1. In August 2023, a foul ball from baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani – who then played for the Los Angeles Angels – knocked out an LED module in an ad at Citi Field. The result was an image of a signature silver can of [X] beer – with a black box hovering above the brand logo. Where some brands might have seen an embarrassment, [X] and its agency, Rethink, saw opportunity, creating the ‘Lights Out’ campaign, in which all ads for the beer and even a revised can design incorporated the black square into their imagery. Which brand?
2. The herbs [A] and [B] are etymologically entwined. While [B] gets its English name from 'selinon', which was the Medieval Greek name for [A], [A] gets its name from the Greek 'petroselinon', meaning 'rock-[A]'. Confused? So were the Greeks, evidently. What are [A] and [B]? You will need to specify which is which in your answer.
3. Google Translate suggests that the Portuguese surname [X] comes from a simple word that refers to accepted social or religious standards. A bit ironic in the case of the two most famous Indians (father and son, pictured below) who bore the surname [X], who weren't exactly bound by such standards. Given that the father was a newspaperman and the son a poet, what is the surname?
4. The pic below shows the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), so called because of that little tuft under its chin. It is geographically quite widespread, living and breeding on crags in high mountains in southern Europe, East Africa, the Caucasus, Iran, the Indian subcontinent and Tibet. What 11-letter name is it also known by that means 'lamb-vulture' in German, a name that stems from the belief that it attacked young sheep?
5. While the fact that it gives an indication of direction of flow is quite self-evident, its traffic cone-like striped design isn't just decorative or aimed at visibility. It is actually a pretty precise speed indicator. What low-tech but highly effective 'device' am I talking about?
6. The coat pocket edition, measuring roughly 20 x 9 cm, of a certain book was launched by the Lucknow-based Eastern Book Company in 2009. While it was always quite popular among lawyers who found it easy to carry around with them, its popularity surged after it started getting regularly brandished since around May 2024. What book?
7. Founded in 1982 in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, which 'Party of God' was led by Hassan Nasrallah from 1992 till his assassination in September last year?
8. The word [A], which you will find mentioned in coverage of almost any official function, comes from the Greek 'diskos', that referred to the object used in the Olympic throwing event. From that root it moved on to mean 'table' in Medieval Latin, and then 'platform' or 'high table' in Old French. What is [A]?
9. What quintessential component of an Italian food item, that gets its name from an Italian word meaning 'to cut off', owes its origins to a creature with the scientific name Bubalus bubalis? This animal is native to India, and there are records of the Sumerians importing the animals from the people of the Indus Valley civilisation. It most probably reached European shores because of Roman conquests of regions east.
10. In the US of the 1950s, if you were part of the 'cufflink crowd', what 'abnormal' behaviour would you almost certainly exhibit in private?
