2023 TRIVIA BOWL XXV QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

ROUND 1: CURRENT EVENTS
1. With a population of 1.42 billion, what country surpassed China this year to
become the most populous country in the world?
2. While the WGA has resolved its strike, what other Hollywood labor union is
currently still negotiating with the AMPTP? We are looking for an initialism, not
just a general description.
3. In September, what country’s prime minister accused the Indian government of
being involved in the killing of a Sikh leader in British Columbia?
4. What Republican from California became the first person to be voted out as
Speaker of the House, less than a year after taking office?
5. What company was behind the Titan submersible’s ill-fated voyage to visit the
Titanic? The journey resulted in the death of all five passengers, including this
company’s CEO. 6. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action
in college admissions. One of the universities named in the case was the
University of North Carolina. What Ivy League school was the other?
7. In early March, SVB collapsed, making it the second-largest banking failure in
US history. What does SVB stand for?
8. Early this year, Jacinda Ardern surprised the world by stepping down from her
post as prime minister of what Southern hemisphere country?
9. In August, Donald Trump was indicted on racketeering charges in which US
state?
10. After Dianne Feinstein passed away in late September, what woman was
appointed by Governor Newsom to fill her Senate seat?
11. Shou Zi Chew is a Singaporean businessman and CEO of what social media
app? In May, Montana became the first US state to ban this app.
12. What brand name diabetes drug, known generically as semaglutide, has been
used as a “weight loss drug”? In addition to the pharmaceutically similar WeGovy, this Novo Nordisk drug has become popular with celebrities for inducing dramatic
weight loss.
13. Coronated in May, what man is the new monarch of the United Kingdom?
Name AND regnal number required.
14. In August, China announced a ban on imports of Japanese seafood after Japan
began releasing radioactive wastewater into the ocean from what nuclear plant?
15. On August 30th, President Ali Bongo of what African nation was ousted in a
coup, ending the 56-year long rule of the Bongo family over this country?

ROUND 2: POLITICS, LITERATURE & HISTORY
1. Tammy Duckworth, of Thai and Chinese descent, is currently the US Senator for
which state?
2. What Japanese-British author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day
won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017?
3. Lady Triệu or Triệu Ẩu was a legendary warrior of the 3rd century from what
country? She led this country’s resistance to Chinese rule. x
4. Composed of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, what
name is given to the national legislature of Japan?
5. What 1973 memoir by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston
details Jeanne and her family’s experiences at a Japanese incarceration camp?
6. Coming into power in 1947, what man was the first prime minister of India
after independence?
7. The island of Borneo is politically divided among three countries: Brunei,
Indonesia, and what third country?
8. What Indian author is widely lauded despite having published just two novels
20 years apart: The God of Small Things (1997) and The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness (2017)?
9. What revolutionary led Philippine forces against Spain and the United States in
the late 19th century, later becoming the first president of the Philippines?10. What Indian American woman and presidential hopeful served as the US
ambassador to the United Nations from 2017-2018?
11. Yellowface is a 2023 best-seller from what Chinese American author, better
known for her fantasy novel The Poppy War?
12. Under which US president was the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act signed into
law?
13. Hun Sen was the prime minister of what Southeast Asian country for 38 years?
His son, Hun Manet, has taken over the role from him this year. x
14. What memoir from Taiwanese-American writer Hua Hsu, about the tragic
death of a college friend at UC Berkeley, won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Memoir
or Autobiography?
15. Lasting from 1392 to 1897, what was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea?

ROUND 3: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
1. One of the songs playing as you walked in tonight was “Route 66,” a cover by
what English band? They are known for the albums Music for the Masses (1987)
and Violator (1990).
2. Barbenheimer was the cinematic event of the year. While Christopher Nolan
directed Oppenheimer, what woman directed the billion-dollar grossing Barbie?3. Joe Alwyn. Matty Healy. Travis Kelce. What woman have all three men been
romantically linked to within the last year?
4. What Netflix series, starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, follows two strangers
who get into a road rage incident that escalates into a feud?
5. In what she has called a “dream role”, Constance Wu currently stars in an offBroadway revival of what Alan Menken musical, in which she sings such songs as
“Somewhere That’s Green” and “Suddenly Seymour”?
6. What post-apocalyptic HBO show starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey is
based on the 2013 video game of the same name?
7. What Korean American actress, who can be seen in “Emily in Paris” and Joy
Ride, originated the role of Gretchen Wieners in the Mean Girls musical on
Broadway?
8. What director of Hong Kong cinema is known for such films as Chungking
Express and In the Mood for Love?
9. Departures (2008) and Drive My Car (2022) are both winners of the Academy
Award for Best International Feature Film. They are movies from what country?10. What 1958 Broadway musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein is set in San
Francisco’s Chinatown? The 1961 film adaptation would be the first major
Hollywood film to have a majority Asian-American cast.
11. Novelist Michael Crichton, known for best-selling books such as Jurassic Park, also created what TV series that ran on NBC from 1994 to 2009?
12. What is the subtitle of the 2023 Legend of Zelda game, the sequel to Breath of
the Wild?
13. What supernatural TV show is credited as being the first to ever use the word
“Google” as a verb? In a 2002 episode, Willow asks, “Have you Googled her yet?”14. Chosen as a “safe choice” following the infamous “wardrobe malfunction”
involving Janet Jackson, what rock musician headlined the Super Bowl XXXIX (39)
Halftime Show? He performed just four songs, one of which was the theme from
a 1973 James Bond movie.
15. What up-and-coming K-pop group has had a breakout year, with such hits as
“OMG,” “Super Shy,” and “ETA”?

