Content from the Final Round at Waves Open Quiz 2022, BITS Goa

1. Lucky Kaul
Crafted and hosted by – Lucky Kaul
Waves Open Quiz 2022 – Finals
Lucky Kaul

2.  3 Rounds
 R1 –Written – 6 questions
 R2 – Clockwise Dries – 11 questions
 R3 – Anticlockwise Dries – 11 questions

3.  Written
 10 points for a correct answer, part points where applicable
 No negatives

5.  One of the stories goes that Johann Diesbach was attempting to
create a red concoction by mixing alum, iron sulphate and potash.
 When the initial potash ran out, he requested for more from his
colleague. Contrary to his expectations, a different output emerged,
owing to the new potash containing the additional item pictured.
 Synthesized in the early 1700’s in Berlin, this made its way to the Far
East in the 1820’s, eventually landing in someone’s hands in 1829.
 What output?What does the above explain in a creative context?
 Image follows.

7.  The book Inferior by Angela Saini discusses several instances of how
the scientific world got women wrong, excluded and painted them
as people who were biologically lower in stature to men.
 One such instance used to explain the above was the case of two
Britishers Kathleen Lonsdale and Marjory Stephenson in 1945 – a
first in 285 years.
 While Stephenson is mentioned in the book, one might argue that
an 1838 event preceded the above – however that is only a case of
patronage and not the real deal.
 What first was this? What was the 1838 instance?

8.  In linguistics, prothesis is the addition of a sound or syllable at the
beginning of the word without changing its meaning or structure.
 TheWikipedia entry for this page describes prothesis for several
languages, including for usage of English words by Hindi speakers.
 How exactly is the above prothesis explained?

9.  One of the older currencies ofArgentina that existed between 1985
and 1991 got its name from a word meaning ‘South’.
 The currency name can also be obtained by fitting one more letter in
the name of a sector leader headquartered in Ahmedabad.
 Which currency?Which company?

10.  Louise St. Jacques is an American who is in her present job since 1988.
 Only the fourth person to ever have had this job, the canvas of her
work essentially is a 35-pound silver and nickel alloy. Her tools consist
of a hammer and different sets of punches that include uppercases
and lowercases. Other than the usual work, another recurring aspect
of her job occurs every 13 years, involving a set of upto 676.
 What is Jacques responsible for?What is the other recurring aspect?

11.  Loren Brichter is a designer who worked forTweetie (an iOS app),
that was later acquired byTwitter.
 In a 2012 interview, he describes how he simplified an irritating part
of the browsing experience then, and, owing to a lack of real estate
on the screen, made it a natural extension of the experience itself.
 The same year, another team of app designers took inspiration from
Brichter and came up with a feature to simulate a more natural
movement when holding a phone.
 What did Brichter add toTweetie? What was the 2012 feature?

12. 

14.  One of the stories goes that Johann Diesbach was attempting to
create a red concoction by mixing alum, iron sulphate and potash.
 When the initial potash ran out, he requested for more from his
colleague. Contrary to his expectations, a different output emerged,
owing to the new potash containing the additional item pictured.
 Synthesized in the early 1700’s in Berlin, this made its way to the Far
East in the 1820’s, eventually landing in someone’s hands in 1829.
 What output?What does the above explain in a creative context?
 Image follows.

18.  The book Inferior by Angela Saini discusses several instances of how
the scientific world got women wrong, excluded and painted them
as people who were biologically lower in stature to men.
 One such instance used to explain the above was the case of two
Britishers Kathleen Lonsdale and Marjory Stephenson in 1945 – a
first in 285 years.
 While Stephenson is mentioned in the book, one might argue that
an 1838 event preceded the above – however that is only a case of
patronage and not the real deal.
 What first was this? What was the 1838 instance?

21.  In linguistics, prothesis is the addition of a sound or syllable at the
beginning of the word without changing its meaning or structure.
 TheWikipedia entry for this page describes prothesis for several
languages, including for usage of English words by Hindi speakers.
 How exactly is the above prothesis explained?

