Science Business Technology Quiz | National Institute of Technology Calicut | Tathva 2017

1. Prahelika
The Sci Biz Tech Quiz
Tathva 2017
Saturday, 14 October 2017
NIT Calicut

2. Rules and Regulations
➔ We will have a 20 question prelim, of which the highest scoring six teams will
qualify for the finals.
➔ Questions 15-20 are starred and will be used to break a tie in the event of one.
➔ If two teams have the same number of points and starred questions answered,
we will follow a policy of sudden death; the first team to get a question wrong
from 15-20 will be eliminated.
➔ Make some noise if you need any clues!

3. Prelims with Answers
20 Questions
Q15-20 are starred.

4. 1.
A few months ago, this popular brand launched a $20,000 collection of jewelry, titled the
Chestora Collection. The collection was aimed at hyper-fans of the brand and only one set was
made. The Chestora Collection also includes Cheeteau, a cologne and a set of cufflinks,
apparently inspired by the brand.
Give me the brand name. Images follow.

6. Answer
Cheetos

7. 2.
Easy question. Tell me who is the advertiser and what are they advertising.
Image follows.

9. Answer
IKEA and wireless charging mats for Apple products.

10. 3.
What did Siri say is Bulgaria’s national anthem?
Image follows.

12. Answer
Despacito

13. 4.
Name the author of the book, who was very recently all over the news.
Image follows.

15. Answer
Kip S Thorne, Nobel Laureate in Physics, 2017.

16. 5.
Magal Security Systems is an Israeli company that develops and manufactures perimeter
intrusion detection systems and has a presence in over 75 countries. Since something that
happened on November 8, 2016, Yehud, the company’s stock that trades on the NASDAQ, has
seen a rally of about 20% and quickly became one of the best-performing stocks on the index.
Tell me what significant event led to this unprecedented rally.

17. Answer
The election of Donald Trump and the election promise of building a wall along the US border
with Mexico.

18. 6.
What is this the logo of?

19. Answer
Australian Research and Space Exploration. Their official motto is to explore and understand the
deep unknown.

20. 7.
Excerpt from the lyrics of which song?
On a dark office evening,
Sat down in my chair.
Sharp smell of stale coffee,
Circling round in the air.
Suddenly on the webpage,
There came a flickering light.
My head grew heavy, my sight grew dim;
I had to stop for the night.
There it was in the linked list,
Edit page, you’ll do well...

21. Answer
Hotel Wikipedia, the official theme song for wikipediholics, based on The Eagles’ Hotel
California.

22. 8.
Who is laid to rest on the right of
Marilyn Monroe?

23. Answer
Hugh Hefner. He had purchased the crypt adjacent to Marilyn Monroe in 1992 for a sum of
$75,000. Though they never met in real life, Marilyn was considered to be Hefner’s muse.

24. 9.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is set to form a new company called X Holdings. The new
entity will own the equity of each Alphabet company, including Google, and encompass projects
like Google’s self-driving car spin-off company, Waymo. The move is a part of corporate
reorganisation that will allow Alphabet and Google to operate in an efficient manner.
In typical Google style, what name was given to the new company?

25. Answer
XXVI Holdings, for the twenty-six letters of the alphabet.

26. 10.
X is a social networking service that was initially only a website that allowed employees of a
company to compliment/criticize their bosses, without revealing their identity. The platform
attained sudden worldwide popularity that coincided with the release of a Snapchat update that
allowed users to share the URL to their profile on X within their snaps.
What am I talking about?

27. Answer
Sarahah.

28. 11.
X is a semi-autobiographical book penned by Satya Nadella, the current CEO of Microsoft. In X,
Nadella tells the inside story of the company’s continuing transformation, while tracing his own
journey from a childhood in India to leading some of the most significant changes of the digital era
and offering his vision for the coming wave of intelligent technologies.
What is the name of the book?

