Mega-Whats 2015 Face-off - Finals

Mega-Whats 2015 The 6th National Open Quizzing Championships

Conducted by

The Karnataka Quiz Association Est. 1983

Set by

Arun Hiregange and Kiran Vijayakumar

The Rules

1. +10/-5 on the pounce; +10 on the bounce

2. No part points available on the pounce

The Design

Three rounds:

I. Written 5

II. Clockwise 24

III. Written 5

IV. Anti-clockwise 24

Written

1

- One of the pioneering protocols in the treatment of childhood leukemia, developed by Freiriech and Frei at the National Cancer Institute, Maryland, in the 1960s, comprising of 6-mercaptopurine, prednisone, vincristine and amethoperine.

- The part of a shoe on the next slide. - Musical improvisation or similar adlib by a TV

anchor when there is nothing on the teleprompter.

Connect all of these. A fourth meaning that came from the world of silent movies has been left out.

1

Vamp.

2

Who were these newspapers in a tizzy about?

2

Otto Skorzeny.

3 What is missing?

3

Olympia / Olympic (the other three Pan-Hellenic games are Corinthian, Pythian, Nemean).

4

Who is shown portraying Churchill in this poster parodying the movie Gandhi?

4

Nirad C. Chaudhuri.

5

Identify the sportsman they are all talking about and the musician who keeps appearing in between.

5

Bo Jackson.

Bo Diddley.

Clockwise

1 This is a map of New York, Brooklyn and surrounding areas commissioned in the early 1800s to map certain type of industries. This was because of certain medical theories which prevailed at that point of time. These studies had a great impact on how these areas turned out to be. What map was this and what prevailing theory caused its creation?

1

Odour producing industries, because then the belief was that diseases came from smells.

2

What is this an exhaustive list of (as of today)?

Volkswagen Beetle, Austin-Healey 3000, Dodge Challenger T/A, Mercedes-Benz 280 SL, Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3, Porsche 356 SC Cabriolet, Triumph TR6, Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II, Volkswagen Double Cab Pickup, Jaguar E-Type Series 2, Volvo 960, Citroën 2CV, Cadillac Eldorado, Porsche 911 Carrera RS, Lamborghini Miura P400S, Fiat 600 Jolly, DeLorean DMC-12, Porsche 356/2, MGB, Volvo 1800S, AMC Pacer, Pontiac GTO, Ford LTD Country Squire, Buick Riviera, Jaguar Mark 2, Prevost Car X3-45 VIP, AMC Gremlin, AMC AMX, Porsche RSK Spyder, Ferrari Daytona, Ford Mustang Boss 302, Austin-Healey Sprite, Saab 96 Monte Carlo 850, Mercedes-Benz 280 SE, Chevrolet Corvette, Land Rover Defender, Aston Martin DB5, Chevrolet Bel Air, 1976 Lamborghini Countach, 1979 Volkswagen Beetle.

3 A Canadian who used to be “America’s Favorite Dad” remembers:

“I was reminded of it a few days ago on the anniversary of his trade from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988. He was house-sitting at my house in L.A. the night he got traded. I was in Norway, and __X__ and Janet were house-sitting for my son __Y__ (11 years old at the time). I called from Norway because I picked up the Oslo morning paper and saw pictures of __X__ -- but I couldn't understand the text, of course. And I thought maybe there had been a fire, a mudslide, a drive-by shooting, who knows? So I called home, and I learned __X__ left early in the morning; he got traded last night. He got the call at about 9 p.m., and he was gone by 6 the next morning. So we had to find a substitute nanny instantly, which is not as bad as what Edmonton had to find to replace him.”

Identify X and Y.

3

Wayne Gretzky.

Robin Thicke.

4

Describe this dismissal in seven or eight exact words.

#

He just didn’t quite get his leg over.

5

Connect laterally. The one missing item is the answer.

5

Khiladi series of movies.

