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Fun Home is the title of Alison Bechdel's memoir. The word 'fun' in the title is actually short for something that is decidedly far from fun, and when the title is considered with the first word expanded, it refers to the kind of business establishment her family owned and operated. What is the word fun short for?
Dubbed as the "Hottest Burger on the Planet", Chunky's 4 Horsemen burger owes its name to its four fiery ingredients. If three of them are fresh jalapenos, serrano peppers, and habanero hot sauce, *which haunting ingredient* cultivated in South Asia is the fourth?
Craters on Mars with a diameter larger than 60 km are named for famous scientists or sci-fi authors.
Which author of the Martian Way (1952), a novella about Mars-born humans who scour space to retrieve remains of spacecraft, has a crater named after him?
Several perfumes, like Calvin Klein’s Obsession for Women, use the oil extracted form the peel of what citrus fruit native to the Ionian coasts of Southern Italy? The oil has uses beyond perfumery, including tea flavouring.
The charcuterie-inspired 'Butter Board Challenge' on TikTok and Reels inspired a number of variations where people used a spread of their own choice. What yogurt dip of Greek origin is used in this variation? A staple in the cuisines of Southeast Europe and the Middle East, it is made with yogurt, drained cucumber, olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic, lemon juice and salt.
73 Questions is a series by Vogue where celebrities are asked rapid-fire questions about their life and work. In her 73 Questions, who was slightly embarassed to explain that in her winning answer in Miss World 2000, she called Mother Teresa her most influential living woman, although she was dead? She stated that if she were to write a book, she would call it 'Unfinished', and did so four years later.
Chanel No. 5 is composed of many fragrances across its top, middle, and base notes. Which scent obtained from this fruit is a top note in the Eau de Parfum? It has a sweet citrusy smell and is believed to derive its name from an Italian town.
Pictured here is Cat Catching a Bird, painted in 1939 as a reaction to the outbreak of World War II. Who painted it? This isn't his only anti-war work, with the one he did in 1937 regarding a city's bombing among his most revered works.
Identify this 1997 album, whose visual art was made without using the "undo" function to show all the mistakes of the creative process. It includes the tracks "Karma Police" and "No Surprises".
Which 2022 film taking place over the course of a single day stars Brad Pitt as an assassin who must battle fellow killers while riding the titular entity?
Which cola brand was launched by the Indian government after Coca-Cola's departure from the Indian market? The two word name is a reference to the year in which Coca-Cola was forced to exit India, but once Indira Gandhi returned to power, this government brand was clearly not going to last too long.
Which iconic lamp (7) was designed by Gino Sarfatti, a towering figure in mid-century-modern Italian lighting? Although Gino designed it after completing his aeronautics degree in the 1930s, it was only during its production in 1957 that it got its name following a certain technological first.
Which 1974 novel was in part inspired by Kim Philby, a high-ranking double agent who defected to Russia? The plot of the novel involves the hunt for a traitor within MI6 that mimicked the search for Philby, who was ironically at the time Head of Soviet Counterintelligence. The first time this novel was adapted to screen was for a 1970s TV show.
The fandom names of certain popstars are a wordplay involving the popstar's name.
What is the fandom name of this English singer which shares its name with an American crime drama TV series that has spawned a movie series of the same name? Despite its name, this fanbase is made up only of brats!
In Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, who is believed to be the first woman and Adam's first wife who was banished from the Garden of Eden? The Rossetti painting featured here, alliteratively titled Lady [Blank], represents this woman.
Urdu poetry was not written just for love poems. In the 1920s, the Indian poet Hasrat Mohani compared Gandhi with a world leader prominent in the decade before. FITB with his surname.
*Gandhi ki tarah baith ke kaateinge kyun charkha,
____ (5) ki tarah denge na duniya ko hila hum?*
(Why waste time with Gandhi’s spinning wheel
And not usher in a revolution with ___(5)’s zeal?)
