1. Mega-Whats 2015
The 6th National Open Quizzing Championships
Conducted by
The Karnataka Quiz Association
Est. 1983
Set by
Arun Hiregange and Kiran Vijayakumar
2. The Rules
1. +10/-5 on the pounce; +10 on the bounce
2. No part points available on the pounce
7. 1
Ambedkar’s leaving the Law Ministry over
the failure to implement the Hindu Code
bill.
Depicted Ambedkar as Siddhartha
(Buddha) well before his conversion.
8. 2
This is the last plane built by an aviator
who is considered by his countrymen to
be the first man to fly, rather than the
Wright Brothers. He named the aircraft
after this beautiful and delicate looking
insect. Name either.
12. 3
What later caused President Barack
Obama to quip, "We donated a $60 million
helicopter to this operation. Could we not
afford to buy a tape measure?"
14. 3
After Osama Bin Laden was killed, they
needed to measure his height (which was
an abnormal 6’ 2” for an Arab) as one of
the confirmations that it was really him.
As they forgot to get a tape measure, a
marine lay down next to him to
approximate his height.
15. 4
This is the 200-year old Shar Harahamim
or Gate of Mercy Synagogue, the oldest in
Mumbai, near a once thriving Jewish
neighbourhood in Mumbai. Which railway
station is named after it?
19. 5
In Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, before their
relationship blossoms, Catherine Heathcliff
scorns Hareton Earnshaw's primitive attempts at
reading, saying, "I wish you would repeat _____
_____ as you did yesterday; it was extremely
funny!”
She is referring to a ballad about the Battle of
Otterburn, which involved the Duke of
Northumberland, Henry Percy (of Hotspur fame).
Be a comedian and fill the blanks.
22. 6
The image shows a close-up of the central
figure of a particular sculpture that has been
acclaimed for its depiction of human agony.
However, a famous 19th century scientist
who made a lot of comparative studies of
anatomy as part of his work was not
impressed, and is said to have objected to
this depiction, saying that the bulging
eyebrows are physiologically impossible.
Name the sculpture and the scientist.
26. 7
On the left is a French pastry in a butterfly shape,
sometimes called elephant ears, French hearts,
shoe-soles or glasses. Its name in French comes
from the leaves that it resembles. On the right is
a French cake, made in a traditional rectangular
mold, which resembles a bar of gold. Another
theory says that the cake became popular in the
Bourse district of Paris surrounding the Paris
stock exchange. Name both. Their names end in
the same letters, indicating their French origin.
30. 8
Nepal is the only country in the world with a
certain distinction. If you allow territories,
then Chatham Islands (a territory of New
Zealand) can be added to the list. Some
countries that have a related distinction,
though not as unique, are Myanmar, Sri
Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran and Venezuela.
That’s an almost exhaustive list. So what
makes Nepal unique?
33. 9
There are a few thousand cases of
leprosy in the USA, and is most
concentrated in southern states like
Texas & Louisiana rather than northern or
coastal states as shown in the map. Why
is this?
36. 9
They are also the areas with a higher
concentration of Armadillos, which can
carry leprosy.
37. 10
In 1973, a local hero (shown on the next slide) was
playing a teenage heartthrob. This would prove be
the first occurrence out of an exhaustive set of
four. Local hero was declared the winner after a
match winning serve. However the heartthrob
disputed it. Local hero became an even bigger
hero when he agreed to replay the point. But no,
this didn’t prove to be a turning point and local
hero did go on the win the match. Identify both
and what was the first occurrence of?
40. 10
Roger Taylor. The first of only 4 defeats
suffered by Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon.
41. 11
This is a small, freshwater fish which is
popular with anglers because of its
readiness to feed. Even inexperienced
anglers find it easy to catch. What
adjective derives from this fish?
45. 12
“I was working for General Electric at the time, right after
World War II , and I saw a milling machine for cutting the rotors
on jet engines, gas turbines. This was a very expensive thing for
a machinist to do, to cut what is essentially one of those
Brancusi forms. So they had a computer-operated milling
machine built to cut the blades, and I was fascinated by that.
This was in 1949 and the guys who were working on it were
foreseeing all sorts of machines being run by little boxes and
punched cards. ______ was my response to the implications of
having everything run by little boxes. The idea of doing that, you
know, made sense, perfect sense. To have a little clicking box
make all the decisions wasn't a vicious thing to do. But it was too
bad for the human beings who got their dignity from their jobs.”
Who about what?
51. 14
In his manifesto regarding “declaration of
revolutionary war”, a self declared Field Marshal
wrote, “The name ______ is taken from the word
______ and we define its meaning as a body of
dissimilar bodies and organisms living in deep
and loving harmony and partnership in the best
interest of all within the body.” His assumed
name was derived from the Swahili word for
“prophet” and the name of the leader of the
Amistad slave rebellion. The two blanks are
similar. Who & what did he found?
