The document provides information about an online quiz being conducted by Anubhav Sachdeva and Krishna Sumanth called the MELAS QUIZ PRELIMS. It thanks various members who helped organize and develop content for the quiz. It outlines the rules for the online quiz, which will have 25 multiple choice questions worth 1 or 2 points each, with questions 16-20 being starred tie-breaker questions.
4. RULES
• Written prelims.
• 25 questions: 1-20 are 1 point each, 21-25 carry 2 parts.
• Starred questions – 16-20.
• Starred questions will be used as tie-breakers. Only the complete answer gets you the
star.
• Quizmaster’s decision will be final.
5. 1.
• In one of the biggest poaching cases in Missouri history, hunter David Berry Jr
was arrested in August, 2018 for illegally killing members of the family
Cervidae. Killing of these animals has been a popular activity since Medieval
times for sport, and use of their body parts for meat and knives.
• On top of the jail sentence for the illegal hunting, the judge ordered Berry Jr to
do something at least once a month during his spell in prison, as part of a
rehabilitation effort. This was done in order to build empathy with the creatures
and understand the pain of loss.
• What was the convict ordered to do?
7. 2.
• Below is a screenshot of the Facebook Profile of 'Jon Haugen'. Haugen is an
individual who has been relatively unknown throughout his life (even now he
has 342 friends on Facebook), and this is even after he entered screens
worldwide a couple of decades ago.
• Since then, Haugen hasn't continued in that field at all, and a major reason for
this can be attributed to the fact that he made the directors of his claim to fame
promise to keep his identity a secret. This is an understandable move, given
his role in this claim to fame and the fact that he would've been the butt of
several jokes should he have revealed his identity.
• How do we better know Jon Haugen?
10. 3. ID X, Y, AND Z.
• In 1968, a self-titled album was released by the band A. This album is more popularly
known by the unofficial name X, that came about due to the plain unadorned album
cover and was a direct reference to it.
In 2003, acclaimed American rapper B came out with an album named Y. Y also
shares its name with the unofficial name of a self-titled album by a certain heavy metal
band (that came about the same way as X's name.)
• X and Y had almost nothing to do with each other except for some similarity in their
titles. In 2004, however, producer Danger Mouse made an infamous mashup album
taking an acapella version of Y and mixing it with samples from X. This album was
aptly named Z.
11. X – THE WHITE ALBUM
Y – THE BLACK ALBUM
Z – THE GREY ALBUM
12. 4.
• Yak : The Giant King (released as The Robot Giant in some countries) is a 2012 Thai
animation film that depicts a world destroyed a million years ago in a war between the
giant robots led by Na Khaiw and a robot army led by Peak on behalf of the Robot
creator. The director Prapas Chonsaranon claimed that he set the story in the fictional
aftermath of certain events that are well known to Thai audiences.
• Chonsaranon admitted that he is obsessed with these events, and had incorporated
elements of them into his works. A notable example is a popular game show Tod Sa
Gun which he developed in 2003 where the contestant was shown 10 faces and had to
name them all in order to win 10 million baht. It featured an animated face of Tod Sa
Gun in the background, which is also the inspiration for Na Khaiw's role in Yak.
• What is Chonsaranon’s obsession?
•
14. 5.
• Carrie Fisher had published four non-fiction books in her lifetime. The first of these was
a book called 'Hollywood Moms' (2001) and the third was a book called "Shockaholic"
(2011). The second and fourth have rather interesting, and appropriate names.
• The second book, released in 2008 was based off her one-woman play and delved into
the most private moments of her life including her fight against drug abuse and
alcoholism. The name itself is a pun on a term that means 'the imagining of a very
unlikely future situation as if it were possible and might one day happen", incorporating
into it her frequent spells of alcoholism.
• The fourth was a pun on the title of a book published in 2000 and made into a movie in
2001. This title slightly modifies the title of the book incorporating herself (as the
author) into it. This title is extremely apt as it references this actress' most iconic role.
• Name both the books.
16. 6.
• Wanda Nara is the wife and agent of a prominent football player. Wanda is also an
actress and there have been rumours that she has negotiated film roles for herself as
part of her client's contract negotiations.
