Ankur Ashta, Author at Things You Know But Not Quite | Amazing Facts | Trivia

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Ankur Ashta

Culture

Why we clink glasses & raise a ‘toast’ to celebrate?

Culture

Why does half of the working population in the Netherlands work part-time?

Culture

How professional athletes manage fasting during Ramadan?

Culture

Why is suicide rate in Japan so high?

Culture

What are Egyptian mummies and how & why were they made?

Business

What makes Italian leather goods so special?

Business

How does Netflix calculate $dollar value for its shows/movies?

Business

Why is Cashmere wool so expensive?

Business

How does buying & selling of domain names work?

Business

How did Switzerland become synonymous with watchmaking?

Business

Why are keyboards QWERTY?

Brand

How did Levi’s 501 become the most iconic jeans in the world?

Art

Why is Vincent van Gogh so popular and why did he commit suicide?

Art

Why is Shakespeare considered great?

Brand

Why does Japan go crazy for KFC each Christmas?

Brand

Why do iPhones show the time 9:41 in their promotions, while Apple watches show 10:09?

Behaviour

Who invented etiquettes?

Brand

Why is Burger King called Hungry Jack’s in Australia?

Brand

Why Rolls-Royce cars are so expensive?

Brand

Why is Louis Vuitton so expensive?

Behaviour

Why do dogs chase cars?

Art

What is Pulitzer Prize & why is it a big deal?

Art

How did The Mona Lisa become famous?

Advertising

How do Generations get names such as Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials?

Advertising

Why ingredient brands, such as Intel, advertise even when consumers don’t buy them standalone?

Science

How are weather forecasts made?

Technology

How exactly does Google search work?

History

How did “Left-Wing” & “Right-Wing” come into being?

Politics

What is left-wing & right-wing in politics?

Evolution

Why can’t cats taste sweet things?

Statistics

What exactly is Standard Deviation?

Language

Why do the last four months end with ‘ber’?

Leisure

Why does reading make us sleepy?

Health

What is motion sickness, and what causes it?

Food

How is coffee decaffeinated?

Brand

Why did Apple never make iPhone 9?

Sports

Why do players always wear white at Wimbledon?

Nature

Why don’t mosquitoes bite when you sleep in the air-con?

Nature

Why do dogs have tails?

Nature

What is the difference between a hurricane, cyclone and typhoon?

Nature

What is the difference between venom and poison?

Nature

What exactly is El Niño?

Entertainment

Netflix has 7000+ titles – how does it decide which ones to recommend to us?

Art

How are NFTs traded?

Art

What are NFTs?

Money

Why are piggybanks called “piggy” banks?

Food

What exactly is canola oil?

Language

Why is someone who doesn’t drink alcohol called a “teetotaller”?

Videos

How Hurricanes Get Names Like Katrina?

Videos

Why is McDonald’s a Real Estate Business and not a Fast Food Company?

Videos

How Buying & Selling of Website Domain Names Work?

Infographics

Face Masks & Production

Infographics

What are various types of olive oils & how are they different?

Evolution

When did humans start wearing clothes, and how do we know it?

Food

Why is it advised not to drink water after watermelon?

War

What are no-fly zones, and how do they work?

Travel

Why do you need to have your seats upright during take-off and landing?

Art

Why do prestigious award shows have a red carpet?

Fashion

Why do we wear perfume on pulse points?

Health

What causes kidney stones?

Sports

Why do tennis players bounce the ball before serving?

War

Why has the letter Z become the war symbol for Russia?

Language

Why is there an R in Mrs?

Education

Why is there no ‘E’ grade in schools?

Language

Why do we say O’Clock when telling time?

Fashion

How did blue become the default colour for jeans?

International

Why are most flags rectangular?

Food

Why do chefs wear those tall hats and double-breasted jackets?

Culture

Why are dragons so central to Chinese culture?

Food

Why is a sandwich called a sandwich?

Food

Why does food taste weird after we brush our teeth?

Entertainment

How and why The Beatles became so special?

Language

Why are butterflies called “butter”flies?

Culture

Why do people propose on one knee?

Technology

What is a QR code, and why does it have 3 squares in the corners?

Science

What are Rapid Antigen and PCR tests?

Culture

How did the Christmas tree become an essential part of Christmas festivities?

Sports

Why is the England-Australia Test series called ‘Ashes’?

Sports

What is the ‘formula’ in Formula 1 racing?

Health

What will happen if you take medicine after its expiration date?

Food

Why are some eggs white and others brown?

Policy

What are Bharat Ratna & Padma Awards, the highest civilian awards in India and how are they different?

Environment

What is COP26, and why are the COP talks so tricky?

Culture

What is Halloween, and how did it originate?

History

How did the pink ribbon become the symbol for breast cancer awareness?

Entertainment

Why are movie ticket sales called ‘box-office collection’?

Language

Why are sports shoes called sneakers?

Culture

How did October 13 come to be known as the International day for failure?

Entertainment

What is K-pop band BTS and why/how did it become a big deal?

Entertainment

What is the significance of James Bond’s famous phrase ‘martini, shaken not stirred’?

Health

What is Molnupiravir, the COVID pill being considered a game-changer?

Fashion

Why pockets in women’s clothing are smaller than those in men’s?

Personality

What is Britney Spears conservatorship case?

Culture

Why do we touch wood for luck?

Entertainment

Why do kids love cartoons?

Economy

What is Evergrande, and what’s happening with it? Part 2

Economy

What is Evergrande, and why is it in trouble?

Health

Why do mosquitoes bite some people more than others?

Entertainment

Why is Single Malt Scotch a big deal?

Technology

Why is AK-47 so famous?

