General Quiz 4 (GEN-4)

1. A few decades ago, the flags of the United Nations, of Great Britain, Nepal and India were raised in the order stated to mark a special occasion. Which one?

2. Which band founded in 1993 by Alexi “Wildchild” Laiho was initially called ‘Inearthed’? It takes its present name from a geographical feature which is notorious for the murders that happened near it on June 4, 1960.

3. Fill in the blanks:
    Gary Sobers - Malcolm Nash
    _________ - Tilak Raj

4. This animal derives its name from the Latin for ‘Terrible Lizard’. Which one?

5. He is an Italian and a hardcore fan of Tolkien and his works. This 24 year old has authored one of the most famous recent fantasy trilogies. The third part is due and the first one was recently made into a movie. Name the books and the author.

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Saturday, September 18th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Sports Quiz (Tuesday)

Wordgames, IQ and Rebuses 3 (WIR-3)

1. Anagram this. E.g. Percussion = Supersonic
a. Nativism =
b. Canniest =

2. Insert the word that ends the first word and starts the second. E.g. con (TRACT) ion
a. as ( ) rally
b. sea ( ) lets

3. Homonyms. E.g. A closing : top wall of a room = Sealing : Ceiling
a. Ringing sound : Wood =
b. Dessert : day of resting =

4. Ditloids. E.g. 7 D in a W = 7 Days in a Week
a. 8 P in the SS =
b. 18 H on a GC =

5. Which English word retains its pronunciation even if its last four letters are removed?

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Saturday, September 18th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - General Quiz (Monday) 

IIT Bombay Cliches Quiz (NIC-3)

1. X is a song by popular rock band Y. It achieved cult status in the insti about 10 months ago. The frontman of band Y described the song : “It's about the hunger to be somebody”. About 5 years ago rapper Z did a cover of the song.
Identify X, Y and Z.

2. What is being talked about?
The quantity of water in step 1 plays important role in creating qualitative foam. Very small quantity will not produce enough foam while large quantity will produce soapy foam. If you desire different dosages of ______ and/or sugar, the exact quantity of water in step 1 should vary accordingly. _____ should always be put after stirring otherwise the foam loses all its stability.

3. What is being talked about?
An advantage of the free and open-source nature of X is that several derivatives (mods) have been released which add features to the original client.
Many users send patches to X which are included in future releases, but some features are rejected by the developer. Stated reasons for rejecting a patch are because they are coded poorly, or that the feature is frivolous, abusable or overly specialized, and does not belong in the main client. Examples include: upload bandwidth limiting (many users feel that upload bandwidth limiting is a form of cheating, while other users not using a full-duplex network connection can only achieve reasonable download speeds by limiting uploads), colorized chat, specialized operator functions (e.g. client/share checking).

4. Plot synopsis of a 1915 Charlie Chaplin movie, “A _____ ___”:
After a visit to a pub, Charlie and Ben (both obviously drunk) cause a ruckus at a posh restaurant. Charlie later finds himself in a compromising position at a hotel with the head waiter's wife.

5. The X is a global firm, founded by Bruce Henderson, a Harvard Biz School alumnus in 1963. It has 66 offices in 38 countries, and its current CEO is Hans-Paul Bürkner. X is generally ranked as one of the two most "prestigious“ firms in its field in the world.
Identify X.

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Saturday, September 18th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Wordgames & Rebuses (Friday)

Entertainment Quiz 3 (ENT-3)

1. Which song is being described?
Written in the key of A minor and mainly in common time, the song opens with an arpeggiated, hybrid-picked guitar chord progression with a chromatic descending bassline A-G#-G-F#-F.
The sections build with more guitar layers, each complementary to the intro, with the drums entering at 4:18.
The extended guitar solo in the song's final section was played for the recording on a 1958 Fender Telecaster

2. On April 8, 1994 at 7:40 a.m., Gary Smith, an electrician who worked for Veca Electric, was installing a security system at a mansion outside Seattle. What did he find there?

