5. 22 questions. 6-11 will be tie-breakers. Of them, question 7 will be double star and will be used only if two contestants are tied in terms of single-stars.
6. 1. This bird was a proposed candidate for the national bird of India (strongly supported by Salim Ali), but dropped in favour of the Indian Peafowl with at least one reason being the potential for being misspelt. Which bird?
7. 2. In psychology this term is used to refer an individual possessing the traits of introversion and a strong preference for independence. This trait can also be found in the animal kingdom, most famously in the Ys. Ys generally are alpha males or young adults in search of new territory. Such Ys are more aggressive and dominant than the rest of the group. The term is also widely used in literature to refer characters that are aloof and emotionally distant.
8. 3. It was announced recently that a new version of this famous 80s show is being made. The original was a 13 part show written by X and his wife Ann along with Steven Sorter. At that time it was the most watched series in the history of American Television. A book accompanying the series also was published. Following in X's footsteps in hosting the show would be Neil Tyson who is an astrophysicist . It'll be aired in FOX from 2013.
9. 4.Connect (courtesy my recent Landmark pilgrimage)
10.
11. 5. The Greek prefix in which software’s name is to indicate that the program makes minimal use of the computer’s resources?
14. **7. The thief was nicknamed d'Artagnan after the Alexander Dumas character because he used a magnet on a sword-like pole. He was banned from the area in 2002 after 30 years of stealing from there. Using this technique, at the height of the tourist season, in one week, he scooped out an impressive 22 kilos in just fifteen minutes. Had d'Artagnan not been successful the loot would have been given to Caritas, a catholic charity that provides services for the poor. Identify d'Artagnan's loot.
15. *8. The X-Y is an informal term for the community of American businesspeople and investors centred in the Silicon Valley who were founders and early employees of commerce service X. They are often credited with inspiring Web 2.0 and for the re-emergence of consumer focussed Internet companies. It is not uncommon for a company's employees to leave and start successful new companies of their own after their old company is acquired. However, the X alumni are considered singularly prolific, X's $1.5 billion acquisition price was relatively small compared to other technology company acquisitions, yet with less buyout money than other companies X's former employees launched more successful companies in a shorter time than almost any other company in history. Their success has been attributed to a number of factors: their youth (many had never been in unsuccessful companies before starting X, and were not interested in retiring on their company stock gains); the physical, cultural, and economic infrastructure of Silicon Valley, which facilitates rapid company formation and expansion; and the diversity of skill-sets among the former employees. (which ensured that the social group has a full range of financiers, engineers, designers, operations experts, marketers and others available to help each other start new companies)
18. *10. Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier,politician,industriaist from Rhode Island who served as governor and as a US Senator. He conducted successful campaigns in North Carolin and Tennesse during the American Civil War. A corruption of his name is an oft-used word in the fashion world today. What??
19.
20. *11. In 1938, Jean Renoir's "La Grande Illusion" wasoverlooked for venice film festival's top prize known back then as the Coppa Mussolini("Mussolini Cup") despite being the clear favorite amongst both festival-goers and jury members. Instead, the Coppa was jointly awarded to a two-part German film called "Olympia", commissioned by Joseph Goebbels to document Nazi successes at the 1938 Berlin Olympics; and "LucianoSerra,Pilota", made under the supervision of Il Duce's own son. What did this lead to?
21. 12. An ancestor of this dynasty, while in his fort, witnessed a Muslim butcher driving a cattle herd for the purpose of slaughter. Being a devout Hindu, he opened a small side door to the stronghold for the cattle. Thereby, allowing the cows to escape their impending doom. Future generations took a great deal of pride in their roots that strongly displayed their predecessor’s religious fervour, and named the dynasty after the word for cow & door. And, who is the most famous person in entertainment industry from this dynasty who changed his named altogether.
22. 13. James Wilson Marshall was an American Carpenter and sawmill operator who lived in the mid 19th century in California. He entered into a partnership with one John Sutter to construct a sawmill in 1848.Marshall was to oversee the construction and operation of the mill, and would in return receive a portion of the lumber. After scouting nearby areas for a suitable location, he eventually decided upon Coloma, located roughly 40 miles (64 km) upstream of Sutter's Fort on the American River. While construction, Marshall felt that the tailrace portion of the mill was too narrow and decided to enlarge it by using the natural course of the river itself, this he did every night and examined the result every morning. One fine morning on Jan.24 he discovered something. Unfortunately he never benefitted from his discovery and died bankrupt. What did he discover??
23. 14. If you were a reader of this magazine, what would you be interested in??
25. 16. The MLS team Kansas City Wizards had been in the news in India because it signed on Indian footballer Sunil Chhetri some time back. The team gets its name from a literary classic that is partly set in Kansas. Which one?
26. 17. She was offered 1 million dollars to play the role of Jacqueline Kennedy in the movie The Greek Tycoon which was a biographical movie on Aristotle Onassis. But she refused the offer and Jacqueline Bisset did it for half that amount. Who was given the offer initially?
27. 18. In America river boats in the Mississipi and Missouri rivers use a depth indicating device called a sounding line , where two fathoms indicated a safe-passage depth. So , before they set sail the sailors used to check the line and shout out X Y or by the X Y meaning the water was 12 feet deep and thus safe to pass. X and Y pls and the literary world association
28. 19. Recently it came to light that an unlikely partnership has emerged in the virtual world. A new startup, Backplane, which raised over 1 million dollars in venture funding is funded by Eric Schmidt Google Chairman. And surprisingly he's partnered with another celebrity _____ who owns 20% of the venture. The venture , which is yet to launch is designed to build and expand online communities around musicians and sports teams.
31. Among his works include, Statue of Zeus in Olympia which was one of the Seven Ancient Wonders. He also designed the statue of Athena in the Acropolis.
