BAQC_Aug2016_GeneralQuiz

Bay Area Quiz ClubAugust 2016 General Quiz

Vinod Viswanath14 August 2016

Rules• 8Q written round (lone wolf)• 3 points per question• Add the points of each member• If there are uneven number of people per team, teams will count

one of their scores twice, etc.

• 48Q infinite bounce – good old bounce rules: if a question goes unanswered, next question

goes to the next team• 10 points per question unless specified• Pounce?

8Q Lone Wolf

3 points per question Add the total points of each member for team total If there are uneven number of people per team,

teams will count one of their scores twice, etc.

Question 1• Lionel Fielden, the first Controller of Broadcasting was

talking to Viceroy Linlithgow after a banquet. • The name of his agency, which began on an experimental

basis for two years in 1930, suggested Fielden, was rather bureaucratic.

• The Viceroy, rising to the bait, agreed it was a mouthful. “___ _____ _____,” mumbled the Viceroy after serious prompting by the broadcaster.

• “The very thing!” exclaimed Fielden, “and what beautiful initials!”

What were they talking about?

Question 2• It was developed in the 1970s by Japanese chiropractor

Kenzo Kase. • Unlike earlier methods, it is placed in a variety of patterns,

and is pulled to differing degrees of tension to create the desired effect.

• One of its uses is to reduce swelling in a joint, by creating an area of low pressure where fluid can move and drain.

• Some believe it provides stimulation to skin cells that affects pain pathways—similar to rubbing a spot that hurts.

What did Dr. Kase invent?

Question 3

City of Boulder Community Transit Network which services the University of Colorado, Boulder runs 6 routes:____, _____, _____, BOUND, DASH, BOLT.

FITB

Question 4• It’s one of the highest rated “improv show” on HBO with just

script outlines and no actual dialog written upfront• It was started as a one-time project and developed into a full-

blown series• Apparently HBO did not like the title of the series, and

suggested a few alternate names – Best Foot Backwards, Half Empty, Regrets Only

• Series revolves around the protagonists many faux pas, issues with social expectations and annoyance at people’s behavior

Which series?

Question 5

• Euler and Robert Hooke were the only major scientists who supported X’s theory, although Benjamin Franklin was a public and vocal supporter.

• An alternative theory by Newton was held to be true in the 18th century, and only Y’s experiment in 1803 persuaded scientists to believe X.

• Feynman often said that all Quantum Mechanics can be gleaned from carefully thinking through the implications of Y’s experiment.

X’s theory? X? Y? Y’s experiment?

Question 6

• In New Jersey and Oregon, this perfectly normal daily activity is illegal.

• Laws were passed against the activity mostly in response to a fear of self-immolation.

• However, these laws are surprisingly popular with citizens, and any mention of repeal has always been met with fervent opposition.

What are we talking about?

Question 7

• Which is the only Muslim character played by Dilip Kumar?

Question 8Blanked out are two novel titles. Name the titular characters. Name the titles for bonus point

The Answers Are…

Question 1• Lionel Fielden, the first Controller of Broadcasting was

talking to Viceroy Linlithgow after a banquet. • The name of his agency, which began on an experimental

basis for two years in 1930, suggested Fielden, was rather bureaucratic.

• The Viceroy, rising to the bait, agreed it was a mouthful. “___ _____ _____,” mumbled the Viceroy after serious prompting by the broadcaster.

• “The very thing!” exclaimed Fielden, “and what beautiful initials!”

What were they talking about?

Answer 1AIR (All India Radio)For 2 years, it was Indian State Broadcasting Service

Question 2• It was developed in the 1970s by Japanese chiropractor

Kenzo Kase. • Unlike earlier methods, it is placed in a variety of patterns,

and is pulled to differing degrees of tension to create the desired effect.

• One of its uses is to reduce swelling in a joint, by creating an area of low pressure where fluid can move and drain.

• Some believe it provides stimulation to skin cells that affects pain pathways—similar to rubbing a spot that hurts.

What did Dr. Kase invent?

Answer 2

• Kinesiology Tape

Question 3

City of Boulder Community Transit Network which services the University of Colorado, Boulder runs 6 routes:____, _____, _____, BOUND, DASH, BOLT.

FITB

Answer 3

HOP, SKIP, JUMP, BOUND, DASH, BOLT.

