QMs - Suramya, Gayatri, Preeti, Nanditha, Anuna

1. philoMELA 2020
(read as: MEH - Mythology, Etymology, History Quiz)

2. Rules
⬗ 25 questions
⬗ Prime number questions are star marked.
⬗ Please say ripz MEH to begin

3. *1.
Despite being one of history's most widely celebrated myths, historians, including novelist
Alan Garner uncovered literary texts that revealed that it is simply a case of taking a
metaphor too literally. The power of authority is not established through the simple
physical act mentioned but from the idea of refining pure metal from ore. The legend thus
lauds the one who is able to effectively utilize the ore in the making of arms as fit to be a
ruler.
Which myth, that may remind you of a substandard movie adaptation from 2017, is being
talked about?

4. 2.
This word derives from a Greek word, the first part meaning "true
sense or sense of a truth", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study
of." It has also been a form of witty wordplay.
It is carried out by tracing the development of a particular thing since
its earliest recorded occurrence.

5. Baldwin IV was the King of Jerusalem during the 12th century and
symbolised the demise of his kingdom.
While 13th and 14th century illustrations give little indication of
Baldwin's conditions, one of the earliest depiction of his afflictions
appears when young Baldwin, after roughhousing with his friends,
reported felt no pain if pinched or even bitten.
What was Baldwin IV popularly known as due his conditions,
which otherwise considered a death sentence during those times?
*3.

6. As explained by Ovid in Metamorphoses, Phaethon, the son of the Oceanid Clymene and
the Sun-God Apollo, once entrapped his father by asking him to swear on the River Styx to
grant him his wish to drive the chariot of the sun for a day. However, when the day for his
joyride came, he was unable to control the powerful, fiery steeds of the sun, as he lacked the
strength of Apollo. He was thus forced to drop the reins, and the horses veered off course,
subjecting certain parts of the Earth to intense sunlight. This led to the burning of
vegetation, drying up of rivers and highly affecting the appearance of a large group of
people.
What came about as a result of Phaethon's fatal mistake?
4.

7. *5.
In Neon Genesis Evangelion, the ____ System are a set of
supercomputers designed by Dr. Naoko Akagi.
They were implanted with three differing aspects of Dr. Akagi's
personality each and are consulted when any important decision is made
on the show due to their intelligence.
What mythological group of diverse origins are the computers based
on?

8. 6.
The Indian Air Force code name for the Balakot strike was ‘Operation
______’. While the logic behind the naming is a mystery, ANI stated that
______(s) have always held a special place in India’s war culture.
This naming of the operation is also apt since it was essentially about sneaking
into enemy territory to launch an attack on them, similar to the story of a
particular ______ in myth.
FITB

9. *7.
The Star Trek TNG episode Darmok, has Captain Picard being thrown into
an island on a lonely planet with an enemy-turned-friend alien whom he does
not know how to communicate with. On the island, they soon figure out they
must kill a mighty beast to escape the planet, but the alien companion dies in
the process. To finally try and communicate with him, Captain Picard tells the
alien an ancient epic poem, mirroring their own situation in the episode.
What legend does Picard say as his last words to the alien?

10. Shinobi means "to steal away; to hide" and—by extension—"to forbear.” More commonly
it is referred to as X. Folklore states that the X descended from a demon that was half man
and half crow.
The origins of the X can be traced back to early feudal times, where they were hired by the
‘daimyo’, or lords. Low-ranking X were villagers and farmers who learned to fight by any
means necessary for their own self-preservation, including the use of stealth and poison.
A very famous anime is based on X
X is also the name of a famous YouTuber.
8.

11. 9.
It started its life of fame as the name of a dance, popularised on Vine
in Feb 2014. It has multiple meanings. It is now used as an
exclamation.
Got a new pair of shoes you don't like? Just _____them out of there.
Want to come with me to the movies? _____.
What is it?

12. 10.
A nymph, Syrinx, really wasn't very open to the advances made by a creepy half-goat half-man who
followed her and chased her through the woods. Eventually, Syrinx became so fed up with this, that she
got a river god to transform her into something he couldn't possible lust after: a bunch of reeds. But this
goat man was so determined to have her, that he decided to take a piece of her with him everywhere.
He used the reeds to fashion the first set of ____ pipes, which were thenceforth known as syrinx. Later, a
word X was derived from this word. X is an object or an instrument. Ammar ibn 'Ali al-Mawsili' created
a similar instrument in the 9th century using a hollow glass tube, and suction to remove cataracts from
patients' eyes, a practice that remained in use until at least the 13th century. Later, it evolved into
creating presents day X.
Name the creepy half-goat half-man and ID X?

13. *11.
Worshiped in a region near Malabar, Mandodari was the wife of a demon named Daruka who was causing a lot
of strife among the gods. A goddess was sent to kill the demon and so put an end to his reign of terror.
Hoping to gain the power to save her husband, Mandodari began a series of extreme devotional austerities to the
god Shiva, who was the goddess’ father. Finally, Shiva was forced to reward Mandodari with the gift of a few
drops of his extremely powerful sweat. Mandodari flicked beads of the magical sweat at the goddess, and
smallpox pimples formed where the droplets fell.
She became extremely ill, so Shiva created a new hero from his third eye to lick the deadly smallpox pimples off
her entire body. As the hero was her brother, he could not lick her face (because of the rules of modesty). So she
was left with a beautiful body, but her face was pockmarked. Enraged, the goddess cut off Mandodari’s arms
and legs, after which Mandodari was forced to serve as an armless, legless goddess to whom people pray for relief
from smallpox.
Name the Goddess!

14. HINT

15. 12.
The hero Theseus was given a ball of thread to help him find his way out of the labyrinth of
Minos. By following the trail of thread he left behind him he was able to navigate his way to
the exit.
A medieval word meaning ball of thread is the source of the word X.
X then became associated with anything which might help reach a solution.

