Today’s Atlantic Trivia: The Answer’s in Your DNA
In the latest edition of *The Atlantic Daily*, readers are invited to engage with a series of trivia questions that not only challenge their knowledge but also provide insights into contemporary culture and historical events. The article draws inspiration from the legacy of Samuel Johnson, the 18th-century lexicographer who championed curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. Johnson famously asserted that while one may not possess all the answers, knowing where to find them is paramount—an ethos that resonates through the trivia questions posed in this edition. The questions range from pop culture references, such as identifying Sheryl Sandberg’s influential book *Lean In*, to scientific achievements like the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure by James Watson and Francis Crick.
The trivia also highlights significant historical contexts, such as the evolution of Veterans Day in the United States. Originally established to commemorate the end of World War I on November 11, the holiday faced changes in the 1970s when federal law shifted its observance to a Monday. This alteration, aimed at creating more three-day weekends, was met with disapproval from veterans who valued the day’s historical significance. Ultimately, in 1978, the observance was restored to its original date, reflecting the importance of honoring those who served. This blend of cultural references, historical facts, and modern commentary serves not only to entertain but also to educate readers about the interconnectedness of knowledge across various domains.
In addition to the trivia questions, the article encourages reader interaction by inviting them to submit their own questions or interesting facts. This participatory approach aligns with Johnson’s belief in the power of curiosity and the collective pursuit of knowledge, creating a dynamic space for learning and engagement. As readers ponder the trivia and reflect on the answers, they are reminded of the importance of inquiry and the joy of discovering new information, whether through literature, history, or science. *The Atlantic Daily* continues to be a platform for intellectual exploration, fostering a community of inquisitive minds eager to delve into the vast realms of knowledge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh-u3vRc7F0
Updated with new questions at 3:40 p.m. ET on November 11, 2025.
The famed 18th-century lexicographer Samuel Johnson was a lover of learning. As the dictionary maker once wrote, he dedicated his life “wholly to curiosity,” with the intent “to wander over the boundless regions of general knowledge.” (He was additionally a lover of getting bored and moving on, writing of how he “quitted every science at the first perception of disgust.” Respect.)
Perhaps Johnson’s greatest legacy, though, was his ardent belief that one didn’t have to know all the answers so long as one knew where to find them. For Johnson, that place was usually in his reference books. For you and this trivia, it’s right here in
The Atlantic
.
Find
last week’s questions here
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Trivia in your inbox every day,
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Atlantic
Daily
.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
From the
edition of The
Atlantic
Daily
by David A. Graham:
What book
written by then–Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg is frequently used as shorthand for the “girlboss” flavor of feminism that peaked in the 2010s?
— From Sophie Gilbert’s
“
All’s Fair
Is an Atrocity”
The memoir of the scientist James Watson took its name from
what shape
that Watson and his partner, Francis Crick, identified as the physical form of DNA?
— From Kathryn Paige Harden and Eric Turkheimer’s
“The Paradox of James Watson”
What software company
co-founded by Peter Thiel has the same name as the magical crystal ball of the
Lord of the Rings
series?
— From Adam Serwer’s
“Why Elon Musk Needs Dungeons & Dragons to Be Racist”
And by the way, did you know that Veterans Day—observed on the 11th day of the 11th month to honor the World War I armistice that occurred in the 11th hour—was for a few years in the 1970s commemorated on, oh, the 24th day or the 27th day (or really any day from the 22nd to the 28th) of the 10th month?
Federal law in 1971 bumped Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Washington’s Birthday to always-on-a-Monday status. The travel industry was thrilled by the jump in three-day weekends; veterans were not thrilled by the loss of the 11/11 significance. The vets won out, and the observance returned to November 11 in 1978.
See you tomorrow!
Answers:
Lean In
.
The dream is alive at the divorce-law firm depicted in Ryan Murphy’s new
All’s Fair
, which Sophie says is less a television show than it is an episode-length Instagram Reels session, where scenes of dazzling moving images pass fleetingly and almost incoherently.
Read more.
Double helix.
The discovery was the greatest achievement of Watson, who died this week. Harden and Turkheimer ask: How does one hold that brilliance next to the bigotry directed at women, gay people, and Black people?
Read more.
Palantir.
Adam explores how J. R. R. Tolkien (consciously or not) set the fantasy genre down a path of reinforcing racial and gender stereotypes—which appears to be no problem at all for many right-wing figures in government and tech.
Read more.
How did you do? Come back tomorrow for more questions, or
click here for last week’s
. And if you think up a great question after reading an
Atlantic
story—or simply want to share a wild fact—send it my way at
trivia@theatlantic.com
.
Monday, November 10, 2025
From the
edition of The
Atlantic
Daily
by David A. Graham:
The film
Bugonia
takes its name from the ancient belief that a cow’s carcass could spawn
what pollinators
, whose numbers have declined dangerously in recent years?
— From Shirley Li’s
“An Intimate Portrait of Humanity at Its Worst”
Hours before the government shutdown caused millions of Americans to lose their food stamps, Donald Trump hosted a decadent Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago with
what F. Scott Fitzgerald novel
as its theme?
— From Jonathan Chait’s
“Senate Democrats Just Made a Huge Mistake”
Mark Twain once said that when a speaker of
what language
dives into a sentence, you won’t see him again until he reaches the other side of the ocean, carrying in his mouth the verb—which this language frequently places much later in a sentence than where it would occur in English?
— From Ross Benjamin’s
“The Costs of Instant Translation”
And by the way, did you know that interpreting by whispering real-time translations into someone’s ear is known as
chuchotage
? The word is French, so soften those
ch
’s into
sh
’s, make that
g
into a velvety
zzzhh
, and recognize just how whispery the word itself sounds; that’s why the French formed it that way in the first place.
Answers:
Bees.
The word
bugonia
is never uttered in the Yorgos Lanthimos project, Shirley notes, but the idea of life from death—on a planetary scale—is central to his study of a moribund civilization.
Read more.
The Great Gatsby
.
I can’t say for sure that this was a reason public polling on the shutdown looked so bad for Trump, but I have a hunch, old sport. Jonathan writes that Democrats were likely surprised that the shutdown they’d forced was drawing political blood, and that they made a huge mistake in withdrawing the knife.
Read more.
German.
Benjamin writes that German’s delayed-verb structure invites uniquely collaborative conversations for learners; his partner would often supply at the very end of the sentence the verb that Benjamin was grasping for. That sort of beauty gets lost when learners rely on machine translation.
Read more.
