IISER-Tvm Cultural fest Quiz Finals 2011

ANVESHA
presents

GENERAL QUIZ

‘ A speaker of fifteen languages and a successful
businessman and computer expert, I am the youngest-ever
contributing editor to the Wall Street Journal. I am also the
founding member of the Democratic party of Russia’. Who
am I?

‘Living in the 1300s in Paris, I was a hermetic alchemist. I
discovered the secrets of a book titled The Sacred Book of
Abraham The Jew and, deciphering its secrets, discovered
the “Philosopher’s Stone”, which could transform mercury
into gold. Simultaneously, I accomplished the
transmutation of my soul and discovered the secret of
immortality. Who am I?

Answer:
Nicholas Flamel, whose philosopher’s stone is the basis for
J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book, Harry potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone. He is probably the only real person to
feature in the Harry Potter series.

In 1993, I won a gold medal in the under-19 category of
the national speed skating championship. I came home
flaunting the medal. My father was furious and snatched
the medal and threw it away. Who am I?

Which queen’s famous last words were supposedly,
‘ Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not do that on purpose’ ,
as this person had accidentally stepped on the executioner’s
foot?

‘My grandfather was known as the “Rice king of Burma”.
My father declined an invitation from Jinnah to move to
Pakistan. I finally completed my degree in electrical
engineering from Stanford University at the age of fiftyfive years.’
Identify this person

Answer:
Azim Premji
He finished his degree late as his father died while he
was studying and he had to return to take over the
family business.

During Crimean War, a young Russian Soldier would
entertain fellow soldiers around the camp fire at night by
telling them stories. He later became a famous writer. His
experiences in battle helped stir his subsequent pacifism
and gave him material for realistic depiction of war's
horrors in his later work.
Who was he?

Answer:
Leo Tolstoy, or Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy .
He served as a second lieutenant in an artillery regiment
during the Crimean War.

‘This one is about an object that I owned. Officials in Holland
took this object apart to see if there was a magnet inside it. In
Japan, they decided I used Superglue on this object. Hitler
even offered to buy it. In Vienna, there is a statue of me with
four arms, each holding this object. Who am I and what
object am I talking about?’

Answer:
Dhyan Chand and his hockey stick

‘ I shot to prominence when I wrote an article saying that
Lindbergh was not the first person to make a Transatlantic
flight. Following public outrage, I showed that over 100
people had made that journey in zeppelins and dirigibles,
and that Lindbergh was the first to fly solo across the
Atlantic.
This made me a household name for bringing to light
astonishing but true facts’.
Who am I?

Answer:
Ripley of Believe it or not fame.

‘Steven Spielberg described me as one of the seven
genuine stars in the world. Son of a van driver, my early
jobs included that of a bricklayer, bouncer and French
polisher. At eighteen years of age, I joined the Navy but
was invalided out after three years with stomach ulcers. I
then took up bodybuilding and was once offered a place
with Manchester United. The tattoo on my arm reads
“Mum and Dad and Scotland forever”.
Who am I?

‘ I was so enamoured by my wife, Ratnavali, that when she left
for her father’s house, I followed her. I had to cross a river in
spate. As there was no boat, I used a floating corpse to cross
it. I reached her house and climbed up to her room using what
turned out to be a snake. On seeing me, she said,
“Had you loved God as intensely as you do this flesh and
bones, you would overcome all mortal fears.”
I was speechless. I went away to Prayag and renounced the
world. Who am I?

What was invented by IBM engineer Alan Shugart to
initially hold microcode and diagnostics for the IBM
mainframe systems, and got its popular name due to
its flexibility?

If a hardware refers to the physical parts of a computer and
software refers to its operating system and other programs,
what does ‘wetware’ refer to?

Answer:
The Human brain, which uses the computer.

What is special about the ‘F’ and ‘J’ keys on the
QWERTY computer keyboard and the number 5 key
on the numeric keypad?

Answer:
They are ‘feely’ keys, with a little bump or ridge.
The tactile nibs on these key reference points on the
keyboard allow touch typists to easily locate keys.

Answer:
Google Logos for:
1) Barcode Invention
2) Samuel Morse's Birthday
3) Tetris Anniversary

‘X’ was the first programmer in the history of computing.
She also happens to be the English poet Lord Byron’s
daughter.

Her face is used as a hologram by Microsoft for
authentification.
Name ‘X’.

Back in 1991, some lazy students in Cambridge set up this
system to avoid pointless trips to the coffee machine. what did
this inspire?

Answer:
Xcoffee : later developed into the world’s first Webcam

What is special about this page dated 9 September 1945 from
Grace Hopper’s logbook, now preserved at the Naval Museum
in Dahlgren, USA?

