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STEM
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Patellar, rooting, and photic sneeze are three types of what action that is homonymous with the R in an SLR camera?
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Reflex
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The bioluminescence of fungi in decaying wood is known by what compound word? While it has multiple common names, please give the one that combines the same two words as a popular open-source program arranged in the opposite order.
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Foxfire
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The annotation mark known as an obelus gave rise to several modern symbols including the dagger and the commercial minus. A third symbol derived from the obelus is used for what mathematics operation?
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Division
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The benzodiazepine drug diazepam, used to treat anxiety, is perhaps better known by what trade name owned by the pharmaceutical company Roche?
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Valium
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What term is used for a solution with an equilibrium between a weak acid and a conjugate base such that when a strong acid or base is added, the change in total Ph is low?
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Buffer Solution
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What extremely venomous snake endemic to Australia and New Guinea is named after an Aboriginal word for the creator being?
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Taipan
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What American astronomer has a name remembered almost solely for the comets he discovered independently of Lewis Swift in 1862 and of Wilhelm Tempel in 1866?
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Horace Parnell Tuttle
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The Peltier effect, the Seebeck effect, and the Thomson effect are all related to different behaviors of what electrical device?
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Thermocouple
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Relating to aging at the cell level, the number of times a human cell can divide before ceasing cell division is a limit named after what anatomist?
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Leonard Hayflick
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A diminutive form of "sphere" in Hungarian is used to define what class of convext 3D objects that have only one stable and one unstable equilibrium point?
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Gömböc
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Arts & Lit
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Dharma Bums is the sequel to what book widely considered to be the defining work of the Beat generation?
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On the Road
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"Mad About the Boy" is the subtitle of the third book in a series where what titular woman seeks love from a much younger man on Tinder? (first and last name required)
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Bridget Jones
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What Chinese classic novel follows 108 outlaws who plan a rebellion, but later join forces with the government to resist invading armies?
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Water Margin
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"Plump or rounded in a pleasing way" is an excerpt from the definition of the style of art exemplified by what prolific 16-17th c. Flemish artist?
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Peter Paul Rubens
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Al Hirschfeld used to hide what name in his line drawings? The term has become slang for any hidden name or messages, especially in crossword puzzles.
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Nina
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A 1962 advice book by Helen Gurley Brown encouraging women to experience sexual relationships before marriage was known as "Sex and the" what?
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Single Girl
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The Pulitzer winning photograph "The Vulture and the Little Girl" that brought attention to the hunger crisis in Sudan in the early 1990s was taken by what photographer? The photographer committed suicide four months after winning the prize.
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Kevin Carter
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What holiday and year titles a W.B. Yeats poem that laments the deaths of "MacDonagh and MacBride and Connolly and Pearse"?
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Easter, 1916
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A collection of animal fables compiled sometime around 500 CE is known as what, a Sanskrit compound meaning Five Principles?
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Panchatantra
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What term from French classical literature is used for a style of drama where all actions and events are believable? In this genre, soliloquies are replaced with conversations with confidants.
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Vraisemblance
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Movies & TV
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What 2017 Pixar film was the first to feature a nine-figure budget and an all-Latino principal cast?
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Coco
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In My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which of the Mane Six is best described as a tomboy with a multi-colored tail?
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Rainbow Dash
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In what HBO show does John Goodman play Eli, the head of a family of televangelists? Eli's son Jesse is played by show creator Danny McBride.
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The Righteous Gemstones
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King Kong (1933) and Citizen Kane (1941) were two films produced by what "Big Five" film studio of Hollywood's Golden Age?
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RKO
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Flower Films is a film and TV production company co-owned by what multi-generational nepo-baby who got her breakout role in 1982 at age 7?
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Drew Barrymore
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The 1973 miniseries translated as "Scenes from a Marriage" starring Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson was credited with a spike in the divorce rates throught Europe. The show was written and directed by what legendary film director?
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Ingrid Bergman
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What BBC sitcom, that aired from 1979 to 1981 has a title that is a pun on a phrase from Hamlet? The orignal phrase means naturally at ease in a situation and the pun converts it to have aristocratic overtones.
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To The Manor Born
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What 1980 black comedy has hunter gatherer Nǃxau ǂToma try to return a Coca-cola glass bottle to the deities that he thinks dropped it?
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The Gods Must Be Crazy
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Name the award-winning director of Monsoon Wedding and Mississippi Masala who is the mother of NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani?
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Mira Nair
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The most successful Dutch film, a romance between artist Eric Vonk and Olga Stapels, has what title that includes a non-Dutch nationality?
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Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight)
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Music
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Eminem (2024) and Dua Lipa (2023) both released songs titled after what Hungarian-American escapologist?
