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MEGAWHATS 2017FINALS
Research By
Mitesh Agarwal, Vivek Karthikeyan and Venkatesh Srinivasan
1. Forecasting Couch – Bengaluru
2. Remembrance of Things Fast – Chennai
3. We Are Like This Wonly – Bengaluru
4. Hammer and Tongs – Kolkata
5. QED – Chennai
6. BMQJ – Bengaluru
7. Aardvarks – Mumbai
8. Travelling Pillsburys – Delhi
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5
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Art
Biz
Culture
Ent
Food
Hist/Geog
Language
Lit
Science
Sports
MegaWhats 2017 Finals Questions Distribution
▪ 20 questions with a written round in-between
▪ +10 on Infinite Bounce
▪ +10/-5 on Infinite Pounce in writing
▪ Blank lengths NOT indicative in any question
MEGAWHATS 2017
Giangiacomo Feltrinelli was an influential Italian businessman and publisher. Near the end of 1954, he established a
publishing company in Milan, Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore. The first book they published was the translated autobiography of a then-in-power world leader, who had written the book in
1936. Who?
His claim to fame in the publishing world came in 1957, when an Italian journalist showed him a manuscript. He went ahead
and published it, and sold the film rights to MGM for a very successful film that came out some years later.
What was this claim to fame?
1
MEGAWHATS 2017
Jawaharlal Nehru
He first published Dr Zhivago
MEGAWHATS 2017
On the left is a pack-saddle; these were “used as a bed by
muleteers in the inns” and therein gave the connotation of
illegitimacy. On the right is a specific area of a ship, where a
certain activity took place.
Connect these two in a phraseological fashion.
2
MEGAWHATS 2017
Son of a…
The French word for packsaddle is ‘bast’, from
where we get bastard, or “son of the packsaddle”.
Similarly, son of a gun, coming from the fact that
pregnant women aboard naval vessels gave birth in
the space between the broadside guns, in order to
keep the gangways and crew decks clear
MEGAWHATS 2017
This Frenchman was one of the best chess minds of his time.
Seen here is a book written by him in 1749, considered a classic
in the sport. He also has a chess opening and a checkmate
method named after him. Who?
He also composed operas, and one his most famous works was
the 1765 composition based on Henry Fielding’s picaresque
1749 novel, which was cited as “among the ten best novels of
the world” by Somerset Maugham, and is considered an
influential work till today.
Identify the opera/novel.
3
MEGAWHATS 20173
MEGAWHATS 2017
André Danican Philidor
Tom Jones
MEGAWHATS 2017
The NSK State is an elaborate, on-going, multi-decade-long conceptual art construct developed in 1984, by Rrose Sélavy and other collaborators as an “alternative” European nation. Laibachwas established as their “music wing,” and the idea explores the complicated relationship that this country had with its German
occupiers during the Habsburg period. Who/What inspired the artists Dušan Mandič, Miran Mohar,
Andrej Savski, Roman Uranjek, and Borut Vogelnik who formed Rrose Sélavy to take this name?
Which country do they come from? The name NSK itself references the country, while the name of the
musical wing is a reference to the country’s capital.
4
MEGAWHATS 2017
This name had a reference to Marcel Duchamp, who used
“Rrose Sélavy” (like eros c’est la vie) as one of his
feminine pseudonyms
Laibach was the German name for Ljubljana, the
Slovenian capital, and NSK stands for Neue Slowenische
Kunst, “new Slovenian art”.
MEGAWHATS 2017
The title of this 1975 book is a satiric twist on words written by Emily Dickinson in the poem, Hope.
“Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune – without the words, And never stops at all.”
The book is a collection of essays and also features two one-act plays, Death and God. It is also the source of one of the author’s
most famous lines - “It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens”.
Name the author (a famous entertainer) and give the title of the book.
5
MEGAWHATS 2017
Without Feathers by Woody Allen
MEGAWHATS 2017
A former stonecutter and goldsmith, he devised an alloy of
lead, tin, and antimony that would melt at low temperature,
cast well, and yet be durable in use. This alloy was for a specific
purpose that he became famous for.
