A quiz that I conducted for this "informal" group of enthusiastic quizzers - Gurgaon Quiz Circle. It's been almost a year since I made a quiz, so apologies for all the sitters or weird references that might have crept in.
2. Rules (Yes, seriously):
- Your Quizmaster is your best friend for the next 90 odd
minutes. And also your worst enemy. Tread carefully.
- Look out for subtle hints.
- 5 rounds: Mixed Bag 1, Business, India, Entertainment and
Mixed Bag 2. There are 12 questions in each round.
- Scoring patterns change with each round.
- Lastly, do not scream, shout, Google or Bing (sic) your
answers.
- May the best team win!
7. 2. Barack Obama pleased the crowds on his recent
India visit by quoting the words: “Senorita, bade bade
deshon mein…” from DDLJ.
This was also done because his Indian counterpart
Narendra Modi had uttered a famous movie line on
his maiden American visit.
What words did Modi say?
9. Modi had uttered the iconic words from Star Wars:
“May the force be with you.”
10. 3. The first documented use of the word X dates back
to 1916, when it was used to describe performers
who were known for doing crazy things like biting
the heads of various small live animals or eating live
insects and the like. These performances were thus
known as “X shows”.
This word itself came from a Low German word that
meant a freak or a simpleton. Identify X.
16. 5. According to the Hindu religion, this place was
first created in the mind of Lord Brahma after which
it manifested on Earth. As per Buddhism, this is
where Queen Maya conceived Buddha. In Jainism,
this is associated with the first Tirthankara Lord
Shree Rishabhdev.
What is being talked about here?
19. 6. There was a 3 minute hoax report broadcast
on April Fools’ Day 1957 by the BBC current-affairs
program Panorama, purportedly showing a family in
southern Switzerland harvesting X from their family
tree. At the time, X and its method of preparation
was relatively little-known in the UK. A number of
viewers afterwards contacted the BBC for advice on
growing their own X trees. Decades later, CNN called
this broadcast “the biggest hoax that any reputable
news establishment ever pulled.” Identify X.
24. This “device” was used to detect earthquakes. The
large container had water, and if it fell out from the
dragons’ mouths, that indicated seismic vibrations.
25. 8. The following is an “exhaustive” list of people,
currently in the news:
Lincoln Chafee
Martin O’Malley
Bernie Sanders
Joseph Biden
Jim Webb
X
Identify X and complete this list.
34. 11. The woman in this photo is Shalini Singh, who is
media-shy, contrary to her husband who makes
“headlines” every few weeks. Who is the more
famous husband?
37. 12. As scary as it sounds, being buried alive was once
a common occurrence. People who feared
succumbing to such a fate were buried in special
coffins that were connected to bells or chimes above
the ground. At night, guards listened for any noise in
case they had to dig up a living person.
Which modern day English phrase has its origin
from this rather unusual practice?
41. 1. This firm was founded by Ashish Hemrajani,
Parikshit Dar and Rajesh Balpande, all three alumni
of Sydenham Institute of Management, Mumbai
University. They had been working for J.W.
Thompson, SPAR and Chatterjee Soros Group,
respectively.
In 2007, they officially came up with this firm, which
almost every one of us knows about. Which firm?
47. 3. The Honest Company is a consumer goods company,
co-founded by Brian Lee, Sean Kane, Christopher
Gavigan and X that emphasizes non-toxic household
products to supply the marketplace for ethical
consumerism. Identify X, who is probably the most
famous founder.
50. 4. X owned a bakery in Alba, Piedmont, an area
known for the production of hazelnuts, and initially
sold a batch of 300 kilograms of Pasta Gianduja in
1946. This was originally a solid block, but X started
to sell a “smoother” version in 1951 as Supercrema.
How do we know this product today?
I need the product and not X. If you know X, you
know the product.
61. It means that the founder(s) and/or employees are
paid in stocks and NOT in cash for all their hard-
work (sweat and a few tears maybe).
62. 8. The name X is taken from the last line of a Chinese
poem written during the time of the Song dynasty.
The line goes as follows: “Having searched thousands of
times in the crowd, suddenly turning back, she is there in
the dimmest candlelight.”
X literally means “hundreds of times” and represents
the persistent search for the ideal. What is X?
68. 10. Founded as an independent company in 1996,
this firm was acquired by Amazon in 1999.
Its name was chosen such that it represented the
parallel between the largest repository of knowledge
in the ancient world and the potential of the Internet
to become a similar store of knowledge.
Identify this firm.
74. 12. Following her death in 2007, Prime Minister
Gordon Brown paid her tribute by calling her “one of
the country’s true pioneers” and an “inspiration to
businesswomen”. He said: “She campaigned for
green issues for many years before it became
fashionable to do so and inspired millions to the
cause by bringing sustainable products to a mass
market.”
Who is the lady in question?
81. 2. The word X can be traced to the Persian word
sanbosag. It supposedly originated in the Middle East
prior to the 10th century. Abolfazl Beyhaqi, an
Iranian historian mentioned it in his history Tarikh-e
Beyhaghi. It was introduced to the Indian
subcontinent in the 13th or 14th century by traders
from the Middle East.
What is being talked about here?
87. 4. Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, the founders of
X, are two IIT Bombay graduates. Bhavish worked
for Microsoft 2 years and then started an online
company to sell short duration tours and holidays.
While running that business for a couple of months,
he took a car rental and had a very bad experience.
This experience inspired him to start X, where he was
joined by Ankit.
Identify X.