ROUND 4: SCIENCE/TECH & GEOGRAPHY
1. What element, with an atomic number of 80, is the only metallic element that
is liquid at room temperature?
2. Elon Musk has changed the official name of Twitter to what letter of the
alphabet?
3. What is the colorful name of the second longest river in China?
4. What oil tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound near Alaska in 1989,
spilling an estimated 11 million gallons of oil?
5. What subsidiary, launched in 2014 by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, more
than doubled their revenue of $1.9 billion in 2019 to $4.8 billion in 2020, in part
due to COVID-19 lockdowns?
6. Java, Sulawesi, and Sumatra are some of the largest islands of what Asian
nation?
7. In DNA, the nucleotide bases are adenine, cytosine, thymine, and what fourth
base?
8. From 2002 to 2015, PayPal was owned by what e-commerce company? This
company was founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar.
9. In August, wildfires on Maui completely razed what town that once served as
the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii?
10. In 1992, who became the first Black woman to travel to space? Shortly after,
she appeared on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 11. What brand of digital audio players was launched by Tiger Electronics in
August 2000? The first series of cartridges for this device featured 60-second
segments of songs by Britney Spears, ‘NSYNC, and Sugar Ray.
12. What volcano in Washington state erupted on May 18, 1980, sending ash,
magma, and other debris over 230 square miles?
13. Launched in 2021, what NASA telescope recently produced pictures of
Jupiter’s moon Europa that indicate the presence of carbon dioxide?
14. What “online personal styling service” founded in 2011 by Katrina Lake and
Erin Morrison Flynn was originally called Rack Habit?
15. Home to some of the country’s most important Buddhist temples, what city is
the capital of Laos?

ROUND 5: SPORTS & CALIFORNIA LIVING
1. What star of the Los Angeles Lakers broke the NBA all-time scoring record
during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7th?
2. What coastal California city is known for an annual jazz festival, and was the
setting for John Steinbeck’s novel Cannery Row?
3. What Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher was named World Series MVP twice, in 1963
and 1965?
4. On In-N-Out’s secret menu, what type of fries consist of melted cheese,
chopped grilled onions, and their secret spread?
5. What country won the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, defeating England in the
finals?
6. Before it was a gossip show and website, TMZ was a Hollywood acronym used
to reference the area in which movie studios operated. What does TMZ stand for?7. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos each raised a
black-gloved fist on the podium for the 200-meters event. In what city did this
Olympics take place?
8. Located north of San Francisco, what National Monument is known for its oldgrowth redwood trees? The park is named after the famous naturalist who
founded the Sierra Club.
9. Lionel Messi has made headlines dominating Major League Soccer after a highprofile transfer to what MLS franchise in July?
10. Yellowcard won a 2004 MTV Video Music Award for what song that shares its
name with a street in Santa Monica? This street starts at Adelaide Drive on the
north end and ends at Pico Boulevard.
11. The Cincinnati Bengals lost the 2022 Super Bowl to the LA Rams. They also lost
both of their previous two Super Bowl appearances to what other California
team?
12. What central coast city, located south of San Luis Obispo, was known as the
“Clam Capital of the World”? Although they no longer use that title, the city still
hosts an annual Clam Festival every October.
13. What current MLB manager was integral in back-to-back games of the Red Sox
comeback series win in the 2004 ALCS, scoring tying runs as a pinch runner in
games 4 and 5?
14. What tennis tournament, held in a city in the Coachella Valley, is often called
the “fifth Grand Slam”? Venus and Serena Williams boycotted this event for 14
years.
15. While San Francisco has the Castro and Los Angeles has West Hollywood,
what is the “gayborhood” of San Diego? San Diego’s annual Pride parade begins in
this neighborhood.

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ROUND 1 ANSWERS:
1. India
2. SAG-AFTRA
3. Canada
4. Kevin McCarthy
5. OceanGate
6. Harvard University
7. Silicon Valley Bank
8. New Zealand
9. Georgia
10.Laphonza Butler
11.Tik Tok
12.Ozempic
13.King Charles III
14.Fukushima Nuclear Plant
15.Gabon

ROUND 2 ANSWERS:
1. Illinois
2. Kazuo Ishiguro
3. Vietnam
4. National Diet or Kokkai
5. Farewell to Manzanar
6. Jawaharlal Nehru
7. Malaysia
8. Arundhati Roy
9. Emilio Aguinaldo
10.Nikki Haley
11.R.F. Kuang
12.Chester Arthur
13.Cambodia
14.Stay True
15.Great Joseon

ROUND 3 ANSWERS:
1. Depeche Mode
2. Greta Gerwig
3. Taylor Swift
4. BEEF
5. Little Shop of Horrors
6. The Last of Us
7. Ashley Park
8. Wong Kar Wai
9. Japan
10.Flower Drum Song
11.ER
12.Tears of the Kingdom
13.Buffy the Vampire Slayer
14.Paul McCartney
15.New Jeans

ROUND 4 ANSWERS:
1. Mercury
2. X
3. Yellow River (or Huang He)
4. Exxon Valdez
5. Uber Eats
6. Indonesia
7. Guanine
8. eBay
9. Lahaina
10.Mae Jemison
11.HitClips
12.Mount St. Helens
13.James Webb Telescope
14.Stitch Fix
15.Vientiane

ROUND 5 ANSWERS:
1. Lebron James
2. Monterey
3. Sandy Koufax
4. Animal style
5. Spain
6. Thirty Mile Zone
7. Mexico City
8. Muir Woods
9. Inter Miami
10.Ocean Avenue
11.San Francisco 49ers
12.Pismo Beach
13.Dave Roberts
14.Indian Wells
15.Hillcrest