How much attention have you been paying to the year’s most startling statistics? And do you have what it takes to tackle Tim Paulden’s brain-teasing puzzles? Join us for a festive challenge, and try your luck at the RSS and Significance Christmas Quiz 2024.
This year’s Christmas Quiz kicks off with a warm-up section featuring 12 questions and puzzles designed to get your cogs turning. Then, prepare yourself for the ultimate test of wit and logic with the traditional fiendish puzzles, specially crafted by our quizmaster. Whether you’re a seasoned statistician or just in it for the holiday spirit, there’s something for everyone.
You can submit yours or your team’s solutions to Section B (along with your choice of charity) for entry into this year’s competition. Entries close on 5 January, and more information can found in the Section B instructions. We’ll be publishing the solutions in January.
Section A
1. What percentage of Britons, according to a YouGov survey this year, think they could qualify for the next Olympics if they had four years of training?
a) 19
b) 34
c) 27
d) 56
2. What circled its way back into the Office for National Statistics’ “virtual basket of goods and services” this year for the first time in over three decades?
a) Frisbees
b) Cake tins
c) Vinyl records
3. Which European Union country saw the largest percentage point increase in the proportion of primary school pupils learning at least two foreign languages between 2013 and 2022, according to Eurostat?
a) Latvia
b) Spain
c) Norway
4. Who is the worst actor in movie history, according to analysis in 2024 by the newsletter Stat Significant?
a) Steven Seagal
b) Madonna
c) Jason Statham
5. Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimarães was revealed by the Mirror to be the player who covered the largest distance over the first 11 matches of football’s Premier League 2024-2025 season. How far did he go?
a) 122.8 kilometres
b) 122.8 miles
c) 122.8 metres
6. Thought to be the most expensive mince pies in the UK this year at £25 for six, what price increase was this on the same pies last year, according to the Daily Mail?
a) 66.7%
b) 38.8%
c) 43.5%
7. Out of 80,000 simulations, how many times as a percentage did Kamala Harris win in Nate Silver’s US election simulation model?
a) 37%
b) 50%
c) 45%
d) 32%
8. According to a 2022 survey by YouGov, what percentage of the British public think Die Hard is a Christmas film?
a) 47%
b) 69%
c) 23%
d) 37%
9. The total estimated cost of the US 2024 election is approximately equal to the 2022 GDP of which nation state, according to UN calculations?
a) Niger
b) Fiji
c) Barbados
10. Which average is being used in the following?
a) A man cycles for one kilometre at twenty kilometres per hour and then at thirty kilometres per hour for the next kilometre. What is his average speed?
b) The average of nine and sixteen is twelve.
c) The average shoe size of British males is 8 ½.
d) The average salary in the United Kingdom is £24500.
e) A sign in a lift reads ‘Maximum number ten. Average weight 80 kg’.
11. Nick has designed two unusual tetrahedral dice. They are regular in shape, but do not have the standard numbering. When they are thrown together and the numbers on the bases added, the probability of each total (2,3,4,…,8) is the same as for two standard tetrahedral dice with the numbers 1,2,3,4. Can you figure out what numbers appear on Nick’s two dice, given that every number is a positive integer?
12. Six of Santa’s elves are gathered together. What is the probability at least two of them were born under the same star sign?
Section B
Click the link above to access Section B (opens up a PDF). Alternatively, in a change to previous editions, this year’s puzzle competition will be hosted on its own website too, with updates and corrections posted there.
Be sure to read the instructions, grab your team mates and your best thinking hats and have a go at our quizmaster’s perplexing puzzles. Good luck!
