Season 233

Which Formula 1 pit strategy involves both drivers from the same team pitting on the same lap, requiring the crew to service one car immediately after the other in rapid succession?
Though risky due to potential delays, it can be crucial during safety car periods or changing weather conditions.

Which 1984 synth-pop song by Rockwell became a global hit with its paranoid lyrics about constant surveillance?
The track features distinctive backing vocals by Michael Jackson, adding to its eerie, unforgettable sound.

Which type of decentralized communication network allows each node to act as both a host and a router, forwarding data dynamically through the most efficient path without relying on a central hub?
Used in applications from disaster zones to community Wi-Fi, it often employs protocols like BATMAN to manage routing.

Which ancient Mesopotamian goddess was worshipped as the deity of love, war, and fertility, and was often associated with both creation and destruction?
Known in Sumerian mythology as Inanna, she appears in myths including a dramatic descent into the underworld and played a central role in Babylonian religion.

What is the name of the national anthem that dates back to 1770 and remains one of the few in the world with no official lyrics?
Performed at ceremonies of a modern constitutional monarchy, it is among the oldest anthems still in use and is known for its formal, instrumental character.

Which 1960 film by Jean-Luc Godard, a landmark of the French New Wave, follows a small-time criminal and his American lover through the streets of Paris and became famous for its jump-cut editing and rebellious style?

Which plucked string instrument, known for its bright, tremolo-rich tone and small, pear-shaped body, is traditionally used in classical and folk music?
It features prominently in pop hits like R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” and Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” where its distinctive sound helped define the songs' identities.

Which fibrous protein forms the main structural component of hair, nails, feathers, hooves, and horns across many species?
Known for its durability, it helps protect cells from damage or stress and is a key element in both beauty products and animal adaptations.

Which textile, known for its soft ridged texture formed by vertical wales, has a name often mistaken for meaning “cloth of the king” due to its pseudo-French sound?
In reality, it originated as a durable fabric for workers in 18th-century England and later gained popularity in fashion and academia.

Which term now used to describe a film or show’s commercial performance originated in early modern theatres like the Globe, where earnings were physically collected before each performance?
Though its function has evolved, it still marks the point where audiences and revenue meet.

Which online payment company rose to prominence in the early 2000s as the preferred method for eBay transactions, helping popularize digital wallets and peer-to-peer money transfers?
Founded by a group including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, it became the launchpad for a generation of influential tech entrepreneurs.

Which toy, originally designed by Italian inventor Aquilino Cosani in the late 1960s and later popularised in the UK, features a rubber ball with two handles that allows children to propel themselves forward by bouncing?
Known for its grinning face and unpredictable motion, it became a chaotic backyard staple during the 1970s.

Which ancient Greek thinker is best known for a theorem about right-angled triangles, though similar ideas existed in earlier Babylonian texts? He also led a philosophical school that treated numbers as sacred and believed the soul could be reborn in other living beings.

Which brief speech was delivered by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 at the dedication of a cemetery on a major Civil War battlefield, redefining the war as a struggle for a “new birth of freedom”?
Though just over two minutes long, it became one of the most quoted speeches in American history.