A list of Oscar-themed puzzling questions
Editor’s note: Every week, we feature three questions from our quiz master Shantanu Sharma—who is a researcher-writer and has a side hustle as a professional quiz guru. He’d love to hear from you—so send your feedback/suggestions or just say ‘hi’ over at sharmashantanu312@gmail.com or @shantorasbox on Twitter.
How this works: Every correct answer is worth 10 points. If a question has multiple parts, each is worth 5 points. You have until Friday 12 pm to send in your answers to talktous@splainer.in or via DMs on Insta or Twitter. The correct answers will be published every Tuesday—as will the monthly leaderboard. The grand prize for the winner at the end of the month: a quarterly subscription for anyone of your choice—including the option of adding three months to your sub. That’s Rs 899 in value—so it’s pretty darn good:) Rule to note: this is all about who sends in the correct answers first.
The answers: to the previous week’s quiz are at the bottom.
One: Which multi-record holding maestro is the common connection among the following films?
Two: Think laterally and connect the following elements:
a) A retired diplomat
b) A 19th-century French novelist and playwright
c) Likely the most iconic screenwriting duo of Hindi cinema
Three: Identify the individual receiving an Academy Award in the following video. Hint: He is one of the most familiar figures in Hollywood in a completely different avatar. Also: Which unique record was also set during this moment? Note: Both parts of the question carry five points.
About last week’s quiz…
Here are the answers to the third edition of the splainer quiz:
One: Identify the Indian city that connects the two images below. Hint: it is the place to be right now!
a) The flag of an erstwhile princely state in western India
b) A BJP MLA with a connection to sports
Answer: Jamnagar
The flag is of the former princely state of Nawanagar, in the Kathiawar region, situated on the south of the Gulf of Kutch. Established in 1540 A.D by Jam Raval, a Jadeja Rajput leader who migrated from Kutch, Jamnagar served as the capital of the affluent princely state of Nawanagar for a span of four centuries. Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, marked a successful entry into electoral politics by securing a significant victory in the Jamnagar North constituency during Decmeber 2022 assembly elections. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s billionaire pre-wedding celebrations was a star studded with Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg in attendance.
Two: The two images below are in chronological order. Name who is next in line. They’re all connected to something created by a former British intelligence officer.
Answer: Timothée Chalamet. The connection is that they have played Willy Wonka in films.
Gene Wilder played Willy Wonka in the1971 film ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory’ based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Johnny Depp took on the role in 2005’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. In December 2023, the film ‘Wonka’ was released, featuring Timothée Chalamet as the iconic chocolate maker. You can read more about these portrayals, as well as other Broadway performances of Willy Wonka, here. Before becoming a celebrated author, Roald Dahl, served as a fighter pilot in Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. He was also part of a British spy ring operating in the United States.
Three: Think laterally and connect the following:
- A non-hump relative of camel (Hint: Don’t get confused with the other common one)
- Twins from Greek and Roman mythology familiar to fans of Linda Goodman
- The second in command in the cockpit
Answer: Generative AI Chatbots
The three elements are Llama, Gemini, and Copilot.
Commonly found in the Andes Mountains, Llamas have been vital to local communities for ages, used mainly as pack animals. Llamas and Alpacas are same-same but different. Llama 2 is the latest open source large language model from Meta. The twins Castor and Pollux give their name to the two brightest stars in the Gemini constellation. They also represent the zodiac sign Gemini. Bard, the generative AI from Google is now Gemini. Microsoft's AI chatbot, Copilot, assists, much like the copilot who supports the captain in the cockpit.
And the winners are…
Here are the top five scorers for the first week of March. Congratulations!
