A list of 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 Monday. 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 499 in value—so it’s pretty darn good:)
Rule to note: We will pick winners each month using a lucky draw.
The answers: to the previous week’s quiz are at the bottom—as are the winners for the first week of November.
One: As you come to terms with the results, name the US election platform founded by a data-driven sports enthusiast in 2008.
Two: Be gentle and identify the architectural style shared by these buildings—soon to be immortalised on the silver screen. Also: which Indian state capital is home to these structures? (5+5)
Three: Where exactly has this swimming pool been installed—as a poor consolation to disappointed tourists?
About last week’s quiz…
Here are the answers to the previous edition of the splainer quiz:
One: Identify the key ingredient in this type of beverage. It gives every sip a velvety smooth texture—but has failed to impress coffee lovers.
Answer: Olive Oil
Made with award-winning Partanna extra virgin olive oil, Oleato was born in Sicily when Starbucks founder Howard Schultz discovered the Mediterranean tradition of taking a daily spoonful of olive oil. Made with award-winning Partanna extra virgin olive oil, it was launched in Italy in early 2023. Unfortunately, this masterstroke did not catch on with US customers and will leave stores in early November after mixed reviews. Don’t worry, you can still enjoy it across the Starbucks locations in China, Italy, and Japan.
Two: You may have spotted these exquisite new covers while browsing the aisles of a bookstore recently. Whose literary works—with skyrocketing sales—are these?
Answer: Han Kang
Han Kang’s Nobel win has caused a sensation in South Korea. As thousands rushed to purchase her works, website crashes at major bookstores occurred. Within a week of the announcement, over 1.06 million copies, including e-books, had been sold. These are the stunning new re-jackets of her three novels, namely ‘The Vegetarian’, ‘Human Acts’, and ‘The White Book’ published by Granta Books. Combining the intimacy of a small team with significant cultural impact and recognition, they have published 31 Nobel Prize laureates.
Three: This image shows two captains of their teams (blanked out by the yellow box) with the trophy they fought each other for. Name the city that hosted this match—and the architectural marvel in the background. (5+5)
Answer: Dubai and Museum of the Future
New Zealand claimed their first-ever ICC Women's T20 World Cup, triumphing over South Africa by 32 runs in Dubai, UAE, last month. This was the 9th edition of the tournament. In the picture above, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt and New Zealand's Sophie Devine are standing with the trophy in front of the Museum of the Future, Dubai.
Opened in 2022, this cultural landmark merges tradition with cutting-edge design. Its Arabic-inscribed facade, featuring the poetry of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, reflects optimism and a commitment to sustainability. The circular form of the building represents humanity, its green base symbolises the earth, and the open void suggests the unknown future.
And the winners are…
Here are the top five scorers for the first week of November. Congratulations!
