Anatomy of a Quizzer-The General Quiz

Venue: A.C. Dutta Bhavan, Cotton College.
Date: 25th Dec, 2016
QM: Bibhuti Handique

Prelims
Highest 25.5/30
Cut-Off 18.5/30

Every year, ‘Canada Postal Office’ employs eleven thousand volunteers at
multiple locations across Canada.The job of the volunteers is to answer a
million letters one by one that are addressed to the Special Postal Code -
‘H0H0H0’ from around the world towards the end of the year.While
answering the letters, the volunteers must pretend to be “someone” and they
should answer each letter in the same language in which it was originally
written. In 1982,Canada Post rolled out an initiative across Canada and
pledged that every letter sent in would receive a reply.
On whose behalf do these volunteers need to answer these letters?

“The Sad Adventures of Big and LittleWillie” was a popular comic strip
written by William Haselden that ran in the Daily Mirror in 1915. It poked fun
at KaiserWilhelm (BigWillie) and his son, the Crown Prince (LittleWillie) and
was so popular that the strips were made into a book. Inspired by this comic
strip, something iconic that was invented in the autumn of 1915 was named
as “LittleWillie” in order to get the public interested in this new
advancement.The generic name adopted by the British for this iconic
invention was a security measure to conceal their original purpose. What was
thus being created that can been seen today at a museum in Bovington,
Dorset?

Which food item is said to have been brought to Medieval India as a part of
the Muslim trade by the Persian-speaking invaders that is still known by the
name ‘zoolabiya’ or ‘zulubiya’ in Iran and ‘Jeri’ in Nepal till date?
However we Indians, often associate it with festivals and we know it with a
different name that is a slight variation from the original Persian name.

“Going Solo” is the second volume of a two-part memoir by a British writer.
It tells about the writer’s voyage toAfrica, describing the various strange
people he meets.He eventually joined the war as a squadron pilot in
the RoyalAir Force and was one of the last Allied pilots to withdraw
from Greece during the German invasion, taking part in the air Battle of
Athens on 20 April 1941. After Greece fell to the Nazis, he went to
the Middle East to fight French pilots after staying for a brief time
inAlexandria, Egypt.
Who was the eminent writer of ‘Going Solo’?

There are many conflicting reports of the possible source of its origin. Some
say that it originated in medieval times with the etiquette of knights, others
say it appeared later in the courts of British nobles in colonial times. Still
others say it dates to the Romans who would approach each other and
would do this to make sure that the other man was not carrying any
weapon.
The Egyptian hieroglyphic that depicts this represents the verb ‘to
give’. It represented the legend of the handing over of power from a god to
an earthly ruler.
What am I rambling about?

“Love Me” is a 1984 released music album sang by a Canto-pop and Mando-
pop star. Born in Hong-Kong, the singer has released 11 studio albums, nine
compilation albums receiving Japan’s Best Foreign Singer Award in 1984.
However according to him, the proud moment in his life came only last month
when he became the first from his community to achieve a certain distinction.
Just identify the singer.

‘Extremadura’ is an autonomous community of
western Spain. One of the major pillars of economy for
this community is a cheap, low quality product
produced annually in large quantities since the year
1945 that has been in great demand in spite of its
relatively bad texture compared to similar products
from other communities. The Government of Spain
and the European Union pays due importance to this
product as it has greatly helped to boost Extremadura’s
economy and in the growth of the region.
Using the given information as clue, tell me what
special product is catered to by the ‘Extremadura’
community?

Tomatoes used in ‘LaTomatina’ Festival

In the mid-1930s several plain looking jars were discovered near Baghdad,
Iraq.Wilhelm König, an assistant at the National Museum of Iraq authored a
paper offering the hypothesis that these jars might served a unique purpose
so far their appearance and their contents were concerned.
These jars are claimed to be the predecessors of which modern day device
that we often encounter in our daily lives?

Batteries.
The jars were known as the
Baghdad batteries

The Chilkur BalajiTemple is an ancient Hindu
temple near Hyderabad. SriVenkateswara
Balaji deity is worshiped here and it has more
than one lakh devotees paying a visit every
week. However after a number of incidents of
people praying to the deity including several
students who applied for US universities for
getting ‘something’ and their wishes coming
true, this temple became famously known by
another name.
What is the more popular nick-name of the
Chilkur BalajiTemple?

These came into being only in the 1930s when Swedish inventor Gideon
Sundback was trying to come up with a modern and quicker alternative to an
everyday activity.
The tool came to be named after a comment made by an owner of a clothing
company who said, “What we need is an action word, something that will
dramatize the way the thing ____, so why not call it a _____?”
What commonly used tool, that now bears the acronym of a Japanese
company which has a monopoly on its production?

