1.
POP CULTURE QUIZ
Finals

2.
THE FINALS

3.
ONLY 1 RULE

4.
ROUND 1: LIFE IMITATING ART

5.
RULES
• Standard clockwise bounce and pounce.
• +10 on a direct/pass. +15/-10 on pounce.

6.
Q1
• On June 24, 2003; Joshua P. Cooke killed both of his parents using a
Remington Super Magnum shotgun after having played GTA III for a long
time.
• This case came into limelight because his defense attorneys said that he
had lost his touch with reality, referencing his obsession with a certain
movie series popular at that time.
• However the judge rejected the insanity plea and he was sentenced to 40
years of prison.
• Which movie franchise?

7.
MATRIX

8.
Q2
• George Edalji was an English solicitor and son of a vicar of Parsi descent.
• In Jan 1903, when Edalji was 27 years old, a series of slashings occurred
against horses and other livestock, known as the 'Great Wyrley Outrages’,
causing them to be put down.
• He was convicted of the crime and sentenced to seven years of hard labour
in a miscarriage of justice. His case gained nationwide fame when somebody
wrote this letter: “The case arrayed against young Edalji was preposterous.
As an astigmatic myopic he was incapable of complicated nocturnal
excursions; the vicarage was surrounded on the night of 17 August by a
cordon of men through which he could not have penetrated; apparently
incriminating dirty razors found in a police search of the vicarage were
stained with rust, not blood.”
• Who is this famous person who backed Edalji in his defense case?

9.
SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

10.
Q3
• 1944 was a weird time for Superman comics. A comic title called
“Battle of the _____” involving Lex Luthor, was about to be published
when the US government decided to order DC to shut down it’s launch.
• Later declassified reports reveal that DC comics was under investigation
because they suspected that the comics may have been used as a
medium for enemy spies.
• That particular issue was published in 1946 and became among the
first in a long line of use of a particular plot item by comic books.
• Fill in the blank/give funda.

11.
ATOM/ATOMIC BOMB

12.
Q4
• In 2014, Kevin Abar, assistant special agent in charge of Homeland
Security Investigations in New Mexico reported that they had found a
rise in a “signature” variety of a particular product.
• This variety, however is actually the opposite of what made it’s fictional
counterpart such iconic. As opposed to the fictional product’s score of
99/100, the real life variant only got a score of around 60 and affected
people’s health more than the standard variety.
• Which variant of which product am I talking about?

13.
BLUE METH

14.
Q5
• The Nut Case was a gang in Oakland, California. They were so dubbed
because they apparently indulged in crime for fun.
• Ralls alone racked up four murder charges, two counts of attempted
murder, 17 counts of robbery, one count of kidnapping and "various
enhancement clauses".
• According to Oakland Police several of gang members used to do a certain
activity during their leisure time that led to their doings.
• What was allegedly their inspiration for bad deeds?

15.
GTA

16.
Q6
• In the Dutch town of Eindhoven, artist Daan Roosegaarde has paid
homage to its most famous resident, by creating a glowing bike path
that relies on solar-powered LED lights.
• Who is the resident? And what work does it pay homage to?
(video)

17.
VINCENT VAN GOGH, STARRY NIGHTS

18.
ROUND 2: YEH RISHTA KYA KEHLATA HAI
• Written round
• 5 questions, +10/0
• Long connect on infinite pounce:
All the answers (or parts of the question) have a particular connect
between them. To answer the connect, you need to pounce. Points will
be given as mentioned in the respective slide.

19.
Connect: +30/-30
Q1.
“Your Friend the ___” is a 2007 animated short film by Pixar. The short takes
on the form of a educational film about an unlikely symbiotic relationship.
It talks about how the white guys were considered to be a good luck charm in
the Roman empire, brown guys are of great importance in Chinese zodiac and
the Hindu mythology, and how the crimes of the black guys were actually
committed by one Xenopsylla cheopis (the racism here is completely
accidental).
Which mainstream Pixar movie is this short film based on?

20.
Connect: +25/-20
• Q2.
“Bart the X” is an episode of The Simpsons released in December 1990.
Considered to be one of the greatest episodes of the series, it features
the Simpson family attending a monster truck rally featuring a death-defying
stunt by Lance _______.
However Indians might be more aware of the word through a certain entity
which abandoned the term X almost exactly one year ago in order to
reference something that started in 1911.
Give X. What is the Indian entity?

