Here are the questions from the Preliminary Round of Neuron Twisterz 3, an Open Quiz that I conducted in Barpeta, Assam on 30th April, 2017.

1. NEURON TWISTERZ-3 (prelims)
BarpetaVidyapith HS School
Researched and conducted by-
Bibhuti Handique

2. Prelims Answers
Highest score - 15.5/25
Cut off score – 8/25

3.  A teacher who worked in AryaVidyapeeth Higher Secondary and Multipurpose
School,Guwahati from 1963 to 1996 had his origins in the town of Barpeta.
Originally destined to be a police officer after passing out his BA final
examination, but life had different plans for him as the call letter was torn by
his friend LohitChoudhury, saying that he didn't want him to become a police
man. His proficiency in a certain field made him popular among his students as
well as his colleagues and he continued to follow his dreams. He was inspired
by one of his mentors Kamal Narayan Choudhury to concentrate on a certain
field and the rest is history.
 Identify this well known personality from Assam.

6.  A few days back, students of the National Institute of Design (NID), Delhi
received a 200 kg weight cargo consisting of blocks of compressed
material for recycling so as to develop them into usable products.The NID
is going to design something which can be helpful for society and inspire
others to reuse. Moreover, the students can also earn a good amount of
prize money if they are successful at creating a usable design.
 What are these blocks made of?

10.  In a recent video released by Comic Relief on the occasion of Red Nose Day, _______
________ is seen auditioning a group of A-list actors for a fresh voice.The auditioner
is someone who has been ‘expressing’ himself with the same voice for the past three
decades. Seizing a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," actors like Lin-Manuel Miranda,
Liam Neeson, Anna Kendrick and RebelWilson joined the queue of auditionees, but
all fail for a variety of reasons, including massive egos, bumbling delivery and
complete lack of knowledge in a certain field. One of them says, "You're someone
from Cambridge College/ But your voice is mad ________ if I'm being honest.”
 For whom are all these Hollywood stars seen auditioning for?

13. Pithampur is a small town under the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh that hosts
several large scale industries. Until the year 1995, the town was greatly
handicapped as it lacked funds for construction of roads which was vital for
access to raw material and for the dispatch of finished goods from the area.
Because the state government hesitated to spend even a single penny, the
public sector MPAVN decided to persuade the Bombay-based Infrastructure
Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) to come up with an alternative solution.
What alternative solution did IL&FS come up with in the Pithampur area in
January 1995 after signing a memorandum of understanding with the
government, something which was first of its kind in India?

17.  Lakhimi Baruah started a Mahila Samiti in 1983 at Dakshin Sarbaibandha area of
Jorhat district, where she worked with a large number of economically and
educationally backward women. Until 1998, Lakhimi worked in a bank, which made
her aware of how deprived and illiterate women barely manage to benefit from
banking services. After working for several years in the region, Lakhimi was sure
that immediate intervention was required.This prompted her to come up with
something in the year 1998.
 What did Lakhimi Baruah come up with in the year 1998 which is a first of a kind in
Assam? After whom did she name her establishment which is a tribute to a great
Assamese?

22. Steve Feltham currently holds the Guinness world record for the longest continuous
search which has entered 25 years in 2017. In 1991 Feltham sold his house, quit his
job and left his girlfriend. He bought a 1970 Commer van formerly used as a mobile
library and drove it 527 miles north from Dorset, England.After almost 25 years of
searching, his van is currently no longer mobile. It’s painted with a jolly, gently
psychedelic aesthetic reminiscent of Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine.
 What is he looking for?

26. Canson is a French manufacturer of fine art paper which owes its beginnings to a
family that brought the art of making paper from Damascus to Europe during the
Crusades.The logo of the company pays tribute to its founder who was most famous
for a paper based invention which is depicted in a stylized form in its logo. Modern
ones are usually made of materials such as ripstop nylon or dacron which is a
polyester.
What invention is being talked about?

