4. From January to August 1878, only teenage boys
were employed in this profession. Starting
September that year, women began to be
employed thanks to the boys’ pranks and
behavioural issues.
Patience, memory and long arms were key criteria
while the less important requirements included
being unmarried and an age between seventeen
and twenty-six.
Which profession?
1
7. Born in 1661, he belonged to a prominent French family.
He was a talented mathematician and his 1696 work
‘Analyse des infiniment petits pour l'intelligence des lignes
courbes’ is considered the 1st book on differential
calculus. His most important contribution, something that
has made him immortal, a statement that carries his name
was in in fact stated and proved by Johann Bernoulli. He
had retained Bernoulli at 300 pounds a year in order to
do the discoveries in Math on his behalf.That it was
Bernoulli who had proved it was only discovered in 1922.
Who is he or how has he been immortalised?
2
10. Chankonabe is the staple dish of Sumo Wrestlers.With its
combination of broth, vegetables and meat, it packs quite
a punch. Chicken and Beef are the preferred meats but
during Sumo Tournaments, only Chicken is used as it’s
considered good luck whereas beef isn’t.
Why?
3
11.
12. Because only Chicken stands on two legs
and this symbolizes victory as opposed to
Cows/Pigs that rest on four legs resembling
a loser in a Sumo bout.
3
13. Al Michaels has been with ABC sports for almost
30 years (1977-2006) during whcih time he called
the Miracle on Ice and Monday Night Football
among other things. Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney,
effectively traded Al Michaels to NBC Sports in
2006 (where Al Michaels would appear on Sunday
Night Football).
How did Disney get lucky in return for trading Al
Michaels to NBC?
4
14.
15. Nearly 80 years after Disney left Universal,The
Walt Disney Company managed to acquire the
intellectual property of Oswald the lucky Rabbit
and the catalog of Disney-produced Oswald films
4
16. Ubiquitous in certain parts of India and in a few
neighbouring countries, the horizontal ones are
called Lung ta and the vertical ones Darchor.What
are they?
5
19. Inside the 500 year old Fortezza Medicea at
Volterra near Pisa is a restaurant that serves
Southern Italian cuisine whipped up by Head Chef
Egidio and his team.
Getting a table there is quite difficult and patrons
are required to leave their Mobile Phones and
Handbags behind.The plates and the cutlery used
in the restaurant are plastic and not metal.
Why such requirements?
6
22. It’s a prison.The chef and waiters there are
prisoners serving sentences for murder etc.
Metals are strictly not allowed.
6
23. It began whenYale historian John Lewis
Gaddis suggested that X readY's ‘Painting as
a Pastime’, in whichY compares painting a
picture to fighting a battle. X's work was
shown in an exhibit title ‘The Art of
Leadership’ at a venue named after himself.
Who are X andY?
7
27. A well known gourmand, who moved to Paris
after retirement, this composer composed this
solo piano work you will hear in 4 movements
titled Les Radis, Les Anchois, Les Cornichons and Le
Beurre.
Who is the composer?
What is the name of the work?
8
<Opening of Les Cornichons>
30. Shown here is the Paricutin volcano erupting
in Mexico in 1943.A monogenetic volcano
standing 424 metres high, Paricutin had its
last eruption in 1952 and has been quiet
since then.
What unique aspect of it has helped
geologists study volcanoes better?
9
33. The 1943 eruption was its first;
enabling geologists to study the life of a
volcano through its complete lifecycle for
the first time.
9
34. A part of the city’s name and the location
seen here, southernmost of things that the
city is famous for, get their name from a
stream that flows near this location and have
nothing to do with a number.
Identify this location and the city.
10
37. Assi Ghat
Varanasi - which gets its name fromVaruna
and Assi - two tributaries of the Ganga
10
38. The 1951 neo-realism movie X (meaning
‘Beautiful’),a satire of the film industry, was
conceived when its director was casting a little
child for a different movie and he was surrounded
by hundreds of mothers shouting "Mine is X".
A similar scene is seen in X.
Identify the film X and the director.
11
41. Considered to be one of the most sought after champagnes – a
cuvée de prestige - this was created at the behest of Tsar
Alexander II for a strategic dinner at Cafe Anglais in Paris where
the other participants were Otto van Bismarck and King William
I of Prussia.
