The Open General Quiz IITB - Finals Part 1

THE OPEN GENERAL QUIZ – FINALE

15th August 2012QM: Ashwin Krishnan

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Abhishek Padmanabhan aka Paddy, primary contributor, can be blamed for all the random questions

Aviral Bhatnagar, for setting deadlines and keeping us on task and for all the publicity

Other contributors : Vikas Plakkot , BCQC, for access to a ton of new

resources

RULES

4 rounds in all. Roughly around 40 questions Rules of each round will be explained as and

when the round begins QMs decision is final and binding. Any protest

would lead to immediate deduction of 20 points and hate mail the next day in your mailbox

ROUND 1 – BOUNCE AND POUNCE

Tradition infinite bounce format. 10 questions in all. 10 points for each correct answer. No negatives. We go clockwise.

Every team is allowed to pounce once upon some other teams answer by raising their hands before the team to which the question is posed answers.

They need to write down the answer and show it to the QM/ Volunteer

Only one pounce for a given question A correct pounce fetches 20 points , a wrong

one fetches -5. You lose a chance to answer again if you have an incorrect pounce.

QUESTION 1

1912: Frank Oppenheimer 1947: ______________ 1956 : Johnny Lever 1962 : Rameez Raja

What entity fills the blank and what is the connection?

Pakistan 14th August

QUESTION 2

Criteria for what ? Excellence in stupidity of judgement Inability to reproduce Cause of one’s own demise Verifiable Capable of Sound Judgement

Darwin Awards

QUESTION 3

This word the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group.

Its plural form is often confused with a viral rage these days.

Id this.

Quorum Confused with Quora

QUESTION 4

The presidential debate between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd was scheduled to be held on July 21, 2012. However, in a first, it was postponed due to a strange , but valid reason .

What reason?

Season Finale of Master Chef Australia

QUESTION 5

Most cultures have number systems based on 5, 10 or 20 in correspondence with the grouping of fingers and toes. An interesting exception was the Yuki Indian tribe of California, who had a quaternary or base four system. Why?

They count the gaps between the fingers

QUESTION 6

This substance is made primarily from cinnabar which is the natural ore of mercury in the mercury sulphide. It also has concentrations of lead tetra oxide which lead the US FDA to recall this product.

However, its use continued to flourish in India, and probably will never diminish.

What?

Vermillion/Sindoor

QUESTION 7

 In 1850, German bankers needed a quick way to get stock-exchange prices from Paris, but had no means to achieve this as the telegraph system of the day didn't extend from Germany to France.  So a young German bank clerk, Paul X, came up with a plan - he used pigeons to successfully and speedily transport the much needed prices.  As a result, X was established.

Id X

Reuters

QUESTION 8 WHAT IS THE PHRASE X?

The title comes from a Reggae band called Jimmy Scott and his X Band.

"A fella who used to hang around the clubs used to say in a Jamaican accent, “X, life goes on”

X itself means ‘life goes on’ in Nigerian.

Hint: Subhash Ghai

ANSWER

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da

QUESTION 9 -FOOTBALL

4 matches - 1. Against Commercial Futebol Clube on

4thNovember 1959.2. Against Gremio Porto-Alegrense on

19th January 1964.3. In a friendly match with Joao Pessoa in

19694. Against the Baltimore Bays on 19th June

1973.

Something unusual connects these 4 matches. What?

ANSWER

Pelé was goalkeeping in these games

QUESTION 10 HOW DO WE KNOW HIM BETTER? Ilich Ramírez Sánchez is widely

regarded as one of the most famous political terrorists of his era. Currently, he is imprisoned in France. (He was caught on August 14, 1994).

He gets his ‘first name’ from a generic South American name and his nickname from a Frederick Forsyth book which was lying around near his belongings.

He is also the antagonist in a famous work of fiction.

ANSWER

Carlos the JackalThe Bourne Trilogy

QUESTION 11

Last year, the district administration of Satara, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s home district, identified 222 girls under the age of 18 and either renamed them or gave them the option of picking a new name for themselves. They all had a common name – Nakushi.

What is the funda behind the name?

ANSWER

Nakushi means unwanted/unhappy in Marathi

The parents wanted a boy, the girl was unwanted

QUESTION 12

"What he said he said in English and I didn't understand it." "I ____________, just in case, because he is instinctive and that's also his strength.”

• Leonardo Bonucci

What was the Juventus CB speaking about?

ANSWER

QUESTION 13

What is the final missing thing in the series: Acharya, Bhagwan, Gauthama, Maitreya, Zorba, _____?

OSHO :P

QUESTION 13

This practice  is mentioned in the  1948 Vogue edition of the Book of Etiquette as something that should never be used in greeting cards. Although there is a misconception that the origins of this were for the purposes of secularism, many writers consider this practice a blasphemy against Christianity; some going to the extent of equating it to a war against Jesus Christ. What common "yet unknown " practice are we talking about?

ANSWER

ROUND 2 – THE INDIA ROUND

8 questions based on the theme – INDIA . Every question has an anagram, with an oral

clue, which you need to unscramble in 15 seconds.

If you unscramble it correctly , you get 5 points, and an additional bonus question based on the unscrambled anagram worth 5 points

If you are unable to figure the anagram out, no additional bonus questions

No negatives here

ANAGRAM 1

HISSAA ORROTAH

SHASHI THAROOR

Who became the UN Secretary General by defeating Shashi Tharoor?

