2. The Rules
• Every question has two answers. One is APJ
Abdul Kalam. We want the other answer.
• Rebounds are Infinite, Pounces are Limited.
• +10 for questions straight to you, +10/-10 for
Pounces.
• Every team gets 4 Pounces. Use them wisely.
• The discretion of the QM is final.
3. 1. Although most species of mammal are
colonized by between one and three species
of this parasite, humans are unique among
apes in having two visually distinct species
specific to them. The divergence of these
two species occurred because of the
separation of their habitats, and has been
used by scientists to date a significant epoch
in human evolution. What parasite is this?
5. 2. Douglas Adams originally got the idea for
having Arthur Dent’s love interest to be
named after the station in whose ticket line
she was conceived at X station in central
London. However, the name X was already
taken by a character in children’s fiction,
who was found at X station after sailing to
London from the Darkest Peru in a lifeboat.
Instead, Adams named the character
Fenchurch, after Fenchurch Street station,
also in central London. What is X?
7. 3. This military rank was used in the British
Indian Army, and was the junior most of the
Viceroy’s Commissioned Officer (VCO)
ranks, ranking below Subedars. After
Independence, both Indian and Pakistani
armies renamed the rank to Naib Subedar
due to the word having acquired a rather
unfortunate meaning in Hindi and Urdu.
What is this historical rank?
9. 4. Jalal-ad din Mohammad Balkhi was a
Persian poet from modern Tajikistan who
emigrated to the Seljuk Sultanate in
Anatolia and wrote most of his works there.
As the area where he lived had very
recently been ruled by the Byzantine
Empire, he was known throughout the
Muslim World by an ethnonym that means
Byzantine, which is the source for the name
by which he is known to English speakers.
What is this name?
11. 5. The flag of the Netherlands traditionally used to be
Prinsenvlag, a tricolor based on the standard of the
Princes of Orange who traditionally commanded
Dutch armies. The Dutch national flag changed to the
present one of two reasons, one being to echo the
French tricolor after the establishment of a republic in
Holland by the French and the other being that the old
flag used a dye that faded into red with use, leading to
the current flag. The old flag survives in some former
Dutch colonies, namely in the Flag of the City of New
York. However, it most famously formed the basis of a
former national flag. What national flag was this?
13. 6. The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494,
concerned itself with finding the midpoint
between the Azores and the Caribbean islands in
order to make a certain demarcation. This
boundary was finally set at 370 miles west of the
Azores, and was accepted by both parties to the
Treaty. However, in 1500, Pedro Alvares Cabral
discovered that a key assumption of the treaty
negotiators was wrong. By then, it was too late,
and the Treaty had far reaching effects. What did
the Treaty of Tordesillas demarcate?
15. 7. Ashford vs. Thornton was an English murder case
in 1818, where the accused (Thornton) was found
not guilty in his trial, but had his acquittal
appealed in court by the victim’s family. Thornton
escaped being tried on appeal by invoking an
ancient legal procedure that had somehow not
been repealed yet. Soon after, the ability of family
to appeal murder acquittals and the ancient
procedure were both abolished. This case is held
to be the inspiration for the climax of Ivanhoe,
which was written around the same time. What
was the procedure in question?
19. 9. The ending of the 2005 movie Fever Pitch
had to be significantly changed, and several
extra scenes had to be shot in St. Louis,
Missouri due to an unanticipated but long-
awaited event finally occuring. What was
this event?
21. 10. Star of David – Palestine (1931), Mehrab-
e-Ahmar – Afghanistan (1935), Lamb –
Congo (1963), Wheel – India (after
Independence), Hakuai Sha – Japan (1877),
Cedar – Lebanon (after the Civil War),
Rhinoceros – Sudan (after independence),
Palm – Syria (after World War II), Sapa
Unalom Deng – Thailand (1893), Star –
Zimbabwe (after independence), Swastika –
China (1922). What is this a list of?
23. 11. Since 1969, only one municipality in the
UK preserves an old electoral law, where
firms based in that municipality receive
votes for the body’s election in proportion
to the number of employees they employ.
The rationale given is that since the
municipality has only 10,000 residents,
while more than 450,000 people work
within it. What is this municipal
jurisdiction?
25. 12. Sabir was a pidgin language used
throughout the Mediterranean basin from
the 11th to the 19th centuries to facilitate
communication between traders speaking
different languages. It is based on Italian,
but contains Spanish, Portuguese, French,
Arabic and Turkish influences. The
languages other name is a commonly used
term in English. What is it?
27. 13. Since 1895, 27,863 Taiwanese and 21,181
Korean soldiers have been accorded a certain
honour against the wishes of their families. In
2005, a group of Taiwanese aborigines attempting
to have this honour withdrawn from their family
members were stopped by police and protesters.