16. *13.
X and Y are two terms that have befuddled writers for ages, despite their common and
widespread usage. People, to this day, are often unsure of when to use with and use the
two interchangeably, when it is actually not grammatically correct to do so.
X is derived from a Latin phrase that means “that is” while Y’s Latin phrase means “for the
sake of example.”
While the terms themselves and their difference may be small, their impact and usage has
been far greater. ID X and Y.

17. Connect
14.

18. 15.
FITB.

19. Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. X and Y are the names of
two of his most famous protagonists.
Y is the central character in two of the three Theban plays written by him. Close to the end of the second
play, Y dies at a place sacred to the Furies, with only Theseus for company, and becomes a blessing for
Athens. An important concept of Freudian psychoanalytic theory derives its name from the legend of Y.
Freud introduced the concept in his Interpretation of Dreams (1899).
X is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies. She was the princess of Mycenae and
Menelaus’ niece. The murder of her father upon his return from the Trojan war triggers her actions
which led to Carl Gustav Jung introducing the term "X complex", in Theory of Psychoanalysis (1913).
Interestingly, Freud rejected Jung's term as being psychoanalytically inaccurate despite the two complexes
differing only in terms of an individual’s 23rd chromosomal pair.
16.

20. *17.
Initially, the word ___________ referred to a bomb large enough to destroy an entire block
of buildings. In this sense, the first ____________ were produced by the RAF during the
second World War, the very earliest of which – weighing an impressive 4,000lb – was
dropped on the German city of Emden during an air raid in March 1941. The wartime press
was quick to pounce on the nickname ___________ and soon it was being used figuratively
to describe anything and everything that had an impressive or devastating effect. The
military connotations gradually disappeared after the war, leaving us with the word we use
today.
FITB.

21. 18.
______ ________ is a former official position within the Catholic Church also known as the
Promoter of Faith. They would argue against the canonization of a candidate. It was this
person’s job to take a sceptical view of the candidate’s character and to look for holes in the
evidence of his/her miracles.
FITB.

22. *19.
Sunday is named after the sun and Monday after the moon. After that things are not so
obvious. For Wednesday, we can thank Germanic god Woden (Scandinavian Odin).
Roman equivalent is Mercury. Thursday is Thor’s day, the Germanic god of thunder. His
Roman counterpart is Jupiter. Friday! We forgot there are females too. Let’s name a day
after a goddess, after all. Friday is named after the Germanic goddess Frigga, wife of Odin
whom we met on Wednesday. She’s also known as Freya. The Roman equivalent is Venus.
Saturday is obviously named after Saturn, the Roman god.
Then how does Tuesday factor in here? Hint, hint, think of maybe other language
equivalents of Tuesday!

23. 20.
De finibus bonorum et malorum is a first-century BCE text by the Roman statesman and
philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. It consists of five books wherein he talks about different
philosophical views such as Stoicism, Platonism, Hedonism, etc. and is dedicated to Brutus.
In the first book’s discourse about hedonism, there’s a section that has become a common
sight for people today, although in an improper form that renders it useless as it makes no
sense in actual Latin. This use has been around since the 1960s, and then the 1980s for the
digital world. Its usage can be described as “greeking,” which, yes, does originate from the
phrase, “it’s all Greek to me.” So how do we popularly know this text today?

24. 21.
X is a German word that’s been adopted by the English language that describes a complex set
of emotions, usually seen more often in children (as adults know how to conceal it better!).
Equivalents include a word derived from the Greek word ‘epichairekakia’ and a syndrome
known as the “Tall Poppy syndrome” that finds its origins in Roman historian Titus Livy’s
account of a tyrannical king, who was commonly known as Tarquin the Proud. When
Tarquin’s son asked him what he should do in a newly conquered city, Tarquin had sliced
off all the heads of the tallest poppies to send across his message. X describes a similar set of
emotions that Tarquin’s message to his son was expressing, though the Tall Poppy syndrome
can be said to be a subsection of the general concept that X entails.
ID X. For an extra hint - the Quiz Society coordinators (amongst other societies and
departments) have had to deal with this college’s administration being X.

25. 22.
In German or Celtic folklore, supernatural beings are thought to live
in trees and can be invoked for protection. One explanation states that
the tradition derived from the Pagans who thought that trees were the
homes of fairies, spirits, dryads and many other mystical creatures.
What common phrase is derived from invoking these tree spirits for
protection?

26. *23.
In Jewish folklore, X is an animated anthropomorphic being that is created entirely from
inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The word was used to mean an amorphous,
unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing.
The character Y was named so be after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in
his throat". A hypothesis suggests that Z was inspired by X for Y. Another hypothesis also
suggests the old Norse word for gold as an inspiration for Y.
ID X and Y.

27. 24.
The Alexamenos graffito, a drawing scratched into a wall in Rome around the year 200,
which may be one of the earliest depictions of the ____________ . The inscription says
“Alexamenos worships god.” The inscription was apparently meant to mock a man named
Alexamenos’ faith, which at the time was a relatively novel religion in the Roman Empire.
(Image in the next slide)
FITB.

29. X set out on the Y with his crew to look for Z, which was held in Colchis and belonged to Chrysomallos,
the winged ram. X shares his name with the protagonist of a famous series created by Robert Ludlum.
He was played by Matt Damon in the films based on the series.
Y is also the name of an American Historical Drama film which was directed by the lead actor, W.
Screenwriter Chris Terrio adapted the screenplay from the book by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
operative Tony Mendez “The Master of Disguise”.
Interestingly, Matt Damon and W are childhood pals who have known each other since they were eight
years old. They shared an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the movie which first thrust
them into the spotlight.
25.