Leisure

Why is expensive wine expensive?

Health

Why is the debate on the third (booster) COVID-vaccine dose heating up?

Food

Why are avocados so expensive?

Economy

Why China loves pork so much?

Brand

Why may Nutella be on the brink of crisis?

Business

How is COVID fuelling the growth of the plastic surgery industry?

Nature

How hurricanes get their names?

Business

What is the global chip crisis, and what caused it?

Food

What is cold-pressed juice and is it better than regular juice?

Art

What is so special about The Mona Lisa?

Culture

Why is it called ‘Going Dutch’ when you pay for yourself?

Food

What are different kinds of fats and how they score on the health-scale?

Food

How caffeine keeps us awake?

Food

What is gluten & is it really a big deal?

Fashion

How did pink become the colour for girls?

Food

Why is saffron so expensive?

Art

What is a Ghazal?

Economy

What does “Sensex crossed 50,000” mean?

Brand

Why is Adidas selling Reebok, and that too at a steep loss?

Business

How do electric car charging stations/companies make money?

Science

How does Drycleaning actually work, and how did it start?

Culture

Who is Dalai Lama, and how is Dalai Lama chosen?

Language

Where does the word “honeymoon” come from?

Sports

Why is Zero called ‘Love’ in tennis?

Medicine

What do the efficacy & effectiveness of the COVID vaccine mean, and how are these measured?

Health

Why do we need two doses of the COVID vaccine?

Culture

Why does Argentina celebrate Gnocchi day on the 29th of each month?

Sports

Why has the International Olympic Committee changed the election process for the host city?

Sports

How’s the host for Olympic Games chosen, and why has that approach been changed?

Nature

Why don’t animals need sunscreen?

Policy

Why does Pakistan keep banning and unbanning TikTok?

Policy

Why is Norway going crazy about electric cars?

Science

Why do planes dim the lights during take-off and landing?

Personality

How did Bruce Lee die, and why is his death so controversial?

Leisure

How does a restaurant become a Michelin Star restaurant?

Health

What exactly is blood pressure, and what do those numbers mean?

Fashion

How did France become THE perfume country?

Culture

Why buying alcohol in Sweden is not so simple?

Art

Who was Frida Kahlo and why is she famous?

Food

Why are Japanese knives so expensive?

International

How time zones came into being, and who decides on the time zones?

Nature

What causes the air to smell so good after it rains?

Evolution

Why we rarely see vultures these days?

Food

How are calories in food calculated?

Science

What is the science behind people being introverts or extroverts?

Culture

Why is Finland the Sauna Capital of the world?

Food

Is white chocolate actually chocolate; how is it made?

Finance

How does Bitcoin work?

Culture

Why do we say ‘OK’?

Economy

Why gold & silver became obvious choices as money for our ancestors?

Culture

Why are the Bhutanese crazy about chilies?

Business

Why is the world debating if Jeff Bezos should be called an astronaut or not?

Business

Why are employees in America quitting jobs like never before?

Culture

Why does Japan have blue traffic lights instead of green?

Culture

Why is 420 associated with all things ‘bad’?

Finance

Why is the Croatian town, Legrad, selling houses for less than a dollar?

Finance

Why do credit/debit cards have expiry dates?

Economy

Why is the Indian stock market soaring despite the COVID-19 crisis?

Psychology

Why grocery stores have so few windows?

Culture

Why is Japan the most sleep-deprived nation in the world?

Sports

What is Naomi Osaka’s mental health controversy?

Evolution

Why are the Dutch, the tallest people in the world?

Brand

How did Starbucks get its name and logo?

Language

Why are New Zealanders called Kiwis?

Food

Why is a hotdog called a ‘hot’ ‘dog’?

Finance

What exactly is the Mehul Choksi PNB scam?

Fashion

Why do jeans’ pockets have tiny buttons (rivets) stuck at the corners?

Technology

How does Google Maps work?

Sports

Why do sportspeople bite their medals?

Culture

Why is the Netherlands called the kingdom of cyclists?

Politics

What is the Israel-Palestine conflict? Part 2

Politics

What is the Israel-Palestine conflict? Part 1

Nature

Why do cats have whiskers?

Language

Why do we say “Hello” when we pick the phone?

Entertainment

Where did Teddy Bear come from?

History

How did modern bodybuilding start?

Culture

Why is Mother’s Day celebrated, and how did it start?

Leisure

What is the difference between men’s and women’s razors?

Entertainment

Why are hit movies called Blockbusters?

Fashion

How did Chanel No. 5 become the most iconic women perfume in the world?

History

What is Panama Canal, why was it built, and what is its relevance?

Entertainment

Why does slapping a remote make it work sometimes?

Food

Why are doughnuts called dough’nuts’, why they have holes, and how they got popular?

Health

How does paracetamol work to reduce fever and pain?

Food

Why does honey never spoil?

Entertainment

What exactly is a unicorn and how it got popular?

Leisure

Why is the Doberman breed of dogs called Doberman, and why are their tails cut?

Religion

What is Kumbh Mela and why is it considered a big deal?

History

Who was Joan of Arc and why is she famous?

Policy

How does one become Sir (e.g. from Isaac Newton to Sir Isaac Newton)?

Art

Why is Leonardo Da Vinci so famous?

Politics

Why is Abraham Lincoln considered great and why was he assassinated?

Language

Why is New Zealand called “New” Zealand (where is the old Zealand?)?

Entertainment

Why do they include jokers in the pack of cards?

Medicine

Why do most doctors have bad handwriting?

Art

Why is Pablo Picasso so famous?

Policy

How does Daylight Saving Time (DST) work and how & why did it start?

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