LitSoc Travel and Living

QuizThe Macro Polo Quiz

GokulMurthy

Topics

World/Places

Culture

Food

Art

Architecture

History

Rules

1. The only being with authority greater than the Quizmaster is Harambe

2. No googling / binging / use of the force / telepathy to get answers.

3. Unless mentioned blanks are somewhat indicative of length. However, two word/three word terms may be represented by a single blank.

4. Negs to Krishna if he doesn’t answer any Japan related questions.

1.#KolStylz

Flag of which autonomous region of Italy ?

Buffer Slide

Ans : Sicily

2.

XY is a historic photograph taken by the American Photographer Bernie Boston for the Washington Star newspaper. It was taking during a march to the Pentagon by anti-war protestors, and their encounter with the soldiers of the 503rd Military police battalion.

XY is also a slogan used in the 60s and early 70s as a form of non-violent protest against the Vietnam War. Hippies embraced the Symbolism by dressing in clothing with Xs on them. The term XY was coined by American beat poet Alan Ginsberg in 1965.

Ans : Flower Power

3.

Inspired by the Stuttgart Tower in Germany , artist Edward E Carlson sketched a vision of a dominant structure for the 1962 world’s fair in Seattle on a napkin.

The building that resulted after many iteration stands 184 m high and 42 m wide at its highest point.

What am I talking about ?

Ans : The Space Needle

4.

Shown here is the Loktak Lake in Manipur , the largest freshwater lake in Northern India. You can also find the Keibul Lamjao National Park here. Among all national parks in the world, what is unique to the Keibul Lamjao national park ? (Looking for a very very specific answer)

Ans : The world’s only floating national park

Johannes Vermeer is a dutch artist who specialised in domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer is known for the amazingly photorealistically accurate detail and use of light in many of his paintings. Vermeer’s level of accuracy was a mystery for many years and was usually attributed to the artist’s amazing genius

However , in 2001 , British artist David hockney came up with a theory, which , according to him , could explain Vermeer’s amazing level of accuracy. This was further expanded upon in 2008 by Tim Jenison. Among of the many pieces of evidence Jenison puts forward in support of his theory is that in Vermeer’s “The Music Lesson” ,Vermeer was able to accurately capture the very slight decrease in intensity of light along a wall , and also a slight curvature in the musical instrument in the scene, which ideally shouldn’t be there.

What is Hockney and Jenison’s theory ? (image on next slide)

Ans : That Vermeer probably used a Camera Obscura and mirrors

6.

Probably made around 2500 BC , this ship, called the Solar Barge, is considered one of the oldest to have ever been discovered. Interestingly , it seems not to have been designed for sailing , but for a very particular and final journey .

Where was this ship found ?What ‘journey’ am I talking about ?

An image of the reconstructed ship can be found on the next slide.

This is Khufu’s ship , found in the Pyramid at Giza ; Journey to the Afterlife

7.

“On the Cult of Personality and its consequences” was a report made by the soviet

leader X to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party, which had even some

delegates who had just been brought back from Prison camps . The speech was

unprecedented . Several people became ill during the report , and had to leave the

hall.

The speech was supposed to be top secret but was leaked by the Mossad

because a Russian secretary had a Jewish boyfriend.

What is the “cult of personality” he refers to ?

Who is X ?

Ans : Stalin , Nikita Khrushchev

8.

X means , one who has tied a turban (around his head) . The name X was adopted by this famous Tamil Nadu brand of Biryani restaurants , as it’s founder , Mr. Nagasamy Naidu , always used to wear a turban and was thus nicknamed X. His frequent customers included Sivaji Ganesan.

X Biriyani recently opened an outlet in Paris .

Give me X / name this biryani place

Ans : Thalappakatti Dindigul Biryani.

9

The Newby McMohan building standing at a height of 40 feet , is known as the world’s littlest skyscraper. This name is due to the fact that it’s builder had swindled the local people into beleiving he was building them a 480 feet skyscraper. The local people took this dude to court , and lost. Why did they lose / how did he succesfully carry out this con ?

Ans :

In the official plans and blueprints , which had been approved and signed by the people who paid for the building , he mentioned the height as 480 inches , and also showed only four floors.

10.

Shown on the next slide is a painting by Edouard Manet titled , “Le Vieux Musician” or “The old Musician”. Something in this painting is taken from a previous painting by Manet (Which is often considered Manet’s first original work), which was rejected by the Paris Salon with only Eugene Delacroix voting in favour. The painting was probably rejected because of its controversial subject .

Which painting ?

Ans : The Absinthe Drinker

11.

The X is a dance which became popular in New York in the 1980s. It is purportedly based on an ethiopian dance called Eskista. According to its inventor it comes from ancient Egyptians . He describes it as what the mummies used to do , because the mummies were all wrapped up , they couldn’t dance , they could only _____.

What is X ?

Ans : Harlem Shake

12.

This famous signal , the last part of which are also shown in JMW Turner’s painting of the Battle of Traflagar was given by Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson from his ship, the HMS Victory , as the battle was about to commence. As the British fleet closed with the combined fleets of France and Spain , after instructions had been given, Lord Nelson felt something extra was required. He asked his lieutenant to quickly signal this message to the fleet. This message/phrase later became quite famous , and had many different versions generated as a result of songs and poems , one of which was even engraved on Nelson’s tombstone. The signal is still hoisted on the ‘Victory’ in Portsmouth on every trafalgar day.

Nowadays , a part of this phrase is also associated with the English football team .

Ans :

Finals Written Theme Round

THEME : FESTIVALS AROUND THE WORLD

Qn.1 is a comic qn. Qn2. is a descriptive one.For Qn. 3 onwards, ID the festival from the images.

