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 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.
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
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.
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
About last week’s quiz…
One: Pictured below are images of the interior and exterior of an Airbnb rental. Covered in moss and nestled beneath a colossal tree, it is a faithful recreation of what?
Answer: Shrek
Airbnb recreated Shrek’s swamp in the Scottish highlands. Last year, they opened the booking reservations for a limited time. The package comprised a two-night stay in the swamp for three individuals between October 27 to 29 2023. Although Shrek wasn’t there himself, the guests were welcomed by his loyal friend, Donkey. You can read more about it here.
Two: Think laterally and connect the following elements.
a) A malt chocolate drink mix that is popular in India
b) The former name of a neighbouring island nation
c) A toothpaste brand acquired by Dabur in the ‘90s
Answer: Ameen Sayani
The three elements in question are—Bournvita, Ceylon (former name of Sri Lanka), and Binaca. Ameen Sayani—the legendary radio presenter—produced about 50,000 radio programs, contributed his voice to 19,000 jingles, helmed television shows, and participated in voiceovers and cameo appearances in several Bollywood films. His original radio show, Binaca Geetmala, ran for 42 years. The Binaca Geetmala was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to All India Radio's Vividh Bharati Service in 1989 where it ran until 1994. The Bournvita Quiz Contest that many of you may have grown up watching on TV started as a radio show hosted by Ameen Sayani who took over from his brother Hamid Sayani after his death.
Three: Identify this championship trophy which is one of the most coveted prizes in the sporting world—and named after a North American politician. Hint: It shares its name with a wildly popular collectible—whose sales recently hit a whopping $700 million.
Answer: Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is awarded annually to the National Hockey League champion. It is the oldest trophy in North American professional sports. The cup's donor was a governor-general of Canada, Frederick Arthur, Lord Stanley of Preston, after whom it is named. The demand for the Stanley Quencher (commonly known as the Stanley Cup), took off in early 2022. According to CNBC, the company made over $750m last year, compared with an average of $70m a year before 2020.
And the super quizzer for February is…
Here is the leaderboard at the end of February. Congratulations to the top 5 for acing the splainer quiz! We will be emailing you soon with details of your prize—a quarterly splainer sub!
