LPI’s First Pub Quiz of the Year: Pretzel Snitzal for the win
The Leeds Policy Institute’s (LPI) first pub quiz of the year returned to the Library once again this week, with four teams stepping up to the challenge. Their names were: Spice Girls, Quiz Khalifa, Pretzel Snitzal, and Rent is Due.
With four grueling rounds covering everything from domestic and global affairs to films, music, and some particularly questionable company acronyms ( I just read the questions for the first time too, knowing I would have done horribly), the teams were put through what can only be described as the most rigorous test known to man: having to confidently write down an answer despite having absolutely no idea if it is correct.
The competition began with Round 1: Domestic and Global Affairs, which covered everything from Germany’s new Chancellor and the Bank of England base rate to Gavrilo Princip and the first country to receive an IMF loan. Pretzel Snitzal got off to a strong start, taking an early lead with 11 points, followed by Quiz Khalifa on 9, Spice Girls on 7, and Rent is Due on 5.
Round 1 scores:
Spice Girls: 7
Quiz Khalifa: 9
Pretzel Snitzal: 11
Rent is Due: 5
The second round, Plotted (Movie or TV Show), proved that watching an alarming amount of television can, in fact, be academically useful. Teams were given increasingly convoluted descriptions of films and TV shows and asked to identify the title. From a dentist who makes a living through upholding the law to a specialist demonstrating that a chronic mobility impairment can be solved by simply leaving a municipal building, the descriptions were certainly not making things easy.
Quiz Khalifa made a significant comeback in this round, scoring 6 points, while Pretzel Snitzal managed 5. Rent is Due scored 3 and Spice Girls 2.
Round 2 scores:
Spice Girls: 2
Quiz Khalifa: 6
Pretzel Snitzal: 5
Rent is Due: 3
Next came Round 3: Finish the Lyric, where teams had to complete the lyrics to ten songs. Questions ranged from “She came from Greece, she had a thirst for knowledge…” to “We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl…”, testing both musical knowledge and the patience of the committee who had to listen to everyone sing for about 30 minutes.
Spice Girls and Pretzel Snitzal both put in strong performances, scoring 9 points each, while Quiz Khalifa scored 7 and Rent is Due 6.
Round 3 scores:
Spice Girls: 9
Quiz Khalifa: 7
Pretzel Snitzal: 9
Rent is Due: 6
The final round was Round 4: Unpackronyms, in which teams had to provide the full names behind ten well-known company acronyms. While everyone presumably knew that BBC stood for something involving broadcasting, the same confidence may not have extended to B&Q, P&O, or SEGA.
Pretzel Snitzal once again came out on top, scoring 4 points, followed by Quiz Khalifa with 3, Rent is Due with 2, and Spice Girls with 1.
Round 4 scores:
Spice Girls: 1
Quiz Khalifa: 3
Pretzel Snitzal: 4
Rent is Due: 2
After four rounds of intense competition, the final standings were:
Team | Final Score |
Pretzel Snitzal | 29 |
Quiz Khalifa | 25 |
Spice Girls | 19 |
Rent is Due | 16 |
And with that, Pretzel Snitzal were crowned the winners of LPI’s first pub quiz of the year, taking the title with an impressive 29 points.
Congratulations to Pretzel Snitzal for their encyclopaedic knowledge and particularly strong performances in the first and final rounds.
For those who are feeling particularly brave, or simply want to prepare for the next quiz, the full question and answer list is below.
Round 1: Domestic and Global Affairs
1) After a petition reached nearly 3 million signatures, the government announced in January that the new Digital ID would no longer be mandatory for which specific legal requirements?
2) Following the 2025 federal election, who is the current Chancellor of Germany, having succeeded Olaf Scholz?
3) In early 2026, what was the first company in history to hit a market capitalization of $4 trillion?
4) On February 6th, 2026, the UK marked how many years since the accession of King Charles III?
5) Which former Home Secretary was appointed as Reform UK's Shadow Secretary for Education and Skills?
6) The UK government recently relaunched this controversial scheme that previously ran from 2013 to 2023 by the Tories. What is it called?
7) What is the current Bank of England base rate as of this September?
8) The Labour government is recently applied sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Who was the Foreign Secretary responsible for the decision?