54. 15
This piece by a Czech composer has the
name of a profession in its title. Due to the
fact that it is used as an introduction or
‘screamer’ in a particular field of
entertainment, the piece’s original title is
usually forgotten and it is associated with
another profession (or that field of
entertainment). Get both: the actual title and
what it is associated with nowadays.
60. 17
Driving X: 1 X
Cleek: 2 X
Mid Y: 3 X
Y X: 4 X
Y: 5 X
Spade Y: 6 X
Y Z: 7 X
Pitching Z:8 X
Z: 9 X
On the left are the terms used until the 1940s, when
the numbering system on the right was formalized.
What are X, Y, Z? Perhaps knowledge of a particular
genre of P.G. Wodehouse stories will help.
63. 18 “By day I would be the genial, white-coated Dr. _____, but at
nightfall I would exchange my white coat for my motorbike
leathers and, anonymous, wolflike, slip out of the hospital to rove
the streets.” In 1962, he took a residency at UCLA, where he
became a regular at Muscle Beach and set a California state
weightlifting record with a 600-pound power lift: “I was known as
Dr. Squat,” he says, “which rather pleased me.” And he continued
to motorbike, riding solo and loaded with amphetamines as far as
the Grand Canyon, stopping only for gas. One day, a patient
paralyzed from the neck down and blind from neuromyelitis
optica heard he was a biker, and asked to come along for a ride;
with the help of weightlifting friends, he abducted her from the
hospital, strapped her against his own torso, and rode up and
down Topanga Canyon.
70. 2
In 1929, the book publisher George Macy founded
The Limited Editions Club (LEC), an imprint tasked
with publishing finely illustrated limited editions of
classic books. In the years to come, Macy worked
with artists like Matisse and Picasso, and
photographers like Edward Weston, to produce
books with beautiful illustrations on their inner
pages. Sometimes The LEC even turned its design
focus to other parts of the book. Identify this book
from its1946 edition created by Clarence P.
Hornung.
75. 4
His love of the Baltimore Colts were
featured in the December 13, 1968 issue
of LIFE. Entitled "My Colts, Verses and
Reverses", the issue includes his poems
and photographs by Arthur Rickerby.
Featured on the cover is Dennis Gaubatz
with the following description. Who?
76. 4
“Look at Number 53,
Dennis Gaubatz,
that is he,
looming 10 feet tall
or taller
above the Steelers'
signal caller...
Since Gaubatz acts like
this on Sunday,
I'll do my
quarterbacking Monday."
78. 5
Seems, a company based in Tokyo, is now
manufacturing fire alarms intended for use by the
deaf, who can’t hear the wail of conventional smoke
detectors. According to researchers at Japan’s Shiga
University Medical School, who tested a wide range of
potential wake-up odors (among them rotten eggs,
banana, coconut milk, and peppermint), a jet of ______
jolts hearing-impaired sleepers awake in less than
two minutes. The nose-searing punch of allyl
isothiocyanate is so distinctive that ______ is the base
for these fire alarms. What base?
81. 1
When this art work began its residency at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2007,
curator Gary Tinterow hung the following
three paintings alongside in the gallery.
Which art work? New York Times’ Roberta
Smith used the tagline of a 1978 movie
sequel as the title of her review of the
show. Identify the tagline.
86. 1
The Physical Impossibility of Death in the
Mind of Someone Living by Damien Hirst.
Just When You Thought It Was Safe (from
Jaws 2).
87. 2
As part of the 100th anniversary
celebrations of a brand, this world record
breaking model was unveiled on March 8,
2015 at Chicago. Now touring across
various American cities, it is the largest
measuring cup ever made. Identify the
brand.
91. 3
Don Quixote contains stories that do not directly
involve the two main characters, but which are
narrated by some of the picaresque figures
encountered by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza
during their travels. The longest and best known story
is El Curioso Impertinente (The Impertinently Curious
Man), which is read to a group of travelers at an inn,
about a Florentine nobleman, Anselmo, who becomes
obsessed with testing his wife's fidelity, and talks his
close friend to attempt to seduce her. The friend’s
name has survived in various languages and denotes
someone who obsessively seduces and deceives
women. What?
94. 4
During the early part of the twentieth
century, complimentary tickets used in
the theatre business were often referred
to by a nickname, after a person. Such
tickets traditionally had holes punched
into them to prevent them from being
resold. Which person?
98. 5
Multiple theories about which bird?
1. Referring to King John, who in honour of his patron saint
St. John, frequently used the device of an eagle. The
sprig of broom initially shown in the bird's beak, broom
being a symbol of the royal family of Plantagenet.
2. Referring to the name used for a 17th century mace; with
later confusion arising by assuming this term is related to
the old Low Dutch word lefler, meaning spoonbill.
3. It being a cormorant, the sprig in the mouth being a
particular type of seaweed, thus implying that the bird's
appellation comes from the sprig.
(In short, the bird which appears to have originally been
intended to be an eagle is now officially a cormorant.)
