This match day strings together a surprisingly coherent story about movement and connection: 19th‑century express companies racing cash and parcels across a growing United States; atoms arranged in repeating 3‑D patterns; superyachts and basketball arcs; voyages across the Tasman Sea; and a pan‑European song contest watched by hundreds of millions.1

On the history and geography side, Q1 and Q5 both reward knowing how proper names get reused in business and place‑names: Wells and Fargo move from express routes to a global bank and credit‑card brand, while Abel Tasman’s name anchors an island, a sea, and a national park, alongside the revived Indigenous name Lutruwita for Tasmania.2 Science and sport questions (crystal systems, the 6.75 m three‑point line) hinge on recognizing classification schemes and standard measurements that show up across disciplines.3 Pop‑culture items (Below Deck and Eurovision’s “Wasted Love”) illustrate how a single vivid phrase or cultural institution can define a work’s lasting association.4

If some of these felt opaque on first play—especially the 19th‑century express history or the modern Eurovision details—that’s normal. Treat each as an entry point: learning how American Express emerged from competing Buffalo‑based carriers, how the seven crystal systems are named, or why the NBA’s three‑point line is deeper than the international standard all gives you reusable hooks for future questions.5

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Study Notes

Question 1: Express Pioneers & American Express

Q1. AMER HIST - Give either of the last names, both still familiar in business today, of the men who started a carrier service between Buffalo and the West in the mid-1840s. They later launched an express service from New York to San Francisco during the 1849 gold rush, which merged with others in 1850 to form American Express.

The key names are Wells and Fargo: Henry Wells and William G. Fargo were express‑industry pioneers whose companies operated routes from Buffalo westward, then helped found American Express in 1850 and later created Wells Fargo & Co. to run express and banking services between New York and San Francisco during the gold rush.1

Reasoning Tips

  • The category (AMER HIST) plus the mention of American Express is a big clue: AmEx’s 1850 origin story involves Henry Wells and William G. Fargo merging their express firms with John Butterfield’s.1
  • The question stresses a carrier/express service from Buffalo to the West in the mid‑1840s—Buffalo was a major rail and canal hub, and Fargo’s biography explicitly describes him as Wells’s Buffalo agent for routes to Detroit and Chicago.2
  • The clue that their surnames are “still familiar in business today” should steer you toward prominent financial brands: American Express (credit cards) and Wells Fargo (a major U.S. bank).[^ 3]
  • The 1849 gold rush and express service between New York and San Francisco via Panama is another strong association with Wells Fargo’s early history.4
  • For future similar questions, whenever you see 19th‑century express companies and modern financial brands in the same clue, think of the trio Wells, Fargo, Butterfield, with Wells/Fargo the high‑probability last‑name guesses.

Sources

  • American Express – Wikipedia – Founding date (1850), merger of Wells & Co., Livingston, Fargo & Co., and Wells, Butterfield & Co., and early express business between New York and Buffalo.1
  • American Express Company – Britannica – Details on the three predecessor express companies and their routes between New York, Buffalo, and Midwestern points.1
  • Papers of Abraham Lincoln: American Express Company – Describes the 1850 Buffalo meeting, capitalization, and division of business between Wells, Butterfield & Co. (Buffalo eastward) and Livingston, Fargo & Co. (Buffalo westward).1
  • William George Fargo – Britannica Money – Explains Fargo’s role as a Wells & Co. partner and Buffalo agent for express routes to Detroit and Chicago, and later AmEx leadership.2
  • John Butterfield (businessman) – Wikipedia – Summarizes how Butterfield, Wells, and Fargo consolidated their competing express firms into American Express with regional divisions from Buffalo.1
  • Wells Fargo – Wikipedia – Notes that Wells and Fargo, already American Express co‑founders, created Wells Fargo & Company in 1852 to provide express and banking services to gold‑rush California.4
  • Wells Fargo (1852–1998) – Wikipedia – Emphasizes that the original Wells Fargo was founded in New York in 1852 to run an express route between New York and San Francisco via the Isthmus of Panama.4

Question 2: Crystal Systems & Crystalline Solids

Q2. SCIENCE - Hexagonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, and triclinic are among the seven systems used to classify the ways atoms can be arranged in three-dimensional space. What are the solids that form in these systems collectively called?