The use of antimony ensured that the alloy had the property of
expanding slightly upon setting. His knowledge of this alloy
probably grew out of his earlier experience with jewelry
production, which used a similar casting technique for the
production of ornaments.
Who? What alloy?
6
MEGAWHATS 2017
Gutenberg, Type Alloy
Alternatively Type Metal (Hot Metal)
MEGAWHATS 2017
In 1933, the Electrobasograph was invented by
Dr. Plato Schwartz of the Myodynamics Laboratory
of the University of Rochester.
The need for the invention was greatly accelerated by the needs
of a particular industry that was happy to donate a substantial
sum of money, as the invention would help them verify the
genuineness of something, and hence save them a big amount.
Which industry and what exactly did the electrobasograph do?
7
MEGAWHATS 2017
The Insurance industry
The device could make a record on film of the walking
gait of individuals, to distinguish between actual and
spurious limps in damage claims for injuries.
MEGAWHATS 2017
In many cases development (and the ‘personality’ the shapes take) stem from local transit systems (such as in New York or Paris). In
this case a newspaper took the lead, and the result has since become ubiquitous both in India and in a neighbouring country.
Fiona Ross, who was then head of the Non-Latin division at an industry-major, was the project leader. The designer was Tim
Holloway, aided by Dr Mukherjee of the School of Oriental and African Studies.
What design came about as a result during 1978–1981?The exact name would fetch you full points.
Part points for just mentioning what it is along with the name of the publisher involved.
8
MEGAWHATS 2017
Linotype Bengali
It has since become the standard font for all Bengali publications.
It is also known as the Ananda Bazar Patrika font.
MEGAWHATS 2017
Considered a parody of Bob Dylan’s writing style,
the original version starts off with Lyndon Johnson.
A subsequent version written a year later, in 1966, has these
people in it: Norman Mailer, Maxwell Taylor, John O’Hara,
Robert McNamara, Phil Spector, Mick Jagger, Ayn Rand and
Andy Warhol (with a few lesser known personalities)
Which was this rather plain and disappointing tirade?
9
MEGAWHATS 2017
A Simple Desultory Philippic
(Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)
by Paul Simon
MEGAWHATS 2017
The first step, scientists say, was the drying up of a main lifeline
into a slow moving and muddy watercourse. This served as the
ideal condition for the bacterium Oscillatoria rubescens
to spread massively, and set in motion other events.
Tadpoles multiplied as they have hormones that grow under stress.
Grown specimens then had to leave their habitat due to the algae
and their subsequent mass death led to more damage. The final nail
in the coffin was the eruption of Thera, a volcano in Santorini.
What do all these seek to explain?
10
MEGAWHATS 2017
The plagues on Egypt
Plague 1 — water turned into blood; fish died. ...
Plague 2 — frogs. ...
S C O R E S
▪ Written Round on Memoirs
▪ +5 per question/part with a stake of +5/-5 overall
▪ No negatives if you don’t stake
MEGAWHATS 2017
Whose memoirs were appropriately titled,
“Kiss and Make-Up”?
1
MEGAWHATS 2017
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life is a memoir that chronicles his
early life, his days working for Disneyland, working at low-tier
coffee shops and clubs as a comedy act, his later days at the
Bird Cage, his relationships, his eventual fame, and the reason
why he quit stand-up comedy altogether at the height of his
fame in 1981.
Whose memoir?
2
MEGAWHATS 2017
This comedian used a phrase from boxing as the title of his
biography. It helped that his own anatomy fit perfectly into the
phrase. The title means – Take a risk, behave without caution.
This term alludes to a boxer leaving his ____, a vulnerable
point, unprotected.
For 5 points, name the comedian and for another 5 points
identify the memoir.
Stake for additional +5 only if you know both!