3. In the video for which song will you see these as the first six captions?
- Music Monopoly?
- One Corporation Owns The 5 Major Video Channels in the U.S.
- Is That OK?
- Last Year The BIG 5 Record Labels Together Sold about $25 Billion Dollars Of Music.
- 90% Of Releases On Major Labels DO NOT make a profit.
- Britney Spears' Last Video Cost $1,000,000.

4. Fill in the blanks:
After Don Henley's band broke up in 1980, he was asked about the possibility of a reunion. He replied that the band would play together again when '______ _____________ ________'.

5. Identify the band whose song fills in the blank:
And on the radio
You hear ________
That solo's awful long
But it's a good refrain

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Saturday, September 18th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - IIT Bombay Cliches Quiz (Thursday)

Sports Quiz 3 (SPO-3)

1. Also known to its fans by the nickname "Glorioso", this is an eclectic multisports club, best known for its football team. It is the biggest club in the world in number of associates, with over 155,000 of them. As a club oriented to multiple sports, it fields teams in basketball, rink hockey, indoor football (futsal), volleyball, handball, water polo, rugby, cycling, and athletics. Identify.

2. "______ is cheating. ______ is akin to death. Death physiologically, by profoundly altering, sometimes, irreversibly, normal processes through unjustified manipulations. Death physically, as certain tragic cases in recent years have shown. But also death spiritually and intellectually, by agreeing to cheat and conceal one's capabilities, by recognising one's incapacity or unwillingness to accept oneself, or to transcend one's limits. And finally death morally, by excluding oneself de facto from the rules of conduct required by all human society." Who on what? (Hint : It was outlawed in 1967)

Cricket Sledges (Identify the sledger and the sledged)

3. "I've been waiting two years to humiliate you again."
   The reply : "Looks like you spent the time eating."

4. "Come on, just one more of the famous slog-sweeps before you finish".
   The reply : "Look, show a bit of respect. You were in nappies when I debuted 18 years ago."

5. "... Look who it is. Mate, what are you doing out here? There’s no way you’re good enough to play for England.”
   The reply : “Maybe not, but at least I’m the best player in my family.”

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Wednesday, September 8th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Entertainment Quiz (Wednesday)

General Quiz 3 (GEN-3)

1. “A chain that represents tyranny and slavery lies broken at her feet”. What is being referred to?

Fill in the blanks:

2. -----------, Britannic, Olympic

3. KGB - RUSSIA
    M16 - UK
    ___  - INDIA

4. He is one of the best known rock stars. The founder of Queen, he was born in Zanzibar, brought up in India and took the world by storm but died at a relatively young age due to AIDS. What is his real name?

5. This ex-Arsenal football player has a fear of flying and hence always travelled by land. This particular fear of his made him miss many of the European matches for his club. Name him.

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Tuesday, September 7th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Sports Quiz (Tuesday)

Quiz of the Week 3 (QOTW-3)

1. Fill in the blank:
a. KGB – Russia
b. M16 – UK
c. ____ – India

2. Cricket Sledge (Identify the sledger and the sledged)
"... Look who it is. Mate, what are you doing out here? There’s no way you’re good enough to play for England.”
The reply: “Maybe not, but at least I’m the best player in my family.”

3. Ditloids. E.g. 7 D in a W = 7 Days in a Week
a. 8 P in the SS =
b. 18 H on a GC =

4. X is a song by popular rock band Y. It achieved cult status in IIT Bombay in the past few years.
The front man of band Y described the song: “It's about the hunger to be somebody.”
About 5 years ago, a rapper Z did a cover of the song.
Identify X, Y and Z

5. Which current television show is credited to 30th Century Fox?

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Wednesday, September 8th 2010 at 2359 hrs.

Wordgames, IQ and Rebuses 2 (WIR-2)

1. Anagram this:
a. Nitrogenase
b. Decoration

2. Insert the word that ends the first word and starts the second. E.g. con (TRACT) ion
a. pro ( ) mars
b. con ( ) rally

3. Popular books without vowels concatenate thus. Identify. E.g. THWHTTGR = The White Tiger
a. HRRYPTTRNDTHDTHLYHLLWS
b. TLFTWCTS

4. Homonyms. E.g. A closing : top wall of a room = Sealing : Ceiling
a. Rupture : Rear part of a gun =
b. Type : Large house =

5. There are only six countries in the world with one syllable in their names. Name them all.

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Sunday, September 5th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - General Quiz (Monday)

Superheroes Quiz (NIC-2)

1. Superman was supposedly killed while trying to save Metropolis. After his demise, several impostors claimed his identity. The real Superman convinced Lois Lane of his authenticity by sharing personal details concerning his hideout and hobbies. What did he say was his favourite movie?

