1. The logo contest for this initiative was won by Anant Khasbardar of Kolhapur, Maharashtra in Sept 2014. The initiative was launched the next month with great fanfare and symbolism.
The object (B) depicted in the logo was selected as it signified the entire nation uniting to achieve the vision of a certain individual (A) for a clean India. The only colour in the logo is that of the tricolour forming the bridge of the object.
What specifically is the object? Answer as "A's B"
Hint: Both words start with the same letter and have 7 letters each.
Ans. Gandhi's glasses
2. One word connect that links these pictures-
A. plumber B. Leaded petrol C. Lead shielding for X rays D. "Lead" pencils (actually made of graphite)
In actuality one image actually does not fit. Which one: A, B, C, or D?
3. The Compass Rose is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions - North, East, South, and West - and their intermediate points. One of its main uses was for nautical navigation.
What name (which is also that of a prominent educational institution in Chennai) is another name for the compass rose because of its appearance and its use by sailors?
Ans. Stella Maris (meaning "Star of the Sea")
4. Pterocarpus santalinus, is a species of Pterocarpus endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats.
It is listed as an Endangered Species by the IUCN, because of overexploitation for its timber in South India. Smuggling incidents are periodically reported in the papers.
One of its uses is in the making of the shamisen a traditional Japanese musical instrument that is the backbone of kabuki musk.
What is this tree's common name [2 words]?
Ans. Red Sander or Red Sandalwood
5. This is writer Mukul Kesavan about a "A."
"He is a landmark in the history of the game because he was a successful heretic, the "B" of modern cricket. He made the rules of orthodox batsmanship (getting to the picth, getting in line, playing along the ground and that holiest of holies, playing with a straight bat) seem overstated and dogmatic.
Name "A": Asian cricketer, 20th century (1990s and 2000s)
Name "B": European; priest: 16th century
(A) Sanath Jayasuriya (B) Martin Luther
6. These animals are loaned to several countries. They constituted an important part of international relations of a certain country in the 1970s, making some of the first cultural exchanges between the this country and the West. As a result this practice was termed "______ diplomacy."
If you've ever seen this animal in a zoo, then this animal was paid to be there. That's because this country has a monopoly on this animal, is owned by the government, and rented out to zoos across the world. FITB.
Ans. Panda
7. This work of art was created to be the centrepiece of a certain country's official pavilion at the 1937 World Fair in Paris. After the Fair, it toured Eurpoe and Northern America to raise consciousness about the threat of fascism. From the beginning of World War II until 1984, it found a temporary home at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It visited several countries except its home country as the creator had refused to allow the visit until the country enjoyed "public liberties and democratic institutions."
On the centenary of its creator's birth, on Oct 25th, 1981, the country's new Republic carried out the best commemoration possible: the return of this iconic work to its native soil.
Which work of art?
Ans. Geurnica
8. What three digit number could you refer to:
- A LOT Polish Airlines flight that crashed in 1980, killing the entire US amateur boxing team.
- A Korean Air Lines flight shot down in 1983 over Soviet airspace
- The nickname of Georget O'Malley in Grey's Anatomy because he almost killed a patient in a simple operation
- A short story of Rudyard Kipling originally subtitled The Story of an American Locomotive
- A coded signature of John Dee, Elizabethean mathematician, astronomer, and magician
The well known reference will see its 24th outing later this year.
Ans. OO7
9. In 2014 Mark Forsyth (author of Etymologican) wrote this charming introduction to the 12th edition of what kind of book? This edition is the largest single-volume version of this kind of book in print today.
"There are few pastimes in life as pleasurable and profitable as reading the _______. The plot is, of course, rather weak, and the moral of the whole thing slightly elusive, but for my money there isn't another book that comes close to it. In any case, all other books are simply rearrangements of this one, and partial rearrangements at that."
Ans. Dictionary
10. This font was created by London artist Dan Britton as part of his art school project to show people the sheer complexities and reality of what condition?
Ans. Dyslexia
11. You see on the visual the flags of all the countries/ powers that ruled, at some point or the other, a particular political territory.
A. What territory is this?
B. What corporation thus gets its name?
Ans. Texas/ Six Flags
12. The American writer, philosopher and poet Thoreau wrote his famous essay "On the Duty of ___" in 1849 at the time of the abolition of slavery movement.
In 1907, impressed by his arguments, Mahatma Gandhi (one year into his satyagraha campaign) wrote a translated synopsis of this essay for Indian Opinion. He concluded that Thoreau's example and writings "are at present exactly applicable to the Indians in the Transvaal."
What are the two missing words in the title of the essay?
