Generally Speaking - General Quiz

Generally Speaking
AMLAN SARKAR

Acknowledgements
My younger self, for being actively curious and frequently reading up random
stuff
The people at CERN including Tim Berners-Lee, for developing modern internet
Anukriti Rai, for an unending supply of memes and motivation from the time
she knew I was working on this quiz
Biswa Kalyan Rath, for the coolest safety slide in a Gen Quiz ever
All of you, for turning up today

Rules
35 Questions, 360 points divided into three rounds.
Follow usual ethics of not Googling (no coverage in campus anyway) and
keeping a decent, sporty behavior.
Chalo, let’s play.

Dry Round 1
Clockwise
Infinite bounce and pounce
+10/-10 on pounce, +10/-0 on bounce

1.
Roof and Floor is a Bangalore-based start-up owned by The Hindu group. It works
along similar lines of other house-finding startups such as 99acres, MagicBricks, etc.
Launched in 2014, the product head of this start-up is also a columnist with the
parent company’s paper, and is of due significance to a very specific crowd due to
something they invented and pioneered.
In June this year, the person wrote the following words on their Facebook profile
about their invention:
“it was a riff on a Mitesh Agarwal idea called First Strike…though I think the primary reason I did it was for the
pun…and not really with the idea of how it is the fairest format…also, the opinion that it is audience unfriendly
is mostly bullshit…”
Who? What invention?

Generally Speaking - General Quiz

2.
The Banaue Rice Terraces are terraces that were carved into the mountains of
Ifugao by the ancestors of indigenous people of the Philippines.
Occasionally called the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, the terraces are a
significant symbol of the Ifugao culture and it is said that if the steps were put
end to end, it would encircle half the globe.
Look at the image in the next slide and answer why this icon of indigenous
Philippine culture would have interested pop-culture enthusiasts a couple of
months earlier.

Thanos’ smile towards the end of
Infinity War

3.
The United Fruit Company was an American Corporation that primarily dealt
with exporting tropical fruit from plantations in Central America to regions like
the US and Europe.
Formed in 1899, the company was involved in the politics of the regions from
where it exported fruits, such as Honduras and Guatemala, to maintain
favorable conditions to further its monopoly over the international tropical fruit
trade. In such regions, the government was virtually controlled by the UFCO and
the economy was highly unstable.
In 1901, William Sidney Porter coined a two-word term to refer to the regions
where the UFCO’s activities had created an unstable economy and a highly
stratified society.
Which term, often also used in the context of India?

4.
Quiksilver is an Australian-American retail sporting brand. Founded originally in
Torquay, Australia, it is now headquartered in California, USA. It is one of the
world’s largest brands of surfwear and other sports-related equipment.
The brand’s logo (image follows), designed by founder Alan Green and John Law,
depicts a large wave with a mountain on a red background.
Take a close look at the logo and tell me which 19th century work is the logo
inspired by?

5.
Ramesses II was the third pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, who
reigned between 1279-1217 BCE, 1500 years after the pyramids were
constructed.
During the ‘70s, the mummy of the king was found in a derelict and decaying
condition and it was decided, albeit reluctantly, that the body of the pharaoh be
transported to France, where the experts were.
Something rare was done while processing the mummies’ transportation, partly
because the authorities thought it would ensure that the body doesn’t get
stolen or damaged, and mostly due to the requirements of French law at that
time.
What did the authorities do?

6.
It was written in 1979, and the title of the song alludes to a promise by the poet
of a day when mountains of injustice would be blown away like cotton, an
imagery of the end of repressive and authoritarian rule.
First sung as a nazm in 1985 in front of a national crowd and resulting in an
instant ban of the artist, it was recreated in early 2010s and used by the
Tehreek-e-Insaaf in the 2013 General Elections, and again in the Azadi March in
2014.
The latest recreation was directed and produced by Zohaib Kazi and Ali Hamza
and has garnered close to seven million views on YouTube.
Which song?

7.
Steven Ottewill and Zoe Clarke are employees of Garrard & Co., a London-based
designer and manufacturer of luxury jewellery.
This year, Ottewill and Clarke are looking after the design of a piece of global
heritage that has been designed by their company since 1999. According to
them, to design it is a matter of privilege and involves a lot of responsibility and
precision.
The said piece of heritage stands 650mm high on a base of hardwood, with a
space of twenty inscriptions on the base. It weighs a total of eleven kilos.
What piece of heritage are they involved in designing?

8.
Contrary to popular perception, traditional ________ does not contain
potatoes. It’s the work of British Bangladeshi restaurants and a case of names
changing meanings across different cultures.
The basic structure of the original dish was the Portuguese sailor's "preserved"
raw ingredients, packed in wooden barrels of alternate layers of pork and garlic,
and soaked in wine. This was "Indianized" by the local Goan cooks with the
substitution of palm vinegar for the red wine, and the addition of dried red chili
peppers with additional spices.
Which dish is this?

