A thalassocracy is a state whose power derives from its naval or commercial supremacy on the seas. Which European trade group operated a thalassocracy between the 13th and 17th centuries, paving the way for the likes of the East India Company to find success following a similar model? Often misidentified by historians to have originated from the German words meaning "on the sea", its name survives today in the second part of the name of the German national airline.

Which 2005 novel about a young boy on quest to find his mother and sister features a cat named Mimi playing a pivotal role? A smart, sophisticated Siamese cat who's fond of quoting from Puccini operas, she's invaluable in helping an old man, Satoru Nakata, on his quest to find a missing cat.

Which art museum, housed in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, traces its origins to its founder's dizzying succession of artwork purchases between 1938 and 1946 in Europe and later in America? The museum is the second most visited attraction in its city after the Doge's Palace and its founder championed artists like Wassily Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock, and Max Ernst among others.

The sartorius (green in the visual), which runs down the length of the thigh, is the longest muscle in the human body. Its name hints at its importance to certain professionals. Which group of professionals?

Which children's fantasy novel by Eiko Kadono is about a young witch following tradition by living in a new town for a year? Accompanied by a talking black cat Jiji, she sets off on her adventures that include setting up a business that makes use of her broom. It was adapted into a popular 1989 animated film.

The packaging and bottle design of the alliteratively named ______ (6) Please perfume pays homage to what fabric design feature made popular by Issey Miyake? In 1988, Miyake launched a collection of clothes after experimenting with various synthetic materials and heat pressing techniques to achieve the signature look and non-creasing properties of this fabric design feature. The blank is in plural form.

Which Iranian-French grandmaster, with a current rating of 2778.0, is the youngest-ever to cross 2800? He started playing under the French flag due to Iran’s policy against competing with Israelis, which presented a major obstacle to tournament successes at the highest level. After winning the World Chess Championship 2021, Magnus Carlsen hinted that he was willing to take part in the next one only if this prodigy was his challenger.

Ken Burns' 2005 documentary, The Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of ____ _______ (4,7) deals with racism and social inequality during the Jim Crow era by delving into whose remarkable life (4,7) from humble beginnings in Galveston, Texas to sporting glory? As per Burns, this person was both "the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth" for more than a decade in the 1900s/1910s.

Which majestic waterfall on the Chalakudy river in Kerala provides much of the backdrop for the song Barso Re from the 2007 film Guru? It also appears prominently in the song Narumugaye from Iruvar.

Which 1983 novel starts with a cat named Church dying, and then being resurrected in a place that is misspelt by the children of the town? The author wrote this book in an attempted re-telling of The Monkey's Paw (1902), a short story by W. W. Jacobs about Oriental mysticism and the consequences of wishes.

Following the prayers at Mt. Arafat, pilgrims spend a night in the plain of Muzdalifa. During this period, they collect certain entities (visual) that are integral to which ritual performed at Mina? This ritual's origin traces back to when Ibrahim was confronted by Iblis and Ibrahim had to perform a certain act to ward him off.

Set in late 19th century Hong Kong, Jackie Chan's _______ _ (7,1) was about a Police Sergeant dealing with rampant piracy. What generic title (7,1) was given by Chan for this 1983 movie to prevent a rush of copy cat ventures from rival production houses? Interestingly, it was also Chan's first directorial venture with the Golden Harvest production house.

In Jamaican culture, a sound system is a group of disc jockeys, engineers and MCs playing various genres of music. What music genre is characterised by a walking bass line, accented with rhythms on the off beat? This early genre combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and R&B and gets its rather short name from the scratching guitar sound while muting and strumming.

In his essay from the book The Four Horsemen, Richard Dawkins suggests that critics often deny science on the premise of future falsifiability, yet the truth still holds - using the 1633 phrase Eppur si muove (yet it moves). Who is believed to have first used this phrase while under house arrest?

This special structure was created to help accomodate an influx of entrants into the country during a six-week period of a year. It was designed in proximity to a location that these visitors would travel to. What annual occurrence was this structure built for? It features souks, where travellers can pick up non-scented creams and soaps as well as other basic necessities for their journey.

Which Japanese designer launched the collection A Piece of Cloth (A-POC) in 1971? The collection is named for the fact that every garment is designed by customers themselves by cutting a long single tube of fabric into a shape of their choice. Known for his ability to combine technology and fashion, this designer was the favourite of an iconic technology pioneer.

What music genre of the Jamaican sound system succeeded ska and rocksteady? By far the most popular export, it is recognisable from the bass and drum downbeat (a rocksteady characteristic), the offbeat rhythm (a ska characteristic), and political lyrics. The term is believed to get its name from the Latin for "to the king".

In the 1960s, many hordes rushed to the town of Shashamane, 12000 km away from their native Jamaica. Denied citizenship and employment by local people, these folks passed their time selling art or playing cricket against folks from the British embassy. Which African country thus saw the birth of cricket brought on by followers of a modern-day religion?

The coracobrachialis muscle gets the first part of its name from the coracoid process (red in the visual) of the scapula bone. The term coracoid translates to "like the beak of a _____ (5)". Which creature (5), also the subject of a famous 19th century literary work?

In 1985, the Gondwanaland Occasionals faced the Beardmore Casuals in a cricket match. The stumps were improvised; the pitch had been rolled by a Hercules transport aircraft, and natural light allowed play to continue until 11pm. This became the first full match to take place in which geographic area, according to the Cricket Round the World section of the Wisden Almanack?

This capital city's metro system is one of the deepest in the world, generally located over 100 metres below the surface. It consists of two lines, the Chollima Line and the Hyŏksin Line. Which capital city, along the banks of the Taedong River, is it located in?

In his essay in The Four Horsemen, Sam Harris criticises modern day American politics motivated by religion - primarily mainstream biggies who remain neutral on paper while encouraging external extremist opinions that lie in their favour. What method from electrochemistry, where an external plate with higher positive potential is ceded to protect the main object from rusting, does he compare this to? Its popular name honours an Italian physicist.

Located 105m below the surface, Arsenalna is one of the deepest metro stations in the world. During recent times this station has also doubled as a bomb shelter. Which capital city is it located in?

Which TV series is set in the fictional Moordale Secondary School in the Wye Valley? This comedy-drama's first season revolves primarily around a certain therapy clinic set up by Otis Milburn and Maeve Wiley to help the students. A number of its cast members are now-breakout stars leading other projects.