Anoop Adithian Memorial Open Quiz 2013

Greycells and Gyaanartha presents

PRELIMS

• 30 questions

• Questions 11-20 will be starred

• Keep your phones switched off

1. Greek stamp issued on

20th August, 1995. What

does it pay tribute to ?

2. These are the ruins of an Akhara located in

Rajgir, Bihar and is supposed to be the place

where a mythological King used to practice

martial arts. Name this King who hailed from

that area and was also known to be a famous

wrestler.

3. Composer – conductor Sung Jin Hong is composing

an opera based on X, which will be released in 2014.

Here is what he had to say about it:

“Like many traditional operas, X explores crises of

deep human emotion during tremendous pressures or

repression, whether they are social, economical,

political or spiritual. The audience is intensely involved

in the narrative and heavily invested in the

transforming characters and complex plot. The main

characters in Grimes, Elektra and Salomé slowly

transform from protagonist to antagonist…In all these

noir narratives, the seeds are carefully planted in

advance, and when they are strategically harvested,

the fruits go far beyond our expectation.”

Identify X.

4. Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the

immortal jellyfish, is a species of jellyfish that

can at any stage of its life cycle transform itself

back to the earliest life stage, that of a polyp.

This happens as a result of environmental stress

or physical injury. The polyp will later spawn

clones (genetic copies) of the original animal.

By what common name (inspired by a movie)

is it better known?

5. Whose proposed statue, „Statue of unity‟ will

be the world‟s tallest once it is completed?

6. Albert Goodwill __________ began his

professional baseball career with the Boston

Red Stockings in 1871. Over his career, he

achieved a .323 batting average, an earned

run average of 2.14 and an overall winning

percentage of .796, a record that still stands

today. From 1871 to 1875, he won an

outstanding 241 of 301 games he pitched for

the Boston Red Stockings and the Chicago

White Stockings. In 1939, was inducted into the

Baseball Hall of Fame. However, his name is

now familiar to us through a sports goods

manufacturing company he started in 1876.

Name the company.

7.

8. This is the new uniform of the tourist police

in South Korea. What inspired its design?

9. Clip from the BBC documentary series South

Pacific. Identify the narrator.

10. Description of an

iPhone app called

Bowlologist: “Australian

cricketer ___________

___________ is the

Bowlologist, a lab coat-

wearing bowling scientist,

whose coaching insights

and training videos will

help you get the most out

of your cricket.” Fill in the

blanks.

11. There are many theories about the origin of

this term. One popular theory suggests that it

came from the code name of Ferdinand

Magellan, the only private railroad car built

for a US President in the twentieth century. It

was 85 feet long, weighed 142 1/2 tons and

the windows were made with three-inch

bulletproof glass. Originally created for

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Ferdinand

Magellan transported Harry S. Truman across

the country for his 1948 Whistle Stop

campaign. What term is this?

12. Biography of

which artist?

13. Upon hearing what political statement did

Georges Clemenceau sarcastically remark

“The good Lord only had ten!” (Le bon Dieu

n'avait que dix!)?

14. This Gräf and Stift double phaeton

(pictured in the next slide) is said to be

responsible for more than a dozen deaths and

is supposed to be cursed. It changed many

hands after its first and most famous casualty,

and most of its later owners died in accidents.

In the 1940s, a Vienna museum curator

named Karl Brunner accepted this vehicle

and displayed it in his museum. But soon Allied

bombers reduced the museum to rubble.

Nothing was found of Karl Brunner but the

vehicle was restored and is now displayed at

the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna.

Who was the most famous person to have

died aboard this car?

15. During its course of use, it was given several nicknames, some of which are the following. What are we talking about?