Tsar Alexander II demanded two changes to be made to the
usual wine bottle. One of these changes was to do with the
shape of the bottle – the removal of the ‘punt’ necessitating the
use of a non-glass material, which gave the champagne its
popular name.
Identify the brand.
What is the second change that the Tsar demanded?
Why did he demand these changes?
12
44. Cristal
He wanted the bottle to be colored light and
be as transparent as possible
To thwart possible assassination attempts
using poison mixed with the drink/ a bomb
hidden underneath the punt
12
45. In 1978, this chap undertook an
expedition and towards the end
of it, when climbing the Akash
Parbat, he developed altitude
sickness and faced a near-death
situation. He was airlifted by the
Indian Army to the Bareilly Army
Hospital and went on to live for
nearly 30 years.
Who?
He wrote a book (whose cover
is shown) about this expedition.
What was the expedition about?
13
48. Turkmenistan has a quota of 4600 Hajj
pilgrims. But thanks to the efforts of
Saparmurat Niyazov and his cronies, only
188 pilgrims, who are approved by the
President, make the trip every year.The
number used to be 150 in 1992 but thanks
to upgrades over the years, the number is
now 188.
Why 188?
14
49.
50. The plane used by the national service
Turkmenhowayollary can carry only 188
people, and they use only one plane in order
to reduce costs.
14
51. This film was financed and made by the lead actor
who wanted to take on a serious role and shove his
stereotyped action hero cape down the throats of
those who questioned his acting abilities.
Identify the actor and the film, an adaptation of a
19th Century play written in response to the
public’s outrage against an earlier work of the
playwright.
An Indian adaptation of the play was made in the
late 80s featuring the character Dr.Ashok Gupta
and set in Chandipur.
15
55. Ronald Hamilton, a bookbinder at the Indiana University of
Pennsylvania Library, chanced upon a book in 2002 and realized
the fallacy in it - a fallacy to do with a series of events, involving
Hedysarum alpinum, that happened near the Denali National Park
in 1992.
His knowledge ofVapniarca, a World War II Concentration Camp
in Ukraine, got him thinking. InVapniarca, bread made from seeds
of the grass pea (Lathyrus sativus) were fed to starving inmates,
men aged 15 to 25, who grew progressively sick.
In a 2013 article, the writer of the 1996 book acknowledged his
error and the validity of Hamilton’s investigative work. Identify
the book.What is all this fuss about?
16
56.
57. Into theWild.
Jon Krakauer hypothesized that Christopher McCandless
mistook wild sweet pea [a toxic plant] to be Alpine Sweetvich
and that his ignorance led him to his death.
Hamilton’s research proved that McCandless knew what he
was consuming but just that Alpine Sweetvich contained the
same neurotoxin as grass pea and consumption of large
quantities of the Sweetvich is what led to his death.
16
58. This family’s crest has two horizontal bars, three
mullets above them and the motto ‘Exitus acta
probat’ scribbled underneath. It moved out of
England in the 17th Century.
Which family’s crest?
What is said to have been inspired by it?
17
61. Marie Antoine Carême, who created the standard
chef's toque and classified sauces based on 4
mother sauces, was a diehard supporter of service
à la française. However after returning from
service in the Russian court, he switched over to
service à la russe.
What is the difference between the two?
18
62.
63. service à la française - serving all
dishes at once
service à la russe - serving each
dish in the order printed on the
menu
18
65. By what other two word name, taking a cue from
the world of sports, is ‘The Word of Life’ statue
located in Indiana better known?
1
66. While this country had an officially sanctioned family
planning program for decades, a war with its
neighbour changed it and the Family Planning Office
was closed down.A campaign was started to increase
the population to build a 20 million man army. Ration
cards were issued to individuals (rather than families)
including newborns. It resulted in the highest
recorded population growth rate ever of 4.2% in
1986. It has since stabilized to less than 2% in 2011.
Which country?
2
67. Officials at the agency that commissioned X were
worried that the legislators would ridicule X as a waste
of public money and so tried to downplay it, even press
photos ofY only showed the opposite side to where X
was bolted. X had an inscription "To the makers of music -
all worlds, all times".This caused the agency to reject X
because it didn't conform to the blueprint and planned to
replace X with a blank. Sanity prevailed and X was bolted
ontoY. X's contributors had to sign a contract with an
unusual clause.