9.
There exists a small railway station in Kameari, inside the Katsushika ward of
Tokyo. Adjacent to the station is a park dedicated to something that put this
location on the map.
The park consists of a fictional koban – Japanese for small police station and is
modelled on the real-life police station towards the northern side of the railway
station.
In 2006, two life-size bronze statues were erected on the northern and southern
gates of the railway station, with the total area of the station and park having a
trail of 14 statues.
Who are these statues and the koban dedicated to? (Image follows)

10.
These have been historically attributed to numerous superstitious and mythical
causes across cultures.
In Australia, the aboriginals have usually attributed it with fire. For example,
the Gunditjmara people of western Victoria called these puae buae ('ashes'), while
the Gunai people of eastern Victoria perceived ______s as bushfires in the spirit
world.
In Norse mythology, the armour of the Valkyrior "sheds a strange flickering light,
which flashes up over the northern skies, making up what people call the ______
________.
In China, where these are relatively rarer in occurrence, it is believed to have been
caused by dragons fighting in the sky.
Which phenomena is being talked about?

11.
Euclid and his Modern Rivals is an 1879 book written by an English
mathematician who is also known for their literary exploits.
Despite its scholarly subject and content, the work takes the form of a whimsical
dialogue, principally between a mathematician named Minos and a "devil's
advocate" named Professor Niemand (German for 'nobody') who represents the
"Modern Rivals" of the title.
A quote from the preface of this book was used in the first official Wikipedia
logo which was kept in use for eight months, during the course of 2001.
Who authored this book?

12.
The Bennu is an ancient Egyptian deity that is linked with the sun, creation and
rebirth.
According to Egyptian mythology, the Bennu is a self-created being said to have
played a role in the creation of the world. It was also a symbol of rebirth and
was therefore associated with Osiris.
Egyptians believed that the Bennu periodically renewed itself like the sun. Its
name is related to the Egyptian verb wbn, meaning "to rise in brilliance" or "to
shine".
The Bennu is believed to be the source of inspiration for another mythical bird,
often seen in fantasy literature.
Which bird?

13.
The Museum of Modern Art in New York, has been important in developing and
collecting modernist art, and is often identified as one of the most influential art
museums in the world.
Among the various famous exhibits on display in MoMA, there lies one flagship
product of an Indian company founded in 1959 for its design, function and
durability.
Which company? What product?

A Hawkins Futura Pressure Cooker

14.
According to Rohan Joshi, what is the most interesting part of working on a new
season of On Air with AIB? (Image follows)
#kolstylz

Creating Fake headlines for the walls

15.
Soz-e-watan was a collection of four short stories written in Urdu and published
by the publishers of Zamana, an Urdu magazine.
The four stories in the anthology were all deeply patriotic in nature and sought
to inspire Indians in their struggle for political freedom. However, the book was
soon noticed by the British who went on to ban book as a seditious work and
raided the author’s house where they burnt around five hundred copies of the
publication.
This incident prompted a couple of changes by the author in his future work,
changes that went on to make him immortal in the world of literature.
What changes?

Premchand
Dhanpat Rai Srivastav changed his
pseudonym from Nawab Rai to
Premchand
He switched over from writing in Urdu
to Hindi

Written Round
Celebrating sexual inclusion : the decriminalisation of IPC sec 377
Five questions, 10 marks for each current answer
Bonus 10 for getting all five correct

1.
This foundation was set up when social worker Anjali Gopalan saw that there
was a lack of governmental efforts in solving the HIV/AIDS epidermic problem.
They provide quality care and support to HIV patients and address unbiased
factual information and prevalence of HIV in India.
Literally meaning pride, this organization was at the forefront in the battle for
the decriminalization of homosexuality. In 2013, this organization acted as the
petitioner to the Delhi High Court Case that found Sec 377 unconstitutional.
Which foundation?

2.
Come out of the Closet was one of the first advertisement campaigns in India
that normalized homosexual relations for the viewer.
Look at the video in the next slide and try to identify which brand was behind
this campaign.

3.
Lihaaf is an Urdu short story written by Ismat Chughtai that dealt with the story
of a neglected wife in a feudal society, and was deeply controversial for its
times. It became a landmark for its early depiction of sex, still a taboo in
modern Indian literature, let alone Urdu literature.
The story landed Ismat in trouble with an obscenity trial and she was asked to
apologise by a Lahore court during the same. She refused, and subsequently
went on to win the case.
54 years after Lihaaf was published, it went on to spark controversy again due
to something – the first of a part of three – that was loosely based on the story.
What?