30. RE-RUN

31. 1.
Despite being one of history's most widely celebrated myths, historians, including novelist
Alan Garner uncovered literary texts that revealed that it is simply a case of taking a
metaphor too literally. The power of authority is not established through the simple
physical act mentioned but from the idea of refining pure metal from ore. The legend thus
lauds the one who is able to effectively utilize the ore in the making of arms as fit to be a
ruler.
Which myth, that may remind you of a substandard movie adaptation from 2017, is being
talked about?

32. 2.
This word derives from a Greek word, the first part meaning "true
sense or sense of a truth", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study
of." It has also been a form of witty wordplay.
It is carried out by tracing the development of a particular thing since
its earliest recorded occurrence.

33. Baldwin IV was the King of Jerusalem during the 12th century and
symbolised the demise of his kingdom.
While 13th and 14th century illustrations give little indication of
Baldwin's conditions, one of the earliest depiction of his afflictions
appears when young Baldwin, after roughhousing with his friends,
reported felt no pain if pinched or even bitten.
What was Baldwin IV popularly known as due his conditions,
which otherwise considered a death sentence during those times?
3.

34. As explained by Ovid in Metamorphoses, Phaethon, the son of the Oceanid Clymene and
the Sun-God Apollo, once entrapped his father by asking him to swear on the River Styx to
grant him his wish to drive the chariot of the sun for a day. However, when the day for his
joyride came, he was unable to control the powerful, fiery steeds of the sun, as he lacked the
strength of Apollo. He was thus forced to drop the reins, and the horses veered off course,
subjecting certain parts of the Earth to intense sunlight. This led to the burning of
vegetation, drying up of rivers and highly affecting the appearance of a large group of
people.
What came about as a result of Phaethon's fatal mistake?
4.

35. 5.
In Neon Genesis Evangelion, the ____ System are a set of
supercomputers designed by Dr. Naoko Akagi.
They were implanted with three differing aspects of Dr. Akagi's
personality each and are consulted when any important decision is made
on the show due to their intelligence.
What mythological group of diverse origins are the computers based
on?

36. 6.
The Indian Air Force code name for the Balakot strike was ‘Operation
______’. While the logic behind the naming is a mystery, ANI stated that
______(s) have always held a special place in India’s war culture.
This naming of the operation is also apt since it was essentially about sneaking
into enemy territory to launch an attack on them, similar to the story of a
particular ______ in myth.
FITB

37. 7.
The Star Trek TNG episode Darmok, has Captain Picard being thrown into
an island on a lonely planet with an enemy-turned-friend alien whom he does
not know how to communicate with. On the island, they soon figure out they
must kill a mighty beast to escape the planet, but the alien companion dies in
the process. To finally try and communicate with him, Captain Picard tells the
alien an ancient epic poem, mirroring their own situation in the episode.
What legend does Picard say as his last words to the alien?

38. Shinobi means "to steal away; to hide" and—by extension—"to forbear.” More commonly
it is referred to as X. Folklore states that the X descended from a demon that was half man
and half crow.
The origins of the X can be traced back to early feudal times, where they were hired by the
‘daimyo’, or lords. Low-ranking X were villagers and farmers who learned to fight by any
means necessary for their own self-preservation, including the use of stealth and poison.
A very famous anime is based on X
X is also the name of a famous YouTuber.
8.

39. 9.
It started its life of fame as the name of a dance, popularised on Vine
in Feb 2014. It has multiple meanings. It is now used as an
exclamation.
Got a new pair of shoes you don't like? Just _____them out of there.
Want to come with me to the movies? _____.
What is it?

40. 10.
A nymph, Syrinx, really wasn't very open to the advances made by a creepy half-goat half-man who
followed her and chased her through the woods. Eventually, Syrinx became so fed up with this, that she
got a river god to transform her into something he couldn't possible lust after: a bunch of reeds. But this
goat man was so determined to have her, that he decided to take a piece of her with him everywhere.
He used the reeds to fashion the first set of ____ pipes, which were thenceforth known as syrinx. Later, a
word X was derived from this word. X is an object or an instrument. Ammar ibn 'Ali al-Mawsili' created
a similar instrument in the 9th century using a hollow glass tube, and suction to remove cataracts from
patients' eyes, a practice that remained in use until at least the 13th century. Later, it evolved into
creating presents day X.
Name the creepy half-goat half-man and ID X?

41. 11.
Worshiped in a region near Malabar, Mandodari was the wife of a demon named Daruka who was causing a lot of strife
among the gods. A goddess was sent to kill the demon and so put an end to his reign of terror.
Hoping to gain the power to save her husband, Mandodari began a series of extreme devotional austerities to the god
Shiva, who was the goddess’ father. Finally, Shiva was forced to reward Mandodari with the gift of a few drops of his
extremely powerful sweat. Mandodari flicked beads of the magical sweat at the goddess, and smallpox pimples formed
where the droplets fell.
She became extremely ill, so Shiva created a new hero from his third eye to lick the deadly smallpox pimples off her entire
body. As the hero was her brother, he could not lick her face (because of the rules of modesty). So she was left with a
beautiful body, but her face was pockmarked. Enraged, the goddess cut off Mandodari’s arms and legs, after which
Mandodari was forced to serve as an armless, legless goddess to whom people pray for relief from smallpox.
Name the Goddess!

42. HINT

43. 12.
The hero Theseus was given a ball of thread to help him find his way out of the labyrinth of
Minos. By following the trail of thread he left behind him he was able to navigate his way to
the exit.
A medieval word meaning ball of thread is the source of the word X.
X then became associated with anything which might help reach a solution.

44. 13.
X and Y are two terms that have befuddled writers for ages, despite their common and
widespread usage. People, to this day, are often unsure of when to use with and use the
two interchangeably, when it is actually not grammatically correct to do so.
X is derived from a Latin phrase that means “that is” while Y’s Latin phrase means “for the
sake of example.”
While the terms themselves and their difference may be small, their impact and usage has
been far greater. ID X and Y.