3
MEGAWHATS 2017
The title is a nod to an ee cummings line –“who knows if ___ ______ _ _______...coming out of a keen city in the sky ...filled with pretty people?” (and if you and I should get into it, if they should take me and take you into their balloon, why then
we'd go up higher with all the pretty people than houses and steeples and clouds: go sailing away and away sailing into a keen
city which nobody's ever visited, where always it's Spring) and everyone's in love and flowers pick themselves”
Which Hollywood superstar’s memoir? (5)Name the memoir. (5)
Stake for additional +5 only if you know both.
4
MEGAWHATS 2017
His autobiography is cheekily titled “The
Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz”. The
title was a reference to James Brown’s
nickname, “The Hardest Working Man in
Show Business”.
Who?
5
MEGAWHATS 2017
British comic Vic Reeves, aka James Moir is usually best known
for his double act with Bob Mortimer – as Vic and Bob. They
are most famous to us as the hosts of the BBC quiz show
Shooting Stars.
What punny name did Vic Reeves choose for his
autobiography?
6
Exchange Sheets please….
MEGAWHATS 2017
Whose memoirs were appropriately titled, “Kiss and Make-
Up”?
1
MEGAWHATS 2017
Gene Simmons
MEGAWHATS 2017
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life is a memoir that chronicles his
early life, his days working for Disneyland, working at low-tier
coffee shops and clubs as a comedy act, his later days at the
Bird Cage, his relationships, his eventual fame, and the reason
why he quit stand-up comedy altogether at the height of his
fame in 1981.
Whose memoir?
2
MEGAWHATS 2017
Steve Martin
MEGAWHATS 2017
This comedian used a phrase from boxing as the title of his
biography. It helped that his own anatomy fit perfectly into the
phrase. The title means – Take a risk, behave without caution.
This term alludes to a boxer leaving his ____, a vulnerable
point, unprotected.
For 5 points, name the comedian and for another 5 points
identify the memoir.
Stake for +5 only if you know both!
3
MEGAWHATS 2017
Jay Leno, Leading with My Chin
MEGAWHATS 2017
The title is a nod to an ee cummings line –“who knows if ___ ______ _ _______...coming out of a keen city in the sky ...filled with pretty people?” (and if you and I should get into it, if they should take me and take you into their balloon, why then
we'd go up higher with all the pretty people than houses and steeples and clouds: go sailing away and away sailing into a keen
city which nobody's ever visited, where always it's Spring) and everyone's in love and flowers pick themselves”
Which Hollywood superstar’s memoir? (5)Name the memoir. (5)
Stake only if you know both.
4
MEGAWHATS 2017
The Moon’s a Balloon, David Niven
MEGAWHATS 2017
His autobiography is cheekily titled “The
Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz”. The
title was a reference to James Brown’s
nickname, “The Hardest Working Man in
Show Business”.
Who?
5
MEGAWHATS 2017
Ron Jeremy
MEGAWHATS 2017
British comic Vic Reeves, aka James Moir is usually best known
for his double act with Bob Mortimer – as Vic and Bob. They
are most famous to us as the hosts of the BBC quiz show
Shooting Stars.
What punny name did Vic Reeves choose for his
autobiography?
6
MEGAWHATS 2017
Me:Moir
S C O R E S
MEGAWHATS 2017
On July 1, 1979, Sony Corp. introduced the Walkman. It was
initially feared that the public would consider the device rude and
polarising, and a specific innovation was made to counter this.
What was this design element, removed in later versions
when sales patterns proved the fears were unfounded?
11
MEGAWHATS 2017
Two earphone jacks
This was to help two people listen to the device at the same time. People
bought one for themselves, so the second jack was felt unnecessary.
MEGAWHATS 2017
The _______ bōchō is a general purpose kitchen knife that is
named for the three cutting tasks which it performs.
Two of the tasks are often used in conjunction with
data and how to make meaning out of it.
The third also means that you speak clearly and directly.
What’s the knife called? Also, give any two of the three tasks.
12
MEGAWHATS 2017
Santoku knife
Slicing, Dicing, and Mincing
MEGAWHATS 2017
Thought to be the world’s oldest scientific prize,
it was first awarded 170 years before the first Nobel Prize.
