The College Quiz: 30 Questions of Trivia

The College Quiz
Abhinav Dasgupta | Aditya Gadre | Atul Matthew
28 April 2012

The Elims

Rules:
~ 30 Questions
~ 1 Point for each correct answer

~ Questions 26-30 are starred and will be used in case of
ties
~ In case teams are still tied, we have a sudden death
starting from Question 1

~ Please switch off all Cellphones, tablets, PCs or any other
electronic device that might be of help during this quiz
~ QM's decision will be final and binding all that jazz

The College Quiz
Abhinav | Aditya | Atul

What was described as Heptanesia to the
Greek geographer Ptolemy in 150 CE?

1 The College Quiz

Bombay / Mumbai (city of 7 islands)

A The College Quiz

Who is the subject of this BBC documentary?
What is the "most important moment of his
working life" ? (1/2 point each)

2 The College Quiz

Andrew Wiles
Talking about cracking Fermat's Last
Theorem
(1/2 point each)

A The College Quiz

In 1860, Henry Varnum Y published History of Railroads
and Canals in the United States, an attempt to compile
comprehensive information about the financial and
operational state of U.S. railroad companies

In 1906, Luther Lee Blake founded the X Statistics Bureau,
with the view to provide financial information on non-
railroad companies.

In 1941, they merged to become X and Y's Corp. In 1966,
the company was acquired by the McGraw-Hill Companies,
and now encompasses the Financial Services division.

Name the company

3 The College Quiz

Standard & Poor / S&P
No half points

A The College Quiz

This region of South Sudan gets its distinctly
western name because of its position relative to a
geographical marker. However this is odd
considering that the southernmost point of the
region goes only up to 3 degrees N.
Give me the name of the geographical marker it is
named after.

4 The College Quiz

The Equator
The region is Equatoria

A The College Quiz

"Hearts of Darkness" is a 1991 documentary film
about the production of a famous movie. Using
behind the scenes footage, and narrated by the
director's wife, it chronicles how production
problems including bad weather, actors' health
and other issues delayed the film, increasing costs
and nearly destroyed the life and career of the
renowned director.

Which movie?

5 The College Quiz

Apocalypse Now

A The College Quiz

This place was originally called Deogiri. It was
renamed and declared the capital of the
empire by Muhammad bin Tughlaq following
which the entire population of Delhi was
shifted here.

Name this "City of Prosperity" .

6 The College Quiz

Daulatabad

A The College Quiz

Jeff Lindsay is a crime novelist who has
written 10 novels to date. All his novels
except for four (Tropical Depression: A Novel
of Suspense ; Dream Land: A Novel of the
UFO Coverup ; Time Blender ; and
Dreamchild) feature the character he is most
famous for creating.

Name this character

7 The College Quiz

Dexter

A The College Quiz

In Robert Heinlein's "Have Spacesuit Will Travel", he
includes these 'prices' which are actually representative
of another value. What?
MERCURY $0.39
VENUS $0.72
EARTH $1.00
MARS $1.50
ASTEROIDS (assorted prices, unimportant)
JUPITER $5.20
SATURN $9.50
URANUS $19.00
NEPTUNE $30.00
PLUTO $39.50

8 The College Quiz

Astronomical Unit

A The College Quiz

“The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins is
dedicated to this author.
In Memoriam
_____________(1952-2001)
'Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful
without having to believe that there are fairies at
the bottom of it too?'

Who?

9 The College Quiz

Douglas Adams

A The College Quiz

In 1933, a collector Oscar Scheibe was sold a
specimen of a then undocumented species of
blind cave beetle.
Its species name was a dedication to a head
of state at the time. Despite the seemingly
inappropriate name, taxonomic convention
suggests that the scientific names cannot be
changed, hence the name persists.
Who is this named after?

10 The College Quiz

Adolf Hitler

A The College Quiz

Which game, developed by Leslie Scott and
marketed by Parker Brothers, derives its
name from the Swahili for "to build" ?

11 The College Quiz

Jenga

A The College Quiz

The FBI recently launched an Anti-Financial Fraud
education programme. They roped in a leading Hollywood
actor for the promos. An extract of his speech:

".... Our economy is increasingly dependent on the success
and the integrity of the financial markets. If a deal looks
too good to be true, it probably is. For more information
on how you can identify securities fraud, or to report
insider trading, contact your local FBI office"

Which actor?

12 The College Quiz

Michael Douglas , who played Gordon Gekko
in Wall Street

A The College Quiz

“To order or command” (Latin)
“I torture” (Latin)
“Disappear like the word” (Aramaic)

What, specifically, are being referred to?

13 The College Quiz

The unforgivable curses in Harry Potter

A The College Quiz

From Asterix and the Gladiator. Tribute to which
painting?

14 The College Quiz

The Raft of the Medusa

A The College Quiz

Identify this actor making his debut in a cult
American TV Show.

15 The College Quiz

Omi Vaidya of 3 Idiots fame

A The College Quiz

On his 72nd birth anniversary (14 March 1951), the
photographer Arthur Sasse was trying to persuade
him to smile for the camera. However, sick of
having smiled for photographers all day, our man
decided to do something completely different.
What resulted is one of the most widely
reproduced photographs in history, with the
original being auctioned in 2009 at $74,324.

Which photograph?