29. The costume designer for this late 1970s film, Ruth Morley, was interviewed byVogue
magazine where she expressed her shock at the widespread imitation of the look.
“Now people tell me that all the girls in London and Paris are turned out like ______
_______. It’s crazy; it has practically become a household word!”
The ______ ______ look became a tremendous fashion craze following the release of the
film, as women in the late 1970s began to mimic the character’s appropriation of
“menswear” which included bowler hats, coats and blazers, baggy pants, and neckties.
What name is given to such type of look?

33.  ‘Monument to theThree-Point Charter’ is a sculptural arch that opened in August
2001 to commemorate a series of talks that took place between July and December
in the year 2000. It consists of two women in traditional dress leaning forward to
jointly uphold a sphere.The sphere is the emblem of a set of three Charters.
 What do the two women in this sculptural arch symbolically represent?

37.  Edna Mode is one of the minor characters in The Incredibles. She is known for
calling everyone "dahling". She is very talented and as demanding of others
as she is of herself. Edna has created original custom-made outfits for
superheroes since the "glory days", saying she "used to design for gods". It is
apparent that she feels infinitely superior to all other designers in the world
and shows much disregard towards runway boutiques and modern fashion
models, claiming that she had gone to Milan to design clothing for the
supermodels, and called them "spoiled, stupid little stick-figures with poofy
lips who think only about themselves".
 According to the creators of The Incredibles, who is the real life inspiration
behind Edna’s character?

41.  The common names of these animals belonging to the family Caviidae and the
genus Cavia are misnomers. Neither do their names indicate their actual family nor
do they indicate their country of origin.They in fact originated in the Andes. In
Western societies, they have enjoyed widespread popularity as household pets since
their introduction by European traders.The reason they are named so might be
because of their large heads relative to their bodies, stout necks, and rounded rumps
with no tail and the grunting sounds they produce.
 Identify.

44.  Video Killed the Radio Star is a song written by the British band ‘The Buggles’, consisting
ofTrevor Horn and Geoff Downes.The track was released in 1979. The song relates to
concerns about mixed attitudes towards 20th-century inventions and machines for the
media arts.
 Which Bollywood song was inspired from it?Also, name the 1982 Bollywood film.

47.  In 2004 England-based graffiti artist Banksy produced a provocative work featuring
Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse merrily holding a ‘subject’ on each side.
 The work is an attack on the consumerism that occupies the attention of the American
people and keeps them blind to the way their foreign policy is conducted. It also points
to how consumerism keeps the population blind to more pressing concerns generally.
 Who is the ‘subject’ in this Banksy work, also the subject of a Pulitzer prize-winning
photograph taken in early 1970s?

51.  These were popularly worn inVenice by both courtesans and patrician women
from 14th to 17th century. Besides their practical uses as protection from mud
and street soil, they became a symbolic reference to the cultural and social
standing of the wearer. In 1430, their height was limited byVenetian law to
three inches but this regulation was widely ignored. Shakespeare joked about
their extreme height by using the word attitude in his play Hamlet. According
to some scholars, wearing these caused an unstable and inelegant gait which is
why these items gradually started fading from the society.
 What am I rambling about?

54. “Like a beast in a pen, I’m cut off
From my friends, freedom, the sun,
But the hunters are gaining ground.
I’ve nowhere else to run.
Dark wood and the bank of a pond,
Trunk of a fallen tree.
There’s no way forward, no way back.
It’s all up with me.
Am I a gangster or a murdered?
Of what crime do I stand
Condemned? I made the whole world weep
At the beauty of my land…”
These are the first lines of a poem written in 1958. It was written to express the poet’s
disappointment on hearing views like “this man went and spat in the face of the
people”, “a pig never shits where it eats” etc. expressed about his achievement.
What is this poem titled?Also name the poet.

56.  Boris Pasternak first accepted the
award, but was later caused by
the authorities of his country to
decline the prize.

