Quiz FamiliesMarch 2015

East Africa

• The East Africa side in the 1975 world cup comprised players from four countries. Two of the countries were Tanzania and Kenya. Name the other two

First ball

• Who bowled the first ball/over in the history of world cup cricket?

Thank this for all the fun, maybe too much of it…

• There were four major innovations in the playing conditions in the 1992 World Cup -coloured clothing, floodlights, use of two white balls from each end and which other?

This Sultan didn’t get much respect

• In the 1996 world cup, Sultan Zarawani of the UAE bravely went to face this bowler without a helmet and was hit on the head. He continued without a helmet, but was dismissed for a duck shortly. He was then taken to the hospital. Which bowler hit him on the head?

Horses for courses

This company is the largest vaccine manufacturer in India, and the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume. Name this company

Potions

Kashyap Samhita is the only available source book on the branch of Ayurveda called Kaumarbrhitya, believed to be the compilations of the teachings of Acharya Kashyap by his disciple Vriddha Jivaka. What branch of medicine does Kaumarbhrithya deal with?

Wildflowers

Which Indian company founded in the 1960s is named after this flower

Ragam Pallavi

• In Hindu mythology, the vigorous divine dance of Shiva is called the Tandava. What is the word for the dance performed by Parvati, in which the movements are gentler, more graceful and. She is believed to have danced it in response to Shiva’s Tandava.

Clever, eh?

What connects Kalaburagi, Davanagere, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysore, Belagavi, Mangalore. Why is Bangalore not in this list?

Indian connection

The process to distill this element was known in India for centuries, and till the 18th century, India was the only significant producer. William Champion after six years of trial and error finally developed a repeatable process to distill this element, and was granted a patent for it in 1738. What element/metal?

Sort of Legal

Forms of this include Sahyog, Darshani, Muddati, Nam-jog, Jawabi, Furman-jog among others. The first three are the most common.

Not the singer KK

• Keeleri Kunhikannan was a martial arts trainer and Gymnast and is generally considered to be the Father of the Indian ______. He started a school at Chirakkara near Thalassery to get more people into this profession, the first of its kind in Kerala and at that time, only the 2nd such in India. Many of his pupils became international stars, and Kerala soon came to be known as the cradle of this profession in India. What profession/industry was KK associated with?

Short, but not sweet

In August 1896, Britain and this Sultanate (which was a British protectorate) fought a 38 minute war, the shortest in recorded history, caused by a succession dispute following the death of the then Sultan, Sultan Hamad Bin Thuwaini. This Sultanate was granted independence in 1963 by the UK and become a constitutional monarchy. Following a coup in 1964, this was united with another neighbouring sovereign state and changed its name to ________________. Name the Sultanate and the country it is part of now

Father Father

The Franciscan Friar Luca Bartolomeo Pacioli is generally referred to as the Father of this profession, for the first published description of __________________, a system we use to this day.

Landmark journalThe cover of the first issue of this still active and significant journal was titled as follows. Name this journal, and who publishes it. When was the first issue published?

Shh….

• In the secret service, who/what is called the Silent Service?

• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched a project called Project Tycho at the University of Pittsburgh, an enormous undertaking to store data from 1888 to the present on mortality statistics over a 125 year period. What is the key objective of this study currently, partly driven in response against a recent worrying trend in the West?

Big fellow

The English biologist, Sir Richard Owen was an outstanding naturalist and a great opponent of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. However, in the popular press today, he is best remembered for coining a particular word. What word did he coin?

Flat tyre

This theory is a method of understanding change in complex social systems. It suggests that most social systems exist in an extended period of stasis, with periods of sudden shifts and radical change. This theory was largely inspired from an evolutionary biological theory of the same name, developed by paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould. What is this theory called?

My hands are tied

This term/idea is believed to have been coined by Herbert Simon in his writings. In his book “Models of man”, Simon points out that most people are only partly ________, and are _____________ in the remaining part of their actions. In another work, he states, ____________ agents experience limits in formulating and solving complex problems and in processing (receiving, storing, retrieving, transmitting) information". What idea/term?

Stoned a bit much

67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was in the news last year. The magazine “Science” chose a scientific achievement associated with this as the “scientific breakthrough of the year 2014”. Why was this in the news?

I heard he was popular this week

An early Mormon fundamentalist, Nathaniel Baldwin was unexpectedly trending on Twitter this week, thanks to a contest run by Reliance Digital with the hashtag #Digitallytuned, about an invention he made in 1910. He made these by hand in his kitchen, and sold it to the US Navy. Despite the Navy’s suggestion, he never patented it because he considered their invention trivial. What did he invent?

15 minutes of fame

• An unknown Scottish singer Caitlin McNeill, guitarist and singer for the folk band Canach hit the headlines and achieved her 15 minutes of worldwide fame/notoriety over the past couple of weeks by doing something quite innocuous. What did she do?

