Search your questions that power our play engine.
Search your questions that power our play engine.
The Battle of Surfaces was an exhibition match played at the Palma Arena between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on a specially prepared half-grass, half-clay court. What type of sporting arena was converted to host this match?
Which boxer did Klitschko fight in his last professional fight in 2017 while he was trying to reclaim the WBA title? This Briton, the first from his country to hold both the Olympic gold and a World Heavyweight title, beat Klitschko in a stadium that had a post-war record of 90,000 people in attendance.
The image here shows one of Iverson's ideas to add parental controls to the app for devices of which controversial brand? Altria - formerly Philip Morris International - holds a 35% stake in its parent company.
On his fourth voyage, Columbus got hold of what he thought were carefully stored "almonds" from a Mayan canoe before someone spilled the beans about their use as currency. Which crop thus made its way into Europe? Its production is mostly governed by the ICO (visual).
In the latter half of the 20th century, the countries of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea underwent rapid industrialization and maintained exceptionally high growth rates through export-oriented policies. What two word fauna-inspired name is used to refer to these four economies collectively?
The 2006 Commonwealth Games was held from 15-26 March in a city down under. This meant that, for the first time since 1996, an event lost its pole position on the sporting calendar. Which event?
Native to East Asia, this protein-rich legume made its way to the New World in the Columbian Exchange of the 15th century. It is now an important source for vegan dairy substitutes. Which crop is this, whose production is mostly governed by the ISGA (visual)?
Also on the World Monument Watch 2022 list are the hiti water fountains of Kathmandu, a system of traditional water fountains, some of which date all the way back to the 6th Century. The water spouts of these fountains are shaped in the form of which mythical creature which in Hindu mythology is the vaahana (mount) of Ganga, and is also the etymological origin for the Hindi name for a crocodile?
These photos show Alex Jennings and Derek Jacobi portraying which real-life Head of State, across 3 seasons of ‘The Crown’? Large parts of his role are depicted in France, where he’d moved to, after voluntarily ceasing to be the Head of State. (Need name and regnal number)
When a solar eclipse begins, the elders of which Native American people instruct their community to go inside the hogan (their traditional dwelling) to ensure they don’t look up at the Sun? Their nation in the Southwestern United States is the largest land area held by a Native American tribe.
Some landmark pieces of data visualisation from history have become famous in their own right. The poster child of this is Charles Minard's 1863 map which captures around six variables in two dimensions, including the harrowing loss of lives through the width of the graph. What futile attempt does this map depict?
Which British peasant dish, made by mixing and frying cooked potatoes with cabbage, supposedly gets its name from the sounds made by the ingredients when being fried? Now used in English parlance as a general mixture of foodstuff, the first part of the name is a reference to a sound when a liquid boils over and the second to a high-pitched ringing groan.
The highest god, Enlil, decides to destroy the world with a flood because humans have become too noisy. The god Ea secretly warns the hero Utnapishtim about it and gives him detailed instructions for building a boat so that life may survive. What work, dating back to the 21st century BC, is the source of this flood myth? It is considered the oldest surviving notable literature.
Watch this clip of Toni covering one of her dad’s most famous songs, a 1991 grunge classic from one of the multiple groups he was a part of - Temple of the Dog. All the more poignant as he watches from a poster while she hits the notes majestically. Name her father, who hanged himself in 2017, just 2 months before Chester Bennington of Linkin Park died as well.
Which castle is the titular location for the PG Wodehouse series about Clarence Threepwood, the Earl of Emsworth and his family? Cary Grant played a man with the same name (though unconnected) in a 1948 comedy, in which he builds his dream house.
What sweetener derives its English name from the Latin word for “honey”? This viscous syrup caused a disastrous flood in the early 20th century when a storage tank containing thousands of tons of it burst. The event has entered local folklore in the city, and residents still claim that the area smells of the sweetener on hot summer days.
WHAT CLASSICAL FORM OF POETRY originating in Arabic has between five and fifteen rhyming couplets that share a refrain at the end of the second line? This refrain may be of one or several syllables and is preceded by a rhyme. Each line has an identical meter. This form of poetry often reflects on a theme of unattainable love or divinity.
This 2013 American thriller follows a young man blackmailed into perpetrating corporate espionage and gets its title from the constant fear he has that there are people out to get him. Which film?
Jacqueline Natla, the founder of a namesake electronics company, is the antagonist in which video game franchise that stars a young British archaeologist as the protagonist? The first game came out in 1996, that has since spurred many adaptations in media.
The tail of the Air India Express aircraft VT-BXY depicts what GI-tagged fabric used for making the namesake type of saree? Originating from a town in Madhya Pradesh, the sarees have a lightweight, sheer texture, and unique, glossy appearance, often featuring intricate zari work.
Which 1999 film featured the Disney logo inset in a forest background? Based on an early 1910s story, this work is centred around the lost heir of the Greystoke family.
