Search your questions that power our play engine.
Search your questions that power our play engine.
Which culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology does Dwayne Johnson play in Moana? Among other things, he is credited with the creation of the Hawaiian islands.
Mahjong features four copies of each of the "suit" and "honor" tiles. Identify this suit, named for the sticks or stalks of a fast-growing evergreen plant which holds significance in East Asia.
While it is primarily known as a shopping day in the UK and many Commonwealth countries, in other regions such as Eastern Canada retailers are prohibited from opening at all on this day in order to provide a day of relaxation after one of the most hectic periods for retail in the year. Which day is this, also one of the more important dates in the calendar for cricket fans?
Dillenia indica, or the ________ (8) Apple, is a plant commonly seen in the tropical Asian regions. Its common name comes from the fact that its fruit was accessible only to a particular herbivore, which also acted as a major seed disperser for the tree. Which herbivore (8)?
This pregnancy test is a world-first, detecting the beta human chorionic gonadotropin hormone, a giveaway for conception, in 10 minutes, with 95% accuracy. What secretion, integral for the cleavage of glucose polymers, does the test use? Humans on average produce 1200-1500 ml of it everyday.
Deriving from a Persian word meaning "master", what title was often used for teachers or professors during the Ottoman period? The title is associated with a wise character who appears in a number of humorous Muslim folktales, and the Persian cognate of the title is used for Sufi masters.
After which fairy tale character is the Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS) commonly referred to? The primary symptom exhibited is hypersomnia, and the majority of patients tend to be male, despite the name.
Which Head of State from the 1960s is essayed in ‘The Crown’ by Michael C. Hall, of ‘Dexter’ fame? The show, while showing his popular public charm, also goes deeper, to depict his egotistical, controlling and violent personal side, especially in his interaction with his hugely popular wife (pictured here with him).
Which ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid empire was conferred UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1979? It also served as the title of an autobiographical series that catapulted an Iranian-French author to the limelight two decades later.
After becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Cuban social experiment and its reliance on the Soviets, "Che" wanted to foster revolution elsewhere. After April 1965, he dropped out of public life and secretly travelled to which country with other Cuban guerrilla fighters? However, it proved to be a futile attempt to help the Patrice Lumumba Battalion, in their war.
In 618 CE, the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II successfully repelled an attack by Harsha, the ruler of which dynasty that reigned over regions north of the Narmada extending as far as Kamarupa? Centred in Sthanvishvara (Thanesar) and later Kanyakubja (Kannauj), it was also known as the Pushyabhuti dynasty.
Sources are in agreement that the Calydonian boar hunt featured which founding hero of Athens, who joined the party along with his friend Pirithous? He brought with him some useful experience too, since he had previously faced the Crommyonian Sow, said to be the mother of the Calydonian Boar.
In 1999, Mike Horn started a mission called ________ ____ (8, 4). He left Gabon and crossed the Atlantic to Brazil on a trimaran. He then crossed Brazil and Ecuador on bike, canoe and on foot. After that he crossed the Pacific Ocean reaching Indonesia, before crossing the Indian Ocean back to Africa. What was the mission called, an alternative term for the entity he traverses?
Book math time! Solve this problem:
The number that appears in the title of the novel of which Billy Pilgrim is a time-travelling protagonist imprisoned in a Dresden schlachthof + (plus) The everlasting classic that has a number in its title because it was truly best and worst of times back then.
Which national capital’s name translates to "the red hero"? Formerly known as Örgöö and Niĭslel Khüree, it got its current name in 1924 in honour of the Hero of the Revolution that formed the People’s Republic which lasted nearly 7 decades before transitioning to a parliamentary republic.
Which Peruvian far-left guerrilla group aimed to establish the Maoist doctrine of New Democracy by launching a "people's war", deploying excessive violence against peasants and elected officials? Their founder Abimael Guzman was captured in 1992 following a crackdown by President Alberto Fujimori.
What term (5) is used for a slow sad song or piece of music or for a lament expressing mourning or grief, especially one performed at a funeral? Deriving from a Latin phrase that is part of the Office of the Dead prayer cycle, P. B. Shelley composed one after the death of his son William and his friend John Keats.
In 1819, under the Adams-Onis Treaty, Spain sold its first (and Europe's first) settlement in North America, to the United States. The treaty that also marked the boundary between the US and ‘New Spain’ came about as a result of this particular territory becoming a burden to Spain who couldn't afford to send garrisons or settlers to a territory that barely had any precious resources. Which territory was thus bought, that also included parts of modern-day Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama?
HMS Bounty was sent on a mission to the South Pacific Ocean to acquire saplings of which plant to be transported to the West Indies to be grown as food to feed the large population of slaves there? Its fruits are gluten-free in spite of what its name might suggest.
This image of NGC 7635 was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2016. What is this nebula's name (6), stemming from the "spherical globule of gas" created by a hot central star? In economics, the term is used to refer to a period when current asset prices greatly exceed their intrinsic valuation.
