I know nothing about the New York Times (i.e. I'm not a reader). But when someone tells me they are informed about world events, I ask them to name the largest

I know nothing about the New York Times (i.e. I'm not a reader). But when someone tells me they are informed about world events, I ask them to name the largest armed conflict (by number of deaths) that occurred in their lifetime. Or just name the continent it occurred on.