The Final Countdown - Chai Pe Quiz

THE FINAL
COUNTDOWN
(To your exam results)
A Quiz by Pratyush Padmanabhan

Acknowledgements
Chai Pe Quiz (especially Aravind Bhai), for the chance to conduct a second quiz
Dhananjay B and Krishnan T, for agreeing to be guinea pigs/proofreaders
Everybody present, for attending

PART 1 – VANILLA
BOUNCE/POUNCE

1.
Although X day has been celebrated everyday on May 25 since 2001, 2015 was
the first time it was celebrated in space.
Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, in particular, rose to the occasion to
celebrate, posting a series of tweets about the various roles X played on the ISS
(featuring other astronauts), and then live-streaming a celebratory session on
NASA TV.
The tradition was a success, and Tim Peake of the ESA went on to celebrate it
again in 2016, to make the celebrations cement further in cult lore.
What is X? Pictures follow

TOWEL DAY
“A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has
great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of
Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady
sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of
Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat;
wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of
Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you — daft as a
brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course
dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.”

2.
Since 2014, Formula 1 drivers can choose their own race number. This is a
unique number that stays with them for the rest of their career, and it can be
anything as long as it is less than 100 (and as long as it’s not being used by
another driver). There are only two exceptions to this rule:
1. #1 – It is reserved for the world champion of the previous year ; if the
champion opts not to use it for that season, nobody else is allowed to use it.
The last time this was used was by Sebastian Vettel in 2014.
2. #17 – No driver is allowed to use this number.
Why the restriction against #17?

#17 WAS THE RACE NUMBER OF THE LATE
JULES BIANCHI

3.
Swedish artist Oskar Pernefeldt, in 2015, proposed the new flag of X.
It consists of a Borromean ring structure with a Zaffre blue background, concurring
with X’s primary colour scheme. (A Borromean structure is a structure made of
interlinking rings, such that one ring cannot be removed without disturbing the
others). These rings join in the middle to give shape to a flower (holding central
symbolism), and the rings themselves represent how all aspects of X are interlinked
and any part of it cannot be removed without the whole system collapsing.
Although no governmental body has recognized the flag of X yet, Oskar is confident
that it will be universally accepted, especially starting around 2025 for the purpose of
peaceful relations with all third parties. Which flag? (Picture follows)

4.
In US Navy regulations, names of states are reserved only for submarines. There are,
however, a few exceptions to this rule; three of them being USS New York, USS Arlington
and USS Somerset (LPD-21,24,25 respectively)
The first of these, New York was commissioned in 2009, and the allowance was a result of
a letter written to the Secretary of Navy by the Governor of New York, George E. Pataki
almost a decade ago, in which he specially requested the Congress to allow the ship to be
named in recognition of New York.
The Navy took his letter very seriously; so much so that they went one step further in
honouring the governor’s wishes: they did so for three locations – New York,
Arlington(Virginia) and Somerset(Pennsylvania). This was done by ordering building firm
Northrop Grumman to source the material for the three ships in a special way.
What makes the USS New York, Arlington and Somerset unique?

THEY WERE BUILT WITH STEEL FROM THE
PLACES AFFECTED IN 9/11
1. USS New York : Contains rubble from the Twin Towers.
2. USS Arlington : Contains rubble from the Pentagon (Located in Arlington)
3. USS Somerset : Contains rubble from the ill-fated flight 93 whose passengers
prevented the plane from crashing into the twin towers and instead crashed in
Somerset.

5.
In a surprisingly dark, ironic and completely unexpected twist for the fan following of
X, it is revealed that X’s real life counterpart suffered tooth decay late in its life, which
eventually led to its death in 1934.
This specimen, named after a Canadian city, was bought by Army vet Harry Colbourn,
who then made it the mascot of his regiment in the war. After the war, it got donated
to London, where it caught the fancy of a particular ten-year-old and his father.
This relationship brought X to the limelight, as well as caused this tooth decay, news
of which is met with much scepticism. However, this has been scientifically proven.
What is X? What is the cause of the tooth decay?

WINNIE THE POOH; CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
FED IT TOO MUCH HONEY

6.
Nuclear transmutation, simply put, is a change in the number of protons and neutrons in an atomic
nucleus. First applied in Physics by Ernest Rutherford, it remains our most feasible chance to make X a
reality.
This scientific method for X was first realized by accident in 1972, when workers at a nuclear power
plant at Lake Baikal, Russia observed that the reactor shielding seemed to have become a lot more
valuable – overnight. And since then, major scientific efforts have been put in to carry out X regularly.
However, the process is very slow and with little output – Glenn Seaborg tried X in 1980 with Bismuth,
Mercury and Thallium as intermediates, and got a success rate of several thousand atoms, but stated
that “it would take several quadrillion dollars per ounce” (putting him at a loss) – this is because
transmutation needs a huge amount of resources (beta ray blasters et al) for a net change of even one
proton– X involves a loss of 3.
What is X?