_______ r (7 without the 'r') is an R package for phylogenetic and evolutionary biology data manipulations. The name of which tortoise, collected from Galapagos by Charles Darwin, gives it the name? This tortoise, a female, lived to the age of 175 until dying in 2006 and was initially thought of as a male and named Harry.
The "@" symbol is known by many quirky names around the world owing to its form. It is most often compared to what shape, that has resulted in words such as "ear" or "snail" used for it in various languages? An intertwined version of the shape was also the subject of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
This portrait of Ice T by Kehinde Wiley re-imagines the 1806 portrait of Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne (right) by which Neoclassical artist? He is arguably Jacques-Louis David's best known pupil.
This esolang _______ (7) created by Ryan Kusnery has a syntax designed to accept just two commands, each a single character long. It evokes an older system where these two characters would be employed in combinations to communicate messages. The name of the language is a pun, referring to the guilt one may experience after taking up this fiendishly difficult pursuit. What is this esolang called? (7)
In the Dabbang 2 song Fevicol Se, Kareena Kapoor also manages to comment on fuel. She refers to Salman Khan's car, stating that it is ready in waiting and can be run on petrol (naturally pronounced "pat-rol" so you know it's a police vehicle). Which car model is this, extremely popular with Indian Armed Forces and Law Enforcement until production was halted in 2018?
Which "Italian Palace of Versailles" was built by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as the main residence of the kings of Naples? It was modelled politically and socially, rather than physically, after the Palace of Versailles, and is often considered to be the world's largest royal residence by volume.
In 1655, Huygens began grinding lenses with his brother Constantijn to build telescopes for astronomical research. Using these advanced telescopes, he was able to explain WHICH SPECIFIC FEATURE of a celestial object that Galileo had observed decades ago but had been unable to explain? In 1997, NASA along with the European and Italian Space Agency named their mission to study the same celestial object after Huygens.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects is another work featured in Bragg's "12 Books That Changed The World". Considered the pre-eminent work in feminism, who was the author whose family consists of equally eminent figures such as her husband William Godwin, writer daughter, and poet son-in-law?
Pakistan's first Test captain also played for India against England in the 1945-46 test series. Who is this cricketer, one of three to have represented both countries in Tests? The other two players are Amir Elahi and Gul Mohammad.
Adult Swim has produced many iconic shows for its night-time blocks, none more popular than a 2016 show that achieved wider audience through Netflix originally conceived as a parody of "Back To The Future" series. What is this show, created by Justin Roiland who also voiced both the eponymous characters?
The first war in the 'funeral games' to succeed Alexander The Great was triggered when one of his generals stole his body and moved it to Egypt. In the battle that ensued, this general came out victorious establishing his namesake dynasty that ruled Egypt until Cleopatra's death three centuries later. Who is this ruler, who also commissioned the building of Library at Alexandria?
Mrs Chippy got his name because he followed the ship's carpenter like an “overly attentive wife”. He was the ship's cat aboard which vessel used for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-17? Mrs Chippy's adventures have been documented by the ship's captain in his diary, along with the events leading to the ship's tragic fate after being stuck in pack ice in the Weddell Sea.
The official flag of which city was introduced in 1973 in recognition of the 25th anniversary of Tawantinsuyo Radio? The city served as the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th century until the 16th-century Spanish conquest.
The French version of Steve Rogers' notebook includes which duo who provided the following explanation about a certain choice of theirs: "we're not performers, we're not models – it would not be enjoyable for humanity to see our features"?
The fastest moving land snake in the world and the second longest venomous snake species has a fearsome reputation in Sub-Saharan Africa - its home. WHAT is the common name of this deadly creature, Dendroaspis polylepis, that is also a nickname used in pop culture for some such "dangerous" characters or players?
What type of establishments where African Americans could socialise, drink, and gamble, arose in Southwestern US as a result of the Jim Crow laws? They got their name from a Creole word meaning 'disorderly' and not from a certain automated music-playing device, even though the Delta Blues genre was born in these joints.
Air quality index (AQI) is an indicator developed by government bodies to indicate the level of air pollution. Most AQIs measure the level of 5 different pollutants.
One such measure is that of the presence which colorless gas with a pungent smell, the main component of acid rain and also responsible for the odor of burnt matches?
A meal enabling survival and humanity at sea - this is a recreation from which 1851 classic?
Which romantic ballet is about a young Spanish girl kidnapped by Roma people as a child who later saves a French officer, Lucien d'Hervilly, from a plot to kill him, only to discover she is actually of noble birth and cousins with her lover?
The Crayola No. 96 Big Box introduced in 1992 contained sixteen new unnamed colours. The names were eventually selected via a nationwide contest. The orange shade was named after a dish that has a classic two-ingredient title. This particular shade is probably closest to the Kraft version of this dish. Which dish?
Sandy Powell is a British costume designer who has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design 15 times. Which 2002 film, loosely based on a 1927 book by Herbert Asbury, were these costume designs created for? It is set in the 19th century against the backdrop of the long-running Catholic–Protestant feud that led to violence in the titular city.
