2. The word X, comes from Italian meaning “of a
cave”.
The word was first used of paintings found on the
walls of basements of Roman ruins.
These "caves" were in fact rooms and corridors of
the Domus Aurea, the unfinished palace complex
started by Nero after the Great Fire of Rome in AD
64, which had got overgrown and buried, until
they were broken into again, mostly from above.
Which word meaning bizarre comes from the
name given to these paintings?
6. Scene from the movie
“Hable con Ella” by Pedro
Almodovar.
The lady (in white dress)
has a few English
dialogues in a movie
where she predominantly
speaks in Spanish.
Her father spoke English
in only five movies.
ID her or her father.
10. Manuel Benítez Pérez more commonly known as
El Cordobés (The Cordovan) was a famous
matador of the 1960s who brought to the bullring
an unorthodox acrobatic and theatrical style.
He retired in 1971 as the highest paid matador ever
at that time.
He began his career though, as an “espontaneo”, a
practice allowed in the sport, but despised by fans.
Who or what is “espontaneo”?
12. A spectator who illegally jumps into the ring
and attempts to bullfight for his own glory
13. The book in the pic was
written in 1945, a decade
before the co-authors being
famous individually.
Written in the form of a
mystery novel, the book
consists of alternating
chapters by each author
writing as a different
character; one character
being named Will Dennison
and the other Mike Ryko.
Name the authors.
16. This is “Allegory of a Painting” by Vermeer
(next slide).
The subject is supposed to be X, evidenced by
her wearing a laurel wreath, holding a
trumpet, possibly carrying a book by
Herodotus or Thucydides.
What name connected with the world of
advertising has been given to the lady in the
painting?
20. Betabrand, the US clothing crowd-funding platform is
now selling shirts embellished with an on-point,
optical-style _____ print based on an emoji.
As the product description explains: “If you are a
gentleman – a thoughtful, passionate gentleman – for
whom form and function are like lovers inexorably
intertwined in a sultry garden of orchids at dusk, then,
by all means, we invite you to order this _____-covered
shirt.”
The shirt costs about £50 and was successfully crowd-
funded before Christmas.
Fill in either blank or explain which emoji we are
talking about (blanks are not the same, but
synonymous).
23. Comedian Amy Schumer cheekily poses in a scene
suggesting a threesome with two characters highly unlikely
to be “turned on” by the alluring sight.
This image is part of a photo-spread for the August issue of
the GQ magazine.
ID the characters blanked out.
24.
25. The two characters blanked out in the previous
slide are believed to have been based on the
two characters shown in this pic.
28. Will Brooker, a film and cultural studies expert at
Kingston University, would spend a few months at a
time experiencing specific moments of X’s 40-year
career – from adopting his eating habits and poring
through the literature he read, to visiting the same
places as the English singer-songwriter.
Brooker – currently living in X’s 1974 Philadelphia soul
period and wearing thick blue eye shadow with a
shock of orange hair – has already been to Brixton,
Bromley and Beckenham, and plans to go to Berlin next
month.
ID the persona that he is impersonating (Brook’s
costumes in the next slide).
32. X has given his fans a sneak
peek at his desk – and home-
based office – on his website,
accompanying the visual tour
with descriptions of his
deliciously quirky objects.
“The bobblehead figurine is
Yasuhiro ‘Ryan’ Ogawa, who
is the young ace of the Yakult
Swallows baseball team that I
support. His nickname
‘Ryan’ alludes to Nolan
Ryan, because of the way
Yasuhiro lifts his leg when he
pitches a ball.”
Whose desk?
36. People have been walking past me in the street
doing that face. It makes me a bit self-conscious
– ‘What have I got on my face?’ – but it’s been
good fun, I’ve quite enjoyed it. I certainly
didn’t think about doing it or plan it. It was just
genuine amazement…I saw Theo Walcott
doing it, I’ve got a Twitter video from Lancs
Under-12s all doing it. It’s a bit strange.
Who is talking about what?
38. Stuart Broad; talking about his expression after
Ben Stokes pulled off a blinder to get Adam
Voges out
39. It’s a compilation of four open-ended conversations at
the studios of radio station WBAI in New York,
produced between July 1966 and January 1967 (they
were also published as a book).
