Pop culture · October 25, 2026

Puzzle #17 answers

The five places from Where Was It? Pop culture #17, and the story behind each one.

01
Music
Siblings Karen and Richard formed the Carpenters in 1969 in this Southern California city, birthplace of the Apollo spacecraft.
Downey, California, USA
Rafajs77 at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Downey is a city in south-eastern Los Angeles County where the Apollo spacecraft were built. The Carpenters, Karen and Richard Carpenter, formed there in 1969.
33.938, -118.131
02
TV
The first season of HBO's The White Lotus was filmed at this luxury resort on a Hawaiian island.
Four Seasons Resort Maui, Wailea, Hawaii, USA
Four Seasons Resort Maui is a luxury resort in Wailea on the island of Maui. Mike White's anthology series The White Lotus filmed its first season there.
20.680, -156.442
03
Film
Aquaman (2018) filmed in the desert near this Moroccan village, beside some of the tallest dunes in the Sahara.
Merzouga, Morocco
Bjørn Christian Tørrissen · CC BY-SA 3.0
Merzouga is a village in south-eastern Morocco near the Erg Chebbi dunes, among the tallest in the Sahara. James Wan's Aquaman (2018) used the area as a filming location.
31.099, -4.012
04
Anime
The animation studio behind Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro has its headquarters in this city.
Koganei, Tokyo, Japan
Rsa · CC BY-SA 3.0
Studio Ghibli, founded on 15 June 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata with Toshio Suzuki, is based in Kajino-chō in Koganei, a city in western Tokyo.
35.702, 139.524
05
Music
Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor formed the rock band Queen in 1970 in this city.
London, UK
Ilya Grigorik · CC BY-SA 3.0
Queen formed in London in 1970 with Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor, later joined by John Deacon. The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd also started out in the British capital.
51.507, -0.128

Think you'd have found them?

Puzzle #17 answers

The five places from Where Was It? Pop culture #17, and the story behind each one.

Music

Siblings Karen and Richard formed the Carpenters in 1969 in this Southern California city, birthplace of the Apollo spacecraft.

Downey, California, USA

Downey is a city in south-eastern Los Angeles County where the Apollo spacecraft were built. The Carpenters, Karen and Richard Carpenter, formed there in 1969.

33.938, -118.131

The first season of HBO's The White Lotus was filmed at this luxury resort on a Hawaiian island.

Four Seasons Resort Maui, Wailea, Hawaii, USA

Four Seasons Resort Maui is a luxury resort in Wailea on the island of Maui. Mike White's anthology series The White Lotus filmed its first season there.

20.680, -156.442

Film

Aquaman (2018) filmed in the desert near this Moroccan village, beside some of the tallest dunes in the Sahara.

Merzouga, Morocco

Merzouga is a village in south-eastern Morocco near the Erg Chebbi dunes, among the tallest in the Sahara. James Wan's Aquaman (2018) used the area as a filming location.

31.099, -4.012

Anime

The animation studio behind Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro has its headquarters in this city.

Koganei, Tokyo, Japan

Studio Ghibli, founded on 15 June 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata with Toshio Suzuki, is based in Kajino-chō in Koganei, a city in western Tokyo.

35.702, 139.524

Music

Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor formed the rock band Queen in 1970 in this city.

London, UK

Queen formed in London in 1970 with Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor, later joined by John Deacon. The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd also started out in the British capital.

51.507, -0.128

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