2. Daredevil and Electra often crossed paths, even while they were studying. The first time this happened was at Columbia University Law School. Which other institution counts both of them among its students?

3. These mutants-for-hire have chosen celebrity over Professor X's dream of peaceful coexistence between man and mutant. They are embraced by the world as defenders and protectors. Who are they?

4. Which superhero was accidentally transported to Eternia and subsequently helped He-Man battle and defeat Skeletor?

5. This cartoon character represents the dark side of science, and has invented a sort of supercomputer that depletes environmental resources in order to augment her own abilities.

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Saturday, September 4th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Wordgmames (Tomorrow)

Entertainment Quiz 2 (ENT-2)

1. This movie is in the Guinness Book for the largest number of producers – 5 lakh of them! Which one?

2. Fill in the blanks: _____, Aparajito, Apur Sansar.

3. It was originally founded in 1940 as Standard Games in Honolulu, Hawaii, by Martin Bromely, Irving Bromberg, and James Humpert to provide coin-operated amusements for American servicemen on military bases. Bromely suggested that the company move to Tokyo in 1951, and "Service Games of Japan" became registered in Japan in May of 1952. How do we know it today?

4. Which fictional character’s license plate reads: AU 1?

5. Which form of crowd celebration was introduced by spectators during the 1986 football World Cup?

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Friday, September 3rd 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Superheroes Quiz (Tomorrow)

Sports Quiz 2 (SPO-2)

1. Connect these statistics:
  Horse racing: 128
  Sky diving: 123
  Hang gliding: 56
  Mountaineering: 51
  Scuba diving: 11
  Motorcycle racing: 7
  College football: 3
  Boxing: 1.3

2. This term is falsely thought to derive from a horse of the same name. In the 1919 Sanford Memorial Stakes, 100-1 longshot _____ handed the legendary racehorse Man O' War the only loss of the stallion's career. Man O' War had suffered an uncharacteristic poor start — he was still circling behind the starting line when the race began. The name of the horse which, against all odds, beat Man O' War?

3. The name of this game derives from a Hindi word meaning "holding of breath", which is indeed the crucial aspect of play. Seven officials supervise a match: one referee, two umpires, two linesmen, a timekeeper and a scorer. It is the national sport of Bangladesh. Name it.

4. The second name of this football player is relatively rare in his country; his parents named him after a former US president because he was his father's favourite actor, and not for political reasons. He was signed by his current club for a fee of 12.24 million pounds. Who?

5. Sir Ludwig Guttmann organized a sports competition in 1948 which became known as the Stoke Mandeville Games, involving World War II veterans; in 1952 competitors from the Netherlands took part in the competition, giving an international notion to the movement. The first Olympic-style games were held in Rome in 1960; officially called the 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games, these are considered to be the first __________ _____. Fill in  the blanks.

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Wednesday, September 1st 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Entertainment Quiz 2 (Tomorrow)

General Quiz 2 (GEN-2)

1. Connect Mysore Paints and Varnishes Ltd. with Indian elections.

2. In the 70’s, diplomatic relations between two large countries greatly improved after a series of table tennis matches played between the players of these two countries. Name the nations involved in this ping-pong diplomacy? Hint - Forrest Gump

3. His birthday (Aug 20) is observed as ‘Sadbhavna divas’ and his death anniversary (May 21) as an anti terrorist day. Studied at Cambridge, married a foreigner and was an eminent politician. Who is he?

4. Whose last words were ‘Et tu, Brute?’ He was murdered on 15 March by a preplanned mutiny.

5. The present name of which game originates from a word which literally means 4 divisions of army – infantry, cavalry, archers and elephants which carried on their backs wooden structures used for aiming at the enemies?