29. Answer
Hit Refresh, which was released earlier this
year and is longlisted for the Financial Times &
McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.

30. 12.
Identify the person in the video. No points for getting the woman’s name right.
Video on the next slide.

32. Answer
2017 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Professor Richard Thaler, the father of Behavioural
Economics.

33. 13.
X is originally Southern or Scottish/Irish slang for moonshine. Using the name for the drink was
originally suggested by Carl E. Retzke at the Owens-Illinois meeting at Toledo, OH and was first
trademarked by the brothers Ally and Barney Hartman in the 1940s. Early bottles and signage
carried the reference forward by showing a cartoon hillbilly, named Willy the Hillbilly. The first
sketches of the packaging for X were devised in 1948 by John Brichetto, and the product
packaging has changed multiple times in the history of X.
What is X? Image follows.

35. Answer
Mountain Dew.

36. 14.
Made from the same material as X’s delivery bags, the X parka can be considered X’s most
outrageous commercial stunt. The X parka features advanced heat layer insulation with 3M’s
proprietary Thinsulate, sealed seams that can withstand oven temperatures, a Velcro fast flap
and holsters to store the items that X is most famous for.
Give me X? Image follows on the next slide.

38. Answer
X is Pizza Hut, and this is the Pizza Parka.

39. 15*.
Where will you hear this?
Audio follows.

40. Answer
This is the Curiosity Mars Rover singing
Happy Birthday to itself. This happens every
year on August 5.

41. 16*.
One of the most notable aspects of this brand is its method of advertising, which began in 1956
and used twins as its spokesperson. The original twins were Jane and Joan Boyd of Hammond,
Indiana who appeared in advertisements for X until Joan became pregnant in 1963. The company
however sporadically continued to promote the campaign, which included twins Jennie and
Terrie Frankel in the 1960s, later X included June and Patricia Mackrell in the 1970s.
Which brand? Image follows.

43. Answer
Wrigley’s Doublemint Chewing
Gum.

44. 17*.
Where would you find these coins?
Image on the next slide.

46. Answer
The Dera Sacha Sauda’s Sirsa campus. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh ran his own parallel economy
within the campus.

47. 18*.
Show X the Y is a crowdfunded campaign started by rapper X that looks to raise $1 million to
launch ‘multiple, if not one, satellites into space’ towards the goal of finding the Y. In other words,
X would like you to give him a million dollars so that by seeing Y, thereby contradicting X’s own
personal belief.
Last year, X got into a Twitter fight with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson over the same issue,
and released a diss track called Flatline, which even featured NdGT’s vocals remixed into the
song.
What is the name of the campaign?

48. Answer
Show BoB the Curve. Basically, BoB wants
your money so that you can prove to him
that the Earth is round, and not flat as he
thinks.
Well, we all thought that this debate was
settled.

49. 19*.
Mcity is a purpose-built, 32 acre suburban ‘city’ complete with streets, suburban roadways, and
everything in between. Designed by a group of researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor. The site opened on July 20, 2015. The city cost $10 million and is a collaboration between
governmental, academic, and commercial entities. In November 2015, Ford Motor Company
announced that it will soon be setting up shop at Mcity.
For what purpose was Mcity built?

50. Answer
Mcity was built as a proving-ground to test wirelessly connected and driverless cars of the future.
The city has already seen million dollar investments from companies such as Nissan, Honda,
Toyota, GM and Verizon, among others.

51. 20*.
In some ways, Russia has things pretty figured out. Instead of spending years trying to build one’s
brand organically, a developer in Russia has a made a X machine. The concept is simple : you go
up to the machine, type a username, insert 100 roubles and you get 200 of these, something that
lets the world know how popular you are.
What am I talking about?

52. Answer
An Instagram like-vending machine.

53. Finals
Clockwise Dries.
15 Questions

54. 1.
In 2011, IBM’s Watson Computing System competed against the former winners of the show
Jeopardy, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings. Even though Watson emerged as the undisputed king, it
has often been debated as to how well computers are able to tackle something known as the
Paris Hilton Problem.
In modern day computing, what is the Paris Hilton Problem?

