A A week’s worth of news in 10 simple questions
if you’ve been scrolling through the headlines, this should be a breeze. If not, try it anyway to see what you didn’t know you knew
1
Among the pro-trump protesters outside the US Capitol on January 6 was a man named Jason Alexander. Not the actor from Seinfeld, this man was married to a pop superstar for 55 days in 2004. Toxic choice or Oops-i-did-it moment – what is her name?
2
Earth is spinning faster than it has in five decades. Perhaps the planet is trying to shake us pesky humans off. But to us pesky humans, each day lasted a tiny bit less than 24 hours. So what should have been added to official time-keeping clocks on December 31 last year but wasn’t?
3
Last Sunday, Air India’s Delhi-san Francisco flight 176, steered by an all-women cockpit crew, achieved a feat that only 18 airlines have managed before. The women navigated one of Earth’s iciest, most inhospitable regions. They may have waved to Santa. What did they fly over? g4lobally Today is National Immunisation Day. But one
heralded programme, in which children under the age of 5 have been administered oral drops since 1995, has been postponed. Name the twoword campaign that has all but eradicated the disease in
India. 5
And Just Like That is a long-awaited revival of a ground-breaking racy HBO series. It features Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte, but notably not Samantha. Name the show that made the foursome famous, and got women to order Cosmopolitans and covet Manolo Blahniks.
6
All hail Sophie Devine. On Thursday, five days after she was released from quarantine, what record did the New Zealand cricket captain manage to set with just 36 balls?
7
Last week, when Richard Muljadi and his wife wanted to fly from Jakarta to Bali, what unusual travel arrangements did they make to prevent exposure to Covid-19 en route? The hack was expensive, Muljadi says, but it was still cheaper than booking a private jet.
8
She’s only 17. But actress and singer Olivia Rodrigo has already made history. Her emotionally charged debut single has topped the charts on Apple Music, Amazon Music, and itunes. On Spotify, it’s had 50 million streams. She’s steering this all by herself, no L plates needed. Name her song.
9
Trump: impeached twice. Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson: impeached once. How come Richard Nixon isn’t on this list?
10
And finally, a quiz-themed question for quizzards. Ken Jennings, Katie Couric, Mayim Bialik, Aaron Rodgers and journalist Bill Whitaker are guest hosts filling in for Alex Trebek. They have big shoes to fill. Trebek fronted a televised American quiz show for 36 years before he died in November. Your answer needn’t be in the form of a question. Just name the show.