Question 4• It’s one of the highest rated “improv show” on HBO with just

script outlines and no actual dialog written upfront• It was started as a one-time project and developed into a full-

blown series• Apparently HBO did not like the title of the series, and

suggested a few alternate names – Best Foot Backwards, Half Empty, Regrets Only

• Series revolves around the protagonists many faux pas, issues with social expectations and annoyance at people’s behavior

Which series?

Answer 4

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Question 5

• Euler and Robert Hooke were the only major scientists who supported X’s theory, although Benjamin Franklin was a public and vocal supporter.

• An alternative theory by Newton was held to be true in the 18th century, and only Y’s experiment in 1803 persuaded scientists to believe X.

• Feynman often said that all Quantum Mechanics can be gleaned from carefully thinking through the implications of Y’s experiment.

X’s theory? X? Y? Y’s experiment?

Answer 5

X: Christian Huygens and Wave theory of lightY: Thomas Young and Double Slit experiment

Question 6

• In New Jersey and Oregon, this perfectly normal daily activity is illegal.

• Laws were passed against the activity mostly in response to a fear of self-immolation.

• However, these laws are surprisingly popular with citizens, and any mention of repeal has always been met with fervent opposition


Answer 6

Pumping your own gas

Question 7

• Which is the only Muslim character played by Dilip Kumar?

Answer 7

Prince Salim, Mughal-e-Azam

[Thanks to Rajiv Rai for (painstakingly) confirming this]

Question 8Blanked out are two novel titles. Name the titular characters. Name the titles for bonus point

Answer 8Leave it to PsmithMeet Mister Mulliner

Infinite Bounce

48Q infinite bounce good old bounce rules: if a question goes unanswered, next

question goes to the next team 10 points per question, unless said otherwise Some questions are written

Choose a QuestionGeography (1) List It (1) Science (1) Word Origins (1)

Geography (2) List It (2) Science (2) Word Origins (2)



Women Pioneers (1) History (1) Sports (1) Entertainment (1)




Evolution (1) Comics (1) Peters (1) Hit Me (1)




Choose a Question1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35 36

37 38 39 40 41 42

43 44 45 46 47 48

• Pounce?• We’ll go with the majority opinion

Rules

Question 1 : Hit Me 1• This would’ve been the fixed and evenly divisible version,

as opposed to the more accepted variable version• It would carry forward all the names and traditional

practices from the variable version (with 2 exceptions)• Business and industry would benefit from the simpler,

more “rational” version• Sir Sandford Fleming (of the Standard Time fame) was the

first president of the league promoting the simpler version• All efforts along this line were abandoned after the plan

failed to get approval from the League of Nations

The Answer Is…

Back

Answer 1 : Hit Me 1International Fixed Calendar

Year day: December 29 or January 0Double Sunday: Last day of the year and first day of the year were both SundaysLeap day: June 29

Back

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Question 2 : Entertainment 2• The earliest version of these was mechanical and hand-driven,

discovered in a wreck off the Greek island Antikythera.• The first modern version, run by clockwork mechanism, was

built in 1704 in England, and one of those models were gifted to Charles Boyle, the 5th Earl of ___.

• Opening credits of Game of Thrones depict the locations pivotal to that episode or season on a modern version of this instrument.

• The climactic fight scene in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) is played out with one of these instruments in the background (pic on next slide).


Question 2 : Entertainment 2

The Answer Is…

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Answer 2 : Entertainment 2

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Orrery

Question 3 : Peters 2Till late 19th century some churches in the US would hang a pinewood slab on the door with a comb hanging from a string.Why?

The Answer Is…

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Answer 3 : Peters 2

Discrimination against Blacks

A person could enter the church only if his or her skin was lighter than the pinewood and if they could run the comb through their hair without it snagging

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Question 4 : Comics 2Who are the fantastic rotund rogues?

The Answer Is…

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Answer 4 : Comics 2

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

They were two fictional characters, a supervillain duo appearing in comic books published by DC Comics who were primarily known as enemies of Batman (in the 1940s).

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Question 5 : History 3• The original survived many attacks including poison thorns.• It was eventually destroyed by King Pushyamitra in 2 BC.• King Shashanka destroyed it in 600 AD.• Every time it was destroyed, someone would bring up a new

one.• The one currently seen at the site was cared for by the British

archeologist Alexander Cunningham, after the previous one died in 1881.