This asana inYoga requires the
performer to raise like a horizontal
stick holding the floor with both palms
while the body is supported by the
elbows. Performing this asana not
only tones up the abdominal portion
of the body but also strengthens the
fore arms, wrists and elbows.What is
the name of this asana that gets its
name from something in the ‘animal’
world?

It is a clinical sign in which areas of darkened and thickened skin are seen
on the lower thighs and elbows. It occurs in smokers with longstanding
severe ’chronic obstructive pulmonary disease’.The sign occurs because
patients with COPD tend to sit forwards with their arms resting on their
thighs, leading to chronic erythema of the skin at the points of contact.
Over time, haemosiderin released from red blood cells trapped in the skin
is released causing a brown discolouration of the skin.
What is this sign called?

V. G. Siddhartha is an Indian businessmanfrom Karnataka who was
awarded Entrepreneur of the year title in 2003 by The EconomicTimes for
"crafting a successful pan Indian brand for a commodity business and giving
Indian consumers a new lifestyle experience that is within reach of the
common man". His famous brainchild had its first outlet set up on
July 11, 1996, at Brigade Road, Bengaluru. In 2012, the logo was changed to
the current logo, which the company stated was to showcase it as a place
to talk.
What am I rambling about?

"Heart" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys which reached #1 on the UK
Singles Chart for three weeks inApril 1988.
In the Indian context, this song is special because it inspired the background
music of a famous Bollywood song from a 1992 movie.
Which bollywood song?Also name the Bollywood singer

Saat Samundar Paar;
Sadhana Sargam

An English natural philosopher, scientist
and polymath, he was at one time the curator of
experiments of the Royal Society and a Surveyor of
the City of London in the aftermath of the Great
Fire. However, he is best remembered for making a
landmark discovery in the world of biology in the
year 1666 which he named as “something” due to
its resemblance to small rooms inhabited
by Christian monks in a monastery.
What did this gentleman discover way back in
1666?

The Beatles were never invited to play in Soviet Russia, and their albums were
considered as “capitalist pollution” by the Soviet government. In spite of this ban,
the state music company was producing recordings by the Beatles on real vinyl discs
at the expense of a huge sum of money. As vinyl was scarce and expensive, student
teenagers sought alternatives until they discovered that music could be etched onto
something which were sheet-like, transparent, similar to vinyl in thickness and were
easy to press upon.Thus, the discarded ones were collected and the music was
pressed onto them using a modified record player. Fans called the albums "music on
the ______".
What did those Soviet teenagers decide to use in lieu of vinyl?

Between December 1968 and October 1969, the San Francisco Bay Area
Press received a series of twenty letters which included four cryptograms.
Of the four cryptograms, only one has been solved till date.
One of the letters started with the salutation “Dear Editor this is the
________ speaking” (where he revealed his name for the first time)
Who was this notorious murdered whose crimes, letters and cryptograms
to police and newspapers inspired many movies, novels and television
productions including a 2007American mystery-thriller film directed
by David Fincher?

PhanThi Kim Phuc is a 53 year oldVietnamese-Canadian woman who was
named a UNESCOGoodwillAmbassador in 1994. In the year 1997, she
established the first Kim Phúc Foundation in the U.S. in the year 1997, with
the aim of providing medical and psychological assistance to child victims of
war. How is PhanThi Kim Phuc better known?

Shown in the next slide is a defensive fortification in the Roman
province of Britannia.The largest Roman artefact anywhere, it runs a total
of 73 miles in northern England. It was built by Emperor Hadrian in the
north of Britain in 122 AD to keep the barbarians (known these days as the Scottish)
out of the realm. Regarded as a British cultural icon, it is one of Britain's
major ancient tourist attractions and was designated as a UNESCOWorld
Heritage Site in 1987.
According to American novelist and short story writer “X”, this structure
directly inspired him to create one of the most important elements in his
most famous creation.
Solve for “X” and the element.

X- George RR Martin,TheWall In Games OfThrones

He was a notable writer of Assamese literature, from the village of Nahoroni
in Golaghat. His first fiction novel titled ‘La Sa Gu’ appeared in installments
in the pages of the monthly magazine ‘Banhi’ in 1945-46. A president
of Assam Sahitya Sabha, he won the SahityaAkademi Award in the year
1972.
Name him and the work for which he won the SahityaAkademi Award.

Syed Abdul Malik
“Aghori Atmar Kahini”

Batul the Great is a popular Bengali comic strip character created
by Narayan Debnath.With an aura of invincibility, Batul is able to take on
tanks, airplanes and missiles. By Debnath’s admission, he thought up the
idea of the superhero while returning from College Street, Calcutta. He has
remarked that the character of Batul was influenced by one of his close
friends.
Who was this close friend of Narayan Debnath that inspired the character
of Batul?