Which historical novel - one of the greatest works written in a particular Indian language - refers to the moniker given to an emperor who was miraculously saved when he fell into a certain river as a child? Published in serial form between 1950 and 1954, it is set to be adapted into a much anticipated movie later this year.
Combining the chemical symbols for the elements Tellurium, Sulphur and Lanthanum results in which SI derived unit? It is equal to one weber per square metre and used to measure magnetic flux density.
Theatre rehearsals also allow for a certain specialist to get accustomed to their role, much in demand when an actor forgets their lines. This specialist waits in the wings, busier reading than watching, having mastered the art of voice control.
What is this specialist job? Incidentally, the same term also refers to a responsibility of Mimir readers, to be used with great discretion!
Which British physicist - who discovered the electron - lends his name to the scattering of photons by free charged particles in which the outgoing photon has the same energy as the incoming photon? It played a (minor) role in the cosmic microwave background reaching its current form.
According to Euclid's Window, Egyptians developed fairly reliable, if tortuous, methods of calculating the area of a square, rectangle, and trapezoid. To find the area of which geometrical figure did they approximate it by the square of eight-ninths its diameter? This method remarkably produced the value of 256/81 for a particular constant, an overestimate, but off by only 0.6%.
Which river forms a vast wetland region covering the whole of Delta Amacuro State in eastern Venezuela? Originating from the Parima Mountains and flowing for 2,250 km, it is the fourth largest river in the world by discharge.
Which alliteratively named hip-hop record label (3,3), based in New York, was created by defamed artist P.Diddy in 1994, responsible for the launch of Notorious B.I.G's career? No stranger to controversies, the name of the label feels like an apt description of P.Diddy's image today.
Named after an Irish immigrant to the US, a bed that is hinged at one end to store vertically against the wall, or inside a closet or cabinet is known as what? These were a common trope in early comedies, as it could collapse from one end creating comic scenes.
The Missionary Church of _____-ism is a new age religion or congregation of file sharers who believe that sharing information is a sacred virtue. The Church, based in Sweden, was officially recognized in January 2012. Fill in the blank with a word* that is a fundamental part of sharing information online.
WHICH AMINO ACID, the first one to be isolated, is named after this plant? The shoots of this plant are commonly eaten across the world.
Sold as 3-pack of highs, mids, and lows, these NIKE Skate Boarding (SB) shoes were inspired by a well-known albeit unlikely source. While all 3 had different colours, they were united by soft brown-fur panels all over. What was the inspiration?
Which heavy metal band is recognised by the "Snaggletooth" logo that first appeared on their eponymous 1977 debut album? Also known as "Warpig", the skull is a mix of various animals with prominent canines and tusks.
When every "knob" on a church’s pipe organ is taken out, the organ plays all variations of its sounds at once, therefore being as loud as possible. What idiom, meaning "to make a lot of effort to do something well" or "to hold back nothing" thus originates?
This 25th floor observation lounge offers views of the Jumeirah Beach and its waters and visitors are treated to a drink sprinkled with 24 karat gold as part of the experience. Which skyscraper is it located in, connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge?
Which British rapper (4,10) had her breakthrough after posting several songs to TikTok that went viral, including "Break It Off"? She is perhaps best known for her 2022 single "Boy's a Liar", which included a remix along with Ice Spice. Her name is the female form of the title of the film series featuring Inspector Jacques Clouseau.
Five teams have won Italy's Serie-A exactly once. Casale, Novese, Cagliari, Hellas Verona are four of them. Which Genovese club is the other, winning the title in 1991? Their fairytale season was marshaled by striker Gianluca Vialli's 19 goals.
In Gothic architecture, tracery refers to the stonework elements that support the glass in a window. Around the emergence of plate tracery in the Early Gothic period, what type of window (6) dominated buildings? Characterised by a tall, narrow slit with a pointed arch at its top, it derived the name ______ (6) from its resemblance to a spear used in medieval warfare.
Which celebrity has Maria Picasso caricatured here, drawing special attention to their eyes? The image is inspired from a look sported by the actor in one of her most popular roles.
Established by Sultan Muhammad Shah in 1368, the head of which royal house has been ruling as both the monarch and head of state of a South-East Asian nation? Since 1967, it has been ruled by the 29th Sultan, making him the longest reigning current monarch in the world.
The official match ball of the 1970 FIFA World Cup was the first to feature the now-ubiquitous design of 12 black pentagonal and 20 hexagonal panels. It was named after which satellite developed by Bell Labs, the world's first communications satellite and the first to send live TV signals?
One of the largest self-powered crawlers ever built, these pair of tracked vehicles were originally used to transport what super heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Complex 39? It was the largest of its kind until it was surpassed by the SpaceX Starship in 2023.
What two-word title has been informally bestowed upon Pete Best (drummer), Brian Epstein (manager), George Martin (producer) and many others over the years?