45. Connect
14.

46. 15.
FITB.

47. Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. X and Y are the names of
two of his most famous protagonists.
Y is the central character in two of the three Theban plays written by him. Close to the end of the second
play, Y dies at a place sacred to the Furies, with only Theseus for company, and becomes a blessing for
Athens. An important concept of Freudian psychoanalytic theory derives its name from the legend of Y.
Freud introduced the concept in his Interpretation of Dreams (1899).
X is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies. She was the princess of Mycenae and
Menelaus’ niece. The murder of her father upon his return from the Trojan war triggers her actions
which led to Carl Gustav Jung introducing the term "X complex", in Theory of Psychoanalysis (1913).
Interestingly, Freud rejected Jung's term as being psychoanalytically inaccurate despite the two complexes
differing only in terms of an individual’s 23rd chromosomal pair.
16.

48. 17.
Initially, the word ___________ referred to a bomb large enough to destroy an entire block
of buildings. In this sense, the first ____________ were produced by the RAF during the
second World War, the very earliest of which – weighing an impressive 4,000lb – was
dropped on the German city of Emden during an air raid in March 1941. The wartime press
was quick to pounce on the nickname ___________ and soon it was being used figuratively
to describe anything and everything that had an impressive or devastating effect. The
military connotations gradually disappeared after the war, leaving us with the word we use
today.
FITB.

49. 18.
______ ________ is a former official position within the Catholic Church also known as the
Promoter of Faith. They would argue against the canonization of a candidate. It was this
person’s job to take a sceptical view of the candidate’s character and to look for holes in the
evidence of his/her miracles.
FITB.

50. 19.
Sunday is named after the sun and Monday after the moon. After that things are not so
obvious. For Wednesday, we can thank Germanic god Woden (Scandinavian Odin).
Roman equivalent is Mercury. Thursday is Thor’s day, the Germanic god of thunder. His
Roman counterpart is Jupiter. Friday! We forgot there are females too. Let’s name a day
after a goddess, after all. Friday is named after the Germanic goddess Frigga, wife of Odin
whom we met on Wednesday. She’s also known as Freya. The Roman equivalent is Venus.
Saturday is obviously named after Saturn, the Roman god.
Then how does Tuesday factor in here? Hint, hint, think of maybe other language
equivalents of Tuesday!

51. 20.
De finibus bonorum et malorum is a first-century BCE text by the Roman statesman and
philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. It consists of five books wherein he talks about different
philosophical views such as Stoicism, Platonism, Hedonism, etc. and is dedicated to Brutus.
In the first book’s discourse about hedonism, there’s a section that has become a common
sight for people today, although in an improper form that renders it useless as it makes no
sense in actual Latin. This use has been around since the 1960s, and then the 1980s for the
digital world. Its usage can be described as “greeking,” which, yes, does originate from the
phrase, “it’s all Greek to me.” So how do we popularly know this text today?

52. 21.
X is a German word that’s been adopted by the English language that describes a complex set
of emotions, usually seen more often in children (as adults know how to conceal it better!).
Equivalents include a word derived from the Greek word ‘epichairekakia’ and a syndrome
known as the “Tall Poppy syndrome” that finds its origins in Roman historian Titus Livy’s
account of a tyrannical king, who was commonly known as Tarquin the Proud. When
Tarquin’s son asked him what he should do in a newly conquered city, Tarquin had sliced
off all the heads of the tallest poppies to send across his message. X describes a similar set of
emotions that Tarquin’s message to his son was expressing, though the Tall Poppy syndrome
can be said to be a subsection of the general concept that X entails.
ID X. For an extra hint - the Quiz Society coordinators (amongst other societies and
departments) have had to deal with this college’s administration being X.

53. 22.
In German or Celtic folklore, supernatural beings are thought to live
in trees and can be invoked for protection. One explanation states that
the tradition derived from the Pagans who thought that trees were the
homes of fairies, spirits, dryads and many other mystical creatures.
What common phrase is derived from invoking these tree spirits for
protection?

54. 23.
In Jewish folklore, X is an animated anthropomorphic being that is created entirely from
inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The word was used to mean an amorphous,
unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing.
The character Y was named so be after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in
his throat". A hypothesis suggests that Z was inspired by X for Y. Another hypothesis also
suggests the old Norse word for gold as an inspiration for Y.
ID X and Y.

55. 24.
The Alexamenos graffito, a drawing scratched into a wall in Rome around the year 200,
which may be one of the earliest depictions of the ____________ . The inscription says
“Alexamenos worships god.” The inscription was apparently meant to mock a man named
Alexamenos’ faith, which at the time was a relatively novel religion in the Roman Empire.
(Image in the next slide)
FITB.

57. X set out on the Y with his crew to look for Z, which was held in Colchis and belonged to Chrysomallos,
the winged ram. X shares his name with the protagonist of a famous series created by Robert Ludlum.
He was played by Matt Damon in the films based on the series.
Y is also the name of an American Historical Drama film which was directed by the lead actor, W.
Screenwriter Chris Terrio adapted the screenplay from the book by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
operative Tony Mendez “The Master of Disguise”.
Interestingly, Matt Damon and W are childhood pals who have known each other since they were eight
years old. They shared an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the movie which first thrust
them into the spotlight.
25.

58. Prelims - Answers

59. 1.
Despite being one of history's most widely celebrated myths, historians, including novelist
Alan Garner uncovered literary texts that revealed that it is simply a case of taking a
metaphor too literally. The power of authority is not established through the simple
physical act mentioned but from the idea of refining pure metal from ore. The legend thus
lauds the one who is able to effectively utilize the ore in the making of arms as fit to be a
ruler.
Which myth, that may remind you of a substandard movie adaptation from 2017, is being
talked about?