Since she is known for constantly tweeting out confidential information and appearing
on talk shows, Italian newspaper, Corriere dello Sport ran the following front page,
owing to Wanda's wily nature when it comes to dealing with football clubs.
• What headline did they use, that was a pun on an entity from pop culture, incorporating
into it the name of her husband?
17.
18.
19. 7. ID X AND Y.
• This is an image of an issue of St. Croix’s ‘The Royal Danish American Gazette’,
containing a letter written by a 17-year-old X to his father, detailing “one of the most
dreadful hurricanes” that the island had ever seen. The letter changed the young man’s
life, as the letter was used for relief efforts, and it also led businessmen on the island to
raise money to send X to mainland North America, where he could get an education
and then return to the island. X never returned to the Caribbean.
• Y, in January 2019, is conducting his own relief efforts to help Puerto Rico recover from
its own hurricane. Through these efforts, Y says that they are “finally bringing X back to
the Caribbean”.
22. 8. WHAT CAUSE?
• Game Dev Tycoon is a business simulation video game developed by
Greenheart Games, which released in 2012. In the game, the player creates
and develops video games. Patrick Klug, founder of Greenheart Games,
knowing that the game was likely to be torrented extensively, purposely
released a cracked version of the game and uploaded it himself to torrent
sites. Gameplay in this version is identical except for one variation: As players
progress, their business starts losing money due to a particular cause. As a
result of this cause, eventually players of the cracked version gradually lose
money until they go bankrupt.
•
24. 9. ID X AND Y.
• It took more than a century to build X, beginning in 1163. It was periodically
vandalized over the turbulent centuries that followed. Rioting Huguenots
damaged parts of the building they believed to be idolatrous in the mid–16th
century. During the French Revolution, mobs of people carted off or smashed
some of its paintings and statues. After that, X was neglected with no
restorative work being initiated by the ruling classes.
• The restoration work for this structure was finally done only 1844 due to an act
of a particular individual, Y. It was only once Y created a certain work that
public consciousness was directed towards X and its pathetic condition
through the highly detailed nature of the work.
26. 10.
• Though appearing in a rudimentary form in the 1970s, this has been in the
iconic fashion in which it is seen today from the year 1992. Though there have
been some deviations since then (most notably from 2007-2016), the 1992
form still remains the most widely used.
• Suresh Krissna and Deva were the ones who created it in 1992 and despite
the concerned entity's uncertainty it was eventually included just to maximize
the reaction of crowds from the beginning.
• What are we talking about?
28. 11.
• In an interview with Indian Express, X’s mother revealed the reason
behind her daughter's choice of jersey number.
• "When she picked up her jersey, she chose this jersey number. For us
this number brings back several memories. But she took it positively and
now we also see it as a good sign for her. She dedicates all her victories
to the victims.”
• Which player? What number did she choose to use on her jersey as a
tribute?
30. 12. ID X.
• X is a programming language that was created in 2017 designed specifically to be
usable by Xs. Its creator, when introducing it in a blog post said “In today’s job market,
most X are forced to live a life of obedience and servitude to cruel trainers. They are
regularly forced to fight other _______ for sport, often in front of large audiences.
Clearly this is unethical and a gross violation of X rights. I firmly believe that to
successfully end this practice, we first need to provide Xs around the world with
suitable alternative career options. And the X programming language intends to do just
that. The language should utilise only elements of X language. This is actually a very
good thing since human language is often messy and complicated. But since X is
based on the language of the Xs, it can make do with only the three syntax elements".
32. 13. ID BOTH THE ARTISTS.
• a) Attached is an image of the album cover of Jackie Gleason's album Lonesome
Echo. The artist of the cover had a lot to say about the cover art as follows: “The first
effect is that of anguish, of space, and of solitude. Secondly, the fragility of the wings of
a butterfly, projecting long shadows of late afternoon, reverberates in the landscape
like an echo. The feminine element, distant and isolated, forms a perfect triangle with
the musical instrument and its other echo, the shell.”
