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Questionable Intelligence
The March Open QuizPrelims+Answers16th March 2014
J. Ramanand
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26 questions8 teams in the final
(Some questions partly from a General quiz I did at Antaragni, IIT
Kanpur in Oct 2013)
Highest scored: 16Prelims cutoff: 10
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In computer science terminology, if a set of eight bits is called a ‘byte’, what is a set of four bits called?
1
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Two special (Indian) National Tourism Awards were announced in 2013 to the director of a 2012 film and a writer associated with it, for promoting Munnar and Pondicherry as tourist destinations. Which film?
2
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Answer
Life of Pi, to Ang Lee & Yann Martel
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According to Islam, Iblis was a type of ‘jinn’ who was expelled from Paradise because he refused to obey Allah’s orders to bow to Adam. What word was therefore applied to Iblis?
3
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What suffix is applied to monstrously large 100 x 100 Sudoku puzzles? (i.e. they are called “Sudoku-___ puzzles” – fill in the blank).
4
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In which language is the name of Switzerland written on coins of the Swiss Franc?
5
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AnswerLatin. Switzerland has
four official languages (German, Italian, French, and Romansh), so the coin is language-neutral.
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In the Chota Bheem series, this lady is the mother of Chutki and her laddoos are the victim of Bheem’s sweet tooth.
Which yesteryear Hindi film singer-actress shares her name with this character?
7
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Identify this avid quizzer who won the 1985 IIT Delhi Director's Gold Medal.
Image: IIT Delhi
8
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Answer
Raghuram Rajan, present RBI Governor
Image: FirstPost.com
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Who is welcoming whom, during the latter’s visit to this centre?
(June 1970)
Image: Wikipedia
9
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Answer
Valentina TereshkovaNeil Armstrong
(at the Yuri Gagarin Centre in Russia)
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This is Malala Yousufzai addressing a conference at the United Nations in July 2013.
She is wearing a shawl that once belonged to whom?
10
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This is a bureaucratic rendition of the opening lines of a famous literary work. Which work?
“____, ____ with refulgent conflagrationin the nocturnal afforestationkindly provide details regarding nature of supernatural identityresponsible for your design and technology”
11
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Answer
‘Tyger Tyger Burning Bright’ by William Blake
Tyger, tyger, burning bright. In the forests of the night,. What immortal hand or eye. Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
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According to the Chicago Manual of Style, an “orphan” line is the first line of a paragraph that appears on the bottom of a page by itself (the rest of the paragraph is on the next page). What name is given to the opposite case where the last line of a paragraph appears alone on the next page?
12
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Arjuna, from the Mahabharata, was nicknamed “Savyasachi”. What ability, also seen in sportsmen such as
Sachin Tendulkar Kobe Bryant Ronnie O’Sullivan Paolo MaldiniJonny Wilkinson
does this refer to?
13
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Answer
Ambidexterity (can use both hands/feet equally well)
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This 2006 Malayalam film is named after its lead character, a tough cop played by Mohanlal. The character’s last name is a tribute to his own mother (this helps the film indulge in what is known in Tamil movies as ‘mother sentiment’).
In a strange coincidence, this film’s name is the same as a Pune-based industrialist. What name?
14
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This formerly princely state in Satara district is home to the Shri Bhavani Museum, boasting of several articles of European and Indian art, including works by Henry Moore and Raja Ravi Varma. What is this former state, which shares its name with a part of Pune?
15
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Because his cameos were much anticipated and ruined the mood he was trying to create in his films, Alfred Hitchcock began appearing earlier than before in his films, usually within the first 30 minutes. In an episode of “Koffee with Karan”, Mahesh Bhatt says a similar strategy was used by his production house for something (in some of their films). For what?
16
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Answer
Emraan Hashmi’s mandatory kiss in their films was done with as early as possible so as to get on with the rest of the story.
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The first ever question asked was:“Who are all of the ____ employees”
It was answered by Adam D’Angelo as:Adam D'Angelo, Charlie Cheever, Rebekah Cox, and Kevin Der
Fill in the blank.
17
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What does the ‘G’ stand for in this advertisement featuring Novak Djokovic?
[video removed]
18
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AnswerGraphene, used in the
manufacture of racquets by Head.
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Considered by some to be “the most memorable Bond girl ever”, who is seen here receiving an honorary BAFTA award in April 2013 from Sir Kenneth Branagh, for services to film and television?
19
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This vegetable is an important symbol in Taiwan, because the country’s shape is often compared to it.
Which vegetable?
Image: Wikipedia
20
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Edward Tufte is renowned for his data visualizations. He is also a sculptor. He held an exhibit called “All Possible Photons: The Conceptual and Cognitive Art of _____ _____”.
Here are some examples from it. What are the words in the blank?
Image: Edward Tufte
21
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Answer“Feynman Diagrams”.
The physicist Richard Feynman created these diagrams to depict Quantum Electrodynamic concepts. In one instance, he put them on a van (Tufte seen below with Feynman’s van)
Image: Edward Tufte
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What were Sachin Tendulkar and Roger Federer backing? 22
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AnswerSquash’s bid to be
included in the 2020 Olympics
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In 1922, Leonard Jennings, a British sculptor, created a sculpture of soldiers to mark the contributions of the princely states of Jodhpur, Mysore, and Hyderabad to the Empire during World War I. In 1930, another building came up near this landmark to house the Commander-in-Chief of the British military in India. Which place, and who was the last resident of this place?
23
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Answer
Teen Murti House, the residence of Jawaharlal Nehru until his death. It now houses a museum to his memory.
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In Olympic records (Summer and Winter) from 1956 till 1964, this team (represented by a flag with Olympic rings in it) is identified by the code “EUA”. Which region did this team represent?
24
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Answer
The Unified Team of Germany(Équipe Unifiée d'Allemagne)
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This word of interest to quizzers was created by the writer Norman Mailer and defined as:
“facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper”
And anecdotally as:
“something that everyone knows is true, except it ain't!”
What word?
25
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“___ ____ syndrome : idiopathic facial paralysis during pregnancy”
This 2006 paper by Hellebrand et al studies the increased incidence (“up to 3.3 times”) of Bell’s Palsy during pregnancy.
(Bell’s Palsy: weakness or paralysis of muscles on side of the face)
The missing words are the name of the person and “Bell’s Palsy” is an explanation of a mystery associated with the person. Which person?
26
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Answer
Mona Lisa
One conjecture is that the enigmatic Mona Lisa smile is because the subject was pregnant and had Bell’s Palsy
Image: Wikipedia
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Questionable IntelligencePrelims End
I quiz-blog at Infinite Zounds
J. Ramanand