55. Answer
Computers are still unable to determine language nuance, and it determines how far AI has come.
Does Paris Hilton refer to a hotel in Paris or an American socialite?
Computers and other intelligent systems are still unable to figure this out.

56. 2.
In March 2017, in honour of Women’s History Month, one of the world’s largest investment
management firms, State Street Global Advisors, made news when it placed X directly across
from Wall Street’s Y. X looked straight at Y, seeming to challenge everything that Y stood for.
X was commissioned by SSgA to advertise for an index fund which comprises gender-diverse
companies that have a higher percentage of women among their senior leadership. The plaque
below X reads, know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes the difference, with SHE being the
fund’s NASDAQ ticker symbol.
Give me X and Y.

57. Answer
X is the Fearless
Girl by Kristen
VIsbal and Y is the
famous Charging
Bull of Wall Street.

58. 3.
Shown in the image is the official club store of
Everton FC.
Tell me why the store is named Everton Two,
and not Everton One.

59. Answer
This store, which opened in 2009, is located inside Liverpool’s biggest shopping mall, called
Liverpool One. Which makes the store’s address : Everton Two, Liverpool One.

60. 4.
The first anniversary of one of the most important economic
decisions of the decade is around the corner, and musician X
travelled around the country, gathering reactions of the people. The
musician later released a 19-minute track, titled The Flying Lotus,
which is about Y and the impact that it has on society. The musician
states that he is not criticizing the move, and the meaning of the piece
is open to interpretation.
Audio follows.

61. Answer
This is AR Rahman’s symphony on
demonetization, presented at the Seattle
Symphony orchestra.

62. 5.
Mr. 305 Inc. is an American independent record label founded by American rapper Pitbull. The
label specializes in reggaeton and hip-hop, and has produced all of Pitbull’s albums, starting from
2009 to the present.
Why the name 305?

63. Answer
305 is the area code for Miami, Florida. Before achieving international fame, Pitbull introduced
himself as Mr. 305. With most of his songs topping the charts, he soon began to call himself Mr.
Worldwide.

64. 6.
X is a German, internationally recognized brand that produced range-finders and other optical
systems for the German military. As soon as Adolf Hitler was named the Chancellor of Germany,
Ernst Leiszt II, the son of the founder and the head of the company, started receiving frantic calls
from his workforce, of which a majority were Jewish. Employees were assigned to overseas
offices of X in Hong Kong, the United States, France and Britain. The activities increased after the
Kristallnacht, after which employees of X were regularly shipped to New York, until when
Germany closed its borders in 1939.

65. Answer
The Leica Company. The campaign was known
as the Leica Freedom Train.

66. 7.
Airport officials at Dubai International Airport are planning to install a virtual tunnel-shaped
aquarium, equipped with 80 invisible cameras. Fish and other animals have traditionally been
proven to relax the body and the mind, but officials at the airport are taking this to an altogether
different level. Officials aim to capture the attention of the traveler by placing fish at strategic
corners in the tunnel, thereby eliminating the need for the traditional procedure. The officials at
the airport plan to install the tunnel by next summer, with the customers of national carrier
Emirates being the first to experience the tunnel.
What do they aim to eliminate?

67. Answer
Airport officials plan to use the virtual tunnel with 80 specifically placed cameras to scan your
face as you pass through, in lieu of custom agents looking at your passport to your face and back.
If the cameras determine that you are who you say you are, a green light will appear at the end of
the tunnel, if not, you will be subject to extra screening of some kind by an airport official.

