Today’s Atlantic Trivia: Nap or Pie—Which Way, Turkey Eater?
In the latest edition of *The Atlantic Daily*, readers are treated to a blend of trivia and insights that delve into cultural phenomena, historical anecdotes, and scientific curiosities. The publication opens with a nod to George Miller’s influential research on human memory, famously suggesting that our short-term memory can hold about seven items. However, modern psychologists propose that this number may be closer to four when considering “chunking,” or grouping information into manageable units. This sets the stage for a playful engagement with trivia questions that challenge readers to recall various facts from recent articles, encouraging them to sharpen their cognitive skills while enjoying the rich content *The Atlantic* offers.
Among the intriguing questions posed is one about the amino acid found in turkey that is often blamed for post-Thanksgiving lethargy: tryptophan. While commonly cited, the article humorously debunks the myth surrounding this claim, suggesting that the exhaustion felt after a turkey feast is more likely due to the overall indulgence of the holiday rather than the turkey itself. Another question highlights the viral sensation of the cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid created by French pastry chef Dominique Ansel in 2013. This culinary innovation exemplifies the intersection of food and social media, as it captivated audiences across platforms, transforming how we view and share food experiences. The trivia also touches on the world of hemp, which remains federally legal and is increasingly popular for various products, reflecting a shift in societal attitudes toward cannabis.
The article also offers a fascinating historical tidbit about Sarah Josepha Hale, the 19th-century activist who played a crucial role in establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the United States. Hale’s relentless campaigning culminated in a letter to President Abraham Lincoln, which coincided with the drafting of the Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863. This narrative not only enriches the context of the holiday but also invites readers to reflect on the cultural significance of Thanksgiving and the contributions of women like Hale. As readers engage with the trivia and its accompanying facts, they are encouraged to ponder the broader implications of these stories, whether in food culture, memory science, or historical activism. This engaging mix of knowledge and trivia serves as a reminder of the joys of learning and the connections we can draw from seemingly disparate topics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BTvlBaWSWU
Updated with new questions at 1:45 p.m. ET on November 26, 2025.
A seminal mid-century paper by the psychologist George Miller asserted that the human brain can hold seven items in short-term memory, give or take a couple. A person can chunk—that is, group items together in sensible, memorable units—to get a bit more bang, but modern psychologists think the species can handle only about
four
of those.
None of the chunks in the great minestrone that is
The Atlantic
is going anywhere, though, so enjoy leisurely encoding them in your much more capacious long-term memory. Then dip into a little trivia to see what stuck.
Find last week’s questions here
, and to get
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Trivia in your inbox every day,
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Atlantic
Daily
.
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
What amino acid
that turkey meat contains (in modest amounts!) is most frequently credited for inducing post-Thanksgiving sleepiness?
— From Daniel Engber’s
“A War on Facts About Thanksgiving Dinner”
What virally popular pastry
created in 2013 by the French chef Dominique Ansel has been described by one food writer as “a platonic torus of golden dough with a sugar-salt-fat ratio to please the gods”?
— From Sophie Gilbert’s
“The Culture War Comes to the Kitchen”
What
is the variety of marijuana, bred to contain minimal THC, that remains federally legal (and can also be refined into paper, rope, clothing, and many other products)?
— From Nicholas Florko’s
“Pour One Out for Weed Seltzer”
And by the way, did you know that the existence of Thanksgiving in the United States is in large part the work of a 19th-century activist who also happened to be the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”?
The magazine editor and writer Sarah Josepha Hale had spent many years campaigning to nationalize Thanksgiving—already regionally popular—when, in September 1863, she sent one more letter on the subject to President Abraham Lincoln and his secretary of state. Correlation is not causation, of course, but within a week, the Thanksgiving Proclamation had been drafted.
This year, you might therefore honor Hale by putting off the Bing Crosby for one more day and sing instead of the animal whose fleece was white as snow.
Have a very happy holiday.
Answers:
Tryptophan.
Except, well, tryptophan doesn’t really make you sleepy, but the annual cycle of claims and debunkings sure is exhausting, Daniel writes. He says that “this is science—and this is science journalism—of the sort that only makes you dumber the more of it you read.”
Read more.
Cronut.
The croissant-donut hybrid was emblematic of the social-media revolution that pushed food into new, hyper-visual territory, Sophie explains. And that quoted food writer, Ruby Tandoh, argues that social media has made us
all
“food people” now. So, Sophie wonders, how do we come together to fix eating?
