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Editorial: Starter for 10, and a cause for celebration

The BBC’s early-evening quiz show Pointless has injected new life into the format

Independent Voices
Tuesday 30 April 2013 19:10 BST
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Monday night’s final of University Challenge brought Manchester University its fourth title in seven years. But there’s a wider triumph to report – that of quizzing itself.

In many ways, we are living through a golden age. University Challenge, which started life in 1962, remains perennially popular. The BBC’s early-evening quiz show Pointless has injected new life into the format. From schools to workplaces, quizzes form the backbone of many a charity fund-raising effort. And as pubs seek to withstand the pressures that have seen so many close, the quiz night is proving to be an invaluable draw.

There’s something else to be said for quizzes. In their celebration of knowledge, they suggest that dumbing down is not an irreversible trend. The British brain is still hard at work, and coming up with the answers. We trust Michael Gove is impressed.

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