The Answer Is…

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Answer 5 : History 3

Mahabodhi tree at Bodh Gaya

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Question 6 : Geography 3WRITTEN QUESTIONArrange these cities West to East, by Longitude.

Santa Barbara, CASan Jose, CALos Angeles, CAFresno, CAReno, NVCarson City, NV

The Answer Is…

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Answer 6 : Geography 3

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San Jose, CA121.88 W

Reno, NV119.81 W

Fresno, CA119.77 W

Carson City, NV119.76 WSanta Barbara, CA119.70 W

Los Angeles, CA118.24 W

Question 7 : Women Pioneers 1• Kaal Mogra (Chaulmoogra) oil with lemon juice was used as both

a curative (orally) and palliative (applied to skin) solution for this disease, in native customs in India.

• This African American researcher developed a process to isolate the active component of this oil (ethyl esters of the fatty acids) during her Masters thesis work, in University of Hawaii.

• She fell ill during this research, and died, aged 24, before she could publish her findings (1916).

• In 1918, 78 patients with this disease were released from Kalihi Hospital having been cured because of injections from her research. It remained the main method for treating this disease until the 1950s.

What disease? Who’s the researcher?

The Answer Is…

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Answer 7 : Women Pioneers 1

Alice Ball, Leprosy

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Question 8 : Hit Me 4• The problem was originally posed by ancient geometers (the

exact origin is hotly debated, but the problem was well known to ancient Indian, Persian, and Greek mathematicians).

• Ferdinand von Lindemann proved the impossibility of solving this problem by proving the transcendence of π in 1882.

• Many mathematicians since then have provided elegant approximate solutions, including Ramanujan and Gardner.

• In 1897, state of Indiana tried to pass a legislation called the “Indiana Pi Bill”, which claimed a solution to the original problem, and along the way implied π=3.2 (it was struck down).

• The problem is often used as a metaphor for trying to do something impossible.

Which problem are we talking about?

The Answer Is…

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Answer 8 : Hit Me 4

Squaring the Circle

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Question 9 : Sports 1• This event is considered one of the toughest events in sport, not

just in its category. Only 14 participants have successfully finished the event within the requirements, out of more than 1000 since 1986.

• There are 5 stages to the event, each to be completed within 12 hours. Proof of completion of each stage is collecting a page from 9 to 11 books hidden along the way.

• The terrain is particularly treacherous, surrounded by three maximum security prisons.

• James Earl Ray (MLK’s assassin) escaped from one of these prisons in 1977, and in 55 hours (comparable to the 60 hours of the event) managed to finish less than 10% of the requirements.

What event are we talking about?

The Answer Is…

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Answer 9 : Sports 1Barkley Marathons (100 miles)

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Potential entrants must complete an essay on "Why I Should be Allowed to Run in the Barkley", pay a $1.60 application fee, and complete other requirements subject to change. If accepted, an entrant receives a "letter of condolence."

Question 10 : Peters 1• In the mid 1970s certain scientists employed by the US

Department of Energy claimed they were looking for either 'bare bottoms' or 'naked beauties' to help them with their research.

• The search was serious and they finally found one in 1978. • Today there is an entire factory called the beauty factory that

produces a large number of these bottoms for research purposes.


The Answer Is…

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Answer 10 : Peters 1

• Bottom and beauty were the two names in contention for one of the third generation quark flavors, the one code names ‘b’.

• Researchers at the Fermilab were searching this quark, and because it was difficult to be produced in its undisguised form (they always came as a quark-antiquark pair) they claimed they were looking for either ‘bare bottoms’ or ‘naked beauties’.

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Question 11 : Comics 4Who?

The Answer Is…

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Answer 11 : Comics 4

Jean-Paul Sartre

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Question 12 : Science 3• This disease was originally known by this Greek name which

literally means “waste away”, given how the interiors of the dead appeared upon post-mortem [Hippocrates].

• A more common name was derived from the same meaning, and was widely used until the cause and spread of the disease was well understood.

• One of the oldest diseases known to humans, there are signs and effects of this in Egyptian mummies.

Name the disease, the Greek name, and the more common English name. No part points.

The Answer Is…

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Answer 12 : Science 3

PhthisisConsumptionTuberculosis

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Question 13 : Entertainment 1Who, talking about what? X? Y?

I wanted X to hide in Y’s nostril and then have a sneezing fit. The Parks Commission [sic] of the Department of Interior was rather upset at this thought. I argued until one of their number asked me how I would like it if they had Y play the scene in X’s nose. I saw their point at once.