4.
In 1984, Geoffrey Bowers joined Baker McKenzie as a litigation associate. The
following year, Bowers began to experience throbbing headaches and see
yellow spots. He was diagnosed with meningitis. In April 1986, he was
diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma and AIDS.
In May 1986 the law firm's partners gave Bowers a satisfactory evaluation. Two
months later, in July, they voted to dismiss him. After leaving the company,
Bowers decided to sue Baker McKenzie for discrimination.
Although he didn’t live long enough to hear the verdict that was judged in his
favor, his story is believed to be the central inspiration for an Academy award
winning movie released around half a decade later from the time of his death.
Which movie?

5.
__________ and Other Queer Tales That They Don’t Tell You is a book that deals
with stories of LGBTQ+ people inside Hindu Mythology. The book came to the
limelight again a few days back thanks to its author coming out of the closet
during an interview.
The book interprets the story of the titular character as that of a transgender
and goes on to comment that while Bhishma never accepted them as a man,
Krishna saw them for who they were and treated them with respect.
Who is the titular character of the book? Who is the author?

5.
_________ and Other Queer Tales That They Don’t Tell You is a book that deals
with stories of LGBTQ+ people inside Hindu Mythology. The book came to the
limelight again a few days back thanks to its author coming out of the closet
during an interview.
The book interprets the story of the titular character as that of a transgender
and goes on to comment that while Bhishma never accepted them as a man,
Krishna saw them for who they were and treated them with respect.
Who is the titular character of the book? Who is the author?

Shikhandi and Devdutt Pattanaik

Dry Round 2
Anti-clockwise
Infinite bounce and pounce
+10/-10 on pounce, +10/-0 on bounce

16.
Bioscope: A Frivolous History of Bollywood in Ten Chapters is a book by Diptakirti
Chaudhuri that looks into the history of the Hindi Cinema Industry through ten
chapters dedicated to different aspects and trends in Bollywood.
In the fourth chapter, Tere Mere Geet Bol, dedicated to lyricist-music director
duos, the author goes on to discuss 9 such eternal pairings of Bollywood,
leaving the tenth slot to a soloist for all seasons, a person who had written lyrics
for six decades of his life, working with different teams all his life. The author
encompasses this with a famous couplet of the poet himself:
“मैं अके ला ही चला था..मगर लोग आते गए और कारवाां बनता गया”
Who is this soloist?

17.
Katz Delicatessen is a kosher-style deli located in 205 East Houston Street, New
York City.
The deli, operational since 1888, came up with the “send a salami to your boy in
the army” catchphrase during the Second World War, and has also scene a lot of
famous TV and Movie shows being shot here.
One such scene to be shot in this deli has been forever immortalized with the
words, “hope you have what she had” above the exact place where it was
enacted.
Which scene? (Image follows)

The fake orgasm scene from
When Harry Met Sally

18.
Multiple reasons have been theorised for this famous practice among the
women of the Kayan tribes of Myanmar.
Visiting anthropologists have hypothesized that it protected women from
becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes.
Some others believe that the practice has originated from the desire to look
slender and attractive, working on the principles of sexual dimorphism.
Even others have theorised that it gives the woman the resemblance of a
dragon, an important part of the Kayan folklore.
Which practice?

19.
Painted during the Dutch Golden Age of Paintings, this work of art has been a subject of
multiple acts of vandalism.
In 1911, a man slashed the piece with a shoemaker’s knife. 64 years later, in 1975, another
man attacked the painting with a bread knife, resulting in several zig-zagged slashes.
Although restored successfully four years later, some evidence of the damage is still visible
up close. In 1990, a man sprayed acid onto the painting with a concealed pump bottle.
At the onset of World War II, the painting was removed from its home museum. The
canvas was detached from its frame and rolled around a cylinder and was stored for four
years in a special safe that was built to protect many works of art in the underground
caves of Maastricht, Netherlands.
Which artwork, that got its name due to its coating with a dark varnish that gave the
incorrect impression that it depicted a night scene?

20.
In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Pyramus and Thisbe are two lovers in the city of Babylon,
forbidden by their parents to be wed, because of their parents' rivalry. They arrange
to meet near Ninus' tomb under a mulberry tree and state their feelings for each
other.
Thisbe arrives first, but upon seeing a lioness with a mouth bloody from a recent kill,
she flees, leaving behind her veil. When Pyramus arrives he is horrified at the sight of
Thisbe's veil in which the lioness had torn and left traces of blood behind, as well as
its tracks, assuming that a wild beast has killed her. Pyramus kills himself, falling on
his sword, a typical Babylonian way to commit suicide.
Thisbe returns, eager to tell Pyramus what had happened to her, but she finds
Pyramus' dead body. After a brief period of mourning, she stabs herself with the
same sword.
Which famous story written in the sixteenth century traces its origin to this tale?