21.
Connect: +20/-15
• Q3.
• Production designer Jeffrey Beecroft headed the creature design of this
movie monster. The director wanted the creatures to look like they had
evolved to no longer need eyes, and to be "somewhat humanoid" in
nature.
• These creatures have sensitive plates lining the front of their faces that
can extend and contract to help them gauge direction of where sound is
coming from. The back of their heads are capable of unfolding into
massive ear-like structures with pronounced, slimy eardrums.
• Which movie, the title of which may remind you of a chamber designed at
Orfield Laboratories to help astronauts prepare for the isolation of outer
space?

22.
Connect: +10/-10
• Q4.
• Polyester is a 1981 American comedy film directed, produced, and written
by John Waters.
• It is a satirical look at suburban life in the early 1980s
involving divorce, abortion, adultery, alcoholism, foot fetishism (way before
Tarantino), and the religious right.
• This movie had a special gimmick in which people were handed scratch
cards called “Odorama” to help them get the “complete experience of the
movie”.
• What exactly were these cards for?
(image)

23.
Connect: +5/0
• Q5:
• “Touchstone Pictures” is a currently defunct movie production and
distribution company.
• Established in 1984 by Ron W. Miller, it was involved in making acclaimed
movies like Dead Poets Society, Pretty Woman, The Nightmare before
Christmas, Signs, Good Morning Vietnam etc.
• This company was actually a pseudonymous brand: it never had any
business of its own.
• Through Touchstone Pictures, it’s parent company could make more
mature movies without the fear of alienating it’s core audience.
• Which company?

24.
EXCHANGE SHEETS…

25.
Connect: +30/-30
Q1.
“Your Friend the ___” is a 2007 animated short film by Pixar. The short takes
on the form of an educational film about an unlikely symbiotic relationship.
It talks about how the white guys were considered to be a good luck charm in
the Roman empire, brown guys are of great importance in Chinese zodiac and
the Hindu mythology, and how the crimes of the black guys were actually
committed by one Xenopsylla cheopis (the racism here is completely
accidental).
Which mainstream Pixar movie is this short film based on?

26.
Connect: +25/-20
• Q2.
“Bart the X” is an episode of The Simpsons released in December 1990.
Considered to be one of the greatest episodes of the series, it features
the Simpson family attending a monster truck rally featuring a death-defying
stunt by Lance _______.
However Indians might be more aware of the word through a certain entity
which abandoned the term X almost exactly one year ago in order to
reference something that started in 1911.
Give X. What is the Indian entity?

27.
Connect: +20/-15
• Q3.
• Production designer Jeffrey Beecroft headed the creature design of this
movie monster. The director wanted the creatures to look like they had
evolved to no longer need eyes, and to be "somewhat humanoid" in
nature.
• These creatures have sensitive plates lining the front of their faces that
can extend and contract to help them gauge direction of where sound is
coming from. The back of their heads are capable of unfolding into
massive ear-like structures with pronounced, slimy eardrums.
• Which movie, the title of which may remind you of a chamber designed at
Orfield Laboratories to help astronauts prepare for the isolation of outer
space?

28.
Connect: +10/-10
• Q4.
• Polyester is a 1981 American comedy film directed, produced, and written
by John Waters.
• It is a satirical look at suburban life in the early 1980s
involving divorce, abortion, adultery, alcoholism, foot fetishism (way before
Tarantino), and the religious right.
• This movie had a special gimmick in which people were handed scratch
cards called “Odorama” to help them get the “complete experience of the
movie”.
• What exactly were these cards for?
(image)

29.
SCENTED SCRATCH CARDS
• Audience could tear and smell the scenes from the movie.

30.
Connect: +5/0
• Q5:
• “Touchstone Pictures” is a currently defunct movie production and
distribution company.
• Established in 1984 by Ron W. Miller, it was involved in making acclaimed
movies like Dead Poets Society, Pretty Woman, The Nightmare before
Christmas, Signs, Good Morning Vietnam etc.
• This company was actually a pseudonymous brand: it never had any
business of its own.
• Through Touchstone Pictures, it’s parent company could make more
mature movies without the fear of alienating it’s core audience.
• Which company?