• b) ID the artist of the album cover of Blur’s 2003 album Think Tank. Although one
wouldn’t expect him to be associated with commercial work of this nature, according to
one source, he justified it by simply saying that he needed the money.
35. 14.
• On May 26th, 2016 'X' posted a photo on his Instagram page, along with
another individual 'Y'. Though these individuals are from completely
different fields (both these fields being 'MELAS' related) they have a
rather unique connection from a work of the former which was inspired
by the latter.
• The name of the work is a reference to the fact that once ‘X' adopted a
particular type of hairstyle, all his friends thought that he looked like 'Y',
with one key difference. It would make sense that the two got along fine
when they met as well, seeing as the work of 'X' does complement 'Y'
and references the fact that he had begun working in his field from an
early age.
• Who are 'X' and 'Y', and what was this work that serves as their
37. 15.
• Book 1 has been challenged or banned the most number of times by
American Libraries since its publication.
• Book 2 made a sudden reappearance in list of most challenged or
banned books in 2017 after certain schools banned it for the reasons
seen in the image despite the book being a part of school curriculum as
it "makes people uncomfortable", thereby missing the point of the book.
• Identify these books based on the following markers associated with
them.
•
40. *16.
• Mishka, is an animal currently living at the Seattle aquarium. Her claim to fame
is that she is the only animal of her kind to be diagnosed with asthma, which
she developed after a wildfire that hit near her habitat early on in her life. As a
result her handlers had to come up with an inhaler which she was specially
trained to use.
• A few months ago, when threats of wildfires sprung up in that area, the Seattle
Times ran an article about Mishka and the potential threat she faced, with an
appropriate title for the same. This article's title is a pun incorporating the type
of animal Mishka is, into something extremely famous from the world of pop-
culture.
• What type of animal was Mishka? What was the article titled?
42. *17.
• In 2016, doctors and nurses from the University Hospital in Cardiff realised that
too time was being taken by them during their treatment of children with health
problems, so they needed to quicken their entire process for the same.
• As a result, they came up with the creative idea of calling a group of individuals
from a sporting context to increase their efficiency while carrying out
diagnostics and to help them reduce the time they spent on the same.
• Who did they call?
44. *18. ID THE TRANSLATOR.
• Veyipadagalu is an epic Telugu novel written by Viswanatha Satyanarayana. Since its
publication in 1937, it has been translated into multiple Indian languages, although the
Hindi version "Sahasra Phan", (published in 1968) is remembered among other
translations. Although its adaptation into a Doordarshan serial is the primary cause of
this version's popularity, another reason is the translator himself.
• The translator ran a Telugu weekly known as the Kakatiya Patrika in the 1940s and
was known to have a command on many languages. Both his literary and linguistic
abilities were widely discussed in later years after his rise to national prominence in
1972 (and later in the 90s) although he had been in that field since 1957.
46. *19. ID X.
• On October 2nd 1964, Geoffrey Roberson-Park, managing director of London's
venerable C. Roberson Color Makers, regretfully announced that they would not be
able to manufacture a certain pigment anymore, as they had run out of the pigment’s
primary source.
• The pigment was originally made in the 16th and 17th centuries from white pitch,
myrrh, and the primary source after putting it through a grinding process. Though the
pigment was popular due to its transparency and use for glazes and flesh tones, it was
extremely variable in its composition and quality, and since it contained ammonia and
particles of fat, was likely to affect other colors with which it was used. It fell from
popularity during the 19th century when its composition became more generally known
to artists.
• ID the pigment, a two-word term, the first word being the primary source, and the
second being the generic colour.
49. *20.
• In 2010, a certain country passed a new employment legislation, called The
Employment Relations (___ ________ Work) Amendment Act. This act
essentially changed the nature of workers in a certain field from 'employees' to
'contractors' and provided for grant of tax breaks in that field. Despite this
rather boring name, the Act is informally called the 'X' Act, owing to the reason
for its passing.
• This reason is because of the fact that given the countries past experiences
with a particular individual, it was eager to maximize the potential benefits that
could register over the next few years, given recent announcements made by
that individual.