16 The College Quiz

A The College Quiz

This word meaning temporary / semi-
permanent military or police quarters is
derived from the French word meaning
'corner' or 'district'.
In South Asia, the term also describes
permanent military stations.
What word?

17 The College Quiz

Cantonment

A The College Quiz

This cartoon by E.P. Unny
in The Indian Express is
a take on the title of the
1959 movie that launched
the career of this year's
Dada Saheb Phalke
awardee.

What does Unny call this
beacon of Journalism of
Courage?

18 The College Quiz

What song did this tune "inspire"?

19 The College Quiz

Pyar ki Pungi/ Pungi Song from Agent Vinod

A The College Quiz

Discovered by William Gregor in 1791, this metal –
the 9th most abundant in the Earth’s crust – finds
ample usage in aviation and marine technology,
largely on account of its resistance to corrosion
and tensile strength.
That apart, we see it used for a specific purpose in
cricket and its name (just the name – not the metal
itself) as a significant brand in the electronic
payments industry.

Name the metal.

20 The College Quiz

Titanium

A The College Quiz

What you hear is an extract of Beethoven's
Wellington's Victory.
This tune, originally composed the night after
the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709, was used to
represent the French defeat in the
composition.

What song?

21 The College Quiz

For he’s a jolly good fellow

A The College Quiz

In which town would you find the only temple in
India dedicated to Krishna's consort Satyabhama?
The temple was established by one Kondama Raju.

22 The College Quiz

Puttaparthi - Kondama Raju was the
grandfather of Sathyanarayana Raju, a.k.a.
Sathya Sai Baba

A The College Quiz

These ships have certain traits most normal ships
lack: a strengthened hull, a particular shape
designed for penetration, and much more power
than normal ships to overcome the resistance
faced in travelling.
In corporate jargon, the name by which these ships
are called also refers to introductory events in
training or similar programs to help people get to
know each other and buy into the purpose of the
event.
What term?

23 The College Quiz

Ice breaker

A The College Quiz

On which in-the-news organization's website
would you read this?

WE ARE A GLOBAL MOVEMENT
We are storytellers, activists and everyday people
who use the power of media to inspire young people
to help end the longest running armed conflict in
Africa. We make documentaries, tour them around
the world, and lobby our nation’s leaders to make
ending this conflict a priority.

24 The College Quiz

Invisible Children - in the news because of
Kony 2012
No Points for Kony / Kony 2012 or any other
variants.
We specifically asked for the organisation.

A The College Quiz

The native Ngai Tahu name for this city is
Karaitiana, which is a transliteration of the
English word 'Christian'. The name by which
we know it was suggested in 1848 by John R.
Godley, who wanted to name the city after
the college he attended at Oxford University.

Which 'religious' city am I talking about?

25 The College Quiz

Christchurch

A The College Quiz

In 2009, The Mirror carried a column on the 10 greatest winning streaks in
sporting history. The inclusions were:

1. Jahangir Khan’s 555 squash matches
2. Esther Vergeer’s 250 sets and 354 games won in wheelchair tennis
3. Australia winning 16 Test cricket matches
4. Arsenal winning 14 Premier League matches in 2002
5. 122 races won by Ed Moses from 1977 to 1987
6. Julio Cesar Chavez’s 88 boxing bouts
7. _____________________________
8. 55 races won by the Puerto Rican thoroughbred Camarero
9. Rafael Nadal’s 81 clay court victories
10. Sir Steve Redgrave being unbeaten in 5 consecutive Olympic Games

The controversy that ensued was largely on account of No.7, which a lot of critics
panned as an achievement not determined entirely by the individual / team’s
efforts.
So, what did The Mirror call the 7th greatest winning streak of all time? The
streak, may we add, is unbroken even today.

26 The College Quiz

Undertaker 20 – 0 at Wrestlemania

A The College Quiz

Since 2008, This community has been sending the
Prime Minister (MMS) postcards with a rather
unusual demand - a dedicated 24 hour
Doordarshan TV channel of their own.
They argue that it is the only language among the
22 listed in the Eighth Schedule of the
Constitution without a DD channel of its own.
MP Ram Jethmalani has also written to the I&B
ministry with the same demand.

Community or Language?

27 The College Quiz

Sindhi

A The College Quiz

According to a legend, an invading Norse army was
attempting to sneak up at night upon a Scottish
army's encampment. During this operation,one
barefoot Norseman had the misfortune to step
upon this flowering plant, causing him to cry out in
pain, thus alerting the Scots to the presence of the
Norse invaders.
This plant also serves as the logo of a 244 year old
company that was in the news recently.

Plant? Company? (1/2 point each)

28 The College Quiz

Thistle / Encyclopedia Britannica (1/2 point
each)

A The College Quiz

The avant garde (not to be confused with our QM)
art movement founded by Asger Oluf Jorn from
Denmark, Christian Dotremont, from Belgium ,
Karel Appel, Constant Anton Nieuwenhuys and
Guillaume Cornelis Beverloo from the Netherlands,
is not named for any creatures but in honour of the
capitals of the home countries of the founders.

Name this art movement.

29 The College Quiz

COBRA
COpenhagen, BRussels, Amsterdam

A The College Quiz

What is being represented?

30 The College Quiz

Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 centuries

A The College Quiz

The College Quiz: 30 Questions of Trivia

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The College Quiz: 30 Questions of Trivia