31.
WALT DISNEY COMPANY

32.
CONNECT: Senses of the body
• Q1. Ratatouille (about food) = Taste
• Q2. Daredevil (about a blind dude) = Sight
• Q3. A quiet place = Hearing
• Q4. Scented scratch cards= smell
• Q5. Touchstone= touch

33.
ROUND 3: SCORSESE’S BANE
• Round on movie/series franchises. Pick your choice from the grid
• Clockwise
• Direct: Take your pick from +10/-0, +20/-10 or +30/-20 before the
question. (Unanswered also earns a negative)
• Pounce: +15/-10 for each question.
• Questions will not pass in this round

34.
ROUND 4

35.
WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO RISK?
• +10/0
• +20/-10
• +30/-20

36.
DC
• Watchmen is a 2019 acclaimed HBO series based on the DC comics graphic
novel of the same name.
• Both the book and the series heavily explore the themes of the linear flow
of time, specifically the concepts of cause-effect relationship and
determinism or fatalism.
• The book used “clocks” as a visual motif to describe it. The series, on the
other hand uses a certain motif as a reference to an age-old philosophical
question posed by a Roman guy called Putarch.
• Which question, which can be answered in a literal manner by using
evolutionary biology to study descends of red junglefowl (or simply what is
the recurring motif used in the series)?

37.
WHAT CAME FIRST: CHICKEN OR EGG?
• HOME

38.
• +10/0
• +20/-10
• +30/-20

39.
MARVEL
• In Avengers: Endgame, after Tony Stark snaps his fingers, Thanos and
his entire army turns into dust.
• The first effect of this is shown when a monster called Leviathan
attacking Rocket Raccoon is turned into dust.
• This scene is a homage to a scene from a 1989 movie, which
according to a critic, “Endgame makes fun of and then proceeds to
steal it’s plot”.
• Which movie/movie series?
(video)

40.
BACK TO THE FUTURE II
HOME

41.
choose
• +10/0
• +20/-10
• +30/-20

42.
GOT
• “Fire and Blood” is a 2018 novel written by George RR Martin which
chronicles the history of the Targaryen dynasty. The “Dance of the Dragons”
parts will later be adapted into an HBO series called House of the Dragon.
• In the civil war between Rhaenyra Targaryen and her brother Aegon II,
Rhaenyra sent assassins (only known as “Blood” and “Cheese”) to kill Aegon’s
children.
• When Queen Helaena and her children appeared, they barred the doors and
told Helaena to choose which of her sons would die. She reluctantly
chose Maelor, but Blood killed Prince Jahareys instead.
• Which iconic work in literature/cinema is this a reference to?

43.
SOPHIE’S CHOICE
• HOME

44.
Accio
• +10/0
• +20/-10
• +30/-20

45.
HARRY POTTER
• In 2016, students Leah Ashley, Chris Ringrose and Robbie Roe set out to
test the feasibility of something from the world of Harry Potter.
• They found that 30 units of something were missing. Since restoration
took around 24 hours and there is no mention of food intake, an
additional 1,33,050 kcal worth of energy without causing any negative
effects, a power output of 6,443 W. This is more than three times the
power output created by Usain Bolt.
• What, which scientists are trying to replicate through stem cells and a
magnetic bandage? (or give funda)

46.
SKELE-GRO
• HOME

47.
…
• +10/0
• +20/-10
• +30/-20

48.
LORD OF THE RINGS
• Among JRR Tolkien’s influences was the English translation of the Völsunga
saga by Icelandic scholar Eiríkur Magnússon. The character of Gandalf is
thought to be influenced by someone from this general field of
literature/study.
• Specifically, the The Balrog and the collapse of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm in
Moria is a direct parallel to an incident from the stories on which the saga
was based on.
• Which event, which itself was adapted into a movie in 2017?
(video)

49.
DESTRUCTION OF BRIDGE OF ASGARD in
Thor: Ragnarok
HOME

50.
omg
• +10/0
• +20/-10
• +30/-20

51.
FRIENDS
• X is a dating/relationship reality television series produced by 495
Productions and airing on MTV.
• In each story, the person with romantic feelings (the crusher) wants
to express these feelings to the target of his/her feelings (the
crushee).
• What is this show based on these valiant escape attempts called?

