Were you awake in 2010? Let's see . . .

Here are 101 questions to test your knowledge of the people, events, milestones and disappointments of 2010.

Here are 101 questions to test your knowledge of the people, events, milestones and disappointments of 2010. No cheating!


  1. What is Eyjafjallajökull?

  2. In December, the M&G won a court bid to obtain a report to former president Thabo Mbeki about what?

  3. Who played Nelson Mandela in the movie Invictus?

  4. The girl who kicked the hornets’ nest also played with what?

  5. Name the character in Question 4 and the actress who played her.

  6. What economic policy did Minister Ebrahim Patel launch this year?

  7. The TV comedy South Park caused a furore by depicting the prophet Muhammad as what?

  8. “Money for jam” rejoiced which beneficiary of a deal that included Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzile, ArcelorMittal and Sishen Iron Ore?

  9. Arms-deal money allegedly bought a R4-million house for which former Cabinet minister?

  10. Andile Lungisa, deputy president of the ANC Youth League, heads which state agency?

  11. In the 2010 Fifa World Cup, which player reportedly called which manager “a son of a whore”?

  12. Which two half-brothers played against each other in the 2010 Fifa World Cup?

  13. Who was named Player of the 2010 Fifa World Cup?

  14. What was the name given to the fossil, Australopithecus sediba, discovered in the Cradle of Humankind this year?

  15. Which ANC provincial chairperson did the Hawks arrest this year on charges of corruption?

  16. Hugh Grant was suggested for what role in the movie of John van de Ruit’s novel Spud, and who got the part (half point each)?

  17. To within 10, how many municipalities does South Africa have?

  18. Jaap Cillers SC was the lead advocate for the defence in whose corruption trial?

  19. Which former Constitutional Court judge won the Alan Paton award for non-fiction? A bonus point for the title.

  20. Which film about the Iraq conflict won the 2010 Oscar for best movie?

  21. The director of the movie in Question 20 became the first woman ever to win an Oscar for best movie. Who is she?

  22. Who was acquitted in November of the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble?

  23. Web designer Paul D Ceglia faced up to which lucrative internet operation in court this year, claiming he had bought 83% of the business for $1 000 seven years earlier?

  24. Zimbabwean-born artist Yiull Damaso caused a furore by taking whom as his subject in his painting of a corpse undergoing an autopsy?

  25. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga proclaimed the death of what this year?

  26. As a result of the demise in Question 25, “learning areas” at school are now to be known as what?

  27. Name the two Gautrain stations between Sandton and OR Tambo International Airport (half point each).

  28. Which country launched a mission to Venus in May?

  29. Which US state made it a crime not to carry immigration papers?

  30. General Stanley McChrystal was forced to resign as commander of the US forces in Afghanistan for his unflattering comments about government officials to which publication?

  31. In what month were the first WikiLeaks war documents released?

  32. Which family of Indian origin caused dismay among their neighbours in affluent Saxonwold, Johannesburg, by allegedly landing their helicopter in the area?

  33. Name both the computer company and the newspaper the family in Question 32 own.

  34. To which court did Justice Minister Jeff Radebe appoint former acting National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss Mokotedi Mpshe as an acting judge?

  35. Which auditors appointed former NPA head Vusi Pikoli to head its forensic department?

  36. 3rd Degree’s Debora Patta apologised to Freedom Front Plus student leader Chrisna de Kock for accusing her of what?

  37. “Dirty-looking stones” were allegedly the gift of which ex-dictator to supermodel Naomi Campbell?

  38. Which artist’s work Bahora Girl set a new record for the auction sale of South African art?

  39. Of suspected Israeli origin and intended to sabotage an Iranian nuclear plant, Stuxnet is what?

  40. American Richard F Heck and Japan’s Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Sukuzi won which Nobel Prize?

  41. Nine Russians were deported from the US in June for what?

  42. Who was appointed police commissioner of Gauteng this year?

  43. New Zealand stadium Eden Park banned what for Test matches and the 2011 Rugby World Cup?

  44. Which genetically modified fish sparked debate in the US as to whether it should be so labelled?

  45. Which Nobel Prize-winning African author said this year he wanted to become a politican?

  46. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il gave whom the title of “general” in a move seen as the first stage of dynastic succession?