60. King arthur sword

61. 2.
This word derives from a Greek word, the first part meaning "true
sense or sense of a truth", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study
of." It has also been a form of witty wordplay.
It is carried out by tracing the development of a particular thing since
its earliest recorded occurrence.

62. “Etymology

63. Baldwin IV was the King of Jerusalem during the 12th century and
symbolised the demise of his kingdom.
While 13th and 14th century illustrations give little indication of
Baldwin's conditions, one of the earliest depiction of his afflictions
appears when young Baldwin, after roughhousing with his friends,
reported felt no pain if pinched or even bitten.
What was Baldwin IV popularly known as due his conditions,
which otherwise considered a death sentence during those times?
3.

64. Leper king

65. As explained by Ovid in Metamorphoses, Phaethon, the son of the Oceanid Clymene and
the Sun-God Apollo, once entrapped his father by asking him to swear on the River Styx to
grant him his wish to drive the chariot of the sun for a day. However, when the day for his
joyride came, he was unable to control the powerful, fiery steeds of the sun, as he lacked the
strength of Apollo. He was thus forced to drop the reins, and the horses veered off course,
subjecting certain parts of the Earth to intense sunlight. This led to the burning of
vegetation, drying up of rivers and highly affecting the appearance of a large group of
people.
What came about as a result of Phaethon's fatal mistake?
4.

66. Why Africans are black

67. 5.
In Neon Genesis Evangelion, the ____ System are a set of
supercomputers designed by Dr. Naoko Akagi.
They were implanted with three differing aspects of Dr. Akagi's
personality each and are consulted when any important decision is made
on the show due to their intelligence.
What mythological group of diverse origins are the computers based
on?

69. Three wise men

70. 6.
The Indian Air Force code name for the Balakot strike was ‘Operation
______’. While the logic behind the naming is a mystery, ANI stated that
______(s) have always held a special place in India’s war culture.
This naming of the operation is also apt since it was essentially about sneaking
into enemy territory to launch an attack on them, similar to the story of a
particular ______ in myth.
FITB

71. bandar

72. 7.
The Star Trek TNG episode Darmok, has Captain Picard being thrown into
an island on a lonely planet with an enemy-turned-friend alien whom he does
not know how to communicate with. On the island, they soon figure out they
must kill a mighty beast to escape the planet, but the alien companion dies in
the process. To finally try and communicate with him, Captain Picard tells the
alien an ancient epic poem, mirroring their own situation in the episode.
What legend does Picard say as his last words to the alien?

73. gilgamesh

74. Shinobi means "to steal away; to hide" and—by extension—"to forbear.” More commonly
it is referred to as X. Folklore states that the X descended from a demon that was half man
and half crow.
The origins of the X can be traced back to early feudal times, where they were hired by the
‘daimyo’, or lords. Low-ranking X were villagers and farmers who learned to fight by any
means necessary for their own self-preservation, including the use of stealth and poison.
A very famous anime is based on X
X is also the name of a famous YouTuber.
8.

75. NINJA

76. 9.
It started its life of fame as the name of a dance, popularised on Vine
in Feb 2014. It has multiple meanings. It is now used as an
exclamation.
Got a new pair of shoes you don't like? Just _____them out of there.
Want to come with me to the movies? _____.
What is it?

77. Yeet

78. 10.
A nymph, Syrinx, really wasn't very open to the advances made by a creepy half-goat half-man who
followed her and chased her through the woods. Eventually, Syrinx became so fed up with this, that she
got a river god to transform her into something he couldn't possible lust after: a bunch of reeds. But this
goat man was so determined to have her, that he decided to take a piece of her with him everywhere.
He used the reeds to fashion the first set of ____ pipes, which were thenceforth known as syrinx. Later, a
word X was derived from this word. X is an object or an instrument. Ammar ibn 'Ali al-Mawsili' created
a similar instrument in the 9th century using a hollow glass tube, and suction to remove cataracts from
patients' eyes, a practice that remained in use until at least the 13th century. Later, it evolved into
creating presents day X.
Name the creepy half-goat half-man and ID X?

79. Pan , X- SYRINGE

80. 11.
Worshiped in a region near Malabar, Mandodari was the wife of a demon named Daruka who was causing a lot of strife
among the gods. A goddess was sent to kill the demon and so put an end to his reign of terror.
Hoping to gain the power to save her husband, Mandodari began a series of extreme devotional austerities to the god
Shiva, who was the goddess’ father. Finally, Shiva was forced to reward Mandodari with the gift of a few drops of his
extremely powerful sweat. Mandodari flicked beads of the magical sweat at the goddess, and smallpox pimples formed
where the droplets fell.
She became extremely ill, so Shiva created a new hero from his third eye to lick the deadly smallpox pimples off her entire
body. As the hero was her brother, he could not lick her face (because of the rules of modesty). So she was left with a
beautiful body, but her face was pockmarked. Enraged, the goddess cut off Mandodari’s arms and legs, after which
Mandodari was forced to serve as an armless, legless goddess to whom people pray for relief from smallpox.
Name the Goddess!

81. HINT

82. Bhadrakali

83. 12.
The hero Theseus was given a ball of thread to help him find his way out of the labyrinth of
Minos. By following the trail of thread he left behind him he was able to navigate his way to
the exit.
A medieval word meaning ball of thread is the source of the word X.
X then became associated with anything which might help reach a solution.

84. Clue

85. 13.
X and Y are two terms that have befuddled writers for ages, despite their common and
widespread usage. People, to this day, are often unsure of when to use with and use the
two interchangeably, when it is actually not grammatically correct to do so.
X is derived from a Latin phrase that means “that is” while Y’s Latin phrase means “for the
sake of example.”
While the terms themselves and their difference may be small, their impact and usage has
been far greater. ID X and Y.