Connect

The grand old lady of…The British actress Geraldine McEwan who died in January this year had a long career in theatre and Television, but in recent years was most famous for playing a particular fictional character in a British iTV series. She played this character from the first to third series before retiring from the role. What character did she play?

The man with the Harry Potter glasses, kind of a wizard I suppose

Bad Economics• Identify this famous economist of the 20th century? His ideas suddenly

gained currency during the 2007-08 financial crisis, as one of the most plausible accounts of why it happened. The term “_______ moment” describes one important aspect of his “financial instability hypothesis” and was originally coined during the 1998 Russian crisis. His hypothesis was that lending goes through three stages – Hedge, Speculative and ___________ (named after the fellow on the right)

Clever fellow

This word was coined by the US activist Ralph Nader in the 1970s to avoid the negative connotations found in other words such as “snitches” and “informers”. What word?

Should have stuck to aeroplanes

In the 1960s, Robert Propst, an inventor and artist who had patents in heart valves and aeroplane parts was asked by Herman Miller to find problems outside the furniture industry that could be solved with design. His ideas culminated in something called the Action Office 2. This was adopted in a modified form subsequently and became close to ubiquitous in some time, horrifying Propst. What unexpected horror did he create?

No chatting without this…

This was first available on the Samsung Omnia II running Windows Mobile. The company of the same name which created it was acquired by Nuance communication, which continued its development and implemented its speech recognition algorithm, Dragon Dictation. I am totally dependent on it

B.F. Skinner is considered the father of “radical behaviourism”. What is radical behaviourism?

Skinner the sadist?

Far from religiousThe first of these was established on January 2nd, 1882 in the US. It was designed to persuade rivals to give up control of their companies in return for a guaranteed income and an easy life. In the words of its creator “The _______ was an angel of mercy reaching down from the sky and saying Get Into the Ark. Put in your old junk. We will take all the risks”. These became much harder to post 1890, because of an Act of the Congress. What are we talking about? What act?

Identify the person commemorated in this 2008 stamp

And this person commemorated in 2007

A true Mahatma

Identify this social reformer – the original “Mahatma”. He was bestowed this title in 1888 by a contemporary social reformer. He is also credited with coining this term, which was later popularized in the 1970s and is now an integral part of our political and social vocabulary. What term did he introduce?

Look within

What did the person commemorated in these stamps invent? His famous pamphlet, _____________ Reform: its importance and practicability was privately circulated in 1837 and subsequently presented to the government. It was initially denounced, but merchants, traders and bankers began to advocate his ideas and pushed for its adoption. What did he invent?

Connect

LudditesOn May 10, 1992, the activists Keith Kjoller and Peter Lumsdaine snuck into a Rockwell International facility in Seal Beach, California. They used wood-splitting axes to break into two clean rooms containing nine _________ being built for the U.S. government. Lumsdaine took his axe to one of the _________, hitting it over 60 times.

They were arrested and faced up to 10 years in prison for destroying federal government property, causing an estimated $2 million in damage. Ultimately, they took guilty pleas and were sentenced to 18 months and two years in prison respectively for an act of civil disobedience they named "The Harriet Tubman-Sarah Connor Brigade."

What were they targeting and why did they call themselves so?

Once upon a time

She is one of the world’s best selling artists of all time, having sold over 75 million albums worldwide, and the only female artist in history to have three consecutive albums certified “Diamond” by the RIAA. She has received 5 Grammy awards in her career. This week she announced her final tour, also her first tour in more than 10 years. Name this artist

All time classic

In 1831, ____________ and Gustave de Beaumont were sent by the French government to study the American prison system. In his later letters __________indicates that he and Beaumont used their official business as a pretext to study American society instead.

After they returned to France in February 1932, they submitted their report on the prison system. __________ subsequently published this book in two volumes, one in 1835 and the next in 1840. It had a profound impact on the French population, and is uniformly considered a classic work of political science, social science and history. Some consider it the best book written on this subject. Name the book and the author

Easy-peasy

Which instrument was invented and named after Antoine-Joseph ____ in 1846?

Mispronounced

• This word came to English from Yiddish in the 1890s and means impudence or audacity. It was popularized in a popular Hindu movie last year, though it was mispronounced in the movie. Name the word and the movie

Cat person?

• What is the collective noun for a group of cats?

Hard to find, hard to name

• This term refers to any fictional, extremely rare or impossible material needed to fulfill a given application. In 1956, the Washington Post reported that “The metal is so hard to come by that the scientists have devised a lugubriously-humorous name for it. They call it ______”. The name’s been in use for sometime and even showed up in the movie Avatar, but was officially added to the OED in December 2014 update.

• The fist known instance of the use of this word is in 1961 and till the 80s it was primarily an aerospace jargon. It began to be used in the computing industry in the 1980s and is now a fairly common term, usually used when someone’s asked to overcome some technical challenge. In recent years, it’s also used in non-technical contexts. It was officially added to the OED in September 2014. What word?