• La Monte-à-regret (The Regretful Climb)

• Le Rasoir National (The National Razor)

• Le Vasistas or La Lucarne (The Fanlight)

• La Veuve (The Widow)

• Le Moulin à Silence (The Mill of Silence)

• La Bécane (The Machine)

• La Raccourcisseuse Patriotique (The Patriotic Shortener)

• La demi-lune (The Half-Moon)

• Les Bois de Justice (Wooden Justice)

16. What name is given to a test to gauge

whether a computer-based synthesized voice

can tell a joke with sufficient skill to cause

people to laugh? It was proposed by ______ at

the 2011 TED conference as a challenge to

software developers to have a computerized

voice master the inflections, delivery, timing,

and intonations of a speaking human.

17. A port-wine stain or nevus flammeus is

caused by a vascular anomaly (a capillary

malformation in the skin) and is almost always

a birthmark. Probably the most famous person

who had this condition was the source of

much attention from critics and cartoonists

due to this. Though some suggested that he

might have the mark surgically removed, he

opted not to, as once he was publicly known

to have the mark, he believed it would be

perceived as his being more concerned with

his appearance than other more important

issues. Who are we talking about?

18. This $5 silver-plated,

mahogany-boxed, three-

and-a-half-inch compass

was chosen as one of the

„101 objects that made

America‟ by the

Smithsonian. Who did it

belong to / what famous

purpose was it used for?

19. What infamous list comprised of the names

of 30 Namboothiris, 10 Tamil Brahmins, 12

Ambalavasis and12 Nairs?

20. Brian Battistone turned heads at the 2012 US Open with a bizarre racket designed by the

inventor Lionel Burt called “The Natural”. Witnesses

compared it to hedge-clippers but Battistone

claims that the benefits of "the Natural" racquet extend far beyond creating a strategic

advantage on the tennis court and is about

working in harmony with the laws of nature, by

creating a more balanced approach to the

human body and mind. The international

tennis federation (ITF) has ruled that the racket

can be used in professional competition, saying

that “If you can beat Roger Federer with a snow

shovel of that dimension, go ahead and do it”.

What is different about „The Natural‟ racket?

21. "Canto General" ("General Song") is a work by X that consists of 231 poems. This work attempts

to be a history or encyclopedia of the whole

continent of Hispanic America.

This is X talking about one of the topics in the

work:

“___________ is a trip to the serenity of the soul,

to eternal fusion with the cosmos, there we feel our own fragility. It is one of the greatest marvels

of South America . A resting place of butterflies

at the epicenter of the great circle of life. One

more miracle.”

Identify X and the fill in the blank.

22. In the mid-60s, he filmed nearly 500 “screen

tests”. He wasn‟t looking to discover unknown

talent or cast an upcoming movie. His interest

seemed to stem more from voyeurism, the

collector‟s impulse, and his fixation with

glamour. Who?

23. Whose drawings?

24. The origins of this company dates back to

1937 when the founder, Joseph-Armand

_______, a mechanic dreamed of building a

vehicle that could "float on snow". In 1937 he

designed and produced his first snowmobile

in his small repair shop in Valcourt, Quebec.

Today the company boasts of being the

„world's only manufacturer of both planes

and trains‟. Identify the company.

25. Excerpts from

whose Graphic

Novel Biography?

26. Music producer Brian Eno once said: “The

first ___________ album only sold 10,000 copies,

but everyone who bought it formed a band.”

Which band was he talking about?

27. Where did this sealed door lead to?

28. Fill in the blanks.

• When Ivo goes back with the ____, the _____;

Studds, Steel, Read and Tylecote return, return; The welkin will ring loud,

The great crowd will feel proud,

Seeing Barlow and Bates with the ____, the

_____;

And the rest coming home with the _____.

29. In her 20s she worked for J. Lyons and Co.

as a food scientist, where she developed

additives for ice cream. Her team “discovered

a method of doubling the amount of air” in

ice cream, which eventually found its way into

soft serve products. Who?

30. Google‟s first tweet. What is written in

binary?

Answers follow…

1. Greek stamp issued on

20th August, 1995. What

does it pay tribute to ?

Pythagoras Theorem

2. These are the ruins of an Akhara located in

Rajgir, Bihar and is supposed to be the place

where a mythological King used to practice

martial arts. Name this King who hailed from

that area and was also known to be a famous

wrestler.

