Michael Phelps faced off in a highly publicized swimming race against an unexpected opponent arranged by Discovery Channel. Viewers were disappointed when the race aired and Phelps lost by two seconds. His opponent in the open-water 100m race filmed off South Africa was a great white shark. Phelps acknowledged losing to this opponent, though he doesn't like taking silver medals generally.

1. The General(ish) Quiz
-Shreya Shri
Delhi-42

2. Rules
 Infinite pounce and bounce.
 +10 on direct
 +15/-10 on pounce
 No part points unless mentioned.
 QM’s decision is final and binding
Jai Bawana

3. Q1
The phrase X came in existence around the turn of the
20th century. Booths would be set up in fairgrounds
and fair workers would host overpriced, nearly-
impossible-to-win games for happy fairgoers to try
(pretty much like today) and just occasionally an
individual would win. Games of strength, accuracy, and
skill were played by men and women, with the prizes
awarded not very children friendly. This turned out to
be the origin of the phrase. Identify.

5.  Close but no cigar

6. Q2
A favorite subject of photographers and filmmakers,
the Alabama Hills Natural Arch, also known as ______
____, can be found off Movie Road in Lone Pine,
California. A lovely contrast to the towering
escarpment of the eastern Sierra Nevada, the massive
boulders scattered throughout the Alabama Hills have
been chiseled away leaving impressive holes through
the center forming perfect archways. The difference in
appearance a result of the weathering process.
ID X.

9.  Mobius Arch

10. Q3
On Saturday, November 24 1973, a Douglas Super DC-3
airplane was forced to crash land on a beach, on the South
coast of the its destination country. The official reason for
the crash is still unknown. Some say the aircraft
experienced severe icing near it’s crash site, while other
sources report the pilot just switched over to the wrong fuel
tank making the aircraft run out of fuel. The crew and
passengers all survived the crash. Rather than being
recovered, it was abandoned.
Considering the harsh environment, the plane’s shell is
very well preserved. In recent years, it has become an
iconic place with only the courageous ones accessing the
wreck.

13. Q4
The Nestle logo is often considered as one of the
world’s most iconic and instantly recognizable logos. It
has undergone several modifications over the years.
Nonetheless, the logo still retains a touch of charm
and modernity with a cutting-edge design style. The
earliest Nestle logo was unveiled in 1868 by Henri
Nestle, originating from the phrase “little nest”, the
actual meaning of his name in his native German
language. In 1988, the Nestle logo underwent a little
redesigning; intending to illustrate the activities of the
company and to reflect the modern ideals. Thus
depicting Nestle as modern and contemporary
company, keeping up with the latest trends and ideals.
What was the change?

16. Q5
Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq, in an honest attempt to rectify an
issue predominant in professional circles and the
workplace, created X. Unexpectedly, Tawfiq garnered
worldwide fame in almost no time, thanks to X.
However some started to misuse X, going against its
tagline, with activists now starting to protest against it.
X, the latest in its kind, shows a remarkable similarity
to an early version of Y, which was shut down for good
this year.
Plainly, give both X and Y.

18.  X-Sarahah
 Y-Yik Yak

19. Q6
X’s career kick started with First National Bank of Atlanta’s
"Tillie the All-Time Teller. Since then, she has worked with
numerous brands such as for Ford, Coca-
Cola, FisherPrice, McDonald's, Discovery Channel, Delta
Airlines and Cartoon Network, among others. She has even
done a short role in the 2017 animated feature film The Lego
Batman Movie.
In June 2005 she was recruited by the software
company ScanSoft when the appointed person for the job was
absent. She worked from home for the entire month of July
that year, more than 4 hours a day.
It was only in 2011 that she realised what work (Y) she had
been doing 6 years ago, when she was alerted by her family
and friends. Although it has never been disclosed officially,
forensic experts have declared X to be the person behind Y.

21.  X-Susan Bennet
 Y-Siri

22. Q7
 Petrus Gonsalves was born in 1537 in Tenerife, Spain.
He was diagnosed with congenital hypertrichosis
consequently leading his monstrous life to be widely
chronicled. He became an iconic personality, although
trying his best to live the life of an ordinary nobleman.
His initially forced marriage to Lady Catherine became a
turning point in his life, immortalising him.
 How do we recognise/remember Petrus as today?

25.  Petrus’ life became the inspiration for Beauty and the
Beast

26. Q8
Casa Rosada is the executive mansion and office of
the President of Argentina. It is one of the most
emblematic buildings in Argentina. In 1860s, the
Presidential mansion was commissioned to have a
beautification process, including patios, gardens, etc.
which led to its present name. Other than just being a
pretty building, it is a symbol for unification and
solidarity. Namely, give the reason for being so.

28.  Casa Rosada is painted pink, thus defusing the
political tensions between the two major political
parties, red was the color of the Federales, while
white was the color of the Unitarians.

29. Q9
Antonio X, born in the mid 17th century, was the most
prominent member of his profession. X didn’t have a very
privileged childhood, often having to pull strings to make a
living. He started out as an apprentice for Nicola Amati, a
well known name in those circles. Gradually, X moved out
and began his own line of Y. X’s Y were had exquisite
craftsmanship, making his Y’s the best in the field, left
undisputed for a very long time. So much so, after 3
centuries, X is still the superlative often associated with
excellence; to be called "the __________" of any field is to
be deemed the finest there is. The name is widespread,
appearing in numerous works of fiction. The few remaining
X’s Y still fetch a hefty sum at auctions, and are in the
possession of a select few professionals.