68. 8.
On the internet, technology companies try to track your every move. The news story that you
liked on Facebook last week, your Google searches, your YouTube videos are all monitored by
algorithms that want to serve you highly targeted ads. To emphasise the point that our internet
usage patterns have real monetary value, Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab recently
opened a temporary pop-up shop in London that only accepts X as payment. Titled the X store, a
customer will find exclusive t-shirts, mugs and screen prints by street artist Ben Eine, which you
can only purchase by giving up some X.
How do you purchase products at the X store?

69. Answer
The Data Dollar Store accepts only payments in
data dollars, which is technically your personal
data. For example, if you wanted to buy this t-
shirt designed by Eine, you would have to part
with the last three photos that you took on your
phone, it is very specific in the aim to drive the
point home.

70. 9.
Researchers from the Cornell University and the New York City Audubon Society, after
monitoring X, which consists of two pillars of 44 spotlights aimed directly upward, found that the
bird density near X was 20 times greater than surrounding areas, causing sometimes fatal
collisions with structures and other birds. Alteration from the birds’ migratory paths also put
them at risk of death and starvation from arriving late at their destinations.
All such behaviour ceased as soon as the event ended.
What are we talking about?

71. Answer
The yearly 9/11 Tribute Memorial in
New York City.

72. 10.
Earlier this year, technology major X debuted its first TV series, titled Planet of the Apps, in
which developers pitch their app ideas to a panel of celebrities. The panel constitutes actresses
Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow, musician will.i.am, and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. The
contestants are given a minute to explain their idea while they descend to the stage in an
escalator.
X?

73. Answer
Apple.

74. 11.
In a weird plot twist, judicial investigators in Pakistan probing President Nawaz Sharif’s financial
assets, after the Panama Papers leak, stumbled upon a technological indiscrepancy to nail the
former President and his family. The authorities now claim that the daughter of the former
President, Maryam Nawaz, forged computer typed documents to hide her ownership of overseas
properties. Following this, Wikipedia prevented anybody from editing the page of X, citing that it
could be proof, and editing would lead to an obstruction of justice.
How did the investigators reach this conclusion?

75. Answer
The resulting fiasco was termed #fontgate by
Twitterati, as the documents submitted to the
court by Maryam Nawaz were typeset in
Calibri, a font that did not become default on
Office products until the year 2007.
Maryam claimed in court that the documents
were from 2006.

76. 12.
David O’Reilly is an Irish filmmaker and artist based out of Los Angeles, CA. Known for creating
distinctive 3D animated films, he is most noted for his work with Spike Jonze in the 2013 movie
Her, serving as animation director for the sequences which involved the characters playing video
games. This led to him exploring an alternate career in developing video games, resulting in the
2016 release of his game titled Everything, a simulator of everything, in which the player can play
as anything, from bacteria to galaxies. The gameplay trailer, running at almost 11 minutes long,
received critical praise and was nominated for X. If it wins, it would create history as this would
be the first time a video game has ever come close to win an X.
What is Everything poised to achieve?

77. Answer
Everything’s gameplay trailer got nominated
for an Academy Award in the Best Animated
Short Film category.

78. 13.
The Delhi Metro recently announced a collaboration with an Austrian company called LAKS to
launch a X, called X2Pay. The X was introduced to enable a hassle-free commute for passengers
on the Delhi Metro. The X comes pre-installed with a smart card, and the user can use the X to
make payments for metro journeys at the gate. The commuter will simply have to touch the X to
the screens of the Automated Fare Collection gates in the Delhi Metro to get access.
What am I talking about?

79. Answer
A smartwatch, called Watch2Pay. LAKS has
also inked a similar deal with the Hyderabad
Metro Rail Corporation. Prices for these
devices start from Rs. 6000.

80. 14.
The X Index is an informal metric used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
to determine the effect of a storm and the likely scale of assistance required during a disaster
recovery. The term was coined by former FEMA director Craig Fugate in May 2011, following the
2011 Joplin tornado. Most of X’s business takes place in the American south, which is frequently
battered by hurricanes and tornadoes, have good risk management and disaster preparedness
practices, which aid FEMA In determining the scale of the disaster.
For most, the bright yellow sign is a harbinger of warm comfort food served any time of the day.
X?