52.
• HOME
FRIEND ZONE

53.
ROUND 4: FREE POINTS
• Written round, 10 questions
• +5 for correct answer. No negatives.
• All-correct entries get a 10 points bonus

54.
Q1
• Identify the movie:
“The life of a teenager changes when he finds out that he can squirt
white fluid from his body.”

55.
Q2
• Identify the movie:

56.
Q3
• What has been blanked out in this google search result?
(minimalist poster of the movie as a clue)

57.
Q4
• Identify the TV series.

58.
Q5
• Identify the movie.

59.
Q6

60.
Q7

61.
Q8
• Who is ad paying a homage to? And which movie is referenced?

62.
Q9
• Identify the movie.

63.
Q10
• Identify the series.

64.
EXCHANGE SHEETS….

65.
Q1
• Identify the movie:
“The life of a teenager changes when he finds out that he can squirt
white fluid from his body.”

66.
Q2
• Identify the movie:

67.
Q3
• What has been blanked out in this google search result?
(minimalist poster of the movie as a clue)

68.
Q4
• Identify the TV series.

69.
Q5
• Identify the movie.

70.
Q6

71.
Q7

72.
Q8
• Who is ad paying a homage to? And which movie is referenced?

73.
SASHI KAPOOR

74.
Q9
• Identify the movie.

75.
Q10
• Identify the series.

76.
ROUND 5: BEHIND THE SCENES
• Anti-clockwise round
• Questions on non-conventional topics.
• Choose your topic from the grid. 10 points for correct answer and no
negatives for incorrect answer.
• If correct, you have an option to play for a bonus question. Pick any score
less than or equal to 50 as your bet with an equal negative penalty.
Ex: Team C gets first question right: +15
Plays bonus question with a bet of 35 points, gets it right: +35
Total score: 35+15=50
If Team C gets the bonus wrong, total score 15-35= (-20)
All questions are open on pounce for +15/-10. Questions do not pass.

77.
NETFLIX
A Freedom of Information request by Matt Novac revealed the content of movies
and TV shows available in the streaming service equivalent at this particular
“location”.
Most popular choices were Star Trek and Star Wars (except Rogue One and the
Holiday Special). Other movies included Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the
Caribbean, Avatar and one of the Harry Potter movies (and ironically, Gravity).
In the comedy section, you have Dr. Strangelove, This is Spinal Tap and The Big
Lebowski. Dramas like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, 24 and House
of Cards. Infamous rule-breakers are conspicuously absent: there's no "Dirty
Harry," "Rambo," or "Rocky." You don't want a mutiny on your hands, after all.
Which location? (specific answer needed)

78.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
 HOME BONUS

79.
PICK YOUR BET

80.
NETFLIX: BONUS
• In 2004, investigators from FBI and Fox News visited a certain house
in Detroit based on a tip. Spraying luminol over the wooden
floorboards revealed a very interesting "painting".
• It tested positive in the hallway. The greatest amount of trace blood
was found in the foyer. Another seven drops trailed towards the long
hallway to the kitchen where it disappeared.
• While the age of the evidence meant that no further confirmation
was possible (though it still is an open case till date), the ones found
corresponded with the tip they had received.
• Who was the informant gave the tip/give funda?

81.
FRANK “THE IRISHMAN” SHEERAN
This is where he supposedly killed James Hoffa
HOME

82.
GENESIS
• In 1998, Vibe magazine published an article titled "Racer X' about Nissan
driver Rafael Estevez and his run-ins with the New York Police
department and other racers.
• "I do anything I have to do to get away from the cops,” says Estevez,
who’s been chased on more than one occasion. “I’m not trying to go to
jail.”
• Estevez's life in the racing circuit was harsh, he once had to drive in the
very evening he underwent an appendectomy in order to avoid losing a
lot of money.
• What did this article inspire in the field of pop culture?

