Saarang 2015 Buzzer Quiz (Prelims+Finals)

Buzzer Quiz Prelims
Shankar Narayanan, Vishal Katariya and Nithin Ramesan

Rules of the Prelims
1. There will be a total of 35 questions. 6 of the questions are of 2 points each, thus
a maximum of 41 points
2. No googling, binging, bittu adichifying, etc.
3. Questions 6-15 are starred, and will be used to resolve ties
4. Top eight teams will make it to the final

1.
When Ned Gregory built his first scoreboard at the Sydney
Cricket Ground, it was built with a difference from those in
England. A sample would be :
Bradman 65
Miller 45
What practice did this start, which is prevalent only in Australian
Cricket?

1.
Scores being read as 2/100 instead of 100/2

2.
Identify the Professor, who in contrast to the
author’s most famous creation, is an
aggressive, dominating person. He was the
protagonist in many novels, involving one
where the Earth passed through a poisonous
stretch of the so-called aether in outer space.

2.
Professor Challenger, creation of Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle

3.
John William Burgon wrote a poem whose name was that of this
city. The last line of the poem describes it as “a rose red city
half as old as time”.
It lies on the slope of Mount Hor, which appears in the old
Testament as the spot where Moses struck with his staff to
extract water. Moses’ brother Aaron is supposedly buried
here, at Mount Hor, also called Mount Aaron.
Shown in the next slide is the monastery in this city. Which city?

3.
Petra in Jordan
One of the Seven Wonders of the New World

4.
X was a remarkable table tennis player, entering the quarter finals of the World Table
Tennis Championships at the age of 18 and winning it at the age of 19.
However, we hear of X more in a different sport Y. X began playing as an amateur Y
player at the age of 20, and became the World No. 1 amateur player soon.
However, as he turned professional in about 6 more years, this led to his being
ostracized by the Y playing fraternity. Disgusted with his country’s Y Federation, he
took US citizenship and began playing lengthy professional tournaments with
Ellsworth Vines, another great Y player.
Who’s X?

5.
Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are the three good fairies from
Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, who bless Aurora with beauty and
grace, and also later modify Maleficient’s curse so that it will
put Aurora to sleep, not kill her.
Another entity/group from the world of entertainment was
modelled on them. Who/what?
(Picture on next slide.)

6.
Which UNESCO World Heritage Site is described? It consists of
one of the most productive mines , and the country has the
largest reserves of uranium in the world. Its name is a
corruption of Gaagudju, the name given by aborigines. It also
has 4 major rivers, 3 of which are named after a commonly
spotted saltwater animal, generally mistaken to be another. A
few cave paintings by aborigines are also shown.

6.
Kakadu National Park, Australia

7.
Following are two pieces of Harry Potter, written in the style of X, including the tenets
of X’s philosophy. Who is X? Many clues in the question -
“You preach selflessness,” Harry said, “but what you really mean is slavery to the
collective.” And with that, Harry awarded himself six O.W.L.s — which was his right
as an individual — and Disapparated to Hogsmeade.
-
Harry leaned back in his chair. “No man is my equal.”
“Harry,” Dumbledore said sadly, “you must not compare others so harshly against
yourself. It is our duty to those weaker than ourselves to–”
“I don’t make comparisons. I never think of myself in relation to anyone else. I just
refuse to measure myself as part of anything.”

8.
“It’s my opinion that music should not be free,
and my prediction is that individual artists and
their labels will someday decide what an
album’s price point is. I hope they don’t
underestimate themselves or undervalue their
art.” Who on what?

8.
Taylor Swift, on why she took her songs off
Spotify.

9.
The following infographic is a graph depicting
the size of certain software/OS/websites, in
millions of lines of code.
What is the last and biggest project, in the news
in 2013 for its size, unreliability and immense
cost?

10.
The image on the next slide shows a new
cutting-edge cooking pot made in Japan,
which does something that traditionally has to
be done by a human to ensure the food is
cooked properly. Look at the image closely
and tell us what human intervention this pot
circumvents.

11.
• X is sent from the County Clerk Office in Texas to the International
Space Station.
• Once X has been received at the International Space Station, it is
utilized for its purpose and sent back to County Clerk Office usually
within a day.
• The County Clerk Office is the only place on earth capable of
sending X.
• X is usually sent once in 4 years.
What process are we talking about here?

11.
This is how American astronauts at the ISS vote
during the presidential elections.

12.
Fill in the blanks.
INGLORIOUS friend! most confident I am
Thy life is one of very little ease;
Albeit men mock thee with their similes
And prate of being "______ __ _ _____!"
What though thy shell protects thy fragile head
From the sharp bailiffs of the briny sea? (contd)

Thy valves are, sure, no safety-valves to thee,
While rakes are free to desecrate thy bed,
And bear thee off--as foemen take their spoil--
Far from thy friends and family to roam;
Forced, like a Hessian, from thy native home,
To meet destruction in a foreign broil!
Though thou art tender yet thy humble bard
Declares, O _____! thy case is shocking hard!