  47. How many times has Holland made it to the Fifa World Cup final and how many times has it lost?

  48. Oberhausen in Germany was the watery abode of which late, lamented sporting psychic?

  49. Who wrote Conversation in the Cathedral and The Feast of the Goat?

  50. Which two mobile phone companies account for two-thirds of the industry’s worldwide profits?

  51. Which mobile phone and PDA manufacturer did Hewlett Packard acquire for $1.2-billion?

  52. Who did the South African Human Rights Commission fine R50 000 for sexist hate speech?

  53. Government appointed independent assessors to investigate which two local universities this year?

  54. Name the Zimbabwean diamond fields where human rights abuses and looting by Zanu-PF officials are alleged to be taking place.

  55. Which vice-chancellor was accused of plagiarism in relation to a book about his university?

  56. Who became deputy minister of higher education and training after October’s Cabinet reshuffle?

  57. In October, Blade Nzimande controversially shunted out which two members of his department?

  58. Name the South African shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize.

  59. How did Reuben van Assouw enter aviation history this year?

  60. Which policeman did KwaZulu-Natal kwaito act Big Nuz thank when receiving their 2010 Sama award for Record of the Year?

  61. “Make the circle bigger” is the chorus of which now infamous South African hip-hop song by JR?

  62. Who won the 2010 Fifa World Cup?

  63. Who will host the next Fifa World Cup?

  64. Only one provincial premier lost his or her job this year. Who was it?

  65. Who replaced the premier in Question 64?

  66. Which municipality was rated the best in South Africa this year?

  67. In what year will South Africa’s next municipal elections be held?

  68. Which foreign-born Springbok rugby player was granted South African citizenship?

  69. British grandmother Gillian Duffy was a “bigoted woman”, said which electioneering politician in April who thought his microphone was turned off?

  70. Which Côte d’Ivorean politician won the presidential election in November and then found that incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to stand down?

  71. Which court named six Kenyan politicians in connection with 2008’s post-election violence?

  72. What is the occupation of the father of Die Antwoord’s Yo-Landi Vi$$er?

  73. Mapona is the title of South Africa’s first black what?

  74. Which of the following did not hire comedian Trevor Noah this year - Simba, Sars, Kulula, Nandos, Cell C, M-Net?

  75. “I fucking love your music, vibe and chemistry. Take them by the fucking neck and choke’m down!” tweeted Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst on which local band?

  76. In which three countries was Paris Hilton detained for drug possession?

  77. Which African island state was involved in the scandal involving L’Oréal heir Lillian Bettencourt that rocked France?

  78. In December, Nasa said it had discovered a new life form in California based on what?

  79. A “house slave”, said Zimbabwe’s ambassador in Washington DC of which US official?

  80. “False, scandalous, malicious and bent on damaging her reputation [as the] mother of the nation” was whose lawyer’s description of a report on what?

  81. What does US monetary policy have in common with cruising the high seas?

  82. Which South African satirical news site shut down this year?

  83. Which two countries received bailouts from their fellow Eurozone countries this year?

  84. Nigerian Henry Okah is being held in a South African prison for what?

  85. Which fast-food chain said it wants to have 1 200 outlets across Africa by 2014?

  86. It took 69 days to free 33 workers trapped in a mine where?

  87. Bianca Jagger, John Pilger, Ken Loach and Jemima Khan supported whom in London’s Westminster Magistrate’s Court in December?

  88. What was the most popular music video on YouTube in 2010?

  89. E.tv’s new weekly satirical show is Late Nite News with ... who?

  90. Which Ugandan publication published the names of “known gays” in November?

  91. “Money is not so important to us,” declared who (surprisingly) at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium in December?

  92. “Fick Fufa” was one T-shirted protest against who and what?

  93. Which local millionaire’s gastronomic tastes ran to sushi served on near-naked models?

  94. Cartoonist Zapiro was sued by whom in December?

  95. Which mining company owes about 5 500 workers an estimated R15-million in salaries?

  96. How much did the National Lottery give the National Youth Development Agency for its festival in December?

  97. A Cape judge ordered that “exotic dancers” at the Arabesque nightclub must be issued with what?

  98. Some Nigerians deem Goodluck Jonathan an unsuitable presidential candidate because he defies the principle of rotation in coming from (a) the Christian south or (b) the Muslim north?