Notable winners include Benjamin Franklin, Dorothy Hodgkin, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin. Which Award?
Richard Henderson won it in 2016, for his contributions
to the development of electron microscopy of biological
materials, enabling their atomic structures to be deduced.
Now, let’s assume that a biological scientist (like Charles Darwin) was still alive and working. He would not be awarded in 2017.
Why is that?
13
MEGAWHATS 2017
Copley Medal
The award alternates between the physical and
biological sciences (odd and even years
respectively). The Copley medal will be awarded
in 2017 for the physical sciences.
MEGAWHATS 2017
Surprisingly this royal position started for the King of England and not the Queen! George Villiers, the 1st
Duke of Buckingham who was a lover of King James I suggested the idea to establish such an office. The
position needed regular access to the monarch and many a time ended in close companionship and love.
The position was called Gentlemen of the _______X________ and the head of this
_______X________ was called the Groom of the ___Y__.
Item Y came about thanks to the decorum required in using the furniture in the visual.
Give X and Y.
14
MEGAWHATS 2017
Gentlemen of the Bedchamber
Groom of the Stool/Stole
The Groom of the Stool was the most intimate of an
English monarch's courtiers, responsible for
assisting the king in excretion and ablution.
MEGAWHATS 2017
First invented in 1786 in Turin by Antonio Benedetto ________, it
has survived in its original inimitable recipe thanks to the Fratelli
Branca Distillerie. A Martini, Manhattan, Rob Roy or a Negroni are
not considered original without this.
Antonio invented the sweet version of what drink and thus
invented what category of beverages?
15
MEGAWHATS 2017
Antonio Benedetto Carpano invented Vermouth
Aperitifs
MEGAWHATS 2017
Originally it was common to use the numerical notation
X instead of the currently-used Y because the latter represented the
Roman god Jupiter, whose Latin name begins with Y.
Another likely tale is that the low literacy rate made
it difficult for some to do subtraction, where the
usage of X over Y could be useful.
Louis XIV, king of France, preferred X over Y, and ordered the use of
X over Y. Clocks from that era thus use the X notation.
What is all this ruckus about?
16
MEGAWHATS 2017
Use of IIII vs IV in Roman numerals.
Louis XIV, ordered his clockmakers to produce clocks with IIII
and not IV, and thus it has remained.
Jupiter was spelled as IVPPITER in Latin
MEGAWHATS 2017
Field Marshal Francis Wallace ________ was a British Army
officer. After serving as aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-
Chief, South Africa, he fought in the 9th Xhosa War, the Anglo-
Zulu War and then the Anglo-Egyptian War. Subsequently, he
became Governor of Malta and then Commander-in-Chief,
Ireland before retiring in 1908. His name came back
into public memory recently.
Who and why?
17
MEGAWHATS 2017
Francis Grenfell after whom the
Grenfell Road and Tower are named.
MEGAWHATS 2017
This is the 2004 Tony award-winning Broadway musical with
music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John
Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. It uses the
premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-style
portrayal of men and women who attempted to do something.
Name the musical and tell us what these men/women
attempted.
18
MEGAWHATS 2017
Assassins
The men and women who attempted
(successfully or not) to assassinate Presidents of
the United States.
MEGAWHATS 2017
The term "conurbation" was coined in 1915 by Patrick Geddes
in his book Cities In Evolution. He drew attention to the ability
of the then new technology of electric power and motorised
transport to allow cities to spread and agglomerate together,
and gave as examples "Midlandton" in England, the Ruhr in
Germany, and Randstad in the Netherlands.
What was the inaccurate replacement term for conurbation
used by the Americans and adopted worldwide?
What is the most famous example of conurbation in India?