81. Answer

82. 15.
There is an unexplained phenomenon that you’ve probably experienced without knowing what it
is called, and the Internet is terming it the X effect. The name of the theory comes from many
people feeling certain that they could remember X dying while he was still in prison during the
1980s. Contrary to what most people think, X’s actual death happened on December 5, 2013.
Popular examples of this are the fact that Darth Vader never said ‘Luke, I am your father’ or that
the chocolate is spelt KitKat, and not Kit-Kat.
What is this phenomenon called?

83. Answer
The Mandela Effect.

84. This Weird World
A round mainly focusing on bizarre, quirky and outright weird cities across
the globe.
10 Questions. Bounce and Pounce rules apply.

85. 1.
The city of Neft Daslari is an industrial settlement in Baku, Azerbaijan. It lies 100km away from
the city of Baku and 55km from the nearest shore of the Caspian Sea. It is a fully functioning town
built on the sea and is a testament to Soviet-era engineering prowess. The settlement began with
a single path out over the water and grew into a system of platforms built on the back of ships
sunk to serve as the city’s foundation. The city was originally named Chernie Kamni (Black Rocks),
as ships passing through the area noticed the unusually black rocks in the area. However, when
the source of the colour itself was discovered, the city was renamed to its present name - in
honour of the substance that gave it its existence.
What substance? Images follow.

87. Answer
Oil. Huge amounts of oil were discovered in the
area, which is the substance that gives the
rocks the black shade. Neft Daslari translates
to Oily Rocks in Azerbaijani.

88. 2.
Coober Pedy is a town in Southern Australia, 846km north of Adelaide. The town is sometimes
referred to as the opal capital of the world due to the sheer number of opals mined in the area.
Opal was found in the area on 1 February 1915; since then the town has been supplying most of
the world’s gem-quality opal.
The town is deep inside the Australian outback, and generally experiences extreme temperatures
and frequent dust storms. Frustrated, the miners of the area decided to do something, so that
they could live peacefully and continue with their occupation. What resulted?

89. Answer
The whole city is built underground.
Surface structures require air-
conditioning, which can be expensive.
Temperatures and humidity is much more
better regulated underground, and it is
often much cheaper to build a dugout than
a traditional home.

90. 3.
Naypyidaw, officially spelt Nay Pyi Taw is the capital city of Myanmar. The capital was
announced on 27 March 2006 and the military junta of the country decided to move the capital
from Rangoon to Naypyidaw with minimal explanation and is often considered a prime example
of dictator Than Shwe’s vanity. There are many theories surrounding this - some say that it is to
prevent the capital from being under naval attack, as it is situated deep within the jungles.
A similar theory has gained prominence as to why this sparsely populated city has such
gargantuan roads. The streets of Naypyidaw are massive, including a 20 lane highway that
connects the Presidential Palace and the Parliament.
What is the theory? Images follow.

91. Answer

92. Answer
The theory suggests that the nervous President, foreseeing the possibility of riots, insisted on the
giant boulevard so that it could act as a runway for planes in such an event, thereby providing him
with a quick escape.

93. 4.
Juzcar is a town and province in the province of Malaga, Spain. The municipality is situated
approximately 113km from the provincial capital of Malaga. The town had traditionally been one
of the White Towns of Andalusia, with buildings traditionally whitewashed. In Spring 2011, the
buildings in the town (including the church and the gravestones) were painted blue by Sony
Pictures to celebrate the premiere of X. Sony did offer to repaint the town white, however,
citizens voted to leave the buildings blue, as the success of X led to the town becoming a major
tourist attraction.
What is X? Images follow.