13.
How do we know the gentlemen in the picture below? Also name them. (0.5 for each-
2 points)

13.
The Big Three (Golf)
Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus

14.
The next slide shows a graph. What is the graph
depicting?

14.
Most popular Metal Band Names

15.
Given below are the final words of former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s speech as he inaugurated
this complex in 2005.
"Pramukh Swamiji Maharaj has inspired thousands of people across the country and abroad and
brought together the best of the minds for creating a beautiful cultural complex. It has
become a place of education, experience and enlightenment. It creatively blends the
traditional stone art and architecture, Indian culture and civilization, ancient values and
wisdom and the best of modern media and technology. Multiple layers of this complex
expresses the strength of the mind, willpower of the human being, indomitable spirit,
flowering kindness, fusion of scientific and medical talent, myriad colors of varied cultures
and ultimately the power of knowledge. In essence, it is a dynamic complex with lively
images.”
The complex holds a Guinness Record disputed by 3 entities in Tamil Nadu.
What are we talking about?

15.
Swaminarayan Akshardham, Delhi

16.
At one end of the boulevard is this palace, named after Prince
Mikhail Vorontsov. The prince was so impressed by the work
of the architect that he was commissioned to build another
marvel, at the centre of the boulevard, modeled on a less
famous entity in Taganrog, Russia.
Which famous entity do we speak of?
(Image of the palace shown in the next slide)

16.
Odessa Steps/Potemkin
Stairs, Ukraine

17.
What do you type into Google to get this?

18.
Name the painting and the painter. No half points.

18.
Salvador Dali
Shirley Temple

20.
The protagonist is Paul Baumer, who enlists in the army. The book talks of the
shattering experiences of German soldiers, who can never return to civilian life
after a war. Paul Barmer’s feelings of love, sensitivity and belonging undergo a sea
change during the war, he feels he isn’t a part of a family anymore, and he vows to
fight against the feelings of hate that cause ill will and meaningless loss of life.
This mind blowing work was one of the books banned in Nazi Germany, since it was an
antithesis of their propaganda of hate, destruction and violence.
The work takes its name from the single phrase of the army report on the day Paul
Barmer was silently killed.
What?

21.
X’s New Year Resolution is to read more books.
He has created a page on his globally popular
service called ‘A Year of Books’. He plans to
read one book every other week and discuss
the book with the many many users of this
popular service.

22.
Whose studio is this? It was born out of a period
of homesickness, even after this man won his
Oscar in 1994 and became globally famous.

23.
In a number of recently released emails from the Sony hack, lawyers from the Motion
Picture Association of America and six major film studios talk about “Goliath” as
their most powerful and politically relevant adversary in the fight against online
piracy.
They speak of "the problems created by Goliath," and worry "what Goliath could do if
it went on the attack." Together they talk of mounting a multi-year effort to
"respond to / rebut Goliath’s public advocacy" and "amplify negative Goliath
news.“
Who/what is Goliath a codename for?

24.
The poem is said to be inspired by Captain
George Shelvocke’s “Voyage around the
World”, where one of the shipmates did
something for good luck. Shown is a statue
depicting the protagonist. Name the poem.
What phrase in English vocabulary owes its
origin to this? (2 points)

24.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner(1 point)
“Albatross around the neck”, referring to bad
luck(1 point)

25.
The next slide has 2 images.
We need 4 answers(half point each).
i)Who is the painter?
ii)Where are these found?
iii)What does each painting depict?

25.
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel Ceiling
1st image- Drunk Noah (First Biblical character
who tasted wine)
2nd image- David and Goliath

26.
Shown is a map of the Congo River basin. A certain river
Mongolia is marked on the map. The headstream of the
Mongolia river is 250 km long, and called X, which has risen to
prominence recently. A book written by Richard Preston called
____ ____ _____: A Terrifying True Story dealt with the origins
and incidences of X, among others. The book was based on
the author’s article “Crisis in ____ ____ _____”, wherein the
US Government believed that something like X had entered
the States.
Give X and FITB(2 points).

27.
Infernal Affairs is a 2002 Hong Kong crime-thriller film. Its title
is a word play combining the law enforcement term
“internal affairs” with “infernal”. While a success in Hong
Kong, it predictably did not make much of an impact
globally.
However, a 2006 remake of the film did – going on to win the
Academy Award for Best Picture.
Give me the remake.