One of the early drafts of the screenplay was titled , “The man in Y’s nose”. Eventually, the Parks Department refused filming in the park, forcing the speaker to build what he wanted on the sets of MGM.

The Answer Is…

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Hitchcock about the Mount Rushmore scene in North by NorthwestX: Cary GrantY: Lincoln

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Question 14 : Peters 4• In several European languages, these structures are known

after the Roman Emperor Vespacian. • They were used to sell a material useful in tanning. • Launderers also needed the material as a source of ammonia

to clean and whiten woolen togas. • Vespacian, in a bid to improve tax revenue, instituted a tax on

the buyers of this product. • Sections of society were outraged at this, but Vespacian

brushed them aside saying “Pecunia non olet”What structures?

The Answer Is…

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Public toiletsVespasiani (Italy), vespasiennes (France)“Money does not smell”

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Question 15 : Entertainment 3• X was on the phone with his sister Deborah who had just

graduated law school and was joining the Navy Judge Advocate General’s corps.

• She was going to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to defend a bunch of soldiers.

• X took that information and wrote down most of his story on cocktail napkins while bartending at the Palace Theater on Broadway.

What came out of this? X?

The Answer Is…

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Aaron SorkinA Few Good Men

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Question 16 : Evolution 1This is an economic theory with more general examples:• Uncontrolled human population grown leading to

overpopulation• Aborting female fetuses in preference of male child leading to

imbalance of gender ratio• Mis/over-use of antibiotics leading to antibiotic-resistant

strain of bacteria• Evolutionary selection to switch from eating mature plants to

seedlings, leading to depleted food resourceWhat are we talking about?

The Answer Is…

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Answer 16 : Evolution 1

Tragedy of the Commons

A situation within a shared-resource system where individual users acting independently according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting that resource through their collective action.

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Question 17 : Entertainment 4• Bristol-Myers created this

product in 1978 and ran it for 7 years.

• It sourced a special ingredient, whose manufacturer refused to be identified with this product.

• The brand name was partly named after a common way of dispensing the special ingredient.

Name the product (brand) and the special ingredient.

The Answer Is…

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Body On Tapwith 1/3rd Budweiser beer

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Question 18 : List It 3WRITTEN QUESTIONIn Asia, which letter do a maximum number of country names start with?

List them. 2 points per country.

The Answer Is…

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Answer 18 : List It 3

• Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan

1 pt per country if you got all these 5 instead:• Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sri

Lanka; or,• India, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia

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Question 19 : Word Origins 2• This phrase is used to refer to a topic that is lateral to or

different from the topic at hand• A non-repetitive version of this phrase is often used in lieu,

although it really refers to a topic that is related (albeit peripherally) to the topic at hand

• The French version of this phrase is a special move in a board-game, where it refers to an action on a lateral angle from the main move.

Give me both the English and the French phrases.

The Answer Is…

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Answer 19 : Word Origins 2

By-the-byEn passant (Chess)

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Question 20 : Sports 2What sport do these terms belong to? #kolstylz

DUFFEK TURNSMOKERSPRAYING SKIRTPEELING OUTQUARTERING

The Answer Is…

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Answer 20 : Sports 2

Kayaking

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Question 21 : Evolution 3The hippos in these images appear to be sweating blood. What exactly are they doing?

The Answer Is…

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Oily secretion with a reddish hue that acts as a sunscreen and antiseptic.

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Question 22 : List It 1WRITTEN QUESTIONHow many types of punctuation does English have?List them. 1 pt. per each.

The Answer Is…

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Answer 22 : List It 114• Apostrophe• Brackets• Colon• Comma• Dash• Ellipsis• Exclamation mark• Period/full stop• Guillemets (angle brackets)• Hypen• Question mark• Quotation marks• Semicolon• Slash/stroke/solidusBack

Question 23 : Geography 1WRITTEN QUESTIONArrange these cities North to South, by Latitude. (5 points for the extremes, 5 for the rest)

Estcourt Station, MaineNorthwest Angle, MinnesotaSumas, WashingtonLondon, EnglandParis, FranceBrussels, Belgium

The Answer Is…

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London, England51.51 NBrussels, Belgium50.85 NNorthwest Angle, Minnesota 49.23 NSumas, Washington 49.00 N (49th parallel)Paris, France48.86 NEstcourt Station, Maine 47.46 N

Question 24 : Peters 3• Erroneously attributed to Lenin, it is a pejorative term used to

describe people perceived as propagandists for a cause whose goals they do not understand, who are used cynically by the leaders of the cause.