21.
Ram Waeerkar was an artist with the Amar Chitra Katha group of publications
since the 1960s. From the 1980s, Waeerkar also began illustrating for Amar
Chitra Katha’s then newly-launched children’s magazine.
While working for this magazine, Waeerkar created a new character that made
its debut in 1983 and was an instant hit among the children for its
bigheadedness.
Waeerkar illustrated the character till his death in 2003, since when the
character has been illustrated by his daughter, Archana Amberkar.
Name Waeerkar’s most famous creation.

22.
The People v/s Larry Flint is a 1996 American biopic that chronicles the life of
pornographic magazine publisher and editor Larry Flynt and his subsequent
clashes with religious institutions and the law.
Rated 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film remains one of the best movies in the
world on a legal case and law-related matters. The film also earned Woody
Harrelson a best actor nomination in the 69th Academy Awards for his portrayal
of Larry Flynt, which he lost to Geoffrey Rush.
A rather interesting casting on the film was that of the role of Judge Morrissey.
Who essayed the role of Judge Morrissey in the film?

23.
The Yokohama Chinatown in Japan is one of the oldest Chinatowns in East Asia.
It remains one of the largest Chinatown in the world and is home to Sino-
Japanese cuisine and culture, which is a distinct mark of the city of Yokohama.
Once inside the city, a tourist can find delight in one of two specialty museums
there.
While one of these celebrates a Sino-Japanese creation that traces its roots to
the Chinese lamian and would remind one of the Tokyo of 1958 – when this
creation was first industrially produced, the other one celebrates and
documents a specific, ready-to-eat version of that same product – first
pioneered by Nissin.
What do these museums document and celebrate? (5 marks for each)

24.
In 1595, Carvaggio had entered the household of cardinal Francesco Maria Del
Monte, and soon after he painted his first work done expressly for the cardinal.
The picture, which shows four boys in quasi-classical attire, was supposedly
composed from the studies of two figures. The central figure has been identified
with Carvaggio’s companion Mario Minniti while the individual next to him and
facing the viewer is possibly a self-portrait of the artist. The cupid bears a strong
resemblance to the boy in Boy Peeling Fruit, done a few years before, and also
to the angel in Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy.
The painting came along with a companion-piece, The Lute Player, and has been
identified as Carvaggio’s most complex and ambitious piece of work.
Identify the painting.

25.
Reply 1994 was a Korean Television Drama that aired between October and
December 2013. It is set in the Seoul of 1994 and depicts the story of seven
college-going students.
In one of the episodes of the show, Chillbongie, one of the lead characters and a
university-level baseball player, has to come up with a name as his role model
for a television interview.
After spending the whole episode frantically looking for a name, he finally asks a
teammate for a suggestion. The teammate immediately suggests a former New
York Yankees player. Chillbongie reacts in surprise, since the said person was
known more for his quotes and quips than his performance on the field. He
eventually however decides to go with the name.
Which player?

Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra

26.
The dictionary defines this word as “an inexpensive restaurant”. A further
Google search explains its possible etymology from a Russian word meaning
“rapidly”.
Another possible etymology of the word maybe from the French word bistouille
which was a colloquial term used for bad alcohol.
The use of this term has seen a rapid rise since the beginning of the 2010s.
What’s the good word, quite popular among North Campus students?

27.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a 2018 Netflix film which tells the story of a
half-Caucasian half-Korean girl Lara Jean and letters that she had written to her
former crushes which mysteriously get delivered one fine day.
The film received global praise from Netflix subscribers and the character of
Peter Kavinsky became a subject of many million memes.
Among other things, the success of the film also boosted the sales of a
Lactobacilus paracasei-based drink to procure which Peter had to travel half-
way across the town.
Which drink?

28.
Identify the publication behind this
advertisement.

29.
Who is the only person in history to have defeated Indira Gandhi in an election?
#kolstylz

30.
When first discovered, members wanted to preserve local names of the area, if
any, as they had done with Kanchenjunga and Dhaulagiri, if it was at all possible.
However, it was soon realised that there existed no common local name since
the area transpersed across different cultural regions.
During the deliberation, names that came forward included “Deodhunga” from
the region of Darjeeling, and “Shengmu Fa” from China. It was also mistakenly
confused with another similar feature called “Gaurishankar”. Since the members
could not settle on one name, it was suggested by Andrew Waugh that it be
named after his predecessor, despite protestations from the latter.
Where did these members belong? What were they deciding the name of?

Generally Speaking - General Quiz

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Generally Speaking - General Quiz