95. Answer
The Smurfs, the buildings were all painted smurf-
blue.

96. 5.
In the 19th century, many Europeans, especially Britishers, showed a keen interest in purchasing
land and settling in Kashmir. Pleasant weather, scenic green views, beautiful gardens and pristine
lakes were only a few of the reasons why people wanted to settle there.
However, they were not allowed to do so by the then Maharaja of Kashmir, a restriction which
continues till date which prevents an outsider to purchase land in Kashmir.
What idea did the Europeans come up as a result, which is now very popular among tourists?

97. Answer
Houseboats or shikaras.

98. 6 + 1.
X is the name of the campaign that the city of Birmingham, Alabama is running to prove to
Amazon that is the perfect place for Y. Giant replicas of Amazon’s signature packages started
appearing all across the city; the stated goal of the campaign is to raise awareness among citizens
about the campaign, and to get the attention of Y.
The campaign isn’t all talk, however. Conclusive evidence does show that Birmingham could be
the perfect candidate, beating established metropolitan cities such as Salt Lake City, Utah and
Montreal, Ontario.
What is X and Y? Both answers on the pounce. Images follow.

100. Answer
The campaign for Amazon’s second North
American headquarters. Birmingham also
has a clever name for its campaign, titled
atob, short from ‘Bring Amazon to
Birmingham’.

101. 8.
There are many cities across the world that have rules that forbid citizens from dying in the city.
According to The Guardian, six cities have outlawed dying since 1999. Sellia and Falciano de
Massico in Italy, Cugnaux and Sarporenx in France, Biritiba Mirim in Brazil, and Lanjaron in Spain
have all outlawed dying within city limits. However, most of these towns were pushed to make
such a drastic decision as space in their cemeteries were at a premium, with an expansion being
impossible.
However, what makes Longyearbyen in Norway different is that it outlawed dying in the city for
a completely different reason. The city is the largest settlement and the administrative center of
Svalbard, Norway and started off as a mining outpost. Today, the mines have mostly shut down,
and the city has transitioned to being a tourist spot to view the Northern Lights.
What reason?

102. Answer
Longyearbyen is located beyond the Arctic Circle and is very close to the pole. As a result, the
town experiences frigid temperatures. This prevents the decomposition of dead bodies. Live
samples of the virus that caused the catastrophic Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 were recently
extracted from some of the bodies there. Today, people who are ending their days are flown to
mainland Norway and there is no elderly care on the Svalbard Archipelago.

103. 9.
In 1937, Hitler’s architect Albert Speer was given the task of transforming Berlin into X, in line
with Hitler’s ambitious plans. In accordance to Hitler’s original sketches, the plans for X centered
on a grand boulevard, which was to run from north to south for seven kilometers, through the
heart of the city. The vast Grand Hall, for instance, close to the Reichstag, would have been the
largest closed space in the world, and the 117-meter tall Arc of Triumph, designed to replicate its
French namesake, would have easily housed the one in Paris beneath it.
However, only a small portion of X would ever be realized. Construction started in 1937 and
continued until 1943, and the plans were then eventually abandoned.
What grandiose name did Hitler give his capital? Why was construction abandoned?
Images follow.

105. Answer
Welthauptstadt Germania, or World Capital Germania, in line with Hitler’s vision of world
domination and the establishment of a Fourth Reich. Plans were stalled after the Allied victory in
WW2.

106. 10.
While politicians elsewhere waffle on climate change, Los Angeles is taking it pretty seriously,
with a radical plan to lower the temperature of the city. Cities are prone to overheating, thanks to
the urban heat island effect. Cities tend to be short on trees, and they are covered with black
pavement, which absorbs heat from the sun. As part of the effort, Los Angeles is transforming its
streets by doing something unique. It is claimed that this can keep streets and parking lots cooler
by 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The measure is also aimed at helping residents save money on power
and combat pollution, as hot weather turns vehicular exhaust into smog rapidly.
What did Los Angeles do?