57.  Abdominal dystonia, also known as ______ _______ dyskinesia is an uncontrollable
and often painful muscle contraction in the abdomen which manifest as involuntary,
wriggling movements of the abdomen/ abdominal wall.These movements can’t be
voluntarily suppressed. It is believed to have been caused by incorrect messages from
the brain to the muscles.
 Which is the more popular nickname of this medical condition?

60.  IBM’s successful history in the field of accounting and data is well known. One of its
largest clients in the first half of 20th century sought assistance in business services,
data collection and data tabulations – a deal that was inked in 1933. Initial calculations
produced about half a million entries while the final number stood close to 2 million,
each given a unique identification number instrumental to the client.
 Besides the punch cards used for this purpose, IBM also later oversaw the efficient
and punctual functioning of the client’s transport system that had over 50 wagons in
action each day for 4 straight years – about 1600 in all.
 What were these wagons transporting?

63.  AThousand Suns is the fourth studio album by American rock band Linkin Park
released in 2010.
 The title of the album is a reference to an ancient scripture, a line of which was
famously quoted in 1945 by an American, “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to
burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one.”
 Which scripture is referred to here? Also, name the American.

66.  Located in a busy shopping center in Prague, this twisting and reflective
sculpture is the latest kinetic artwork by controversialCzech artist David
Cerny. Installed in 2014, the enormous mirrored bust is comprised of 42
independently driven layers of stainless steel and weighs in at some 45 tons.
 Whom does this sculpture honor?Also, what name is given to this sculpture
which in turn is derived from an early 20th century literary work?

70.  The Sisserou parrot, also known as the imperial amazon is found only on a certain
Caribbean island, near the Morne Diablotins and the MorneTrois Pitons National
Park.This island has been nicknamed the “Natural Isle of the Caribbean” for its
unspoiled natural beauty.
 Identify this island which is named after the Latin word for Sunday, the day on which
the island was spotted by Christopher Columbus.

74.  “The original ______ ______” is an article published in Independent on the
disappearance of someone in the 1920s, which sparked a nationwide hunt and
international notoriety. More than 1000 policemen were assigned in Berkshire
along with hundreds of civilians. For the first time, aeroplanes were employed
to help with an operation of this kind.After the discovery of an abandoned car
on a steep slope near Guildford and days of relentless international publicity
that followed, the case finally reached a favourable conclusion on 14 December
at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate.
 Whose disappearance sparked such a nationwide hunt? What two word name
is given to the article, also the title of 2014 American film portraying similar
events?

78. Aris Kindt was a notorious criminal who was convicted for armed robbery and sentenced
to death by hanging. He was discussed in the 1999 novel ’The Rings of Saturn’ byW. G.
Sebald, and plays a significant role in Laird Hunt's 2006 novel ’The Exquisite’. In a certain
2014 novel, author and journalist Nina Siegal tells the life story of Aris Kindt based on
documents about his criminal history that she discovered in the Amsterdam city archives.
Kindt was publicly executed on 31st January 1632. However his claim to fame lies in
‘something’ that occurred in the later half of that day of which he was a part.
What took place on 31st January 1632 in the later half of the day?

81.  In Japan, when oshiyas were first brought in at Shinjuku Station, they were
largely made up of students working part-time; currently, station staff
and part-time workers fill these roles during morning rush hours on many
lines.During the run-up to the 1964 Summer Olympics inTokyo, a special issue
of LIFE magazine described a photograph showing them.
 A 1995 NewYorkTimes article noted white-gloved oshiya were still being
deployed during rush hours.
 What was the job of these oshiyas?

84.  261 Fearless is a global supportive community which empowers women to
connect and take control of their lives through the freedom gained by
running.Through a series of non-competitive running clubs and private
communication channels, it provides networking, healthy running support
and education, and a sisterhood to women all over the world.
 Who is the founder of 261 Fearless?Why did the founder choose the number
261?

87.  261 is the jersey number that she wore in the 1967 Boston Marathon

88. If it is ‘The Complete Mastermind India’ and ‘The India Quiz’ for
Siddhartha Basu, what will be it for Late Prof. Dilip Kumar Baruah
Sir?

91. Thanks!