A quiz on 100 years since World War 1. 100 questions/60 minutes. Written.

1. 100 Years of
History: A
Quiz (1914-
2014)
Bombay Quiz Club, Mumbai
A quiz commemorating 100 years of life since
the breaking out of World War 1. 100
questions in all. Write down your answer in
the blank space next to the question. We
exchange sheets 60 minutes from the start.
All the best!
Vikram Joshi

3. 1 Actually associated with the organization Mlada Bosna, he is incorrectly assumed
to be part of the Crna Ruka (which rejected him because of his small and weak
stature). He died of tuberculosis at Theresienstadt (Terezin) at the relatively
young age of 23. He is an appropriate person to begin this quiz. Who?
Gavrilo Princip
assassin of
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand and his
wife beginning
World War 1.
2 The worst loss of life for the British Indian army (and for the British army outside
Europe during World War 1) saw over 23,000 soldiers die in their attempt to take
over this town in Mesopotamia beginning December 7, 1915 from the Ottoman
Turks. Name the town which is sadly well-represented in the casualty list on India
Gate in Delhi.
Kut (also accept
Kut-el-Amara)
3 The first performance took place in February 1916, when the avant-garde
performance artist Tristan Tzara, wearing a monocle, entered the Cabaret
Voltaire stage in Paris singing sentimental melodies and handing paper wads to
his "scandalized spectators", leaving the stage to allow room for masked actors
on stilts, and returning in clown attire. What movement did this mark the start
of?
The Dada
movement
4 Code named H-21, she was accused of causing the death of 50,000 soldiers
through her actions. At the time there was a lot of sympathy for her and she was
said to have been falsely accused and executed as a scapegoat for the failings of
British and French generals. However, in 1970, German declassified documents
conclusively proved her guilt. Who was this?
Mata Hari (also
accept Margaretha
Geertruida Zelle)
5 While on convalescent leave, he wrote an autobiographical work titled “Der rote
Kampfflieger” on the orders of the German propaganda department. When it was
later translated into English and revised, he repudiated the book saying he came
across in it as “too insolent and arrogant” and that he was “no longer the man
portrayed in it”. His death in 1918 is something of a mystery – as no one knows
who exactly killed him. Who is this?
Manfred von
Richthofen (also
accept the Red
Baron)
6 The decision of the clergy at the Golden Temple in Amritsar to honour General
Dyer days after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 with a saropa (a scarf of
honour) was condemned across the Sikh community - leading students and
teachers of the Amritsar Khalsa college to demand the removal of the mahants at
the Temple and to manage and reform Sikh shrines. To achieve this, they founded
an organization in 1920 that exists even today. Bibi Jagir Kaur was its first woman
president in 1999. Name it.
Shiromani
Gurudwara
Prabandhak
Committee (SGPC)
7 Years before he wrote his famous 1920 letter to Baron Rothschild, Arthur Balfour
had met with Chaim Weizmann to discuss the possibility of a Jewish homeland in
location X in Africa. Weizmann (recollecting in his memoirs) replied “Mr. Balfour,
supposing I was to offer you Paris instead of London, would you take it?" He sat
up, looked at me, and answered: "But Dr. Weizmann, we have London." "That is
true," I said, "but we had Y when London was a marsh." Name X and Y.
Uganda and
Jerusalem (order
important)
8 After 3 successive mistrials resulting in his being set free, he was still punished by
a public that believed he had committed the rape and murder of Virginia Rappe in
1921. They boycotted his films, the studio he was hired at fired him and most
copies of his movies were destroyed. He later tried to get back into the film
business as a director under the alias William Goodrich. Who is this?
Roscoe “Fatty”
Arbuckle (Accept
Fatty Arbuckle)

4. 9 The name is derived from the Latin word for “island”. It’s a peptide hormone
produced by the beta cells in the pancreas whose discovery and purification in
1922 won it’s discovers the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1923. In a dramatic
moment in the world of medicine, doctors went from bed to bed in the Toronto
General Hospital injecting comatose children with it. Just as they reached the last
child, the first few began to wake up from the comas they had been in. Name this
hormone.
Insulin
10 In 1923, the founding of this modern republic was based on the principles of
Republicanism, Populism, Nationalism, Secularism, Statism and Reformism. It also
involved a shift of national capital away from a city that was seen as decadent,
too reminiscent of the previous regime and too full of national and religious
minorities. Name this philosophy of principles and the founder of the republic.