23.  One of the older currencies ofArgentina that existed between 1985
and 1991 got its name from a word meaning ‘South’.
 The currency name can also be obtained by fitting one more letter in
the name of a sector leader headquartered in Ahmedabad.
 Which currency?Which company?

25.  Louise St. Jacques is an American who is in her present job since 1988.
 Only the fourth person to ever have had this job, the canvas of her
work essentially is a 35-pound silver and nickel alloy. Her tools consist
of a hammer and different sets of punches that include uppercases
and lowercases. Other than the usual work, another recurring aspect
of her job occurs every 13 years, involving a set of upto 676.
 What is Jacques responsible for?What is the other recurring aspect?

28.  Loren Brichter is a designer who worked forTweetie (an iOS app),
that was later acquired byTwitter.
 In a 2012 interview, he describes how he simplified an irritating part
of the browsing experience then, and, owing to a lack of real estate
on the screen, made it a natural extension of the experience itself.
 The same year, another team of app designers took inspiration from
Brichter and came up with a feature to simulate a more natural
movement when holding a phone.
 What did Brichter add toTweetie? What was the 2012 feature?

32.  Dries, Clockwise
 12 questions
 +10/-5 on Pounce, +10/0 on Bounce
 No partial pounce allowed
 Unanswered question goes to next team

33.  In an interview to The Quint in 2017, the lady pictured recalled how
at a time in the mid-50’s, all the floors of the Cowasji Jehangir Hall in
Mumbai were crowded with people not allowed to protest to avoid
face-to-face confrontation for their own safety.
 Her act (that lasted for few years) came about a year after guns and
two wireless sets were recovered in 1954 from a place 150km away.
 What was the source of the paraphernalia recovered in 1954?What
act, creating waves of impact among a group of people?
 Image follows.

38.  The JBL ________, as inferable from the name, was indeed one of
the company’s most exemplar products, remaining in its product
portfolio from 1957 to 1983. Launched by an executive who headed
JBL for more than a decade, much of the time invested in building a
single unit of this system went into cabinet finishing.
 The blank is also the name of an Indian brand founded in 1975 in
Kottayam.With an annual production capacity exceeding 14 Crores,
one of the raw materials in its products is one abundantly found in
its state of origin.
 Which product?

41.  Because the Earth wobbles a little and its axial position determines it,
the timing of seasons has slightly differed over the years compared to
predictions made years ago (known as axial precession).
 For a similar reason, even though the Sun traverses an ecliptic path,
the constellation it may be in during a given time of the year may
change over thousands of years.
 The positions of the Sun more than two millennia earlier, therefore,
proved to be a ‘turning’ point in a nomenclature that stayed on.
 What nomenclature?

44.  The success of the 1970 film Airport made Universal Studios create
another disaster film, whose inspiration came from an event next
year at a location bordered by the San Andreas Fault to the north.
 The executive producer Jennings Lang hired a screenwriter in the
summer of 1972, who, then in full swing, delivered the draft script in
August. However, the very detailed script put those at Universal in a
fix – whether to cut the script or increase the budget. In addition to
the above, the screenwriter also left the team soon – and it was only
with the help of magazine writer George Fox that the script was
finally completed and the film released in 1974.
 Which film? Who was the original screenwriter? Why did the said
person leave the team?

48.  Yelp is a local-search service powered by a crowdsourced review
forum, through which people can get to know about local
businesses, one of them being restaurants.
 In July 2016, it integrated with something and subsequently offered
a certain parameter for users to include to find restaurants in order
to take a break and refuel themselves after a strenuous activity (and
get back to doing it quickly).This proved fruitful as it also increased
the revenues of restaurants (and other local businesses in general).
 What exactly didYelp integrate with, satisfying much of its
audience? ORWhat was the additional parameter offered?

