A general quiz conducted by Arjun Lenan in Prajna Whatsapp group on 02/07/2020. Hope the questions are entertaining, interesting and informative.

1. @arjun_raf

2. Q1
• വെള്ള നിറത്തിലുള്ള ഇടത്തരം െലിപ്പമുള്ള ംം്.
• കടുക്ക
• വെഞ്ചലയം* - മരുത് മരത്തിന്വറ പം
• കകോലരക്ക്
• കകോഴിപ്പരൽ** (Iron Phosphate Hydrate)
• കപരോറ്റുമണൽ
• െലിയ വനലലിക്ക
• എവള്ളണ്ണ
Ingredients for what? What purpose does it serve?
@arjun_raf

3. Answer: അഷ്ടബന്ധം
കേത്രങ്ങളിവല െിത്രഹെും പീഠെും ഉറപ്പിക്കുന്നരിനു ഉപകയോരിക്കുന്ന
അരിംക്തമോയ ഒരുരരം പംയോണ് അഷ്ടബന്ധം.
@arjun_raf

4. Q2
According to Indian Christian belief, St. Thomas, one
of the Apostle, arrived in Kodungallor in AD 50,
established the Eight Churches and evangelised in
present-day Kerala and Tamil Nadu. However, these
churches are collectively named “Ezharappallikal or
Seven and half Churches”, due to a particular reason
regarding one of the church.
These churches are considered to be some of the
oldest churches anywhere in the world and is of
immense importance to the Christian community.
Thiruvithamcode Church is called the ‘Arapalli’ in
among this list due to a particular reason.
What is that reason?
@arjun_raf

5. Answer: The land for the church was given by
the king (അരെൻ) hence the ‘അര’!
@arjun_raf

6. Q3
Medeira, a Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic is its origin. To
preserve meat and fish for a long time, they developed a unique style of
cooking known as Carne de Vinha d'alhos or Meat in Wine & Garlic.
The meat is immersed in a stock composed of vinegar, salt, garlic and wine
to preserve and enhance its flavor. Portuguese chefs carried it to India but
found that Indians didn’t make vinegar. So, they made vinegar from coconut
toddy. The recipe was modified by adding tamarind, black pepper, cloves
and most importantly red chilies.
By what name do we know this dish now?
@arjun_raf

7. Answer: Vindaloo!
@arjun_raf

8. Q4.
In the summer of 1893, two Indians happened to travel together on a ship
from Yokohama in Japan to Vancouver in Canada. X was a prominent
industrialist and Y a 30 year old ascetic. During the course of their journey, Y
proposed the need of science-driven manufacturing in the country rather
than trading semi-finished goods. He also added that Indians must be
trained in science and technology to promote the idea of a self sufficient
nation.
The conversation had a long lasting impression on the industrialist (X) that
soon after returning to India, he wrote a letter to his old companion if he
was ready to head such an institute. His companion politely declined since
he was preoccupied with some other matters.
Unfortunately, the two Indians didn’t live long enough to see their dream
come into effect. Who were these two visionaries and which institute came
into being due to their conversation?
@arjun_raf

9. Answer:
@arjun_raf

10. Q5
Touted as the “modern-day Joan of Arc”, she was a was a
British spy in World War II who served in the Special
Operations Executive for the Allied forces.
Born into the family of Tipu Sultan, she was forced to
move from Russia to London after the breakout of World
War 1. And after the outbreak of World War 2, joined as
an SOE agent she became the first female wireless
operator to be sent from Britain into occupied France to
aid the French Resistance during World War II.
She died a heroic death after she was caught by Gestapo
and executed at Dachau camp.
Identify this famous female spy of WW2 who has Indian
roots.
@arjun_raf

11. Answer: Noor Inayat Khan
@arjun_raf

12. Q6
Back during 1950’s, it came into notice of then PM Nehru, that foreign cosmetic companies
were reaping from the Indian market. This had a negative effect on the foreign exchange
and since he couldn’t ban them, he came up with a solution – start an Indian cosmetic
brand.
Nehru knew that only JRD Tata had the passion and entrepreneurship skills to tackle the
above challenges and personally requested him to come up with a solution, which he
readily accepted.
Since he wanted to compete against foreign brands, he chose to name his brand after a
French opera, which was a French name for a holy Indian figure.
Id this popular brand.
@arjun_raf

13. Answer: LAKME
@arjun_raf

14. Q7
She was born into an orthodox Kannada Brahmin family. Her father never wanted to
become a priest and instead joined a circus where he worked as a trapeze artist, lion tamer,
tightrope walker, and magician.
While teaching his daughter card tricks, he observed that she was figuring out the cards not
by sleight of hand but by memorizing them. The family left the circus toured across India
and later moved to England showcasing her ability to memorize.
After her marriage to a homosexual man, she wrote a pioneering book, The World of
Homosexuals, the first study of Homosexuality in India.
Who am I talking about?
@arjun_raf