Ans. Civil Disobedience
13. This 2-word nickname was coined in 1895, and in full (3 words), it referred to the trolley lines that ran through this borough in New York at the time. Beginning in 1892, these trolleys had suddenly become much more dangerous to pedestrians, requiring a certain nimbleness to avoid being hit.
A. Why did trolleys become more dangerous in 1892?
B. What 2-word nickname?
Ans. (A) Trolley Lines switched to electrical from horse-drawn, and got faster.
(B) The Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, later shortened to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
14. What did Robert Cheesebrough invent from "rod wax," discarded as waste material by oil riggers? Cheesebrough heard that Riggers used to rub it on cuts and bruises because it had healing powers. He refined his product and tested it by deliberately injuring himself!
The product that got its name from the German from "water" and Greek/Latin for "oil" gave unfair leverage to England's cricket team in 1977 against India.
Ans. Vaseline. Wasser (water) + Elaion or Olein (oil)
15. The first version of this novelty- the "kineograph"- appeared in 1868, when it was patented by John Linnett. They were the first animations to employ a linear sequence of images rather than circular (as the older phenakistoscope). The German word- Daumenkino, literally "thumb cinema"- reflects this animation process.
This novelty is most commonly seen today in the logos of Walt Disney Animation Studios (featuring Mickey Mouse in "Steamboat Willie") and Marvel Studios.
What novelty?
Ans. Flip book
16. This subsidiary of BMW deals with business mobility and fleet management solutions. It unintentionally found itself in the news and social media this week - for what reason?
(keyword/s will do)
Ans. Alphabet International
17. VIDEO: The title of this song by Gruff Rhys (musician, filmmaker and author whose full name is Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys) is also the title of a 2014 semi-biographical drama film about a famous 20th century poet. The title is borrowed from his poem Love in the Asylum.
Which poet?
Ans. Dylan Thomas
18. The 78 storey skyscraper, the Premier Tower, is due to be built near Melbourne's Southern Cross Railway Station.
According to the architectural firm Elenberg Fraser, what specifically is the inspiration for the undulating curves of the Premier Tower?
Ans. Beyonce's "Ghost" music video
19. This is the senior most regiment of the Indian Army, having been raised in 1773 by Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India. The regiment still draws its recruits from only three communities- Jat, Sikh, and Rajput. All recruits have to be at least 6 feet tall. All the horses in the regiment are bay coloured except that of the trumpet major who rides a grey coloured horse. These are the only military horses that are allowed to retain their mane.
Which regiment?
Ans. President's Bodyguard
20. [Four pics] Entries for which competition?
Ans. Designs of New flag of New Zealand
21. "Look again at that ____. That's there. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar,' every 'supreme leader,' every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there- on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."
What 3-word phrase was made popular by this description?
Ans. Pale Blue Dot
22. The monument (visual) recalls a person who was a pillar of the Raj, Erected by the Geological Society of India in 1975, the monument commemorates '_____ x _____' the name proposed by Sir Thomas Holland for '______' The "X" refers not to the person but something associated with him. The person lived in Madras and like Phileas Fogg, married an Indian widow whom he saved from the funeral pyre of her husband. Their three children were baptised at this fort at Fort St. George
What is the blank marked "X"?
Ans. Charnockite
23. Origin of the name:
The US military needed tape that would keep moisture out of its ammunition cases. In 1942, during World War II, a company that made medical tape supplied an army green, cloth-backed, rubber adhesive, waterproof tape. It was named because water easily rolled off it.
After the war, builders used the tape to connect the tubes of home heating and AC systems. The name thus morphed by one letter change, and the classic silver colour was introduced to match the colour of the tubes.
(A) Original military nickname (B) present morphed name (one letter change)
Ans. Duck tape Duct tape
24. A. In which city is this building.
B. Which architect designed it? He died of cancer at the age of 84 and much of his treatment was done at his place which was his last design project.
Another person was controversially responsible for this place being in the news recently.
Ans. Lisbon's Champaliamud Centre for the Unknown by Charles Correa
25. This is a War Memorial dedicated to Gorkha soldiers who laid down their lives in the service of the nation after 1947.
It is located at the centre of a place associated with a UNESCO World Heritage Site in West Bengal that transports one to see this memorial almost 360 degrees.
What is this place called?
Ans. Batasia Loop (Darjeeling Himalayan Railway The Toy Train)
26. This business community is historically associated with Kathawar but also includes those from Kutch and Sindh. Their lineage traces back to the Lohanas of Multan, Sindh and the origin of their name evolved from "Maumin" meaning "believer". Although chiefly Sunni Muslim, many continue to follow Hindu common law in matters regarding property inheritance, community leadership structure.
