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 second week of April.
One: In the context of a recent controversial scientific achievement, name these twin brothers and their missing sibling.
Two: Connect these lateral hints to name the literary work that turned 100 years old earlier this month.
a) Iconic eyes floating above the night sky of New York
b) An American aristocrat from the Jazz Age
c) Scatterplot graph of countries with greater income inequality having lower intergenerational mobility
Three: Looking at the colors, identify the desi invention that inspired this homegrown brand’s collection. And fittingly, what’s hanging from the laces (purple blank)? (5+5)
About last week’s quiz…
Here are the answers to the previous edition of the splainer quiz:
One: What kit change did one of these teams make in a recent clash to make the experience more inclusive—and for which group of viewers? (5+5)
Answer: The Irish team played in white (instead of green) to help supporters impacted by colour blindness.
Wales against Ireland has traditionally been a battle between red and green. But in their recent clash, Ireland swapped their traditional green attire for white. The change follows a new World Rugby directive to support fans with colour vision deficiency (CVD) by reducing kit clashes in the sport. Commonly known as colour blindness, it affects over 300 million people globally—around 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women. The most common form, red-green colour blindness, makes it difficult to distinguish between these two colours on the pitch. In a landmark move, World Rugby will ban red-green kit clashes altogether at the 2027 World Cup, ensuring a more inclusive viewing experience for all fans.
Two: Connect the lateral hints to work out this global sensation.
a) Focus on the playing area
b) The pointed section on the phone
c) The developer’s headquarters, named after a Nordic word for ‘gadget’
Answer: Minecraft
Minecraft, created by Swedish developer Markus Persson, was released by Mojang Studios in November 2011. Markus is better known by his internet handle, Notch (the black part on phones that houses the top speaker, camera, and Face ID technology). Now the best-selling video game in the world, it was bought by Microsoft in 2014 for $2.5 billion. The game’s huge popularity across all age groups comes from its “sandbox” style—a gameplay format where players have complete freedom to build, explore, and create anything they can imagine. Mojang’s (Swedish word for gadget) Stockholm headquarters, tucked away on a quiet street, mirrors the spirit of Minecraft—cozy, creative, personal, and even has a custom-designed coat of arms. The recently released ‘A Minecraft Movie’ broke box office records, earning $157 million in the US—the biggest three-day opening ever for a video game adaptation.
Three: This clip shows a good samaritan performing his holy duty. What exactly does he do?
Answer: Sehri wakers/wallahs/masaharati waking up people during Ramzan (accept similar variations)
Before alarm clocks, people relied on others to wake them up—especially during Ramzan for sehri, the pre-dawn meal. In Old Delhi, volunteers called sehri wallahs or masaharati still walk through the streets, knocking on doors and windows to wake people up. This tradition dates back centuries. According to Islamic tradition, the first person assigned this duty was Hazrat Bilal, the first muezzin, appointed by Prophet Mohammad to wake Muslims in Madina for sehri. The practice continues in many countries, where these wake-up callers are known by different names—Nafar in Morocco, Musarati in Egypt, and Hil hiwai in the UAE. The clip shows Mohammad Nadeem, who has been a Sehri Khan in Old Delhi for 20 years.
And the winners are…
Here are the top five scorers for the second week of April. Congratulations!