15. Answer: Shakuntala Devi
@arjun_raf

16. Q8
This is one of the most shared and also misinterpreted photos of India’s
technological growth. Often shared with captions describing how India had
very poor infrastructure for its science community back then. However, the
truth is a bit different.
RM Vasagam, who worked on the project explains, "It was put on a bullock
cart to provide a non-magnetic environment and to conduct the antenna
test in an open field to remedy the TT&C link problem caused by impedance
matching problem.“
Which famous picture from Indian history am I talking about?
@arjun_raf

17. Answer: APPLE on bullock cart
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18. Q9
Identify the famous personality behind these drawings
@arjun_raf

19. Answer: Bruce Lee
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20. Q10
According to the inventor of this groundbreaking invention, multiple names
were considered for it before arriving at its current one.
Names like ‘Tim’ and ‘Moi’ were discarded as too self-centered.
Other names like ‘Mine of Information’, ‘The Information Mine’ were also
considered but dropped out.
‘The Mesh’ was leading name but it too was dropped because it sounded
too much like ‘mess’.
How do we know this invention now?
@arjun_raf

21. Answer: World Wide Web
@arjun_raf

22. Q11
In this era of consumerism, ergonomics or ‘the comfort of the user while using a product’
plays a huge role in deciding whether a product would succeed in the market or not.
Around 75 years ago, an American innovator had the same thinking. Robert Fair de Graff
realized he could change the way people read books and tap into a huge market by making
a small change. Back then, America only had about 500 bookstores, all clustered in the
biggest 12 cities, and hardcovers cost $2.50 (about $40 in today’s currency).
De Graff partnered with Simon & Schuster to launch Pocket Books in May 1939. The books
were much smaller and priced at just 25 cents and it revolutionized reading habits of
Americans.
What exactly did he introduce to the American readers which caused a huge reading frenzy
in the country?
@arjun_raf

23. Answer: He introduced Paperbacks!
Books published until then were only hardcovers. De Graff cut the cost down by
introducing paperbacks instead!
@arjun_raf

24. Q12
Back in 1961, when the White Revolution had just started, Amul’s advertising
agency was looking for a baby girl to feature on the packet of the milk
powder. Then Sylvester da Cunha of the Advertising and Sales Promotion
company approached X’s father and requested him to share his children's
photographs.
After looking through 712 photos of babies, Sylvester finally chose X’s sister
as the face of Amul. The ad was an instant hit and later when the ad was
released in color format, X's younger sister Smitha became the chosen one.
Interestingly, X too got portrayed in Amul ads, but much later, when he
forayed into politics. Identify X, who’s still a popular politician.
@arjun_raf

25. Answer: Shashi Tharoor
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26. Q13
This brand has an interesting name which has no relation with the
main product they sell. According to the founder of the company,
the name was given suggested by his uncle. It was the 1960s and
the Indo-Pak and Indo-China wars were in the papers and radio.
Among the news, the soldiers being dropped from planes into
battlefield was getting a wide coverage. So, his uncle asked him
to name the brand after a particular thing these soldiers used.
Which brand am I talking about?
@arjun_raf

27. Answer: Parachute oil
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28. Q14
Messerschmitt Me 261 Adolfine was a long range reconnaissance aircraft designed in the
late 1930s for the German air force. The study for the aircraft began in 1937, planned to
undertake a record-breaking long distance flight.
In fact, the original purpose of the aircraft was to do something unique (other than break
the world record) which unfortunately didn’t happen. The aircraft should have flown a
stop flight from Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany to Tokyo in Japan according to the
original plan carrying a special cargo.
What was the original intent of this aircraft?
@arjun_raf

29. Answer: To carry the Olympic torch!
The aircraft was originally intended to carry the Olympic
torch from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (site of the
1936 Winter Olympics) to Tokyo, Japan (site of the 1940
Summer Olympics) but the 1940 Olympics got canceled
due to WWII.
@arjun_raf

30. Q15
Flight into Danger is a 1956 Canadian television film starring James Doohan,
Corinne Conley, Kate Reid, Zachary Scott and Philip Gilbert. It was written by
Arthur Hailey, produced and screened by CBC Television, aired in 1956. The
story was later adapted into a novel by the same name, by John Castle and
got a German version of the show and a book too, by the name Flug in
Gefahr.
The question being, this book features in a very famous Malayalam movie
comedy sequence where the reader is casually reading through the book
holding a rubber balloon chicken without knowing that there's an
impending danger upon him.
Identify this famous 90’s movie or the sequence.
@arjun_raf

31. Answer:
@arjun_raf