7.
X , at one point of time, used to mean “let the sickness be destroyed” in Aramaic. This
sickness referred to in particular is malaria.
According to the words of Quintus Serenus Sammonicus of the 3rd century CE, people
suffering from malaria would wear an amulet with the word X inscribed on it, letter by letter
and would also be made to recite the word X continuously, as it was believed to have
healing powers against malaria, as well as against disease and misfortune.
In 2000, the word X was corrupted to Y and this latter term became very popular around
the world for a totally different reason, with the meaning now changing from “let the
sickness be destroyed” to simply, “destroy”.
Put funda for X and Y. (Pic attached)

8.
The 2014 rebranding is only the second in X’s history – the first, more nostalgic one, being
in 1986 in its effort to go international; the second to remove its “elitist” image.
X’s CMO Matt O’ Toole said in a statement that “for thirty years we have been making
products for the elite, but what we haven’t been able to do is inspire enough people to
move. It’s an invitation for all of us to take part and fight against complacency for everyday
people.”
After this rebranding attempt wherein X looked to expand its field of specialization; the
company, when asked about its symbol of replacement, said this: “For centuries, the _____
has always been a symbol of transformation and change. Our version of _____ has 3
distinct parts; each representing the changes – physical, mental and social – that occur
when people push themselves beyond their perceived limits.” What is X?

9.
This giant, in 2013, released a statement that was meant to put an end to a very
prevalent and disturbing assumption. The reasons provided were as follows:
The primary mechanism in X is a capacitor that takes electrical charges around
the interaction points as input. It works on the principle that every human body
has a slight electrical charge running through it.
In the event of a loss of this charge across the contact surface; the mechanism
has no input, and thus, simply fails to activate. This implies that the required
result is not achieved, unlike constant and illogical portrayals by books and
movies.
What assumption did the company debunk?

CUTTING YOUR FINGER OFF AND PLACING IT
ON A FINGERPRINT SCANNER WILL UNLOCK
THE PHONE

10.
What is this monument, located smack in the middle of Szczecin City, Poland
dedicated to?

11.
In late 2016, Intel unveiled a unique range of drones called “Shooting Star”.
Each drone is specially built for a purpose. They’re 330 grams in weight, without cameras and also have
cages covering the propellers for safety. Each of them comes equipped with an LED light, and when sent
up, usually in a fleet of 100 or so, can form about 4 billion RGB colour combinations. These drones also
involve a lot of software coding, with a complex algorithm by Intel automating the animation process
which would otherwise take months.
Due to environmental concerns by various organizations, these drones are quickly rising in popularity
and demand. A particular example would be at Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl 51 half-time show, and the
deployment of a fleet of 300 at the Coachella Music Festival in 2017, a perfect place to show off their
capabilities, and due to this reason, Intel has signed deals with many other music festivals to supply
these drones to perform a task central to their working.
What are the drones built for/what have they replaced? (Picture Follows)

12.
Doritos and Mountain Dew (both owned by Pepsico) had a combined ad for
Super Bowl LII, which featured Peter Dinklage aka Tyrion Lannister, and Morgan
Freeman having a lip-sync battle on-screen.
Due to the opposite natures of the two products being advertised, the
advertisement was pretty successful. However, what nickname did it earn from
viewers/fans, owing to the extremely contrasting VFX used in the video (and the
portrayal in general), along with the fact that the ad was primarily based off
music?
(Video follows)

13.
Sharad Ashani, a retired AGM from Crompton Greaves, invented something in 2004; he started trialing
and selling the product in 2017, when it suddenly shot into the limelight because an organization placed
a massive order of around 5000 for it.
The device costs just INR 100, and it works when one clamps it on a ________. When the load on said
_________ exceeds a pre-determined point, an unlatching mechanism is triggered and the device (which
looks like a rod with springs) elongates as much as needed.
Ashani built this device to solve a very pertinent problem among people, especially among those of a
certain age group; he plans on making this the industry standard over the next few years.
What is this invention, that has over the years been dubbed as both lifesaving and controversial?
(Picture attached)

14.
The origin of this glorious tradition dates back to the 17th century, when the code of wars
fought at sea dictated that the defeated enemy, as an act of tribute to the winner, get rid of
all ammunition on board and render itself helpless. Also, whenever a Dutch man-of-war
visited a foreign port, it would discharge all weaponry in public view to indicate that it
came in peace.
The exact number originates from the fact that gunpowder (then made of sodium nitrate)
was safer to keep on dry land than at sea. British administration instructed that in an event
of war, each ship would only be able to fire seven cannons . However, because of the
nature of gunpowder, the cannons kept on land-based forts could fire three times as
opposed to a cannon on one ship.
Put Funda.

