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Following vision issues, current world no. 29 Martin Gould took to spectacles, and his performance has improved since. Later, he tried a large pair (visual) inspired by another snooker legend. Which compatriot inspired him? He was the winner of one of the greatest World Snooker Championship finals against Steve Davis in 1985.
This iron instrument is used in the heating of solids and in the past this tool was integral to the process of shipbuilding. What idiom, meaning "a violent dispute" derives from the fact that these were perhaps used by sailors at odds, who took turns swinging them at each other?
The ark of the bulrushes, the tiny vessel which became infant Moses's lifeboat in the Bible, had been fashioned from a plant that grew aplenty in the Nile delta and so was used by the Egyptians for numerous purposes, including to make ropes, sandals and baskets. However, the most crucial of these utilized its ability to absorb and retain ink, roll up, but not tear apart. What was this plant?
Fallingwater by F. L. Wright served as the inspiration for the design of the fictional Vandamm House in which 1959 movie? Perched precariously almost on top of Mount Rushmore, the Vandamm house features prominently in one of the final sequences of the movie leading to a cliffhanger finish.
The 2019 Neural republication Ways of Hearing by Damon Krukowski is a reference to another title from 1972, that refers to a different sense. Who wrote that seminal 1972 work, an essay on art criticism that also had an accompanying BBC series?
A Thug is an Allomancer who can burn which alloy of tin (85–99%), antimony (5–10%), and copper (2%) to greatly enhance their physical capabilities? Known since the Bronze Age, this alloy has been used for making dishes, utensils, religious artifacts, and decorative items.
Santi Cazorla was a magician with the ball at his feet during his time at Arsenal, prompting fans to sing "OOOH Santi Cazorla" to the tune of which iconic rock song's opening riff? The title of the actual song is a result of mishearing the name of a London-based 'charity' by the lead.
This green tectosilicate gemstone is named after which massive South American entity, simply because certain green stones were formerly obtained there, even though it's doubtful whether those were the same mineral?
Biohaven Pharma acquired Knopp Biosciences for its Kv7 channel targeting platform. It includes the lead asset BHV-7000, a potassium channel activator expected to play a key role in the development of therapies for which (group of) neurological disorder(s) of the central nervous system that is characterised by repeated seizures or periods of unusual behaviour?
In Aztec mythology, it was perched on a nopal cactus, holding a rattlesnake in its talons, and in Roman mythology, it was the messenger and symbol of Jupiter. What bird is this?
First published in 1942, the common name for this series of novels and short stories was penned only 9 books later in 1951 by the publishers - Hodder & Stoughton. Majority of the stories take place in the Welsh countryside, nearby the fictional home of Kirrin Cottage. WHAT is this series called, also the collective term for Hibernian FC's forward line of the 1940s?
This powerful Mesopotamia goddess descended into the Great Below, passing through seven gates and shedding an article of clothing at each. Her journey was to attend the funeral of her sister's husband, but she faced her sister Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld, in a confrontation that nearly cost her life and required a substitute for her return. Name this deity of love, war, and justice.
The morin khuur is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. This instrument (visual) consists of two strings which are made by bunching together _____ ____ (5,4). What entity from the world of fauna is used to make the strings?
One of the most recent heroes to come out as queer in the DC Universe is also one of the most well-known to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. After years of speculation and headcanon from fans and numerous relationship difficulties in comics, WHO CAME OUT as queer in August's Batman: Urban Legends #6, agreeing to go on a romantic date with his male friend Bernard?
Which organelle is a spherical vesicle which consists of hydrolytic enzymes that can degrade material taken up from outside the cell or digest obsolete components of the cell? It was inaccurately termed as the "suicide bags" for their hypothesised role in apoptosis.
Written, produced, and performed by American singer Pharrell Williams, this song was released as the first and only single from the soundtrack for the film Despicable Me 2. WHICH SONG, that became the most downloaded song the year it came out?
