Season 239

Coined in the 1990s by a U.S. policy think tank, which two-word term describes the dynamic range of ideas considered acceptable in public discourse, often referenced in political strategy to explain how policies like school vouchers can shift from unthinkable to mainstream through gradual reframing?

Which traditional winter ritual, performed primarily during the Twelve Days of Christmas or Epiphany, features elaborately costumed figures ringing bells to drive out winter spirits?
Distinct from the Krampus tradition, these ‘Schön’ and ‘Schiach’ figures roam the Alpine regions of Austria and Bavaria.

Which ship became the first to circumnavigate the globe when it returned to Spain in 1522, completing a voyage originally led by Ferdinand Magellan and proving the roundness of the Earth in practice?
The only survivor of a five-vessel fleet, it carried just 18 of the original crew after nearly three years at sea.

Which traditional British cap, originally worn for countryside pursuits, features dual brims and side flaps that can be tied over the crown or beneath the chin?
It became famously associated with Sherlock Holmes after illustrator Sidney Paget gave the detective this distinctive headgear, despite it never appearing in Conan Doyle’s original stories.

Which landmark trade agreement seeks to eliminate tariffs between the European Union and the South American nations of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay?
Despite a narrow vote in January 2026 sending the deal to the EU Court of Justice for review, officials are still targeting provisional application by March.

Which winter team sport, played on a large ice field about the size of a football pitch, uses a ball instead of a puck and curved sticks to score goals?
Popular in Russia and Scandinavia, it features 11 players per side, two 45-minute halves, and a penalty system utilizing blue and white cards to send players to a "sin bin".

Which 2007 Spanish-language supernatural horror film follows a woman who returns with her family to the orphanage where she was raised, only for her son to vanish amid ghostly occurrences?
Produced by Guillermo del Toro, it explores grief, memory, and the blurred line between reality and the supernatural.

The following events all took place in the same year. Which year?
A truck bomb destroys the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, an act of domestic terrorism that claims 168 lives.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by an ultranationalist extremist at the end of a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
An estimated 150 million viewers tune in to hear the verdict "Not Guilty" in the televised murder trial of O.J. Simpson.
Pixar releases Toy Story, the first feature-length film made entirely with computer-generated imagery (CGI), changing the animation industry forever.
Britain's oldest merchant bank, Barings Bank, collapses after unauthorized speculative trading by head derivatives trader Nick Leeson in Singapore results in £827 million in losses.

Which term describes the unsettling feeling people experience when encountering humanoid figures, such as robots or digital avatars, that appear almost, but not quite, human?
This concept, widely discussed in robotics and animation, refers to a dip in emotional response when artificial human likeness becomes eerily lifelike.

Which city in western Russia, situated near the border with Ukraine on the Central Russian Upland, lies along the Tuskar River and is located near one of the world’s largest magnetic anomalies?
It later gave its name to the largest tank battle in history and to a naval disaster that drew global attention decades later.

Which unofficial national anthem tells the story of a “swagman” who steals a “jumbuck” and, when confronted by troopers, commits suicide by jumping into a “billabong” and drowns, haunting the site thereafter?

Which rock band came out of “the jungle” searching for a place where the girls are pretty?
They were all too familiar with Mr. Brownstone, and their classic lineup eventually fractured—proving that “nothing lasts forever, even cold…”

Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, which granite peak hosts one of America’s most iconic landmarks?
Originally known to the Lakota as Six Grandfathers, it was renamed in 1885 after a visiting New York lawyer and later lent its name to a 1998 Wes Anderson cult classic starring Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray.

Which satirical novel set in a World War II bomber squadron follows a protagonist trying to escape combat by pleading insanity, only to be deemed sane for wanting to avoid danger?
Published in 1961 and written by Joseph Heller, it introduced a now-famous term for a no-win paradox caused by circular reasoning.