Problem: In 1890 Robert Louis Stevenson, his wife Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and her son Lloyd Osbourne sailed on the Janet Nicoll, a trading steamer owned by Henderson and Macfarlane of Auckland, New Zealand, which operated between Sydney and Auckland and into the central Pacific. The Janet Nicoll visited three of the Ellice Islands; while Fanny records that they made landfall at Funafuti, Niutao and Nanumea, Jane Resture suggests that it was more likely they landed at Nukufetau rather than Funafuti. An account of this voyage was written by Fanny Stevenson and published under the title The Cruise of the Janet Nichol, together with photographs taken by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.
Who recorded the trip aboard the Janet Nicoll?
The answer is the following: Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson

Problem: Much of the early paper made from wood pulp contained significant amounts of alum, a variety of aluminium sulfate salts that is significantly acidic. Alum was added to paper to assist in sizing, making it somewhat water resistant so that inks did not "run" or spread uncontrollably. Early papermakers did not realize that the alum they added liberally to cure almost every problem encountered in making their product would eventually be detrimental. The cellulose fibres that make up paper are hydrolyzed by acid, and the presence of alum would eventually degrade the fibres until the paper disintegrated in a process that has come to be known as "slow fire". Documents written on rag paper were significantly more stable. The use of non-acidic additives to make paper is becoming more prevalent, and the stability of these papers is less of an issue.
What acidic salts were commonly found in the early types of paper produced?
The answer is the following: Alum

Problem: Modern examples particularly include Chinese characters for SI units. In Chinese these units are disyllabic and standardly written with two characters, as limi "centimeter" ( centi-, meter) or qianwa "kilowatt". However, in the 19th century these were often written via compound characters, pronounced disyllabically, such as for or for some of these characters were also used in Japan, where they were pronounced with borrowed European readings instead. These have now fallen out of general use, but are occasionally seen. Less systematic examples include tushuguan "library", a contraction of , A four-morpheme word, shehui zhuyi "socialism", is commonly written with a single character formed by combining the last character, , with the radical of the first, , yielding roughly .
What is commonly written with a single character formed by combining the last character with the radical of the first?
The answer is the following: socialism

Problem: The original city council line-up of 14 members (nine district-based and five at-large positions) was based on a U.S. Justice Department mandate which took effect in 1979. At-large council members represent the entire city. Under the city charter, once the population in the city limits exceeded 2.1 million residents, two additional districts were to be added. The city of Houston's official 2010 census count was 600 shy of the required number; however, as the city was expected to grow beyond 2.1 million shortly thereafter, the two additional districts were added for, and the positions filled during, the August 2011 elections.
How many at-large positions were there originally?
The answer is the following:
five