83.
FAST AND FURIOUS
HOME BONUS

84.
Pick your bet

85.
GENESIS: BONUS
Many of Estevez's customised modification to his vehicle inspired
several of the dials and modifications in Fast and Furious.
However Estevez on principle did not use a certain essential aspect of
every car in his based on a principle. He thought that a visual
remainder of his performance could only serve to limit him.
However that component became one of the most iconic parts of the
Fast and Furious franchise. Which component?

86.
SPEEDOMETER

87.
MUSIC
• Lester Young was a legendary saxophonist from 1940s Jazz sene. His
strategies of style were as influential as his artistic innovation. His
renowned use of hip slang influenced jazz culture, Beat generation
writers and the counter culture.
• He is said to be the first to use the word X to refer to a state of mind
rather than a physical state.
• Give X
• (Hint: You can use X to describe the quizmaster. Spoiler: it’s not
handsome)

88.
COOL
• HOME BONUS

89.
Pick your bet

90.
MUSIC: BONUS
• Dermestes maculatus is a species of beetle typically used by
universities and museums. They are used for a certain method and
the practice has been in use for over 150 years. What's their role?
• Another species of same Dermistidae family is nicknamed X Beetle.
It's the fact due to their liking for horse hair which makes them feared
enemy of a certain group of professionals. What's the nick
name/which group of professionals?
• (no part points)

91.
Removing skin off bodies (for making skeletons)
Bow beetles (attack bows of violins)
• HOME

92.
ANIME
• The man on the picture is ‘X’ the founder of the X dynasty in Hawaii.
• X had conquered most of the Hawaiian Islands and had played a major
role in the unification of Hawaii.
• X shares its name with something in a popular anime as well. The
creator of the Anime tried a number of poses when he was alone in
order to decide the best pose for the X.
• He was later suggested by his wife to name it after this Hawaiian king so
that it’d be easy to remember and of course the rest was history (bad
pun I guess?)
• X please!

93.
KAMEHAMEHA
HOME BONUS

94.
Pick your bet

95.
ANIME: BONUS
• Kaiji is a Japanese manga series about the art of gambling, written by
Nobuyuki Fukumoto.
• Kaiji gets caught in a myriad of debt and as a last resort boards a
gambling ship Espoir where he is made to gamble by playing a variation
of a simple game X, which is usually a simple game unrelated to
gambling.
• However with the twist that the game would be played with the help of
Cards instead of the traditional method which needs no equipment. The
use of cards is done deliberately so as to restrict the chances of the
moves of the game with the game thus being referred to as ‘Restricted X’
in the Anime.
• What simple game is X?

96.
HOME

97.
KUCH BHI
These are prototypes for
patents for certain items from
A larger group
Where would you have come
Across them together?

98.
TOY STORY
• HOME
• BONUS

99.
Pick your bet

100.
KUCH BHI: BONUS
• X is a thin, light-weight, strong, often translucent paper.
• The name of it is misnomer as it's not made from the said (very expensive)
substance but it resembles those. It was usually used with carbon paper for
typing duplicates in a typewriter, for permanent records where low bulk
was important, or for airmail correspondence.
• In traditional cartoon animation, the individual frames of a movie were
initially drawn on this type of paper over a light source. In computer
software, this effect is achieved by making frames translucent and
projecting them on top of each other.
• This effect can also be used to create motion blurs, as seen in The
Matrix when characters dodge bullets.
• Give X or the animation technique that share the same name.

101.
ONION SKIN
• HOME

102.
SONG OF THE SOUTH
Last year, a post on Quora which got nearly 30k upvotes found some uncanny
resemblances between beloved movies of 1994 and 2017.
- Two brothers are up for the same throne. One of them kills the other.
- Wise, old characters remain loyal to the throne and to the rightful King. They even
hold the heir in a surprisingly similar fashion while addressing the citizens.
- Son of the fallen King spends majority of his time away from the kingdom with a
carefree lifestyle. He grows into an adult in the meantime.
- The girl he falls in love with brings him back to the Kingdom.
- Father’s impression in the clouds.
- The antagonists have an uncanny physical resemblance.
Name the two movies (both answers needed for points)

103.
THE LION KING, BAAHUBALI
HOME BONUS

104.
Pick your bet

105.
SONG OF THE SOUTH: BONUS
• Mayabazar was a 1957 Indian epic fantasy film. Considered to be one of
the greatest Indian movies ever (it has an imdb rating of 9.2/10), it shot
N.T. Rama Rao (former chief minister), who played the role of Krishna into
public acclaim.
• It was produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani under their
banner, Vijaya Vauhini Studios.
• However this duo is more famous for having created something in 1947
that for over sixty years was famous among children throughout the
nation.
• In a surprising choice for this style of movies, a group of people are only
mentioned and don’t appear on-screen.
• What? Which group of people?