Which community is this?
Ans. Memon
27. VIDEO: This song topped the UK Charts in 2014. Performed by hip-hop recording artist _____ A ____ and American singer Cody Wise.
It borrows heavily from a song that featured originally in which 1994 film (B)?
Ans. Will.i.am/ Kaadhalan
28. At 1349 pages (1488 pages soft-cover) and 591,552 words, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is one of the longest novels ever published in a single volume in the English language. A humorous "Word of Thanks" at the beginning of his book conveys this in verse:
And, Gentle Reader, you as well,
The fountainhead of all remittance.
But me before good sense insists,
You'll strain your purse and ________ ____ _______
FITB with a creative 3-word rhyming ending!
Ans. Sprain your wrists
29. The Japanese called it zori. They adapted these because it was easy to get rid of beach sand from it. They took these to the South Pacific islands in the 1940s. An English businessman John Cowie made the first plastic version. He moved to New Zealand the country that can be credited with really starting the global desire for plastic or rubber versions of the zori. These articles of wear are popularly named after the sound they make while being used.
What is the 2-word name for the zori? The first word is Hindustani for "air" and not as some suspect from the South Pacific islands where it was used.
Ans. Hawai chappal/slipper/sandal
30. Last four Doubles Grand Slam wins by Martina Hingis:
2015 Wimbledon Women's Doubles with Sania Mirza
2015 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles with Leander Paes
2015 Australian Open: Mixed Doubles with Leander Paes
2006 Australian Open: Mixed Doubles with ____________?
Ans. Mahesh Bhupathi
Q 31-40
LANDMARK '15
31. One word connecting both pictures?
Ans. Lhasa
32. Who is this?
Ans. Anant Pai
33. VIEO: The youngest Indian golfer to qualify for Ladies European Tour
Ans. Sharmila Nicolett
34. The book on which this film based?
Ans. Devotion of Suspect X (Papanasam)
35. [Pic of objects used in a game]
Ans. Monopoly
36. One word connecting both pictures?
Ans. Apsara
37. Chennai Landmark
Ans. Royapuram Station
38. Identify the gentleman
Ans. Kardashian
39. VIDEO: The next line...?
Ans. 1 Naan oru thadava sonna, nooru thadava sonna maadiri
40. Five ingredients combine to make?
Ans. Punch (from panch = 5 ingredients)
The object (B) depicted in the logo was selected as it signified the entire nation uniting to achieve the vision of a certain individual (A) for a clean India. The only colour in the logo is that of the tricolour forming the bridge of the object.
What specifically is the object? Answer as "A's B"
Hint: Both words start with the same letter and have 7 letters each.
Ans. Gandhi's glasses
2. One word connect that links these pictures-
A. plumber B. Leaded petrol C. Lead shielding for X rays D. "Lead" pencils (actually made of graphite)
In actuality one image actually does not fit. Which one: A, B, C, or D?
3. The Compass Rose is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions - North, East, South, and West - and their intermediate points. One of its main uses was for nautical navigation.
What name (which is also that of a prominent educational institution in Chennai) is another name for the compass rose because of its appearance and its use by sailors?
Ans. Stella Maris (meaning "Star of the Sea")
4. Pterocarpus santalinus, is a species of Pterocarpus endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats.
It is listed as an Endangered Species by the IUCN, because of overexploitation for its timber in South India. Smuggling incidents are periodically reported in the papers.
One of its uses is in the making of the shamisen a traditional Japanese musical instrument that is the backbone of kabuki musk.
What is this tree's common name [2 words]?
Ans. Red Sander or Red Sandalwood
5. This is writer Mukul Kesavan about a "A."
"He is a landmark in the history of the game because he was a successful heretic, the "B" of modern cricket. He made the rules of orthodox batsmanship (getting to the picth, getting in line, playing along the ground and that holiest of holies, playing with a straight bat) seem overstated and dogmatic.
Name "A": Asian cricketer, 20th century (1990s and 2000s)
Name "B": European; priest: 16th century
(A) Sanath Jayasuriya (B) Martin Luther
6. These animals are loaned to several countries. They constituted an important part of international relations of a certain country in the 1970s, making some of the first cultural exchanges between the this country and the West. As a result this practice was termed "______ diplomacy."
If you've ever seen this animal in a zoo, then this animal was paid to be there. That's because this country has a monopoly on this animal, is owned by the government, and rented out to zoos across the world. FITB.