If the fourth character on an Indian PAN card is C, that means that the PAN holder is what kind of entity?
In economics, _____________ (12) describes the practice where firms – in response to rising costs – reduce the quality of a service, leading to consumers receiving scanty or miserly service for the same price. What portmanteau term? (12) An example of this practice is a hotel offering a more meagre breakfast or reducing the frequency of housekeeping while charging the same price per night.
Which member of the pit crew (6) is responsible for the operation of the device used for removal and fitting of clasping nuts on tyres? The Tyre ______ (6) operates a device that resembles a handheld weapon.
Rock, Paper Scissors is an example of an intransitive game - games in which pairwise competitions between the strategies contain a cycle. Many video games employ intransitivity in order to not allow one strategy to dominate. One such video game, debuting in 1987, introduced the common convention that block beats strike, strike beats throw, and throw beats block allowing no one strategy to dominate. Which video-game, the highest-grossing fighting game franchise of all time?
The winner of the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award award in the "Best Fiction" Category was "Beautiful World, Where Are You", the third work by which celebrated author of the last few years? The book opened amidst much fanfare after the roaring success of her second work "Normal People" (2018) that was adapted into a Emmy-nominated Hulu show.
Guitars had been integral to Hawaiian music ever since the first European settlers arrived there in the 18th Century. Among them were Portuguese sailors who brought with them not only their guitars but also their cavaquinhos. What did the Hawaiians rename the cavaquinhos as, now primarily associated with them rather than the Portuguese?
The Lucknow and Patiala gharanas are known for what vocal form characterised by a slow tempo and based on romantic-devotional literature? Deriving its name from a Hindi verb meaning 'a nimble beat of the foot' or 'walking with a dancing gait', it is used as a generic name to refer to forms such as Dadra, Jhoola, and Chaiti.
This line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner is deliberately understuffed with plastic pellets rather than conventional soft stuffing, for easier posing. The nine original variants included Legs the Frog, Squealer the Pig, and Spot the Dog, among others. Emerging as a major fad and collectible during the second half of the 1990s, what toys are these, often cited as being the world's first Internet sensation?
A blend of the exercise regimen developed by German physical trainer Joseph _______ (7) and a form of mind and body practise from ancient India, what 4-letter portmanteau term is used to market this fitness program created by Chalene Johnson? It is a low-impact strength workout that enhances flexibility.
During his junior year, he suffered a scratched left cornea in January 1968, when he was struck by another player in a rebound battle, and missed the next two games. His cornea would again be scratched during his pro career, which subsequently caused him to wear goggles for eye protection. Who is this all-time great basketballer?
Which Indian indigenous alcoholic beverage mainly consumed in South India is made by fermenting the sap from different types of palm trees? It is not to be confused with a warm beverage typically made with whiskey or brandy, hot water, honey, lemon and spices.
Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district is home to many hill station that form part of the namesake mountain range. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, India’s only rack railway, made famous by the song Chayya Chayya, takes passengers to two hill stations from the town of Mettupalayam. If the final stop is Ooty, which hill station located 17 kms away from Ooty is the main intermediate station, noted for its fine tea estates?
Pokémon often releases a pair of video games with related names. What is the paired title of the 2002 release, the first instalments in the third generation of the series? While the first title is a red variety of the mineral corundum, the second title is a blue variety of the same mineral.
: Every year, the Amsterdam Medical University hosts an event called “De Anatomische Les” at the Concert Hall in the city, inviting major people from the medical field to speak. Who is this day held as a tribute to, an erstwhile Mayor of Amsterdam, who has been etched in annals of history thanks to this work by Rembrandt?
WHAT IS THE COMMON SURNAME of the sisters who competed in women's individual golf in Tokyo 2021, one of them winning the gold and the other finishing joint 15th? Their father was a professional tennis player who won the 1998 Australian Open and lost to Jim Courier in the finals of the 1992 French Open.
