I wondered whether ChatGPT would be able to come up with a good London quiz, so I asked it for...
A difficult quiz about London (10 questions) where all the questions have seven words or fewer
It offered this.
1. Oldest pub in London?
2. What river runs through central London?
3. Who designed St Paul’s Cathedral?
4. Tube station without any vowels?
5. Where is London’s smallest police station?
6. Name of London’s oldest bookshop?
7. Which London street has no name?
8. Location of the Whispering Gallery?
9. What’s Big Ben actually called?
10. City founded London in 43 AD?
I told it this was a poor, ambiguous quiz and proceeded to pull each question apart.
1. ambiguous - you've given me two answers!
2. ridiculously easy
3. too easy
4. there isn't one
5. that box in Trafalgar Square isn't a police station (and isn't "in a hollowed-out lamp post")
6. -
7. the street between Coventry Street and Leicester Square is called Swiss Court
8. too similar to question 3
9. depends what you believe Big Ben to be
10. makes no sense
It kept offering 'better' questions and I proceeded to pull them apart, indeed I pulled over 40 further suggestions apart.
It really struggled to write a question about old pubs.
1. First London pub with a license? (The Guinea, 1675) ...but the first pub licences were issued in 1552 1. First London pub licences issued when? (1552) ...much too difficult 1. First pub licensed under Elizabeth I? (The Old Bell, Fleet Street) ...no, it was built in 1678 1. Oldest London pub still operating today? (Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese) ...not the oldest 1. Which pub rebuilt after the Great Fire, 1667? (Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese) ...but there were several 1. Which London pub inspired Dickens’s “The Pickwick Papers”? (The George Inn) ...that's eight words 1. Which London pub inspired Dickens’s Pickwick Papers? (The George Inn) ... no it didn't 1. Which London pub has a ghost? (The Ten Bells) ... several pubs claim to have a ghost 1. Which London pub survived the Great Fire? (The Prospect of Whitby) ...several pubs did 1. Which London pub once housed a prison? (The George Inn) ...several pubs did 1. Which London pub claims Shakespeare as patron? (The Bunch of Grapes) ...he died before it was built 1. Which London pub was Charles Dickens’s favourite? (The George Inn) ...we have no idea
That's 12 useless questions before it finally came up with a good one (which I'll show you later). ChatGPT seemed to be bad at turning information into accurate questions, being over-reliant on a single source badly interpreted. It kept apologising for being inherently wrong ("Good point", "My mistake!", "Not unique enough", "That claim is shaky", "You're absolutely right again"). It also seemed to be fixated on the City of London, or sometimes just inner London rather than Greater London.
2. Which hidden river flows beneath Fleet Street? ...the answer's in the question 2. Name London’s lost river beneath streets. ...there are several 2. Which subterranean river crosses Holborn? (River Fleet) ...no it doesn't
4. Tube station with the fewest letters? (Bank) ...no there are two of them 4. Only Tube station with all the vowels? (South Ealing) ...no there are two of them
5. Where was Bow Street Runners headquartered? ...the answer's in the question 5. Oldest surviving police station building location? (Whitechapel Road) ...there is no police station there 5. Where were Bow Street Runners based? ...the answer's in the question, again
On several occasions it failed to notice the answer was in the question. On several occasions it failed to realise the answer wasn't unique. It also presented very false conclusions very convincingly.
After ditching the original question 7 it really struggled to find an alternative about a London street.
7. Only London street name with three L’s? (Pall Mall) ...no there are several, e,g, Whitehall Place 7. What’s London’s only road with no houses? (The Mall) ...no there are several, e,g, Constitution Hill 7. Only London street named after a newspaper? (Fleet Street) ... no it's named after a river 7. Which street hosts the only UK embassy? (Grosvenor Square) ... no there are several 7. Which London road forms a near-perfect semicircle? (Park Crescent) ... no there are several
ChatGPT seemed to have no concept of uniqueness, repeatedly taking a fact about a street and ignoring the fact that other streets might share this property. It was so keen to create an incorrect superlative that it could have been MyLondon. And on it went...
7. Only London street with a traffic light tree? (Canary Wharf) ...that's not a street 7. What London street inspired Monopoly’s design? (The Strand) ... no it didn't 7. Which street houses the Old Bailey court? ...the answer's in the question 7. London’s shortest street — just feet long? (Coulson Street) ...Kirk Street is shorter 7. What is London’s shortest street? (Kirk Street) ...it's not 10 feet long, it's 13m.
I was particularly intrigued when it cited my blog as evidence for the length of Kirk Street.
We really were bashing virtual heads against a virtual wall on the final question.
10. Who founded Roman London (Londinium)? ...the answer's in the question 10. Who conquered Londinium in 43 AD? ...it was founded, not conquered 10. Who established Londinium in 43 AD? ...too easy 10. Who ruled Britain when Londinium founded? ...too easy 10. Which Roman emperor ordered Britain’s invasion? (Claudius) ...but also Julius Caesar 10. Which emperor began permanent Roman Britain? ...not about London 10. Who founded Roman Londinium settlement? ...the answer's in the question 10. Which ancient people founded Londinium? ...too easy 10. Which empire established Londinium in 43 AD? ...just as easy 10. Where is London’s oldest surviving house? (Cloth Fair) ...no it isn't
We eventually came up with a reasonable quiz, but only after a 4000-word conversation and much unnecessary carbon emission.
1. Which pub is London’s oldest coaching inn?
2. Which lost river runs beneath Farringdon?
3. Where is Wren buried in St Paul’s?
4. Only Tube station name with letter 'z'?
5. Location of London’s first organized police force?
6. Name of London’s oldest bookshop?
7. What is London’s narrowest street?
8. Where can you find London’s Time Ball?
9. Which London bridge is a bascule bridge?
10. Where is London’s oldest timber house?
I still don't think it's a great quiz but I believe it has proper answers.
I know a lot of people now turn to AI as their default rather than a search engine, and I would like to ask WHY?!?, because AI too often generates total rubbish. It'll be better one day but we are nowhere near that day yet.
ChatGPT has absolutely no grasp on turning information into facts, so rely on it at your peril.