It's probably evident by now that Blair Waldorf adores Audrey Hepburn. Identify this film, whose titular character shares her name with a certain witch.
This marathon, which circles down the Place de la Concorde before turning onto Rue de Rivoli, typically ends at which monument that was tallest of its kind until the completion of the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City?
In 1963's Dev Anand song, Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar, we get an inside glimpse into which heritage moument of India? From the outside, it has featured in many movies, such as in the song Fanaa (in image) from the titular movie.
As per International Gymnastics Federation and Olympic rules, only women can participate in what form of gymnastics, which has elements of dance? Though performed on a floor, it is different from floor exercise in a similar gymnastics style, in that it allows the use of apparatuses such as hoops, balls, and ribbons.
Who is this American former World Heavyweight Boxing champion? He reigned for 8 months in 1990 after knocking out Mike Tyson, a victory still regarded as one of the greatest upsets in the sport’s history.
Deriving from the French word for 'body', which sports phrase literally means 'body to body' in French, but is used in fencing to refer to contact between the bodies, or even hilts, of two participants?
Uiia Cat (a.k.a. Spinning Cat) is a meme format that remixes famous songs with the titular sound effect. Identify this 2008 song, remixed by Uiia Cat.
In 2015, thousands of refugees thronged Uganda following political upheaval in which country to its south? The unrest began after Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would run for a third term in the presidential elections. His government responded with violence to protests centred around its then-capital Bujumbura and sanctioned targeted civilian killings across the country.
DJ "The Black Madonna" got a ton of flak for being a white woman calling herself 'black', especially in light of George Floyd protests. Even though the name wasn't a reference to color but rather to paintings of Virgin Mary, she changed the 'black' to what word that still kept the original Catholic inspiration alive?
Created by legendary American record producer Rick Rubin, which hip-hop label (3,3) has had the most songs and artists on the Billboard charts in the genre's history, launching artists such as Public Enemy and LL Cool J? The logo emphasizes the letters DJ deriving from the founder's realization that DJ-ing was as critical to hip-hop music as MCs were.
The Mad Men episode titled ____ _______ (4,7) finds Megan reigniting her passion for acting and the episode features several allusions to resurgence of things that have died out. The episode gets its alliterative name from one of Sylvia Plath's last poems, appropriate considering that the titular woman in the poem dies and comes back to life. What is the title? (4,7)
On the forearm of which mesmeric X-Men character can the tattoo #214782 be seen, representing the time spent by the character at a Nazi Concentration Camp? Writer Chris Claremont, who originated the character's backstory, modeled the character on Israeli terrorist-turned-statesman Menachem Begin as this character also first appears as an adversary before becoming a leader of the pack.
The two major styles of temple architecture in India are Nagara in the north and Dravidian in the south. The third style is a hybrid of Nagara and Dravidian style of architecture and was therefore aptly named "vesara". The word “vesara” is Sanskrit for which animal?
Nicknamed 'the Black Widow', this woman was a Columbian drug lord affiliated with the Medellin Cartel and was active from the 1970s to the early 2000s, finally being killed in drive-by shooting in 2012. She is set to be portrayed by Sofia Vergara in an upcoming Netflix series. Who is this woman? Her first name alone is enough for a point.
This visualisation, a coxburn or rose chart, depicts the mortality causes for British soldiers in the Crimean War. The light blue portion represents those who died from disease, clearly forming the majority. Which enlightening lady created this, who also spearheaded sanitary reforms in England?
Which architect was the lead designer of the Louis Vuitton Island Maison, a glass and steel pavilion that serves as their flagship store in Singapore? This is one among the many buildings he has designed in the island nation, including the structure with the world's largest indoor waterfall.
"Sauvignon Blanc" from Rosalía's Lux is a tribute to Teresa of Ávila, a prominent Spanish mystic. She established the "Discalced [blank]", a reformed branch that emerged from which mendicant order that was founded by Berthold of Calabria after he united a colony of hermits inhabiting the slopes near modern-day Haifa?
What two-word Latin term is used to refer to wonderful years during which events of major importance took place? The term is also used to refer to the set of four papers from 1905 by Albert Einstein that helped understand the fundamental concepts of space, time, mass, and energy.
Color blindness only came to be scientifically studied in 1794, when which English chemist gave the first account of colour blindness in a paper about its extra ordinary facts? As a color blind person himself, he went on to name the colloquially used term for the condition as well. He is, however, more known for his work in integration of atomic theory into chemistry.
What object is used as one of the tokens in Monopoly: Queen Edition, referencing a 1984 song whose title is a metaphor for something about to happen, reflecting the public's anxiety about the Cold War? This tool is also one part of a symbol that referenced the Eastern Bloc in this context.
Which TV show features one of the characters starring in a kids' TV show as the titular Johnny Karate? The role marks a lucky break for the former failed musician and City Hall shoeshine stand operator.
What shade of pink is named after a fruit that also names a character in the Mario franchise?
This species, inhabiting large swathes of Cuba and Honduras, is named after which gemstone because of the green shade of its upper body?