Today’s Atlantic Trivia: Nap or Pie—Which Way, Turkey Eater?
In a recent edition of *The Atlantic Daily*, readers are invited to engage with trivia questions that draw from the magazine’s rich content, showcasing a blend of psychology, culture, and history. The article begins by referencing George Miller’s influential mid-century research, which posited that the human brain can effectively hold around seven items in short-term memory, with modern psychology suggesting a more realistic limit of about four chunks. This fascinating insight sets the stage for the trivia questions that follow, encouraging readers to recall and reflect on the diverse topics presented in *The Atlantic*.
Among the trivia questions, one highlights the amino acid tryptophan found in turkey, often blamed for post-Thanksgiving drowsiness, though the article humorously notes that the science behind this claim is more complex than it seems. Another question delves into the culinary phenomenon of the cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid created by French chef Dominique Ansel in 2013, which symbolizes the impact of social media on food culture. The trivia also touches on the legal status of hemp, a variety of marijuana low in THC, which remains federally legal and versatile in its applications. Additionally, the article pays homage to Sarah Josepha Hale, a 19th-century activist whose persistent advocacy helped establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday, reminding readers of the historical context surrounding this cherished celebration.
The trivia format not only entertains but also serves as an educational tool, prompting readers to explore the connections between various cultural phenomena and historical events. The article encourages participation in daily trivia, fostering a community of knowledge-seekers eager to learn more about the nuanced topics that *The Atlantic* covers. As the holiday season approaches, readers are reminded of the joy of knowledge and the importance of remembering the stories that shape our traditions. With engaging questions and insightful answers, the trivia section of *The Atlantic Daily* invites readers to delve deeper into the rich tapestry of ideas and narratives that define contemporary culture.
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
Atlantic
Trivia in your inbox every day,
sign up for The
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.
