Good morning, and happy whatever-you’re-celebrating today. There may come a moment later – perhaps shortly after someone has eaten their body weight in roast dinner – when the family begins to drift into nap mode. That is your cue. Produce this quiz from your pocket. Read the questions aloud in your best posh “BBC continuity announcer” voice. Watch as the room divides over how much ice has been lost in the Antarctic, exactly when Donald Trump and Elon Musk fell out, what Archie’s dog got up to, and why we’ve even mentioned Liz Truss at all. There are no prizes, but here is the First Edition quiz of the year. I’m sorry. And you’re welcome. But first, the headlines …
Fingers on buzzers, here we go …
1) What was the name of the Chinese AI app that rapidly became the most downloaded free app in the US in January, sparking a tech-stock dive?
a) DeepSeek
b) DeepMind
c) DeepThought
d) DeepHeat
2) Who has appeared in the main image of First Edition the most times in 2025?
a) Volodymyr Zelenskyy
b) Donald Trump
c) Keir Starmer
d) Mr Blobby
3) In May, Friedrich Merz (pictured, below) became Germany’s chancellor. Which party does he belong to?
a) Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU)
b) Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD)
c) Freie Demokratische Partei (FDP)
d) Bei der Leoparden Gesichter fressen Partei (BLGP)
4) The list of people that Nigel Farage has fallen out with is spectacularly long. Who is the Great Yarmouth MP who got propelled out of the door marked ‘do one’ by the Reform leader in March?
a) Jonathan Gullis
b) Rupert Lowe
c) Ben Habib
d) Paddington Bear
5) Also in March, the very best people that Donald Trump employs in the White House accidentally added a journalist to a message group discussing strikes on Yemen using which messaging app?
a) Whisper
b) Telegram
c) Signal
d) Threema
6) Earlier this year the papal conclave elected Pope Leo XIV (pictured, below) to lead the Catholic church. What is his pre-papal name?
a) Robert Prevost
b) James Abbott
c) Peter Bailiwick
d) Derek Tardis
7) In December, we wrote about the resurgent space race. What is the name of Nasa’s programme to return US astronauts to the moon?
a) Horizon
b) Artemis
c) Intrepid
d) Elder One
8) Which city in England has had rubbish piling up in the streets thanks to a protracted industrial dispute?
a) Liverpool
b) Birmingham
c) Sunderland
d) Ambridge
9) What was the name of the South Korean president removed from power earlier this year after he was impeached following an attempt to impose martial law?
a) Park Geun-hye
b) Moon Jae-in
c) Yoon Suk Yeol
d) Yasaeng Dwaeji
10) France has been chopping and changing prime ministers this year more than a Tory party with Liz Truss involved. How many prime ministers have now served under Emmanuel Macron (pictured, above)?
a) Five
b) Seven
c) Nine
d) It might as well have been 1,057, we’ve lost count
11) Angela Rayner’s (pictured, below) abrupt exit from the cabinet left Keir Starmer in a pickle. Why did she resign?
a) She had underpaid stamp duty on her seaside flat
b) It emerged she had pleaded guilty to a fraud offence involving a work phone a decade ago
c) She had been holding unauthorised meetings with foreign government ministers
d) She was caught secretly upgrading the Downing Street printer to print everything in Comic Sans
12) Zack Polanski became leader of the Green party of England and Wales (the Scottish Greens are their own separate thing). Who did he beat in the leadership election?
a) Adrian Ramsay and Carla Denyer
b) Adrian Ramsay and Siân Berry
c) Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns
d) Lord Buckethead and Count Binface
13) What day does Martin Belam publish his weekly Guardian news quiz that this First Edition quiz of the year is loosely based on?
a) Tuesday
b) Wednesday
c) Thursday
d) Friday
14) Aamna Mohdin spoke to the Guardian’s culture correspondent Lanre Bakare for a First Edition that discussed Black History Month in the UK. When is it celebrated each year?
a) February
b) April
c) July
d) October
15) In August, Aamna confessed in an edition of this newsletter that she was a Swiftie – as is Martin. What was the name of Taylor Swift’s new album this year?
a) The Life of a Showgirl
b) Confessions of a Showgirl
c) The Making of a Showgirl
d) Carry On Showgirls
16) In October, First Edition asked if Kemi Badenoch was leading a Tory party on the brink of extinction. Which constituency does the MP represent?
a) North West Sussex
b) North West Norfolk
c) North West Essex
d) North West Bedfordshire
17) Who won the 2025 election in Canada, conducted amid Donald Trump’s tariff sabre-rattling?
a) Yves-François Blanchet
b) Mark Carney
c) Pierre Poilievre
d) Alanis Morissette
18) In April, Just Stop Oil (pictured, below) staged a “last day of action” in London. When did the group form?
a) 2016
b) 2018
c) 2020
d) 2022
19) The HS2 saga never seems to end. What is the name of the station that may end up being the London terminus instead of Euston?
a) Great Elm Junction
b) High Beech Parkway
c) Old Oak Common
d) Upper Broke Street
20) It was fairly predictable that the Donald Trump and Elon Musk love-in would end up in a public ego explosion. When did their big bust-up (this year’s, at least) happen?
a) June
b) July
c) August
d) September
21) What did Your Party members vote to call the party after months of deliberation?
a) Your Party
b) Our Party
c) Their Party
d) Party McPartyface
22) What was the name of the BBC director general (pictured, above) who abruptly resigned in November?
a) Tim Lowe
b) Tim Cobb
c) Tim Davie
d) Tim Idd
23) How long was the 2025 US federal government shutdown, the longest in history?
a) 43 days
b) 53 days
c) 63 days
d) 73 days
24) What is the name of the scheme to help disabled people in the UK get access to cars, that got caught in the culture war crosshairs in March?
a) Motability
b) Motassist
c) MobilityPlus
d) MotiFlex
25) In March, Nimo Omer reported for First Edition that ice in the Antarctic (pictured, above) was how much below average?
a) 6%
b) 16%
c) 26%
d) 36%
26) Labour’s 49th safest seat was lost by just six votes to the Reform candidate Sarah Pochin. Where?
a) Croxden and Helsmere
b) Runcorn and Helsby
c) Bridmore and Ottersby
d) Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
27) Which exoplanet do science boffins (the correct technical term) think is showing hints of biological life?
a) 01 811 8055
b) L1z 49dyz
c) 5PA Rk5
d) K2-18 b
28) What was Archie Bland’s dog Quincy doing in Archie’s final First Edition?
a) Sitting stoned on the sofa
b) Eating an entire packet of Jaffa Cakes
c) Chasing a squirrel through the house
d) Fending off 30-50 feral hogs from Archie’s garden
This time tomorrow we will send you the answers. Enjoy your day and a Happy Christmas from all of us on the newsletters team.
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