106.
CHANDAMAMA
• HOME

107.
ROUND 6: HOME SWEET HOME

108.
RULES
• Anti-clockwise
• Normal bounce/pounce
• +10/0 on bounce, +15/-10 on pounce

109.
Q1
• In a recent interview, this actress revealed that the making of this iconic
scene was actually a mess.
“Honestly, we were worried about the heat and getting cranky, my hair
was frizzling out, the _____ wasn’t moving at the right speed that it should
have. We couldn’t do retakes because the _____ had to go ahead and
come back which would take some 20 minutes. It was a mess.”
• She joked that her co-star should have made the job easier by using a
certain emergency mechanism (shown in the image).
• Which iconic scene is she talking about? And what does this mechanism
do?

110.
EMERGENCY CHAIN IN TRAINS

111.
Q2
• “Single-shot” movies are those movies which have no cuts and a single
continuous motion of the camera.
• In 2004, a TV episode called “The Inheritance” entered the LIMCA book of
world records for the most amount of time without a single cut: 111
minutes or 1 hour 51 minutes. It was a crime drama about a murder in a
family after a inheritance dispute.
• Which “path-breaking” TV series was this a part of?

112.
Q3
• Raja Nanna Raja is a 1976 Kannada movie. The film was directed by A. V.
Sheshagiri Rao, and produced by A. L. Abbaiah Naidu. The film
starred Rajkumar, Aarathi and Chandrashekhar in the lead roles. The
songs composed by G. K. Venkatesh were received extremely well and
considered as evergreen hits.
• K. V. Vijayendra Prasad , father of S. S. Rajamouli and the storywriter
of Magadheera had revealed that he was inspired by this movie while
writing the story. This movie is credited as one of the 2 Kannada movies
in filmography of certain collaboration which mainly includes Bollywood
movies. Who are they?

113.
SALIM-JAVED

114.
Q4
• The Indian association with this iconic Hollywood movie is well-known.
• The designs for the characters in this movie (especially their tails) is
heavily inspired from the Ramayana’s vanaras.
• This movie also uses the concept of Parakaya Pravesham: leaving one’s
body temporarily and entering the body of another person. Puranas have
hundreds of stories based on astral travel or body travel.
• “I just like blue. It’s a good color … plus, there’s a connection to the Hindu
deities, which I like conceptually.” the director said “I have just loved … the
mythology, the entire Hindu pantheon, seems so rich and vivid. I didn’t
want to reference the Hindu religion so closely, but the subconscious
association was interesting, and I hope I haven’t offended anyone in doing
so.”
• Which movie?

115.
Q5
• Peter Pereira is a cinematographer who began his career in the 1940s
providing trick photography for mythological scenes in movies by Basant
Studios.
• His most memorable work came in the 1980s, when he shot some
scenes with wires and with the lower half covered with black paper, and
then again using a red filter on the lens.
• What exactly was he filming?

116.
INVISIBLE SCENES OF MR. INDIA

117.
Q6
• Samir Rishu Mohanty, also known as "Big Deal" is an Odia rapper who has
been living in Bangalore for the last 16 years and visits Odisha once or
twice a year.
• In January 2019, The difference he noticed, particularly in Bhubaneswar,
stirred his creative mind and got him to work on this video. Further, he
was appalled by the way Odisha has long been represented in the national
media.
• “It is so wrong. Bhubaneswar has everything, the infrastructure, roads,
trees, are amazing compared to Bangalore, where the traffic is absolutely
horrible. I feel so proud of Bhubaneswar,” he said.
• Produced by Nila Madhab Panda and choreographed Harihar Dash, what
is the name of this music video, which first came into popularity a couple
of months after this incident?

118.
SEE YOU AT THE GEN-MED QUIZ!!!