28.
She was kidnapped from Greece by slave traders and sold to a kind old man in Egypt
who cared for her like his daughter. The other slaves in the house were envious of
her beauty, and teased her all the time. The old man presented her with
something, which made the slaves all the more jealous. One evening, when she
was washing clothes at the river bank as usual, a falcon carried away the old man’s
present and dropped it in the Pharaoh’s lap. The Pharaoh felt it was an omen and
ordered a search for the owner.
Although she wasn’t an Egyptian, the Pharaoh said, “She is the most Egyptian of
all…for her eyes are as green as the Nile, her hair like papyrus, and her skin as pink
as the lotus flower”.
Which story? Inspiration for what? (2 points)

28.
Story of Rhodopis(half point)
Inspiration for Cinderella(half point)

29.
This move sought to purge China of capitalistic elements, and strictly impose Maoism.
People from China who wanted to escape to capitalist economies during this time
were debarred from doing so, and the government even forbade entry into the
country without its permission. This caused an economic standstill.
The term we speak of is similar to another which rose to prominence after a famous
speech in 1946 at Westminster College. In the 1970s, Richard Nixon visited the
Chinese premier, and finally the __________________ was raised.
Give both terms.(half point each)

29.
Bamboo Curtain, Iron Curtain

30.
Originally modelled after Neptune’s Trident, the
designers later decided to change two of the
triangles to different shapes, to signify the
compatibility of the _____________ with various
technologies.
What design am I talking about? Alternatively, FITB.

31.
This epic campaign which brought X more publicity than all the
advertising in the world could bring, saw posters all over
Boston to make the world take notice of a giant trying to tread
over two poor hippies. One of their verbose flyers read, “Do
you think the __________ is afraid he’s only going to make
$185.3 million in profits this year instead of $185.4 million?”
Give: i) The giant or its brand (0.5 pts)
ii) The two hippies (0.5 pts)
iii) The name of the campaign (1 pt)

31.
(i) Pillsbury/Haagen Dazs (ii) Ben and Jerry’s
(iii)

32.
Who or what is creating these sounds?

33.
The reference was first used on May 4, 1979, the day Margaret Thatcher took office as
Prime Minister. Thatcher's political party, the Conservatives, placed a congratulatory
advertisement in The London Evening News that stated "_________________, Maggie.
Congratulations."
In 2011, the first organized celebration of _________ Day took place in Toronto, at the
Toronto Underground Cinema. Produced by Sean Ward and Alice Quinn, festivities
included an Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show; a costume contest with celebrity judges;
and the web's best tribute films, mash-ups, parodies, and remixes on the big screen.
The second annual edition took place on Friday, May 4, 2012.
What is May 4th celebrated as?

33.
Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you)

34.
X are protein molecules that assist in the proper folding of other
proteins. They are giant, multi-protein complexes with cavities
for amino acids chains to enter and be folded into the necessary
shapes.
They derive their name from a word meaning “to accompany and
look after, or supervise”, referring to their function.
Give me X, or alternatively the word from which their name is
derived.

35.
According to the New York Post, soft-cotton
rope sales in hardware stores increased ten-
fold in 2012. Interestingly, most of the buyers
were women.
What was the reason for the spike in rope sales?

Buzzer Quiz Finals (#1 - #4)

1
The first time this happened was in 1812, when an
earthquake caused a “fluvial tsunami”. Since 2005,
this has happened twice. The first time was during
Hurricane Katrina, and it lasted a few hours. In 2012,
this ocurred again during Hurricane Isaac, when it
lasted an unbelievable 24 hours. The volume rate
during this was even higher than the normal volume
rate. What incident?

1
The Mississippi flowing backwards

2
In February 2011, it was announced by a game
publisher that it would offer free games for
life to anyone who had a child born on
11.11.2011 (the release date of a famous
game by the same publisher) and whose name
in the world of the game translates to 'Dragon
Born'. Which game?

2
Skyrim
The name being Dohvakiin

3
In the hotel where the story X was written, the movie
X is shown on a continuous loop on Channel 42 on
guest room televisions. The number 42 occupies a
special role in the entire movie. This was
supposedly inspired by the director of X being
influenced by Sigmund Freud's statement that
recurring numbers cause hallucinations. X?

4
Contrary to the popular meaning of this word in modern times, it
originally derives from a Dutch word which means ‘mad’ or
‘silly’. It was first used in English as a slang to describe
eccentric or non-mainstream people. In current times, the
word connotes an expert or enthusiast or a person obsessed
with a hobby or intellectual pursuit.

5
This prize is awarded for the best film depicting science
and technology as a theme at the Sundance Film
Festival in Utah. It is named in honour of an electrical
engineer from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and long term CEO of General Motors.
Which great, who guided General Motors to a Golden
peak?

5
Alfred P Sloan, after whom the MIT Sloan
School of Business is named

6
The device consists of a dielectric plate and a
metal plate. The dielectric plate is charged by
rubbing with fur, and the top of the metal
plate is grounded. This was popularized by a
scientist who also discovered a gas after
reading a treatise by Benjamin Franklin.
Which scientist? Name the gas.

7
Al-qazz in Arabic means silk.
X is a word derived from this. Modern ones are even made of
metal and used in safety spark arrestors and fences.
X is also said to derive its name from a place which witnessed
massive loss of life and suffering not long ago.
What? Give X, not the place.

