A short, accessible set of 20 questions on history, entertainment, and the arts during this stay-at-home COVID season. Hope you all like it.

1. The HELP! Quiz
A stay-at-home season Special
History | Entertainment | Literature | Paintings | Everything else!

2. 1
The ninth studio album by this artist, it came 4 years after his last released in 1991.
During this period, his image had been marred with all sorts of controversies and
he wanted to set the record straight – something that is reflected in the lyrics of
many of the songs on the album and by its name "_______ : Past, Present and
Future, Book I".
If it helps, the album had two discs titled "_______ Begins" and "_______
Continues".
Fill in the blank (exactly the way it's written on the album) and name the artist.

3. Answer follows

4. HIStory; Michael Jackson

5. 2
If you thought being left out for the lack of knowledge of
English (à la English Vinghlish) was an Indian thing, even a
prominent painter of the western hemisphere X suffered the
same plight as far back as the 1930s/40s. A supporter of
communism, he convinced the President of his country to give
refuge to exiled politician Y and along with his wife, Z hosted
him. During this time, Y and Z became intimate and would slip
love notes into books they shared with each other in English – a
language that X struggled with and Y's wife did not know. Even
though she was jailed for supporting Y, Z would not relent and
continued her support even after their split through her own
works (image on the right).
For full points, identify X, Y, and Z.

6. Answer follows

7. Diego Rivera, Leon Trotsky, Frida Kahlo

8. On the right is a poem written by
Nissim Ezekiel titled "_____
__________ Instructions" inspired by
one of his many visits to his favourite
and now defunct Bastani and
company.
Complete the title.
The fact that Ezekiel belonged to
Mumbai should give you a clue.
3
Please
Do not spit
Do not sit more
Pay promptly, time is valuable
Do not write letter
without order refreshment
Do not comb,
hair is spoiling floor
Do not make mischiefs in cabin
our waiter is reporting
Come again
All are welcome whatever cast
If not satisfied tell us
otherwise tell others
GOD IS GREAT

9. Answer follows

10. Irani Restaurant Instructions
• Points also for Irani Cafe

11. 4
In the picture is John Wojtowicz,
a veteran of the Vietnam war
whose marriage to a certain
Elizabeth Eden led him to
attempt a bank robbery on a hot
day in 1972. Elizabeth needed a
medical procedure for which the
couple did not have money – of
course, a failed bank robbery
wouldn't help – you'd think. But
in some strange way, it did.
How?

12. Answer follows

13. Inspired the film Dog Day Afternoon
• The royalties were enough to pay for Elizabeth's gender reassignment
procedure
• Ironically, she married someone else after

14. 5
In the Spanish TV Series Money Heist (La casa de papel), <spoiler alert> a
group of thieves rob the Royal Mint of Spain led by a mastermind who
everybody calls the Professor. Each of the robbers has a city as their
codename – Helsinki, Berlin, Rio and so on. When one of the robbers called
Denver saves the life of a hostage called Monica Gaztambide, she starts to
develop feelings for him. Life isn't simple and she's already pregnant with her
boss's illegitimate child. Things take their course and she ends up joining the
band of robbers along with her lover, Denver.
What, appropriately, does Denver christen Monica while inducting her into
the group?

15. Answer follows

16. Stockholm
• After the Stockholm Syndrome, of course

17. 6
In a Looney Tunes retelling of a classic novella, Daffy Duck is the stingy
owner of the Lucky Duck Superstore and treats his employees like crap.
After making them work on Christmas eve, he expects them back at
work at 5 AM even on Christmas day… Porky Pig is Bob Cratchit,
Sylvester the Cat Jacob Marley, and of course there are the three
ghosts… you get the drift.
What play on a two word phrase from the original work is the title of
this cartoon?

18. Answer follows

19. "Bah, Humduck!", from "Bah! Humbug" in A Christmas Carol

20. 7
In international maritime signal flags, the plain yellow flag has
historically been used to represent this, though in the current system it
refers to the opposite.
Called Quebec or Q, another name for it is yellow jack.
What are we talking about?

21. Answer follows

22. Quarantine
Now used, however, to request free pratique

23. 8
How do the persons on the left
connect with the images on the
right?
For full points, identify either both
images on the left or right, and also
the connection.

24. Answer follows

25. Language institutes founded by respective
national governments
Instituto Cervantes for Spanish
Goethe-Institut for German

26. 9
Painter X was commissioned by a Vatican law official to paint Virgin Mary for
his family chapel in Rome. His treatment of the subject, given the maverick
that he was, was too much for the times, portraying a raw and human
picture of the mortal remains of Mother Mary. This was quite the opposite of
the standards of the time which held Biblical figures too sacred to fill them
with reality. Naturally, the clergy rejected the painting.
What caused a greater stir, it is believed, was the painter's choice of model
for the subject.
For full points, name the painter and who he chose as a model.

