Good morning. Since we close out every Brew with trivia and games, we thought it would be fitting to say goodbye to 2023 with an entire newsletter dedicated to them. In this edition, you’ll be tasked with guessing a company from its stock chart, naming the sports champions of 2023, and many more tests of knowledge you’d probably encounter at Ken Jennings’s Christmas party.
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Warning: The answers are located in the same section as the questions, so don’t scroll down until you’ve made your guesses!
Finally, a huge thanks to Mary Tobler, who helped put together this newsletter and created all of the Brew’s games throughout the year. She’s the best in the biz.
Have a Happy New Year! We’ll see you next on Tuesday with regularly scheduled programming.
—Neal Freyman, Mary Tobler
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CBS News via Giphy
We’ll give you a quote from the year’s news, and you have to name the prominent person who said it.
1. “Quality needs attention to deliver quality, it doesn’t happen by accident. And quantity, in our case, diluted quality.”
2. “It is a context-dependent decision.”
3. “I probably trust the answers that come out of ChatGPT the least of anybody on Earth.”
4. “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me.”
5. “I’ve actually calculated that I’ve spent more time on the ship than the captain did back in the day.”
6. “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place.”
7. “I understood him to be directing me to come up with ways to conceal things in our balance sheet we both agreed would look bad.”
8. “I wish you well.”
9. “To be honest, when I found out the patriarchy wasn’t just about horses, I lost interest.”
10. “Go f—— yourself.”
- Bob Iger, on Marvel’s struggles.
- Former Penn President Liz Magill’s response to a lawmaker’s question on whether calling for the genocide of Jews would constitute bullying or harassment. Magill apologized for her answer but later resigned.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
- Taylor Swift, who changed the lyrics of her song “Karma” on Nov. 11 to reference her bf, Travis Kelce.
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Titanic director James Cameron discussed the disappearance of the Titan submersible that intended to explore the Titanic wreckage, and his own experience doing so.
- Former Rep. George Santos after he was expelled from Congress.
- Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, during testimony in SBF’s trial. The “him” is SBF.
- Gwyneth Paltrow, to the man who unsuccessfully sued her over a skiing collision.
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Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie.
- Elon Musk, to companies that stopped advertising on X.
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This company came back from the dead to have a bonkers year on the stock market. Investors appreciated its moves to restructure its debt and stave off bankruptcy.
Can you guess what it is? More clues below.
 Google Finance. Screenshot taken on Dec. 19.
Founded: 2012
HQ: Tempe, AZ
Fun fact: In 2021, it became one of the youngest companies ever added to the Fortune 500.
2022 revenue: $13.6 billion
Five-star Google review: “Perfectly smooth sale! Uploaded picture and documents - quoted a fair price and handoff was quick and easy.”
 Carvana
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Sarah Stier/Getty Images
How closely did you pay attention to the year’s major sporting events?
Below is a list of 2023 tournaments with a blank for the champion. See how many you can fill in.
1. US Open men’s tennis: _______
2. US Open women’s tennis: _______
3. The Masters: _______
4. Super Bowl: _______
5. World Series: _______
6. Stanley Cup: ________
7. NBA Finals: ________
8. FIFA Women’s World Cup ________
9. Rugby World Cup: ________
10. Women’s college basketball: _________
- Novak Djokovic
- Coco Gauff
- Jon Rahm
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Texas Rangers
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Denver Nuggets
- Spain
- South Africa Springboks
- LSU
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Sometimes career roadblocks are challenges that push you to grow. Other times, they’re redirections. This episode of BOSSY with Tara and Katie breaks down the best business comebacks you’ve never heard of—and when it’s time to rebrand “quitting” to “pivoting.”
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We’ll present you with a list of items that share a common link…except one. For each of the seven questions, can you guess the odd one out?
- Elvis, Claude, Bard, Grok
- Reddit, Instacart, Birkenstock, Cava, Arm Holdings, Klaviyo
- US District Court for the District of Columbia, US District Court for the Central District of California, Georgia state court, US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, New York state court
- Prince Harry, Tom Hanks, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, Barbra Streisand
- Rite Aid, Bed Bath & Beyond, SmileDirectClub, Peloton, WeWork
- Nancy Pelosi, Mike Johnson, Elise Stefanik, Kevin McCarthy
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Yellowstone, Ted Lasso, Succession, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Riverdale, The Flash
- Elvis. All the others are names of AI chatbots.
- Reddit. The others IPO’d in 2023.
- US District Court of the Central District of California. In all the others, Donald Trump was charged in criminal cases this year.
- Tom Hanks. All the others published memoirs this year.
- Peloton. All the others filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year.
- Elise Stefanik. The others held the position of House speaker in 2023.
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Yellowstone. All the other TV shows ended their final seasons in 2023.
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Below is a map of the contiguous US with locations marked A–J. We’ll give you an event from the year, and you have to match it with the location where it took place.
 Google Maps
Events:
- SpaceX performed two Starship launches (both ended in explosions, but the second launch showed progress).
- Taylor Swift began her Eras Tour.
- Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest while playing in a Monday Night Football game.
- Brightline became the first private intercity passenger train service in the US in 100 years.
- Former President Trump’s mug shot was taken here.
- A state became the first to ban TikTok (the ban has been blocked by a judge).
- A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in February, prompting evacuations and a major cleanup effort.
- More than 92,000 fans packed a football stadium to watch women’s college volleyball, setting a new attendance record.
- Due to drifting Canadian wildfire smoke, it had the worst air quality of any city in the world in early June.
- A US fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon.
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SpaceX launched Starship twice: B, Boca Chica, Texas
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Taylor Swift began her Eras Tour: A, State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
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Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest while playing in a Monday Night Football game: E, Cincinnati, Ohio
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Brightline became the first private intercity passenger train service in the US in 100 years: H, Miami <-> Orlando, Florida
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Former President Trump’s mug shot was taken here: C, Atlanta, Georgia
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A state became the first to ban TikTok: G, Montana
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A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in February, prompting evacuations and a major cleanup effort: F, East Palestine, Ohio
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More than 92,000 fans packed a football stadium to watch women’s college volleyball, setting a new attendance record: I, Lincoln, Nebraska
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Due to drifting Canadian wildfire smoke, it had the worst air quality of any city in the world in early June: J, New York City
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A US fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon: D, off the coast of South Carolina
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This week, we’re bringing you the most-clicked links from the Recs section across the entire year.
 Bargain buys: Purchases people made under $50 that changed their life for the better.
Watch: Playing chess with a mom at Washington Square Park.
Elite crafting: Check out this diorama of a drunk Mel Gibson’s arrest.
New hobby: Pairing random lids and cups in the kitchen.
Top topics: Enjoy 8 handpicked stories each day spanning everything from current affairs to lifestyle pieces. It’s all on the FT Edit app. Try it today—free for 30 days.* *A message from our sponsor.
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Our final crossword of 2023 is a special jumbo-sized Mega Crossword fittingly highlighting the world’s biggest things. Play it here.
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