8
The White House Press Correspondents Dinner is a longstanding
annual tradition, attended by the President and the Vice-President.
The dinner usually consists of comedians and the President himself
poking fun at the who’s who of Washington politics. In this clip from
the 2014 dinner, what series, hosted by whom, is President Obama
making a reference to?

8
Between Two Ferns, hosted by Zach Galifianakis

9
The Byzantine empire had a history of being invaded by its
neighbors through the Cilician Gates from modern Syria into
Anatolia in modern Turkey. They needed a signal when an
invasion was imminent, so in the 800s AD, they set up a system
of signal fires for early warning that an invasion was imminent. It
was called Pharos, and it ran some 650 km from the Cilician
Gates to Constantinople (Istanbul).
What was this the inspiration for?

9
The signal fires of Gondor, from LoTR.

1
Students have long revered the ___-ed walls of older colleges.
"Planting the ___" was a customary class day ceremony in the
1800s. At Penn, graduating seniors started the tradition of
planting ___ at a university building in 1873 and the practice
was formally designated as ___ Day in 1874. One etymology
of this classification says that ___ is just Roman numerals for
the number of teams in a particular American Sports League
back then. FITB.

1
Ivy
Giving rise to the ‘Ivy League’

2
What is this the procedure for?
Opened on Aug 1 2014 for UK applicants only. To enter you
must fill out an official public ballot application form, one
only per household, which is obtainable only by post. To
receive a form, applicants must send a stamped, self-
addressed envelope (DL size) by Dec 15 2014 to: AELTC, PO
Box 98, London, SW19 5AE

2
Tickets for Wimbledon 2015 via public ballot

3
Connect to some element of SRK’s character.

3
SRK goes by the name ‘Raj’ in each of these
movies.

4
His colleagues at Cambridge coined a unit of information flow,
defined by 1 _____ = 1 word per hour. This was in reference to
this personality’s taciturnity.
We know the Energy equation,
where h is the Planck’s constant.
The reduced Planck’s constant is also equal to 1 ______
FITB.

5
There are 6 “Classical Languages of India”. 5 of them are
Sanskrit, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. Classical
languages are those which don’t borrow extensively from
others. Name the sixth, which is a descendent of Prakrit
spoken in Magadha. Early literature in the language can
be traced back to the Charyapada, written by the
Buddhist Siddhas of the state.

6
This pancake is prepared by adding
flour and milk to crushed bananas
and frying. It is then dipped in syrup
and served hot. The dish is offered
to the deity at the Puri Jagannath
Temple in the morning and evening
service. It is also eaten by Muslims
in the Ramadan month to break the
long fast. What?

7
Which retreat
in a former
cantonment
town?

7
Rashtrapati Nilayam, Secunderabad

8
Initially created by Reddit user kn0thing while he was studying
at the University of Virginia, Snoo underwent multiple
revisions to become the version that we all know today.
Snoo has also been customized to create more personalized
versions for different topics.
What is Snoo?

9
Poster commemorating the 35th anniversary of
the release of which iconic film?

10
British singer Rick Astley’s 1987 song “Never Gonna Give You Up” was a
worldwide number-one hit when released, topping the charts in 25
countries.
However, it is better known in another form, one that went viral in the 21st
century. The attention generated by this form led to Astley garnering
immense publicity, with him appearing in the 2008 Macy’s Thanksgiving
Parade in New York, and reviving his flagging career.
How do we better know his song?

10
The Rickrolling meme - the multiple
hyperlinks/videos on Youtube and elsewhere
that fool viewers into thinking that they are
going to watch something else, but actually
lead to Astley’s video.

1
This is Major Meredith talking about the awesomeness of
which bird, against which a war was waged? He is
astonished by the mobility of the birds, even when
wounded.
If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying
capacity of these birds it would face any army in the
world...They can face machine guns with the
invulnerability of tanks. They are like Zulus whom even
dum-dum bullets could not stop.

3
This shows a pole outside a
barber’s shop. The red and
white signifies bloodied
bandages, which refer to which
service rendered by these
barbers back in old days?

3
They would perform bloodletting

4
When the King of Saudi Arabia King Abdullah
visited Britain, he was already looked upon as
a dictator and didn’t have much favor in his
own land. He was also one in favor of torture.
Therefore the Welsh Guards, in charge of
playing the welcome for him, played a quite
fitting tune for him. Which tune?

5
The precursor to CAPTCHAs, leet is a language that hackers invented to
post about sensitive topics on message boards. Similar to
CAPTCHAs, the point of leet was to ensure that automatic
monitoring for keywords was circumvented, letting hackers
communicate without fear of being discovered. Examples of leet
still exist, predominantly amongst the gaming community.
What exactly was leet/how did it circumvent automatic monitoring?

5
leet (l33t) uses various combinations of ASCII characters to replace the
Latin alphabet.
|-|3|_|_() for hello, c@t for cat, n00b for noob, etc.