19
MEGAWHATS 2017
Metro/Metropolis
which is an incorrect replacement for conurbation
National Capital Region (NCR)
MEGAWHATS 2017
This is the video of Pharrell Williams performing at the 2014 Oscars, where he was wearing a Vivienne Westwood over-sized
hat. Pharrell decided to go on eBay and sell his costume to benefit From One Hand to Another, an organization he founded
in 2008 to help children. A company bought this hat for US$44K.
Pharrell thanked “whoever bought my Grammy hat,” on Twitter, and the company replied, “You're welcome. We're
HAPPY to support a great cause and get our hat back. Good luck at the #Oscars tonight!”
Which company bought Pharrell’s hat?
20
MEGAWHATS 201720
MEGAWHATS 2017
Arby’s
S C O R E S
▪ 20 questions with a written round in-between
▪ +10 on Infinite Bounce
▪ +10/-5 on Infinite Pounce in writing
▪ Blank lengths NOT indicative in any question
MEGAWHATS 2017
Thomas Edmondson, a trained cabinet maker, invented a
technique and built this machine for a specific purpose. He
evolved a process for preparing “documents” in advance, serial
numbering and invented a stamping system on wooden blocks.
This became the standard across Europe and Asia. In India,
these are still being used in some states.
What was the output of this invention that is now more of a
heritage due to other modern inventions?
21
21
MEGAWHATS 2017
Railway Tickets
Even today, in heritage railways, it’s called the
Edmondson ticket. Till recently platform tickets in India
were printed using the same machines.
MEGAWHATS 2017
In Lawrence Block’s “A Long Line of Dead Men,” the detective eventually finds the killer by focusing on what binds a club of men: they were all part of a _______. This references a financial instrument that involved paying into a pool, which pays out an annuity once you reach a pre-agreed age.
Those who live longest will see their income increase as others die; the last one standing receives the most.
Originally dreamt up by Lorenzo de _____, an exiled Italian banker in France, by the late 17th century, these instruments became a tool for
European kings to raise funds for wars or to pay off debts.
What financial instrument that is famous to quizzers as part of the name of a location where a historic business agreement was signed?
Explain the reference.
22
MEGAWHATS 2017
Tontines
The Tontine Coffee House was a New York City
coffee house whose patrons signed the
Buttonwood Agreement leading to the NYSE.
MEGAWHATS 2017
In 2015, in a famous case involving Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the
lawyers tried to play out a strategy called the _________
defence – a strategy named after a character in a 19th century
novel and meaning, in a legal context, the defense of a criminal
who was “a pawn of a more influential mastermind.”
Identify the character and the novel – the novel gave
its name to a fashion accessory.
23
MEGAWHATS 2017
Svengali defence, after the character from Trilby
MEGAWHATS 2017
This is the Drakaea glyptodon, an endemic orchid found in
Western Australia. It has a unique way of fertilising, using a
system of sexual deception/mimicry, that can succeed only
when executed twice over.
The distinctive red-coloured labellum of this plant makes a
rapid movement once it comes in contact with a species of
local wasp, and thus the process begins.
How does the fertilization occur?
24
MEGAWHATS 201724
MEGAWHATS 2017
The flowers give off a pheromone like scent that
mimics a female wasp in order to attract the male.
Seeing what looks like the female, the male wasp grasps
her and tries to carry her off. However this activates the
trigger mechanism, which throws the male wasp against
the column and sexual parts of the orchid.
The wasp picks itself up and tries the same on
another flower that does the same thing, except this
time the pollen from the first orchid is transferred to the
second, thus cross-fertilising it.
MEGAWHATS 2017
The two clips you will see are from Yash Chopra’s first movie in
1973, and a British-Canadian Western romance film from 2000.
Give us either of the titles, and the common source of
inspiration, from the world of literature – a classic 1886 work
set in fictional, rural England.
25
MEGAWHATS 2017
Daag; The Claim
Both are based on Thomas Hardy’s
The Mayor of Casterbridge
MEGAWHATS 2017
Dichrostachys cinerea is called el marabu in Cuba and is giving
the Mexican Mesquite a run for its money. The el marabu got the
elite status of being the first legal import to the US from Cuba in
more than 50 years. The el marabu forests are being burnt down
at large scale in Cuba to ensure they capitalize on this status
before The Donald reverses the decision! Its energy efficiency
makes the marabu an ideal choice for an American hobby.