Khiladi

Main Khiladi Tu Anari

Sabse Bada Khiladi

Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi

Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi

International Khiladi

Khiladi 420

Khiladi 786

6

“Sparky” used to be a nickname for electricians for obvious reasons. By extension it also used to be applied to the radio operators in the US Navy and merchant ships. So what have traditionally had the nickname of “Old Sparky” in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia?

Note that states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Alaska, Minnesota, Vermont, Iowa and a few more don’t feature in that list.

6

Electric Chairs.

7 Scotland at the end of the Seventeenth Century was in a state of crisis. A financial adventurer called William Paterson, a Scot who had made his name down south as one of the founding directors of the Bank of England, came up with an idea. He had heard about a wonderful paradise on the Isthmus of Panama, with a sheltered bay, friendly Indians and rich, fertile land - a place called Darien. If a colony could be established at Darien, goods could be ferried from the Pacific across Panama and loaded onto ships in the Atlantic from there, speeding up Pacific trade and making it much more reliable. The Scottish directors of the Darien Venture could charge a nice fat commission for the privilege. There was a great rush to subscribe to the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies, founded in June 1695. The expedition turned out to be a complete disaster and only a handful of colonists survived. Even now, the land around Darien is very inhospitable. This disaster turned out to be one of driving events to something significant a few years later. What?

7

The unification of Scotland with England to form Great Britain in 1707.

8

In 2009 there was a meeting between the lean, easygoing Frenchman who created the original and the wild, gloomy-looking Russian who created the painting based on it. They couldn’t communicate — neither spoke the other’s language — but they did pose for photos at a restoration project for that and other similar paintings. The meeting happened at the East Side Hotel whose logo is in fact, that painting. What did these two create?

8

Erich Honecker and Leonid Brezhnev kiss.

9 Dancing in the streets, to celebrate what? And what name has been blanked out?

The signs say:

“Wet nurse / Monthly nurse:

We’ve got no work to do”

“Next Sunday

Sermon by the Rev. ____ ____.”

9

Birth control.

The Rev. Annie Besant.

10

Lauscha, in the German state of Thuringen, has been making these objects since the 17th century. The decoration became fashionable after a picture of Queen Victoria's Christmas tree, covered in these glass ornaments from Germany, was printed in 1846. About 20 of these glass-blowing firms are still active in Lauscha. What are these objects called, now a word in English? Needing the same skills for their creation, what prostheses were perfected in Lauscha by a local glass-blower?

10 Baubles. Artificial glass eyes.

11 In 2013, British artist Olly Moss designed 84 individual statuettes to represent every film that has ever won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Identify the two depicted here.

11

The Lost Weekend.

The Apartment.

(Both Billy Wilder movies)

12

One of them occurred at Santa Cruz de Tenerife and another at Calvi in Corsica. There was no third, which makes the term bogus. What are we talking about?

12

Nelson lost an arm at Tenerife and an eye at Corsica, but he never lost a leg (or any other part) in any other battle, making 111 = Nelson apocryphal.

13

Give a 9-letter connect.

13

Bagatelle.

14 In Yes, Prime Minister, Jim Hacker noted: “The last few days have been overwhelmingly exciting. I went to the Palace and kissed hands. The next morning I moved into Number Ten. I’d read in the memoirs of past Prime Ministers that the staff line up in the front lobby, and in the long corridor inside it that leads down to the grand central staircase, and applaud the incoming Prime Minister. I wonder why they didn’t applaud me. [Editors note removed.] I hope this does not bode ill.” What is the reason, i.e., what was the editor’s note?

14

As per tradition, only PMs who have got in by winning an election get this tribute.

15

This viceroy of India died of a heart attack while crossing a swinging rope and wood bridge over the river Chandra between Kullu and Lahaul. In his previous appointment, he was High Commissioner to China and was responsible for the destruction and looting of the Old Summer Palace as retaliation for some actions of the Chinese. His father was another career diplomat, so you could say “Like father, like son” in more than one way. What was his title?

15

Lord Elgin.

16

A couple of clips from a famous movie. This person’s contribution to the movie can be termed as ‘diegetic’. Who and what does it mean?

16

Herbie Hancock.

The music in Blow-Up happens as a consequence of what is happening on screen and is not added on.