52.  Cyanogen Chloride (NCCl) is a deadly blood agent and is also in
the banned list of chemical weapons in the US.Trichloramine
(NCl3) is a similar, toxic, explosive liquid.
 Back in 2014, researchers at Purdue University had investigated a
particular activity that results in the formation of the above,
(possibly) not to the knowledge of those comforting themselves
in the process. It was said that while the amount of the above
formed isn’t alarming, it was important to be aware of the same.
 What exactly were the guys over at Purdue investigating the
science behind?

55.  It is said that the lead singer and guitarist of this band composed the
opening lyrics of this late 20th century song over the phone with his
girlfriend. Since he held the phone with one hand, he plucked the
open strings of the guitar playing a standard E-minor chord with the
other hand, that eventually made up the first two bars of the song.
 The lyric beautifully captured how the guy and his girlfriend
maintained a very strong relationship in spite of the guy touring
around the world – this being the most important thing for both.
 Which famous song?

57. So close, no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

58.  Initially, mountaineers were tasked with a particular job on this 71-
foot sloped structure. In the 1990s, a crane was used for the same
purpose, with a robot vehicle having suction cups made only in 2002.
 On its 30th anniversary in 2018, one key company that helped in its
making, partnered with the structure to create a series of objects
called Les 793 eclats, using specialized raw material.
 What job were the mountaineers tasked with? Which company
launched Les 793 eclats?

62.  In 1989, the then producer for the Academy Awards, Allen Carr
brought in a subtle change in the Oscars, seen even today.
 Lucia Schultz, the motion picture librarian remarked that this
change was made probably because Carr felt that everyone was
deserving of a victory.This small piece of trivia made a comeback for
a few days in 2010 because there were speculations about the show
returning to the way it was before the change in 1988.
 What subtle change in the world of Oscars did Carr bring about?

65.  HV Kamath was a member of the Constituent Assembly. During one
of the debates on 17 October 1949, he proposed an amendment in
the Preamble. In reply to this, Rohini Chaudhuri asked him to be
more inclusive, whileThanu Pillai remarked how this amendment
would infringe upon a fundamental right.
 While it did not make to the Preamble, it made it to theThird
Schedule of the Constitution, which comes into use few days after
elections. One interesting case where this schedule was taken a
deeper look at was that of Umesh Challiyil, an MLA from Kerala – the
Supreme Court eventually ruling against his plea.
 What did HV Kamath try to get included in the Preamble? Why was
Umesh Challiyil’s case declared as unconstitutional?

69.  Marli Renfro was a former showgirl who
appeared on the September 1960 cover of
Playboy, in addition to working as a
Playboy Bunny.
 However, given her unperturbed free spirit,
she famously appeared somewhere a
quarter before featuring on Playboy (for
which praises poured in heavily).This also
led to another person giving up on an
activity for almost 35 years.
 What was Renfro’s role?What activity?

73.  Dries, Anticlockwise
 11 questions
 +10/-5 on Pounce, +10/0 on Bounce
 No partial pounce allowed
 Unanswered question goes to next team

74.  Maka Zai is an upcoming rum brand that
has established base in Goa and is
spreading its wings around steadily.
 Its packaging pays tribute to the creature
pictured, also symbolized by a State’s
Sports Ministry during a 2018 event.
 Which creature?What 2018 event?

78.  Frauenkirche is one of Dresden’s oldest churches, destroyed during
the Allied firebombing and reconstructed between 1994 and 2005.
 Most of the church was rebuilt using its original plans, giving an
exact idea of where to place the pieces. However, when it came to
the oak doors that served the entrance and its carvings, the builders
did not have a good idea of them, which created an obstacle in their
mission of almost perfect replication. Something rung bells in the
minds of the builders, and they figured a way out of the conundrum.
 How exactly did the builders complete the reconstruction?

