Quiz of the Year: 52 weeks 52 questions, part two
'Tis the season to cast an eye back over the events of 2012. But how much do you remember? Test yourself with the Magazine's four-part compilation of the year's quizzes. Part two covers April to June.
1.) Multiple Choice Question
Spaghetti Junction, one of the biggest motorway interchanges in Europe, turned 40 in May. But what is its real name?
- Catthorpe Interchange
- Gravelly Hill Interchange
- Aston Expressway Interchange
2.) Multiple Choice Question
What did Starbucks do to offend its Irish customers in May?
- Launched a Guinness-flavoured Frappuccino
- Put Dublin in the wrong place on a map
- Asked why they were proud to be British
3.) Multiple Choice Question
In May, a parliamentary committee hearing on long waits at British airport immigration heard from Immigration Minister Damian Green. Which unpredictable factor did he say was responsible for some of the delays?
- Migrating birds
4.) Multiple Choice Question
The tourist board in which nation reported a "surge" of interest from British holidaymakers after it was depicted in a particular film?
- Yemen - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
- Jamaica - Marley
- Palau - Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
5.) Missing Word Question
Iceman's * is world's oldest
6.) Multiple Choice Question
The average weight of an adult human is 137lb (62kg, 9.8 stones) according to a survey of the "fattest nations" in June. Micronesia and Tonga have taken the top two spots, but which European country was the highest ranked?
7.) Multiple Choice Question
English Education Secretary Michael Gove announced plans for children to learn and recite poetry from the age of five. In Parliament, he quoted these lines "Facts are chiels that winna ding" - penned by which poet?
- James Joyce
- Robert Burns
- Pam Ayres
8.) Multiple Choice Question
The United Nations General Assembly was recreated in Australia in June - except instead of diplomats, each country was represented by a dog. To which breed did they all belong
- West Highland terrier
The canine conference, titled Dachshund UN, took place in Sydney, organised by performance artist Bennett Miller. It was billed as "a meditation on the utopian aspirations of the United Nations".
9.) Multiple Choice Question
In June, this medal was awarded to children in the UK for the first time. Who by?
- The Scout Association
- The British Olympic Association
- The Ministry of Defence
10.) Multiple Choice Question
Scientists offered £1,000 for a convincing explanation for the phenomenon dubbed the Mpemba Effect. What is it?
- Why no two snowflakes have exactly the same shape
- Why people get pins and needles
- Why hot water can freeze more quickly than cold
11.) Multiple Choice Question
The Tour de France was won by Britain's Bradley Wiggins, who dominated a number of stages in the leader's yellow jersey. From which of the following is its colour derived?
- The first race sponsor
- The national flag of the first winner
- A public competition
12.) Multiple Choice Question
The Duchess of Cambridge and Pippa Middleton were included in New York-based Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. But which Briton did not feature?
- Fifty Shades of Grey writer EL James
- Singer Adele
- PM David Cameron
- It's Gravelly Hill Interchange. The nickname, inspired by the sheer number of intersecting traffic lanes, was coined by local journalist Roy Smith in the 1970s.
- It's asked why they were proud to be British. The coffee chain mistakenly tweeted the question to its Irish rather than its UK followers as part of a Diamond Jubilee promotion.
- It was wind. The minister noted that the weather was a major factor in airport schedules.
- It's Yemen. A report in the Telegraph in May quoted tourism officials saying that they had had to warn people that the country did not have a salmon fishing industry.
- It's blood. Traces were discovered around the arrow wound of Otzi the Iceman, whose frozen body was found in the Italian Alps in 1991, some 5,300 years after he died. One scientist in May said that up until now, there had been uncertainty about how long blood could survive.
- It was Malta. Estonia was one of the lowest-ranked in the survey, while Greece weighed in at number 12. The UK was ranked 10th, while the US came third.
- It's a line from A Dream by Robert Burns. "But facts are fellows that will not be overturned /And cannot be disputed," is the translation.
- It was dachshund.
- It's the Ministry of Defence. The 200 Signals Squadron children's medal was awarded to those whose parents have served in Afghanistan. It was the brainchild of a soldier's wife.
- It's hot water freezing more quickly than cold. Although it has been known about for a long time, it is only in more recent years that it has been known by this name. Mpemba was a student in Tanzania, who observed the phenomenon during a cookery class in 1963. He later pursued it with a visiting academic.
- It's because the pages of the race sponsor's magazine, L'Auto, were yellow. It is unclear when it was first introduced, so the official date of 1919 is widely used.
- It's Prime Minister David Cameron. Time describes the list as the people who "inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world".
0 - 4 : Indie chart
5 - 9 : New entry
10 - 12 : Top of the pops
PLUS there's a special bonus question each day.
In addition to the 12 questions above, we also pose an extra puzzler for each of the four parts of this quiz. That's how we reached the magic total of 52 questions.
With each part of the quiz we publish photographs - the first and second of which are to the right. What is the link between the images over the four days?