Atlantic Trivia reaches Week 3, which is by definition probably the most trivial of all: The phrase trivia initially referred to locations the place three (tri-) roads (-via) met in a crossing. If these slouch Romans had been extra industrious builders, we may be taking part in quintivia and even septivia immediately.
That three-way intersection semantically drifted to imply “an open place,” which morphed into “public,” which was “commonplace”—therefore, trivial. Learn on for questions which might be something however.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2025
- What actor wrote in one in every of her memoirs that it was second nature for her to play “birdbrains,” together with characters whose sentences had been stuffed with “ums,” “you-knows,” “oh-wells,” and, maybe most famously, “la di da, la di das”?
— From Adrienne LaFrance’s “The Romantic” - Russia’s new messaging, file-sharing, and money-transferring app, Max—now required by authorities order to return put in on each new telephone bought within the nation—has prompted analogies to what Chinese language “the whole lot app”?
— From Justin Sherman’s “Putin Has a New Software to Monitor Russians” - Together with the much less acidic, extra bitter robusta bean, what species of espresso makes up nearly all international espresso manufacturing?
— From Ellen Cushing’s “The Drink That Individuals Gained’t Give Up And not using a Battle”
And by the best way, do you know that a number of the historic author Sappho’s poetry—most of which was misplaced—was found on bits of papyrus stuffed inside a mummified crocodile? I wish to assume that this was to imbue the mother with a love of magnificence or another advantage, like placing a attraction in a Construct-A-Bear. Extra possible, the stuffer simply needed the croc to maintain its form, and Sappho’s verse was useful scrap paper. Please no one inform her.
See you tomorrow!
Solutions:
- Diane Keaton. The star, who died Saturday, typically “unconvincingly” downplayed her skills, Adrienne writes. Insecurity dogged Keaton, however she readily noticed magnificence within the folks and issues round her, and spent her entire life chasing it. Learn extra.
- WeChat. Sherman writes that Russia’s app is a step towards the device-level surveillance China achieved with WeChat, which its residents use for social media, digital funds, and a thousand different parts of every day life—and from which the federal government can pluck what knowledge it likes. Learn extra.
- Arabica. Because of tariffs, futures for the species have gone up practically $1 since July, Ellen experiences, and occasional usually is sort of 40 p.c dearer in the US than it was a 12 months in the past. Coverage makers are scrambling as a result of, I don’t know if you happen to’ve heard, however Individuals want their espresso. Learn extra.
How did you do? Come again tomorrow for extra questions, or click on right here for final week’s. And if you happen to assume up a fantastic query after studying an Atlantic story—or just need to share a hanging reality—ship it my method at [email protected].
