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 third week of September.
One: Which ongoing challenge brings together some of the sharpest minds to vie for the honour of winning these trophies?
Two: Think laterally to figure out this person who belongs to a finite set of three people to hold a particular position.
a) “Too sexy for you to get a hold of her”
b) Yes, comrades!
Three: Take a close look at this building and figure out its name. Hint: Dedicated to a nation’s cultural heritage, it is located in an Asian capital city.
About last week’s quiz…
Here are the answers to the previous edition of the splainer quiz:
One: This IITian was recently featured on a distinguished global list—for his leadership of India’s tech development—along with two other Indians. However, he has received a lot of flak at home for his (lack of) leadership in another not-so-high tech area.
Answer: Ashwini Vaishnaw
The Electronics and Information Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is one of three Indians on TIME’s Most Influential People in AI 2024 list. What’s odd: Vaishnaw is also the current Union Railway minister and not popular because of the inaction taken during perfectly avoidable train collisions—including last year’s Coromandel Express pile-up in Odisha’s Balasore (explained here) and the recent Kanchanjunga Express collision in July. FYI: Nandan Nilekeni and actor Anil Kapoor are the other two.
Two: Think laterally and figure out the modern connection among the three images
a) A popular yesteryear sports channel started by the man on the right
b) A soon-to-be-available Norwegian intelligent assistant
c) One of the most famous creations of these siblings (sisters, not brothers!)
Answer: NEO
Harish Thawani, the former Chairman/CEO of Nimbus Communications, once at the top of the sports broadcasting industry, launched the TV channel Neo Sports that later went bust due to factors such as the recession and souring relations with the BCCI. Oslo, Norway-headquartered, AI robotics company, 1X Technologies latest prototype is NEO - a humanoid with a wide range of capabilities. This is the Beta version’s demo. As Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s ‘The Matrix’ celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, Keanu Reeves' portrayal of Neo still captivates us just as much as ever.
Three: This clip is from a documentary named after the sport's intense and aggressive playing style—which inspired its former name. Recently seen on the world's biggest stage, which sport is the subject of this documentary? (No quiz setters were harmed in the making of this question.)
Answer: Wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair rugby, first created in Canada in the 1970s, became a medal sport at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics. According to USA Wheelchair Rugby’s mission statement, the sport was originally named Murderball, nope, not a nickname; that was its official name as it includes loud collisions, frequently punctured tires, and overturned wheelchairs as part of the action. The 2005 documentary ‘Murderball’ centres on the fierce rivalry between the Canadian and US teams leading up to the 2004 Paralympic Games. You can watch the full trailer here.
And the winners are…
Here are the top five scorers for the third week of September. Congratulations!
