Labour Day weekend, when our thoughts turn to heading back to school, brings opportunity for another round of my periodic Public Editor readers’ quiz : “Are you smarter than a Star journalist working on pressing deadlines?”

Do you know the answers to the following facts of geography, history, civics and science? Or would you double-check what you think you know to make certain you are right?

In this game, as in 24/7 journalism, there is no harm in consulting a source to make certain you are right. For journalists, double-checking to get it right is imperative. But as the Star’s nearly 300 corrections to date this year make all too clear, in the rush to constant daily deadlines journalists sometimes assume they have it right and don’t double-check. That is the most common reason for factual errors.

If you were the journalist working on deadline, how many of these facts would you know with the certainty required for publication? Remember, any time you opt to double-check that counts as a win for journalists and readers both.

Here is the correct information, all of which has been previously stated in Star corrections.

What is your correction tally of rights and wrongs? More importantly, how many would you have checked before pressing to publish?

1. Wrong. In fact, Brasilia is the capital of Brazil.

2. Wrong. In fact, Cleveland is located on the southern shores of Lake Erie.

3. Wrong. In fact, Middle Island is located in Lake Erie.

4. Wrong. In fact, Drumheller is located 90 minutes northeast of Calgary.

5. Wrong. In fact, the Governor General of Canada is the representative of Canada’s head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II.

6. Wrong. In fact, John McCain was the Republican candidate in the 2008 U.S. election.

7. Wrong. In fact, Farley Mowat served in the Hastings & Prince Edward Regiment (The Hasty Ps) during the Second World War, the same regiment his father had served in during the Great War.

8. Wrong. In fact, Jack Layton died in August 2011.

9. Wrong. In fact, Pope Francis was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1969.

10. Wrong. In fact, David Ahenakew was a Cree member of the Ahtahkakoop Indian Reserve in Saskatchewan.

11. Wrong. In fact, high pH is an indication of high alkalinity.

12. Wrong. Of course, acorns come from oak trees. Yes, indeed, the Star recently reported that acorns come from maple trees. “Brain cramp?” I asked the reporter. “Jet lag,” she told me, having returned from an overseas trip. Surprisingly, no one checked this further along in the editing process.