A quiz on World History taken on my behalf by his excellency, Mr.Lalit Mundhra at qutopia session #09 last Saturday,22nd August. Hope you like it :)

1. World History Quiz
By Harsh Utkarsh

2. Rules:
1.Googlers will be executed by a firing
squad
2.Right answers on direct will bring you 10
kisses from Marilyn Monroe’s ghost.
3.Right answers on pounce will bring you 20
4.Wrong answers on pounce will bring you
-10

3. A conflict between two groups has been going on
at the Varadaraja Swami Temple in Kanchipuram
for over 800 years. Due to the nature of the
conflict, the groups are called the “U” group and
the “Y” group. The bone of contention went out of
existence in 1965, 13 years before the Supreme
Court had delivered its verdict on the matter.
Before the Supreme court, the matter had been
under trial by courts during the British Raj and
also by Apex Courts in the 1960s.
Hint- the bone of contention resembled Rahil Sur

5. The bone of contention has
been the sign on the temple
elephant’s forehead. One
group wants to use the “U”
shaped Vadakali symbol
while the other group was
bent upon using the “Y”
shaped Thenkalai symbol.
The Supreme Court told the
groups to use the symbols
alternatively. The temple
elephant died in 1965. Now
there are two temple
Elephants.

6. This guy was the leader of
nationalists in a country
whose mainland he ruled
for 22 years. However, he
was defeated in the civil
war in 1949 after which he
retreated to an island
which he ruled for 30 years
until his death in 1975.
Who is he and what is the
name of the island that he
ruled until his death?

8. Chiang Kai-shek and Taiwan

9. Professor X claims this structure Y to be actually
a hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. He says
that the pinnacle of the structure is a Kalash. He
further claimed that the octagonal shape of the
structure has special significance because the
number 8 is considered auspicious in Hindu
mythology. X’s claim to declare Y as a temple
dedicated to Lord Shiva was rejected by the
Supreme Court. Things of world wide fame and
wonder such as Y are bound to generate
conspiracy theories. Aren’t they?

11. X= P.N.Oak and Y= Taj Mahal

12. The construction of X was started by the
French. However, the French effort went
bankrupt after reportedly spending US$
287000000 and losing 22000 lives. The
construction was taken over by the US in
1904 and the project was completed in a
decade by 1914. The project is still an
engineering marvel and a testimony to the
strength of human will power.. What?

14. The Panama Canal

15. Id the song and singer

17. We didn’t start the fire by Billy Joel

18. An example of the fatal effects of procrastination, the defeat
of the Mughals by the Persians in this battle X, fought just 110
kms from Delhi resulted in a plunder of the city of Delhi by
the victorious Persians who under the command of their
leader Y killed 30000 civilians. The Persians took the Peacock
throne, the kohi-noor and darya-ye noor diamond s. The
plunder seized from India was so rich that Y stopped taxation
in Iran for a period of three years following his return. The
Mughal ruler, Muhammad Shah kept delaying the Mughal
response to Y’s approach towards Delhi and acted only when
he was 110 kms away. This delay in action is often cited as the
main reason for Mughal defeat. When asked to act,
Muhammad Shah repeated the phrase Z. This phrase is used
till date to scare Indian procrastrinatots. X,Y,Z?

20. X= Battle of Karnal; Y= Nadir Shah; Z=
Abhi Dilli duur hai

21. This war X is known as the “great
patriotic war” in Russia and several
other soviet republics as this war was
fought on home turf and was
primarily in defence of one’s own
country. What war?

23. World War 2

24. The X building in Chicago was renamed to X
from Y in 2009 by the X group as part of
their lease on a portion of the building’s
space. In 1969, Y, Roebuck and Co. were the
largest retailers in the world, with about
350000 employees. Their executives
decided to consolidate the thousands of
employees in offices distributed
throughout the Chicago area into one
building. The building resulted out of this
plan. Give me x and Y.

26. X=Willis Tower and Y=Sears Tower

27. Few countries have achieved the kind of
economic transformation that X has achieved. At
the time of its formation, the per capita GDP
was $79 ;lower than several sub-Saharan
countries. The engine of economic growth was
the capital city Y. The river Z passes through Y
and hence the phrase A is used to refer to the
rapid economic growth that X achieved.
Legendary conglomerates have been born in this
country. These conglomerates produce products
that are an integral part of our lives even here
in India. X,Y,Z,A? (No part points :p)

29. X=South Korea; Y=Seoul; A= Miracle on
Han river; Z=Han river

30. This is the cover of the
Times magazine issue
that commemorates the
9/11 attacks. It is Times’
highest selling issue. In
this cover, there is a
major departure from
all other covers. How is
this cover different from
other covers?(This kind
of departure from the
norm has been seen in
at most two other
times’ issues)

32. A black border, Times covers always
have a red border

33. Few of us know that anyone can use the X.
Every year, Johns Hopkins University’s
Space Telescope Science Institute issues an
open call for proposals to conduct
observations using X. While there are no
restrictions on who can apply, the
competition is extremely tough. Hundreds
of eager applicants come forward each
year, and following a review by a panel of
experts, only around one-fifth of them
actually receive time with the X. What is X?

35. X= Hubble telescope

36. Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Towards the afternoon his turn came. Though initially nervous, he
bowed to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning, and he felt he got
new energy in his body; he felt someone or something else had
occupied his body– "The Soul of India, the echo of the Rishis, the voice
of Ramakrishna, the mouthpiece of the resurgent Time spirit".[3] Then
began his speech with salutation, X To these words he got a standing
ovation from a crowd of seven thousand, which lasted for two minutes.
When silence was restored he began his address. He greeted the
youngest of the nations on behalf of "the most ancient order of monks
in the world, the Vedic order of sannyasins, a religion which has taught
the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.!“ Who is he and
what was the world famous salutation X?

38. Swami Vivekanand; X= Sisters and
brothers of America

39. The X Revolution began in Great Britain, and
spread to Western Europe and North America
within a few decades.[Economic historians are in
agreement that the onset of the X Revolution is
the most important event in the history of
humanity since the domestication of animals,
plants and fire. The earliest recorded use of the
term "X Revolution" seems to have been in a
letter of 6 July 1799 written by French
envoy Louis-Guillaume Otto, announcing that
France had entered the race to Xise.

41. X=Industrial Revolution

42. End of questions, time for some
memes

46. That was all folks!