Officials in charge of giving out this honour have
stated that once given it cannot be withdrawn,
which is also the reason why a long-standing East-
Asian political controversy cannot be defused.
What is this honour?
29. 14. <Clip> Why does Abed hand out fake
beards to everyone?
30. Answer: As a reference to the Star Trek (TOS)
episode Mirror Mirror where evil universe
Spock sports a goatee
31. 15. Following is an extract from an interview with an actor
describing how he had an epiphany when he heard that
another actor X had remarked that the character Y will feature
in his (X’s) obituary and how he was okay with that:
“It was only watching X - and I have great respect for X, both
as an actor and as man. I love him. And the gravitas that this
great Shakespearean actor gave to his role, that I suddenly
realized that this guy is taking Y every bit as seriously as
Macbeth. And I used to. And I stopped. And what the hell's
the matter with me? It was a great piece of work. Everybody
contributed to three years that has lasted 50. It's a
phenomenon. Why aren't I proud of it? And that's when I had
that moment.”
Name the actor giving the interview, whose entire career
has arguably been overshadowed by an early role.
33. 16. Lessepsian migration is a biological
phenomenon that has been observed from
1869 to the present day. So far, over 300
species have participated in this
phenomenon. What was the cause of this
phenomenon?
35. 17. In 1515, a gift was made to the Portuguese King
Manuel I by the Sultan of Cambay Muzafar II, which
made quite an impression on the people of Lisbon when
it was displayed publicly. A Moravian merchant was one
such observer of the gift and wrote a letter to a friend in
Nuremberg. Albrecht Dürer, who lived in Nüremberg at
the time read the description (and saw an accompanying
sketch) and made a woodcut based on his impressions,
which despite its inaccuracies (Dürer was misled by
analogies to plate armour in use in Europe at the time)
was incredibly popular. Salvador Dalí was a particular
fan of the woodcut . Dalí made several artworks on the
same theme, including a famous 1956 sculpture that was
particularly inspired by Dürer’s woodcut. What am I
talking about?
37. 18. <Clip> This dance form is characterized
by free, expressive, exaggerated, and highly
energetic movement involving the arms,
head, legs, chest, and feet. The early
followers of this form saw it as a way to
escape gang life and "to release anger,
aggression and frustration positively, in a
non-violent way". Name the dance form.
39. 19. This World War II battle fought in 1942
was one of the worst military defeats
suffered by Britain ever. Over 80,000
British and Commonwealth troops were
taken prisoner, and the major blow to the
prestige of the British and the poor
conditions in British service led to heavy
recruitment for the Indian National Army
among the POWs captured in this battle. In
fact, over 75% of all troops who served in
the INA had been captured by the Japanese
after this battle. Name it.
41. 20. X is a cocktail made from a mixture of
light beer and a stout, most commonly
Guinness. The drink is associated with
Ireland because of the use of Guinness,
although the Irish rarely use the name
because of its association with a hated
group. In 2006, Ben & Jerry caused
controversy by naming a flavour after the
drink as a St. Patrick’s Day promotion.
Name the drink.
54. 21. In The Simpsons episode 8 season 19,
John Mahoney guest starred as Dr. Robert
Terwilliger, the father of Robert Jr. and
Cecil. Why was Mahoney chosen for this
role.
55. Answer: John Mahoney plays the father in
Frasier. Robert Terwilliger Jr. (aka
Sideshow Bob) is a recurring role on The
Simpsons played by Kelsey Grammar, while
his brother Cecil has been played in the past
by David Hyde Pierce
58. 23. <Clip> In this Rage Against the Machine
video, directorial credits are split between
two people. One of these people is Peter
Christopherson, while the other had been
dead 48 years when the video was released.
Who is the other person credited as director.
60. 24. X and Y are characters who appear in every
story set in their fictional universe. They are
friends, and they met as infants in front of Quick
Stop Groceries while their mothers shopped inside
RST Video. X is crude and curses excessively,
which trait is shown to be due to the influence of
his foul-mouthed mother. Y is a gadgetery genius
and laconic, but when he speaks he usually has
something profound and thoughtful to say. X and
Y together operate a drug dealing business, but on
one occasion were shown to be selling illegal
fireworks. Name X and Y.
62. 25. A line in Outkast’s 2003 single Hey Ya
makes a reference to a product while
exhorting female listeners to dance
vigourously. This seemingly throwaway
line helped revitalize the eponymous
company that made the product and they
hired OutKast to promote the product,
despite the fact that the line in the song
refers to an action that was no longer
required with the technology used in the
product. Name the product.