• The two-word term was originally used to describe Soviet sympathizers in Western countries.

• A 2010 BBC radio documentary lists among ____ _____ of Stalin, several prominent writers and artists including H G Wells, Doris Lessing, G B Shaw, Paul Robeson.

What term?

The Answer Is…

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Useful Idiots

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Question 25 : Hit Me 2• Officials in Death Valley National Park put out notices asking

their visitors to stop carrying out a cliché statement about the temperature in the park.

• They claimed their maintenance staff was overwhelmed cleaning out sidewalks and debris strewn across the parking lots.

• Ironically, it was the National Park folks who in an attempt to boost publicity, originally put out this cliché message in a widely watched video

What is this practice, that could have been passed off as a natural by-product, if the park was geo-thermally active (which it isn’t)?

The Answer Is…

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Answer 25 : Hit Me 2

Frying an egg on a hot rock, and serving it sunny side up

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Question 26 : Sports 3• This term comes into this sport from an Italian phrase which

literally means “to trip up (by putting a leg forward)”.• The Italian form was used in wrestling to mean a trick or

“tripping up”.• The term came into this sport via the Spanish form (because of

a famous Spanish practitioner).• The French form influenced the English spelling, where since

1855 at least, it has taken the broader meaning of “getting an early advantage”

Give the term and sport. Bonus points for the Spanish practitioner.

The Answer Is…

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Gambit, Chessgambetto (Italian), gambito (Spanish), gambit (French)

Ruy Lopez de Segura

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Question 27 : Geography 2WRITTEN QUESTIONOrder these mountains by the distance of their peaks from the center of the Earth.

Mt. Everest, NepalMt. Cotopaxi, EcuadorMt. Kilimanjaro, TanzaniaMt. Chimborazo, EcuadorPico de Orizaba, Mexico

The Answer Is…

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Answer 27 : Geography 2Mt. Chimborazo, Ecuador 6384.4 kmMt. Cotopaxi, Ecuador 6384.1 kmMt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania 6384.0 kmMt. Everest, Nepal 6382.2 kmPico de Orizaba, Mexico 6381.5 km

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Question 28 : Hit Me 3What effect are these statements an example of? Alternatively, put funda.• You have a great need for other people to like and admire you.• You have a tendency to be critical of yourself.• You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not turned to your advantage.• While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them.• Your sexual adjustment has presented problems for you.• You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in

by restrictions and limitations.• You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept others' statements without

satisfactory proof.• You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others.• At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary,

reserved.• Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic.

They are named after certain tests given by an entertainer, businessman, politician, and a notorious hoaxer.

The Answer Is…

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Answer 28 : Hit Me 3Barnum effect (after P. T. Barnum)Or Forer effect

Observation that individuals will give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically for them but are, in fact, vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people.Also explains widespread acceptance of astrology, fortune telling, aura reading, etc.

Forer, B. R. (1949). The fallacy of personal validation: A classroom demonstration of gullibility. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 44, 118-123.

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Question 29 : History 1From a description by Megasthenes:

The greatest city in India ruled by Sandrocottus, is that which is called Palibothra, in the dominions of the Prasians, where the streams of Erannoboas and the Ganges unite, the Ganges being the greatest of all rivers, and the Erannoboas being perhaps the third largest of Indian rivers, though greater than the greatest rivers elsewhere; but it is smaller than the Ganges where it falls into it.

What’s the Indian name of the river that was corrupted into the name Erannoboas?What’s its current name (also a synonym, dating back to at least 5th century AD)

The Answer Is…

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Answer 29 : History 1HiranyabahuSon (shoNa, Sone)

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Question 30 : Sports 4• This sport dates back to at least 15th century, and originated in

Sussex, southern England.• It may have been an ancestor to cricket, baseball, and

rounders, and is often called “cricket in the air”.• It was traditionally played by milkmaids, who used one of

their “work tools” X, as a “wicket”.• The teams were either all female, or mixed gender. • The name is a portmanteau of this X and an instrument used

in the game. • It makes an appearance in Samuel Johnson’s dictionary as a

game played by driving a ball from X to X.