The oldest cycling Monument, Liège–Bastogne–Liège is a demanding race that is held across the provinces, Liège and (Belgian) Luxembourg, in which region of Belgium? A primarily French-speaking region accounting for 55% of the country’s territory, its administrative capital is Namur. The visual is of the region's flag.
Which Hispanic surname comes from the Arabic word for "cherry tree" (kars) due to its abundance in a namesake city in the province of Albacete? It may remind you of a sports star who is the youngest to be ranked year-end world #1 in ATP history.
The Qutub Minar was lit up blue in 2018 as part of a campaign to raise awareness for what neurodevelopmental disorder involving persistent challenges with social communication, restricted interests and repetitive behaviour? The event was organised by ACE, an educational institution for children with this condition.
Which desert is home to the Makgadikgadi Pan, one of the largest salt flats in the world? Spread across an area stretching over 30,000 sq. km, the pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadikgadi, which once covered an area larger than Switzerland.
This graphic novel by Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998, features a historic character supposedly behind the Whitechapel murders of the late Victorian era as the central figure. What apt two-word title did he give this work?
In early 2008, thousands of refugees arrived in Uganda following post-election violence in which country to its east? Most were fleeing from the targeted ethnic violence, perpetrated by the Luos and Kalenjins, in the Rift Valley Province directed against the Kikuyu, the community of the newly sworn-in president Mwai Kibaki.
What is the paired title of the 2006 release, the first instalments in the fourth generation of the Pokémon video game series? The first entity is a highly desired object that appears in the title of a James Bond film, whereas the second entity lends its name to a highly desired vehicle in the first Pirates of the Caribbean film.
Indrajal Comics was a comic book series in India that published a number of syndicated international comic series. Which comic series, featuring its titular costumed crime-fighter operating in the fictional African country of Bangalla, was its most popular feature on issues?
This 1985 film sees John Matrix, the titular special operations soldier, take revenge against his former superior officer for kidnapping his daughter. What is the title of this Arnold Schwarzenegger action classic?
During the 1992 Zooropa Tour, WHICH artist portrayed a character called Mirror Ball Man - a glitzy cross between a used-car salesman, a televangelist, and a game show host? He also came up with bad-guy alter ego called MacPhisto: Satan reimagined as an aging rock star, replete with gold jacket, red lipstick, platform shoes, and horns. The purpose behind the alter egos was to magnify the growing ills caused by massive consumption, a cause close to this artist's heart.
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.
Signed in 493 BCE, the Treaty of Cassius formed a purported alliance between the Roman Republic and which confederation? It was created under the leadership of the city of Alba Longa to repel the Etruscans. Modern historians gave this coalition its alliterative name retrospectively, and ironically, it has no equivalent in the titular language.
This image of IC 4406, a dying planetary nebula, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2002. What is this nebula's name (6), arising from its intricate tendrils of dust clouds being compared to a layer of tissue with photoreceptor cells of two types - rods and cones?
The Tropic of Capricorn passes through five countries in Africa from west to east. What country is missing from this list?
Namibia
[blank]
South Africa
Mozambique
Madagascar
Which country adopted a localised version of Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika (God bless Africa) called "Ishe Komborera Africa" as its initial anthem before replacing it in 1994? The new anthem, Blessed Be The Land of [Blank], that asks God to bless this land 'between Zambezi and Limpopo' has 16 different versions, one in each official language, but the Shona and Ndebele versions are most popular of the lot.
The biggest driving force behind St+art India was its co-founder, the late Hanif Kureshi. His works typically blended traditional Indian aesthetics with modern practices, with a focus on typography. In 2020, Kureshi unveiled this neon-lit installation, a hybrid of Gujarati, Marathi and Tamil scripts. It was a reflection of the collective nostalgia of which community whose language is on the verge of extinction? They reside in South India, following their migration from the namesake region.
Which man was inspired by Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, the doyenne of Gilded Age New York, who regularly hosted the city’s high society in her Fifth Avenue ballroom, which was said to fit about 400 people? After 1987, his namesake list expanded to become something worldwide rather than just be restricted to people from the USA.