86. X - i.e.
Y - e.g.

87. Connect
14.

89. 15.
FITB.

91. Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. X and Y are the names of
two of his most famous protagonists.
Y is the central character in two of the three Theban plays written by him. Close to the end of the second
play, Y dies at a place sacred to the Furies, with only Theseus for company, and becomes a blessing for
Athens. An important concept of Freudian psychoanalytic theory derives its name from the legend of Y.
Freud introduced the concept in his Interpretation of Dreams (1899).
X is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies. She was the princess of Mycenae and
Menelaus’ niece. The murder of her father upon his return from the Trojan war triggers her actions
which led to Carl Gustav Jung introducing the term "X complex", in Theory of Psychoanalysis (1913).
Interestingly, Freud rejected Jung's term as being psychoanalytically inaccurate despite the two complexes
differing only in terms of an individual’s 23rd chromosomal pair.
16.

92. X - Electra
Y - Oedipus

93. 17.
Initially, the word ___________ referred to a bomb large enough to destroy an entire block
of buildings. In this sense, the first ____________ were produced by the RAF during the
second World War, the very earliest of which – weighing an impressive 4,000lb – was
dropped on the German city of Emden during an air raid in March 1941. The wartime press
was quick to pounce on the nickname ___________ and soon it was being used figuratively
to describe anything and everything that had an impressive or devastating effect. The
military connotations gradually disappeared after the war, leaving us with the word we use
today.
FITB.

94. Blockbuster

95. 18.
______ ________ is a former official position within the Catholic Church also known as the
Promoter of Faith. They would argue against the canonization of a candidate. It was this
person’s job to take a sceptical view of the candidate’s character and to look for holes in the
evidence of his/her miracles.
FITB.

96. Devil’s Advocate

97. 19.
Sunday is named after the sun and Monday after the moon. After that things are not so
obvious. For Wednesday, we can thank Germanic god Woden (Scandinavian Odin).
Roman equivalent is Mercury. Thursday is Thor’s day, the Germanic god of thunder. His
Roman counterpart is Jupiter. Friday! We forgot there are females too. Let’s name a day
after a goddess, after all. Friday is named after the Germanic goddess Frigga, wife of Odin
whom we met on Wednesday. She’s also known as Freya. The Roman equivalent is Venus.
Saturday is obviously named after Saturn, the Roman god.
Then how does Tuesday factor in here? Hint, hint, think of maybe other language
equivalents of Tuesday!

98. Tuesday is after Tiw, the Germanic god of war
and the sky. His Roman equivalent is Mars;
hence in Spanish Tuesday is martes, in French
mardi.

99. 20.
De finibus bonorum et malorum is a first-century BCE text by the Roman statesman and
philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. It consists of five books wherein he talks about different
philosophical views such as Stoicism, Platonism, Hedonism, etc. and is dedicated to Brutus.
In the first book’s discourse about hedonism, there’s a section that has become a common
sight for people today, although in an improper form that renders it useless as it makes no
sense in actual Latin. This use has been around since the 1960s, and then the 1980s for the
digital world. Its usage can be described as “greeking,” which, yes, does originate from the
phrase, “it’s all Greek to me.” So how do we popularly know this text today?

100. Lorem ipsum, the placeholder text!

101. 21.
X is a German word that’s been adopted by the English language that describes a complex set
of emotions, usually seen more often in children (as adults know how to conceal it better!).
Equivalents include a word derived from the Greek word ‘epichairekakia’ and a syndrome
known as the “Tall Poppy syndrome” that finds its origins in Roman historian Titus Livy’s
account of a tyrannical king, who was commonly known as Tarquin the Proud. When
Tarquin’s son asked him what he should do in a newly conquered city, Tarquin had sliced
off all the heads of the tallest poppies to send across his message. X describes a similar set of
emotions that Tarquin’s message to his son was expressing, though the Tall Poppy syndrome
can be said to be a subsection of the general concept that X entails.
ID X. For an extra hint - the Quiz Society coordinators (amongst other societies and
departments) have had to deal with this college’s administration being X.

102. Schadenfreude

103. 22.
In German or Celtic folklore, supernatural beings are thought to live
in trees and can be invoked for protection. One explanation states that
the tradition derived from the Pagans who thought that trees were the
homes of fairies, spirits, dryads and many other mystical creatures.
What common phrase is derived from invoking these tree spirits for
protection?

104. Touchwood/ Knock on wood

105. 23.
In Jewish folklore, X is an animated anthropomorphic being that is created entirely from
inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The word was used to mean an amorphous,
unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing.
The character Y was named so be after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in
his throat". A hypothesis suggests that Z was inspired by X for Y. Another hypothesis also
suggests the old Norse word for gold as an inspiration for Y.
ID X and Y.

106. X - Golem
Y - Gollum

107. 24.
The Alexamenos graffito, a drawing scratched into a wall in Rome around the year 200,
which may be one of the earliest depictions of the ____________ . The inscription says
“Alexamenos worships god.” The inscription was apparently meant to mock a man named
Alexamenos’ faith, which at the time was a relatively novel religion in the Roman Empire.
FITB.

109. Crucifixion of Jesus

110. X set out on the Y with his crew to look for Z, which was held in Colchis and belonged to Chrysomallos,
the winged ram. X shares his name with the protagonist of a famous series created by Robert Ludlum.
He was played by Matt Damon in the films based on the series.
Y is also the name of an American Historical Drama film which was directed by the lead actor, W.
Screenwriter Chris Terrio adapted the screenplay from the book by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
operative Tony Mendez “The Master of Disguise”.
Interestingly, Matt Damon and W are childhood pals who have known each other since they were eight
years old. They shared an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the movie which first thrust
them into the spotlight.
25.