17 In 1904 Iron Clad began manufacturing the steel barrel which was the model for the oil-drum still used in the US. The owner herself was an inventor in her own right, receiving the patent shown in the next slide. Who, more famous for something she started at 9:40 a.m., November 14, 1889?

17

Nellie Bly.

18

If you go to the Tripadvisor page for “Classes and Workshops in Bangkok”, ranked #2 is a cooking class run by the lady shown here. Students get to shop for ingredients in the market, learn about the culture of Bangkok and learn to make home-cooked Thai food. The lady who runs in it was in the news for winning a “literary” prize a few years ago. What is the name of the class? What prize did she win a few years ago?

18

Cooking With Poo.

Diagram prize for oddest book title.

19 Slaughterhouses across North America provide about 3000 cattle hides a week to the Horween Leather company, a family-run tannery on Chicago's North Side. Hair is removed, hides are selected, split to the desired thickness, re-tanned in large rotating drums, then dried. A 1,000-ton press with German-made embossing plates gives the leather its distinct pebbling. This is sent to a manufacturing facility in China for a 4-day assembly process that includes 3200 yards of nylon winding. The finished item then goes to a test process which includes catapulting them into a maple wood plate. The final result arrives at 30 cities every summer, orange and brand new. What?

19

NBA Game Ball.

20 Most proteins must fold into defined three-dimensional structures to gain functional activity. But in the cellular environment, newly synthesized proteins are at great risk of aberrant folding and aggregation, potentially forming toxic species. To avoid these dangers, cells invest in a complex network of molecular _____, which use ingenious mechanisms to prevent aggregation and promote efficient folding. Because protein molecules are highly dynamic, constant ______ surveillance is required. Fill.

20

Molecular Chaperones.

21

This is a stained glass window installed in St Lawrence's Church, East Rounton, North Yorkshire. It is dedicated to a grandchild of a Victorian ironmaster who was a fellow of the Royal Society, director of many major construction projects of the day including the Forth bridge and the first recipient of Henry Bessemer’s gold medal. But who is the stained glass window dedicated to?

21

Gertrude Bell.

22

Some time back, there was a news item about Australia’s oldest man Alfie Date, who loves to knit. Two nurses at his old-age home told him about a need for sweaters for Philip Island penguins, and he immediately went to work. News agencies picked up the story and were quick to publish photos of the results. Why were sweaters needed for those penguins? How had the new agencies goofed?

22

To prevent penguins from pecking and eating oil which had stuck to their body after oil spills.

The photo shows toy penguins wearing sweaters, not real penguins.

23

The singer’s son recollected in an interview that a couple of songs from one of his father’s well-known movies were copied at the father’s request aptly from a singer named Tennessee Ernie Ford. Name the movie and either of the songs.

23

Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi.

Hum The Woh Thi and Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si.

24

Since 1991, this “former baron of plastic roll-up portable disco dance floors” has been sponsoring a prize. He likes to point out that the gold medals given out are made of solid gold and unlike those given out at the Olympics, not silver covered with a thin layer of gold. What is this prize for? He has also been a controversial activist for a cause, and therefore the subject of articles like “A Regular John – and Proud of It” and the author of “Magna Carta for ___ ___”. What cause?

24

Turing Test (Loebner Prize).

To legalize prostitution.

Written

1 It was an Adolf Hitler directive on 7 December 1941 that was originally intended to winnow out all political activists and resistance 'helpers'. It was then expanded it to include all persons in occupied countries who had been taken into custody and were still alive eight days later. The decree was meant to intimidate local populations into submission by denying friends and families of the missing any knowledge of their whereabouts or their fate. The prisoners were secretly transported to Germany, vanishing without a trace. In 1945, the seized Sicherheitsdienst (SD) records were found to include merely names and a 2-letter acronym, when expanded was a direct reference to a "Tarnhelm" spell from Wagner's Das Rheingold. What phrase, whose translation was made famous in 1955, while drawing attention to the Nazi atrocities?

1

Nacht und Nebel (Night and Fog).

