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 September.
One: On the left is a man whose heroic action during a tragic event remains unforgettable. Identify him and the incident. Hint: The man on the right recently portrayed him on screen. (5+5)
Two: Think laterally and work out the ‘Amritsari tadka’ that connects the images below:
a) Passionate romantic trio—man, woman, and tiger
b) One of India's earliest UNESCO heritage sites (don’t confuse it with the other one!)
c) A modern take on a housing style popular during colonial rule, named after a region in India
Three: Posing with the trophies is a man whose vision, persistence, and faith have finally been rewarded. Identify this sports enthusiast—both on- and off-screen—and the maiden tournament win he is celebrating. (5+5)
About last week’s quiz…
Here are the answers to the previous edition of the splainer quiz:
One: At which annual event would you raise this toast to the champions—capturing the flavour of the season?
Answer: US Open
Blending lemonade, raspberry liqueur, honeydew, and Grey Goose Vodka, the GREY GOOSE® Honey Deuce™ is the official cocktail of the US Open Tennis Championships. It is a big moneymaker for the tournament, with 450,000 sold at the 2023 U.S. Open, bringing in $9.9 million—more than the $7.2 million combined prize for the men’s and women’s winners.
Two: Identify the speaker whose work is loved and loathed by women readers in equal measure. Hint: A version of the work has recently been in the news—for being both a big hit and a serious miss.
Answer: Colleen Hoover
Of the 24 titles she’s published in the past twelve years, 17 have been NYT bestsellers, with over 50 million copies worldwide translated into 45 languages. Known to fans as CoHo, her book ‘It Ends With Us’ became a huge hit during the pandemic thanks to BookTok, a TikTok community where readers share book recommendations. The recently released film adaptation, starring Blake Lively, recorded a huge box-office opening of $100 million in the US in just 11 days.
Three: Think laterally and figure out the person who connects these three images.
a) Four countries across three continents
b) another tech company that ousted its founder
c) Enuf said.
Answer: Pavel Durov
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was indicted in France last week for not stopping illegal activities on the app (you can read all about it in our Big Story). Believe it or not, the free-speech advocate holds citizenship in four countries: Russia, France, the UAE, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 2006, Durov founded Vkontakte, also called Russia's Facebook. He was fired from the company in 2014 and sold his shares, which are now owned by Russia. In 2013, he founded Telegram with his brother, Nikolai. The popular messaging platform has a paper plane as its logo.
And the winners are…
Here are the top five scorers for the first week of September. Congratulations!