31.  X-Stradivari
 Y-Violins (stringed instruments )

32. Q10
X by Y hit top charts at a very ironic time. X’s reign at
number one in the United Kingdom occurred as the country
was hit by extreme rainfall and flooding in 2007, which led
the British national newspaper The Sun to humorously
suggest the two events were related, with the media
referring to it as the “Y Curse." The temperatures were
relatively high, however, just a day after the release,
"severe weather warnings hit the headlines". A campaign
began to knock the song off the chart's top spot by
downloading songs, all of which shared the theme of
sunshine or summer.A similar situation occurred in New
Zealand, where the song hit number one in the early winter
of 2007 as the country was experiencing some of the worst
storms in its history. As the song was losing positions in the
charts, the storm ended and the temperatures lowered step-
by-step.

34.  X-Umbrella
 Y-Rihanna

35. Q11
 FiveThirtyEight is a blog and polling aggregation
website. What does the name mean?

38. 538 is the number of electors in the US electoral
college.

39. Q12
Jamadagni is one of the saptarishis in the Hindu
Mythology, better known to most of us as the father of
Parshuram. His wife, Renuka was the embodiment
was chastity and devotion. Jamadagni was a skilled
bow shooter, and Renuka would always recover each
of his arrows immediately. Once however, Renuka
returned at nightfall, blaming the sun. An enraged
Jamdagni shot an arrow at the Sun. To appease his
rage, the Sun begged for mercy and offered two
entities to Renuka. What were the boons?

41. The Sun offered Renuka an umbrella and a pair of
sandals, so she could continue retrieving the arrows
dutifully.

42. Q13
 What is referenced/FITB?

46. Q14
Anurag Basu admitted that X is an ode to his
childhood superhero and wanted to pay homage to all
the art, literature, comics, that have influenced his
work.
"I used to love adventure stories when I was a kid.
The setting and details of such stories often stay at the
back of your mind, and resurface when you are
creating something of your own. X is my childhood
playing out on screen,” he said in an interview.
The hairdo (a quiff) has been the subject of a very long
discussion, hinting at the similarity between the
protagonist and the inspiration. It didn’t take long for
the audience to notice more similarities in the setting
and plotline, fuelling Basu’s reputation of including
‘coincidences’ in his films

50. Q15
The X is located in a now popular neighborhood in
New Mexico, USA. Although its pretty ordinary looking,
it came into the limelight a few years ago. Loyal fans
still perform this practice to pay homage to their ‘hero’.
Padilla and her husband, Louis, the true owners and
the local police have to unfortunately deal with these
antics and unwelcome curious visitors on a daily basis.
What is the X in question?

52. The White home in Albuquerque. Fans throw pizza on
the roof of the home to pay homage to this famous
scene from Breaking Bad.

53. Q16
The last couple of nights prior to the registration of X
were tough and sleepless, for want of the name by
which they would be known. The creators wanted a
catchy, friendly and neutral name. Consultants on the
team suggested names like Fashionstreet,
Designhouse, etc. Finally the team decided to go with
X, subtropical evergreen plant with the thought of being
evergreen and bright, the colour in the logo signifying
the ability to be adventurous, creative and social. What
name did they pounce upon?

57. Q17
Michael Phelps faced his fastest opponent in his field of
expertise, courtesy of Discovery Channel. The competition
was highly hyped, but when the episode aired, viewers
were deeply disappointed leading to heated animated
discussions on Twitter.
The 32-year-old American swimmer was beat by two
seconds in the open-water 100-meter race, filmed off
Mossel Bay, South Africa, and televised on Sunday night.
The Olympian was given a modified swimsuit made to
mimic the opponent, to reduce the chances of foul play/
advantage.
As the race was being set up and boats prepared,
Discovery made a change and Phelps lost. “I don't like
taking silver medals but I'll take one against this Great
being,” Phelps said later.
Who was Phelps’ opponent and what out of the blue

59. Michael Phelps raced against a simulated Great White
shark in a highly anticipated television program to kick
off Discovery Channel's annual Shark Week in the
episode Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White

62. Q18 (+40/-30)
 Identify this masterpiece and the sculptor

65.  Fountain of Four Rivers by Bernini

66. Q19 (+30/-20)
X’s YZ was named so because poems in the ancient
world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low
(“Z”). Low poems had happy endings and were written
in everyday language, whereas High poems treated
more serious matters and were written in an elevated
style. X was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write
of a serious subject, the Redemption of humanity, in
the low and "vulgar" Italian language and not the Latin
one might expect for such a serious topic. The
adjective ______ was added later in the 16th century,
200 years after the work was completed. The YZ is
inspired from X’s life himself. YZ at a deeper level
represents, allegorically, the soul's journey towards
God.
 Name the author and the work.

68.  X-Dante Aligheri
 YZ-Divine Comedy

69. Q20 (+20/-10)
 __________ is one of the world’s oldest and largest
non-religious, non-political, fraternal and charitable
organisations. __________ teaches "self-knowledge
through participation in a progression of ceremonies”
and “is a society of men concerned with moral and
spiritual values”. Some high profile members
reportedly included Winston Churchill, the Duke of
Wellington, Lord Kitchener, Kings Edward VIII and
George VIand James Monroe. Their symbols have
reportedly been seen in a number of places,
including on currencies.

70.  Freemasons

72. Q21 (+10/0)
 The model was a member of the Gherardini family
of Tuscany, and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk
merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The work is
thought to have been commissioned for their new
home, and to celebrate the birth of their second son,
Andrea. The original name of the work means
"jocund" ("happy" or "jovial") or, literally, "the jocund
one", a pun on the feminine form of the model’s
married name. Who?

75. Connect: The themes for the Dan Brown’s books
starring Robert Langdon
 Angels and Demons
 Inferno
 The Lost Symbol
 The Da Vinci Code

76. Fin