7. Answer 1. Luiz and Walter Alvarez, standing next to the K-T boundary 2. Logo of Iridium Satellite, LLC 3. The Chicxulub Crater Connect: The Asteroid theory of dinosaur evolution
8. Text from the blog krishashok.wordpress.com: Guna was engaged in testing and fine tuning a revolutionary new computational knowledge engine, code named Wolfram Omicron. While knowledge engines had been around for the better part of the last millennium, Omicron was special. It was designed to be the first machine to pass the GM Test (short for the Goundamani Quantum Hypothetical Modified Turing Test). No machine had ever passed that test, and Guna was on the threshold of achieving what was universally considered to be impossible. What is the GM Test?
9.
10. No computer has been able to crack the GM test to date. This was the greatest achievement in machine intelligence since the Advanced Language Engine of 2896 that finally deciphered the Malayalam mumblings in the song “JiyaJale”. He looked at Omicron and silently whispered “Thank you”.
23. In George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series, Valyrian Steel is a magical alloy used to make weapons of unparalleled quality. Valyrian steel blades are lighter, stronger, and sharper than even the best castle-forged steel, and feature distinctive rippled patterns caused by its being folded hundreds of times in the process of forging. What real life steel demonstrates similar properties?
26. This legendary steel gets its name from the tamil word urukku, or the kannada/telugu word ukku, meaning steel. Aus Hajr, an Arab poet, wrote in admiration in AD 540 that: “It has a water whose wavy streaks are glistening. It is like a pond over whose surface the wind is gliding. The smith has worked out in a grain as if it were the trail of small black ants that had trekked over it while it was still soft.” Name this most famous product of medeival Indian metallurgy.
29. “Away From The Flock” by Damien Hirst. In 1994, disgruntled artist Mark Bridger made certain changes to the installation. What did he do, and what did he call his new work?
32. ParadoxurusHermaphroditus is a small mammal native to S.E Asia, Sri Lanka and India. It is an omnivore feeding mainly on fruits, berries, and small reptiles. An endangered species, its protection has been more than taken care of due to the leaking out of a rather well kept secret. What?
38. MahendraMapagunaratne from Toronto coined the term, and quickly and wittily framed it thus: “Anyone for ______? Tastier than the best of sundaes…”. Although there are those closest to the man in question, who call it the "Starfish," 'because a Starfish has no brain‘. What or who is being talked about?
41. The third time I’m trying to play this video in a quiz. Here’s hoping it works this time. Jim Carrey presenting the lifetime achievement award to whom?
46. Traditional Indian stories, told and retold in local dialects, were first compiled by Gunadhya in a local dialect titled BrihatKatha in the first century B C. The book did not survive the times. But later attempts were made in the 11th century to revive the treasure. Kashmiri Pundit Somdeva produced a large compilation in 1070 AD. It consists of 18 books of 124 chapters and more than 21,000 verses in addition to prose sections. The principle tale is the narrative of the adventures of Naravahanadatta, son of the legendary king Udayana. A large number of tales are built into this central story to make it the largest collection of Indian tales. C H Tawney translated this Sanskrit text into English during 1880-84. Later, in 1927, these tales inspired another English work. N M Penzer came out with the gigantic ten volumes titled “Ocean of Stories.” What?
55. The theory of Popcultural Osmosis states that, despite the fame and greatness of classical pieces of art, only scholars and enthusiasts have first-hand knowledge of the material in question, and that the masses know it either only by title or by homages, parodies, direct references and allusions found in more populist works. 30 Rock had an episode where it's revealed Liz's cell phone ringtone is Ride of the Valkyries, resulting in this exchange: Phoebe: Oh, you like Wagner. Liz: No, I like _____ _____.
58. Born in Palakkad, Kerala. A classmate of T. N. Seshan in school. After a short tenure as a lecturer in Civil engineering, and a year at the Bombay Port Trust as an apprentice, he joined the Indian Railways in its Service of Engineers. He won the Railway Minister’s Award in 1963 for rebuilding the Pamban Bridge in a mere 46 days. Was brought out of retirement and made the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Konkan Railway on contract in 1990. Under his stewardship, the company executed its mandate in seven years. Cochin Shipyard launched RaniPadmini, the first ship it built, when he was its CMD. The Pakistan and UAE governments have consulted him on his area of expertise. He was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 2005. Won the Padma in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. Whoisthisdistinguished gentleman?
73. 1. Cardinal Fang is a simple Twitterbot which replies any time someone on Twitter uses the phrase “_______ ___________.”When a user types the phrase in, he immediately gets a reply from Cardinal Fang, "NOOOOBODY expects the _______ ___________!"
75. Earlier this week, many twitter users added a green overlay to their twitter display pics, showing support for something. What? In pic: twitter.com/sumants
76. #helpiranelection - show support for democracy in Iran add green overlay to your Twitter avatar with 1-click - http://helpiranelection.com/
