Conducted by Samridh Kudesia and Shivangi Tikekar on the behalf of the Ashoka Quizzing Society.

1. Freshers’ Quiz
Finals
Ashoka University

2. • +10 / -10 on pounce
• +10 / -0 otherwise
• No tiebreakers; if everyone wins, then everyone
loses

3. Round 1
Find X.

4. The 38th episode of the first season of X is infamous for
certain repetitive visual effects which induced
photosensitive epileptic seizures in a substantial
number of viewers, an incident referred to as the "X
Shock” by the press. 685 viewers were taken to
hospitals; two people remained hospitalized for more
than two weeks. X then went on a four-month hiatus.
What is X?
1A

6. X: Pokémon
1A

7. X was inspired by Bild Lilli, a German cartoon character
created by Reinhard Beuthien for a tabloid. Lilli was post-
war, sassy and ambitious and had no reservations talking
about sex. As she had her own job she earned her own
money as a secretary but wasn't above hanging out with
rich men. The cartoon always consisted of a picture of
Lilli talking to girlfriends, boyfriends, or her boss.
In 1959, an American businesswoman debuted X at a
New York fair. What is X?
1B

9. X: Barbie
1B

10. X is one of the most beautiful structures in the world. It
looks especially mesmerising at night, when it is lit up with
thousands of lights. However, it is illegal to take pictures of
X at night.
What is X?
1C

12. X: The Eiffel Tower
1C

13. The search frequency of X has spiked in the last three
months. Google instant suggests "3" when X is typed in.
What is X?
1D

15. X: Oneplus Two
1D

16. X was produced by Invisible Children, Inc. (authors of
Invisible Children) and was released on March 5, 2012. It
was called the most viral video ever by TIME. X also called
for an April 20 world wide canvassing campaign, called
"Cover the Night”.
What is X?
1E

18. X: Kony 2012
1E

19. Round 2
More X. (And Y and Z.)

20. The existence of X and his strange friends is the
result of radiation from nuclear arms testing that was
performed on Y in the late 40's and early 50's. Since
they possibly live near Y, the town is known as 'Y Z'.
Identify X, Y and Z in this fan theory.
2A

22. X: Spongebob Squarepants
Y Z: Bikini Bottom
2A

23. Anand Mehta, is a 7-time national champion in
bridge. He married an English lady, and his daughter
X is a well-known pediatrician. His son-in-law Y is a
famous Member of Parliament.
Identify X and Y.
2B

25. X: Anjali Mehta
Y: Sachin Tendulkar
2B

26. This is a text X by Y. Here are
some clauses from this document:
• ______’s flag is a gold lion
rampant on a field of azure and
should never fly upside down,
unless ______ is in distress.
• The X, like the American flag,
cannot touch the ground.
• Y can call for an emergency
meeting.
Identify X and Y.
2C

28. X: Roommate Agreement
Y: Sheldon Cooper
2C

29. Aman (1967) is a movie about a UK trained doctor
who volunteers to go to Japan to help deal with the
horror of the radiation aftermath of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. The doctor is granted an audience with a
then 95-year old philosopher X, who gives him his
blessing and offers a few words of wisdom. As an
actor, X has only three degrees of separation from
Kevin Bacon. X dabbled in Mathematics too, and
wrote a book on logic.
Who is X?
2D

31. Bertrand Russell
2D

32. Ever since the Premier League began from ’92, X
has been the top scorer 17 times out of 23. X has
been beaten only 5 times, and Thierry Henry
accounts for 3 of these defeats. Since 2005-06, X
has always been the top scorer in each season.
Identify X.
2E

34. Own goal
2E

35. Round 3
Connect

36. Connect.
3A

38. They’ve all been on Game of Thrones.
• Julian Glover (Grand Maester Pycelle)
• Conleth Hill (Lord Varys)
• Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon)
3A

39. Connect.
3B

41. Country code top-level domains for popular websites.
• Belgium: .be youtu.be
• Tuvalu: .tv justin.tv
• Libya: .ly bit.ly
• Federated States of Micronesia: .fm ask.fm
3B

42. Connect.
3C

44. Audrey Hepburn, Robert Lopez, and Whoopi
Goldberg have all won the EGOT (Emmy,
Grammy, Oscar, Tony).
3C

45. Connect.
3D

47. They’re all cartoon characters named after people.
• Hitmonchan: Jackie Chan
• Buzz Lightyear: Buzz Aldrin
• Scrooge McDuck: Ebenezer Scrooge
3D

48. Connect.
3E

50. All of them have scientific units named after them.
• Nikola Tesla: tesla (T)
• James Watt: watt (W)
• Lord Kelvin: Kelvin (K)
3E

51. Round 4
Everything else

52. Pine trees have four types of leaf:
• Seed leaves (green)
• Juvenile leaves (green or blue-green)
• Scale leaves (brown)
• Needles, the adult leaves (green)
However, the Red Forest in Eastern Europe,
formerly called the Wormwood Forest, has pine
trees of a ginger-brown colour. Why?
4A

54. The trees turned red due to radiation from the Chernobyl
disaster.
4A

55. Legend, a movie
released in the UK
recently, stars Tom Hardy
as the Kray twins, two
gangsters who terrorised
London in the 1950’s and
60’s. This poster for the
movie has been in the
news lately, and has been
described as ‘cunning’,
‘clever’, and ‘deceptive’.
Why?
4B

57. The poster places the Guardian’s two star review
strategically between the twins’ heads.
4B

58. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) is a biographical
movie directed by Martin Scorsese, based on a
memoir of the same name by Jordan Belfort. It shows
his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to
his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal
government. Jordan is played by Leonardo
DiCaprio, his business partner and friend Donnie is
played by Jonah Hill, while Margot Robbie plays his
second wife Naomi.
A clip from the movie follows, where DiCaprio is
introduced as a motivational speaker. Identify the
announcer.
4C

61. Jordan Belfort
4C

62. Three morphs of lizards cycle from the ultra-
dominant polygynous orange-throated males,
which best the more monogamous mate
guarding blues; the oranges are in turn bested by
the sneaker strategy of yellow-throated males,
and the sneaker strategy of yellows is in turn
bested by the mate guarding strategy of blue-
throated males.
What is this phenomenon called among zoologists?
4D

64. 4D
RPS (Rock Paper Scissors) phenomenon

65. This event is
happening in a couple
of hours.
What is it?
4E

67. The Ig Nobel Awards
4E

68. Thanks for coming!