6
"Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong.
"For a start, my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy
liquid, with the worst aftertaste you could ever imagine. I
could feel it staining my teeth and running down my chin.
"Then the head in my mouth twitched."
Who, on what?

6
Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne on biting off a
bat’s head during a concert.

7
Stars in the ocean
Laughter
Merry-go-Rounds
Riding down hills on my big brother’s bike
Icy cold water right out of a well
Tunes that I hear on an old carousel
Rejects for what?

8
X has been frequently used to demonstrate the second law of
thermodynamics. The second law states that the most disordered
state is favoured, leading to an entropy increase, in a spontaneous
reaction. X is highly disordered after what happens, and cannot be
restored.
X seems to have been used to describe cannonballs, which in the 16th
century, did take some moving.
Some feel that this term referred to Charles I, the X of England,
toppled by his parliament.
X?

9
Shown below is a map. We want a very specific two word term as to what
the map is plotting. Generic answers are not accepted.

9
Gini Coefficient (Wealth Distribution)

10
The locality of X in Kolkata is named after one of India’s bravest
revolutionaries, who died of injuries sustained in a battle with
hordes of police and army officials.
The name we popularly know him by comes from a childhood
act of valour, when a friend brought villagers for help and they
exclaimed “Does he need help or the ______?”.
Who is X?

10
Bagha Jatin/Jatindranath Mukherjee

1
A certain sportsman said this about X’s time wasting tactics.
He famously defeated X in 2012.
''I think all the players should have the same time between
the points. But always the best players, they're taking
much more than the normal players, and nobody is
telling them nothing. I don't know why. When the game
starts it was not 30 seconds. It was one minute always.''
Who is X, and what was he guilty of?

1
Rafael Nadal
The 30 seconds between points rule.
The person saying this is Lukas Rosol

2
While this may look like a Science-Fiction movie,
it is not. Where is this taken? Why is this on a
screen?

2
Sunrise in China
Too much pollution

3
Given below are designations and occupation of officers of a
certain organization at each subordinate level of jurisdiction.
i) Klaliff – vice president
ii) Klokard- lecturer
iii)Kludd – Chaplain
iv)Kligrapp- secretary
v) Klabee –Treasurer
Which organization?

4
In movable type printing, text was printed using tiny pieces of metal,
each representing a letter, a number or a symbol. As a part of the
typesetting process, these pieces would painstakingly be put
together to create the entire document. To save time & effort,
popular phrases that were used very frequently were cast as ready-
made blocks from a single slug of metal. What name, used in a
similar context even today, was given to these blocks?

5
The license plate of the antagonist's car in this movie is seen to bear
the sequence IS 5416, a direct reference to Isaiah 54:16, which says,
“Behold, I have created the Smith that bloweth the coals in the fire,
and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have
created the waster to destroy.”
Which movie is this seen in?

6
What are the 3 blanked out currencies?
(Hint: 3 columns, all of them are related.)

6
Galleons, Sickles and Knuts.

7
On a tour to Sri Lanka, Mark Waugh scored four
consecutive ducks. With his scorecard reading
0000, he was given a nickname related to the
world of business.
What was the nickname?

8
Eaten year round in New Zealand and Australia, this dessert consisting of a
base made of meringue crust topped with whipped cream is named after
a famous Russian
ballet dancer of the
20th century and was
created in her honour
in 1926 during her
tour of New Zealand.
Name the dessert.

9
This word literally means:
i)Movement in a turbulent fashion
ii)A confused jumble of items
iii)To lie soaked in blood
This word also gives rise to a class division in combat sports.
What’s the good word?

9
Welter, giving rise to welterweight

10
Used as a symbol by adherents of what?

10
Wicca, a witchcraft religion

Buzzer Quiz Finals (#5 - #8)

1
The image shows a garden in Ramallah, Palestine where a lady
has begun to grow plants in some objects. The whole garden is
an exhibition for peace. What are these objects which serve as
pots?

2
The USA banned the use of Xs which are not manufactured in
the USA in 2014. After 9/11, Americans purchased so many
X's that American manufacturers couldn't cope up with the
demand. The senator who passed the legislation said, "I
thought it was appalling our Department of Defense would
have Xs made in other countries."

3
The Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha said that it would
install a bust of X in Meerut on January 30 2015. It
would also erect such busts across the country across
the year, much to the irritation of members of various
political parties. Pandit Ashok Kumar Sharma said, "We
consider X a martyr and have the democratic right to
erect put up our leader's statue at our office."

4
One particular type of bird shipped from Africa,
called the Guinea Fowl, became known as the
X cock throughout England. Later, the bird
became popular, and was shortened to just X.
Ironically, in X, they are called ‘Hindi’, to
signify that they were birds from India, when
they really were not. X?

5
This is a song from Pinocchio. Where would you have heard
it recently – in a context that is also related to the world
of entertainment?