Answer:
It contains a moth removed from Harvard’s famous Mark II,
the precursor of today’s computer which had failed and was
investigated by Grace Hopper. She labelled the moth, ‘the
first case of a bug being found’ in the system, which led to
the term ‘bug’ being used to denote any glitch in a
computer.

The term for such a test was coined by Luis von Ahn, Manuel
Blum, Nicholas J. Hopper (all of Carnegie Mellon University),
and John Langford (then of IBM). (they invented the test).
What is the term?

Answer:

CAPTCHA
(Stands for: Completely Automated Public Turing test to
tell Computers and Humans Apart)

Name the company whose logo has been displayed and
the reason why it is so-called.

The logo is a stylized form of the Golden Gate Bridge
near San Francisco, where CISCO was founded. CISCO
is short for San Francisco.

Mysore paints and Varnishes is the sole manufacturer of this
product. The exact chemical composition of this product is a
secret. Find the product

Answer:
The indelible ink that is applied on a voter’s finger to
ensure he doesn’t cast another vote.

When this Nobel Prize winner for Physics in 1938 wanted to
emigrate to the United States the American Embassy devised
a mental test for him;
Officials asked him to add 15 and 27 and divide 29 by 2.
Name the scientist.

The logo for X was designed by Paul Stansifer in 2003,
who called it 'the global jigsaw'. Errors were later
discovered in the logo.
These included an incomplete Japanese character, an
incorrect Kannada and Devanagiri character each.
The incorrect logo is still in use.
A founder of X said the symbolism may not be so
unfortunate, given the nature of X.

Identify X

One often finds RSVP written on invitations.
Name the language it has been taken from, and expand
the word.

Answer:
From French. It stands for ‘ Repondez S’il Vous Plait’
(please reply)

Although he was a notoriously bad driver, he nonetheless
enjoyed driving (frequently while reading a book) - occasioning
numerous arrests as well as accidents. He reported one of his
car accidents in this way:
"I was proceeding down the road. The trees on the right were
passing me in orderly fashion at 60 miles per hour. Suddenly one
of them stepped in my path.“
(He is said to have returned to Princeton at the beginning of
every academic year with a new car, after accidents the previous
year had forced him to scrap the
previous one).
Identify.

Answer:
Prof. John von Neumann, of the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton.

In 1967, Sylvester Dacunha, Managing Director of
‘daCunhaAdvertising’ started an advertising campaign that
runs till date. It is one of the longest running ads based on a
theme, and also the longest running ad campaign ever. It is
usually based on the latest news or current events. It still
has many admirers, but controversies too followed. Which is
this famous ad campaign that is famous for its “one-liners”?

Since 1967 Amulproducts' mascot has been the very
recognisable "Amulbaby", a chubby butter girl usually
dressed in polka dotted dress, showing up on
hoardings and product wrappers with the equally
recognisable tagline Utterly ButterlyDelicious, Amul

This is characterized by green flashing reversed Roman
and Japanese katakana characters and Arabic
numerals, as well as pictorial symbols, such as a bull's
head, falling in a black screen while changing and
fading. The effect resembles that of the older green
screen displays, since the letters leave a fluorescent
trace on the screen.

Answer:
Matrix digital rain (Green rain)

Jean Nicot (1530-1600) was a French diplomat and
scholar. He was appointed French ambassador to
Portugal in 1559. When he returned, he brought with him
something that gained him instant favour with Catherine
de’Medici (the queen mother), the Father Superior of
Malta, and many others.
What it is?

Answer:
Tobacco plants and snuff (nicotnicotine)

On 22 July 1939, this world leader wrote to another
international figure saying, ‘ You are today the one person
who can prevent a war which may reduce humanity to a
savage state. Listen to the appeal of one who has
deliberately shunned the method of war, not with out
inconsiderable success.’
There was no reply.
Who wrote to whom?

Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi to Adolf Hitler

In which item of everyday use would you find the following:
Fluorescent fibres, security threads, reflective foils and a multitone watermark?

Nikolai Tesla propounded the theory that the human soul
was formed of electricity and claimed that he could prove it
mathematically.
He formed this theory after extensive discussions with an
Indian whose knowledge of electricity astonished him. Who
was this Indian?

Until the invention of this device in 1727, printing type
had to be reset if a second printing was to be made. It was
not economic to keep the type standing for prolonged
periods of time. William Ged, a goldsmith in Edinburgh,
took a plaster mould of the type and then cast the whole
page in metal. What was this device called?

The same word has another meaning in modern
English.

Answer:
Stereotype ,cliché
The word stereotype is of Greek origin literally meaning "solidkind“- (stereos) "solid, firm" + (tupos) "blow, impression,
engraved mark“ hence "solid impression“. Both cliché and
stereotype were both originally printers' words, and in their
literal printers' meanings, they were synonymous.
Specifically, cliché was a French word for the printing surface
for a stereotype.