Read more.
Hemp.
It’s kind of an accident that you can drop in to a gas station and buy hemp products whose effects are basically indistinguishable from traditional weed’s, Nicholas writes, but it doesn’t look as though you’ll be able to for much longer.
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 dazzling fact—send it my way at
trivia@theatlantic.com
.
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
What political-science term
is a combo of the last name of an early-19th-century vice president (first name: Elbridge) and the name of a common (and notably shaped) amphibian?
— From Marc Novicoff’s
“Welcome to the [REDACTED] Apocalypse”
Mark Twain once joked that a cauliflower is merely a college-educated version of
what other vegetable
that is among the cheapest vegetables one can buy?
— From Gilad Edelman’s
“Enough With the Brussels Sprouts Already”
What rap subgenre
originating in Chicago (and sharing its name with a power tool) is known by its confrontational lyrics and its biggest breakout star, Ice Spice?
— From W. David Marx’s
“Make Culture Weird Again”
And by the way, did you know that another early-19th-century honcho—Timothy Pickering, secretary of state to George Washington and John Adams—tried to organize the secession of a handful of New England states after Thomas Jefferson became president?
Pickering, a Federalist, saw Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican Party’s dramatic consolidation of power as the ultimate failure of the new Union (
as Henry Cabot Lodge explained
in the June 1878 edition of
The Atlantic
!). Pickering predicted tyranny, unchecked corruption, the air of Robespierre in America. So he determined that a Northern confederacy of Massachusetts and a few pals was the only remedy.
You may note that getting from D.C. to Boston doesn’t require a passport, however much linguistic differences suggest it should; Pickering’s plot—despite two separate tries—failed.
Answers:
Gerrymander.
Thanks to partisan redistricting, America is rapidly becoming a political system bursting with red-state Democrats and blue-state Republicans who effectively lack congressional representation, Marc writes. And mostly, the incentives are to just keep going.
Read more.
Cabbage.
Gilad argues that the cliché of a “humble” vegetable is actually apt for cabbage and that its bad reputation (or at least boring one) is unearned. He would like to see this unassuming crucifer get its moment in the sun.
Read more.
Drill.
The subculture is one of few still operating in the old-school model of in-person artistic innovation, Marx writes, whereas most of the rest of “culture” has migrated online and oriented toward the mass market. A 21st-century cultural renaissance, he contends, requires allowing (and encouraging) artists to disappear into their own worlds for a spell.
Read more.
Monday, November 24, 2025
From the
edition of The
Atlantic
Daily
by David A. Graham:
The venue that hosted a high-profile international conference last week caught fire—a pretty on-the-nose metaphor, considering that the summit was about
what subject
?
— From Peter Brannen’s
“Our Almost-Apocalyptic [REDACTED] Future”
The German theologian Martin Luther is credited with beginning the Reformation in 1517 when he published a collection of his arguments known by
what numerical name
?
— From George Packer’s
“An Anatomy of the MAGA Mind”
The moviemaking industry known as Nollywood is based in
what country
—the most populous of its continent?
— From Toluse Olorunnipa’s
“The Fantastical Storytelling of Nollywood Movies”
And by the way, did you know that in addition to Dollywood (very much
not
a filmmaking industry, unless you count the 2022 TV movie
Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas
), there is a Dhollywood
and
a Dhallywood?
The former is India’s Gujarati-language industry, named for its frequent use of the drum known as a
dhol
. The latter is Bangladesh’s movie industry, named for the country’s capital, Dhaka. And the surrealist cinema of the early 20th century, such as
Un Chien Andalou
? Maybe … Dalíwood!
Answers:
Climate change.
Brannen argues that such a fiery fate might await the whole world if society resigns itself to the “climate realism” argument that says a 3-degree rise should be the new do-not-pass line—because, realistically, do-not-pass lines often get passed.
Read more.
The 95 theses.
George argues that the United States’ conservative political thought not so long ago was full of dramatic, rigorous ideas; he likens one writer’s reasoned argument against Enlightenment liberalism to Luther’s theses. But that writer, like so many others on the right, George says, has fallen into vulgarity.
Read more.
Nigeria.
In the Sunday culture edition of The
Atlantic
Daily (
sign up here
), Toluse reminisces on a childhood spent waiting for cousins in Nigeria to mail him physical media from the industry. Now anyone can catch Nollywood fare on streamers, where movie budgets have grown and the storytelling is as fantastical as ever.
Read more.
