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 month of May.
One: What natural phenomenon was the subject of this photographer’s India excursion? Also, name the photographer, better known for a work from a neighboring country. (5+5)
Two: What rare triple feat connects these people behind the camera? Who’s the latest entrant to this club? (5 +5)
Three: Named after his most potent weapon, what is this former World No. 1’s podcast called?
About last week’s quiz…
One: This is a screengrab of the production design for an OTT series released this year. Name the series, and the iconic building being recreated. (5+5)
Answer: The White House and ‘The Residence’
Netflix and Shondaland’s ‘The Residence’ (2025), created by Paul William Davies, posed a unique challenge for production designer François Audouy: recreating what he called “arguably the most iconic house in North America”—the White House. Their team designed and built over 70 rooms, including rarely seen areas like the third floor, solarium, basement, and mezzanine.
The production relied on thousands of archival images and expert guidance, including from a former White House staffer, even crafting 200 custom dinner plates for a state dinner scene. As Audouy put it, ‘The Residence’ offers a rare look at the "guts" of the White House, both its structure and the people behind it. You can explore everything true about ‘The Residence’ here, and don’t miss the stunning BTS video.
Two: What unique connection links these extraordinary women—from the US, UK, and India, respectively?
Answer: Translators of the International Booker Prize-winning books
When Han Kang’s ‘The Vegetarian’ won the International Booker Prize in 2016, the world took notice, but the novel’s journey began over a decade earlier in Korean. British translator Deborah Smith, having taught herself Korean, brought the book to English readers in 2015. Kang also won the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature.
In 2022, Hindi author Geetanjali Shree and American translator Daisy Rockwell made history as the first team to win the International Booker for a novel originally written in an Indian language. Their collaboration on ‘Tomb of Sand’, translated from ‘Ret Samadhi’, unfolded over countless emails.
For Deepa Bhasthi, translating Banu Mushtaq’s ‘Heart Lamp’ (Kannada to English) was an immersive experience. Aware of her distance from the cultural setting, she engaged deeply with the stories' art, language, and atmosphere, watching Pakistani dramas, listening to Sufi music, and even learning Urdu script to better inhabit the world she was translating.
Three: Name the once-pioneering service—founded by the two men below—that has recently shut its doors.
Answer: Skype
Skype (Sky peer-to-peer), the pioneer of internet calling, has shut down after more than 20 years. Founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis (photographed above), Skype quickly became a household name, disrupting traditional phone calls with audio and video chats. eBay bought it in 2005 for $2.6 billion, and Microsoft acquired it in 2011. On May 5, 2025, Microsoft retired Skype, ending an era of border-breaking communication. In recent years, Skype struggled to keep up with newer, easier apps like Zoom and Slack, partly due to outdated technology not suited for smartphones. According to this Microsoft announcement, Skype users can switch to Microsoft Teams Free, which transfers their contacts and chats automatically. After all these years, are you ready to dial up some nostalgia?
And the super quizzers for May are…
Manish Achuth! Congratulations for acing the splainer quiz! We will be emailing you soon with details of your prize—a quarterly splainer sub!
Note: We didn’t use a lucky draw for the monthly winners this time as the scores had a straightforward winner.
Here is the leaderboard at the end of May. Congratulations to the lucky three for acing the splainer quiz!