The effect is of eavesdropping on two of the most
brilliant minds and personalities of the 20th century
talking about the ideas, music, people, philosophy, art
– and much, much more – that matter to them.
The compilation lasts four hours, 13 minutes and 28
seconds. One of the participants is Morton Feldman.
Who is the other?
42. Mussolini had inherited the Italian colony of X from the European
“scramble for Africa” that began in the 1890s.
For Mussolini, Asmara the capital city was the nexus in his new
Roman Empire – and the administrative centre of his Africa Orientale
Italiana. He called the city “La Piccola Roma” – Africa’s little Rome.
One of the most striking photos to have come out of this country in
recent times is this “graveyard of used tanks”.
ID this country which still retains a profound Italian architectural
influence.
45. In answer to someone who asked him if he had read
Daniel Deronda, he replied, "When I want to read a
novel, I write one.“
From his trilogy, the book subtitled Two Nations
stands out.
The opening scene captures the eve of Derby day at
Crockford's. "I rather like bad wine," says Mr
Mountchesney. "One gets so bored with good wine."
Having begun in a London club, the author moves
swiftly to explore the two nations of the subtitle.
ID the author who is more famous in a different walk
of life.
48. Dozens of spoof posters placed figures
including Kim Jong-un, Gollum, Saddam
Hussein, and the Minions at the conference.
One fake poster features Chinese president Xi
Jinping – born 10 years after the meeting.
Another carries the image of blind dissident
lawyer Chen Guangcheng who fled China in
2012 after escaping from house arrest.
What is all this a response to?
50. The Cairo Declaration – a big-budget war
movie produced by a company with ties to
China’s military – hits cinemas this month in
China
Mao Zedong is portrayed as having attended
the 1943 Cairo conference to discuss postwar
Asia. But it was Chiang Kai-shek who had
actually represented China.
51. Which “organization’s” homepage has the
following lines at the end?
“Self-driving cars? Flying cars? Self-flying cars?
A space elevator? A cure for the AIDS virus? A
non-polluting engine that runs on the AIDS
virus? Are these things even possible?
Well…at _______, we are in active discussions
about the long-term feasibility of these, as well
as many other projects”
54. The week before, he planted a tree. Two days
prior to the important day, he got a haircut.
The night before, he watched a movie.
What happened on the bus on the all important
day that made him step out, thus starting a
tradition?
56. Yuri Gagarin needed to pee; thus starting a
“tradition” for every Russian space traveler
57. U.S. pioneers made objects out of bone in the early 19th
century to deal with this menace.
A 1916 medical journal even recommends dousing the
affected area in “gasoline, or kerosene and vinegar,
equal parts”.
In recent times, researchers have attributed the growth
of this menace to widespread use of pyrethroids, a
family of insecticides used to kill indoor and outdoor
pests, from mosquitoes to bed bugs. The more often
insects get exposed to these compounds, the greater the
chances some will mutate and develop resistance to the
drugs.
Which menace which females are more likely to deal
with than males, is being talked about?
60. The colours depict the male to female ratio of users,
with red representing areas where more than 85% of
the users are men.
India is the only country which seems to show a
trend reversal where women form the majority.
What are we talking about?
64. From H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man to Dan
Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, people with X have
been portrayed as evil or mysterious.
In the rural villages of Tanzania, those with X are
seen not as villains, but are coveted for their bones
– local superstitions say that they can bring wealth
and riches.
People suffering from X are in constant danger of
murder or dismemberment. The situation is so
serious that protected villages have had to be
constructed for them.
What disorder is X?
67. The British Museum has one such object. On
their website, the piece is accompanied by the
note that "It is probable that the great majority
of examples now existing were made in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as
curiosities for the prurient, or as jokes for the
tasteless.“
This object is also depicted in a satirical
German print from the 1500s (pic in next slide).
What object are we talking about?
70. Chastity belt
In the pic, the young, mostly naked woman is
bidding her husband farewell. As she does so,
she hands him a key, to the locked belt around
her waist, her only bit of clothing. In the
shadows lurks another man with a second key,
the man leaving has the donkey-ears of a
cuckold and is visually compared to a fool in
the corner attempting to keep fleas in a basket,
a doomed attempt.