What is the big market the el marabu hopes to capture?
26
MEGAWHATS 201726
MEGAWHATS 2017
Artisanal Charcoal for Barbeques
MEGAWHATS 2017
Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge was a chemist who showed how belladonna relaxes the muscles.
In 1819, a famous man of words, who also dabbled in botany was impressed by Runge’s work and gave him a gift that he had found
made people feel awake, happy, and focused.
Runge come up with what made the product so pleasant—trimethylxanthine. Thanks to this discovery, scientists initially used
benzene to extract the key ingredient from a consumable. Later, benzene was replaced by carbon-di-oxide for the extraction,
and the most famous method is the Swiss Water Method.
Who was the man of words? What process is being described?
27
MEGAWHATS 2017
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Decaffeination
MEGAWHATS 2017
On a fateful night many decades ago, when a young man
named Kermit Beahan peered through the rubber eyepiece of
his scope, he could see some of the buildings and the river that
ran by the main target, but the target itself was blocked by a
cloud. As a result, Beahan and his colleagues went on. This city
happened to miss danger, not once, but two times in the span
of three days.
Which city?
What danger? Explain the last part – ‘two times’.
28
MEGAWHATS 2017
Kokura. It escaped from the
atom bombs during WW 2.
The city was the second target if there was poor
visibility over Hiroshima on Aug 6. On Aug 9, it
was the primary target, but was clouded over,
so Bock's Car gave up on Kokura and went on to
its secondary target, Nagasaki.
MEGAWHATS 2017
Opinions on the two techniques used to play this instrument differ. To paraphrase a critic, the X style is like a woman all decked up in makeup and jewellery—it makes
one stand up and take notice—it is bold and hits you in the face.
In contrast, the Y style is more like a pretty woman dressed in a simple cotton saree, with no showy ornaments, and yet, her simplicity itself charms you. She is neither bold nor craves attention—in a crowded room, you can miss her completely. But
when the tiresome noise of the crowd is gone, it is her you want to come home to.
The same names are used in another art form too, where a similar comparison could be made—one style more flashy than the other.
What is the instrument? What are the names of the two styles?
29
MEGAWHATS 2017
Playing the veena
The Mysore style and the Tanjore style
MEGAWHATS 2017
The name, Ajrakhpur, is a contraction. The town is known for
the block-printing work carried out by Kutchi craftsmen. The
name arises from a step in the method used. The artisan prints
one colour of a design. He then washes the cloth till he gets the
colour right before printing the next colour; this process
typically takes a day.
So, how did the name come about?
30
MEGAWHATS 2017
From ‘Aaj ke din rakh’
Artisans have to keep the cloth for the day,
till the colour fastens, before moving on.
S C O R E S
▪ 6 questions in writing
▪ +10 per question, no negatives
▪ +5 for each part where applicable
▪ Stake for +5/-5, only if you know both parts
MEGAWHATS 2017
“I saw a little boy running after him, and all the faculty children
on the playing field ran after the boy. And I ran after them. This
is a completely spontaneous, un-staged picture.”
Who, about what photograph that TIME magazine
once called The Happiest Photo ever made?
W1
MEGAWHATS 2017
He was one of the foremost portrait photographers between
1925-1970. He made Fashion Photography an art form and won
2 Oscars for costume design (Gigi and My Fair Lady).
Identify this photographer.
W2
MEGAWHATS 2017
The polymath, William Fox Talbot, invented
a process, the terms associated with which
were coined by John Herschel. Shown here
is perhaps the oldest known example of
this process.
What concept or give us the terms?
W3
MEGAWHATS 2017
The chapel of St. Mary in Kingston upon Thames was once the
site of Saxon King coronations. When the chapel was
destroyed, this large stone was rescued from the ruins and
became locally known as Coronation Stone.