With a stage name referencing an animal of the genus Equus, which rapper earned her first number-one single with the remix of her song "Savage" featuring Beyoncé? She had a cameo in a recent episode of the Marvel TV series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
This 2019 animated series by Netflix serves as an origin story for the thieving villain who lends her name to which video games series that started as an edutainment tool? The show explores the relationship of this modern-day Robin Hood with the V.I.L.E. Academy and the A.C.M.E. Detective Agency.
Which character in Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals gets her apt name from the French phrase meaning ill-suited as she keeps using a wrong word in place of a word with a similar sound resulting in nonsensical funny utterances? One such is "he is the very pineapple of politeness" (instead of pinnacle).
In 2008, this iconic glass booth was repatriated back to a museum in Western Galilee, where it remains today as a grim reminder of the banality of evil. Inside it, in 1961, stood accused this bespectacled man, struggling to follow the proceedings in translated German, with the interpretation so inept that Hannah Arendt, reporting, called it "sheer comedy". Who was this man, the defendant of this "trial of the century"?
Remembered now mostly as the muse for Picasso’s Weeping Woman, which 20th century painter, photographer and political activist also helped in documenting the creation of Picasso's Guernica in a series of photographs?
Prepared in a rhythmic ceremony, this chewy Japanese dish is made by pounding steamed glutinous rice in a large mortar with wooden mallets - a New Year’s ritual said to promote good fortune. What confection, often filled with sweet red bean paste or served with ice cream, is this?
Which Italian shoe designer, who designed the "Rainbow" platform sandal for Judy Garland, has a museum dedicated to his life and work in Florence, Italy? The designer's namesake family-owned company championed the use of suede and kidskin leather in their shoes.
Sophia Vergara plays the eponymous real-life Colombian drug lord, [Blank] Blanco, in which 2024 Netflix miniseries that showcases her rise in the Miami drug scene in late 1980s and early 1990s? Vergara has received critical acclaim for her work but the usage of the image without consent from Blanco's family has landed the show in legal trouble.
The right side of Botticelli's Birth of Venus shows a female figure holding a rich cloak, ready to cover Venus when she reaches the shore. She is identified as one of three minor Greek goddesses of the seasons and other divisions of time, and attendants of Venus. What term describes these goddesses of portions of time? You can provide either the Greek or the English name.
A Leg to Stand On is a 1984 account by Oliver Sacks about his recovery from psychogenic leg paralysis following an accident. In the book, Sacks talks of an encounter with some war amputees, who offer him solace by talking of how they deal with their _______ ____ (7,4) syndrome. What condition (7,4), the ironic opposite of Sacks’ ordeal?
Forbes Magazine maintains a list of highest-earning dead celebrities. Number 4 on the list this year was which American cartoonist? Most of the money comes from the fact that the show "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" will be aired once again on TV. Another big contribution comes from a deal with Apple TV+, where the second season of [BLANK] in Space! is set to start streaming later this year.
This illustration depicts the boot of which footballer floating in orange formaldehyde, in reference to his country? He was a proponent of the Total Football tactic.
Whose celebrity cameo on The Simpsons? An EGOT winner (if one took into account his honorary Academy Award from 2011), he appears in this scene alongside certain figures he is associated with.
Ganesh Krishnaswamy is part of two popular Bangalore bands. The band where he is the lead vocalist gets its name from a Kannada swearword. The band where is he is the bassist gets its name from a Greek word meaning hidden. Name either band.
In Culture Clash, Mattia compares the Russian and Brazilian versions of which dish that consists of sautéed pieces of beef in a sauce of mustard, sour cream, and mushrooms?
Which city, with over 500 green spaces, is a recognised "Tree City of the World"? Sutton Park, a National Nature Reserve, was the venue for the triathlon when the city hosted the most recent edition of the Commonwealth Games.
Which sprinter became the first and thus far only individual Olympic gold medallist for his country, after a 43.94 second run at London 2012? He also won silver at Rio and bronze at Tokyo in the same event having recovered from Graves' disease in the interim.