111. X - Jason
Y - Argo
Z - Golden Fleece
W - Ben Affleck

112. FINALS

113. Rules
1. 20 questions
2. Regular bounce-pounce rules apply
3. +10/-5 on pounce
4. 45 second window for pouncing
5. QM’s decision is final!

114. 1.
In Madhya Pradesh, tribal bards tell a tale of a young woman. She yearned to be loved, but she was so
ugly that no man wanted to marry her.
She became so consumed with her loneliness and misery that she died of a broken heart. Once she was
dead, the gods took pity on her, for it was them who had cursed her with such ugliness. To make amends
for the pain and loneliness she had suffered during her life, the gods reincarnated her as the spirit of the
_______ plant so that she could be loved by men throughout the world for the rest of time.
India is the 3rd largest producer of this crop today. In a product made with this plant one can find
hydrogen cyanide which was used as a compound back in World War II as a genocidal agent.
Name the girl.

116. Tambaku

117. 2.
Erysichthon was incredibly greedy and incredibly rich , and really didn't pay the gods much
mind. One day, he cut down a sacred grove of trees in order to build another feast hall.
Demeter was slighted by this, and decided to punish him. He gave him an appetite so strong
that he ate everything. He ate all the food he had, then ate all the food he could buy, until he
had completely exhausted his wealth. He even tried to sell his own daughter for food.
He was reduced to poverty, lost his home and everything else. What crazy thing did he do
that then lead to his death?

119. He ate his own flesh

120. 3.
X developed out of the basement kitchens of Parisian apartments.
Landlords could supplement their income by opening their kitchen to
the paying public.
Many claim that X originated among Russian troops who occupied
Paris following the Napoleonic Wars. It was allegedly shouted by
Russian officers who wanted to be served quickly.

122. Bistro

123. 4.
The “Year Without a Summer” of 1816, when ash from volcanic
eruptions of Mount Tambora lowered temperatures around the
globe, gave rise to widespread famine. June of this year, with its
horrific weather, was the cause of a bunch of friends staying indoors
to think of novel ways to spend their time. What was the most
famous result of this incident two years later?

125. Frankenstein

126. 5.
Palacio Barolo is a landmark office building in Argentina. Built by Italian architect Mario
Palanti in 1923, it was the tallest building in South America for more than a decade. The
structure contains 22 floors, divided into three sections and was supposed to house a certain
someone's ashes because the owner believed "that Europe had begun drifting toward collapse"
and wanted to house them as far away as possible from the continent.
What serves as the inspiration for the building? Whose ashes were supposed to be kept in it?

128. Dante’s Divine Comedy

129. 6.
In Good Omens, Dagon is a demon from Hell who is Crowley's
superior but does not make a physical appearance in the books and
only plays a minor role in the TV series. He is referred to by a 4-
worded moniker that puns on a title given to the demon Beelzebub
to give a fair description of a bureaucrat working a desk job, which is
all Dagon really does. What is this name, that at first glance may
remind you of a mid-20th century literary work?

131. Lord of the files

132. 7.
Harpocrates was a Greek God adopted from the Egyptian 'Heru-pa-
khered', or 'Horus the child'. While to the Egyptians, this god
symbolised youth and innocence, the Greeks misunderstood an aspect
of the god's depiction and thus, his symbolism for them also changed
considerably.
Due to this, what is Harpocrates a God of in greek mythology?

135. God of silence, secrets and confidentiality

136. 8.
In 2016, the concept ‘hygge’ caught such great interest that Collins Dictionary put the word
in its Word of the Year list, right under ‘Brexit.’ It is Dane and Norwegian word, defining
something that is an ideal characteristic for cafes to market off of, lending to the widespread
use of the word as a lifestyle phenomenon, especially in Britain.
There are speculations about the exact origin of the word, one of which says it stems from
the Old Norse word ‘hugga,’ while another says it is rather from ‘hugr’ and ‘hyggja.’ English,
being a magpie language, has adopted this term too in its pursuit of commodifying concepts
such as yoga into lifestyle practices that largely just benefit corporates and capitalists in the
end. What is the meaning of this concept that became such a lucrative idea?

138. A mood of coziness and comfortable
conviviality with feelings of wellness and
contentment

139. 9.
This alphabet was once removed from the current list of 26 alphabets in the English language. This was
done by a Roman censor named Appius Claudius Caecus, who claimed that the letter had become
archaic and redundant as the pronunciation of the alphabet had changed into one of another already
existing alphabets. However, 200 years later, the letter was reintroduced and to the Latin alphabet and is
one of the only two letters to enter the Latin alphabet directly from Greek and not Etruscan. At that
time, it was used only in words taken from Greek.
To dig a bit deeper into its past, what is seen is that before this letter transformed into its Greek origin,
the Greek letter itself was derived from a Phoenician one that can be seen above. That glyph is known as
‘zayin,’ which meant ‘weapon.’
What is this alphabet that has now become a fixed character in our daily use 26 letter?

141. Z (greek ‘zeta’)

142. 10.
What is so interesting and
important about this cave
painting?
There are two parts to the
answer - one relates to the
painting itself, and the other
to the location.

144. 1. The oldest cave painting, dating back to
40,000+ years
2. Located in Indonesia, so it’s in Asia and not
Europe, thus changing a lot of what we
know about art history

145. 11.
No Exit is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play is the source of the
famous quote, “Hell is other people.”
The creator of X has said, “At the beginning it was just like an accidental trip to heaven, then
I was like oh no, it’s No Exit, it’s a really advanced No Exit—the Sartre play about the three
people who are trapped in hell forever. In No Exit they all have very specific personality traits
that drive one of the other ones insane and are miserable…”
ID X.