This person was also born in Kingston and did something
inspired by events associated with the Coronation Stone.
What did he do?
The photograph is as important as the text.
W4
MEGAWHATS 2017W4
MEGAWHATS 2017
You wouldn’t usually remember them in mugshots.
How do we remember them?
W5
MEGAWHATS 2017
This is a Time magazine cover from 1990 that featured a
modified 1962 photograph.
Who? Explain why the photograph was modified.
W6
Exchange Sheets please….
MEGAWHATS 2017
“I saw a little boy running after him, and all the faculty children
on the playing field ran after the boy. And I ran after them. This
is a completely spontaneous, un-staged picture.”
Who, about what photograph that TIME magazine
once called The Happiest Photo ever made?
W1
MEGAWHATS 2017
Alfred Eistenstaedt’s – The Drum Major
for the University of Michigan marching band rehearses
as admiring children fall in line, 1950.
MEGAWHATS 2017
He was one of the foremost portrait photographers between
1925-1970. He made Fashion Photography an art form and won
2 Oscars for costume design (Gigi and My Fair Lady). Identify
this photographer.
W2
MEGAWHATS 2017
Cecil Beaton
MEGAWHATS 2017
The polymath, William Fox Talbot,
invented a process, the terms associated
with which were coined by John Herschel.
Shown here is perhaps the oldest known
example of this process.
What concept or give us the terms?
W3
MEGAWHATS 2017
Negative/Positive
MEGAWHATS 2017
The chapel of St. Mary in Kingston upon Thames was once the
site of Saxon King coronations. When the chapel was
destroyed, this large stone was rescued from the ruins and
became locally known as Coronation Stone.
This person was also born in Kingston and did something
inspired by events associated with the Coronation Stone.
What did he do?
The photograph is as important as the text.
W4
MEGAWHATS 2017W4
MEGAWHATS 2017
Edward Muggerdige became Eadweard Muggeride
(Muybridge later) named after Eadweard the Martyr. He
changed his spelling to the Saxon name of the martyr.
MEGAWHATS 2017
You wouldn’t usually remember them in mugshots.
How do we remember them?
W5
MEGAWHATS 2017
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (by Joe Rosenthal)
Ira Hayes, Harold Schultz, Michael Strank, Franklin
Sousley, Rene Gagnon, and Harlon Block
MEGAWHATS 2017
This is a Time magazine cover from 1990 that featured a
modified 1962 photograph.
Who? Explain why the photograph was modified.
W6
MEGAWHATS 2017
Nelson Mandela was released from prison. No one knew
how he looked after his release and hence they decided to
Photoshop the last known photo of Mandela
S C O R E S
MEGAWHATS 2017
These limited edition scarves made by the luxury brand
Montesogno serve a dual purpose—the money from the sale
goes to the foundation that provides for a particular award. If
you buy a scarf, you’ll also get an invitation to the award
ceremony – the award is also dubbed the Green Oscars.
What is this award called?
What is the inspiration behind the images
printed on the scarf?
31
MEGAWHATS 2017
The Whitley Award
The award is given for conservation efforts
The pictures are of species from
past Whitley Award winning projects
plus the Monarch butterfly which is the WFN logo.
MEGAWHATS 2017
Boria Majumdar’s new book, A history of Indian sport through
100 Artefacts, talks about a practice that was prevalent from
the 1940s through the 1980s. A certain thing was published
regularly. Then, someone thought of adding something else
related to another pop culture area, in the process managing to
promote both.
What was the practice/publication?
What was the marketing ploy?
32
MEGAWHATS 2017
Cricket Scorecards and Souvenirs
Mixing it up with ads for Hindi movies
MEGAWHATS 2017
Which American city are these people from?
What are they tripping on, a cultural difference
that causes outrage and mirth in equal measure?
No part points.