Ans. Panda
7. This work of art was created to be the centrepiece of a certain country's official pavilion at the 1937 World Fair in Paris. After the Fair, it toured Eurpoe and Northern America to raise consciousness about the threat of fascism. From the beginning of World War II until 1984, it found a temporary home at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It visited several countries except its home country as the creator had refused to allow the visit until the country enjoyed "public liberties and democratic institutions."
On the centenary of its creator's birth, on Oct 25th, 1981, the country's new Republic carried out the best commemoration possible: the return of this iconic work to its native soil.
Which work of art?
Ans. Geurnica
8. What three digit number could you refer to:
- A LOT Polish Airlines flight that crashed in 1980, killing the entire US amateur boxing team.
- A Korean Air Lines flight shot down in 1983 over Soviet airspace
- The nickname of Georget O'Malley in Grey's Anatomy because he almost killed a patient in a simple operation
- A short story of Rudyard Kipling originally subtitled The Story of an American Locomotive
- A coded signature of John Dee, Elizabethean mathematician, astronomer, and magician
The well known reference will see its 24th outing later this year.
Ans. OO7
9. In 2014 Mark Forsyth (author of Etymologican) wrote this charming introduction to the 12th edition of what kind of book? This edition is the largest single-volume version of this kind of book in print today.
"There are few pastimes in life as pleasurable and profitable as reading the _______. The plot is, of course, rather weak, and the moral of the whole thing slightly elusive, but for my money there isn't another book that comes close to it. In any case, all other books are simply rearrangements of this one, and partial rearrangements at that."
Ans. Dictionary
10. This font was created by London artist Dan Britton as part of his art school project to show people the sheer complexities and reality of what condition?
Ans. Dyslexia
11. You see on the visual the flags of all the countries/ powers that ruled, at some point or the other, a particular political territory.
A. What territory is this?
B. What corporation thus gets its name?
Ans. Texas/ Six Flags
12. The American writer, philosopher and poet Thoreau wrote his famous essay "On the Duty of ___" in 1849 at the time of the abolition of slavery movement.
In 1907, impressed by his arguments, Mahatma Gandhi (one year into his satyagraha campaign) wrote a translated synopsis of this essay for Indian Opinion. He concluded that Thoreau's example and writings "are at present exactly applicable to the Indians in the Transvaal."
What are the two missing words in the title of the essay?
Ans. Civil Disobedience
13. This 2-word nickname was coined in 1895, and in full (3 words), it referred to the trolley lines that ran through this borough in New York at the time. Beginning in 1892, these trolleys had suddenly become much more dangerous to pedestrians, requiring a certain nimbleness to avoid being hit.
A. Why did trolleys become more dangerous in 1892?
B. What 2-word nickname?
Ans. (A) Trolley Lines switched to electrical from horse-drawn, and got faster.
(B) The Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, later shortened to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
14. What did Robert Cheesebrough invent from "rod wax," discarded as waste material by oil riggers? Cheesebrough heard that Riggers used to rub it on cuts and bruises because it had healing powers. He refined his product and tested it by deliberately injuring himself!
The product that got its name from the German from "water" and Greek/Latin for "oil" gave unfair leverage to England's cricket team in 1977 against India.
Ans. Vaseline. Wasser (water) + Elaion or Olein (oil)
15. The first version of this novelty- the "kineograph"- appeared in 1868, when it was patented by John Linnett. They were the first animations to employ a linear sequence of images rather than circular (as the older phenakistoscope). The German word- Daumenkino, literally "thumb cinema"- reflects this animation process.
This novelty is most commonly seen today in the logos of Walt Disney Animation Studios (featuring Mickey Mouse in "Steamboat Willie") and Marvel Studios.
What novelty?
Ans. Flip book
16. This subsidiary of BMW deals with business mobility and fleet management solutions. It unintentionally found itself in the news and social media this week - for what reason?
(keyword/s will do)
Ans. Alphabet International
17. VIDEO: The title of this song by Gruff Rhys (musician, filmmaker and author whose full name is Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys) is also the title of a 2014 semi-biographical drama film about a famous 20th century poet. The title is borrowed from his poem Love in the Asylum.
Which poet?
Ans. Dylan Thomas
18. The 78 storey skyscraper, the Premier Tower, is due to be built near Melbourne's Southern Cross Railway Station.
According to the architectural firm Elenberg Fraser, what specifically is the inspiration for the undulating curves of the Premier Tower?
19. This is the senior most regiment of the Indian Army, having been raised in 1773 by Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India. The regiment still draws its recruits from only three communities- Jat, Sikh, and Rajput. All recruits have to be at least 6 feet tall. All the horses in the regiment are bay coloured except that of the trumpet major who rides a grey coloured horse. These are the only military horses that are allowed to retain their mane.