What is X?
3
68. Angela’s sons Peter Raubal and Heiner
Hochegger – aged 83 and 68 years now, and
Alois’ sons Alexander Stuart-Houston, Louis
Stuart-Houston and Brian Stuart-Houston met a
lot of years back and talked about the burden
that they’ve been carrying in their lives.They
made a pact among themselves that none of
them would marry and have children.
What is this burden?
4
69. This once famous resident of the Barcelona
Zoo – a gorilla that went by the names
Floquet de Neu and Blancanieves among
others – is the only one of its kind to have
been discovered.
In what way was Blancanieves unique?
5
70. Founded in 1857, Peek Frean as a brand name is
now used only in Pakistan.Their most famous
creation X lives on though - created in 1874 to
celebrate an an event involving a person who later
died in 1920, allegedly, after receiving a telegram
that addressed her plainly as "Frau Coburg".
What did Peek Frean create in 1874?
6
71. This phrase X refers to an unrealistic ideal place
where everything is perfect. It comes from a play
by Aristophanes where two characters live a
perfect city in the ------ called Nephelokokkygia.
Schopenhauer used it in a figurative sense to
reproach other philosophers for only living in
Wolkenkuckucksheim, a German equivalent of X.
What is X?
7
77. While this country had an officially sanctioned family
planning program for decades, a war with its
neighbour changed it and the Family Planning Office
was closed down.A campaign was started to increase
the population to build a 20 million man army. Ration
cards were issued to individuals (rather than families)
including newborns. It resulted in the highest
recorded population growth rate ever of 4.2% in
1986. It has since stabilized to less than 2% in 2011.
Which country?
2
79. Officials at the agency that commissioned X were
worried that the legislators would ridicule X as a waste
of public money and so tried to downplay it, even press
photos ofY only showed the opposite side to where X
was bolted. X had an inscription "To the makers of music -
all worlds, all times".This caused the agency to reject X
because it didn't conform to the blueprint and planned to
replace X with a blank. Sanity prevailed and X was bolted
ontoY. X's contributors had to sign a contract with an
unusual clause.
What is X?
3
81. Angela’s sons Peter Raubal and Heiner
Hochegger – aged 83 and 68 years now, and
Alois’ sons Alexander Stuart-Houston, Louis
Stuart-Houston and Brian Stuart-Houston met a
lot of years back and talked about the burden
that they’ve been carrying in their lives.They
made a pact among themselves that none of
them would marry and have children.
What is this burden?
4
82. The last remaining members of Hitler’s
extended family.Alois and Angela were half-
siblings of Adolf Hitler.
4
83. This once famous resident of the Barcelona
Zoo – a gorilla that went by the names
Floquet de Neu and Blancanieves among
others – is the only one of its kind to have
been discovered.
In what way was Blancanieves unique?
5
85. Founded in 1857, Peek Frean as a brand name is
now used only in Pakistan.Their most famous
creation X lives on though - created in 1874 to
celebrate an an event involving a person who later
died in 1920, allegedly, after receiving a telegram
that addressed her plainly as "Frau Coburg".
What did Peek Frean create in 1874?
6
87. This phrase X refers to an unrealistic ideal place
where everything is perfect. It comes from a play
by Aristophanes where two characters live a
perfect city in the ------ called Nephelokokkygia.
Schopenhauer used it in a figurative sense to
reproach other philosophers for only living in
Wolkenkuckucksheim, a German equivalent of X.
What is X?
7
90. He did it in two
different events.
What unique
achievement
connects both of
them?
8
91. Gillis Grafstrom and Eddie Eagan - The only
athletes to win Gold Medals in both
Summer and Winter Olympics.
Grafstrom did it in the same event - Figure
Skating.
Eagan won it in Boxing and in Four Man
Boblsed.
8
93. The 18th century Europe fostered a healthy climate for wet
nursing.While the practice used to be prevalent among
aristocrats, even farmers and other miserables started
packing infants off to the countryside to be nursed.
