Up to date with new questions at 2:45 p.m. ET on January 13, 2026.
Welcome again to Atlantic Trivia! Are you hungry for extra?
I hope that whereas I’ve been away, you will have been having fun with loads of meals for thought—actually. Analysis exhibits that berries assist enhance reminiscence and {that a} walnut-heavy weight loss program is related to larger cognitive efficiency. Fatty fish and leafy greens are linked to slower cognitive decline. Caffeine is a mind enhance too.
A problem: Mix all these substances, Chopped-style, into the proper pre-trivia meal.
In the meantime, I’ve been away these previous few weeks considering principally about hen parmigiana. It’s not mind meals per se, however I reckon we will name it creativity gasoline—as long as it’s eaten for breakfast. That’s the suggestion within the first version of my new publication, Higher With Time, an eight-week course of how so as to add oomph to varied components of the day. Join it right here.
However first—finally—trivia!
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Tuesday, January 13, 2025
- What geographic line passes via eight nations (together with Mali), three continents (together with Antarctica), and a royal observatory?
— From Alexandra Petri’s listing of issues on the globe that Donald Trump would possibly need to purchase along with Greenland - One of many stars of TV’s ice-hockey romance Heated Rivalry cautioned straitlaced viewers that “you miss the story” by skipping over what components of the present?
— From Religion Hill’s article on what Heated Rivalry understands higher than most romances - Residing in exile because the 1979 Islamic Revolution, former Crown Prince Reza is a member of what dynasty that had dominated Iran since 1925?
— From Karim Sadjadpour and Jack A. Goldstone’s evaluation of the situations needed for Iran’s regime to break down
And by the way in which, do you know that when the aforementioned dynasty took energy in 1925, its nation was nonetheless recognized to the world as Persia? It wasn’t till 1935 that the shah requested the worldwide group to start out calling the place Iran, to raised mirror its make-up (not all Iranians are ethnically Persian).
This was typically accommodated. Then Winston Churchill acquired concerned; the British premier nervous that the brand new identify was too near Iraq’s and would trigger confusion throughout World Battle II, when each nations had been occupied by the Allies. He requested a short lived swap again, and the Iranians—or Persians?—amazingly agreed.
Till tomorrow!
Solutions:
- The Prime Meridian. The spot for 0° longitude was picked to go via the observatory in London’s borough of Greenwich, however the imaginary line traverses a lot of the world that maybe it “may very well be helpful for spycraft,” Alexandra muses in her newest satire. Learn extra.
- Intercourse scenes. Religion agrees with the Heated Rivalry actor, writing {that a} “frank intercourse scene” reveals a lot extra about characters than the mere implication—say, with a cutaway to breeze-ruffled curtains—that they’ve been intimate. But intercourse, Religion experiences, is vanishing from our TV and film screens. Learn extra.
- Pahlavi. The exiled royal is a frontrunner of the opposition to the Islamic Republic regime in Iran—a various coalition that Sadjadpour and Goldstone rely as a precondition for counterrevolution. Their essay names 4 extra containers to tick, they usually write that Iran may be very near doing so. Learn extra.
How did you do? Come again tomorrow for extra questions, and should you assume up a fantastic query after studying an Atlantic story—or just need to share a truth—ship it my method at (electronic mail protected).
Monday, January 12, 2025
- What Nineteenth-century statesman and fighter is named El Libertador for his independence marketing campaign in northern South America (together with within the nation that now bears his identify)?
— From Vivian Salama’s article on the possibility of a domino impact after Nicolás Maduro’s seize - English settlers who got here to colonial America had been thrilled to hunt the continent’s bountiful deer; the animals again in Britain couldn’t be freely shot, as a result of they legally belonged to what individual?
— From Yasmin Tayag’s essay on venison consumption in the US - A Dostoyevsky story a few character who faces a extra gifted, extra widespread look-alike at work is an inspiration for what 2010 psychological thriller that facilities on the efficiency of a unique Russian’s work?
— From Religion Hill’s article on the film’s theme of girls navigating hyper-competition
And by the way in which, do you know that venisonwhich comes from the Latin for “to hunt,” as soon as referred to any wild sport? That meant deer, but in addition hare, boar, some goats, and elk and their ilk.
That catchall spirit lives on at this time in South Africa. As a result of the nation’s continent has no native deer species, venison there means meat from eland, kudu, gemsbok, springbok, or impala—which, to avoid wasting you a search, are all species of antelope.
Solutions:
- Simon Bolivar. El Libertador’s dream of a united Latin America was one shared by Venezuela’s and Cuba’s socialist leaders, notably concerning the connection between their two nations. Nonetheless linked the states are, Vivian doesn’t assume that Donald Trump’s blow to Venezuela will convey in regards to the regime’s demise in Cuba. Learn extra.
- The King. The English hunted down the colonies’ deer inhabitants to about 1 p.c what it had been in precolonial days, however the animals bounded again in an enormous method and at the moment are usually a nuisance. Yasmin’s resolution: Eat them. Learn extra.
- Black Swan. That different Russian’s work is Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lakewhich—no spoilers—takes a toll on Natalie Portman’s character, particularly as soon as a fellow dancer performed by Mila Kunis begins respiration down her neck. Religion writes that Black Swan’s story is eminently recognizable effectively past the ballet world. Learn extra.