15.
In 2004, as a part of a promotional deal, the promoters of the movie X signed a deal with the Jaguar F1
team for the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix.
In a bid to highlight/display the plot sequence of the movie, 2 diamonds, loaned from Israeli firm
Steinmetz, worth $300,000 each were embedded into the nose-cones of the two cars, driven by
Christian Klien and Mark Webber for the race.
The plan seemed very grand, until Christian Klien crashed his car on the first lap itself. According to F1
safety regulations, Jaguar were not allowed to get onto the street circuit and retrieve the diamond from
the car until the end of the race, well over 2 hours later.
By the time they actually did, the diamond was missing from the car. After a comprehensive search of
the city, it was assumed as either lost in Monte Carlo; or ironically, stolen, catapulting the team into
mainstream headlines. As Jaguar’s communications head Nav Sidhu put it: “Someone here has walked
away with more than a motor racing souvenir!”
What is the movie X?

16.
In 1996, Apple was struggling under the leadership of Gil Amelio. Having no other
alternative to rescue itself from its downward spiral, it acquired NeXT for $427 million and
got Steve Jobs back to Apple.
The board of directors offered him the post of CEO, but Jobs blatantly refused, citing
commitments to Pixar (of which he was CEO at the time). He said he was just there to set
Apple on the right path, nothing else. However, after much persuasion, he agreed to take
up a leadership role in the interim until Apple started profiting again; that is, for the short
term.
He thus took up a title that was not only unheard of previously, but was the forerunner for
Apple’s brand image of the next decade, until he dropped it and became full-time CEO in
2000.
What title?

17.
The International Flat Earth Research Society, founded in 1956, officially believes
in the azimuthal equidistant projection model of the Earth, which has the Arctic
in the middle and Antarctica bordering the disc. However, there is something
highly uncanny about this model.
Round-Earthers have put it down to coincidence, while most flat-earth groups
constantly cite it as an example to show that every level of society subtly
believes in a flat Earth, but fools the “gullible” public into believing that it is round
just to make profits.
Where could one prominently find this model that sparked much debate about
the flat-Earth theory?

18.
The phrase X was first introduced by Thomas Hobbes in his book Leviathan in
the following sentence:
By Consequence, or X, I understand that succession of one _______ to another
which is called, to distinguish it from discourse in words, mental discourse.
When a man thinketh on anything whatsoever, his next _______ after is not
altogether so casual as it seems to be. Not every _______ to every _______
succeeds indifferently.
This can aptly be interpreted as “One _______ leads to another”.
X?

19.
Most sailboats nowadays have a single, triangular sail. However, in the old days,
the masts used to be square and thus used to have names based on their
sequential order in height on a mast.
X (aka hope-in-heaven/hopesail) was the usual name given to the topmost sail
on the mast, which was named because it was “one level higher than the sky
sail”, and seemed almost to reach for the stars, albeit this principle was
applicable only for tall boats. The triangular equivalent of X is called a
skyscraper.
What is X, whose name is popular for different reasons altogether?

20.
According to Gina Glasman, professor of Jewish studies at Binghamton University, X, also
known as Hanukkah Gelt, hasn’t always been it’s present avatar. Instead, it originated in
Eastern Europe as a year-end tip for traveling workers, mainly crafted out of precious
metals.
Charity money like Gelt was also minted specially for other Jewish festivals. However,
once Jewish families moved from close-knit communities to towns and cities, the customs
of Hanukkah changed, especially in America.
With decreasing amounts of migrant workers, and growing influence of Christianity, X
evolved, both traditionally and physically, from being given as Gelt(money) for workers to
being popular to give to kids, and was obviously immensely enjoyable.
What is the modern form of X, something which has international appeal?

Format
7 pictures; all 7 point to a particular theme.
Allotted scores per slide shall decrease, feel free to go for the theme whenever
you want.

1. +30/-15
1. 1947: Initial setting (11:50)

2. +25/-13
2. 1953 – The USA tests its first thermonuclear
bomb as a part of Project Ivy, and Russia
follows suit.

3. +20/-10
3. 1963 – The USA and USSR sign the Partial
Test Ban Treaty which limits atmospheric
testing of nuclear weapons.

4. +15/-7
4. 1974 – India carries out operation Smiling
Buddha, countries invest majorly in Multiple
Independently targetable Re-Entry Vehicles.

5. +10/-5
5. 1991 – The USA and USSR sign the Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty, and the Soviet Union
dissolves.

6. +5/0
6. 2018 – Imminent nuclear fallout created by
North Korea; climate change is now a factor
(which is grossly neglected).

THE DOOMSDAY CLOCK
AKA THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
(A clock that counts down how far the world is from ending due to manmade
causes by moving closer to midnight as the danger increases)

The Final Countdown - Chai Pe Quiz

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