A list of puzzling questions
Editor’s note: For almost two years, we featured three questions from our quiz master Shantanu Sharma—who is a researcher-writer, and has a side hustle as a professional quiz guru.
In last week’s Big edition, we featured his final set of questions—this edition only contains the answers. We’d like to thank all the splainer subscribers who participated in the quiz week after week over the past two years. The super quizzers for the month of July will receive an Amazon gift card.
About last week’s quiz…
Here are the answers to the previous edition of the splainer quiz:
One: Which European city will be lit-up with events like this throughout 2025? Which beloved resident are they celebrating? (5+5)
Answer: Bath and Jane Austen
This year marks the 250th year anniversary of Jane Austen—born on December 16, 1775. Though she famously moved to 4 Sydney Place in 1801 after her father’s retirement, the Austen family’s ties to Bath go back even further. The city of Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, named after its Roman-built baths, plays a central role in the commemorations. To honour this literary milestone, the Jane Austen Festival will present special events throughout the year, alongside its signature ten-day celebration each September. Visitors can explore the author’s life through immersive experiences at the Jane Austen Centre, join themed balls and talks, or take part in the costumed Regency promenade. Bath offered Austen rich material for her writing, drawing from its fashionable society, architecture, and traditions, appearing in all six of her novels, with ‘Persuasion’ and ‘Northanger Abbey’ set almost entirely there.
Two: Connect the elements below to work out a fictional universe.
a) Doctor of Medicine, better known for literary pursuits
b) Biotech firm
c) Creative media house
Answer: Jurassic Park/ Jurassic World
Bestselling author Michael Crichton received his MD from Harvard Medical School, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. He also taught anthropology at Cambridge University and writing at MIT. In the late 1980s, Crichton and director Steven Spielberg began developing a film based on Crichton’s experiences as an emergency room doctor. That project was shelved when Crichton shared an early draft of his novel ‘Jurassic Park’ (1990). Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment purchased the film rights for $2 million before the book's release.
‘Jurassic Park’ introduced InGen—International Genetic Technologies—a fictional biotech corporation that clones dinosaurs for a theme park, raising questions about science, ethics, and control. The latest release ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ (2025) is the seventh in this media franchise.
Three: The last time this happened in the sport’s modern avatar was thanks to this German legend. Who recently matched it, and with which unfortunate result? (5+5)
Answer: Iga Swiatek and winning a grand-slam final with 6-0, 6-0 OR double-bagel
Iga Swiatek won her first Wimbledon title in historic fashion, defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in just 57 minutes. It marked the first-ever double bagel in a Wimbledon final in the Open era, and only the second in any Grand Slam final since Steffi Graf’s 1988 French Open win over Natasha Zvereva. Long known as the Queen of Clay for her dominance at the French Open, with this victory, Swiatek became the youngest woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces—clay, hard, and now grass. It’s her sixth major title. This is what the emotional Anisimova said during her runner-up speech, whose journey till the final was nothing short of inspirational.
And the super quizzers for July are…
Anita Rao Kashi and Durgesh Garg! Congratulations for acing the splainer quiz! We will be emailing you soon with details of your prize.
Here is the leaderboard at the end of July.