Six Arrows,
Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk (Accept
Kemal Ataturk)
11 At the first Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France at the foot of Mont Blanc in
1924, Baron de Coubertin presented a special prize to Charles Granville Bruce
who was the head of an expedition to do a feat that was only done nearly 30
years later. This was not awarded again as the “sport” did not lend itself well to
tournaments. What was this prize awarded for?
Alpinsime (Accept
Mountaineering)
Bruce tried to
climb Mt. Everest
in 1922 and 1924
12 The famous American legal case State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes in
1925 was against John Scopes who was accused of teaching human evolution in a
state-funded school. What specific act prohibiting public school teachers from
denying Biblical origins of man did he thus violate?
Butler Act
13 Since his death from acute peritonitis in 1926 which led to at least 30 women
committing suicide in grief, a woman in black carrying a red rose has come to
mourn at his grave on his death anniversary. It was later revealed that it started
as a publicity stunt by a PR agent in 1928. Whose grave attracts this ritual?
Rudolph Valentino
(Accept Valentino)
14 This English and Aramaic film that released in 1927 and is considered the film that
introduced the full-feature length talkies to the world and caused the decline of
silent movies follows the life of a young Jewish boy Jakie Rabinowitz who runs
away from his traditional family in Manhattan’s Lower East Side to follow his
dreams. In 1996, it was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress
National Film Registry as a significant piece of cinema history. Name it.
The Jazz Singer
15 Mickey Mouse was created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks in 1928 as a
replacement for another cartoon character created for Charles Mintz, a
distributor for Universal Studios. When Mint refused to part with the character
when Disney asked for an increase in budget for animation, Disney asked Iwerks
to create a new character – Iwerks came up with Mortimer (later Mickey) Mouse.
What was the character Mickey replaced in the Disney money-making machine?
Oswald the Lucky
Rabbit
16 The Academy Awards were first awarded in 1929. The very first winner of a
statuette received his award for his work in The Last Command and The Ways of
All Flesh a couple of weeks earlier than the short 15 minute function itself as he
had to go to Europe to visit family and could not change his plans. Name him.
Emil Jannings
17 This object was named in conjunction with and through solicitation of ideas from
the public. Over 1000 applications for its name were shared from Atlas to Zymal.
The widow of the discoverer suggested first Zeus, then Percival and finally
Constance but these were rejected. The final name was given by Venetia Burnley,
an 11 year old Oxford schoolgirl who was interested in classical mythology. What
are we talking about?
Pluto discovered in
1930

5. 18 In September 1931, Lt. Kawamoto Suemori of the Imperial Japanese Army
detonated a small amount of explosives near a Japanese-owned railway line in
Manchuria. The Army used this as a pretext to launch a full-scale invasion and
conquest of Manchuria. Name this incident – named for the Manchu name for
the city of Shenyang.
The Mukden
Incident
19 On the evening of March 1, 1932 a note was discovered on the window of a
stately home in Hopewell, New Jersey that read (in part) “Dear Sir! Have 50.000$
redy (sic) 25000$ in 20$ bills 15000$ in 10$ bills and 10000$ in 5$ bills After 2–4
days we will inform you were (sic) to deliver the mony (sic)”. Who did the home
belong to?
Charles Lindbergh
Sr. The note was
allegedly written
by Bruno
Hauptmann for the
return of the
kidnapped
Lindbergh baby
20 While both Pennsylvania and Ohio approved this on the same day as Utah, it is
Utah that has the privilege of being the deciding 36th State to ratify this US
Constitutional amendment on December 5, 1933. What did this amendment
specifically do?
Repealed
Prohibition (21st
Amendment)
21 Based on the fairy tale The Little Red Hen, this story involves X and his friend
Peter Pig who pretend to have a stomach ache to avoid work until Mrs. Hen
teaches them the value of hard work and suitably punishes them by liberally
dosing them with castor oil. This cartoon marked the debut of character X.
Identify.
Donald Duck
22 The culmination of the Chaco war (Also called “The War of the Thirst” in Spanish)
fought between Bolivia and Paraguay in 1935 was a Paraguayan victory with most
of the territory of Gran Chaco being awarded to it. The war was commonly seen
to be a proxy war being fought by two companies (using the countries as puppets
for their ambitions) to exploit a natural resource needed in the industrial south
found in abundance in this region. Pablo Neruda named a poem about this war
after one of these companies. Name both companies.
Royal Dutch Shell
and Standard Oil
23 Published in 1936, this Southern Gothic novel by William Faulkner deals with
three families in the plantation world of the American South around the time of
the Civil War. It deals primarily with the story of a wayward son fighting against
the empire his father has built. The title of the book refers to a Biblical story
where the son of King David is killed by his general Joab for rebellion – and
specifically derives from the anguished cry of David for his lost son. Name this
book.