The last Pakistani player to score a triple hundred in Test cricket did so vs. West Indies in Dubai in 2016. His score of 302 was a record for day/night Test matches, until surpassed by David Warner, who scored 335 in 2019. Who is this?
What coffee brewing device (9) invented by a Swiss F&B conglomerate uses pods of ground coffee to extract it at high temperature and pressure? This trademark is a portmanteau of the company's name and the concentrated type of (Italian) coffee it produces.
Which former NBA player, with the alliterative nickname Pistol ____ (4), collapsed and died during a pickup basketball game in 1988? He is the all-time leading NCAA Division I scorer with 3,667 points scored at an average of 44.2 points per game. The blank is his first name.
In the 1980s, NASA developed a light detection and ranging prototype for autonomous docking of space vehicles to satellites. This technology was later repurposed for use in a medical procedure (visual) as a tracking device to guide excited dimer rays towards a particular organ(s), as they tend to make small, involuntary saccadic movements about 100 times per second. What medical procedure?
Which real-life British politician did Terrence Hardiman portray in Gandhi? He was one of the founders of the Labour Party, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1924 and again between 1929 and 1935.
Which family-oriented tile-based board game, winner of the 2017 Spiels Des Jahres, involves building a realm by placing oversized tiles that resemble a [blank] such that the resultant landscape matches the previous? It gets its portmanteau name from the two parts italicised here, in that one is building a “realm” making use of a “common traditional tile”.
From Mao to Mozart: _____ _____ (5,5) in China is a documentary film about the entry of Western culture into China. It portrays the 1979 tour of China of _____ _____ (5,5), the first American musician in a long while to collaborate with Chinese ensembles. Which violinist (5,5) is the serious subject of this film, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1980?
The Bumbu Dasar Merah of Indonesia consists of which member of the Allium family being combined with red chili and garlic? This cultivar group of the onion has a milder, sweeter flavour that slightly resembles garlic.
A popular feature on Indrajal Comics issues, which comic series is about the titular hero's attempts to stop the evil emperor Ming? It was adapted into a cult 1980 film featuring Sam Jones and it featured heavily in the Ted film franchise.
The adventure sport of underwater diving is officially known as SCUBA diving, the term being an acronym coined in 1952. Simply, what does the acronym stand for? Although it refers to a certain group of things used by the diver, its general usage has extended to include harness, jacket, dive watches, etc.
Uhuru [BLANK] is a Kenyan politician who has served as the President of Kenya since 2013. He is the son of WHICH KENYAN LEADER, lauded as the father of the Nation in Kenya? This person governed Kenya as its Prime Minister and then as its first President till his death in 1978, transforming Kenya from a British colony into an independent republic.
The full title of the Sultan of Brunei is Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia ______ (6) Seri Baginda. The words “Seri ______ (6)” mean “His Majesty” and the blank is a type of footwear associated with ancient Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions. What’s the good word?
Two iconic rock songs - Highway Star and Smoke on the Water - feature in the album '_______ ____' (7,4). It doesn't refer to any mechanical, cyborg-type being, but rather to the metal pegs used for tuning the strings of a guitar and affixed above the neck. Name this album, which turned fifty in 2022. Despite popular belief, an American metal band of the 90s did not take their name from it.
This American band made their debut in 1987 with the album Appetite for Destruction. What are their fans called (7), a wordplay deriving from a part of the band's name? It is also the nickname of an English football club. The name is in plural form.
Eyewire is a citizen science game where players are given a cube to reconstruct the networks formed by what type of cells that fire electric signals and communicate via synapses? The game uses player responses to map such networks around the retina.
This hip-hop outfit was formed in 1988 by Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, and Maseo. Their critically acclaimed debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, lyrically focuses on harmony, lending the peace sign to their logo within the letter "O". In 2006, they won a Grammy along with Gorillaz for their single "Feel Good Inc.". Which band is this?