In his 1752 dissertation, a father of seven and a practicing
physician from Sweden declared wet nursing to be a crime
against nature and detailed the hazards of getting kids
nursed by unhealthy and alcoholic women. Some scholars
believe that he later coined a scientific term to reflect the
importance of nursing.
Who?Which term?
1
96. This vegetable was introduced to the Maoris in 1769 and
caught on to become the staple diet since its cultivation
was relatively easier - something that freed the men to
indulge themselves in slaughtering, leading to three
thousand or so skirmishes among the various tribes of
the Maori in the early 19th Century.
Which vegetable?
Due to its appearance, Maoris use it to describe other
Maori who side with the Pakehas.
Explain.
2
97.
98. Potatoes.
Pakehas are people of European
descent and just like how
Potatoes have brown skin and
white flesh, so do Maoris who
side with the whiteys.
2
99. When Tata Airlines launched its Bombay -
Delhi service in the 1930s, the plane took a
circuitous route and traversed through parts
of what is now Madhya Pradesh.Why?
3
100.
101. Facilities to run / maintain the airlines
were provided by the rulers of the
princely states of Gwalior, Bhopal and
Indore.
These rulers also gave lucrative
consignments.
3
102. X was funded by the British Parliament to the
tune of 17,000 pounds over 20 years from starting
from 1823. But its colossal failure as a scientific-
industrial project led to the Prime Minister
shutting it down in 1842. Part of the reason for
the failure was the difference in objectives
between the Government and the protagonist. But
the protagonist had also moved on to something
better, Y.
What are X andY? (order is important)
4
103.
104. X = Difference Engine
Y = Analytical Engine
Charles Babbage
4
105. The rivalry between the two main clubs of a town began in
1905. During the 1930s, a fundraiser was organized to raise
money for the town’s leprosy patients.The club that refused to
play acquired their nickname ‘Canellas’ meaning scoundrels and
the one that agreed to play came to be called ‘Leprosos’
The ‘Canellas’ take pride in an event that happened in 1952
when a prominent supporter of theirs, who was born in the
same town, volunteered and attended to patients at the San
Pablo leper colony in Peru.
Identify both the clubs and the Canellas’ supporter in question.
5
108. X was a once graduate student at Princeton in
History and Philosophy of Science underThomas
Kuhn. It ended badly when Kuhn disagreed
vehemently with a term paper X wrote and threw
an ashtray at X. X then became a film maker. His
latest work, which he callsTUK, is his second
about a Secretary of Defense,Y. X is also well
known for his Interrotron, which he says combines
2 important concepts, terror and interview.
Who is X?.Who isY or what is TUK?
6
109.
110. X = Errol Morris
Y = Donald Rumsfeld
TUK = The Unknown Known
6
111. In April 1942, the world premiere of this piece,
choreographed by George Balanchine,
composed by Stravinsky for the Ringling Brothers,
happened at the Madison Square Garden. It featured a
hundred participants including the hottieVera Zorina and
49 other ballerinas.
This effort of Stravinsky’s was described as the musical
equivalent of a certain series of paintings byToulouse-
Lautrec.
Identify the piece.
What unique aspect of its premiere makes it highly
unlikely for it to be staged in the same manner again?
7
<A raucous happy themed composition>
114. In theWar of 1792 between the East India Company and Tipu, the latter
attempted to cut off food and supplies of Cornwallis’ troops by attacking
the Maratha bullock cart drivers who transported grains to the British.
One such driver, Cowasjee, was thus caught and made a prisoner.After
getting released, he remained in his miserable state for about 12 months
before a brick maker finally attended to him somewhere near Pune.
What the brick maker did was quite common in India; but the Brits had
no clue about it.A couple of medical practitioners,Thomas Caruso and
James Trindaley, happened to witness this act and they published a photo
feature in the Madras Gazette. Subsequently, the details were reproduced
in the October 1794 issue of the Gentleman's Magazine of London -
which resulted in the widespread use of a certain technique.
What did the brick maker do to Cowasjee?
8
117. The Bijbelgordel stretches
from Zeeland to the northern
parts of the Overijssel province.
In the 17th Century. during the
EightyYears war, this region was
settled by certain inhabitants
from Flanders and North
Brabant which were reconquered
by the Spanish army – which gave
the region its name.
Who are these people?
How would be better know such
a region?