  99. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said in December he was “quite ecstatic” about what?

  100. Tara Klamp is (a) a Russian villain in a 007 film, (b) a stapler or (c) a male circumcision device?

  101. Shortly after the murder of his wife Anni, Shrien Dewani hired which British PR guru?

Answers to our 101 quiz questions

  1. The volcano in Iceland that erupted, disrupting air travel across Europe for several days

  2. Zimbabwe’s 2002 presidential election

  3. Morgan Freeman

  4. Fire

  5. Lisbeth Salander, Noomi Rapace

  6. New Growth Path

  7. A bear

  8. Businessman Sandile Zungu

  9. Siphiwe Nyanda

  10. National Youth Development Agency

  11. French striker Nicolas Anelka; French manager Raymond Domenech

  12. Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana) and Jerome Boateng (Germany)

  13. Diego Forlán of Uruguay

  14. Karabo

  15. John Block

  16. The Guv, John Cleese

  17. 283

  18. Jackie Selebi’s

  19. Albie Sachs, The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law

  20. The Hurt Locker

  21. Kathryn Bigelow

  22. Glenn Agliotti

  23. Facebook

  24. Nelson Mandela

  25. Outcomes-based education (OBE)

  26. Subjects

  27. Marlboro and Rhodesfield

  28. Japan

  29. Arizona

  30. Rolling Stone

  31. July

  32. The Guptas

  33. Sahara Computers, New Age

  34. North West High Court

  35. Gobodo

  36. Racism

  37. Charles Taylor of Liberia

  38. Irma Stern

  39. A computer virus

  40. Chemistry

  41. Spying

  42. Mzwandile Petros, former Western Cape police boss

  43. Vuvuzelas

  44. Salmon

  45. Wole Soyinka

  46. His youngest son, Kim Jong-un

  47. Three and three

  48. Paul the Octopus

  49. This year’s Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, Mario Vargas Llosa

  50. Apple (with its iPhone) and Research in Motion (Blackberry)

  51. Palm

  52. Julius Malema

  53. Tshwane University of Technology and University of Zululand

  54. Marange

  55. UKZN’s Malegapuru Makgoba

  56. Hlengiwe Mkhize

  57. Mary Metcalfe and Ranjeni Munusamy

  58. Damon Galgut (for In a Strange Room)

  59. The nine-year-old Dutch boy was the sole survivor of Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771, which crashed near Tripoli airport on May 12

  60. General Bheki Cele, national police commissioner

  61. Show Dem

  62. Spain

  63. Brazil

  64. Maureen Modiselle (North West)

  65. Thandi Modise

  66. City of Cape Town

  67. 2011

  68. Zimbabwean Tendai ‘The Beast” Mtawarira

  69. Gordon Brown, then UK prime minister

  70. Alassane Ouattara

  71. International Criminal Court

  72. Dominee

  73. Porn movie

  74. Sars (it has used Noah’s services but not this year)

  75. Die Antwoord

  76. South Africa, France and the United States

  77. Seychelles

  78. Arsenic

  79. Johnnie Carson (assistant secretary of African affairs)

  80. Grace Mugabe’s; of a cable released by WikiLeaks linking her to diamond-smugglingcartels

  81. Its name, QE2, also refers to the cruise liner RMS Queen Elizabeth II that was retired in 2008

  82. Hayibo.com

  83. Greece and Ireland

  84. Alleged involvement in the Independence Day bombings in Abuja

  85. Kentucky Fried Chicken

  86. Chile

  87. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (at his bail hearing)

  88. Justin Bieber’s Baby

  89. Loyiso Gola

  90. Rolling Stone

  91. Fifa president Sepp Blatter

  92. Fifa, its marketing policies

  93. Kenny Kunene

  94. President Jacob Zuma

  95. Aurora

  96. R40-million

  97. Work permits (from home affairs)

  98. (a) The Christian south

  99. That South Africa can now afford twice as many ARVs following price negotiations

  100. (c) A male circumcision device

  101. Max Clifford

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