make themselves feel queasy about heights have got somewhere new and spectacular to do it. Where?

   1. Spain

   2. Portugal

   3. Italy

   4. Switzerland

5. COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING: Which of these is the tallest building in the EU?

   1. The Shard, London, UK

   2. Commerzbank Tower, Frankfurt, Germany

   3. Messeturm, Frankfurt, Germany

   4. Varso Tower, Warsaw, Poland

6. SPORT: Which men's Six Nations country have Italy never beaten in any full match?

   1. France

   2. Scotland

   3. England

   4. Ireland

7. FROM THE AIR: These are the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. In which modern country is it located?

   1. Turkey

   2. Greece

   3. Armenia

   4. Syria

8. MUSIC: Who was the first female solo artist to win the Mercury prize? Speech Debelle, PJ Harvey, Ms Dynamite or Kate Bush?

   1. Speech Debelle

   2. PJ Harvey

   3. Ms Dynamite

   4. Kate Bush

9. CITIES: The very first traffic lights were introduced outside the Houses of Parliament in London in what year?

   1. 1828

   2. 1868

   3. 1898

   4. 1908

10. KINGS & QUEENS: Which English monarch unexpectedly challenged their French counterpart to a wrestling match?

    1. Henry VIII

    2. Edward VI

    3. Charles II

    4. George III

11. HISTORY: The monument known as Mount Rushmore features the images of four US presidents carved into it: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and …

    1. Ulysses S. Grant

    2. John Quincy Adams

    3. Theodore Roosevelt

    4. Woodrow Wilson

12. GAMES: In which decade was the board game Trivial Pursuit introduced?

    1. 1960s

    2. 1970s

    3. 1980s

    4. 1990s

13. THE NATURAL WORLD: Which of these cloud types are the highest formation in the sky?

    1. Stratocumulus

    2. Cumulus

    3. Altocumulus

    4. Cirrus

14. DIGITAL CULTURE: Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of a "How do you do, fellow kids?" reply. But which American show was Steve Buscemi acting in during this scene which has become iconic?

    1. 3rd Rock From The Sun

    2. Saturday Night Live

    3. Horace and Pete

    4. 30 Rock

15. AND FINALLY: Which of these national treasures got themselves stuck on a window ledge while cleaning their windows at the weekend and needed the fire brigade to intervene: Richard Ayoade, Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding or Adrian Edmondson

    1. Him?

    2. Her?

    3. Him?

    4. Him?

Solutions

1:C - The Home Office said the reforms were “the biggest changes to the marriage registration system since 1837” and would “correct a historic anomaly” by allowing for the mothers’ details to appear on the marriage entry for the first time., 2:A - This is Pluto. Forever a planet in our hearts, whatever those mean-spirited astronomers might say about its relative size to other objects in the solar system these days., 3:D - Football fans might have had an advantage here, as Ghana's national team is known as the 'Black stars'. The other flags you could have chosen were Guinea, Gambia and Gabon., 4:B - The structure at Arouca Geopark spans 516 metres and hangs 175 metres above the river Paiva in the north of the country. Residents of the nearby town hope the tourist attraction will help revive a region whose economy has been devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic., 5:D - The Varso Tower (310m/1,020ft) took the title from the Commerzbank Tower (258.7m/849ft) when it was topped out in February. The Messeturm (256.5m/842ft) used to be the tallest building in Europe, before being surpassed by the Commerzbank Tower, which is just a couple of metres higher. The Shard (309.6m/1,016ft) was, for a while, the tallest building in the EU, but Brexit put paid to that, before the Varso Tower would have done in any case. In Europe as a whole, all are dwarfed by the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg, which is over 462 metres tall., 6:C - Since 1978 Italy have won 23 times against "top-tier" nations, including victories over all of the other teams who compete in the Six Nations, except for England. Italy have also recorded victories against Argentina and South Africa through the years – and they did once beat England U23s., 7:A - Under both Greek and Roman control at different periods of antiquity, Ephesus lies near present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. , 8:B - PJ Harvey became the first woman to win in 2001, the tenth edition of the award. She took the prize for a second time in 2011. Ms. Dynamite (c) won the prize in 2002, and Speech Debelle (a) won the prize in 2009. Kate Bush has not won the Mercury prize. , 9:B - Yes they were installed in 1868, and then presumably immediately surrounded by people furious that they had delayed their journey and complaining about LTNs., 10:A - Of course it was Henry VIII. It happened at a big diplomatic shindig between the two monarchs known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. It is not known how much wine Henry may have had before issuing the challenge, but he was swiftly defeated by Francis I of France., 11:C - It is Teddy. The monument, carved into land considered stolen when the Great Sioux Reservation was broken up, was left unfinished when funds ran out in 1941. The presidents were originally intended to be depicted from head to waist. South Dakota's governor Kristi Noem reportedly presented Donald Trump with a model of the monument with his face added as a fifth carving., 12:C - It was in the 1980s and the Guardian's lawyers wish us to make it very clear that it is a total coincidence that the author of this weekly quiz – which in no way resembles it – grew up during the 1980s., 13:D - Cirrus clouds are the highest of all clouds – typically between 16,500-45,000 feet about the earth – and are composed entirely of ice crystals, the show-offs., 14:D - The source of the image is the 2012 episode of 30 Rock called The Tuxedo Begins, where it is part of a flashback sequence., 15:D - Edmondson described having to be rescued by fire services at the weekend after getting himself trapped, saying he had to ask people passing by to find help and that despite the precarious position, the fire brigade “didn’t snigger too much”.

Scores

1. 15 and above.

   A perfect score? Congratulations

2. 0 and above.

   Not so good – maybe you’ll have better luck next week?

3. 6 and above.

   Well done – let us know how you got on in the comments

• If you do 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 quizmaster’s word is always final and you don’t want him putting you on the list.