107. Answer
They decided to paint their streets white, so as
to absorb less heat compared to blacktops.

108. Finals
Anti-clockwise Dries
15 Questions

109. 1.
The X Effect is the phenomenon where an attempt to hide, remove or censor a piece of
information has the unintended consequence of drawing more attention to it, usually facilitated
by the Internet. It is an example of psychological reactance, where once people are aware that
something is being kept from them, their motivation to access and spread the information is
increased.
The effect is named after American actress X, whose 2003 attempt to suppress photographs of
her Malibu residence inadvertently drew further attention to it.
What is the effect called?

110. Answer
The Streisand Effect, named after American
actress Barbra Streisand.

111. 2.
X is a German luxury fashion and style house based in Metzingen, Germany and named after its
founder. The founder started the clothing company but was forced into bankruptcy and in 1931
he reached an agreement with his creditors, leaving with him six sewing machines to start again.
Later he became a member of the Nazi Party and the Schutzstaffel (SS).
A partnership between X and the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation was launched in the year
1995, resulting in the X Prize, which is a biennial award established in 1996 to recognize artists
whose works are proven to be the most influential and innovative of that time.
Who is X?

112. Answer
Hugo Boss and the Hugo Boss Prize. It
has distinguished itself from the
Turner Prize because it has no
restrictions on nationality and age.

113. 3.
What is this a picture of and who filed them?
Image follows in the next slide.

115. Answer
Buzz Aldrin’s travel expenses reimbursement form for his trip to the moon. He claimed $33.31 as
expenses.

116. 4.
Earlier this year, a Google engineer named James Damore penned an anti-diversity memo,
stating that the Mountain View based company gives preferential treatment to job candidates
based on race and gender. The memo kicked up a storm of public outrage, with Google firing the
engineer immediately. However, Damore didn’t stop there; he went to protest on Google’s
campus with a placard that read ‘Fired for truth.’ What is more interesting is the t-shirt that
Damore wore while protesting, which featured an altered logo of Google, comparing the internet
giant to something that evokes memories of slavery.
To what was the logo altered?

117. Answer
Damore altered the logo to read as Goolag,
referring to the Stalinist-era forced labour
camp system, known as the Gulag.

118. 5.
Printer ink is one of the most expensive liquids in the world, at about $2,400 for a gallon.
In January 2008, Gawker Media posted a video in which Tom Cruise enthusiastically touted the
benefits of the Church of Scientology. The video was copyright-protected, and the Church sent a
cease-and-desist letter to Gawker asking the video to be removed. Hacktivist collective
Anonymous viewed the church’s demands as attempts at censorship. The hacktivists met online
on several IRCs and decided to do something drastic.
What did they do?

119. Answer
They sent several all-black faxes to the Los Angeles office of the Church of Scientology, quickly
draining the printers of ink.

120. 6.
In the world of heritage/reproduction products with a focus on quality and stability, X is right up
there as one of the most commonly used materials. However, most people are unaware that X
comes in different qualities. For example, Genuine X is technically the second-worst quality of X
possible, as a pattern designed to imitate the texture of X is applied onto the surface. The surface
is then sprayed with dyes or stain to give it a more natural appearance.
What is X?

121. Answer
Leather. Genuine Leather is probably marginally better than bonded leather.

122. 7.
The Hiroshima Peace Park is a memorial park located in the center of Hiroshima, Japan. It is
dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima having survived the first nuclear attack in the world, and to
the bomb’s direct and indirect victims. Among the various monuments at the park is the Peace
Flame, which has burned continuously since it was first lit in 1964.
When will the peace flame be extinguished?

123. Answer
The flame will remain lit until all nuclear
bombs on the planet are destroyed and
the planet is free from the threat of
nuclear annihilation.

124. 8.
Contrary to popular belief, X was not named after the overcoat. In naming the project, Jeff
Raskin bucked the trend of using female code names, as he thought that it was sexist. It is often
reported that Raskin misspelt the favourite variety of this fruit, but he later said that he added
the extra A to avoid a copyright war with X Labs, a manufacturer of high end audio systems.
What is X?