6
In the 1700s, deer skins were a common medium of exchange
between settlers and Native Indians in America. Both the parties
agreed that each deer skin was worth approximately a dollar and
they became an important unit of commerce on the American
frontier. This is widely believed to be the origin of what word?

6
The origin of the slang “buck” to mean dollars.

7
Martha Stewart dated X for some time, but later broke up with him. In
a recent interview, she admitted that she ended the relationship
after watching a movie in which X starred. Afterwards, she couldn’t
separate X from the character he had essayed. His performance had
affected her so much that she decided to break up with him.
X and the movie?

7
Anthony Hopkins, Silence of the Lambs.

8
The theme of this epic novel translated into 56 languages is
“when you want something, all the universe conspires in
helping you to achieve it”. It was inspired by JL Borges’ book
Tale of Two Dreamers, featuring two people who dreamt of
each other’s treasure. It was also inspired by Persian poet
Rumi’s story: In Baghdad, Thinking of Cairo, In Cairo, Thinking
of Baghdad.
Name the novel and the author.

9
The play is set in Ujjain. The protagonist is a dancer, who falls in love with
a poor Bhramin named Charudatta. However, she is pursued by a
courtier named Samsthanaka, who finally strangled the dancer when
she proclaims her love for Charudatta. Still thirsting for vengeance, he
accuses Charudatta of the crime as he was in the vicinity and
possessed the dancer’s necklace. The dancer however survived, and
was taken care of by a monk. Charudatta meanwhile, was sentenced to
death, and the dancer, hearing of this, appeared in the nick of time at
the scaffold and saved him.
Which play?

10
Explain:
i)Lobake National Park, Cameroon
ii)Cuaiba, Brazil
iii)Rugby Obelisk, North Dakota
iv)Bernotai, Lithuania
v)Lambert Monument, Australia

10
Geographical Centres of Continents

1
In 1996, X suffered from a horrific free-fall
parachuting incident, where he broke his back
in three places. At age 35, X was appointed
the youngest ever Chief Scout. At age 23, he is
the youngest ever to have scaled Mount
Everest. His autobiography came out in 2011,
called Mud, Sweat and Tears.

2
This letter was sometimes included as the 27th
letter of the alphabet. While reciting the
alphabet, it would be awkward to recite “X Y Z
___”. Thus they would say, “X Y Z ___ per se
___”. Saying this phrase quickly gave rise to
the name given to this letter, which was later
removed from the alphabet.

2
and per se and = ampersand &

3
In 2006, British librarians ranked this book ahead of the Bible
as one "every adult should read before they die".
"In the twentieth century, X is probably the most widely read
book dealing with race in America, and its protagonist, Y,
the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism."

3
X - To Kill a Mockingbird
Y - Atticus Finch

4
The reason this disaster happened is believed to be
that a Prohibition was to be announced in the
United States in a year. This led to a certain
corporation stocking up on _________ beyond the
capacity of the container, and the container giving
way due to undue strain. Some claim they can
smell the __________ even today. What disaster?

4
Molasses
The Boston Molasses Disaster

5
From a young age, British illustrator Martin Hadford was obsessed with
drawing large crowds of stick figures on a single page. As his drawing talent
progressed, so did the complexity of his scenes.
In the mid-1980s, Walker Books was looking for new ideas for children’s
books. They gave Hadford a call, and a few brainstorming sessions later, he
came up with the idea for _________________, now a successful franchise in
over 26 languages and with sales of over 75 million books.
FITB.

6
Asked about the reason for a certain feature of Apple Products, Steve Jobs
said, "But ever since I've had cancer I've been thinking about it more, and I
find myself believing a bit more. Maybe that's because I want to believe in an
afterlife, that when you die it doesn't just all disappear. The wisdom you've
accumulated, somehow it just lives on."
What feature did his beliefs lead to?

6
The lack of an on/off switch in early Apple
devices.

7
Google - Catull BQ
Twitter - Pico Alphabet
Facebook - Klavika
Vimeo - Black Rose
TMZ - Amelia
Flickr - Frutiger
What are these?

7
Fonts used in the respective companies’ logos

8
The term “X economy” originally described South Korea, Singapore,
Hong Kong and Taiwan. All economies that experience rapid
increase in living standard, measured by productivity are called “X
economies”.
Y ________ is a way to monopolize the market, by trying to attract all
the customers in a bid to make competitors face long term losses
and leave the market. With a monopoly, huge profits can be made.
This is illegal in many countries.
Also, Xs are Ys of calves.
Identify X and Y_________.

8
X-Tiger, Tiger Economy
Y______ is Predatory Pricing
Tigers are predators of calves, aren’t they?

9
The founder of this company owned by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G
Capital was inspired by a slogan on a shoe store in New York City
which said “21 styles”. He then coined his own slogan.
This company owns Complan, Glucon C, Glucon D and Mycil.
Which company? Also, give the slogan inspired by “21 styles”.
Part points will be awarded.

