Join me for a quiz about some curious stories from the news this year (2024). Stephen Devincenzi from the SEND7 Podcast is the quizmaster for the third year running, and has prepared questions that will test my knowledge of some of the slightly less serious global news stories this year. Can you beat me in the quiz? Listen to find out.

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🎧 Listen to SEND7 Podcast here 👉 https://pod.link/1505603790

⛑️ Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Consider donating to help people in need of medical aid this year https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

📋 The Quiz Questions (listen for the answers)

1. The world’s richest person – Elon Musk – has got a lot of companies. One of them is Neuralink. What does it do?

2. Before 2024, 4 countries had landed spacecrafts on the moon – The United States, The Soviet Union, China, and in 2023, India. Which country became the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the moon, in January 2024?

3. In June and July the Euro 2024 Football Tournament took place in Germany. Spain were the winners, and one of their players broke the record for being the youngest player to play in a Euros tournament, and score in a Euros tournament, when he scored against France in the semi-final, aged just 16. What was his name?

4. In July and August, the Olympics took place in Paris. Why was the Men’s Triathlon event delayed by one day?

5. Staying at the Olympics, in one event, these two participants were spoken about as being the ‘coolest’ Olympians.

The first person is Kim Yeji, from South Korea, and she is wearing a backwards baseball cap and some interesting technical eye gear over her eyes. Over her right eye there’s a black monocle, and over her right eye there’s just a square which would block her vision from that eye completely. And the second person is Yusuf Dikec from Turkey. He is just wearing normal glasses. What sport did they participate in?

6. In July, millions of windows computers crashed around the world. This affected all types of businesses, most notably government services, airports and hospitals, and is believed to have cost the world $10 billion dollars. What caused the problem?

(a) A faulty security update
(b) a cyber attack
(c) Broken undersea cables
(d) A fire at an important server

7. One animal, which is considered vulnerable to extinction has seen some positive trends over the last 25 years. Before the growing number of humans, there were probably over 25 million of this animal, however today there are only just over 400,000. The good news is that this population seems to have stabilised and even grown a little bit over the last 25 years, mostly because of conservation efforts. What animal am I talking about?

8. A baby hippopotamus went viral this year a few months after being born in Thailand, and caused a massive surge in visitors to the Khao Kheow Zoo. She is called ‘Moo Deng’. What does Moo Deng mean?
(A) Dirty cat
(B) Bouncy pork
(C ) Sticky chicken
(D) Spicy pigeon

9. The price of chocolate has risen dramatically in the last two years all around the world, because of a rising cocoa bean prices. The price of cocoa beans has doubled over the last year, so, unfortunately, the price that we all pay for chocolate is probably going to keep on rising. Heavy rain and other poor conditions have made bad cocoa harvest in the two countries in west Africa that produce most of the world’s cocoa. Can you name one of these two countries?

10. The world’s biggest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas, launched this year, and made its maiden voyage, after being christened by Lionel Messi. How big is the Icon of the Seas?

A – 160 metres long with a capacity for 4,000 people (about a quarter are crew)
B – 260 metres long with a capacity for 7,000 people
C – 360 metres long with a capacity for 10,000 people
D – 460 metres long  with a capacity for 15,000 people

11. Donald Trump became the first President in over a hundred years to win a non-consecutive term as president, after winning in 2016 and losing in 2020. By what percentage of votes did Trump beat Kamala Harris?

A) 1.5%
B) 3%
C) 4.5%
D) He didn’t – She got more votes than him, but he won the presidency anyway because of the electoral college system.

12. Sticking to elections, around half of the world’s population lives in countries that voted in 2024. Can you name 5 countries that held elections in 2024? I’ll allow you to name 6 so that you can get one wrong if necessary.

13. Which European country legalized cannabis this year?

14. In The United States and Canada throughout 2024 two rappers have been involved in what has been called the biggest rap battle since the feud between Biggie and Tupac in the 1990s. Can you name either of the two rappers involved in this rap feud of 2024?

15. In October, Claudia Sheinbaum became the first female President of which country?

16. To which Caribbean country has Kenya sent its police force, to try to to help fight against gang violence?

17. What record high price did bitcoin pass on December 4^th?

18. Taylor Swift finished her Eras Tour a few weeks ago, after performing 149 shows, over 21 months, in 5 continents. The Eras tour is the highest-earning tour of any musician ever. How much money did it make? The answer is a 2 with a certain number of zeros.

19. In November, Australia’s parliament voted to make Australia the first country to make which limit to social media? The new law will come into effect next year.

20.  In November, a piece of art called “Comedian” by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was sold for $6.2 million dollars. Can you describe the artwork?