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Harry Houdini
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Fingal's Cave is an alternate name for a concert overture by Felix Mendelssohn that is named after what group of islands?
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Hebrides
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In a 2025 song by Kehlani, what is the state of her ex's clothes that are ready to be picked up? The adjective also serves as the song title.
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Folded
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The completely unintelligbile lyrics for Yellow Ledbetter were sung by Eddie Vedder for the 1991 debut album of what band?
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Pearl Jam
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A 14 stanza ballad about an inept underling by Goethe provided the inspiration for what Paul Dukas work, one of his few works to survive to the present day?
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The Sorcerer's Apprentice
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A popular song composed in 1880 by Luigi Denza was written to commemorate the first of what mode of transportation that brought tourists up Mount Vesuvius?
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Funicular
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Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were producers most associated with what three-word genre that fused hip-hop with dance-pop and is most associated with artists like Janet Jackson?
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New Jack Swing
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Located in a former power plant, what Berlin location is known as the world capital of techno? Its penchant for hedonistic activities and drug use has caused controversy in Germany.
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Berghain
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The "Cedar of Lebanon" is one of the nicknames of what mononymous singer born Nouhad Wadie Haddad, whose 6-decade career includes around 1500 songs?
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Fairuz
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A fusion of western jazz melodies with African metre is a feature of what Ghanaian music genre that began in the 19th century and was recognized as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2025?
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Highlife
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Sports & Games
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While the dolphin kick is often used when swimmers are underwater, it is a fundamental part of what competitive stroke?
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Butterfly
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What fencing discipline allows swords to weigh more than 500g and also allows points to be scored with touches on any part of the body?
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Epee
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What Brazilian martial artist was the UFC title holder for 2,457 days between 2006 and 2013?
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Anderson Silva
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Rash, Zitz and Pimple were the three protagonists of what game series started in 1991 that was meant to rival the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
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Battletoads
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Who won or co-won the Mr. Olympia title seven times between 1970 and 1980?
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
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What game, in which squidgers are used to propel objects upwards from the tabletop and into a pot, gets its name from British slang for a bar?
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Tiddlywinks
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In 2026, Luca Pinheiro Braathen, representing Brazil, won the first ever winter Olympic medal for a South American country. What specific event did he win gold in?
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(Men's) Giant Slalom
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The wild-card system or play-in games are examples of what tournament practice that allows players or teams who failed to qualify outright to compete? The word comes from French for "fishing out."
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Repechage
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What bar game that uses serial numbers on currency instead of playing cards titles a semi-autobiographical book by Michael Lewis about bond trading on Wall Street?
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Liar's Poker
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What baseball pitcher became the first to throw two complete games in the playoffs since 2001 when he accomplished the feat against the Brewers and the Blue Jays in 2025?
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto
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Geography & Language
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What stately name is given to the body of water also known as the Sea of Cortés or the Vermilion Sea?
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Gulf of California
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Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam are the most spoken languages in what language group?
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Dravidian
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What walled city in Brittany located on the Rance estuary is known for its long history of piracy?
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Saint-Malo
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A historic street in York, where medieval buildings with jettied floors overhang the street, has led to the common use of what word to mean something in a disordered state?
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Shambles
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What Roman general and Christian martyr is the namesake of a Dutch island in the Caribbean that lies just northwest of Saint Kitts?
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Sint Eustatius
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The city of Nizhny Novgorod was named after what Bolshevik author during the Soviet era?
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Maxim Gorky
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What dormant stratovolcano in Iran contains the highest point in western Asia?
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Mount Damavand
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The Brazilian highlands, stretching from Mato Grosso do Sul to Maranhao, make up the core of what tropical savanna ecoregion that accounts for 21% of Brazil's land area?
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Cerrado
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What 288-m deep lake on the Albania-North Macedonia border lies just west of Lake Prespa?
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Lake Ohrid
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What is the name of the plateau that is located between the Annamite Range and the Mekong river in Champasak province, Laos?
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Bolaven Plateau
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History
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Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Ramos-Horta won the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for their work in what country which wouldn't gain independence until several years later?
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Timor L'este
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What was the name of the Visigothic king, who after fighting alongside the Romans against the Franks, turned on his erstwhile allies and sacked Rome in 410 CE?
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Alaric
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A kingdom formed by the union of the Kingdom of Naples with another kingdom in 1816 is known as the Kingdom of the Two what?
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Sicilies
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A 1980 uprising against the coup of Chun Doo-hwan occurred in what city, leading to a violent crackdown with an estimated 600-2300 dead?
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Gwangju
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What strongman, the son of a German immigrant, ruled Paraguay for 35 years in the second half the 20th century?
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Alfredo Stroessner
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What name was given to the pro-nepotism faction of the Republican party led by Roscoe Conkling, who sponsored Ulysses S. Grant for an unsuccessful third run for president in 1880?