These solids are crystals—solids in which atoms, ions, or molecules are arranged in a repeating, periodic pattern, described by seven crystal systems (triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, trigonal, hexagonal, and cubic).5

Reasoning Tips

  • The question names several crystal systems (hexagonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, triclinic); recognizing this vocabulary is the main key.6
  • In crystallography, a crystalline solid is defined by a long‑range, periodic arrangement of atoms—i.e., it forms a crystal structure—as opposed to amorphous solids like glass.5
  • Knowing the list of the seven crystal systems (triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, trigonal, hexagonal, cubic) helps you recognize that any reference to these systems is implicitly talking about crystals.7
  • If you blank on the details, think of everyday examples: table salt (NaCl) and diamond are classic crystals with ordered atomic structures, reinforcing the association between regular geometry and crystals.58
  • On future quizzes, watch for clues mentioning unit cells, Bravais lattices, or long‑range order—all strong indicators that “crystals” is the desired general term.

Sources

Question 3: “Downton Abbey on the water” & Below Deck

Q3. TELEVISION - What reality television series, which debuted on Bravo in July 2013, was described by longtime star Captain Lee Rosbach as “Downton Abbey on the water”?

The show is Below Deck, an American reality series that premiered on Bravo on July 1, 2013 and follows the crew of luxury charter superyachts; Captain Lee Rosbach has compared it to “Downton Abbey on the water” because of its upstairs/downstairs dynamic between rich guests and working crew.9

Reasoning Tips

  • The date and network—Bravo, July 2013—point you toward Bravo’s long‑running yacht show; Below Deck fits this exactly.9
  • The phrase “Downton Abbey on the water” is a memorable tagline. Both a Guardian feature and interviews with Captain Lee cite him describing the show this way, emphasizing the class contrast aboard.10
  • The category is TELEVISION (not film) and the clue specifies reality and a Captain, which should steer you away from scripted dramas like Downton Abbey itself.
  • If you know the franchise (Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck Sailing Yacht, etc.), recognizing the flagship series title is enough—spinoffs generally include a geographic qualifier.11
  • In future, whenever a clue combines luxury yachts, Bravo, and crew drama, Below Deck is almost always the intended answer.

Sources

Question 4: The 6.75 m Basketball Three‑Point Line

Q4. GAMES/SPORT - 6.75 meters is the international standard for what sporting distance, used in the Olympics and other international competitions, NCAA men’s and women’s play, and most professional leagues (with one notable American exception)?

The distance is that of the basketball three‑point line (radius of 6.75 m from the basket in international play), a standard adopted by FIBA and now shared by NCAA men’s and women’s basketball and many professional leagues, while the NBA uses a deeper arc.12

Reasoning Tips

  • The unit meters plus mention of the Olympics and international competitions strongly hints at a FIBA standard—FIBA governs international basketball.13
  • FIBA’s Official Basketball Rules define the three‑point line as an arc of radius 6.75 m from the basket, making this a precise match.12
  • The question notes that NCAA men’s and women’s play now use this same distance; in 2019–20 (men) and 2021–22 (women), the NCAA moved its three‑point line back to the FIBA distance of 22 ft 1.75 in (6.75 m).14
  • The “notable American exception” is the NBA, whose three‑point line is 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) at the top of the arc and 22 ft (6.71 m) in the corners, deeper than FIBA/NCAA.15
  • Any clue tying together 6.75 m, international basketball/Olympics, and one American exception is almost certainly pointing to the three‑point line rather than, say, free‑throw distance (which is much shorter and measured differently).

Sources

Question 5: Abel Tasman, New Zealand, and Lutruwita

Q5. GEOGRAPHY - The first Europeans to encounter the islands of New Zealand (Aotearoa) in 1642 were led by what Dutch navigator, after whom the (relatively) nearby island of Lutruwita is now also named (as well as the sea that separates them)?