Absalom,
Absalom!
24 In 1937, post the passage of the Government of India Act of 1935, the India Office
was split into two – the India Office and the X Office. The Secretary of State for
India then took charge of both offices as the Secretary of State for India and X.
The Marquess of Zetland then took charge as the first of this rank. What is X?
Burma (No points
for Myanmar)
25 Olympia was the first documentary feature film made of the Olympic Games.
Techniques that were employed included (then) ground breaking camera angles,
smash cuts, extreme close ups etc. giving the film a visual quality that has placed
it in Time magazine’s All Time 100 Movies. The film however failed in the Western
nations due to its political context. In order to be screened at the MOMA in 1955,
three minutes of Hitler footage had to be excised from the film. Who was the
director of this path breaking movie?
Leni Riefensthal

6. 26 The last territory to “return” to the German Reich (in March 1939) through
bloodless means after the treaty of Versailles saw Hitler accept the return aboard
a naval ship as it sailed into the harbour of the biggest city (same name as the
territory). The population was predominantly ethnically German and Lutheran
and welcomed the integration into the Reich. The area today is called Klaipėda.
Name this territory and the country it is part of today.
Memel territory,
today part of
Lithuania
27 Operation Catapult launched on 3rd July 1940 used the British Royal Navy to
destroy the naval fleet of another country while it was at harbour at Mers el-
Kebir. Ironically, the UK was not at war with the country whose fleet it destroyed
but they did so for strategic reasons. This also caused the deaths of 1300 sailors
and officers and led to increased tensions between the two countries. Name the
country whose fleet was destroyed.
France
28 Raised in 1941 and attached to the Wehrmacht, it was later moved to the Waffen
SS in 1944. Soldiers attached to it took the following oath “I swear by God this
holy oath that I will obey the leader of the German race and state, Adolf Hitler, as
the commander of the German armed forces in the fight for India, whose leader is
Subhas Chandra Bose”. Known as the Indian Legion (Indische Legion), the more
famous name came about due to the flag of the Azad Hind Hukumat. Name this
Legion.
The Tiger Legion
29 On June 10, 1942, the entire town of Lidice in Bohemia was burnt to the ground
and all inhabitants including women and children were murdered by Nazi
Germans. This was done to avenge the assassination of the Reich-Protector of
Bohemia and Moravia by Czech partisans. Who was this Nazi bigshot?
Reinhard Heydrich
30 Awarded to animals who have displayed “conspicuous gallantry or devotion to
duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil
Defence Units”, this award is commonly known as the animal’s Victoria Cross. It
was first awarded in 1943 to 3 pigeons serving with the RAF who contributed to
the recovery of downed aircrew during World War II. Name the medal.
Dickin Medal (also
called the PDSA
Dickin medal)
31 Known as Nora Baker, she was the first female radio operator to be sent from
Britain into occupied France to aid the French Resistance. Her heavy handed style
of Morse transmission led to her being given the nickname of “Bang Away Lulu”
by her operators in London. She was caught, chained up for 10 months, sexually
assaulted, brutally beaten and finally executed on 13 September 1944 in the
concentration camp of Dachau. Who is this brave woman?
Noor Inayat Khan
32 By the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe on 3rd
May 1945, only 3 national capitals remained occupied by Nazi Germany. One was
Copenhagen. Which were the other two?
Oslo and Prague
33 Winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Song, this song from Disney’s
1946 live action and animation film Song of the South sung by James Baskett is
today used as the finale of the popular Disney theme park ride Splash Mountain.
Name this song.
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-
Dah
34 Thor Heyerdahl’s raft expedition Kon-Tiki on which he crossed the Pacific Ocean
from South America to Polynesia aimed to prove that Polynesia was colonized by
early migrants from Peru. He navigated his way from the movements of the Sun.
Kon-Tiki itself was an older name of the Inca God of the Sun X. Who is X?
Viracocha
35 This product was developed in 1948 by Earl Silas X and named for him. He created
a (formerly patented) “burping seal” which helped the product distinguish itself
Tupperware

7. from similar competitors. It is also credited with a unique direct social marketing
idea to provide thousands of women a means to get a toehold into the business
world and empower them post the war through the “party plan” form of
marketing. Name this product.
36 On 28 March, 1949 astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle coined a particular phrase on BBC
Radio’s Third Programme while trying to explain to listeners his objections over a
certain theory while at the same time pushing his own opposing theory of the
“steady state” of the universe. What phrase was this?