The Answer Is…

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Stoolball

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Question 31 : Geography 4

The Answer Is…

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Question 32 : Evolution 2In his book ‘The God Delusion’, Richard Dawkins advances an argument for atheism that he calls the “Ultimate ______ ____ Gambit”, in reference to Fred Hoyle’s famous comment about a ______ _____ assembling itself by chance after a tornado in a junkyard.

Hoyle’s argument appealed to the improbability of evolution, and Dawkin’s argument appeals to the improbability of God.

FITB

The Answer Is…

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Ultimate Boeing 747 Gambit

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Question 33 : Word Origins 1In Cornish mines in the 18th century, pumps were installed to drain floodwater. When working at full capacity, the could drain 38,000 gallons of water for every 24 bushels of coal that powered them.

This led to a phrase which means quick and fast action, without stopping, often used in the context of talking.

What’s the phrase?

The Answer Is…

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Nineteen to the dozen (38000 gallons per 24 bushels of coal)

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Question 34 : List It 2Reverse List it:

Connect (not exhaustive):Transylvania, Sylvania, Forgottonia, Deseret, Lost Dakota, Absaroka, Sequoyah.

The Answer Is…

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US states that almost became… well, states!

[Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It by Michael J. Trinklein]

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Question 35 : Women Pioneers 4She said during an interview in 1964,

"We started from Burma in 1943 after our father died, and we trekked alternately through wilderness and hundreds of villages, surviving on the generosity of people, for we were penniless, with no food and few clothes. Occasionally, we met British soldiers who provided us with transport, found us refuge and treated our blistered feet and bruised bodies and fed us. By the time we reached Dibrugarh in Assam, our group had been reduced to half. Some had fallen ill and been left behind, some had died of starvation and disease. My mother miscarried along the way. The survivors were admitted to the Dibrugarh hospital for treatment. Mother and I had been virtually reduced to skeletons and my brother's condition was critical. We spent two months in hospital. When we recovered, we moved to Calcutta".

She had to quit her schooling to support her family because her mother's salary as a nurse was not enough to feed a family of four. She was 19 years old in 1957 when she got her first big break, and was immortalized by a Qamar Jalalabadi song set to O P Nayyar music. Bonus: Name the movie.

The Answer Is…

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HelenHowrah BridgeMera naam chin chin choo

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Question 36 : Evolution 4For years, scientists and philosophers (of the arm-chair kind, or otherwise) have pondered on one of humankind’s great evolutionary question: Why do humans _____________?

Some of the theories answering this question are:• It helped them expend less energy• It helped them carry more food• It helped them control their temperature better by reducing

the amount of skin directly exposed to the sun

What was this great evolutionary question?

The Answer Is…

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Why did humans walk on two legs?

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Question 37 : List It 4WRITTEN QUESTIONBlack Heritage Stamp Series, is both the oldest and longest series of stamps issued by USPS. Started in 1978 with a stamp featuring the abolitionist Harriet Tubman, 2016 saw the 39th stamp issued featuring Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. There are 14 women in this list. FITB.

[1978] Harriet Tubman[1985] Mary McLeod Bethune[1986] <first to win a case against a white man>[1990] Ida Wells[1995] <aviator>[1998] Madam C J Walker[2000] Patricia Harris

[2005] Marian Anderson[2006] <Mammy>[2007] <jazz_singer>[2009] Ana Julia Cooper[2011] Barbara Jordan[2013] <tennis_player>[2014] <congresswoman>

The Answer Is…

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[1978] Harriet Tubman[1985] Mary McLeod Bethune[1986] Sojourner Truth[1990] Ida Wells[1995] Bessie Coleman[1998] Madam C J Walker[2000] Patricia Harris

[2005] Marian Anderson[2006] Hattie McDaniel[2007] Ella Fitzgerald[2009] Anna Julia Cooper[2011] Barbara Jordan[2013] Althea Gibson[2014] Shirley Chisholm

Question 38 : Women Pioneers 2• She was an anthropologist, sociologist, educator, and writer.• She was the first female anthropologist in India.• She was a prolific writer, and most known for a critical analysis of

the Mahabharata, treating the protagonists of the book as historical figures rather than mythical ones.

• Her father worked for the Burma Cotton Company, and named her after a river, also called ‘The Road to Mandalay’, because Kipling.

• She was also the first woman to get a driver’s license in Pune!