The navigator is Abel Tasman (Abel Janszoon Tasman), the Dutch explorer who in 1642 became the first known European to reach both Tasmania (then named Van Diemen’s Land, later renamed Tasmania in his honor) and New Zealand, and who also gives his name to the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand; Lutruwita is the palawa kani name for Tasmania.17

Reasoning Tips

  • The date 1642 and the phrase first Europeans to encounter New Zealand almost uniquely identify Abel Tasman; Cook’s voyages were in the 1760s–70s, so the earlier date is a key discriminator.18
  • The clue’s second half mentions an island and a sea named after the same person—Tasmania and the Tasman Sea are both eponyms of Abel Tasman.17
  • Lutruwita is the palawa kani name for the main island of Tasmania; if you’ve seen modern dual‑naming (Lutruwita/Tasmania), that strongly anchors the geographic reference.19
  • Recognizing that New Zealand and Tasmania lie on opposite sides of the Tasman Sea makes the “sea that separates them” description another pointer to Tasman.20
  • For similar questions, remembering a few key early‑European‑contact names in Oceania—Tasman (1640s), Cook (1770s)—is very helpful.

Sources

Question 6: “Wasted Love” and Eurovision

Q6. POP MUSIC - The 2025 song “Wasted Love”, recorded and co-written by Austrian singer JJ, is (and will likely always be) most closely associated with what cultural phenomenon?

“Wasted Love” is most closely associated with the Eurovision Song Contest: it was Austria’s entry to Eurovision 2025, performed and co‑written by JJ (Johannes Pietsch), and it won the 69th contest in Basel, giving Austria its third Eurovision victory.21

Reasoning Tips

  • The clue specifies 2025, an Austrian singer named JJ, and a song titled “Wasted Love”—this is a very specific combination that matches Austria’s Eurovision 2025 entry.21
  • Eurovision entries are typically closely tied to their songs; winning songs like “Wasted Love” often become synonymous with the contest in public memory.22
  • News coverage after the 2025 contest repeatedly describes JJ as Eurovision winner JJ and “Wasted Love” as the Eurovision 2025 winning song, reinforcing the song’s association with the event rather than, say, a film or album.23
  • When a question asks what cultural phenomenon a specific European pop song is associated with, Eurovision is often the intended answer—especially if the artist comes from a country with a history in the competition (Austria won previously in 1965 and 2014).24
  • Learning a few recent Eurovision winners (country, artist, song) is unusually high‑yield for trivia, because they can come up in music, TV, European culture, or LGBTQ+ culture categories.

Sources

  1. American Express early history and founders. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Fargo’s Buffalo‑to‑West express role. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. Modern brand continuity of American Express and Wells Fargo. ↩︎

  4. Wells Fargo’s New York–San Francisco express during the gold rush. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. Core definition of a crystal as a periodic solid. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  6. Identification of named systems as crystal systems. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. Confirmation and enumeration of the seven crystal systems. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. Properties and examples distinguishing crystalline from amorphous solids. ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. Premiere date and basic series description. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  10. Evidence for the “Downton Abbey on the water” quote. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  11. Confirmation of the franchise and its branding. ↩︎ ↩︎

  12. FIBA rule text specifying the 6.75 m three‑point arc. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  13. Historical change to the 6.75 m FIBA standard. ↩︎ ↩︎

  14. NCAA adoption of the FIBA three‑point distance for men and women. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  15. NBA three‑point line distances and contrast with FIBA/NCAA. ↩︎ ↩︎

  16. General overview of three‑point distances in different competitions. ↩︎

  17. Tasman’s role as first European to reach New Zealand and eponym of Tasmania. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  18. Dates and narrative of Tasman’s 1642 voyage to New Zealand. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  19. Lutruwita as the palawa kani name for Tasmania. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  20. Geography and naming of the Tasman Sea. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  21. Identification of “Wasted Love” as Austria’s Eurovision 2025 entry and the winning song. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  22. Coverage highlighting the song’s status as a Eurovision winner and cultural touchstone. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  23. News articles treating JJ primarily as a Eurovision winner associated with “Wasted Love.” ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  24. Background on Austria’s previous Eurovision wins and the contest’s prominence. ↩︎