1.FITB

2. #InstiFunda

_____ ____ known as Shrove Tuesday / Fat Tuesday in English refers to events of the carnival celebrations beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the epiphany. Popular ways to celebrate include wearing masks and costumes , dancing , competitions e.t.c . In many places _____ ____ has come to mean the whole period of activity beyond just a single day. The very famous carnival , is in fact Brazil’s way of celebrating ____ ____.

3. ID

4. Name the festival and the country

5. Up

Answers :

1. Easter

2. Mardi Gras

3. Glastonbury festival

4. La Tomatina

5. Albequerque International Balloon festival

13.

Shown here is the flag of Somalia. Even though the colour blue officially representsThe sky and the Indian Ocean , to honour who/What was the colour blue initially chosen ?

Ans : The United Nations / UN Peacekeeping force

14.

Isla Incahuasi is a very unique island. It has a total area of 24.62 hectares and hosts gigantic cacti and a tourist center. This island is actually the remains of an ancient volcano which was submerged when the area was part of a huge prehistoric lake. It is now located in the middle of what can now be described as a ‘white sea’(which also contains 60-70% of the world’s lithium reserves). According to lonely planet , the ‘island’ is one of the main attractions for tourists visiting this area.

Where is this island located ?

Ans : The Salt Flats of Bolivia

15.

At one time, X was the largest canvas in the world. Many known and unkown artists painted on it. Most of the artwork is however unclaimed/unsigned. It was also considered the perfect place for people to express their opinions , on the differences between countries and ideologies and also calls for love. Interestingly , mostly only one side of this canvas is painted.

What am I talking about ?

Image on the next slide .

Ans : The Berlin Wall

16.

X garden in Giverny , France is a famous garden that attracts a lot of tourists. There are two parts in the garden ,a flower garden called Clos Normand and a Japanese inspired water garden on the other side of the road.

What is this garden’s claim to fame ?

Plan of the garden on the next slide

Ans : Claude Monet’s Garden

17.

Venus de Milo is an ancient Greek statue , believed to be of Aphrodite . It was discovered in the ruins of the island of Milos. It is now on display at the Louvre

Shown on the next slide , “Venus de Milo with drawers” is a sculpture on plaster by the artist X . Give me X ?

Ans : Salvador Dali

Question 18

Ideas for this have been circulating ever since plans were released for it in 2011. However, it met with strong opposition from the locals and the civic government in Helsinki. It probably didn’t help that the Finnish economy was in the midst of a recession since 2010. Suggestions of funding for this from state sources have been soundly rejected on multiple occasions.

Supporters of the idea, however, cite the example of another struggling city which saw an economic revival and a rebirth as a centre of the arts ever since it constructed a similar harbourside attraction of it’s own.

What is this entity that Helsinki wants to have and the other city already does?

Answer 18

Guggenheim Helsinki

Question 19

“At last we have the tools that, on one hand, allow us to foresee a higher income and, on the other hand, to have an advanced platform with which to monitor the city.’ He continued, ‘The agreement takes into account sustainability, tourism and the challenge of legality so that all the operators in this sector are treated in the same way.’ Stifanelli said, ‘This is just the beginning of a collaboration that will see X quickly committed to supporting the city on issues such as the decentralization and promotion of sustainable tourism.’”

This excerpt from The Florentine was taken from the day a historic agreement was signed between the City of Florence and X. Other cities in Europe, most notably residents in Venice, have been pushing for a similar agreement which would see the enforcement of the X tax on incoming visitors.

X?

Answer 19

Airbnb

Question 20An excerpt from The Guardian about the wondrous TV show “What would ____ ______ do?” and is an effort to point out the childishness of the person’s actions.

He is there to speak to a crowd about the importance of muscular dystrophy research. “Have you thought of what you’re going to say?” Ileana asks.

He hasn’t.

“I have never written down a speech ever,” ____ tells the camera.

The TV show only ran for one season (thankfully) and was basically an effort to cash in on the protagonist’s rise to prominence in the summer of 2012. He acquitted himself rather less gracefully this summer and is still wanted by the Brazilian police as a result.

ID.

Answer 20

Ryan Lochte

Question 21

Shown on the next slide is a picture of a rather suave looking gentleman called Alessio Censoni. His occupation shares its moniker with that of a character in a fictional wizarding world we are all familiar with. However, differences abound.

Censoni’s role is shared with other men, and requires him to be suitably well dressed. Censoni’s domain is also quite small when compared to his wizarding(?) counterpart. The fictional character’s job calls for him to be more geared towards manual labour, and he is the sole occupant of that position.

Give me the designation that both enjoy.

Answer 21

Keeper of the Keys

Question 22

A frieze is a broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, especially on a wall near the ceiling.

One of the more famous tourist sites in Barcelona is a frieze on the exterior of the Office of the College of Architects of Catalonia and The Balearic Islands, opposite the Barcelona Cathedral. It marks out three sides of the building, and shows the scenes from a Catalan festival on the front. This was unusual in that it was built during Franco’s reign and all expression of regionalism were clamped down on heavily.

It is more notable, however, for enjoying a unique position in the world and makes for an attractive proposition for cost-conscious tourists.

What is the unique quality of this frieze?

Answer 22

The artwork on the frieze was made by Pablo Picasso, and remains his only artwork on free public display

Question 23

Answer 23

White Russian

Question 24

The source of the river Ganga.

A Vedic saint who’s work on joining the brahman and the atman forms the core of Advaita philosophy.

The alternative name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati.

What is the common denominator between these three places?

Answer 24

These are the names of the Indian Antarctic stations in chronological order of their being set up.