64. 26. X is an artifact, believed to have originated in Ireland,
but has been closely associated with Scotland. The artifact
was captured by the English in the 13th Century. A treaty
with Scotland promised its return, but rioting crowds
prevented its removal from Westminster Abbey. The
artifact was attacked by suffragettes in 1914 (although it
suffered only minor damage), and was stolen by Scottish
nationalists, who accidentally broke in, in 1950. The
artifact was returned to London in 1951, but as of 1996
now resides mostly in Scotland. Terry Pratchett satirized
the artifact by creating a similarly named artifact among
Discworld Dwarfs, which was a spectacularly hard quick
bread. Name the artifact.
65. Answer: Stone of Scone (The Pratchett parody
is the Scone of Stone)
66. 27. In 1936, as part of their effort to use the
Berlin Olympics for propaganda purposes,
the Nazis introduced an innovation to the
Olympic ceremonies that had no ancient or
modern precedent. The Nazis’ main reasons
to introduce the innovation were to
strengthen the association of Ancient
Greece with their ideology, and to gain
publicity for the idea of their sportsmen as
Aryan superheroes. What is this innovation,
that is still carried out in modern Olympics?
68. 28. <Clip> The dramatic soundtrack in this
scene of Inception is actually intended to be
understood as playing in the movie’s reality.
The technique required to achieve this piece
of soundtrack, among others, led to
Inception winning an Oscar for Best Sound
Editing. Put fundaes.
69. Answer: It is a slowed down version of the
theme Je, Ne Regrette Nien that appears
through the movie
70. 29. In 1925, the Bulter Act was passed in Tennessee.
The ACLU, eager to defeat the Act in Court, put
out ads in every newspaper in the state asking for
volunteers to do a particular thing. The town of
Dayton, TN responded positively, hoping to gain
publicity and hopefully new business for the small
town. The ploy worked tremendously well, and as
national politician William Jennings Bryan got
involved, a huge media circus descended on the
town. Even today, the events of 1925 drive
significant tourist traffic to the town. What did
Dayton, TN do in 1925?
72. 30. This song was intended by the artistes as a parody of
songs such as “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” and “I
Wanna Rock”. However, the irony was lost on most
listeners. One of the members of the group that made
it said, "The only thing that upsets me is that we might
have reinforced certain values of some people in our
audience when our own values were actually totally
different. There were tons of guys singing along to
__________ who were oblivious to the fact it was a
total goof on them." The group have expressed distaste
for it, and have refused to play the song live since
1987. In 2011, Adam Yauch made a surreal short
comedy film based on the song, starring Elijah Wood,
Seth Rogen and Danny McBride as the protagonists of
the original music video, and Will Ferrel, John C.
Reilly and Jack Black as future versions of the
protagonists. Name the song.
74. 31. X is a science fiction novel that won the Hugo award in
1970 and the Nebula award in 1971. Widely considered a
classic of hard science fiction, it still drew flak for
scientific inaccuracies in some of its plot points. One major
error in physics drew a lot of attention, with a famous
incident in which MIT students attending Worldcon 1971
chanted, “X is not stable!” when the author appeared there.
The author later retconned the sequel to X to provide a
scientifically plausible explanation for the seeming error.
Terry Pratchett published a 1981 novel, Strata which was a
homage/parody of X, and while unconnected to any of his
other work, it introduced a concept that would be a
cornerstone of his fiction writing. Solve for X.
76. 32. The Twenty-Second Amendment to the
US Constitution codified a principle that
existed since 1797 as a sort of unwritten
rule. The unwritten rule was broken once,
and came very close to be broken in 1877
and 1912. Since its ratification, this
amendment has affected 4 men. What does
this amendment do?
80. 34. This term never referred to a single
geographical region, but rather was an
ethnographic region along the German and
Austrian borders. The majority of its
population were descendents of settlers
invited by the kings of the Premyslid
dynasty, until they were all forced to move
west and north in the middle of the 20th
Century. Name this region (Flag Pictured).
82. 35. Until World War II, a system of diplomatic
rank was followed for determining the
relative status or precedence of diplomats,
with major powers appointing Ambassadors
and minor powers appointing Ministers.
Since World War II, this system has been
discontinued. How is diplomatic precedence
determined today?
86. 37. In 1966, William Hartnell was in ill health
and could not continue a role he had been
playing for the past three years. However, as
the character he played was incredibly
popular, his employers did not want to
simply discontinue it. To get around this
problem, they devised a plot device,
allegedly modeled on LSD trips. What plot
device?
88. 38. Frank Farian is German record producer and
songwriter who achieved notoriety when it was
discovered that he had orchestrated the events
that led to the Milli Vanilli scnadal. However,
this was not the first group Farian had created
where the visually appealing people to front
other people’s singing. His 1974 track Baby do
you Wanna Bump launched a disco act, many of
whose songs were recorded by Farian himself.
The group was incredibly popular during the
disco era, and even did live tours, where large
numbers of backing singers needed to be hired
to cover the “singer”’s vocal deficiencies.
Which group?