Friday quiz · week 42 · the news of 9–15 October
Friday quiz, week 42, 2026: the week's news, with answers
20 questions on the news of 9–15 October, with four options each. Read them here, or play them with the room: the question on a shared screen and everyone answering on their own phone. The answers are at the bottom of the page, behind a click.
Play this one as host →Free · no account · everyone answers on their own phone
The questions
-
Sport
On Sunday Max Verstappen took the win he was missing: the only circuit on the current F1 calendar where he had never won. Which one?
- A Monaco
- B Monza
- C Singapore
- D Silverstone
-
Sport
Cycling's last Monument of the season, Il Lombardia, got its youngest ever winner on Saturday. How old is Frenchman Paul Seixas?
- A 18
- B 20
- C 22
- D 24
-
Sport
Everton's American owners said on Friday they are exploring a sale of the club. Since which year has Everton played in the top flight without a break?
- A 1888
- B 1954
- C 1992
- D 2004
-
Sport
How high above sea level is Mexico City, host of the 1968 Summer Olympics?
- A 840 metres
- B 1,540 metres
- C 2,240 metres
- D 3,240 metres
-
Entertainment and celebrities
The horror film "Other Mommy" topped the US box office this weekend despite being panned by critics. Who is hunting seven-year-old Bela in the film?
- A A tooth fairy out for revenge
- B The neighbour's golden retriever
- C The substitute maths teacher
- D A demonic copy of her mother
-
Entertainment and celebrities
Ten years after its finale, an HBO series is getting five brand-new episodes. Which one?
- A Sex and the City
- B Entourage
- C Girls
- D Gossip Girl
-
Entertainment and celebrities
Moby-Dick was first published in London in October 1851 – under which title?
- A The White Whale
- B Ahab
- C The Sea Hunter
- D The Whale
-
Entertainment and celebrities
Who won Eurovision 2000 for Denmark with "Fly on the Wings of Love"?
- A Herreys
- B Brotherhood of Man
- C Olsen Brothers
- D Teach-In
-
World news
Who took the oath as President of Estonia on 12 October, succeeding Alar Karis?
- A Kaja Kallas
- B Kersti Kaljulaid
- C Kristen Michal
- D Ülle Madise
-
World news
On Friday the Pope approved Luis Antonio Tagle as the new Dean of the College of Cardinals. Which first did that make him?
- A First dean from Africa
- B First dean from Latin America
- C First dean from Asia
- D First non-European dean
-
World news
On Sunday Raphaël Glucksmann became the French social democrats' presidential candidate with 66% in the first round. How many people voted in the primary?
- A About 12,000
- B About 120,000
- C About 1.2 million
- D About 2.8 million
-
World news
Which country has the world's oldest continuously used national flag, according to Guinness?
- A Norway
- B Denmark
- C Sweden
- D Scotland
-
Science and technology
A Dragon capsule left for the space station on 13 October with 2.9 tonnes of cargo. What rode in the "boot" outside?
- A Two new spacesuits
- B A washing machine
- C Two solar array wings
- D An extra airlock
-
Science and technology
The economics prize was this year's last Nobel, announced on Monday. Who established it in 1969?
- A The Swedish royal family
- B The World Bank in Washington
- C Sweden's central bank (the Riksbank)
- D Alfred Nobel, in his will
-
Science and technology
Eight orangutans rescued from the Borneo forest fires were released into a protected forest this weekend. Who was in the group?
- A Eight grown males who could not stand each other
- B Three mothers with babies and two teenage boys
- C Four newlywed couples on honeymoon
- D A football team minus three substitutes
-
Science and technology
Which invention did Alfred Nobel patent in 1867?
- A Gunpowder
- B Dynamite
- C Matches
- D Rubber boots
-
Odd news
Researchers at Kyoto University found a trick against blood sugar spikes, so far only in mice. What do the mice get fifteen minutes before the sugar?
- A A spoonful of olive oil
- B A cup of green tea
- C A short jog
- D A polite warning
-
Odd news
A giant pumpkin in Rhode Island reportedly smashed the world record on Saturday. Roughly how much did it weigh?
- A About 950 lb
- B About 2,050 lb
- C About 5,350 lb
- D About 3,150 lb
-
Odd news
Work on Mount Rushmore stopped on 31 October 1941. What was the original plan?
- A Carve five presidents
- B Paint the faces in colour
- C Give each head a hat
- D Show the presidents to the waist
-
Odd news
When the Gateway Arch in St. Louis was completed on 28 October 1965, what was welded into the keystone?
- A A gold bar from Fort Knox
- B A flag from the Moon
- C A time capsule of signatures
- D The architect's lucky coin
The answers
The answers are at the bottom, so you can read the questions without seeing them.
Show the answers
- C. Singapore Marina Bay was the gap in the collection. Leclerc finished second, seven seconds back, and Red Bull's radio failed, so his engineer had to talk in code late on.
- B. 20 Seixas attacked alone on the Civiglio and reached Como 48 seconds ahead of Enric Mas. That ended Tadej Pogačar's long run in the race.
- B. 1954 Everton have not been relegated since 1954. The next owner gets more than 70 years of unbroken top-flight football thrown in.
- C. 2,240 metres The thin air helped jumpers and sprinters – and gave runners from high altitude an edge.
- D. A demonic copy of her mother It took nearly $28 million on its opening weekend, more than double "Verity". Critics gave it 17% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences went anyway. Mum is the scariest, apparently.
- C. Girls Its creator says the characters started talking to her in the shower around her 40th birthday. Filming in 2027, no premiere date yet.
- D. The Whale The British edition was simply called The Whale, in a print run of only 500.
- C. Olsen Brothers The Olsen brothers won in Stockholm – no need to fly home empty-handed.
- D. Ülle Madise She was the only candidate and got 71 of 101 votes in the Riigikogu on 2 September. Previous job: Chancellor of Justice, Estonia's constitutional watchdog.
- C. First dean from Asia Tagle is from the Philippines. The only non-European before him was Bernardin Gantin of Benin. His predecessor, Giovanni Battista Re, is 92 and has earned a rest.
- B. About 120,000 When François Hollande won the Socialists' primary in 2011, 2.8 million voted. Glucksmann is an MEP and leads Place Publique. Runner-up Olivier Faure got 14.5%.
- B. Denmark The Dannebrog has flown continuously since 1625 – legend says it fell from the sky in 1219.
- C. Two solar array wings The fourth and final pair of roll-out solar arrays, each good for over 20 kW. The booster flew for the eighth time and landed neatly again, as usual.
- C. Sweden's central bank (the Riksbank) Economics was not among Nobel's five original prizes. The central bank added it in his memory, and this year's winners share a cheque for 1.2 million dollars.
- B. Three mothers with babies and two teenage boys The Batu Nyambu forest covers 23,000 hectares and was picked for its food, water and links to other forests. The apes moved on Friday; the news came on Sunday.
- B. Dynamite Dynamite was the first manageable explosive stronger than black powder – the fortune became the Nobel Prizes.
- A. A spoonful of olive oil The oil slowed stomach emptying and switched on the gut hormones. Mice given water first got a steeper spike. Whether it works in people is the next question.
- D. About 3,150 lb The scale said 3,156 pounds, nearly 300 more than the previous record. That is about a small car. Good luck with the soup.
- D. Show the presidents to the waist The money ran out, so it stayed heads only – Washington is the only one with detail below the chin.
- C. A time capsule of signatures The capsule holds 762,000 signatures from schoolchildren and others – welded in for good.
Published 16 October 2026 · a new quiz every Friday