80. So close, no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

81.  Patrick Bauer was a Frenchman who had completed a 200-mile trek
in 1986.Wanting to make the world experience it, he launched an
event spanning a distance of 251 km, which is six times the usual
distance of such an event.
 To heat things up, the event is usually held in the April-May part of
the year, with only the 2020 edition scheduled in September owing
to the pandemic (which was eventually cancelled). It also involves
arranging GPS beacons, security vehicles and multiple medical staff.
 Where exactly does the event take place?

84.  Their earlier models were primarily named after their horsepower
capacity. At a point in time, their parent company was not
comfortable with their production as in their opinion the acquisition
was done only to increase the parent’s production.
 Post the 2-digit HP models, fearing that the parent did not have a
long-term view for the brand, the first 3-digit horsepower model
was developed in secret, but it impressed the then leader of the
parent company, who allowed producing it in 1968 to huge success.
 However, closer home, this model is best known owing to an event
17 years after this model’s launch.
 Which specific model?What celebrated event?

87.  College 1, located in Oxford, was founded in 1341 by the chaplain of
Philippa of Hainault, who was the wife of King Edward III.
 College 2, located in Cambridge, was founded by Margaret ofAnjou
in 1448 and re-founded by Elizabeth Woodville in 1465.
 Which two colleges? Reflective of its origins, how is College 2
different from College 1 in its name?

90.  Ilya Mechnikov was a zoologist who was awarded the 1908 Nobel
Prize in Medicine, and is honoured as the ‘father of innate immunity’.
 A Greek immigrant to Spain in 1916, seeing the malnutrition and
disease around, got inspired by Mechnikov’s work (that he did at a
particular institution), and started working on something that was
common to his land, but foreign to Spain at that time.The end result
of the above was a venture named after the immigrant’s son.
 Which institute was Mechnikov a researcher at?What venture did
the Greek immigrant establish, today known as a French company?

93.  The OlympicTorch of the 2000
SummerOlympics intended to
symbolize three things – one of
them being the blue waters of
the Indian and Pacific Oceans
surrounding it.
 Name the other two – reflective
of Australian identity globally.

96.  Nicole Smith-Ludvik is a professional adventurer and skydiver. Living
around airports in childhood, she enjoyed climbing high trees, etc.
 In what could be said as a dream come true, she was recruited by an
Asian employer for a marketing project in 2021 – in which she along
with a crew took a very long elevator followed by climbing a narrow
staircase for more than an hour before sunrise to be in position for the
exact moment of dawn. She was then attached to a safety harness to
a specially designed platform.This project was undertaken twice – the
second time in Jan 2022 during an international event that also hosted
the 2021World Chess Championship.
 Which employer?Where specifically was Ludvik positioned? What
international event?

100.  The inner space in this famous complex in a Northwestern Indian city
has four entrances – the Northeast Peacock, the Southeast Lotus, the
Southwest Rose and the Northwest ____, also known as the Leheriya.
Appropriately dedicated to Lord Ganesha, it bears an envious colour
and represents the first of the recurring four in order.
 The above entrance also prominently finds place in a 2008 work.
 What colour?What do the entrances represent?Which 2008 work?

104.  This locality in the national capital was re-named after the country
during the French Revolution as a rejection of religion, with the
original name restored only when Napoleon came to power.
 Affected by post-war economic crises, it got another shot at
prominence owing to a 1992 large-scale award given to the French,
implying urban renewal, economic development and social revival.
 Three decades later, this locality was called upon at the eleventh
hour to fulfil a purpose in the same broad field as the 90’s context.
 Which locality? What 1992 award?What was it called for three
decades later, and why?

109.  In its powdered form, Sodium Hydroxide is more or less inactive. It’s
hygroscopic, which means it likes water so much it will eventually
just start taking moisture from the atmosphere.When it does get
wet it turns into a strong alkali, and can cause a mess to the skin –
thus it needs some form of moisture to become active. Further
reaction is characterized by the Hydroxide part of NaOH reacting
with fatty acids provided by the skin.
 The above is the explanation behind what from the fag end of the
previous century, that was seen around the world?
 What was the exact source of the moisture provided to initiate the
reaction back then?