India was scheduled to play the second test with Pakistan in Delhi in
February 1999. However, hours before the match, the pitch was dug up by
Shiv Sena as a mark of protest.The ground officials raced against time to
get the pitch green lit for the match. Little did anyone know that the
digging of the pitch became the cause of a historic feat on the fifth day of
the test.
What was the feat?

‘Massacre in Korea’ is a expressionistic painting by Pablo Picasso which is
seen as a criticism ofAmerican intervention in the KoreanWar. It depicts
the 1950 Sinchon Massacre, a mass killing carried out in the county
of Sinchon, North Korea.This work of Picasso is directly drawn from
another famous work of the year 1814 which shows Napoleon's soldiers
executing Spanish civilians under the orders of Joachim Murat.
Identify the original painting and the painter.

TheThird of May 1808
By FranciscoGoya

The famous fur coats, hats and white shirts made by British costume
designer Phyllis Dalton was worn by a Hollywood star in a 1965 Hollywood
film.The costumes later inspired a certain look (which has the same name
as that of the film) motivating designers to use fur trimmed collar and cuffs
on their winter coats again that the Hollywood star actually wore on-
screen for the 1965 epic romantic drama film.
What name is give to such kind of look?

This is the structure of a graphite molecule that was synthesized by the
Royal Society of Chemistry and IBM Research Zurich in the year 2012 in
tribute to something.With a 1.2 nanometre width, about 100,000 times
thinner than a human hair, the scientists claimed it to be the smallest
possible structure of something. Scientists at IBM Zurich made use of
a complex technique known as noncontact atomic force microscopy to build
this structure.
Now the question is it could be the smallest possible structure of what?

Olympic Rings
’Olympicene’ molecule

A feudal custom recorded in the early 19th century England regulated the use
of firewood from royal forests by peasants.The peasants would be allowed to
take as much deadwood as they could pull down and cut with ease using
these two devices.
What phrase is supposed to trace its origin to this custom?

In 1964, “X” told Filmfare during an interview about her journey from Burma,
"we trekked alternately through wilderness and hundreds of villages, surviving on
the generosity of people, for we were penniless, with no food and few clothes.
Occasionally, we met British soldiers who provided us with transport, found us
refuge and treated our blistered feet and bruised bodies and fed us. By the time we
reached Dibrugarh in Assam, our group had been reduced to half.Some had fallen
ill and been left behind, some had died of starvation and disease. My mother
miscarried along the way.The survivors were admitted to the Dibrugarh hospital
for treatment. Mother and I had been virtually reduced to skeletons and my
brother's condition was critical.We spent two months in hospital.When we
recovered, we moved to Calcutta“
Who is this lady “X”?

This is a Christian Rock band from Mizoram which was formed in the year
2005. It is considered one of the premier north east Indian bands.
After the great success of their first album, the gospel band has released
its self titled second album comprising of 10 different tracks. According to
the lead singer of the band, the name of the band comes from a figure
in Christianity who, according to the Bible, traveled with Jesus as one of his
followers. She is said to have witnessed Jesus' crucifixion and the first
person to see Jesus after his resurrection.
Just name the band.

Magdalene,
named after ‘Mary Magdalene’

Capt. Francis Jenkins was the commissioner of Assam from 1834 to 1861.
He was the first British official to send a dispatch to the "Government of
India" in 1834 for "taking some active measures to provide instruction for
the Assamese youth" and recommended the establishment of schools "to
impart English education in four sadar stations — Gauhati, Derange,
Nowgong and Bishwanath. In 1834, the approval of the "Government of
India", run by the East India Company, came and the school was
established in the same year with 58 students on its rolls with the name
‘Gauhati Seminary’. By what name is ‘Gauhati Seminary’ known to us now?

In Iranian mythology, he is the most celebrated legendary hero best known
for his tragic fight with Esfandiar, the other legendary Iranian hero. He is
always represented as the mightiest of Iranian holy warriors. In Ferdowsi's
Shahnameh, he is the champion of champions and is involved in numerous
stories, constituting some of the most popular parts of the Shahnameh.
However, in Indian context, his name is famous as it is used to describe any
man with concealed abilities which are comparable to those of this
legendary hero.This in turn has given birth to a very popular Hindi phrase to
describe such a man.
Either identify this legendary hero or give me the Hindi phrase.

For any queries/ suggestions:
Mail at bibhutihandique49@gmail.com
Call at +91/ 8876283189

Anatomy of a Quizzer-The General Quiz

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