Big Bang
37 The birth of an illegitimate son to her in 1950 caused a furore in the United
States. She was denounced on the floor of the US Senate and some television
shows cancelled her appearances on them. She had played a virgin saint in Joan
of Arc in 1948 and she commented “People saw me in Joan of Arc and declared
me a saint. I'm not. I'm just a woman, another human being.” Identify her.
Ingrid Bergman
She had a child by
Roberto Rossellini
while she was still
married to
someone else.
38 Massacre in Korea is a 1951 artwork depicting the massacre of innocent women
and children in Sinchon during the Korean War. It is seen as a critique of American
intervention in the war and is considered an example of the painter’s “communist
period”. The imagery and style of the painting echoes Francisco Goya’s The Third
of May 1808. Name the painter.
Pablo Picasso
39 An event in London that lasted from 5th to 9th December 1952 was blamed on two
factors: the use of low-grade sulphurous coal for home heating post-war and the
presence of anti-cyclone weather with cold air trapped under a layer of warmer
air. The result killed between 4000 and 12000 Londoners in just 4 days. How was
this event known?
The Great Smog
(Also accept The
Big Smoke)
40 A fossil of Eoanthropus dawsoni collected in 1912 at a gravel pit in East Sussex
was exposed as a forgery in 1953 – someone had cleverly and deliberately
combined the lower jawbone of an orangutan with the cranium of a fully
developed modern human. It got its name from the location it was “discovered”
in. Name the fossil.
Piltdown Man
41 February 1954 saw a “fraternal gift” given by Khrushchev to the people of the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from the comrades of the Russian SSR. He
could not have foreseen the breakup of the Soviet Union that would create so
many issues years later between its constituent countries over this gift. What was
this gift?
The Crimean
Oblast (Also accept
Crimea)
42 This 1955 novel by Patricia Highsmith was the first of a quintet – collectively
known as the Ripliad. It’s a psychological thriller that was nominated for the
Edgar Allen Poe award for Best Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. The
book was made into a movie in 1999 with a homosexual subplot tagged onto the
original plot to provide more of a motive for the protagonist. Identify this book.
The Talented Mr.
Ripley
43 This annual competition began with only seven countries in Lugano, Switzerland
in 1956 resulting in the Swiss Lys Assia winning with Refrain. 2013 saw thirty-nine
countries participate in Malmo, Sweden with the Danish Emmelie de Forest
winning with Only Teardrops. What competition is this?
Eurovision Song
Contest (Also
accept Eurovision)
44 1957 was the first time this annual event was broadcast on BBC television. It was
also the 25th anniversary of the event’s broadcast on radio. During this session,
freak radio conditions caused by sunspots resulted in American police radio
transmissions interfering with British television broadcasts. One occasion of
interference occurred during the event causing listeners to hear an American
police officer say "Joe, I'm gonna grab a quick coffee." To commemorate another
significant milestone, in 2012, this event was broadcast in 3-D. Name it.
The Queen’s
Christmas
Message

8. 45 Ruth Carol Taylor in 1958 became the first African-American woman to be hired
as a flight attendant in the United States when she was hired by Mohawk Airlines.
In doing so, she broke a significant discrimination barrier. However, 6 months
later she was fired and this time, the discrimination barrier was not overturned by
a court. What did she do?
She got married.
Flight attendants
then were required
to be single.
46 Claude Heater, an American opera singer with the Vienna State Opera in Rome
received no credits for his role in this 1959 blockbuster movie neither was he
shown in the movie. However, he had a very significant role.
The reason for doing so was due to the original author Lew Wallace’s strong
religious beliefs as well as a traditional prohibition (from the time period the film
was set in) about showing the face lest it lead to idolatry. What role did Heater
play?
Jesus (The movie
being Ben Hur)
47 This 1960 song was dedicated to the French Foreign Legion by the singer. During
the Algerian War, the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment backed a French military-
led coup against President de Gaulle which failed. They adopted this song as their
anthem (rather appropriate considering the words) – and sang it as they were led
to imprisonment. Even today, this song is played when the Foreign Legion is on
parade. Name the song and singer.
Non, je ne regrette
rien – Edith Piaf
48 In 1961, four Bengali poets and novelists launched a Bengali language avant garde
literary movement which challenged contemporary ideas about literature,
language and painting. The movement lasted till 1965 in spite of arrest of the
leading members by the then government. They took their name from a word in a
line by Geoffrey Chaucer “In Sowre ____ Tyme”. Name this movement.