33
MEGAWHATS 2017
New Orleans
The different ways in which people pronounce
the names of streets named after the Muses
MEGAWHATS 2017
Each of Jolyon Fenwick’s photographs is a composite of at least
eleven separate images with layered annotations. The series
exhibited last year to coincide with an anniversary. Fenwick
took his panoramas – the result of more than 50 dawn walks –
over a three-week period beginning on 1 July 2015. The
location of each photograph was ascertained with precision,
and the time at which each was clicked was also exact.
Where were these taken?
What are the annotations?
34
MEGAWHATS 2017
Site of the Battle of the Somme
The annotations are replicas of the original
annotations made by soldiers on photos taken
back in 1916
MEGAWHATS 2017
Great Britain was the first to use stamps with perfins, beginning
in 1868. The practice spread quickly to the rest of Europe; the
U.S. allowed perfins in 1908. In addition to stamps, envelopes,
postcards, and newspaper wrappers were perfinned. For
organisations, it offered an extra level of identity. It also gave
better security to their postage.
What are perfins? How were they useful?
35
MEGAWHATS 2017
MEGAWHATS 2017
Perforated Initials on stamps
In Britain unused postage stamps could be
redeemed for cash at the post office. A perfin
stamp on a letter could be used only by the
owner of the perfin. Therefore, a stolen
perforated stamp would be of no value to the
unauthorized bearer.
MEGAWHATS 2017
The astronomer Johann Schroter, who named many of the
features on the Moon, named four features in a cluster thus:
Mt. Pico, Mt. Piton, Mt. ________ (all belonging to an Atlantic
archipelago), and the crater, Piazzi Smyth, after a prominent
nineteenth-century Scotsman. This was to honour the actions of
Smyth who had revolutionised astronomy through his actions.
What is the blank?
Why did he choose these names?
36
MEGAWHATS 2017
Tenerife
Charles Piazzi Smyth was the first person to realise
that the future of astronomy lay not in city-based
observatories but in the high desert peaks.
He carried telescopes to the tops of mountains in
Tenerife to test this idea. This is why the heights on
the Canaries are packed with observatories today.
MEGAWHATS 2017
There have been only three English captains to have won two
or more Ashes series at home. One of them commented that
he had not read a seminal book by one of the others,
prompting the ECB to ensure that the two of them had a chat
for three hours. The first person in this list is, of course, the
most venerated of the lot.
Identify all three for full points, and name the work.
37
MEGAWHATS 2017
Alistair Cook, Mike Brearley, WG Grace
The Art of Captaincy
MEGAWHATS 2017
This practice was started by Bayer in the early part of the 20th
century. It was used to prevent the contents from shaking and mixing up. If the contents were mixed up it could have bad
consequences and ill-effects.
The practice was stopped in the 1990s as it was no longer needed—the composition and packaging of the content had largely changed over time. Public demand brought it back. People were so used to
seeing it that they felt something was amiss if it weren’t used. Experts however, recommend they be removed, so that moisture
can come in.
What are we talking about?
38
MEGAWHATS 2017
Cotton balls in medicine bottles
Coated pills obviated the need
MEGAWHATS 2017
This European country has 16 federal
states. The highlighted one (A) in the
north-east surrounds a city-state (B).
A’s capital is (C), the site of a historic
20th century-meeting which took
place at the Cecilienhof palace.
Identify A, B and C.
39
MEGAWHATS 2017
A – Brandenburg
B – Berlin
C – Potsdam
Last question coming up!
MEGAWHATS 2017
She made her debut at the age of seven at a small temple in Kanchipuram. Coached by a teacher called Kandappan, and
encouraged by the musical legacy of her grandmother Veena Dhanammal, she made rapid strides in her career.
In 1934, she went to Calcutta at the invitation of Uday Shankar to perform at the All Bengal Music Conference, in the presence of several famous people, and received wide praise. Among her
several accolades was, being the first from her profession to receive a prestigious title in 1973 (in Madras).
Who and which title?
Which ‘song’ did she perform to, in 1934?
40
MEGAWHATS 2017
Balasaraswati; Sangeeta Kalanidhi
Jana Gana Mana
F I N A LS C O R E S