Which regiment?
Ans. President's Bodyguard
20. [Four pics] Entries for which competition?
Ans. Designs of New flag of New Zealand
21. "Look again at that ____. That's there. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar,' every 'supreme leader,' every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there- on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."
What 3-word phrase was made popular by this description?
Ans. Pale Blue Dot
22. The monument (visual) recalls a person who was a pillar of the Raj, Erected by the Geological Society of India in 1975, the monument commemorates '_____ x _____' the name proposed by Sir Thomas Holland for '______' The "X" refers not to the person but something associated with him. The person lived in Madras and like Phileas Fogg, married an Indian widow whom he saved from the funeral pyre of her husband. Their three children were baptised at this fort at Fort St. George
What is the blank marked "X"?
Ans. Charnockite
23. Origin of the name:
The US military needed tape that would keep moisture out of its ammunition cases. In 1942, during World War II, a company that made medical tape supplied an army green, cloth-backed, rubber adhesive, waterproof tape. It was named because water easily rolled off it.
After the war, builders used the tape to connect the tubes of home heating and AC systems. The name thus morphed by one letter change, and the classic silver colour was introduced to match the colour of the tubes.
(A) Original military nickname (B) present morphed name (one letter change)
Ans. Duck tape Duct tape
24. A. In which city is this building.
B. Which architect designed it? He died of cancer at the age of 84 and much of his treatment was done at his place which was his last design project.
Another person was controversially responsible for this place being in the news recently.
Ans. Lisbon's Champaliamud Centre for the Unknown by Charles Correa
25. This is a War Memorial dedicated to Gorkha soldiers who laid down their lives in the service of the nation after 1947.
It is located at the centre of a place associated with a UNESCO World Heritage Site in West Bengal that transports one to see this memorial almost 360 degrees.
What is this place called?
Ans. Batasia Loop (Darjeeling Himalayan Railway The Toy Train)
26. This business community is historically associated with Kathawar but also includes those from Kutch and Sindh. Their lineage traces back to the Lohanas of Multan, Sindh and the origin of their name evolved from "Maumin" meaning "believer". Although chiefly Sunni Muslim, many continue to follow Hindu common law in matters regarding property inheritance, community leadership structure.
Which community is this?
Ans. Memon
27. VIDEO: This song topped the UK Charts in 2014. Performed by hip-hop recording artist _____ A ____ and American singer Cody Wise.
It borrows heavily from a song that featured originally in which 1994 film (B)?
Ans. Will.i.am/ Kaadhalan
28. At 1349 pages (1488 pages soft-cover) and 591,552 words, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is one of the longest novels ever published in a single volume in the English language. A humorous "Word of Thanks" at the beginning of his book conveys this in verse:
And, Gentle Reader, you as well,
The fountainhead of all remittance.
But me before good sense insists,
You'll strain your purse and ________ ____ _______
FITB with a creative 3-word rhyming ending!
Ans. Sprain your wrists
29. The Japanese called it zori. They adapted these because it was easy to get rid of beach sand from it. They took these to the South Pacific islands in the 1940s. An English businessman John Cowie made the first plastic version. He moved to New Zealand the country that can be credited with really starting the global desire for plastic or rubber versions of the zori. These articles of wear are popularly named after the sound they make while being used.
What is the 2-word name for the zori? The first word is Hindustani for "air" and not as some suspect from the South Pacific islands where it was used.
Ans. Hawai chappal/slipper/sandal
30. Last four Doubles Grand Slam wins by Martina Hingis:
2015 Wimbledon Women's Doubles with Sania Mirza
2015 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles with Leander Paes
2015 Australian Open: Mixed Doubles with Leander Paes
2006 Australian Open: Mixed Doubles with ____________?
Ans. Mahesh Bhupathi
Q 31-40
LANDMARK '15
31. One word connecting both pictures?
Ans. Lhasa
32. Who is this?
Ans. Anant Pai
33. VIEO: The youngest Indian golfer to qualify for Ladies European Tour
Ans. Sharmila Nicolett
34. The book on which this film based?
Ans. Devotion of Suspect X (Papanasam)
35. [Pic of objects used in a game]
Ans. Monopoly
36. One word connecting both pictures?
Ans. Apsara
37. Chennai Landmark
Ans. Royapuram Station
38. Identify the gentleman
Ans. Kardashian
39. VIDEO: The next line...?
Ans. 1 Naan oru thadava sonna, nooru thadava sonna maadiri
40. Five ingredients combine to make?
Ans. Punch (from panch = 5 ingredients)