Name her, and the critical treatise on the anthropology of Mahabharata

The Answer Is…

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Irawati KarweYuganta (the end of an epoch)

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Question 39 : Science 2Name the journal

The Answer Is…

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Question 40 : Word Origins 3What word owes its origin, from the 14th century, to the Italian phrase meaning “40 days”.

[Hint for those who can use it: There’s a Urdu/Telugu word corrupted from the word in question, which gives its name to a locality in Hyderabad.]

The Answer Is…

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Quarantine from quaranta giorni

Locality in Hyderabad is Koranti/Fever Hospital

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Question 41 : History 2• It literally means “a knot” and this stems from the practice of

binding inscribed palm leaves using a length of thread held by knots.

• It is also a word used for books, and the script used to write them.• It was widely used to write Sanskrit in Tamil-speaking parts of

South Asia until the 19th century. • Malayalam is a direct descendent of this script as is the Sinhala

alphabet. • Mon, Lao, Javanese, Khmer, and Thai are either direct or indirect

derivations. What?

The Answer Is…

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Grantha Lipi

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Question 42 : Comics 1• It started in 1935 in a single panel appearing as a flower girl at

a wedding, mischievously stewing the aisle with banana peels.• It was a successor to Henry, the mute little boy.• Marjorie Buell the creator explained:

“I wanted a girl because a girl could get away with more fresh stunts that in a small boy would seem boorish.”

• The comic ran until 1984 and was translated into more than 38 languages.

• At her peak in the 1950s, she towered over Times Square, broke down gender stereotypes, and was read by millions in comic books and newspapers around the country.

The Answer Is…

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Question 43 : History 4• He called it “the interpretation of a friendly mleccha”, and in

the foreword hoped that although primarily intended for Westerners, it may also be of some interest to Indian, Pakistani, and Sinhalese readers.

• He was somewhat embarrassed about the florid title of the book, and blamed Edgar Allan Poe’s “To Helen” for inspiring it:

“On desperate seas long wont to roam,Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,They Naiad airs have brought me homeTo the glory that was Greece,And the grandeur that was Rome.”


The Answer Is…

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A L Basham’s “The Wonder That Was India”

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Question 44 : Science 1In a letter to his rival Robert Hooke, X remarked:“What ___Y___ did was a good step. You have added much several ways, & especially in taking the colours of thin plates into philosophical consideration. If I have _____________________

Hooke was a hunchback, and, erroneously, in a few interpretations, the line above is treated as a sarcastic remark.

X, Y, and the blanked out sentence.

The Answer Is…

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X: Isaac NewtonY: Descartes“If I have seen further it is by standing on the sholders [sic] of Giants.”

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Question 45 : Women Pioneers 3• Miriam E. Benjamin was an African-American school teacher and

inventor from Washington, D.C.• She was the second black woman to receive a US patent• Her patent was for a piece of furniture that would reduce the

expenses of hotels by decreasing the number of waiters and attendants, and would add to the comfort of guests.

• The invention was a big hit in both hotels and restaurants.• It was eventually adopted by the US House of Representatives

and was a precursor to a widely used system on airplanes today.

What was the invention?

The Answer Is…

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Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels

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Question 46 : Science 4• Her thesis work at Cambridge led to the discovery of something so

fundamental, her advisor Antony Hewish shared a Nobel prize for it with Martin Ryle.

• She was the first to observe and precisely analyze these objects, which have short and regular rotational periods (just like lighthouses).

• The periods are, in some cases, so accurate, they rival atomic clocks in keeping time.

• Subsequent observations of these objects were used to indirectly confirm the existence of gravitational radiation (late 1970s).

What did she, Anthony Hewish, and Martin Ryle discover?Bonus: Name the researcher.

The Answer Is…

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Jocelyn Bell BurnellRadio Pulsars

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Question 47 : Comics 3Who?

The Answer Is…

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Question 48 : Word Origins 4• This mostly Commonwealth phrase means taking liberties at

the expense of others, or to be unreasonable. • It is often confused with a closely sounding expression which

means to mock, tease, ridicule, or scoff. • It is also not to be confused with another term, made

indefinite by an article, and refers to a particular act of excretion.

What phrases are we talking about?

The Answer Is…

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• Taking the piss -- be unreasonable• Taking the piss out of – mock, scoff, etc.• Taking a piss -- urinating

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BAQC_Aug2016_GeneralQuiz

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