A group of passerine birds from the Galapagos are called Darwin's [Blanks] (7, plural), in tribute to his intensive study of their beaks which he figured was different among the various sub-members that had evolved basis their food choices. What is this family of birds with remarkable beak diversity that has members such as Canaries and Serins among others?
Which 1962 musical film stars Elvis Presley in the lead role as a Hawaiian fishing guide who dreams of owning his own boat? The repetitive title refers to the numerous love interests that he finds himself attracted to, eventually forcing himself to choose between two.
Which Capcom game, first released in 1996, sees players control Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, members of an elite task force escaping a zombie-filled mansion? The original game features multiple endings based on player actions, and is a remake of the 1989 horror game Sweet Home.
In Dungeons & Dragons, which principal character class (4) is considered a master of song, speech and magic? A ____ (4) uses their artistic talents such as singing, reciting poetry or storytelling to induce magical effects.
Strictly in terms of size, which is the largest sports venue in India? 16 of the 17 largest sports venues in the world were built to host events of the same sport. The venue is named for a historical personality, and it might help to know that the Bahujan Samaj Party who have Amedkarite beliefs were in power in Uttar Pradesh when the venue was named.
This cinematic technique involves the camera team doing things like underexposing the film, using neutral density filters, choosing bluer white balancing - all in an attempt to artificially recreate the conditions they’d otherwise have to wait hours to get. What is this 3-word term, also the name of a 1973 Francois Truffaut film?
Whose work is commemorated via this Leiden mural? Its location near the Universiteit Observatory is an apt tribute to the stalwart who served as its director for 25 years (1945-70), during which he made several discoveries, including the hypothesis of an icy, cold region which is yet to be reached by any of our interstellar space probes.
This clip from a late 2000s viral video appears to show which player trying out his new Nike shoes and repeatedly making contact with the crossbar? He has never admitted to the video being fake and in fact appeared in a 2018 recreation where he promptly performed the trick again.
In the Marvel comics, Garabed Bashur has the mutant ability to actively receive and store all forms of electronic data and transmissions in his mind, which lead to Professor X calling him a 'universal backup' for humanity's data in the event of apocalypse. What alliterative name, based on an object miscoloured in popular consciousness, is Garabed known by?
What shade of pink is named after a brand co-founded by Ruth Handler in 1959?
Which 1969 work from Aesop's Queer Library is about Genly Ai, a visitor to the planet of Gethen where gender is fluid and inhabitants shift between sexes? It positively challenges binary notions of gender and queerness through speculative fiction, despite its sinister title.
One of the countless stunning sights in Meghalaya, this heart-shaped plunge pool need never worry about its water source going dry, given the town of plenty it’s in. Which town? Either the old or current name is acceptable.
A generalisation of the Cantor set to two dimensions, this plane fractal or a "carpet" was first described by which Polish mathematician? He also lends his name to other well-known fractals, which take the form of curves or triangles.
Which 1964 novel by AJ Cronin gets its name from a famous nursery rhyme of the same name, with the first word removed? It is a coming-of-age story about a Scotsman named Laurence Carroll. His story is carried forward in the aptly titled sequel, ‘A Pocketful of Rye.’
Identify either of these with the same name.
The US national park located near the town of Springdale in Utah, named so after its Mormon moniker, reminscent of the name for the land of Israel.
OR
The fictional city in the Matrix franchise - the last human city remaining after a war between mankind and sentient machines.
Identify the better known part of the idiom which concludes with "..until the cat comes". In the absence of this conclusion, the idiom evokes a close group sharing commonalities, while the full idiom serves as a warning.
In revising Roald Dahl's Matlida, references to two British authors in the work were replaced with Jane Austen and John Steinbeck. While the most seminal work by one of these authors was criticised by postcolonialist Chinua Achebe in a famous 1975 lecture, the other has been called out for racist poems like the "White Man's Burden", and imagery of civilisation and savagery in his books. Name either author.
What 3-letter spell in Steve Jackson's Sorcery! gives enemies around the player an uncontrollable urge to dance, thereby distracting them from attacking the player? One might say "this spell is up" after a duration as it can affect them only briefly.
After separating from Gondwana, the India-Madagascar Plate continued to move north until it split 88 million years ago (visual) following the Marion event. Which island group in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean marks the location of this massive underwater volcanic eruption? Administered by South Africa, this group of two islands is named after a 19th century monarch's father.
The Grandfather Clock is a solitaire variant named so because of its shape. The larger two-deck variant of this game shares its name with a famous landmark that returned to regular service in 2022. What is this variant named?
Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, along with giving the world the word - 'metaverse', also popularized another term used very often on the internet. This Sanskrit term was first used a few years before Snow Crash came out in an online multiplayer game called Habitat. What term, which also shares its name with a blockbuster movie with an upcoming sequel?