90. 5. The word X has been in use in English since the
1870s, replacing the word gammadion from Greek
origin. It was loaned from a Sanskrit term meaning
“any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a
mark made on persons and things to denote
auspiciousness, or any piece of luck or well-being”.
However, it is stigmatized in some of the Western
countries. Identify X.
96. 7. Developed by a team of Bengaluru based techies,
Dwingloo was first tried in the Karnataka state-run
FlyBus service between Mysore and Bengaluru
airport.
The start-up, Dwingloo Technologies, believes that its
product is best suited for countries like India.
What exactly does this product do?
102. 9. According to Hindu mythology, there are only four
people to have heard the Bhagwad Gita from Krishna
and seen his Vishvarupa (universal) form. Three of
these were Arjuna, Sanjaya and Barbarika, son
of Ghatotkacha.
Who was the fourth one?
105. 10. In Iran, from which the word X ultimately
originated, it does not carry any special significance,
as it is merely the generic word for any kind of bread.
The earliest appearance of this word in English is
from 1810, in a travelogue of William Tooke. X’s
current spelling first attested in 1979, has since
become the normal English spelling.
Identify X, which is really popular in India.
115. 1. Consider the following three movie roles:
Nolan Hayes in Hours (2013)
Damien Collier in Brick Mansions (2014)
X in Y (2015)
Identify X and Y. Give funda.
121. 3. He was born in Mumbai to Jagjit Singh Bhavnani
and Anju Bhavnani. He dropped his original
surname, since he felt that the name would have been
“too long”, thus downplaying his brand as a
“saleable commodity”. He worked for a few years in
advertising as a copywriter, with agencies
like O&M and JWT. He then worked as an assistant
director, but left it to pursue acting.
How do we know him better?
127. 5. Thomas Geoffrey Fowler was a failed writer, an
American-Nazi father who was also physically and
sexually abusive. He collected Nazi memorabilia and
claimed that the Holocaust never happened. His son,
X has managed to use these painful experiences as a
means to help create deeply interesting and dynamic
characters. In most of his interviews, X generally
averts questions relating to his private life.
Identify X.
136. 8. Chadwick Aaron Boseman is an American actor,
screenwriter, and playwright. He is best known for
portraying Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013) and James
Brown in Get On Up (2014).
What major role has he been chosen for, that will
supposedly make him famous?
138. He is playing Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, starting from Civil War (2016).
139. 9. Look at the following list and identify X. Also give
the funda.
Uttam Kumar (1967)
Satindra Bhattacharya (1974)
Subhrajit Dutta (2009)
Abir Chatterjee (2010, 2012)
Sujoy Ghosh (2013)
Dhritiman Chatterjee (2015)
X (2015)
141. X = Sushant Singh Rajput
Funda is actors who have played Byomkesh Bakshi in
mainstream movies.
142. 10. Nothing Lasts Forever is a 1979 novel. It was
adapted into screenplay for Frank Sinatra to star in,
but after he declined, the script was rewritten as a
standalone film.
Which classic movie of the 80s, that later spawned
many sequels is based on this book?
IMAGE FOLLOWS
153. Round 5: Mixed Bag 2
Choose your level beforehand.
Two chances on each question.
+30/-15
+20/-10
+10/-5
+5/0
Pass: +10/0 (Irrespective of the value of the chosen level)
154. 1. This “image” recently became really popular on
the Internet. Identify.
160. 3. The Art in Island Museum in Philippines is the first
of its kind in the world as it promotes its visitors to
do a particular activity.
What nickname has thus been given to this museum?
163. 4. A theory that became prevalent in the late 19th
century and has since gained momentum is that the
name X derives from the name of one of the Hindu
deities. The Italian traveler Niccolò de' Conti
mentioned the word X, which meant “Island of
Gold”.
Identify X.
166. 5. There are only three recording artists who have
sold over 100 million albums worldwide both as solo
artists and (separately) as principal members of a
band.
If Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney are two of
these artists, then who is the third one?
169. 6. This cricketer holds the ODI record for most fours
in an innings. Also, he’s tied with two other players
for the ODI record for most sixes in an innings.
Identify this cricketer.
172. 7. Her name is Erika Mitchell, better known by her
pen name X. In 2012, Time magazine named her one
of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People”.
How do we know her better?
175. 8. A group of Shamans in San Juan Chamula, Mexico,
believe that X heals worshipers. They believe that
since X induces burping, it releases evil from the
soul. Every group involved in ritual practice had X
with them and took it in quantities almost as if they
were taking a medicine.
Identify X.
178. 9. Before the days of trains or cars, port cities that
thrived on trade suffered during winters because
frozen rivers prevented commercial ships from
entering the city. So, smaller ships known as X would
rescue these larger ships by creating a path for them
to follow. In today’s times, before any type of
business arrangement, it is now customary to
__________ before beginning a project. Fill in the
blank and complete this phrase that has its origins from
the names of these ships.
180. The smaller ships were known as “Ice-breakers” and
the phrase is “to break the ice”.
181. 10. Adam Richard Wiles, born 17 January 1984, better
known by his stage name X is a Scottish singer,
songwriter and record producer.
According to Forbes, he was the highest paid person
in his profession both in 2013 and 2014.
How do we know him better?
188. 12. The man in the pic (on the next slide) is a retired
American basketball player who played his entire
professional career for the Los Angeles Lakers. He
holds the NBA record for the highest points per game
average in a playoff series with 46.3. He was voted as
one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996.
How has he been “immortalized” in sports history?
