A list of puzzling questions
Editor’s note: Every Tuesday, 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: The two images below are from an advertising campaign launched last year. Identify the advertiser who cleverly makes the parent-child relationship of the ads—not its own products—the focal point.
Two: Think laterally and give a one-word prefix connecting the three images below:
He is an investigative journalist-turned-author whose books have been adapted into Hindi films:
This is a cricket team from the southern hemisphere—dressed in retro outfits rather than their usual uniforms:
This man self-identifies as a flaneur—and is famous for his books on themes of probability, philosophy, uncertainty and decision-making:
Three: The caution sign shown below is seen around different water bodies in the state of Florida. They help remind boaters to navigate with caution to avoid hurting this animal. Be sure not to confuse this herbivorous mammal with its cousin—though they share a common name that reflects their gentle nature and fondness for underwater vegetation.
About last week’s quiz…
Here are the answers to the third edition of the splainer quiz:
One: Something momentous happened at a party held 50 years ago. The hosts were two siblings (shown in pic below). The sister took care of the guest list, while the brother was in charge of the music. What was born in that party—growing from a New York borough fad to become a worldwide sensation?
Answer: Hip-Hop
On August 11, 1973, Cindy Campbell—a high school student—organised a party in her family's Bronx apartment. Her brother Clive Campbell—also known as DJ Kool Herc—arranged his turntables, mixer, amplifiers, and big speakers that played a blend of funk and soul music at the party. Their party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx held 50 years ago, is widely recognized as laying the foundation upon which hip-hop was built. ‘50 Years of Hip-Hop’ is a great podcast by NPR, celebrating the anniversary by highlighting a different year of its history each week.
Two: The woman in the photo below was tasked with a very important fashion project. As part of her homework, she studied the iconic styles of Sadhana, Sharmila Tagore, and even Jacqueline Kennedy. But a great part of her research focused on the Anglo-Indian community. Where would you have seen the fruits of the devoted labour recently?
Answer: ‘The Archies’ (2023) by Zoya Akhtar
This is costume designer Poornamrita Singh. For the 1960s backdrop, she designed plenty of vintage printed dresses, pinafores, and designs that take cues from upholstery patterns. From Veronica’s high fashion to Ethel’s eclectic taste, and Dilton’s cheek gic, she made a lot of colour palettes, for each dance and song sequence. Poornamitra has earlier won the Screen Award for Best Costume Design in Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Gully Boy’.
Three: As we say goodbye to 2023, how would you connect the seemingly disparate images shown below? Hint: Each is #1 in its category.
Answer: Google Trends 2023 for India. In other words, the most searched Google events, items or things.
In India, Chandrayaan - 3 was the most searched News item; ‘Jawan’ was the most searched movie; IPL triumphed the Cricket World Cup as the most searched Sports event; and Bhupendra Jogi was the king of memes. Check out what else was trending in India in 2023 here. And here’s the list of what trended globally.
And the winners are…
Here are the top five scorers for the first week of January. Congratulations!