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Tuesday, August 31st 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Sports Quiz 2 (Tomorrow)

Quiz of the Week 2 (QOTW-2)

1. In the 70’s, diplomatic relations between two large countries greatly improved after a series of table tennis matches played between the players of these two countries. Name the nations involved in this ping-pong diplomacy? (Hint: Forrest Gump)

2. Connect these statistics:
a. Horse racing: 128
b. Sky diving: 123
c. Hang gliding: 56
d. Mountaineering: 51
e. Scuba diving: 11
f. Motorcycle racing: 7
g. College football: 3
h. Boxing: 1.3

3. This movie is in the Guinness Book for the largest number of producers – 5 lakh of them! Which one?

4. Identify - This cartoon character represents the dark side of science, and has invented a sort of supercomputer that depletes environmental resources in order to augment her own abilities.

5. Insert the word that ends the first word and starts the second. e.g. con (TRACT) ion
a. pro ( ) mars
b. con ( ) rally

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Wednesday, September 1st 2010 at 2359 hrs.

Wordgames, IQ and Rebuses 1 (WIR-1)

1. Anagram this. E.g. Percussion = Supersonic
a. Untraversed =
b. Calumnies =

2. Insert the word that ends the first word and starts the second. E.g. con (TRACT) ion
a. ram ( ) ant
b. plea ( ) footed

3. Popular books without vowels concatenate thus. Identify. E.g. THWHTTGR = The White Tiger
a. CTCHRNTHRY =
b. HCKLBRRYFNN =

4. Homonyms. E.g. A closing : top wall of a room = Sealing : Ceiling
a. Visitors to a clinic : Waiting =
b. Many pigs : Ancient monarch =

5. Decode.

28 34778 8447 2633 73367 78483 2 6377
2 752483 8766 843 27246
288 43 968’83 7368 26 767
843 267937 746853 23 75246!

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Sunday, August 29th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - General Quiz 2 (Monday)

Gaming Quiz (NIC-1)

1. Connect:
   "Song 2" - Blur
   "The Rockafeller Skank (Remix)" - Fatboy Slim
   "It's Only Us" - Robbie Williams   
   "Bodyrock" - Moby
   "19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)" - Gorillaz
   "To Get Down (Fatboy Slim Remix)" - Timo Maas
   "Red Morning Light" - Kings of Leon
   "Helicopter - Bloc Party
   "Can't Get Enough (Mekon Remix)" - "The Infadels
   "Sketches (20 Something Life)" - La Rocca
   "Let U Know" - Plastilina Mosh

2. Who are these: Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde

3. The game made its first appearance in 1997. Since then, the game and its variants have become the most-played game on the planet, with over a billion people having played the game.

4. The game was originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley as The Checkered __________. This was the first game created by Milton Bradley, a successful lithographer.Bradley's game did not include dice, but instead used a teetotum, a six sided top. The game board was essentially a modified checkerboard. The object was to land on the "good" spaces and collect 100 points. A player could gain fifty points toward this goal by reaching "Happy Old Age" in the far corner, opposite "Infancy" where one began.

5. These are the literal translations in english of what?
Iron Fist (Japanese)
Devil (Spanish)
Heaven's Punishment: Wrath of Heaven (Japanese)
Leave luck to Heaven (Japanese)

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Friday, August 27th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Wordgames (Tomorrow)

Entertainment Quiz (ENT-1)

1. According to the Mock Turtle in Alice in Wonderland, what has the following four branches of study: Ambition, Distraction, Uglification and Derision?

2. What is the lowest string in a violin called?

3. What is this?
M: There's nothing to tell! He's just some guy I work with!
J: C'mon, you're going out with the guy! There's gotta be something wrong with him!
C: All right J, be nice. So does he have a hump? A hump and a hairpiece?
P: Wait, does he eat chalk?

4. The Lower Keys Rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) is an endangered subspecies of the marsh rabbit (S. palustris), a species widespread in the southeastern United States. It is about 16 inches in length, with brownish dorsal and grayish ventral fur. However its claim to fame lies in the fact that it is named after a famous pioneer in the entertainment industry. Who?