• Who is this individual? What announcement led to the implementation of this
act OR what is its informal name?
51. 21.
• Writer X was famously “allergic to Hollywood” and despised “disneyfication”. This,
however did not prevent Hollywood from trying to make feature films of his works
on multiple occasions. In 2011, Disney’s hit director duo Musker and Clements
began working on designs for a project based on the book Y that was later
shelved. The artist, Sue Nichols, uploaded a postcard that was made during
development in order to hint at what the movie was based on.
• Sue Nichols was called by the same directors to begin production on another film Z
in 2012. The movie was described as “something fresh and original, not a fairytale
movie, apparently has a setting somewhere in the south pacific and a Tiki carving
as a character… being developed in a new style of CG”. Nichols uploaded a
painting by a famous painter to give a clue as to the look of the characters they
were developing.
• ID X, Z, and the painter.
54. 22.
• The _____ _____ presently sits in Courthouse Square on the Universal
Studios backlot because it was originally built to be used as a
__________ in the 1948 film, "An Act of Murder." The film, starring
Fredric March, has largely been forgotten due to being out of print, but
check out the picture below to see a shot of the __________ from the
film's opening credits.
• i. What context was the setting used in, more than 5 decades ago? In
this case the setting was used to play the same role it had been used for
in “An Act of Murder”.
ii. Most famously, the setting was used to depict an iconic moment,
more than 3 decades ago, playing a different role. Which moment?
55.
56. I. COURTHOUSE IN “TO KILL A
MOCKINGBIRD”
II. CLOCK TOWER IN “BACK TO
THE FUTURE”
57. 23.
• In 2012, Eurosport magazine published an article titled "Top 10: Sport's Greatest
_____s". This list is on the next slide (in no particular order).
• 'X', who's 7th on this list has a biography, written and published in 2016 by Richard
Tomlinson, that is interestingly and appropriately titled. The title is the same as a very
famous 1779 hymn written by poet John Newman, which has been rendered several
times over the years (including by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, The
Byrds, Willie Nelson and Rod Stewart) and has become etched into American culture.
Portions of the original poem were even used in several works of literature including by
Harriet Beecher Stowe in Uncle Tom's Cabin.
• Three parts:
i. Fill in the first blank.
ii. Who is 'X'?
iii. What is the title of this biography?
58. • 1. Hashim Amla (Cricket),
2. Sebastian Chabal (Rugby),
3. Socrates (Football),
4. John Watson (F1),
5. Lucas Glover (Golf),
6. Alexi Lalas (American Football)
7. 'X' (Cricket),
8. George Best (Football),
9. Brett Keisel (American Football) and
10. Bjorn Borg (Tennis).
60. 24. ID X AND Y.
• In 2015, Kamal Hassan faced criticism for allegedly copying the work of
a French photographer in a poster for Uttama Villain. In an interview, he
stated that the photographer was the one who had copied an Indian
artform in his work and that this wasn’t the first time someone had
copied Indian works. He alleged that a 1994 Hollywood movie X was a
copy of K. Viswanath’s 1986 work Y, which Kamal Hassan had starred
in.
• Y was screened at multiple film festivals and was even India’s official
entry to the Oscars that year. While Y deals with the story of an autistic
man, X deals with that of someone with a low IQ. Additionally, the book
on which X was based was released in 1986 as well.
62. 25.
• "When the other ______ were gathered up, 'X' was mistakenly left behind.
Somehow making it to Chinatown, 'X' was found by a shinobi magician called
Chung I. Accompanying Chung to China 'X' was raised by him, was named Mei
Pieh Chi and trained in the art of shinobi as well."
• This is the origin story of an unknown individual who was introduced to a more
famous group in 1997. The naming of 'X' is different from the more well known
entities as this individual was named after creation rather than creator. Further, this
individual differs from the other entities in another way, which is pretty evident
given the name 'X'.
•
i. What is 'X' the lesser known entity from and what differentiates 'X' from the
others? (No part points within the second part. Will need one answer which has an
adjective and a proper noun in the answer)
• Ii. What is ‘X’?