Between 1912 and 1922, Fisher produced justifications that helped popularise what method for estimating parameters (such as the mean and variance) from sample data that selects as estimates those parameter values that "boost the probability" of obtaining the observed data? (2/3-word term)
This 1967 passion project was the most expensive French film ever made at the time of its release. Tired of his many comic creations, the director set out to create a film without a traditional story or script. He even built a miniature city out of pocket to bring his vision to life. Which film, that would go on to bankrupt its director, is this?
In 1712, during the reign of Queen Anne, what was taxed at the rate of as much as 1 shilling per square yard? People would choose these as a cheaper yet aesthetic alternative for their homes, so the government tried to make money off it. People sidestepped the tax by simply buying these in plain form, and doing hand stencilling all over them instead.
According to data available, color blindness is far more frequent in males than in females. This is because males have one less of WHAT that females have two of? Since this is involved in vision, it becomes a handicap for males as opposed to females who have an additional one.
Who is the subject of Lightning Over Water, a 1980 documentary by Wenders? Sharing his surname with a world cinema luminary, this American director, best known for an iconic 1955 film, was one of the foremost influences for the directors of the French New Wave.
This .38-calibre FN-Browning 1910 pistol is part of a permanent display in the Museum of Military History in Vienna, where it is exhibited next to a bloodstained uniform and a chaise lounge. Who wielded this weapon, which is said to have indirectly caused the death of over 8 million people?
Often regarded as having never lost a battle, Yue Fei was a military general who led the forces of which imperial dynasty in the wars of the 12th century against the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty in northern China? Founded by Emperor Taizu, this dynasty is divided into two periods called "Northern" (960–1127) and "Southern" (1127–1279).
Shogi is a strategy board game for two players that belongs to the same family as Western chess and the ancient Indian game chaturanga. Shogi originated in and is the most popular chess variant in which Asian country?
The alumni of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) have set up some of the country's best-known startups.
Which online travel company was founded in 2000 by IIMA graduate Deep Kalra? He was inspired by the cost efficiency of direct online bookings while planning a holiday to Thailand.
Taylor Swift's 2017 song 'Look What You Made Me Do' narrates the story of her public disputes with Kanye West and others, and the song's lyrics and music video contain many visual symbols about her feuds, such as snakes, graves, and backstabbing. What three-word quote from a 17th century literary classic is seen in the video, referencing Swift being betrayed by people she considered her friends?
Rock, Paper, Scissors has multiple variations around the world. In Malaysia, there are two additions to this. Barring rock, paper, and scissors, the [blank 1] defeats rocks because rocks sinks in it, and [blank 1] loses to [blank 2] because [blank 2] drinks [blank 1]. What are the two additions?
Hogarth Shakespeare Series is a project of the Hogarth Press to commission contemporary novelists to retell Shakespearan works for a modern audience. The 2018 novel Macbeth is a retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth penned by which Scandinavian thriller writer as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare Series? The writer is most well-known as the creator of the recurring character Harry Hole in a series of books including the film adapted work "The Snowman".
Identify this 15 minute work whose hypnotic melody is built on a snare drum playing 4050 notes made up of a seemingly endless repeat of the same pattern. Its 1928 premiere was greeted by wild cheering in the midst of which a woman was heard screaming, “Au fou, au fou!” (“The madman! The madman!”). When the composer, who didn’t think much of this work’s musical quality, was told of this, he sagely replied; “That lady…she understood.”
Which cocktail invented in Harry's Bar, Venice was named after a 15th-century artist because the combination of Prosecco and peach purée reminded its creator of the angel's robes in the San Zaccaria Altarpiece?
Rumspringa is a rite of passage when youth are encouraged to enjoy whatever pleasures they seek for a period of ~2 years. This provides them an opportunity to see and experience the world beyond their culture and upbringing. Following this, they can choose to either leave their culture or return back to their community and get baptised. Which traditonalist Christian group follows this custom?