10
A statesman and member of the Roman Catholic Church, he was the
effective ruler, and opposed the Habsburg dynasty of Austria,
creating tensions between himself and Queen Anne of Austria.
Despite being a Catholic, he associated with Protestant countries in the
Thirty Year War.
Recall his letter in a masterpiece, “It is by my order and for the good of
France that the bearer of this letter has done what he has done.”
Who?

10
Armand Jean du Plessis
OR
Cardinal Richelieu

2
Grotesques and _______s are not the same thing!
Grotesques include all decorative architectural creatures,
whether or not they have functioning drainage
capabilities. ________s, however, always have drainage
conduits.
St. Bernard once disapprovingly wrote, "What is the
meaning of these unclean monkeys, these savage lions,
and monstrous creatures?"

3
The play X was banned from the stage in Britain
during the period 1810-1820. This was
because the ruling monarch at the time, King
George III, suffered from bouts of insanity. X
contains a mad King as a key character.

There are 3 suits named bamboo, myriads and circles. There are
4 winds namely east, west, north and south. There are red,
green and white dragons. There are 4 flowers, namely plum,
orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo. There are 4 seasons
namely spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Four melds and a pair of eyes are a necessary but not sufficient
condition to go __________.
Fill in the blank.
4

5
The first image in the next slide has been
inspired by X and the second image depicts X.
Give a very specific answer for X.

5
Goddess Nike, from Roman Mythology

6
The following slide shows a UNESCO World
Heritage site
Which city and what?
No part points.

6
St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow (RUS)

7
The following is a work in the Louvre. Name the
central entity in the painting, which seems to
get its name from an inspiring legend of a girl
wearing a Phyrgian cap.
I want the name only and not what it stands for.
Also name the painter. Part points available.

Stars in the ocean
Laughter
Merry-go-rounds
Riding down hills on my big brother’s bike
Icy cold water right out of a well
Tunes that I hear on an old carousel
Rejects for what?

1
The original Sheffield rules did not include this
rule and this meant that teams would position
“kick-throughs” permanently situated at the
opponent goal. The name of the rule comes
from the player being ___ ___ ____ if he was
standing in front of the ball. Which rule?

2
There has been a huge spike in birds falling
down while flying in the Mojave Desert. These
birds have been seen to have burn marks on
them. They are called ‘streamers’ because
they ignite in mid-air. What causes these birds
to catch fire?

3
Greenpeace recently conducted an
environment awareness
campaign in Peru where they
put up this message. The
Peruvian Government wishes to
prosecute them because they
allegedly trespassed a historical
site in Peru. Which site?

4
Shown in the next slide are 2 maps of Argentina.
Have a good look and give the name of the
region in green.

4
Mesopotamia, land between the 2 rivers

5
The FIFA 100 was a list of “100 Greatest living
footballers” unveiled by Pele in 2004.
Name the lone Scot on the list, one of the first
“player-managers” in the Premier League,
referred to as King _______ by fans.

6
They are:
i)Number
ii)Number in space
iii)Number in time
iv)Number in space and time
Give 1 word or name all four for a point.

6
Quadrivium
Arithmetic, Geometry, Music,Astronomy

7
X is a popular song introduced in the Alfred Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too
Much. The three verses of the song progress through the life of the narrator and
each asks "What will I be?" or "What lies ahead?" The chorus repeats the answer:
__________________.
Interestingly, the song’ title is itself grammatically incorrect, and has no linguistic basis
whatsoever. The popularity of the song, though, has ensured that the title phrase
is used around the world. The song is also regularly sung at English football
matches when a team is progressing to the next round of a competition that will
ultimately lead them to Wembley Stadium.
What song?

7
Que Sera Sera (Whatever will be, will be.)

8
This game company was originally named Syzygy, after a phenomenon
that occurs during solar and lunar eclipses, causing powerful tides
on earth and moonquakes.
On learning that the name had already been taken by a roofing
company, it was decided to take the company’s name from the
Chinese game Go’s word for check.
What company?

9
X was a club-like object composed of 2 wooden slats. When striking a person,
it produced a loud smacking noise, though very little force transferred to the
person being struck.
This allowed actors to hit each other with exaggerated audible effects, but
minimal physical damage.
A certain style of acting was named after this object, as it mirrors the
exaggerations the object was used for.
What was this object called?

10
The Windows estimated time dialog box.

Buzzer Quiz Finals

1
X has been imprisoned because of his critical
stance towards democracy and human rights.
He is currently under constant surveillance.
His works are shown in the next slide. X?

2
This strap has been recently
launched by X. It costs
roughly $300, but has to be
used with X’s Timewalker
Urban Speed, which costs
around $4500. X?

3
Fill in the blanked out
portion with the name
of a drink.

4
Once upon a night-time dreary, as I web-surfed, red-eyed, weary,
I resisted strange and lurid websites of hot girls galore,
But my curiosity grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
I gave in and clicked the link to see what waited there in store.
And with the clicking, came the ticking, of the page that was no more
Quoth the server, "__________".
Fill in the blanks.