An English word was coined based
on this festival/ event.
What is the word?

“Juggernaut”
The Rath Yatra of the Jagannath of Puri in Orissa
inspired the word juggernaut.

In rare instances in the festival's past, people
were crushed accidentally as the massive 45foot-tall, multi-ton chariot slipped out of control
or suffer injury due to stampedes. This sight led
the Britons of the time to contrive the word
"juggernaut" to refer to examples of
unstoppable, crushing forces. Certain
Englishmen promulgated a falsehood that Hindu
devotees of Krishna were lunatic fanatics who
threw themselves under the wheels of these
chariots in order to attain salvation

The “Car of Juggernaut” as depicted
in the 1851 Illustrated London
Reading Book

In the early days of shipping, anchors were little more than
weighted hooks. Luck played a major part in securing a good
anchorage. The splayed hooks on the anchor helped in getting a
lucky hold.
What word comes from these hooks?

He was an avid seeker of facts, and geography was his
favourite subject. As a child, he developed a great interest
in travel and exploration. At twelve, he snuck onto a ship
that was bound for India, only to be caught and severely
whipped by his father.
He, then famously stated,
“I shall from now on only travel only in my imagination “
Identify this famous author.

The dictionary lists various meanings for this word:
‘ an odd or eccentric person’
‘look curiously at’
‘a hoax’
‘unusually intelligent’
What word is this?

"I'm sorry, Mr. --------, but you just don't know how to use
the English language. This isn't a kindergarten for
amateur writers".
This was the reason given by the Editor of San Francisco
Examiner for sacking a journalist under its pay. The
journalist went on to become one of the world's greatest
writers and became the first British writer to win Nobel
Prize for literature.

Identify the sacked journalist

In his book, A Biography for Beginners, this gentleman
wrote,

‘The art of Biography; Is different from Geography;
Geography is about maps; But Biography is about chaps.’
Who is the author?

Answer:
Edmund Clerihew Bentley, for whom the short, nonsense
verse called the ‘clerihew’ is named.

‘No people whose word for yesterday is the same as their
word for tomorrow can be said to have a firm grip on the
time.’
Name the author and the book in which this line appears.

Answer:
Salman Rushdie in Midnight’s Children, about the Hindi
language in which the word for ‘tomorrow’ is the same
as the word for ‘yesterday’ ---- kal

Who described whom thus,
‘Knowledge of literature: Nil;
of philosophy: Nil;
of astronomy: Nil;
of politics : feeble;
of botany: variable;
of chemistry :profound;
of anatomy: accurate but unsystematic;
Of sensational literature: immense.

Answer:
Sherlock Holmes as described by Dr. Watson

She published her autobiography, at the age of 22, titled
The Story of My Life(1903).

An excerpt from the book reads,
“I left the well-house eager to learn. Everything had a
name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. As we
returned to the house every object which I touched
seemed to quiver with life. That was because I saw
everything with the strange, new sight that had come to
me.”
Name the writer.

Answer:
Helen Adams Keller. She wrote 12 books and several
articles during her lifetime.
(Picture in question-8-year-old Keller with Anne Sullivan)

When his father died, this person placed his Olympic Gold
medal in his coffin saying, “I want you to have this because it
was your favourite event.” Seeing his mother’s surprise, he
added, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get another one.’
He did! Who was this incredible sportsman?

What was the origin of the word ‘service’ in Tennis?

Answer:
It dates back to the days of Real (or Royal) Tennis as
played by Henry the Eighth. Serving the ball at the
beginning of the game was considered ‘undignified’ by
the Nobility and so the page boys obliged when asked for
‘service’.

The L'Auto was published on yellow newsprint.
The La Gazzetta dello Sport is published on pink newsprint.
What did these newspapers lend their colors to?

Answer:
Jersey colors for the leaders in the Tour De France and Giro
d'Italia, respectively. The newspapers were the original
sponsors.

I used the name Robert D. James and live behind closed doors
in Pasadena in fear that the Russians may kidnap me. I have
given most of my money to the Worldwide Church of God, a
religious sect that perhaps believes that Satan heads
governments worldwide. Who am I?

El Salvador and Honduras fought a short war in 1969, with
both countries involving their air forces. Whatever the
earlier disputes, what was the immediate, if very unusual
provocation ?

Answer:
A football match between the two countries – a
disputed penalty resulting in a goal was the cause of
great dissatisfaction and, finally, war.

Answer:
Australia versus New Zealand and the match was down to
the wire with the Kiwis needing six runs to tie the match
from the final ball, with only 2 wickets at hand . Greg
Chappel, the then Australian captain, ordered the bowler
(his brother Trevor) to bowl underarm, rolling the ball
along the ground to prevent Brian McKechnie (the New
Zealand batsman) hitting a six from the last ball to tie the
match. This match was the deciding match of the series.
Underarm bowling at that time was within the laws of
cricket, but this incident was a spec on the Aussies.