Jarasandha

3. Composer – conductor Sung Jin Hong is composing

an opera based on X, which will be released in 2014.

Here is what he had to say about it:

“Like many traditional operas, X explores crises of

deep human emotion during tremendous pressures or

repression, whether they are social, economical,

political or spiritual. The audience is intensely involved

in the narrative and heavily invested in the

transforming characters and complex plot. The main

characters in Grimes, Elektra and Salomé slowly

transform from protagonist to antagonist…In all these

noir narratives, the seeds are carefully planted in

advance, and when they are strategically harvested,

the fruits go far beyond our expectation.”

Identify X.

4. Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the

immortal jellyfish, is a species of jellyfish that

can at any stage of its life cycle transform itself

back to the earliest life stage, that of a polyp.

This happens as a result of environmental stress

or physical injury. The polyp will later spawn

clones (genetic copies) of the original animal.

By what common name (inspired by a movie)

is it better known?

Benjamin Button Jellyfish

5. Whose proposed statue, „Statue of unity‟ will

be the world‟s tallest once it is completed?

Sardar Patel

6. Albert Goodwill __________ began his

professional baseball career with the Boston

Red Stockings in 1871. Over his career, he

achieved a .323 batting average, an earned

run average of 2.14 and an overall winning

percentage of .796, a record that still stands

today. From 1871 to 1875, he won an

outstanding 241 of 301 games he pitched for

the Boston Red Stockings and the Chicago

White Stockings. In 1939, was inducted into the

Baseball Hall of Fame. However, his name is

now familiar to us through a sports goods

manufacturing company he started in 1876.

Name the company.

7.

8. This is the new uniform of the tourist police

in South Korea. What inspired its design?

9. Clip from the BBC documentary series South

Pacific. Identify the narrator.

Benedict Cumberbatch

10. Description of an

iPhone app called

Bowlologist: “Australian

cricketer ___________

___________ is the

Bowlologist, a lab coat-

wearing bowling scientist,

whose coaching insights

and training videos will

help you get the most out

of your cricket.” Fill in the

blanks.

Damien Fleming

11. There are many theories about the origin of

this term. One popular theory suggests that it

came from the code name of Ferdinand

Magellan, the only private railroad car built

for a US President in the twentieth century. It

was 85 feet long, weighed 142 1/2 tons and

the windows were made with three-inch

bulletproof glass. Originally created for

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Ferdinand

Magellan transported Harry S. Truman across

the country for his 1948 Whistle Stop

campaign. What term is this?

POTUS

12. Biography of

which artist?

Norman Rockwell

13. Upon hearing what political statement did

Georges Clemenceau sarcastically remark

“The good Lord only had ten!” (Le bon Dieu

n'avait que dix!)?

Woodrow Wilson‟s 14 points

14. This Gräf and Stift double phaeton

(pictured in the next slide) is said to be

responsible for more than a dozen deaths and

is supposed to be cursed. It changed many

hands after its first and most famous casualty,

and most of its later owners died in accidents.

In the 1940s, a Vienna museum curator

named Karl Brunner accepted this vehicle

and displayed it in his museum. But soon Allied

bombers reduced the museum to rubble.

Nothing was found of Karl Brunner but the

vehicle was restored and is now displayed at

the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna.

Who was the most famous person to have

died aboard this car?

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

15. During its course of use, it was given several nicknames, some of which are the following. What are we talking about?

• La Monte-à-regret (The Regretful Climb)

• Le Rasoir National (The National Razor)

• Le Vasistas or La Lucarne (The Fanlight)

• La Veuve (The Widow)

• Le Moulin à Silence (The Mill of Silence)

• La Bécane (The Machine)

• La Raccourcisseuse Patriotique (The Patriotic Shortener)

• La demi-lune (The Half-Moon)

• Les Bois de Justice (Wooden Justice)

The Guillotine

16. What name is given to a test to gauge

whether a computer-based synthesized voice

can tell a joke with sufficient skill to cause

people to laugh? It was proposed by ______ at

the 2011 TED conference as a challenge to

software developers to have a computerized

voice master the inflections, delivery, timing,

and intonations of a speaking human.