5
It is widely believed that depictions of this particular practice in
popular culture arose from sailors travelling above and below
decks frequently. The harsh sunlight above and the stifling
darkness below would require that a sailor spend valuable time
(especially during battle), waiting for his eyes to adjust. To solve
this, sailors adopted a certain practice that later was copied in
pop culture.
What practice?

6
In this year’s Hopman Cup, Eugenie Bouchard
beat Serena Williams 6-2 6-1. This was her
first ever win over Williams. After her win she
said about Williams, “Maybe she needed
another ______”, in reference to an incident
involving Williams a week ago. FITB/What
incident?

6
Coffee
Serena Williams ordered a coffee mid-match in
the Hopman Cup.

7
X is the title and main character of an American
comic strip created by cartoonist Dik Browne.
X’s national bath on the July 14 is a time of
national rejoicing and celebrations. X’s first
mate, contrary to normal _____s, is short,
skinny, chinless, awkward and naïve weakling.
X?

8
The Magdeburg hemispheres were used by Otto von Guericke in
1656 to demonstrate the air pump that he had invented, and the
concept of atmospheric pressure. Thirty horses, in two teams of
fifteen, could not separate the hemispheres until the valve was
opened to equalize the air pressure.
This experiment inspired the logos of 2 companies.
Give me any one.

9
This is a wardrobe which
is made to resemble a
certain monument,
which is currently in
pristine condition yet.
Which building?

10
The Mediterranean Games
are played and hosted by
the countries bordering the
Mediterranean Sea. So far,
all host cities but one have
been on the Mediterranean
coast.Which host city on
the Atlantic coast is the
exception?

1
The lyrics of X are about marines in battle bonding
together, fighting their fears and trying to figure out
how to survive. A song by Billy Joel, he said that he
“wasn't trying to make a comment on the war, but
writing about the soldier as a person”. It was
released as part of the album Nylon Curtain in 1982.
It was called as possibly "the ultimate pop-music
epitaph to the Vietnam War."

2
New York City is known for having excellent tap water, and
it also tastes very good. This may be because of the
microscopic shrimp, which eat the mosquito larvae.
Upon this discovery, a certain category of people
requested to have the water purified because they were
not allowed to consume this water. Which category of
people? Why were they not allowed to drink this water?

2
Jews, since this water wouldn’t be kosher.

3
They are of three kinds: common, hairy legged and white
winged. They are natives of the New World, mainly Mexico
and the Amazon basin. Their saliva contains a glycoprotein,
which functions as an anticoagulant.
The glycoprotein is named after the antagonist of an 1897 novel,
seemingly aristocratic, who lives in a decaying castle in the
Carpathian mountains.
Name the glycoprotein or the character it’s named after.

3
Draculin, after Count Dracula. The creatures are
vampire bats.

4
The photos below show images of “people walking on clouds”. This marvelous optical
illusion takes
place when a thin
layer of water covers
the surface, making
the place a giant
mirror. It contains the
world’s largest
deposits of lithium.
Which place?

4
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.
It is the world’s largest salt flat.

5
She is the virgin Goddess of the home and family in Roman
Mythology. She is symbolized by the fire in the hearth.
The name is used for a bright object in the night sky, with two
massive craters, one of which occupies 95% of the mean
diameter. The tallest mountain in the solar system is present
here.
What name?

5
Vesta/ 4-Vesta
The mountain is present on the Rhea Silvia
crater

6
Hosted by Miss America, Nina Davuluri, and Hari Sreenivasan, a PBS
news anchor, it saw over 20,000 people in attendance. However,
over 30,000 people had applied to attend, prompting the tickets
(all free) to be allotted via a lottery.
What?

6
Narendra Modi’s Madison Square Park
reception.

7
Fill in the first and last blanks.

8
This particular brand’s name arose from the
perceived divide between the baby boomer
generation, and Generation X.
What clothing brand are we talking about?

9
These works of art are drawn on hand made khadi cloth. They were used centuries ago by
wandering storytellers. They focused more on day to day activities of fishermen, cobblers,
and fruit gatherers as well as legends and mythology.
Pictures follow.

They have now been given a GI(Geographical Indication) tag. Give a specific 3
word name of the artwork, named after a village in Telangana.

10
Connect: What do all these feature? (Specific One word)
i) Wellington Arch, London vi)Semperoper, Dresden
ii)Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow vii)Grand Theatre, Warsaw
iii)Parc du Cinquantenaire, Brussels viii)Brunswick Palace, Germany
iv)Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen ix) Siegestor, Munich
v)Grand Palais, Paris x) Progress of the State, Minnesota

10
Quadriga.
Shown is the
Brandenburg Gate
Quadriga.

Saarang 2015 Buzzer Quiz (Prelims+Finals)

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