The Hungry
Generation
49 On March 2, 1962, at a game in Hershey, Pennsylvania, this Philadephia Warrior
scored 100 points in one game against the New York Knicks. The season also
rocked for him as he became the first (and only) player to cross 4000 (he made
4029 regular season points). Name this player.
Wilt Chamberlain
50 George C. Wallace – a Democrat - became the Governor of Alabama in 1963. He
took his inaugural oath at the same spot that Jefferson Davis has been sworn in as
President of the Confederate States of America 102 years before. He is best
remembered for his speech then “In the name of the greatest people that have
ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the
feet of tyranny, and I say ____ now, ____ tomorrow, ____ forever.” FITB. (All
blanks are the same word)
Segregation
51 This TV Show which first aired on March 30, 1964 has won a record number of 30
Daytime Emmy awards as well as a Peabody award. The main theme song for the
show is titled “Think!” and was originally composed by the show creator as a
lullaby for his son. Royalties from the tune have earned the creator over USD 70
million over the years. What (rather appropriate) show is this?
Jeopardy!
52 This 1965 operation got its name for its specifically Islamic connotation. Just like
the Umayyad conquest of Spain was launched from this location, the conquest of
“heathen/kaffir territory” was supposed to happen through this operation. The
10 forces making up this operation were named for 10 historically significant
Muslim conquerors. Name this operation that planned to use the population of
the territory as a possible fifth column.
Operation
Gibraltar
The Pakistani Army
operation into
Kashmir that began
the 1965 war
53 On October 29, 1966, a monument to “the Road of Life” entitled Broken Ring was
dedicated paying tribute to both the number of lives saved due to this road as
well as the number of families destroyed and broken by the encirclement. It bears
The Siege of
Leningrad (1941-
1944)

9. an inscription at the bottom “900 days. 900 nights”. What does it
commemorate?
54 During the summer of 1967 – dubbed the Summer of Love – tens of thousands of
young people gathered at this location giving rise to one of the largest counter
culture groupings. Mainstream media covered this area’s liberal behaviour
extensively causing youth from all over the USA to move here to be part of this
phenomenon. Festivals like the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 saw a huge
number of these youth participate and this created an identity for the city in
question as an international counter culture hub. Name this exact location.
Haight-Ashbury
(Half point for San
Francisco)
55 September 1968 saw a disgusting episode in the history of racism in sport. The
English tour of South Africa was cancelled after initially the MCC selectors did not
pick the Cape-Coloured (non-white) South African immigrant cricketer X due to
issues with playing in apartheid South Africa and then later when they picked him
to replace an injured player, South Africa refused to play. Who was this cricketer?
Basil D’Oliveira
56 First broadcast on the BBC in 1969, the creators of the show came up their own
name after discussing what the quintessential theatre agent would be named –
someone who could be blamed for bringing them all together. The first name was
picked from the nickname of a great British General and the second name was
picked to denote the “sliminess and slitheryness” of a typical agent. Name this
group.
Monty Python
(Monty Python’s
Flying Circus was
the show)
57 The Jordanian civil war was fought in 1970 between the Hashemite monarchy of
Jordan and the PLO under Yasser Arafat. It resulted in the deaths of thousands of
Palestinians and the expulsion of the PLO from a safe location in Jordan to a new
home in Lebanon. What was the name of the organization (in the news a few
years later) formed by members of the Fatah branch of the PLO for revenge
strikes against people they blamed for the events of that year?
Black September
58 “Our government has failed to denounce the suppression of democracy. Our
government has failed to denounce atrocities. Our government has failed to take
forceful measures to protect citizens while at the same time bending over
backwards to placate the West Pakistan dominated government and to lessen any
deservedly negative international public relations impact against them. Our
government has evidenced what many will consider moral bankruptcy (etc.)”
This is part of a famous dissent telegram sent by the American Consul General to
his superiors on April 6, 1971 due to which he was recalled and lost his job. What
was this telegram called?
The Blood
Telegram
(The US Consul
General in East
Pakistan was
Arthur Blood)
59 Despite the entire premise of this 1972 film (which won the Best Picture Academy
Award the next year) being about a particular group of people, it is (rather in
keeping with character) never once mentioned or named in the entire movie.
What is this group name?
Mafia
(The movie of
course being The
Godfather)
60 The Battle of the Sexes series of tennis matches were played in 1973 (2 of them)
and 1992 between a male player and a female player. The ’92 match was
between Jimmy Connors (the victor) and Martina Navratilova. The two matches
played in 1973 both involved Bobby Riggs. He lost against Billie Jean King on
September 20 but he won against the (then) World Number 1 player on May 13.
Who did Riggs beat on May 13?
Margaret Court
61 On 13 November 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murdered his entire family (parents and
4 siblings) by shooting them as they slept in their beds. He claimed innocence of
the crimes saying it was a gang hit ordered by his great-uncle. The events of the
night were widely known to the world through a “true” account of events of a
The Amityville
Horror

10. year later by a family who moved into the same house. This account was later
made into a series of movies. What is the title of this book?
62 State of Uttar Pradesh v/s X was the court case heard by the Allahabad High Court
that nullified Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’ election to the Lok Sabha and ordered
her to deist from electoral activity for 6 years. She was found guilty of misusing
government machinery to ensure her election against X. X was ably defended in
the High Court and later in the Supreme Court by Y (who is today active in
another “activist” political party). Name candidate X and lawyer Y.
X - Raj Narain
Y – Shanti Bhushan
63 Inspired by his idol Napolean Bonaparte, he tried to emulate the same by
declaring his country from a republic to a monarchy and himself Emperor from
President in 1976. An Imperial coronation the next year cost over 20 million USD
– one third of the country’s budget for the year as well as the entirety of the
foreign aid it received. He later said he did it to “make his country stand out in
Africa”. Later declared insane and deposed and exiled, who was this
megalomaniac?
Jean-Bédel
Bokassa (Also
accept Bokassa I)
President/Emperor
of the Central
African
Republic/Empire
64 This 1977 Bollywood blockbuster is famous for bringing Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore
Kumar, Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh together to sing a song for the first and only
time in their respective careers. Which film was this and which song?
Amar, Akbar,
Anthony
Humko tumse ho
gaya hai
65 The extension of the priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy males
including “Canaanites” only in 1978 directly led to probing questions asked by
Barack Obama’s second election campaign in 2012. Who were these questions
directed to (not the specific person – the answer is the entity)
The Church of
Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints
(also accept the
Mormon church)
66 On November 20, 1979, a group of 200 Juhayman al-Otaybi militants occupied the
Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and held thousands of pilgrims and
townspeople hostage as a protest against the House of Saud. The Saudi
government delayed retaliation until they could seek the permission of ulema to
do two actions and provide fatwas for the same. Name either one.
To allow French
(non-Muslim)
commandos into
Mecca to fight the
militants
To kill within the
holy precincts of
the Masjid al-
Haram
67 This song was released in the summer of 1980 and was widely believed to be
based on the divorce of the singer and the lyricist the previous year. However,
both have denied this idea – the singer vehemently replying that she was not the
loser in the divorce as implied. What song is this?
The Winner Takes It
All
By Abba

11. 68 John Hinckley Jr. was obsessed with a 1976 movie where a disturbed protagonist
played by Robert de Niro plots to assassinate a presidential candidate. He
developed an infatuation with a young actress who played a child prostitute in
the movie. In his attempt to impress and contact her, he tried to assassinate
President Ronald Reagan and nearly succeeded. He was found not guilty though
insane and sentenced to life in a mental hospital. Which film was this and who
played the child prostitute?
Taxi Driver
Jodie Foster
69 On May 30, 1982 he played his first of what ended up becoming a record setting
streak of 2,632 consecutive Major League Baseball games. Who was this and
whose record (of 2,130 games) did he break?
Cal Ripken Jr.
Lou Gehrig
70 She became the first African-American to win Miss America in September 1983
but felt pressured by the organization to resign less than a year later when nude
pictures of her were published in Penthouse magazine. She was kept on the list as
Miss America 1984 but Suzette Charles (the first runner-up) was listed as well as
Miss America 1984b. Who is this woman who went on to have a hugely
successful career post this scandal?
Vanessa Williams
71 Only 7 people ever have been so honoured by an act of the United States
Congress. In 1984, William Penn (the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania) and his
wife – both dead for over 250 years – were honoured this way. The only living
honourees (at the time of receipt of this honour) were Winston Churchill in 1963
and Mother Teresa in 1996. What rare honour is this?
Honorary citizens
of the United
States
72 In 1985 Maurice Jarre won the Academy Award for Best Original Music Score for
A Passage to India. On stage accepting the award, he quipped “I was lucky _____
was not eligible this year” alluding to another movie which won several awards
that night. FITB.
Mozart
73 Patrick Sherrill was a USPS worker who shot 20 of his colleagues killing 14 of them
before committing suicide in one of the worst cases of workplace violence ever.
He had been reprimanded several times and was also intensely dissatisfied with
his job and just snapped one day in August 1986. His reaction to work stress is the
origin of an American phrase used to describe mental snapping. What is this
phrase?
Going Postal
74 Mikhail Gorbachev used an incident involving 19 year old West German Matthias
Rust to purge the Red Army and the Soviet government of people who were
opposed to his system of reform – including both the Defence Minister and the
Air Defence Chief along with hundreds of other officers. What did Rust do to
create such distrust in the Soviet government?
Landed a plane in
Moscow’s Red
Square (without
being detected)
75 Starting in the summer of 1988 and going on for nearly 4 years, between 100,000
and 300,000 Estonians gathered every month and protested their occupation and
incorporation into the Soviet Union by performing an activity as a group. This
unique non-violent method of demonstration and revolution against the USSR led
to the independence of Estonia in 1991. What was their revolution called?
Singing Revolution
76 The music video for this 1989 song created a huge controversy with depictions of
cross burnings and Catholic Church iconography. It also created issues with the
depictions of a Saint being a sexual being. The controversy caused Pepsi to drop
the singer as a spokesperson. However, the video also attracted support from
feminists and liberals for its frank depictions of both rape and racial
discrimination. Name the song.
Like A Prayer

12. 77 Starting January 1990 up to 1995, a certain gentleman was introduced to the
viewing public through a chorus of “Ecce homo qui est faba”. This sequence was
intended to convey an ordinary man who is thrust into the spotlight. Who is this
man?
Mr. Bean
(Behold the man
who is a bean)
78 Denying sexual harassment allegations during his confirmation hearing in the US
Senate he said “This is not an opportunity to talk about difficult matters privately
or in a closed environment. This is a circus. It's a national disgrace. And from my
standpoint, as a black American, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in
any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different
ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will
happen to you. You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the
U.S. Senate rather than hung from a tree.” He ended up confirmed 52-48. Who is
this?
Supreme Court
Justice Clarence
Thomas
79 This 1992 incident was blamed by the protagonist on several factors on different
occasions – a strenuous game of doubles tennis with a lousy partner for whom he
had to over-compensate, a 24 hour bug or a spoilt prawn. It has been listed by
USA Today as “one of the Top 25 memorable public meltdowns that had us
laughing over the past quarter-century” What was the incident?
President George
H.W. Bush
vomiting over the
Japanese PM
80 On April 30, 1993, an obsessed Steffi Graf fan named Gunter Parche stabbed
Monica Seles in the back during a match at Hamburg. She was playing against a
Bulgarian tennis player and leading 6-4, 4-3 at the time. The opponent reached a
position of #4 on the WTA tour in 1996. Who was the opponent?
Magdalena
Maleeva
81 Shannon Faulkner became the first ever woman cadet to join The _____ - one of
the premier American military colleges situated in South Carolina after a
successful lawsuit against the college. However, after four hours of hard physical
training, she checked into the infirmary and dropped out a week later citing
exhaustion, taunting and emotional abuse. Her departure was marked by wild
celebrations by the male cadets. Which college is this?
The Citadel
82 Along with 8 other members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni
People, X was hanged by the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha. X was
famous for his writing and environmental activism (primarily against Royal Dutch
Shell oil company) and his execution was condemned by litterateurs and
governments across the world. Who was X?
Ken Saro-Wiwa
83 The world’s deadliest mid-air aircraft collision occurred on 12 November 1996
over Charkhi Dadri village in Haryana killing 349 people on board both planes.
Most of the passengers on the flight originating from New Delhi were blue collar
workers whereas all the passengers on the flight from Shymkent were traders.
Identify the two countries whose respective airlines were involved in this
disaster.
Saudi Arabia (New
Delhi to Dhahran)
and Kazakhstan
(Shymkent to New
Delhi)
84 On July 15, 1997, as he returned from a coffee shop he was gunned down as part
of a spree killer’s 3 month killing rampage. Investigators found no motive on the
part of the killer and it is speculated that the killer murdered him just “because he
was an icon”. His will left almost 500 million dollars to his 11 year old niece
making her the richest child in the world till she came of age. Who was he?
Gianni Versace
85 After the eruption of the Soufriére Hills volcano from 1995 onwards which buried
the entire capital city of Plymouth, residents of this territory were given full
residency rights in the UK in 1998 allowing them to migrate if they so chose.
Almost the entire population barring a hundred or so people migrated to the UK
where they were given citizenship in 2002. Which country is this?
Montserrat

13. 86 The President of her country (and the daughter of two former prime ministers),
she survived an assassination attempt during an election campaign in December
1999 – losing vision in her right eye. However, she won this closely fought
election and began her second term as President a few days later. Name her.
Chandrika
Kumaratunga
87 Tarja Halonen won the Presidential elections in Finland in 2000. Her facial
resemblance to a celebrity – which was commented on initially by viewers – led
to the celebrity joking about his doppelganger for months during her election
campaign. He finally endorsed her before the elections and travelled to Finland to
meet her after her victory – this was filmed and shown on television as a special.
Who was her celebrity lookalike?
Conan O’Brien
88 After the 9-11 attacks, a mini-series on television which would have united the
casts of X & Y, X & Y: Special Victims Unit and X & Y: Criminal Intent was cancelled
as the theme dealt with a possible terror attack on New York City. The three
shows in question have a strong New York City connect. What is X & Y?
Law & Order
89 This country joined the UN on 10 September 2002 as its 191st member state. It
joined following a closely fought referendum where the Yes vote garnered a slim
majority of 52% of the voters. It is till date the only country that has joined the
UN based on a popular vote. Name the country.
Switzerland
90 What did the ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health at a state
appellate court legalize giving Hillary Goodridge and Julie Goodridge a reason to
smile in November 2003?
Same Sex / Gay
Marriage in
Massachusetts
(Answer without
the state name
gets only half
point)
91 March 2004 saw the largest expansion of this organization when
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia all joined it on
the same day. They all joined shortly before the annual summit which was held in
Istanbul that year. Which organization was this?
NATO
92 The 2005 word of the year by the American Dialect Society was truthiness. The
first runner-up was another made up word that came to symbolize the US
Government’s PR failure to deal with the events following an August 29 incident.
What was that word?
Katrinagate
93 Since the oxygen partial pressure is 35-40% below that at sea level, special
carriages are used which are pressurized. Each seat comes with an oxygen supply
and there are between 10 and 12 doctors available at all times to deal with any
medical issues. If you got on a carriage at Golmud to go “all the way”, where
would you get off?
Lhasa
On the Qinghai-
Tibet railway train
94 At the proposal of the governments of Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, UNESCO
declared 2007 as the Year of ____ to celebrate an 800th birth anniversary.
Celebrations were held in Kabul and Balkh which had special reason to
commemorate the event. In Tehran, bells were rung all over the city on 30
September along with special conferences and talks. Istanbul saw 300
participants televised in the largest ever live performance of the ritual samā –
something intimately involved with the honouree. FITB.
Rumi

14. 95 On 13 February 2008, Australian PM Kevin Rudd made the following apology to
the indigenous Aboriginal population of Australia. In part, he said “Today we
honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in
human history. We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in particular on
the mistreatment of those who were ___ ___ – this blemished chapter in our
national history.” The two blanks refer to years of Australian colonial and national
policy to forcibly remove the children of natives to bring them up away from their
families and traditions – thus creating a group of people with no link to the land.
FITB.
Stolen
Generations
96 Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was sworn in as Iceland’s first female Prime Minister
following the resignation of Geir Haarde who resigned after the Icelandic banking
system collapsed. What was Jóhanna’s other claim to fame?
First openly
lesbian Head of
Government in the
world
97 The Polish President Lech Kaczyński was killed along with his wife and top Polish
Government and military officials in an aircrash near Smolensk, Russia. They were
on their way from Warsaw to commemorate a historical event that has deeply
coloured Polish-Russian relations since it occurred. What was the event?
The Katyn
massacre
98 In 2011, the Channel island of Sark became the first part of Europe and also the
first island in the world to achieve this distinction. It received this due to a
number of factors – including its location, the fact that vehicles are prohibited on
the island, no streetlights in the villages and local population agreements to re-
design their home interiors to conform. Thanks to this distinction, tourists from
all over the UK and France come to Sark to do something they cannot as easily in
their home areas. What is this distinction?
First Dark Sky
community in
Europe.
(Also give points
for “naked-eye
astronomy
possible”)
99 December 1874, December 1882, 8 June 2004 and 5/6 June 2012 are the latest
four of an event. The next one will be on 10/11 December 2117. What event that
aroused a lot of interest in the scientific community and the public was this?
Transit of Venus
100 30 year old Samantha Lewthwaite is currently one of the most wanted terrorist
suspects in the world for her role in a 2013 terror attack. Her husband Germaine
Lindsay was one of the London suicide bombers in the attack of 2005. She is
known in the media by a name which alludes to the Chechen practise of women
whose husbands have been killed by the Russians blowing themselves up in
suicide attacks against civilian targets. What is her nickname?
The White Widow
(Chechen women
bombers are called
Black Widows)