Random news multiple choice...
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from royal engagements and said they would become financially independent. But Prince Harry didn't finish duties as a working royal before recording a charity record with which singer?
Jon Bon Jovi
Elton John
Dave Grohl
It was Jon Bon Jovi, who recorded a version of his song Unbroken with the Invictus Games Choir, which grew out of the event the duke founded for injured service personnel and veterans in 2014. Prince Harry has previously enlisted the help of Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl, who performed at the closing ceremony of the original Invictus Games. Sir Elton John performed at Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding.
What generation of iPhone was launched by Apple?
12
What’s the name of Elon Musk and Grimes’ baby born in 2020?
X Æ A-12
Which music festival has had to postpone its 50th anniversary celebrations to 2021?
Glastonbury
Approximately 90% of the ill health associated with cholesterol-lowering drugs statins comes from believing it would make them sick (as opposed to the actual drug itself), a study suggested. But as what is this phenomenon known?
The malcebo effect
The nocebo effect
The reverse-placebo effect
It's the nocebo effect, from the Latin roughly translating as "I will harm". It is the opposite of the placebo effect, in which the brain is said to convince the body a treatment with no proven medical effect will be beneficial, and so stimulate healing. Imperial College London researchers hoped their findings would encourage more people to stay on statins, which are taken by nearly eight million people in the UK to cut the risk of heart attacks and stroke. Up to a fifth of people stop taking them because of side-effects such as muscle aches, fatigue, nausea and joint pain.
According to Forbes, which entrepreneur became the first person in history to have a net worth of more than $200 billion?
Jeff Bezos
To the nearest thousand, how many votes did Kanye West receive in this year’s US Election?
60,000
Which country was due to host this year’s Eurovision Song Contest?
Netherlands
On 30 March, thieves stole the painting Spring Garden - or Parsonage Garden in Nuenen in the Spring - from the Singer Laren Museum, in the Netherlands. Some estimates put its value at up to £5m. But who painted it?
Gauguin
Rembrandt
Van Gogh
It was Vincent van Gogh. The work was on loan from the Groninger Museum to the Singer Laren, which was created in the 1950s to host the collection of US artist William Henry Singer and his wife, Anna. The burglar alarm was reportedly triggered when thieves smashed through a glass front door but they had fled by the time police officers arrived. It is yet to be recovered. However, in June, Dutch art detective Arthur Brand said he had received two photographs showing what he believed to be the painting, together with a copy of the New York Times newspaper from 30 May, proving it had not been destroyed.
What does Covid-19 stand for?
Corona Virus Disease 2019
How old did the Queen become in 2020? (+/- 2 years)
94
Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You finally topped the UK charts in December. What year was it released?
1994
Days before the US confirmed its millionth coronavirus case, President Donald Trump suggested scientists might research treating patients by injecting disinfectant into the body. But what else did he suggest scientists examine?
Drinking vodka to "poison the virus"
Hitting the body with "very powerful light"
Using high-temperature saunas
He suggested using "a tremendous - whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful - light". Mr Trump was speaking after an official had presented the results of research indicating sunlight and heat were detrimental to coronavirus saliva droplets in the air, while bleach killed the virus on surfaces within five minutes. Disinfectants can be poisonous if ingested and external exposure to them can damage the eyes, skin and respiratory system. "I'm not a doctor. But I'm, like, a person that has a good you-know-what," the president said. Drinking vodka and using banyas - traditional saunas - were ideas for fending off the virus, promoted by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
2020, according to the Chinese zodiac, was the year of which animal?
Year of the Rat
Who won the ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture’ award at the Golden Globes for his role in the film ‘Joker’?
Joaquin Phoenix
A world record was smashed when a guitar sold for $6m (£4.5m) at an auction in Los Angeles. But to whom had it belonged?
Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain
Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan
Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour
It was Kurt Cobain's retro acoustic-electric 1959 Martin D-18E. He played it during an MTV Unplugged session in 1993, five months before his death. In 2019, the cardigan worn by Cobain that night - stained, cigarette-burned and unwashed in nearly three decades - sold for $334,000. Bidding for the guitar, at Julien's Auctions, opened at $1m and was won by Rode Microphones founder Peter Freedman. The most expensive guitar previously sold was a Fender Stratocaster used by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour that fetched almost $4m at a charity sale in June 2019.
It's been a rollercoaster year for stock markets, with share values plummeting amid lockdowns and fear of recession then rebounding with positive news of vaccines. But who, in May, wiped $14bn (£10.5bn) from his company's value with a tweet?
Mike Ashley, of British retail's Fraser Group
Elon Musk, of electronic carmaker Tesla
Willie Walsh, of British Airways owner AIG
It was Elon Musk, who tweeted: "Tesla stock price too high." The reaction reduced the value of his stake by $3bn. The company's share price had surged through 2020, putting the electric carmaker's value at close to $100bn by 1 May. The dip caused by its unpredictable boss's comments proved short-lived. By November, its stock-market value had topped $500bn. IAG's shares took a hammering as it reported a loss of €4.2bn (£3.8bn) for the first half of the year, although airline stocks rallied as vaccine development progressed. Retailers similarly suffered as the pandemic took hold, although Frasers share values have been slowly climbing since plummeting in March.
Which social media app did Donald Trump try to block in the US?
TikTok
What was the name of the gentleman, who shares his name with a historical author, poet and playwrite, from Warwickshire who was the second British person to get the Covid vaccine?
William Shakespeare
Talk for one minute about why all Christmas songs should be permanently banned.
Well done!!!