9
120. In 1940, after seeing the fate that befell Admiral Graf
Spee, Hitler ordered this heavy cruiser’s name to be
changed. He saw the propaganda value in destroying this
ship.
It was renamed _____ after Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm
Freiherr von _____, a Prussian lieutenant general famous
for his services during the Napoleonic Wars. Identify
both the names.
10
123. Composed in 1913 by Peruvian composer Daniel
Alomia Robles, it is based on Andean folk tunes. In
2004, it was declared part of Peru's cultural
heritage by the Government.Written as a musical
play (in zarzuela style) in 2 acts, an instrumental
version of the finale inspired a super hit cover
version of same name in 1970 by an American
band.The band used the tune without permission
with new lyrics.The titular New World native is
supposed to represent an ideal of freedom.
Which work?
11
126. Connect the structure on the left to the guy – famously
depicted by Elizabeth Butler in an 1879 painting (in a tired
state, along with his horse)
12
127.
128. First Afghan War of 1838
The Afghan Church in Bombay was built to
commemorate the dead of the First Afghan
War of 1838
William Brydon – the lone British survivor.
The painting – ‘Remnants of an
Army’ by Elizabeth Butler
12
129. Post the Chernobyl Disaster, a bunch of people
were paid $50 - $100 in order to get in to facility
and check the status and location of the nuclear
fuel, the condition it was in and if it was capable of
producing another explosion.
What were this bunch called?
Use the book cover and the movie poster as a
clue, and explain the clue as well.
13
133. This company submitted the application in July 2013 to
trademark a certain word styled in a particular font –
related to a product of the company’s
The application was rejected by USPTO on two counts:
The first is that the word is ‘merely descriptive’ and that
the product does not actually contain any material
implied by the word in question. Second, the word is too
similar to pre-existing trademarks, making confusion ‘as to
the source of the goods’ likely.
The company then came up with a 1928 page argument
for getting the trademark it wants.
Identify the product.
14
136. The only time an advertisement was allowed at
this place was between 1925 and 1934. It was for
a company that made the first mass produced car
outside the US.The advertisement sign was made
with 125000 bulbs and it entered the Guinness
Book as largest advertisment.
Which company?
Which location?
15
139. In 1977, while on an assignment in Mozambique,
Jean Luc Godard refused to use Kodak Film for
that assignment.
Around the same time, Kodak released a version
of their Polaroid called ID2 that claimed to offer a
flash boost of 42%.
Explain as to why Godard refused to shoot using
Kodak film?
16
140.
141. There was criticism that the Kodak film
was suitable only for shooting people
with lighter skin tones.
Later, Kodak released a new film
supposedly intended for ‘Photographing
details of a dark horse in low light’
16
142. Identify him. He is credited to have revolutionized
guitar playing in a certain genre. He was able to
break free from the rigidity of the genre by making
one change compared to the conventional
guitarists in that genre.
What change?
17
<Spanish chap playing flamenco guitar cross legged>
143.
144. Paco de Lucia.
He moved away from the conventional style of
holding a guitar when playing flamenco – thereby
enabling more fluidity and general awesomeness.
145. Unlike referred to in an opera from 1870s, this
port in Cornwall is a peaceful resort town and it
wasn’t home to criminals of any kind.
It was the birth place of a person – whose statue
in the town can be seen on the next slide. In his
right hand, he is holding the invention [not
discovery] that he is most well known for.
Identify the town.
Who is he?
18
150. In 1873, the railway line between Garhi-Harsaru
and Farukhnagar in the Gurgaon district was
opened for use in order to transport salt. It was
the oldest of its type until it was shut down in
2008 and in 1981, Garhi-Hasaru was in the news
when it served as the setting for a seminal
moment in a film.
Identify the film.
What was it the oldest of?
1
151. The last song that he ever wrote is called ‘Like the
309’ and his first single recorded,‘Hey Porter’ from
1955, is a train song. He loved trains—he made two
concept albums about them in the early 1960s, Ride
This Train and All Aboard the Blue Train, and, in the
liner notes to his 1996 album listed ‘railroads’ second
in his list of favorite song subjects. He spent his first
years in a house hard by the railroad tracks in
Kingsland,Arkansas and later recorded a nostalgic
album called Boom Chicka Boom.