125. Answer
The Macintosh.

126. 9.
Ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians were fond of the number 12 and followed a
duodecimal system with the base as 12, in comparison to the decimal system that we follow today.
Using a duodecimal system has a lot of advantages; 12 being a superior highly composite number,
is the smallest number with four non-trivial factors and presents easy division into the five most
elementary fractions.
When a few modern scientists advocated a move towards the base-12 system, they were met
with stiff opposition. Detractors might point out the difficulty of counting 12 by hand, since we
are born with 10 fingers. But modern cultures using the base-12 have been able to do so quite
efficiently, using their hand.
How?

127. Answer
By using the thumb as a pointer, they count on
three segments of each finger, the total now
equaling 12.

128. 10.
Armageddon is a 1998 movie directed by Michael Bay with a stellar cast : Bruce Willis, Billy Bob
Thornton, Ben Affleck, Steve Buscemi and Owen Wilson included. The movie narrates the story
of how NASA astronauts observe that a large asteroid will hit Earth in the next eighteen days and
destroy life. They also realize that their hunger for survival relies solely on one man who can save
them.
It was recently revealed that NASA uses the movie in their management training program. All
trainees are required to watch the movie and do something.
Why does NASA show the movie/ what are the trainees required to do?

129. Answer
The movie contains about 168 scientific
inaccuracies which are absolutely impossible.
The management trainees have to spot them
so that they are welcome at NASA.

130. 11.
Historically, tennis balls were either black or white, depending on the colour of the surface. In
1972 the International Tennis Federation introduced yellow balls into the rules. However, it was
only in 1986 that the Wimbledon started to use the yellow tennis ball.
Why were the yellow tennis balls introduced?

131. Answer
With television and live broadcasts of tennis gaining popularity, researchers found out that the
yellow tennis ball would be more visible to television audiences.

132. 12.
X is a font-face designed by Dutch graphic designer
Christian Boer while in college to help combat his
own condition. Though not a cure, X was designed to
act like a wheelchair so that people who are battling
the condition can function better. The typeface was
created with the notion that letters in the Latin
alphabet are extremely similar, thus more confusing
for people with the condition. X puts more emphasis
on the parts of the alphabet that are different from
each other.
What is X? (The font and the condition have similar
names. Full points if you give me either one.)

133. Answer
Dyslexia. The typeface is named Dyslexie.

134. 13.
2017 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Voyager spacecraft, which is
currently the farthest human made object from Earth. The Voyager also included the first
physical messages that were sent to space, titled the Golden Records. The Golden records were
phonograph records that included sounds and images designed to portray the diversity of life on
Earth, and were assembled by American astronomer, Carl Sagan.
Earlier this year, American teenager Erik Finkman, who became a millionaire after investing in
Bitcoin, partnered with NASA to launch X’s album Y into space. The project, titled DAVINCI will
launch a mini satellite into space, containing a time capsule assembled by teenagers from across
the globe, akin to the original Voyager Golden Records.
Give me X and Y.

135. Answer
Taylor Swift’s 2014 album 1989.

136. 14.
This company, which is said to be a close competitor to Tesla Motors, is named after Tesla’s hero,
who in the 1800s, whose discoveries in the early 1800s laid the groundwork for modern electric
motors.
Backed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting of LeEco, it plans to put an electric car for sale this year
and is building a $1 billion dollar factory in the Nevada Desert, USA.
Which company?

137. Answer
Faraday Future.

138. 15.
The X was created by London-based bakery Peek Freans in 1874 to commemorate the marriage
of the Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrova of Russia to the Duke of Edinburgh. It became popular
throughout Europe, particularly in Spain, where, following the civil war, it became a symbol of the
country’s economic recovery after bakeries started mass-producing X after a surplus of wheat.
What resulted?

139. Answer
Marie Biscuits, named after Maria.