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Stalwarts
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The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which British troops opened fire at Indians gathering for the Vaisakhi festival, occurred in 1919 in what city?
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Amritsar
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The last major revolt against the Bolsheviks occurred in March 1921 and was centered and named after what port city on the Gulf of Finland?
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Kronstadt
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The third Babylonian dynasty, which ruled from 1595 to 1000 BCE was named after what people from the Zagros mountains?
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Kassites
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Who ruled as queen of the Ambundu for over 30 years in the 17th century? She allied with the Dutch against the Portuguese, briefly recapturing Luanda.
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Nzinga
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Food & Drink
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"Eat Fresh" is the motto of what fast food location with over 30,000 locations worldwide?
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Subway
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A sweetend cocktail of rum, citrus juice and sugar is named for what Cuban beach?
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Daiquiri
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Washing the curds to reduce lactose, and sealing with a wax cover are some features of what light, nutty cheese named for a city located between Rotterdam and Utrecht?
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Gouda
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Tea in which the leaves have been withered, steamed and rolled up into small pellets is given what name?
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Gunpowder Tea
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What term is used for a social event in Latin American countries where grilled meats are cooked over an open flame?
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Asado
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Literally meaning "ground meat" in Japanese, what paste usually made from fish is common in many food items such as kamaboko, narutomaki, and jakoten?
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Surimi
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Spago, located in West Hollywood, is the first restaurant and the flagship for what Austrian-born celebrity chef?
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Wolfgang Puck
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A base made from taro or breadfruit and an emollient such as coconut milk are used to make what Polynesian pudding with a name from Hawaiian?
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Haupia
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What stew of corn, beans, fish, meat and often blood sasuage is the national dish of Cape Verde?
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Cachupa
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What French Canadian meat pie is part of the traditional Christmas and New Year's Eve meals in Quebec?
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Tourtiere
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World Culture
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Images and references to what ursine character who first appeared in 1925 are banned in China due to the character's supposed resemblance to Xi Jinping?
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Winnie-the-Pooh
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The 24th and final tirthankara, known as Mahavira, is credited as one of the founders of what religion?
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Jainism
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Coined in 1990, what term is used for Indigenous North Americans to denote a third-gender role?
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Two-spirit
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What British orthodontist gave his name to a technique of orthotropics where one uses pressure from the tongue to modify their jawline into a more pleasing shape?
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John Mew
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The freemasonry symbol of an eye inside a triangle surrounded by rays of light is known as the Eye of what?
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Providence
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What Spanish transliteration of a Taíno word was used for the chieftains of islands in the Antilles and Bahamas?
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Cazique
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A combination of thirteen ethnolinguistic groups comprising about 7 million make up what largest non-Christian population in the Philippines?
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Moro
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What is the largest madhhab of Sunni Islam, the most popular through most of Central Asia, all of Pakistan, as well as many sections of the Levant and Asia Minor?
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Hanafi
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First mentioned in the Vedas, what word is used for both the realm of hell in Indian religions and the devilish beings that reside there?
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Naraka(s)
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What Catalan mixed-gender circle dance uses two or three-step movements around the circle and dates to the 16th century at latest?
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Sardana
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Miscellaneous
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Low-cut shoes with a strap across the instep often worn by young girls are called by what two female first names that can also be used for plants of the species Indica or Sativa?
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Mary Jane
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What three English words end a phrase that is the most common translation of a French WW1 slogan for soldiers defending a position? The same words also end a phrase that Ian McKellen used to block a demon from crossing a bridge in a 2001 film adaptation?
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Shall Not Pass
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When guns are loaded from the front of the barrel it is known as muzzle loading. What term describes loading guns from the rear of the barrel?
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Breech loading
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Eva Perón (in Evita) and Grizabella (in Cats) were two of many West End roles originated by what English singer/actress?
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Elaine Paige
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What legal term describes a judgment made either on part or on the whole case without a full trial?
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Summary Judgment
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Flip-flops gained in popularity in the United States when soldiers returned from Japan with what thonged sandals?
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Zori
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Correctly spell either the last name of the ice hockey goalie who won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2025 *or* the adopted penname of Michel Thomas, the controversial French author of "Atomised."
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Hellebuyck, Houellebecq
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What term, which dates to Ancient Rome to refer to an elderly male head of the household, was used by Jung to refer to the person that emerges after wrestling with an animus or anima problem?
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Senex
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What Russian anarchist spent the 41 years prior to the Bolshevik revolution in exile, including 4 years in a French prison? His works include "The Conquest of Bread" and "Fields, Factories, and Workshops."
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Peter Kropotkin
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Meaning "little man" what term is used for retired Italian men who offer unsolicited advice at construction sites?
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Umarell
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