Roger Ebert

17. A port-wine stain or nevus flammeus is

caused by a vascular anomaly (a capillary

malformation in the skin) and is almost always

a birthmark. Probably the most famous person

who had this condition was the source of

much attention from critics and cartoonists

due to this. Though some suggested that he

might have the mark surgically removed, he

opted not to, as once he was publicly known

to have the mark, he believed it would be

perceived as his being more concerned with

his appearance than other more important

issues. Who are we talking about?

Mikhael Gorbachev

18. This $5 silver-plated,

mahogany-boxed, three-

and-a-half-inch compass

was chosen as one of the

„101 objects that made

America‟ by the

Smithsonian. Who did it

belong to / what famous

purpose was it used for?

Lewis and Clark expedition

19. What infamous list comprised of the names

of 30 Namboothiris, 10 Tamil Brahmins, 12

Ambalavasis and12 Nairs?

The people who were mentioned in

Kuriyedathu Thathri‟s „Smartha Vicharam‟

20. Brian Battistone turned heads at the 2012 US Open with a bizarre racket designed by the

inventor Lionel Burt called “The Natural”. Witnesses

compared it to hedge-clippers but Battistone

claims that the benefits of "the Natural" racquet extend far beyond creating a strategic

advantage on the tennis court and is about

working in harmony with the laws of nature, by

creating a more balanced approach to the

human body and mind. The international

tennis federation (ITF) has ruled that the racket

can be used in professional competition, saying

that “If you can beat Roger Federer with a snow

shovel of that dimension, go ahead and do it”.

What is different about „The Natural‟ racket?

It is two -handled

21. "Canto General" ("General Song") is a work by X that consists of 231 poems. This work attempts

to be a history or encyclopedia of the whole

continent of Hispanic America.

This is X talking about one of the topics in the

work, specifically the one Canto II is all about.

“___________ is a trip to the serenity of the soul,

to eternal fusion with the cosmos, there we feel our own fragility. It is one of the greatest marvels

of South America . A resting place of butterflies

at the epicenter of the great circle of life. One

more miracle.”

Identify X and the fill in the blank.

Pablo Neruda, Maachu Picchu

22. In the mid-60s, he filmed nearly 500 “screen

tests”. He wasn‟t looking to discover unknown

talent or cast an upcoming movie. His interest

seemed to stem more from voyeurism, the

collector‟s impulse, and his fixation with

glamour. Who?

Andy Warhol

23. Whose drawings?

Vladimir Nabokov

24. The origins of this company dates back to

1937 when the founder, Joseph-Armand

_______, a mechanic dreamed of building a

vehicle that could "float on snow". In 1937 he

designed and produced his first snowmobile

in his small repair shop in Valcourt, Quebec.

Today the company boasts of being the

„world's only manufacturer of both planes

and trains‟. Identify the company.

Bombardier

25. Excerpts from

whose Graphic

Novel Biography?

26. Music producer Brian Eno once said: “The

first ___________ album only sold 10,000 copies,

but everyone who bought it formed a band.”

Which band was he talking about?

Velvet Underground

27. Where did this sealed door lead to?

King Tutankhamun‟s tomb

28. Fill in the blanks.

• When Ivo goes back with the ____, the _____;

Studds, Steel, Read and Tylecote return, return; The welkin will ring loud,

The great crowd will feel proud,

Seeing Barlow and Bates with the ____, the

_____;

And the rest coming home with the _____.

Urn

29. In her 20s she worked for J. Lyons and Co.

as a food scientist, where she developed

additives for ice cream. Her team “discovered

a method of doubling the amount of air” in

ice cream, which eventually found its way into

soft serve products. Who?

Margaret Thatcher

30. Google‟s first tweet. What is written in

binary?

Feeling lucky (Blanked out words were I‟m)

See you in the finals!