5. Over 6 million feet of film shot during production; 48,000 swords, axes, shields, and makeup prosthetics; 20,602 background actors cast; 19,000 costumes made by the wardrobe department; 2,400 behind-the-scenes crew members at height of production; 180 computer special-effects artists employed; 114 total speaking roles; 100 real locations used for backdrops; 50 tailors, cobblers, designers and others in wardrobe department; 30 actors trained to speak fictional dialects and languages. What mammoth undertaking are we talking about?

Answers go here (please open in a new window). Deadline - Thursday, August 26th 2010 at 2359 hrs.
Next Quiz - Gaming Quiz (Tomorrow)

Sports Quiz 1 (SPO-1)

1. What recent phenomenon in sport has been measured as being 102 decibels loud (as loud as a police siren)? Clue : Tennis

2. In 1996, general manager Bob Whitsitt began rebuilding this NBA team using players who were talented, but who had questionable attitudes and/or criminal records. This worked initially, as the team reached the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000, but the strategy soon backfired on the Blazers as the local community soured on a team better known for its off-court antics than for its on-court abilities. The team began to be known as the "Jail ________". Name the team.

3. From his first days playing the game as a high school All-American at Everett High School in Lansing, ________ was a unique player. He earned his nickname when he was only 15, from local sports writer Fred Stabley Jr., who watched him put up 36 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists in one game.
      Name him.

4. This legendary tennis player playfully acknowledges his well-known belligerence in media. Examples : his appearance in a 2005 car commercial for the SEAT Altea where he angrily shouts his trademark "Clearly inside the line" line at an officer who has ticketed him for parking incorrectly. He also portrays himself in the 2002 film Mr. Deeds where he lauds the title character for getting angry and assaulting an antagonist. Who?

5. The following is an excerpt from the New York Times.
HAVANA, Feb. 23--Cuban rebels kidnapped _________,  world autoracing champion, from his hotel in downtown Havana at gunpoint tonight.
The unmasked men entered the lobby of the Lincoln Hotel while _________ was talking with three racing associates.  One man guarded the doorway.  The other walked up and stuck a pistol into _________’s back and ordered him out.
The racing star was quickly bundled into a waiting automobile, which moved off at high speed.
The rebel movement led by Fidel Castro immediately announced its responsibility for the kidnapping.  A rebel spokesman telephoned news agencies and said __________ had been abducted by the rebels.  The Cuban refused to say what would be done with the driver. Which F1 driver is referenced?

Answers go here. Deadline - Wednesday, 25th August at 2359 hrs.

General Quiz (GEN-1)

1. Obelix (of Asterix fame) gets angry when he hears a three letter word. Which one?

2. Around the 1900s, an American vendor selling cooked frankfurters supposedly called them ”hot ______ sausages” as they resembled the long bodied dog. Later the hot dog term came to be used for the same thing. Give the original name.

3. Connect - golden delicious, empire, Rome beauty and gala.

4. This South American soccer star has a rare distinction of scoring 2 hat tricks in the world cup and a total tally of 10 goals. Who is he?

5. This word connects a famous cartoon, a desert in a Australia, a cricketer who was appointed as coaching consultant to India and two sisters from the music world. Which one?


Answers go here. Deadline - Tuesday, 24th August at 2359 hrs.

Quiz of the Week 1 (QOTW-1)

1. This word connects a famous cartoon, a desert in a Australia, a cricketer who was appointed as coaching consultant to India and two sisters from the music world. Which one?

2. What recent phenomenon in sport has been measured as being 102 decibels loud (as loud as a police siren)?

3. What is this?
M: There's nothing to tell! He's just some guy I work with!
J: C'mon, you're going out with the guy! There's gotta be something wrong with him!
C: All right J, be nice. So does he have a hump? A hump and a hairpiece?
P: Wait, does he eat chalk?

4. Identify - This game made its first appearance in 1997. Since then, the game and its variants have become the most-played game on the planet, with over a billion people having played the game.

5. Decode.
28 34778 8447 2633 73367 78483 2 6377
2 752483 8766 843 27246
288 43 968’83 7368 26 767
843 267937 746853 23 75246!