The Christmas quiz: looking back on 2020
Test your knowledge on the year’s news and on popular quiz topics

Looking back on 2020
- The vaccine they developed, with Pfizer, was found to be 95% effective
- Santa Barbara, in California
- Jack Dorsey (pictured)
- Luxembourg
- Shuggie Bain; fashion designer
- North Macedonia
- Challenger Deep
- Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton
- 23 March
- Princess Nut Nut
- Rita Ora
- Sputnik V
History and politics
- Rudolf Hess
- The Curies
- The Boxer Rebellion
- A film processing firm
- Quarantine
- Oliver Cromwell
- Tilbury
- Justin Trudeau
- Keir Hardie
- 1066; 1483; 1936
- Portugal
- Battle of the River Plate
Film and TV
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- Louise Fletcher
- Fritz Lang
- R2-D2 and C-3PO
- Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Get Out
- Darling; Lawrence of Arabia
- Bob Marley
- The zither; Anton Karas
- John McClane and Hans Gruber; the Nakatomi Plaza
- Judith Anderson
- a) Freddy Mercury b) Lauren Bacall c) Kirk Douglas d) Michael Keaton e) Stevie Wonder f) Snoop Dogg
- Rex Harrison; Eddie Murphy
- Wacky Races
Places
- Washington DC
- Hawaii and Tennessee; Iowa
- Algeria; Nigeria
- Ted Heath
- a) Laos b) Cuba c) Egypt
- Vilnius, Vienna, Vaduz, Valletta, Vatican City; Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan
- Madagascar
- The Karakoram Highway
- Highway 61
- Darwin
Literature and the arts
- The Browns; Mrs Bird
- Ossie Clark, Celia Birtwell and their cat (Blanche, though they did also have one called Percy)
- The Artful Dodger
- Hamnet
- a) That there’s some corner of a foreign field, that is for ever England b) And not waving but drowning c) Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair
- Benjamin Britten
- Grendel
- Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë
- The theft of the Mona Lisa
- Architecture
- Mary, Colin and Dickon; Pevensie
- The Secret History
- W.B. Yeats
- Catch-22; Lolita
- Abraham
- Ulysses
Obituaries
- Lucille
- Les Misérables
- Max von Sydow
- Ladysmith Black Mambazo
- Prozac Nation
- Albert Uderzo, of Asterix the Gaul
- Leonard “Nipper” Read
- Honor Blackman
Science and nature
- Saffron
- Copper and zinc
- Sulphur
- CO stands for corona, VI for virus, and D for disease, first seen in 2019
- Giraffe
- He suggested tennis balls should be yellow
- Grinding teeth
- Edward Jenner; supposedly because it was for cowpox, and the Latin word for cow is vacca
- Euclid
- China
- Mistletoe
Famous Olympians
- Daley Thompson
- Eric Liddell
- Simone Biles
- Jesse Owens
- Cathy Freeman
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
May 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical