Finals of the Nihilanth Lone Wolf Quiz set by Suraj Menon.

1. NIHILANTH 2013
THE LONE WOLF
QUIZ

2. POWERED BY

3. 3 PARTS
ONE WRITTEN
TWO INFINITE BOUNCE

4. WRIGHT BROTHERS/RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS
OR YOUR CHOICE OF BAD PUN HERE
8 QUESTIONS
DIFFERENTIAL SCORING
(1-3: 10 POINTS, 4-6: 5 POINTS, 7-8: SLOW CLAP)

5. 1
From Graham Greene‟s The Third Man,
“In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare,
terror, murder and bloodshed. But they produced
Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In
Switzerland, they had brotherly love. They had 500 years of
democracy and peace. And what did that produce? The
_______ ______!”
Fill in the blanks

8. 2
In response to what
work was this sponsored
work produced???

11. 3
According to his biographer, X had plans to make a film titled
Soorat aur Seerat, about a singer who unfortunately suffers some
form of physical disfiguration. This was prompted by X‟s close
friendship with Y, who had suffered smallpox as a child and bore
the scars.
X eventually made the project under another name, but his choice
of heroine, led to a significant cold war between the two parties
concerned. Who X and Y? and what did the project eventually
evolve into??

14. 4
If the catcher is Yogi
Berra, identify the
person sliding into
home base.

17. 5
Ingrid Bergman‟s last film
appearance. Who does she
play???

20. 6
What delicacy gets its name from a Persian/ Turkish root word Xaye
meaning eggs??

23. 7
Sir ______‟s shadow
by Paul Theroux
details the story of his
friendship and later
falling out with which
controversial person
who has been in the
news over the last
month or so??

26. 8
X is a regional term meaning “long journey”. This, in
turn, is derived from an Arabic word meaning “journey”.
The word is used locally to refer to any journey. Its first
use in English is attributed to Sir Richard Francis Burton,
the famous explorer.

29. INFINITE BOUNCE
18 QUESTIONS
10 points each.
INFINITE POUNCE +10/-5

30. 1
Saint Peter was sentenced to die at the hands of
Emperor Nero. Peter however, felt that he was unworthy
of dying the same way that Jesus had and thus while he
was crucified, what unusual request did he make so that
he would not die the same way???

33. 2
This discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (present day Dominican
Republic and Haiti) in about 1696-1697 by the French Minim monk and
botanist, Charles Plumier during his third expedition to the Greater Antilles and
named after the chap shown in the figure. The name of the species also lends its
name to a pigment extracted from this. Whats the good word???

36. 3
Bertolt Brecht wrote a novel called The resistible rise of
Arturo Ui, about a fictional 1930s Chicago mobster, and his
attempts to control the cauliflower racket by ruthlessly
disposing of the opposition.
Arturo is accompanied by accomplices named Ernesto
Roma, Dogburg (or more accurately Houndburg in the
German), Emanuele Giri and Guiseppe Givola.
Who was this based on???

39. 4
These tardigrades or "water bears," are
microscopic eight-legged critters known to
survive extreme temperatures, tons of
radiation, and nearly a decade without water
on Earth. In September scientists declared
they had proven their mettle in one more
extreme environment: outer space.
The name chosen for the program was a
take on one of the most famous items in
pop culture.

42. 5
The art world has recently seen the emergence of
numerous fora that cater to someone called a “lacquerista”.
They include cult album art, book covers and classic movie
posters as popular influences.
What art form would you be indulging in if you were a
lacquerista???

45. 6
Latin: Libellus vere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus, de optimo rei
publicae statu deque nova insula X
Literal: A Truly Golden Little Book, No Less Beneficial Than Entertaining, of
the Best State of a Republic, and of the New Island X
Traditional: A Fruitful and Pleasant Work of the Best State of a Public Weal,
and of the New Isle Called X
The name X literally means „no-place-land‟ and soon entered the language to
describe something as suggested by the title

48. 7
In which industrial town was this picture taken????

51. 8
The French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le
Monde conducted a poll in the spring of 1999 to come up
with a list of the one hundred best books of the 20th
century.
The French being the French, chose books by which two
authors as the top two in the list??

54. 9
The Le Coubre was a 4,310-ton French vessel was carrying of
Belgian munitions from the Antwerp. While it was being unloaded
in Havana harbor, the cargo exploded at 3:10 p.m. on 4 March
1960, Unloading explosive ordnance directly onto the dock was
against port regulations. Ships with such cargoes were supposed to
be moored in the center of the harbor and their high-risk cargo
unloaded onto lighters.
However one reason why this incident is most remembered is the
aftermath which spawned one of the most iconic images of the 20th
century. Put funda

57. 10
Earlier this month Jon Stewart started a segment titled
SPYFALL on the Daily Show thus
“There comes a time in everybody's life when you're faced with a choice
-- whether you would like to have sex at your desk at work or remain
employed”
He also went on to make fun of the apparent obvious clues
such as the name All in and a previous appearance X had
made on the show in January and concluded by calling
himself the worst journalist in the world for not picking up on
the signs earlier. What was the subject all about???

60. 11
For what specific purpose did three Korean designers Ji-youn
Kim, Soon-young Yang & Hwan-ju Jeon, design this device called
the Unisignal???

62. TRAFFIC SIGNALS
FOR THE
COLOUR BLIND

63. 12
From a letter written by Francoise Mouly
“ Ten years ago, my husband, the cartoonist X,
our daughter, and I stood four blocks away from
the second tower as we watched it collapse in
excruciatingly slow motion. Later, back in my
office, I felt that images were suddenly
powerless to help us understand what had
happened. The only appropriate solution seemed
to be to publish no cover image at all—an all-
black cover. Then X suggested adding the
outlines of the two towers, black on black. So
from no cover came a perfect image, which
conveyed something about the unbearable loss
of life, the sudden absence in our skyline, the
abrupt tear in the fabric of reality”.
Who was the husband

66. 13
From Made in Russia: A history of Soviet design
“The ultimate Soviet status symbol — beyond a black
Chaika sedan, a government dacha, or a French stamp in
the passport — was a lowly telephone called the vertushka
“Having a vertushka meant people called you. Important
people.”
The possession of a Vertushka was a sure sign that you had
„arrived‟ and was a privilege reserved only for very high
ranking officials. What was so unusual about the phone (pic
on the next slide)

67. 13

69. DID NOT HAVE A DIAL, COULD ONLY GET
INCOMING CALLS

70. 14
A Disappearing Number is a 2007 play co-written and devised by the Théâtre
de Complicité company and directed and conceived by English playwright Simon
McBurney about the collaboration between X & Y . Who are the two main
protagonists????

71. 14

74. 15
This building is characterised by extensive usage of hyperbolic
paraboloid structures ( that‟s a Pringle chip for those of you that were
wondering). Catenary arches (ie geometric curves) abound.
It also contains a Magic Square — an arrangement of numbers that
equal the same amount in every column, row, and diagonal.
The magic number in this case is 33, which by common consensus
allude to multiple religious symbols. For example, Jesus performed
33 recorded miracles, and most Christians believe he was crucified at
33 years old.
What am I talking about???

77. 16
Legend has it that the term comes from a practise started
by the ruler of the Mahim village. Everytime he wanted
something accomplished he would ensure the circulation
of a plate filled with X and betel leaves in a meeting of all
able bodied men in the village. The one who picked up
the first X from the plate indicated his willingness to do
the job.
What ??

80. 17
From a book called Science Ink by Carl Zimmer that talks about
tattoos inspired by science. What do these two examples
represent???

83. 18
K L Amladi in India today described it as „a gravely flawed attempt‟
and a „dead ember‟
Bikram Singh in Filmfare wrote “ The major trouble with the film
is the unsuccesful transplanation it attempts- grafting a western
milieu on to the Indian.
Film Information- The classes and families will find no reason for a
repeat show.
The harshest review came from within the industry, where the cast
was described as “ Teen Maharathi, Ek Chooha”. Who was the
chooha in question???

86. INFINITE BOUNCE
18 QUESTIONS
10 points each.
INFINITE POUNCE +10/-5

87. 1
Originally produced for the Catholic comic book Topix,
two Sparky‟s Li‟l Folks panels ran in the Minneapolis
Tribune in the 1940s
(visual on the next slide)
What did these evolve into???

88. 1

91. 2
The famous rock critic Lester Bangs wrote this review in Rolling Stone
magazine in 1970 talking about the rise of British rock groups such as
Gun and Black Sabbath. At that time he described the _____
______
“ Mediocrity doesn't tutor greatness often — when it is influential at all,
its progeny usually achieve even ranker nadirs. But in rock, one of
whose founding principles is that glorious mistakes can open out into
amazing new styles, anything can happen. Thus the ______
phenomenon, which is far from dead even now. Although they were
essentially an egotistical group of lazy artisans who „I‟-fied their
considerable talents by swallowing their own hype, raking in fistfuls of
cash and flying by the unflattering light of day, they left a whole raft of
studious imitators who are setting sail, visions of superstardom dancing
in their heads, to this day.” Fill in the blanks

94. 3
What are both these poems influenced by?? Fill in the last line
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I porn-surfed, weak and weary,
Over many a strange and spurious porn-site of "hot chicks galore",
While I clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning,
And my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour,
"Tis not possible," I muttered, "give me back my free hardcore!"
Quoth the server, “____”
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I porn-surfed, weak and weary,
For many a quaint and curious website of X-rated lore,
Found the server nearly napping, http replies a-slacking,
Though my loins were filled with burning, yearning for a teenage whore,
And as I paused awhile in hope that service be restored -
Quoth the server, “____."

97. 4
Minimalist tribute to what leading technology figure??

100. 5
An exhibition titled the History of _____:1889-2012 ran
earlier this year at the Museum of Arts and
Design (MAD) in New York City, started by New York
critic Chandler Burr .
Burr was significantly inspired by The Osmothèque in
Versailles which preserves an archive dating back
centuries.
The interactive exhibition featured 12 examples
classified by Burr into various schools such as Classic,
Modernist, Dadaist and so on.
What was the subject of the exhibition???

103. 6
America‟s first celebrity designer, she designed clothes that were sold
exclusively through Macy‟s in New York and Marshall Fields in
Chicago. Her clothing line inspired among others Jean Paul Gaultier at
Hermes to parade a specially dedicated line for her. Who???

104. 6

107. 7
Seen here is a still from a new Broadway play by Eric Simonson.
Actors Tug Coker and Kevin Daniels play bitter rivals X & Y . The
play describes the events of a visit to Fork Hills (one of their
hometowns) to shoot a commercial for Converse. Identify these
sporting heroes

110. 8
Eija-Riitta Berliner-Mauer coined the term objectum-sexuality. She
consummated her relationship in 1979.
She was followed by Erika LaBrie who made her commitment in
2007.
What were the objects of their desires????

113. 9
The English composer Gustav Holst wrote a seven piece orchestral suite
comprising of the following between 1914 and 1916. Holst deliberately excluded
one from the complete list as it was at the centre of everything yet inert in influence.
Bringer of War
Bringer of Peace
Winged Messenger
Bringer of Jollity
Bringer of Old Age
Magician
Mystic
Events of 1930 meant that the piece was incomplete. In 2006 the Halle orchestra
commissioned Colin Matthews to write an eighth movement titled Renewer which
meant that the set was now complete. However events of August 2006 meant that
Holst’s original composition was more accurate.
What was the suite called??

116. 10

117. 10
What subject connects the video game that you saw on the first slide
and these two movies.

120. 11
Poster for the movie Melancholia by Lars Von Trier. This was inspired
by a painting by John Everett Millais depicting a famous Shakespearean
character. Character or name of the painting???

123. 12
He published an essay titled „A Gathering
of Swans„ in 1959 in Observations ,
'Authentic swans are almost never women
that nature and the world has deprived. God
gave them good bones; some lesser
personage, a father, a husband, blessed
them with that best of beauty emollients, a
splendid bank account.' Nevertheless, he
continued, a swan's grace could not simply
be explained by expenditure.
His experience hanging out with the group
of swans also contributed significantly to his
breakthrough novella. Who???

126. 13
This statue in Vancouver
commemorates the first
direct showdown between
these two rivals at the
British Empire games in the
1950s.
Identify both

129. 14
Officially part of the Nellis Air Force base. Where was this
photograph taken???

132. 15
In 1987 he released a jazz album called Pantera in collaboration with
Jose Flores. The album gained much critical acclaim but was a
commercial failure. Who??

134. 16
Fiona Walker nee Broom
photographed recently at
an exhibition on sports as
a subject in art, held at
Birmingham‟s Barber
Institute of Fine Arts this
summer. What has been
blanked out on the easel
behind her???

137. 17
Buddy Starcher released this spoken recording called History repeats
itself in 1966
“Glory, glory, hallelujah
His truth is marching on
This is a strange but true story
Which proves that history
Does repeat itself
And the events depicted here
Happened just one hundred years apart”
Over the years this has become quite popular on the domain of the
email forward as well. What was the subject of the recording

140. 18
A popular tale has Baron Munchausen
pulling himself out of a quicksand pit
by his hair. In America the story was
often told with a particular part of the
wardrobe replacing the hair.
In the world of technology thus
____________ came to be
synonymous with the use of a few small
tools to carry out large tasks, a usage
that survives even today.
What is the term in question???