71. The object was first introduced in the early
1950’s. Its creator, an entrepreneur named
Gilmore T. Schjeldahl, actually intended it to
store food and liquids for a long period of time.
Schjeldahl envisioned that the thermoplastic
lining could be sealed with a hot iron to keep
food inside fresh.
Its original use has undergone radical changes
as the same industry in which it was first used,
discovered a different purpose for it.
What is the modern day avatar of this product?
74. A female only experiences one ovarian cycle per year.
During that time, which is usually between March and
May, there is a window of about 36 hours when she
can become pregnant.
If she does get pregnant, the embryo will develop
through a process called embryonic “dispausal” or
delayed implantation. This means that the embryo will
pause development for the following three to five
months to allow the mother to give birth at the optimal
time.
Which animal follows this rather complicated breeding
process, which might explain its endangered status?
77. Elysium has released an offer at a discount
price of $9,950 for the first 50 people to sign up
for the service.
After that, the special promo is over and the
prices start at $11,950.
Another company in the same business,
Celestis, has options starting at $12,500. As a
“key differentiator” Celestis also offers the
service for pets at a more generous $4,995.
What business are these two companies in?
79. Space burials; where they send a portion of the
deceased’s cremated remains into space
80. I don't care if a thousand
people look at me," said X
of oglers she attracted on a
walk down King Street.
The only unforgivable sin
was to mistake her for Y.
"We are as different as a
fine race horse and a goat,"
X said, without specifying
which is which.
ID X and Y.
84. Square pegs were possibly
used to tie on the roof beams.
Magnificent cave entrance into
the "Princess Tower" is fitted
with highly polished masonry.
Fine workmanship indicates it
was for royalty.
The bath with the "tub" being
about a foot deep.
Where do we find these?
88. According to an often-repeated story, the body of the
young woman was pulled out of the Seine River at the
Quai du Louvre in Paris around the late 1880s.
Since the body showed no signs of violence, suicide
was suspected.
A pathologist at the Paris morgue was, according to the
story, so taken by her beauty that he had a wax plaster
cast death mask made of her face.
She has since been referred to as L‘ Inconnue de la
Seine (the unknown woman of the Seine).
How has her death since been responsible for saving
numerous lives?
90. Resusci Anne, also known
as Rescue Anne, Resusci
Annie or CPR Annie, is a
training mannequin used
for teaching
cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR).
The distinctive face of
Resusci Anne was based
on L'Inconnue de la Seine.
91. In his biography, X reveals that he had taken to
jogging.
On his daily runs he would encounter a hooker on the
kerb, who would shout out “50 pounds” at him. “50
cents” he would fire back.
This routine went on for a few days. To add to the fun,
his wife decided to join him for a run one day.
Quite expectedly, X approached that run with
trepidation and sure enough the hooker stood in wait.
Just when he was bracing himself for the “50 pound”
approach line, the hooker in a brutally frank statement
said “See what you get for 50 cents”.
ID X.
94. X and Bubbles is a porcelain sculpture by Jeff
Koons. It was created in 1988 within the
framework of his Banality series.
Who has been blanked out?
97. Since X is more than 200 years old when he is
introduced, it stands to reason that he and Y
were not always friends.
Expanded novels about Y suggest that he met
X while working as a pilot on an Imperial slave
ship.
After Y refuses orders to flay X, Y and his new
pal escape with the help of rebels and the eight-
foot-tall X swears a life debt to his saviour.
X and Y sil-vous-plait?
100. Gary Gilmore, a noted murderer was the first American
executed by the state when capital punishment was
reinstated in 1976. Norman Mailer’s book “The
Executioner’s Song” is based on Gilmore.
According to family lore, his grandmother, who
performed in Vaudeville under the name Fay La Foe,
had an affair with X around the time of World War I.
The affair produced Gilmore's father, Frank. La Foe
described X as a "pip-squeak and a cheap tramp" and
also claimed to have taught him the tricks that made
him famous.
Who was X?
