Quiz of the week 12-18 December

1. The Royal Mint is selling a limited edition, one kilo, £1,000-denomination gold coin at £72,195, which features which singer-songwriter?

a. David Bowie,

b. Prince,

c. Leonard Cohen,

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d. George Michael.

2. A small abandoned boat believed to have been drifting across the Pacific Ocean for years washed up on a remote atoll in the Marshall Islands this week, carrying $100m worth of what?

a. Gold,

b. Emeralds,

c. Cocaine

d. Marijuana.

3. Figures released by Germany’s Bundesbank this week suggest Deutschmark notes and coins worth over €6bn are still in circulation. But when was the former German national currency retired from general use?

a. 1990,

b. 1999,

c. 2000,

d. 2002

4. A first in its 70-year history, Unicef launched its first domestic emergency response in the UK. What is it doing?

a. Setting up vaccination centres for school children

b. Deploying nurses into overrun child wards

c. Feeding children affected by the coronavirus crisis

d. Tutoring children struggling with home learning

5. Britons spent an extra £2.5bn on beer, wine, spirits and meat this year, The Grocer magazine’s annual Top Products Survey revealed. But which product was the biggest loser, shedding £180m as people stayed home?

a. Cosmetics,

B. Toothbrushes,

c. Chewing gum,

d. Bottled water

6. After suffering its first recession in 29 years, which country saw a consumer-led rebound in the third quarter that saw GPD grow by 3.3%?

a. New Zealand,

b. Japan,

c. Australia,

d. Taiwan

7. Mackenzie Scott announced this week that she had split a $4.2bn donation between 384 charities, pulled from her $38bn divorce settlement. Who was she formerly married to?

a. Bill Gates,

b. Jeff Bezos,

c. Warren Buffett,

d. Michael Bloomberg

8. This week marked the third in a row that Indian farmers have demonstrated en masse in Delhi. What are they protesting against?

a. Liberalisation of the agricultural sector,

b. An increase on land tax,

c. An increase on tax per pound of produce,

d. Climbing suicide rates among farmers

9. Which European leader tested positive for coronavirus this week?

a. German chancellor Angela Merkel,

b. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez,

c. French president Emmanuel Macron,

d. Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa

10. Canadian companies Tilray and Aphria announced a £2.8bn merger that will make them the biggest company in the world in which field?

a. Cannabis,

b. Artificial intelligence,

c. Cosmetics,

d. Maple syrup

Answers

1. a. David Bowie. The Space Oddity singer’s coin is part of the Mint’s Music Legend’s collection. A one-ounce silver version was sent on a 45-minute journey through space to promote a competition offering it as a prize.

2. c. Cocaine. The battered 18ft vessel contained hundreds of one kilogram bricks of cocaine hidden under the deck, stamped with the initials KW.

3. d. 2002. The Deutschmark was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 to 1990, and later of unified Germany from 1990 until 2002 when it was replaced by the euro. Introduced in 1999, the euro was initially a non-cash only currency until 2002 when notes and coins were produced.

4. c. Feeding children affected by the coronavirus crisis. The UN agency pledged a grant of £25,000 to the community project School Food Matters, which will use the money to supply 18,000 breakfasts to 25 schools over the Christmas holiday period and February half term. Over three million children are registered for free school meals in the UK.

5. a. Cosmetics.

6. c. Australia. The country's slow recovery threatens to be thrown off track by its worsening dispute with China, a former key trading partner.

7. b. Jeff Bezos. Mackenzie Scott, formerly Mackenzie Bezos, signed up to The Giving Pledge last year after her divorce. Founded by Bill and Melinda Gates alongside Warren Buffett, the pledge encourages the world’s richest people to commit the majority of their money to philanthropy.

8. a. Liberalisation of the agricultural sector. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says freer trade means farmers can achieve higher prices by dealing with more potential customers, but farmers fear the reforms will mean larger companies will set the prices and force them to sell their produce at a loss. Most Indian farms are small and family owned. Suicide rates among farmers are at epidemic levels.

9. c. French president Emmanuel Macron. Macron tested positive for coronavirus after meeting a number of top European leaders, forcing them into isolation.

10. a. Cannabis. Tilray and Aphria are the two leading players in the country’s booming cannabis sector.