Test your knowledge of news, sport and pop culture in Brainwaves, the SA Weekend quiz

Do you know what band James Hetfield sings in? Or what kind of animal Timon is in The Lion King? Take our Brainwaves quiz – 50 general knowledge questions and an interactive template that keeps score as you go.

Singer/guitarist James Hetfield performing – but what band does he play for? Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

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** Test your pop culture and current affairs knowledge with this week’s Brainwaves Quiz. Decide your answer then click on the answer button to see if you were correct. We’ll tally your score as you go. **

question: In which country are the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo a macabre tourist attraction?

option: Italy

answer: 1

question: The Alboran Sea is the westernmost portion of which other sea?

option: Mediterranean

answer: 1

question: Name the only bird that can fly backwards for any length of time.

option: Hummingbird

answer: 1

question: What kind of animal is Timon in The Lion King?

option: Meerkat

answer: 1

question: Unscramble these letters to name an Adelaide suburb: NAEOUBMT.

option: Beaumont

answer: 1

question: By population, what is the largest city in Scotland?

option: Glasgow

answer: 1

question: Thomas Gerard are the middle names of which former deputy prime minister of Australia?

option: Barnaby Joyce

answer: 1

question: What is the French word for tomorrow?

option: Demain

answer: 1

question: Which three countries have coastlines on the Gulf of Finland?

option: Estonia, Russia, Finland

answer: 1

question: James Hetfield is the lead singer of which US heavy metal band?

option: Metallica

answer: 1

question: Who is Russia’s Foreign Minister?

option: Sergei Lavrov

answer: 1

question: What did Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese once call “poetry in commotion”?

option: His pet dog Toto

answer: 1

question: What sport do the Chicago Cubs play?

option: Baseball

answer: 1

question: What colour is the bottom left-hand square of the Microsoft logo?

option: Blue

answer: 1

question: Who was the first prime minister of Israel?

option: David Ben-Gurion

answer: 1

question: By what two-word term is solid, frozen carbon dioxide known?

option: Dry ice

answer: 1

question: Born in 1990, Amethyst Amelia Kelly is better known by what name?

option: Iggy Azalea

answer: 1

question: How many days are in the month of June?

option: 30

answer: 1

question: Who is No.22 for AFL club Port Adelaide?

option: Charlie Dixon

answer: 1

question: Who is Deputy Leader of the federal Liberal Party?

option: Sussan Ley

answer: 1

question: Which country has the most tropical rainforest in the world?

option: Brazil

answer: 1

question: Who did Melbourne defeat to become 2021 AFL premiers?

option: Western Bulldogs

answer: 1

question: The River Nile generally flows in which direction?

option: North

answer: 1

question: About Damn Time is a current hit for which US singer?

option: Lizzo

answer: 1

question: Who was the first Australian to win the Indianapolis 500?

option: Will Power (2018)

answer: 1

question: Who played Mike Young in early episodes of the Australian television soap opera Neighbours?

option: Guy Pearce

answer: 1

question: In which ocean are the Galapagos Islands?

option: Pacific

answer: 1

question: What kind of fruit is Cox’s Orange Pippin?

option: Apple

answer: 1

question: What is half of 1234?

option: 617

answer: 1

question: Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard is the real name of which Australian rapper?

option: The Kid Laroi

answer: 1

question: Who wrote the music and lyrics for the 1980s musical Into the Woods?

option: Stephen Sondheim

answer: 1

question: The Third Battle of the Hook was a major conflict of which war?

option: Korean War

answer: 1

question: What is the Roman numeral for 100?

option: C

answer: 1

question: In the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice, what kind of knife does the farmer’s wife use to cut off the title characters’ tails?

option: Carving

answer: 1

question: What are the three colours on the flag of Iceland?

option: Red, white, blue

answer: 1

question: How many years are in a decade?

option: 10

answer: 1

question: Athenian historian Thucydides is famous for his history of which conflict?

option: Peloponnesian War

answer: 1

question: What is the name of the strait between New Zealand’s North and South islands?

option: Cook Strait

answer: 1

question: Who was president of South Africa from 1994-99?

option: Nelson Mandela

answer: 1

question: Which Roy Orbison hit begins: “A candy-coloured clown they call the sandman”?

option: In Dreams

answer: 1

question: Niamey is the capital of which African country?

option: Niger

answer: 1

question: Which US singer-songwriter was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature?

option: Bob Dylan

answer: 1

question: Who was the original compere of the local variety program Adelaide Tonight on Channel 9 in 1959?

option: Lionel Williams

answer: 1

question: Giant human statues called moai are a feature of which Pacific island?

option: Easter Island

answer: 1

question: The song Bloody Mary comes from which musical?

option: South Pacific

answer: 1

question: Who plays Colonel Tom Parker in the new film Elvis?

option: Tom Hanks

answer: 1

question: Who wrote the 1951 book From Here to Eternity?

option: James Jones

answer: 1

question: Which English navigator named Mt Lofty in 1802?

option: Matthew Flinders

answer: 1

question: “Creep brings tunes” is an anagram of which US singer-songwriter?

option: Bruce Springsteen

answer: 1

question: The Tropic of Capricorn passes through which two countries starting with M?

option: Madagascar, Mozambique

answer: 1