Fiya's Trivia

Christmas is around the corner and the Christmas spirit is in the air. And children are looking forward to Santa Claus and his gifts! But Santa Claus and gifting is a recent phenomenon. In this episode we learn about the various characters from history that Santa is influenced from, Santa's official home in Lapland, Finland, about climbing down the chimney and reindeer and a lot more!

Of all the diamonds in the world, the Kohinoor is by far the most famous with truck loads of drama! According to folklore, a Hindu description warns that "He who owns this diamond will own the world, but, will also know all its misfortunes". Only God or a woman can wear it with impunity. Throughout history, the cursed diamond traded hands and caused the fall of many kingdoms. Brothers set against...

I grew up watching a lot of Martial Arts movies starring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan whose flying kicks and quick reflexes seemed to defy the laws of physics and I was so in awe of them. And there is a cool quotient that gets associated with people who practice Martial Arts. This episode is about the history and different types of Martial Arts and how India played a role in one of the most popularly...

The idea behind a bucket list is, as they say in the movie with the same title, to create a list of things you hope to do before you "kick the bucket", basically before you die. Many people will live their entire lives without having any idea of what they really want. They follow society's conventions like getting a job, getting married, having children, buying a house, because that is what they a...

Our Universe is unimaginably big with billions of galaxies and stars in it. But is there anything beyond what we can see and know? Science fiction and even some scientists believe that there could be an infinite number of universes called parallel universes that exist alongside ours, with anything from small differences in events to entirely different rules of Physics! This idea has references in...

We're faced with so many adverse situations in our life. Some of us just sit back and curse, give up or blame fate or someone else. But there are some who take charge, see the opportunity in the problem and make the most of it. We will learn about a few such inspiring people who see prospects where others only see problems who turn adversity into opportunity.

We all dream almost everyday, but while dreaming, we don't really know it's a dream. Lucid dreams are those where you "know" that you are dreaming while you are asleep and dreaming! You're aware that the events flashing through your brain aren't really happening. But the dream feels vivid and real. You may even be able to control how the action unfolds, as if you're directing a movie in your sleep...

Most of us love reading superhero books and watching superhero movies. Many even secretly dream of having superpowers and saving the world! In this episode we learn about the history of super heroes, what qualities they have and why we love them. Hear about the super powers of Superman, Batman, Phantom, Spiderman, Hulk, Ironman, their backgrounds the costumes they wear and how they help the world...

Our planet is bogged down by the weight of plastic we humans have used and discarded over generations. Plastic's wide range of unique properties has made it indispensable, but single use plastics account for 40% of the plastic made each year. And the amount of plastic made in the first 10 years of this century is more than what was produced in the entire last century, most of which is landfilled a...

I am an avid traveler, rather a travel addict! I have traveled extensively across the globe visiting 35 countries across 5 continents. In this episode I share interesting anecdotes and things that travel has taught me. The kindness of people, the wonder of nature the astuteness of the human mind that can be experienced in the magnificent man made monuments, the mind numbing cruelty of a dictator,...

A big bang happened 13.8 billion years ago and that was the birth of our Universe which expanded from a dot to several billion kilometers in a few minutes! After 400 million years, the first stars and galaxies were formed. And about 4.6 billion years ago, our sun was born from the remnants of a supernova explosion of another star. and then all the planets and the solar system was formed. We also l...

When we think of people who have made a huge impact to the world, we often think of adults. But young people can - and often do - make a serious impact on the world. Greta Thunberg got worldwide attention with more than 2 million children following her footsteps at 15. She has appeared in Times magazine as person of the year and has motivated young people and even governments to take action to sav...

In the thousands of years since civilization began, human beings have come up with thousands of different cultures and along with it, rituals and customs. And there are some weird and unusual customs and traditions in almost every part of the world. Like people throwing overripe tomatoes at each other in Spain, in Denmark people who are single at 25 get covered from head to tow in cinnamon, in Tha...

In the last few decades, technology has seen an exponential growth. The number of new inventions is staggering and some of them seem almost like science fiction! Some of the technologies in the making that will make lives easier and change our world forever are - Flying Cars, Robot butlers and friends, 3D printed food, smart toilet that analyzes your poop, lab grown meat and dairy, energy storing...

For more than 150 years, Tata group has been synonymous with India's nation building project venturing into automobiles, software, chemicals, steel, hotels, energy and many more. All of this was built by 3 key visionaries - Jamsetji, JRD and Ratan Tata. But what is more important is they did this with humanity philanthropy and ethics at its core. And 66% of the wealth of Tata group is held by Tata...

The world's most devastating war that involved almost every part of the world, that left 60 to 75 million dead. And a war that changed the world and that changed history like no other event. Learn about Adolf Hitler, one of the main characters of this war and why he started the war, how countries aligned to the two sides of the war - Allies and Axis - the most important battles, war on Indian soil...

Many of us have big dreams, goals and ambitions for our life and career. But all too often, we face one small setback and we give it all up. But failure is often a precursor to success and the famous quote "If at first you don't succeed, then try, try and try again, until you succeed" is what we should live by. Listen to some amazing examples of people who faced many failures, but never gave up. T...

There are so many things that make you unique, the way you walk, smile, your values, thoughts, ideas. But there's something about each one of us that no one in the world has and that is our fingerprints. Fingerprints are even more unique than DNA - even though identical twins can have the same DNA, they cannot have the same fingerprints. Learn about what makes finger prints unique, the main patter...

The sense of security that all of us feel is thanks to our Armed Forces who guard our borders all year round. Indian military is the second largest in the world with third largest defence budget and ranking fourth in terms of military might in the world! This episode is about the Indian army, navy, Air force. the structure of the Army, various ranks, the decorations given to the officers for their...

We all idolize our sporting heroes and make them demi gods. And while winning is fun and important, more important is being fair, playing with integrity and exhibiting good sportsmanship. In this episode we talk about some real examples of great sportsmanship and a few ugly ones. You can decide for yourself what kind of a person you would like to be after listening to the interesting anecdotes

World War II's most dangerous spy was a woman with a wooden leg! Virginia Hall, nicknamed the "limping lady" by the Nazis was the most wanted by Hitler's Third Reich. A pro at undercover warfare, spying and espionage, she lived under a fake name and identity in France.  She masterminded spectacular jail breaks for her colleagues who got captured, sent coded messages in news broadcasts and picked u...

Learn about the wonder kids of the world, some from the past and some from current times. A toddler who published his music at age 5, a mathematical genius who discovered all of Euclid's theorems himself by 12, the youngest chess grandmaster, a self taught genius, a child surgeon and many more.

He is a visionary, he is charismatic, and he is one of the greatest  entrepreneurial innovators of our time. He starts companies not just to  make money, but for the preservation of the future of the human race. He  works in the areas that  he has identified as crucial to the future of mankind, like making a  home for mankind on another planet! And he has had astounding success.  He has defied cri...

Japan has the world's highest number of centenarians, but even within Japan, residents of the islands of Okinawa live not only the longest, but also the healthiest and happiest. Okinawa is one of 5 places in the world known as blue zones or longevity hotspots. Listen to this episode to learn the secret to their long healthy and happy lives.

Tha Manhattan project built the world's first atomic bomb during World war II. It was such a well kept secret that even the US Vice President did not know about it. Robert Oppenheimer was the chief scientist who quoted a verse from Bhagavad Gita when they first tested the bomb. Two bombs Little Boy and Fat Man completely destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Survivors are even t...