Answer:
Andrew flintoff , Brett lee “Hand of Friendship”
Ashes 2005
Flintoff magnanimously celebrated the narrow win in the
Edgbaston Test - choosing to console Lee rather than go to his
England team-mates after Steve Harmison took the final
wicket of Michael Kasprowicz.

Answer:

Helipad of “Burj al Arab” hotel.
It was converted into a tennis court for Roger federer and
Andre agassi to play tennis when they visited Dubai
during the Dubai open.

Simple:
Name the mascot and the sporting event

Answer:
“Stumpy”, the mascot of the ICC Cricket World cup
2011

Bought at a "book value" of one pound, they were
scrapped in 2003.
Richard Branson tried to prevent them from being
scrapped by offering to buy them for the "original price
of one pound".
What am I talking about?

Answer:
The Concorde Supersonic Airplane

Who was the Time Magazine - Person of the year 2006?

She was found on the streets and was chosen as she had
already learned to endure conditions of extreme cold and
hunger. She was called by different names such as; Little
Curly, Little Bug, Little Lemonand finally "Howler".
A magazine described her temperament as phlegmatic, saying
that she did not quarrel with others.
She died on November 3, 1957 and a monument for her was
unveiled on April 11, 2008.
Who was she?

Laika ( a breed of dog, literally meaning "Barker" or "Howler") was a
Soviet space dog, who became the first living mammal to orbit the Earth
and the first orbital casualty.

Laika, a stray, originally named Kudryavka(Russian: а Little Curly-Haired
One), underwent training with two other dogs, and was eventually
chosen as the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft

In 1535, Henry VIII, King of England, taxed ‘X’ , in spite of
having it himself.
His daughter, Elizabeth I, continued his father’s policy
probably seeing it as a handy way of raising extra revenue.
The tax imposed by Elizabeth I varied according to age and
status.

In 1705 Tsar Peter I of Russia issued a decree in 1705
which prohibited ‘X’ for everybody except a member of
the Orthodox clergy unless a tax was paid. And those who
paid the tax were forced to carry a sign with them which
stated that “ X are ridiculous”.
Which is this taxed item?

A ‘chicken gun’ is used for the Chicken Ingestion test.
What industry uses this test to certify the safety of its
product?

Answer:
The Aviation Industry.
It is a stress test to certify bird-hit proof jet engines for
aircraft. The carcass of a chicken or a turkey is shot at the
engine at a speed of 180 miles per hour (the take-off or
landing speed of an aircraft). The turbine should not
disintegrate when the turbine hits the fan.

John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in
American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science
Fiction, from late 1937 until his death, he is generally
credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science
Fiction.
He once described the most dangerous chemical in the
world as –
“…a single exposure to this substance cause life long
addiction, withdrawal for more than a few minutes can be
fatal there is no cure and prognosis is death”.

What was he referring to?

William "Duff" Armstrong, the name may not ring many bells.
But his claim to fame is that he was defended in a murder
case (in 1858) by a famous personality. The case is famous for
his lawyer’s use of judicial notice (a rule in the law of
evidence that allows a fact to be introduced into evidence if
the truth of that fact is so notorious or well known that it
cannot be refuted),a rare tactic at that time, to show an
eyewitness had lied on the stand. After a witness testified to
having seen the crime in the moonlight, Armstrong’s lawyer
produced a Farmer's Almanac to show that the moon on that
date was at such a low angle it could not have produced
enough illumination to see anything clearly. Based upon this
evidence, Armstrong was acquitted. The case became so
famous that Armstrong’s death was reported in the New York
Times on May 14, 1899.
Identify his famous lawyer.

Answer:
Abraham Lincoln
A plaque is erected at Armstrong‘s gravesite which reads,
" WILLIAM DUFF ARMSTRONG accused slayer of
Preston Metzker, freed by Lincoln in the Armandad Trial”

Honda created a number of these, with this being the
eleventh. At 54kg and a top speed of 6km/h, it costs just
under a million dollars to make.
In May 2008, it conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
In March 2009, researchers at Honda demonstrated a helmet
that allowed them to control it using thought alone.
What are we talking about?

Answer:
Lencois maranhenses national park, Brazil

Answer:

Clock tower at Padmanabhapuram palace.
It is believed to be 300 years old and still keeps time.

First picture: With, Second picture: Without. Explain.

Answer:
Zero-gravity Wedding Dress designed by Eri Matsui.
It was sponsored by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration
Agency

IISER-Tvm Cultural fest Quiz Finals 2011

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