Atlantic Trivia reaches Week 3, which is by definition probably the most trivial of all: The phrase trivia initially referred to locations the place three (tri-) roads (-via) met in a crossing. If these slouch Romans had been extra industrious builders, we is likely to be enjoying quintivia and even septivia in the present day.
That three-way intersection semantically drifted to imply “an open place,” which morphed into “public,” which was “commonplace”—therefore, trivial. Learn on for questions which are something however.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2025
- What actor wrote in one in all her memoirs that it was second nature for her to play “birdbrains,” together with characters whose sentences have been stuffed with “ums,” “you-knows,” “oh-wells,” and, maybe most famously, “la di da, la di das”?
— From Adrienne LaFrance’s “The Romantic” - Russia’s new messaging, file-sharing, and money-transferring app, Max—now required by authorities order to come back put in on each new cellphone offered within the nation—has prompted analogies to what Chinese language “all the pieces app”?
— From Justin Sherman’s “Putin Has a New Device to Monitor Russians” - Together with the much less acidic, extra bitter robusta bean, what species of espresso makes up nearly all international espresso manufacturing?
— From Ellen Cushing’s “The Drink That Individuals Gained’t Give Up With out a Combat”
And by the way in which, do you know that a number of the historic author Sappho’s poetry—most of which was misplaced—was found on bits of papyrus stuffed inside a mummified crocodile? I wish to suppose that this was to imbue the mum with a love of magnificence or another advantage, like placing a attraction in a Construct-A-Bear. Extra seemingly, the stuffer simply wished the croc to maintain its form, and Sappho’s verse was helpful scrap paper. Please no person inform her.
See you tomorrow!
Solutions:
- Diane Keaton. The star, who died Saturday, typically “unconvincingly” downplayed her skills, Adrienne writes. Insecurity dogged Keaton, however she readily noticed magnificence within the folks and issues round her, and spent her complete life chasing it. Learn extra.
- WeChat. Sherman writes that Russia’s app is a step towards the device-level surveillance China achieved with WeChat, which its residents use for social media, digital funds, and a thousand different parts of day by day life—and from which the federal government can pluck what information it likes. Learn extra.
- Arabica. Because of tariffs, futures for the species have gone up almost $1 since July, Ellen reviews, and occasional typically is sort of 40 p.c dearer in the USA than it was a yr in the past. Coverage makers are scrambling as a result of, I don’t know in the event you’ve heard, however Individuals want their espresso. Learn extra.
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