28. Answer follows

29. Caravaggio; used a
prostitute as a model

30. 10
If Peter, Francis, and Jack complete their journey on the Bengal Lancer,
where did they begin it?

31. Answer follows

32. The Darjeeling Limited

33. 11
With a history that goes back almost a 100 years, it is no doubt that several people have
contributed to this image. Bette Davis wrote about one in her biography "The Lonely Life".
An early version even had the American flag.
An interesting change was brought about when Coca Cola became involved with a famous
acquisition in the 1980s. The shape was smoothened to resemble the Coke bottle.
The current face of the image Jennifer Joseph has remained so since 1992. She explained in
an interview “So we just scooted over there come lunchtime and they wrapped a sheet
around me and I held a regular little desk lamp, a side lamp."
What are we talking about?

34. Answer follows

35. The Columbia Pictures' lady with a torch

36. 12
Anyone who has traversed the waters of project management or
management consulting knows that scope creep is a real problem.
When the scope of a project starts to expand unreasonably, it virtually
ends up becoming an impossible problem to solve.
The corporate world of course has its own vocabulary – and a
metaphor for this. This is attributed to American entertainer Will
Rogers, who in an interview during WW1 suggested a way to deal with
the stealthy, menacing German U-Boats – to simply ____ ___ _____ .
FITB.

37. Answer follows

38. Boil the ocean

39. Crispin and Crispinian were Christian saints and brothers
who were persecuted by a Gallic governor for their faith –
tied to a tree and eventually, beheaded. Their feast is
celebrated on 25 October, a day associated with many
battles. The most famous among these is one that features
in a play by Shakespeare with an eponymous king making a
famous speech on this day at the eve of a battle. He urges
that the soldiers who fight with him on the said St.
Crispin's day would become his brothers – a band of
brothers.
Which play? Which famous battle?
13

40. Answer follows

41. Henry V; The Battle of Agincourt

42. 14
Artistic inspiration can come from
strange things. Ask vocalist Dan
Nobacon, you probably won't because
who remembers a band from the 1990s
which really just had one big hit. Well,
not too bad – Dan gets up again even if
he's knocked down.
Anyway, he imagined two washrooms
and strange signs on them. What did this
inspire?
Wamba ?

43. Answer follows

44. Chumbawamba

45. 15
A spec ad or speculative ad is a great way for recent graduates to break
into the advertising industry. With little or no experience to show for in
one's portfolio, prospects often imagine what they would create if they
had been hired to write an ad for a brand.
On the next slide are three such speculative ads by a certain Mr. Marco
Sodano, for Lego. In each case, identify the painting that has inspired
the creative. Also identify the painter.

47. Answers follow

48. 1. The Son of Man – Rene Magritte
2. American Gothic – Grant Wood
3. Lady with an Ermine – Leonardo da Vinci

49. 16
The roots of this go as far back as the 1800s when it was considered by some as a
mental illness. Classified as a dance form, it has had a world championship since
1996. Typical contests include 2 rounds, with the first being a 60 second
performance for a song of the contestant's choice and the second involving a
surprise song for contestants to improvise. That said, all musical equipment is
strictly forbidden on stage.
When not visiting Yerwada (or perhaps, even then), Sanjay Dutt takes a keen
interest in this and has even won contests for it. He gave the world a sample of his
skills in the music video for "Yeh Hai Meri Kahaani" by Pakistani band Strings for
Baba's movie "Zinda". What are we talking about?

50. Answer follows

51. Air Guitar

52. 17
From one quirky hobby to another, chef Renato Viola is a champion in pizza
acrobatics – which involves throwing pizza dough into the air and spinning it.
But enough about these silly tricks. When Renato decided to bring his style
of cooking to India, he started a chain of restaurants that serve wood-fired
pizzas called 1441.
Why the name?

53. Answer follows

54. Lat-long of Naples, the birthplace of the pizza

55. 18
Identify the person.

56. Answer follows

57. Anton Chekhov ('s gun)

58. 19
The elite of this US city typically trace their origins to Protestant British
families and are associated with cultural pursuits and education in top
universities – most symbolically, Harvard.
What is the alliterative two word name given to this group, the first word
being the name of the city itself and the second word a class of society in a
different part of the world?

59. Answer follows

60. Boston Brahmins

61. 20
The idea behind the this was to depict the title of the subject in an
innovative manner. But when the photographer Robert Freeman looked
at the initial arrangement of the group of 4, it didn't please his eyes.
He chose aesthetics over correctness. Few would recognize this factual
inaccuracy for the image conveyed the sense that was intended.
Interestingly, the UK and US versions had different arrangements -
neither correct, of course.
Which album? What was the flaw?

62. Answer follows

63. "Help!" album art (The Beatles)

64. FIN.