9) What was the name of the 19-year-old Serbian nationalist who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo?
10) This week marks the birth anniversary of this freedom fighter, also known as the father of the nation of India?
11) Before the current leadership, Angela Merkel served as Chancellor of Germany for how many years?
12) In 1993, which European country peacefully split into two separate nations?
13) US President Donald Trump recently hosted this head of state who he greeted on the tarmac with a fancy procession.
14) This country’s health system was attacked by OpenAI in July, and only revealed to the public last month.
15) What was the first country to receive an IMF loan in 1947
Round 2: Plotted (Movie or TV Show):
1) A dentist makes a living through upholding the law
2) A widowed husband finds work with his old employer
3) An orphan discovers he has supernatural powers
4) A low-level university staffer obstructs teaching objectives
5) An aspiring architect suffers a period of emotional instability after a colleague refuses to commit to a long-term social arrangement
6) A man plays a polarising character playing a character based on a book within the same movie
7) Two brothers cheat death multiple times
8) A dentist causes parental strife by gifting his daughter a birthday present
9) A severe kitchen hygiene violation leads to unexpected improvements in customer satisfaction
10) A specialist demonstrates that a chronic mobility impairment can be effectively resolved through the simple act of exiting a municipal building
11) A family business struggles with succession planning after the CEO suffers a health scare
12) A group of colleagues enjoy their passion for home-cooked meals despite the high-stress demands of running a waste management facility
13) A group of unlicensed diamond merchants and animal enthusiasts struggle with an uncooperative canine
14) A CEO experiences a series of workplace outbursts due to poor strategic forecasting during the final stages of a hostile takeover
15) A government employee conducts a site visit only to realize the facility’s staff has an unconventional approach to onboarding
Round 3: Finish the Lyric
1) She came from Greece she had a thirst for knowledge, she studied sculpture at…
2) She was heartache from the moment that you met her, my heart is frozen still as I try to find the will to…
3) So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me, S.O.S. The love you gave me…
4) I threw a wish in the well, don't ask me I'll never tell, I looked to you as it fell…
5) Karma police, arrest this man, he talks in maths…
6) He brings a gun to school, he'd simply kick my ass if he knew the truth. He lives on my block…
7) He love me not, he loves me / He holds me tight…
8) If you like Piña Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. If you're not into yoga…
9) You are all I long for, all I worship and…
10) We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl…
Round 4: Unpackronyms (provide the full name of the company behind the acronym)
1) BBC:
2) BT:
3) HMV:
4) B&Q:
5) LSEG:
6) ASOS:
7) HSBC:
8) H&M:
9) P&O:
10) SEGA:
Answer key:(Round 1):
1) Right-to-Work checks and Right-to-rent checks
2) Friedrich Merz
3) Nvidia
4) 3 years
5) Suella Braverman
6) Your First Home scheme
7) 3.75%
8) Ed Milliband
9) Gavrilo Princip
10) Mahatma Gandhi
11) 16 years
12) Czechoslovakia
13) Xi Jinpin
14) Australia
15) France
(Round 2)
1) Django Unchained
2) John Wick
3) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
4) Good Will Hunting
5) 500 Days of Summer
6) Tropic Thunder
7) Supernatural
8) Finding Nemo
9) Ratattouile
10) The Usual Suspects
11) The Godfather
12) Goodfellas
13) Snatch
14) Downfall
15) Shutter Island
(Round 3)
1) …Saint Martin’s College
2) …forget her somehow
3) …nothing else can save me (SOS)
4) …and now you're in my way
5) …he buzzes like a fridge
6) …and he drives an IROC
7) …then lets me go
8) …if you have half a brain
9) …adore
10) …year after year
(Round 4)
1) BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation
2) BT = British Telecommunications
3) HMV = His Master’s Voice
4) B&Q = Block & Quayle
5) LSEG = London Stock Exchange Group
6) ASOS = As Seen On Screen
7) HSBC = Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
8) H&M = Hennes & Mauritz
9) P&O = Peninsular and Oriental
10) SEGA = Service Games
Lastly, just for fun, this was Rent is Due’s answer sheet for the last round:
See you at the next LPI pub quiz for even crazier and tougher questions!
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