One of the traditions observed by Global Cement at this time of year is the office Christmas lunch, complete with seasonal fare, lashings of gravy and other liquids. For the past few years, it has been ac companied by a side order of questions in the form of a Quiz of the Year, usually compiled by this author. It provides an opportunity for competition and friendly banter, while prompting conversation about the year that has just passed. So, even if you are not celebrat ing Christmas itself - and while attempting to keep the topics as international as possible - here is a chance to challenge your grey matter with Global Cement’s Quiz of 2022...
(Answers below).
1. Who was deported from Australia in January 2022 after a high-profile legal dispute over their Covid-19 vaccination status?
2. For how many days was Liz Truss the UK Prime Minister?
A: 49. B: 39. C: 29. D: 19.
3. How much did Elon Musk pay for Twitter?
A: US$11bn. B: US$66bn. C: US$44bn. D: US$33bn.
4. Beijing hosted the Winter Olympic Games in February 2022. What made this location unusual?
5. Which country won the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2022?
6. It seems a long time ago, but in January 2022, China, France, Russia, the UK and the US issued a are joint statement that WHAT cannot be won?
7. Which team did England beat in the Womens’ UEFA European Football Final?
8. How much value has one Bitcoin lost against the US Dollar since 1 January 2022?
A: US$3100. B: US$15,300. C: US$16,500. D: US$31,300.
9. What was the acroynm of the NASA probe, which was deliberately collided into an asteroid in September 2022?
A: SMASH. B: DART. C: SPLAT. D: DEEP IMPACT.
10. What was the highest grossing film release of 2022?
11. Who occupied all top 10 positions in the US chart in October 2022, the first time this has been achieved?
A: ABBA. B: Taylor Swift. C: Ed Sheeran. D: Elvis Presley.
12. Which company did Holcim sell its Indian cement production assets to in September 2022?
13. What was discovered about a Piet Mondrian painting hanging in the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen collection in October 2022?
14. Where was the hottest place on Earth in 2022?
A: Ahvaz Iran. B: Death Valley, US. C: Gujranwalla, Pakistan. D: Perth, Australia.
15. What is the estimated cost of the Qatar World Cup?
A: US$1bn. B: US$20bn. C: US$200bn. D: US$1tn.
16. Which Covid-19 variant caused concern in South Africa in early 2022?
A: Omicron. B: Delta. C: Gamma. D: Omega.
17. Who slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony in March 2022?
Answers
1. Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic.
2. A: 49 - The shortest ever time in the job.
3. C: US$44bn (Too much!)
4. First city to host Summer (2008) and Winter (2022) Games.
5. Ukraine.
6. Nuclear war.
7. Germany, by 2 goals to 1.
8. D: ~US$31,300 (1 Jan 2022 = US$47,733 - 18 Nov 2022 = US$16,474).9. DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test).
10. Top Gun: Maverick (US$1.48tn).
11. B: Taylor Swift. All tracks from the album Midnights.
12. Adani Group - For US$6.7bn.
13. It had been hanging upside down for 75 years.
14. Ahvaz, Iran - 50.3°C on 6 August 2022.
15. C: US$200bn (More than the 21 previous men’s World Cups combined...or 4.5 Twitters).
16. A: Omicron.
17. Will Smith.