ANAGRAM 2

ECMALHI RERFARIE

MICHAEL FERREIRA

He refused to accept the Padma Vibhushan when it was awarded to him citing that X should never have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan with him.

Id X.

ANAGRAM 3

USNMIH HDMERCPAN

MUNSHI PREMCHAND

Identify his most famous literary piece which literally means “Gift of Cow”

ANAGRAM 4

TMAARI HLHGIERS

AMRITA SHERGILL

Dubbed the Frida Kahlo of India, which country was she born and raised in?

ANAGRAM 5

KVMIRA AABIRAHS

VIKRAM SARABHAI

He set up which equatorial satellite launching pad , before his death?

ANAGRAM 6

RAAD HIGNS

DARA SINGH

Which was the last movie he appeared in before he died?

ANAGRAM 7

RIVOCT EEZMSNE

VICTOR MENEZES

This IITB alumnus was the chairman and CEO of which organisation?

ANAGRAM 8

BBBYO LDANIJ

BOBBY JINDAL

This NRI , often seen as a future presidential candidate, is the governor of which US state?

ROUND 3 – BOUNCE & POUNCE REVISITED

Same rules as Round 1 Only those teams who have not pounced yet

are allowed to pounce Last 10 questions

QUESTION 1

What connects the following people – M. Jahangir Khan S. Nazir Ali M. Nissar S. Wajid Ali Dilawar Hussain Baqa Jilani Gul Mohammed Abdul Hafeez J.K. Irani Amir Elahi?

Cricketers who played for India and then, after partition, played for Pakistan

QUESTION 2

In seventeenth-century England, most drinking cups had rounded or pointed bottoms, which made them fall over when they were set down. What did this result in?

This is why they’re called tumblers.

QUESTION 3 RIFF-RAFF

X is a term in Arabic used to address non-Arab Muslims – Persians, Turks etc who converted to Islam.

They were not given much respect, were generally excluded from the government and the military, and they were forced to pay the jizya.

Today, the term is used in a derogatory way to refer to someone who is uncivilized.

ANSWER

Mawali

QUESTION 4 CONNECT

1. Coordinates: 47°9′S 126°43′W in the southern Pacific Ocean.The location is close to the Pacific pole of inaccessibility – the point in the Pacific farthest from any landmass.

2. The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquakeFebruary 28, 1925 saw one of the strongest earthquakes in Canadian history. Dubbed the Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake, it was centred in the St. Lawrence River Valley.

3.

ANSWER

THE CALL OF CTHULHU R'lyeh -  fictional lost city that first appeared in

the H. P. Lovecraft short story The earthquake which inspired the one in the story Weird tales- in which it was first published

Willing to treat anyone who can say this fastPh'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

QUESTION 5

In terms of railway stations, what is unique to the following:

§Navapur – a station on the Surat-Mumbai line

§Bhawani Mandi – a station on the Shamgarh-Kota line

§Jaraikela – a station on the Mumbai-Howrah line

Alyuabari Road  - a station on the Howrah Dibrugarh

Railway stations with platforms on two different states

QUESTION 6

   In Ancient Rome, there were three classes of people. Two of them were the Patricians – the wealthy land owning families, the Plebeians – the common working. The third class consisted of the Knights who were supplied with horses and were somewhat wealthy. What was this class called?

Equestrians

QUESTION 7

This is being touted as one of the reasons why the illusion of Hindutva has derailed the politics of India so comprehensively. The VHP’s Ashok Singhal, who had been the leader of the Ramjanmabhoomi campaign, has acknowledged that this was the crucial factor in inspiring recruits to the janmabhoomi andolan. What are we talking about? –

Ramayan, The TV Serial

QUESTION 8

Micropsia is a disorienting neurological condition which affects perception by the human eye. Sufferers perceive objects as appearing substantially smaller than in reality. Generally, the object appears far away at the same time. For example, a family pet, such as a dog, may appear the size of a mouse, or a normal car may look shrunk to scale. The condition is in terms of perception only; the mechanics of the eye are not affected, only the brain's interpretation of information passed from the eyes. What is this syndrome commonly called?

ANSWER

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

QUESTION 9

For a long time, the only person outside Coke who knew the secret formula was Tobias Geffen. In the early 1930s, Geffen told Coke he had to know the formula, and after explanations, it was given to him. Geffen published a “teshuva” in 1935, after he found out the formula. What specific reason or explanation did Geffen give Coke?

That he had to be able to certify whether Coke was kosher

QUESTION 10

Which English word, meaning disappointed, do we get from a technical term used in competitive cock-fighting?

Crestfallen

QUESTION 11

Star wars :The MPAA originally rated the film G, but studio executives  had it changed to PG before release. Why?

Because it might turn off teenagers from seeing it, considering it a "kids' movie

QUESTION 12

Famous Henry Ford Line : Henry Ford said that he is willing to offer the Model T in any colour as long is it is black. Why black?

Black is the colour that would dry the quickest and would hence help get the cars off the assembly line the soonest.

QUESTION 13

This form of steel has its origin in India and gets its name from the Tamil and Malayalam word for steel, "Urukku"or the Kannada and Telugu word for steel, "Ukku". The steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe and the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the Middle East, where it was known after another city. Name the steel and the city.

Wootz Steel and Damascus