Alain Resnais’ Night and Fog (Nuit et Brouillard) was based on this.

2

What comes first in this list?

2

Shadja (Six-born).

Swara Sanskrit Expansion Meaning

Sa Shadja (षड्ज) six-born

Re Rishabha (ऋषभ) bull

Ga Gandhara (गान्धार) sky

Ma Madhyama (मध्यम) middle

Pa Panchama (पञ्चम) fifth

Dha Dhaivata (धैवत) earth

Ni Nishadam (निषाद) hunter

3

______ is credited with devising a measure of a cyclist's long-distance riding achievements. The ______ number in the context of cycling is defined as the maximum number E such that the cyclist has cycled E miles on E days. For example, an ______ number of 70 would imply that the cyclist has cycled at least 70 miles in a day on 70 occasions. Achieving a high ______ number is difficult since moving from, say, 70 to 75 will probably require more than five new long distance rides since any rides shorter than 75 miles will no longer be included in the reckoning. ______'s own E-number was 84. Fill up.

3

Arthur Eddington.

4

Connect.

4

All screenplays/scripts written by Tom Stoppard.

5 In 1978, geophysicists Antonio Camargo and Glen Penfield were working for Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) as part of an airborne magnetic survey of the Gulf of Mexico. Penfield's job was to use geophysical data to scout possible locations for oil drilling. In the data, Penfield found a huge underwater arc with "extraordinary symmetry". Penfield found another arc on the peninsula itself, the ends of which pointed northward. Comparing the two maps, he found the separate arcs formed a circle, centered near a Yucatán village. Pemex disallowed release of specific data but let Penfield present the results at the 1981 Society of Exploration Geophysicists conference. What was the relevance of this discovery? Or, tell us the name of the village.

5

Chicxulub crater.

Anti-clockwise

1

Identify the titular character in this work by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. What ‘first’ associated with this character made its appearance during the Carnival of 1598 at the Palazzo Corsi, and was primarily for the benefit of an elite circle of humanists in Florence called the Florentine Camerata?

1

Daphne (who’s transforming into a laurel).

Dafne by Jacopo Peri is considered to be the earliest opera by modern standards.

2

Which Paris building has this Art Deco design by Maurice Picaud on its façade? What US production (from 1907 to 1931) was inspired by and named after this location?

2

Folies-Bergère.

Ziegfeld Follies.

3

Traditionally, a sailor who did this was entitled to wear a gold loop earring in the left ear and to dine with one foot on the table. What achievement are we talking about? What 1914 event brought down the number of sailors meeting this criteria considerably?

3

Rounding the Horn.

Opening of the Panama Canal.

4

From a June 17, 2015 Prospero blog (The Economist) titled Two Great Little Men:

__(A)__ , that equally immortal, diminutive, and egotistical gentleman was still two decades away from being created. But just as that plump knight-errant of science would one day quiver with excitement over his "Theory of Tittlebats" and the "Source of the Hampstead Ponds", so too did __(B)__ marvel at descriptions of the quinine tree and the way the Alistonia’s dried leaves made a healthful tea. And just as __(A)__ and his three boon companions would set off on a stagecoach ramble to gather scientific data for “the advancement of knowledge and diffusion of learning”, __(B)__ dreamed that he and a comrade would “survey the new continent from Canada to Cape Horn, and in this immense journey we will study all the great phenomena of the world.”

…

“Both men had been born in 1769. One grew up to be called the Little ____, the other the Little ____. That the latter was now immersed in Humboldt’s discoveries was hugely ironic, for the only time they had met, __(B)__ had asked, “So, monsieur, you collect plants?” When Humboldt smiled in assent, __(B)__ replied, “So does my wife,” and walked away.”

Identify both.

4

Samuel Pickwick, Napoléon Bonaparte.

5

What illustrious lineage can be traced thus?

5

Man o' War Hard Tack Seabiscuit.

6

Few authors cited in the Oxford English Dictionary are responsible for as many unusual words as this 17th century physician. His erudite enquiries into science and religion are notable for their wit, their fascination with the natural world, and their attraction to the esoteric, and all of these characteristics are evident in his vocabulary. Examples of his coinages are shown here. Who?