Who?
2
152. This song, shot on the Panvel – Diva line, has
minimal, repetitive and mediocre interludes since
the sounds were plugged in from pre-recorded
clips by the music director as the musicians were
on a strike.
That didn’t stop it from become a major hit.
Which song?
3
153. There were 2 Palme d'ors awarded at the 2002
Cannes Film Festival. One was forThe Pianist.The
other was for a movie directed by Cecil B DeMille.
The movie starred Barbara Stanwyck and was
based on a book that dealt with the fall out of an
1862 act signed by Abraham Lincoln.
Identify the movie.
Why did it get a Palme d’Or in 2002?
4
154. Trains and railroad were
such an integral part of
his life that when he died
in 1933 at age 27 in New
York, he was transported
by a train to his resting
place in Mississippi.
The 1982 Clint Eastwood
movie Honkytonk Man is
loosely based on him.
Who?
5
155. This 1981 film’s promotion
carried the information
that it showcases the lead
stars together on screen
after 30 odd years – they
last appeared together in a
film in the 40s (for a short
while)
Which was their last film?
Who wrote the book that
was adapted into this film?
6
156. Identify the movie from the opening sequence.
Explain the plot.
7
<Artworks are being put into crates by soldiers>
157. Jerry Garcia’s cover of
‘ItTakes A LotTo Laugh, It Takes A TrainTo Cry’
Who sang the original?
Which band took the title of its debut album from
this song’s lyrics?
8
<Audio has ‘Can’t buy a thrill’ in the lyrics>
159. In 1873, the railway line between Garhi-Harsaru
and Farukhnagar in the Gurgaon district was
opened for use in order to transport salt. It was
the oldest of its type until it was shut down in
2008 and in 1981, Garhi-Hasaru was in the news
when it served as the setting for a seminal
moment in a film.
Identify the film.
What was it the oldest of?
1
161. The last song that he ever wrote is called ‘Like the
309’ and his first single recorded,‘Hey Porter’ from
1955, is a train song. He loved trains—he made two
concept albums about them in the early 1960s, Ride
This Train and All Aboard the Blue Train, and, in the
liner notes to his 1996 album listed ‘railroads’ second
in his list of favorite song subjects. He spent his first
years in a house hard by the railroad tracks in
Kingsland,Arkansas and later recorded a nostalgic
album called Boom Chicka Boom.
Who?
2
163. This song, shot on the Panvel – Diva line, has
minimal, repetitive and mediocre interludes since
the sounds were plugged in from pre-recorded
clips by the music director as the musicians were
on a strike.
That didn’t stop it from become a major hit.
Which song?
3
165. There were 2 Palme d'ors awarded at the 2002
Cannes Film Festival. One was forThe Pianist.The
other was for a movie directed by Cecil B DeMille.
The movie starred Barbara Stanwyck and was
based on a book that dealt with the fall out of an
1862 act signed by Abraham Lincoln.
Identify the movie.
Why did it get a Palme d’Or in 2002?
4
166. Union Pacific
It was initially sent for contention to the
1939 Cannes that never happened.As a
result, a separate jury was drawn up in
2002 and it reviewed all the six movies
that were contesting.
4
167. Trains and railroad were
such an integral part of
his life that when he died
in 1933 at age 27 in New
York, he was transported
by a train to his resting
place in Mississippi.
The 1982 Clint Eastwood
movie Honkytonk Man is
loosely based on him.
Who?
5
169. This 1981 film’s promotion
carried the information
that it showcases the lead
stars together on screen
after 30 odd years – they
last appeared together in a
film in the 40s (for a short
while)
Which was their last film?
Who wrote the book that
was adapted into this film?
6
171. Identify the movie from the opening sequence.
Explain the plot.
7
<Artworks are being put into crates by soldiers>
172. Members of the
French Resistance
ensure that the
artworks looted by
the Nazis stay put in
Paris – by ensuring
that the train carrying
them never leaves the
city
7
173. Jerry Garcia’s cover of
‘ItTakes A LotTo Laugh, It Takes A TrainTo Cry’
Who sang the original?
Which band took the title of its debut album from
this song’s lyrics?
8
<Audio has ‘Can’t buy a thrill’ in the lyrics>