101. 6
Duramold is a composite material process developed by
Virginius E. Clark. Birch plies are impregnated with
phenolic resin, such as Haskelite and laminated together
in a mould under heat (280°F) and pressure for use as a
lightweight structural material. Such materials were
considered critical during periods of material shortage in
World War II, replacing scarce materials like aluminum
alloys and steel. For example, a cylinder made of
duramold is 80% stronger than a cylinder made of
aluminum. Which mid-twentieth century project (its
popular name being a misnomer) was the largest to use
the duramold process?
104. 7
Dialogues from the movie Kingsman: The
Secret Service between the characters
played by Taron Egerton (Eggsy) and
Michael Caine (Arthur). Fill in the blanks
with 3 names.
105. 7
[Eggsy sits down while Arthur looks at JB]
Arthur: Pretty dog. What's his name?
Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin: JB.
Arthur: As in J____ B____?
Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin: No.
Arthur: J____ B____?
Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin: No. J____ B____.
Arthur: Oh.
[pauses]
Arthur: Bravo. It pains me to admit it, Eggsy, but one day, you
might be as good a spy as any of them.
108. 8
This medical term, as described in 1978 by Sally
Duensing and Bob Miller, is a “binocular rivalry” which
causes stationary objects seen in one eye to disappear
from view when an object in motion crosses in front of
the other eye. Each eye sees two different views of the
world, sends those images to the visual cortex where
they are combined, and creates a three-dimensional
image. It occurs when one eye is fixated on a stationary
object, while the other notices something moving. Since
one eye is seeing a moving object, the brain will focus on
it, causing parts of the stationary object to fade away
from vision entirely. What?
112. 9
During an appearance on The Tonight
Show starring Johnny Carson in the
1980s, Robert Altman said that while he
only made US $70,000 for having
directed the movie, his son had earned
more than a million US dollars from the
venture. Which movie? How did his son
earn the amount?
115. 10
(A) is a trade name of the most commonly
prescribed opioid in the United States (and
the rest of the world perhaps). (B) is the
second-most predominant alkaloid in
opium, at up to three percent. Its name is
derived from the Greek word for "poppy
head". According to some sources, (A) gets
its name because it is six times more
potent than (B). Identify both.
118. 11
This mountain range stretches across
northwestern Africa extending about 2,500 km.
Identify this range whose name is believed to be
derived from the term for ‘mountain’ in some
Berber languages. According to an alternate
theory, which other geographical entity is said
to take its name from this range? (As per the
competing theory, both the range and the
geographical entity take their names from the
same person.)
122. 12
When engineer E.W. Barton-Wright returned to England after
a foreign trip, he brought with him something whose
essential principles he published in an article in Pearson’s
Magazine in March 1899:
1. To disturb the equilibrium of your assailant.
2. To surprise him before he has time to regain his balance
and use his strength.
3. If necessary to subject the joints of any part of his body,
whether neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, back, knee, ankle,
etc. to strain which they are anatomically and
mechanically unable to resist.
What? Why do people refer to it wrongly most of the time?
124. 12
Bartitsu.
Conan Doyle termed it "baritsu“ while
explaining how Sherlock Holmes had
managed to avoid falling into the
Reichenbach Falls with Professor
Moriarty .
125. 13
This clip is from the 1981 demo LP called The
Incredible Sounds of Synclavier II published by
Denny Jaeger Creative Services, Inc and sold
by New England Digital, makers of the
Synclavier. Why is sought after by some
record aficionados?
128. 14
What you see here is a jump shot in
croquet. The name given to a shot that
causes the ball to jump several times (at
least more than twice) recalls an
invention that served the British well.
What name?
131. 15
Chris Brougham has
been a regular setter of
crosswords for The
Spectator since 1996.
The name he uses while
setting is Dumpynose.
Why Dumpynose?
134. 16
The idiomatic usage of this phrase (especially in
horse races) refers to a situation that is so evenly
matched that the advantage shifts from one to the
other, and the outcome is uncertain. A suggested
origin is from fencing referring to a light and a
heavier touch, with the latter originating from the
Italian for ‘touch’. In the late 20th century, it was
applied to tailoring to refer to a small adjustment.
This sense got adopted in an unrelated field and has
become popular – pop culture fans may be familiar
with this, though in a virguled form. What?
137. 17
Alfie Bradley created this statue in 2014.
‘Raw material’ was collected from various
countries and the construction was
funded by British Ironworks Centre. Who
commissioned the work?
141. 18
This atoll in the North Pacific Ocean is roughly
equidistant between North America and Asia, and
lies almost halfway around the world
longitudinally from Greenwich, UK. One of the
most important battles of the Pacific campaign
was fought between June 4 and 6, 1942. The
United States Navy defeated a Japanese battle
group marking a turning point in the war in the
Pacific Theater. It was Japan's first naval defeat
since the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits in 1863.
Name the atoll.