6

ambidextrous, antediluvian, analogous, approximate, ascetic, anomalous, carnivorous, coexistence, coma, compensate, computer, cryptography, cylindrical, disruption, electricity, exhaustion, ferocious, follicle, generator, gymnastic, hallucination, herbaceous, holocaust, insecurity, indigenous, jocularity, literary, locomotion, medical, migrant, mucous, prairie, prostate, polarity, precocious, pubescent, therapeutic, suicide, ulterior, ultimate, veterinarian.

6

Sir Thomas Browne.

7

This term was coined by Agehananda Bharati, professor of Anthropology at Syracuse University, in 1970. The original examples given by him were:

1.The Apu trilogy films of Satyajit Ray

2.Movements like those of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and ISKCON

3.Yoga

4.The exalted status of the Bhagavad Gita in Hinduism

What term? What does it denote?

7

Pizza Effect.

The phenomenon of elements of a nation or people's culture being transformed or at least more fully embraced elsewhere, then re-imported back to their culture of origin.

8

Connect the following companies: Avis, Brinker International (which owns Chili's), Molson Coors Brewing Company, Genentech, Papa John's, Sealy Corporation, National Beverage Corporation and Sotheby's.

(Non-exhaustive list)

8

Clever ticker symbols to indicate the sphere of activity.

CAR, EAT, TAP, DNA, PZZA, ZZ, FIZZ, BID respectively.

9

Two theories for what?

1. The signal used by the accomplice of Ruth Snyder, who was executed in 1928 in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison, for the murder of her husband Albert.

2. The anxiety felt by Vincent Lawrence while waiting for a response from his publishers and the moment when he thought that his manuscript had been rejected by the publishers.

9

The Postman Always Rings Twice.

10

He was an Indian first class cricketer and the ruler of Patiala. A right-handed middle order batsman and handy right arm slow bowler, he played just one first class match in England, for Cambridge University in 1939 against Northamptonshire. His only century was made for Southern Punjab against Northern India in 1943-44. He become the President of the Indian Olympic Association and was instrumental in organising Asian Games in 1951. Who? How is his name honoured?

10

Raja Bhalindra Singh.

The overall winners of the National Games are awarded the Raja Bhalindra Singh trophy.

11

He was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome under Pope Sixtus II that were martyred during the persecution of Emperor Valerian in 258. Since the Perseid Meteor Shower typically occurs every year in mid-August on or near his feast day, some refer to the shower as the "Tears of ______." French explorer Jacques Cartier gave him name to the largest of its kind in the world. Who? He is the patron saint of which group of people due to a cheerful remark that he made while he was being martyred?

11 By Tintoretto

11

St. Lawrence (Lawrence of Rome).

Cooks / chefs ("I'm well done. Turn me over!").

12

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are found to be effective in the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia, social phobia, atypical depression or mixed anxiety and depression, PTSD as well as borderline personality disorder. People under this treatment are advised to avoid foods containing high levels of tyramine (eg: liver and fermented substances, such as alcoholic beverages and aged cheeses) and levodopa (eg: various types of beans). Why is all this probably part of an elaborate joke that first entered pop culture in the late 1980s and then again in the early 1990s?

12

Hannibal Lecter taunting Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.

"A census taker tried to quantify me once. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a big Amarone. Go back to school, little Starling." (1988 novel)

"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti." (1991 movie)

13

Who used this system of strings with small bags of birdshot hanging from them for his work? Explain briefly how he used this model.

13

Antoni Gaudí.

He hung the strings (for the catenaries) with the birdshot (for the weight) from the supporting points of the building—columns, intersection of walls. At that point, he took a picture that, when inverted, showed the structure for columns and arches.

14

Connect the genus of rodents in the Sciuridae family that is most common in the Indian subcontinent to the visual in the next slide. The genus contains many of the palm squirrel species.

14

Funambulus and Funambulist.

Both mean “rope walker”.