147. The Good place

148. 12.
Here’s a blast from the kinda recent past. X is a language developed from English (though
it’s expanded to French, Spanish, German, etc. too) and is (was) mostly used online. It’s
been so influential and impactful that it pretty much shaped the humour online of the late
2000s and 2010s. It’s continued to be used in some forms today, although mostly looking
back at it may make us cringe and wonder why we ever engaged in using this language. It
was partially used to evade searches, partially for humour, and the last part comprises of
abbreviations, which is what mostly remains of this language being still used today.
Part of its vocabulary also includes purposely misspelling words and phrases, which is
supposedly done to make fun of the English language’s pronunciation and spellings.
Additionally, the usual English grammar rules also don’t apply to this language, even if it
derives from English. ID X.

150. LEET (L337)

151. 13.
While the most common explanation for the white gloves often seen in cartoon animations like Mickey
Mouse are said to be employed for emphasizing the emotion through the motions with a better colour
distinction (when it was all black-and-white and without sound), there is an underlying, more sinister
reason behind the usage of the white gloves that is not as well known in popular culture.
It requires some introspection to reach to this reason, with the direct influence being linked to
America’s not so clean history with entertainment. This history has essentially provided a framework
for the beginnings of animation and their over-the-top physical comedy and bodies. It has, in fact, been
hypothesized that American animation could not have continued without this influence that the
animation has adapted its aesthetics to. White gloves are just a specific characteristic that are being
referred to here, while it can be said that the entirety of the animation had borrowed the framework of
the historical form of entertainment. What is this entertainment form that is being talked about here?

153. Minstrel Shows

154. 14.
Dong Xian was a commander of the armed forces back during the Han dynasty in China.
While he started off as a low level court official, he quickly rose through the ranks until he
was allegedly forced to commit suicide with his titles stripped away. What is also further
alleged is that to honour him after his death, people cut their sleeves as a symbol of
mourning and respect. While the last remark about honouring him post his death remains
iffy, the cut sleeve still to this day is a symbol well associated with him.
What is the funda behind him and the cut sleeve - which connects indirectly to how he rose
so quickly in the ranks? There is an origin story hidden in here for a euphemism.

156. CUTSLEEVE
-euphemism for homosexuality
- "the passion of the cut sleeve" (斷袖之癖)

157. 15.
The Nair people of Kerala followed a matrilineal system of inheritance based on a
large joint family called the Tharavad. Men would visit the woman's household
and present her with clothes and gifts, and after obtaining the consent of both the
family and the woman herself, the men could enter into a relationship with the
woman.
The mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century saw the disintegration
of this system. Which famous painting symbolizes the decline of Nair matrilineal
practices?

159. There comes papa,
Raja ravi varma

160. 16.
Magnus Hirschfeld was a German physician and sexologist born in 1868. He’s well known for having revolutionized
and changed the nature in which homosexuality was thought of in Germany back then. He also founded the
Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in 1897 that advocated for the rights and social recognition of the LGBT
community and then later also headed the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (translated as both the ‘Institute of
Sexology’ and ‘Institute for the Science of Sexology).
While his name itself may not ring a bell for many of us, we have all, more likely than not, learnt about historical
events that have a direct link to him and his work on sexuality, though it’s never really disclosed. His works such as
“The Sexual History of World War” outline many untouched and not widely discussed aspects of war and sexuality
(including, of course, homosexuality), whether it is with prostitution, war wives, or propaganda, etc.
As his line of work was undeniable controversial, especially considering the time period, how have we come across a
tragic history event that links back to him?

162. Burning of books by Nazis

163. 17.
As time progresses, language evolves and the connotations and meanings of words also do
often change. Similarly, different gestures and what they mean also change. As can be seen
in the images of medieval age art provided on the next slide, there are certain characteristics
about the art form that are repeated in the works again and again, hinting at gestures and
expressions that we may now link positive connotations to, having wildly different
meanings back then. What is this characteristic and what was the general meaning of it back
then?
(+5 for anyone who can get a more specific meaning)

164. 18.

166. grinning with your teeth was a sign of
animality and racialized aggression

167. 18.
A number of locations are traditionally associated with X. Such places within Great Britain
include Dozmary Pool and The Looe in Cornwall, Llyn Llydaw and Llyn Ogwen in
Snowdonia, River Brue's Pomparles Bridge in Somerset, and Loch Arthur in Scotland. In
France, X is also connected with Brittany's Paimpont forest.
The full French name of the University of Notre Dame, founded in 1842, is Notre Dame du
Lac. This makes reference to Mary, mother of Jesus as X, evidencing fusion between
Arthurian legend and middle-Christian history. ID X.
(Image follows)

168. Llyn ogwen

170. LADY OF THE LAKE

171. 19.
______ ____ originated during the First World War, indicated a soldier missing
both his arms and legs, who needed to be literally carried around in a litter or
_______. Today it indicates a state of helplessness similar to the metaphoric
removal of the appendages, most frequently in the context of mental health or
aptitude.
The term has also been popularised as a “high school” stereotype or archetypal
category by a very famous movie. The term is also name of a punk rock song.

173. “Basket Case

174. 20.
While the origin of Yahoo!’s name is often falsely thought to be a backronym that reads “Yet
Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle,” the actual origin is quite different. The founders,
David Filo and Jerry Yang claim that the backronym isn’t what the true meaning of the
website’s name is. Instead, they liked the actual definition of the word and thus ended up
choosing it.
The more commonly known definition of ‘yahoo’ these days is as an exclamatory expression
of joy. However, in reference to a widely known literary work, the older definition of
‘yahoo’ is ‘rude, unsophisticated, uncouth.’ What is this literary work that interestingly has
ended up helping in name one of the biggest websites?

176. Gulliver’s Travels - where Yahoo were a brutish
race of people