Envy, Pavilion, Spectre are product lines by which American company? The garage of its two eponymous founders has a plaque recognising it as the "Birthplace of Silicon Valley”.
Which salient is the only town on the Bosnia and Herzegovina coastline, making it the country's only access to the Adriatic Sea? It was created in 1699 as a buffer against Venetian invasions, and its name is one letter different from that of a planned city in Saudi Arabia.
What term (8) is used for a network of interconnected relationships? This portmanteau term stems from the resemblance of the possible configurations to a group of atoms bonded together.
From c. 2150 BC, a series of exceptionally low annual Nile floods (caused by the 4.2-kiloyear event) led to the collapse of the Sixth Dynasty marking the end of the ___ _______ (3,7) period in ancient Egyptian history. Which period (3,7), that saw the construction of the pyramids, and was succeeded by the First Intermediate Period?
Which production company, founded by Spike Lee, was behind films like BlackKlansman? Its name is a reference to the property given to emancipated black families per an order by General Sherman, later revoked by Andrew Johnson?
Cyanea capillata is considered the largest species of jellyfish, and is called the ____'s ____ (4,4) jellyfish due to the resemblance of its flowing tentacles to the mop of a certain apex predator on land. What name (4,4) is this?
In skincare and cosmetology, what term is given to a liquid designed to cleanse the skin, shrink the appearance of pores, and bring the skin to a natural state such that other products can be applied on top? Astringents are the strongest form of these products while skin bracers are among the mildest.
The folk costume worn by men in Java (Indonesia) are shirts made through their heritage wax-dyeing technique. Considered by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, this technique has made its way to Africa where Nelson Mandela's Madiba shirts were made via this technique. WHAT heritage technique is this, also the name of Javanese folk costume?
Coined by Danny Miller in his 1990 book of the same name, this paradox refers to the phenomenon of businesses failing abruptly after a period of apparent success, where this failure is brought about by the very elements that led to their initial success. Which figure from Greek mythology names this paradox, very aptly?
In The Unbearable Burden of Massive Talent, Pedro Pascal's character Javi tells Cage that he should drive during a car chase sequence because of Cage's experience doing his own stunts while shooting a car heist film. Which film, also featuring Angelina Jolie and Vinnie Jones, is this?
Introduced in 1996, this group of superheroines have a collective name referencing raptors. Although none of the three core members - Batgirl, Huntress and Black Canary - fit that description, Lady Blackhawk, who suggested it in the canon, does. Casual fans might associate the team with Harley Quinn, but she was just a temporary film ally. Which group?
Billund is a town in Jutland, Denmark. A company town, it is also the site of a theme park, waterpark resort, and Billund Airport which is the second largest airport in Denmark. WHICH COMPANY has built its headquarters and main factory in this town, employing most of its population?
Stigler's Law of Eponymy states that no scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer. Which Italian polymath names the general method to solve cubic equations? The original method is attributed to the reclusive Scipione del Ferro, whose student passed it onto [blank] in 1543. Around the same time, Niccolò Tartaglia, who had discovered a similar method on his own, had shared it with [blank] requesting secrecy.
Sir Walter Raleigh made a valiant attempt to establish the first known English colony on American soil. Located in what was then Virginia, this became known as the "Lost Colony" due to the unaccounted disappearance of its entire population. Which "lost colony" is this, named after the Algonquian people who were its first residents?
Which 1960 American heist film featured 5 members of the Hollywood Rat Pack (including Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin) masterminding a series of Las Vegas casino robberies, and was named for the size of the heist crew? The film served as the primary inspiration for the 2001 Steven Soderbergh remake of the same name, as well as its sequels in 2004, 2007 and 2018.
Upon arrival in the East Indies, Magellan and his crew of explorers joined WHICH GOVERNOR of the region in the conquest of Malacca? This governor most prominently served as the Duke of Goa and lent his name to a variety of fruit closer home, as well as a city in the USA famous for balloon festivals.