15

Fabrica and its colourful companion piece the Epitome were the publications that helped him realise his personal ambitions in the 16th century court of the Holy Roman Empire. Keen to impress, he dedicated the Fabrica to Charles V and the Epitome to his son, the future King of Spain, Philip II. His family coat of arms on the cover image may help you in figuring out his name. Who? Incredibly innovative for the time, with a layered design, Epitome is now considered to one of the earliest types of which kind of books?

15

Andreas Vesalius (from “weasel”).

Pop-up books.

16

Dario Camuffo is a Research Director at the Institute of Atmospheric Science and Climate in Italy. He has been working on climate changes and its impact on the buildings and living spaces. In one study, his team investigated the high water in Venice over the last three centuries using a proxy indicator of mean sea level: the height of the green belt of algae which live in the intertidal zone and whose upper front indicates the average high tide level. They found out that the algae belt has risen by 8 cm. How were they able to accurately collect the historical data?

16

The paintings of Canaletto (and his pupils) which were highly accurate.

17

Who created this runic alphabet? Where would one come across it?

17

Left side: “This is the stori of Taffimai all ritten out on an old tusk. If u begin at the top left hand corner and go on to the right u can see for urself things as the happened.”

Right side: “The reason that I spell so queerli is becase there are not enough letters in the Runic alphabet for all the ourds that I ouant to use to u o beloved.”

Bottom: “This is the identical tusk on ouich the tale of Taffimai was ritten and etched bi the author.”

17

Rudyard Kipling.

How the First Letter Was Written (from Just So Stories).

It introduces a family of cave-people – Tegumai Bopsulai (the father), Teshumai Tewindrow (the mother), and Taffimai Metallumai (the daughter) and explains how Taffimai delivered a picture message to her mother.

18

Gypaetus barbatus is a bird of prey. One of its names stems from the belief that it attacked lambs. Some believe that Aeschylus was killed by a tortoise dropped by one who mistook his bald head for a stone. How do we know it better? Who adopted it as his surname after being enchanted by a specimen he encountered in the Negev desert in 1945?

18

Lammergeier (Bearded vulture).

Shimon Peres (called Shimon Persky at the time).

19

This word used in scientific contexts comes from a Latin word meaning "decorated with ribbons", which in turn may come from the ancient Greek island where ribbons were worn as decorations, or alternatively may refer to the wool from which the ribbons were made. What’s the word? Where would one come across it in the context of science?

19

Lemniscate.

The infinity symbol.

20 In a December 2014 article in The Guardian, he said about the influences that shaped his masterpiece. A direct influence was Harold Laski’s essay The Dangers of Being a Gentleman. Two less obvious ones were:

1. The Conversation, where ‘Hackman fanatically wants to be the finest in his field – “the greatest bugger in America”’.

2. ‘Tom Waits singing his song “Ruby’s Arms”. It’s a ballad about a soldier leaving his lover sleeping in the early hours to go away on a train. Nothing unusual in that. But the song is sung in the voice of a rough American hobo type utterly unaccustomed to wearing his emotions on his sleeve.’

Who? What work?

20

Kazuo Ishiguro.

The Remains of the Day.

21

Who are these gents reminiscing about a a 1974 dinner meeting at the Two Continents Restaurant in the Washington Hotel? What originated from this meeting?

21

Arthur Laffer, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld.

Laffer Curve – a representation of the relationship between rates of taxation and the hypothetical resulting levels of government revenue.

22

In the early 1980s, when this actor was shooting for a film in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, it was required by contract to have crew members wearing brightly-coloured vests to accompany him at all times other than filming. Identify the actor or the role he was playing. What was the reason behind the clause in the contract?

22

Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars films.

So that hunters wouldn’t mistake him for the Bigfoot.

23

Who? Briefly describe what he’s doing.

23

Miles Davis composing the music for Louis Malle’s 1958 Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows).

24

What game are these gents playing? (Be specific.) Where is the court located?

24

Real tennis.

Inside Lord’s (Marylebone Cricket Club).

Mega-Whats 2015 Face-off - Finals

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