Early ArtThis cave art originally discovered in the 1950s was thought to be about 10,000 years old originally. But in an analysis done by researchers last year, they dated at least a few of the rock art paintings (such as the one below) to be over 39,000 years old, almost as old as the oldest rock art and sculpture found elsewhere. This has led to archeologists rethinking the origins of art in human history. Where was this rock art discovered?

Artist, hmm…

This untitled 1979 oil-on-canvas holds the record for the highest price ever paid for an Indian art work. This weird work of modern art fetched $3.7 million in a Christie’s auction at Mumbai, in December 2013. Who is the artist?

This term was coined by art critics in the 1880s to ridicule the works of some artists who were branching out from the then popular Impressionist style of painting. Some famous examples of works done using this technique include the following by Georges Seurat (who along with Paul Signac largely developed this style) and Vincent Van Gogh. What is this technique called? The term hasn’t changed but it is no longer used with any mocking connotation.

Genius

Harry Beck was an English technical draftsman best known for creating this in 1931, and it is still used in largely the same form he envisaged. He created this in his spare time while working as an engineering draftsman. He came up with this idea while at work drawing an electrical circuit diagram. He first submitted this idea in 1931, but it was considered too radical. However, Beck persisted and by 1933, it was adopted as the standard. In 2006, it was voted by the viewers of the BBC’s Culture show as the 2nd favourite British design of the 20th century after the Concorde. What lasting classic did he create?

What’s special about this and what does it convey?

Brooks Brothers? Not reallySome prints of the British 18th century ship “Brooks” were published in 1788 in Plymouth by the Plymouth chapter of this organization. It became an iconic image and helped gather significant support for the objectives of this organization. What was this engraving all about?

Well, maybe not the greatest…

Technical Voodoo• This set of graphs called Anscombe’s quartet were designed by Anscombe

to demonstrate the importance of visualizing data via graphs. What’s so special about them?

I took this road for 5 years

• He was one of India’s earliest test pilots and was part of the team that tested the first aircraft designed by HAL, the HT-2, which was launched in 1951. He travelled around the world testing aircraft and advising the Indian Government on which models to purchase. He was killed in 1970, during a flight test, following which a road was renamed in Bangalore in his honour. Which road and name this road

Not my part of town

• This area in Bangalore is named after this person. He served as the Diwan of Mysore for 18 years, commissioned the Sivanasamudram Hydro-electric project, established the Kolar Gold fields and the Victoria hospital in Bangalore. Name the person/area?

Easy

• What are these places “Harrenhall”, “CasterlyRock”, “Winterfell”, “Eyrie”, “Storm’s end”, “Highgarden” and “Dorne”, and where can you find them?

Strictly speaking, not really

• Where in India can you find this sculpture and what does it signify?

This is a double track rail and road bridge across the strait between these two countries. It is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe. In 2002, it received the IABSE Outstanding Architecture award. Strictly speaking, it is part bridge and part tunnel. The tube tunnel is made from 20 prefabricated reinforced concrete segments – the largest in the world at 55,000 tonnes each – interconnected in a trench dug in the seabed. Two tubes carry railway tracks, two carry roads, and a small fifth tube is for emergencies. What is this bridge called and which two countries does it connect?

You will not laugh here

• What’s the claim to fame of Lasalgaon, a village in Nashik?

No Average Joe

• He was the Surveyor General of India from 1840 to 1843. He purchased the Park Estate at Mussoorie in 1833 and spent many years living in Mussoorie before retiring to England. After his retirement, the Survey of India continued to work under his assistant Andrew Scott Waugh, who proposed naming something in his honor. What was named after him, that’s helped immortalize him in a way?

Quite amazing

• This landmark/monument is situated in the village of Abhaneri, about 95 kms from Jaipur. It was constructed between 800 AD and 900 AD by a king of the Nikumbhadynasty. It’s been a popular filming location, and has been featured in movies such as The Dark Knight Rises. What is this landmark called?

Map of which fictional place

As good a claim as any, I suppose

Waiting time, counting time

• This is one of seven islands that make up an archipelago in the Tyrrhenian sea, about 60 km from the coast of this country (to which it belongs). It’s an uninhabited island shrouded with mysteries and many legends. It is a nature reserve and until 2008, no one was allowed to visit the island. Today, though it’s been opened up for tourism, the government only allows up to 1000 visitors annually, and the average waiting time for approval to visit is 3 years. Priority is given to scientific expeditions, associations and schools. Most of us know this island. What island is this?

Where am I?

On and OnThis poster in the Wimbledon museum commemorates the longest ever match in tennis history, nearly twice as long as the 2nd longest match. It lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes and was spread over 3 days. Just the 5th set was longer than any previous match played. Who played each other in this match?

A different sort of anthem

• This song written and composed by David Rudder was released in 1988 and many years later, was adopted as the anthem of this cricket team. It’s played in the world cup before each of their matches. Which team?

• The original song also has a reference to one particular cricketer/legend in the lyrics. Which cricketer?

Only in India

• The toss in the final of the 2011 world cup had to be done twice. Why?