1. Travel & Living
1. It was started by refugees who came to India in 19th Century from Yazd. The traditional business
of these people; all such places are located at prime spots, as Hindus wouldn’t use the land
where 3 streets met. Each such place has a list of 10 prohibitions; some dealing with gambling,
combing, outside food and talking to the cashier. What is being talked about?
[Answer – Irani Cafés]
2. A word of uncertain origin, some say that the noun ____ entered French during the Russian
occupation of Paris in 1815. Russian soldiers would often ask the French to serve food quickly,
shouting the Russian word that evolved into the neologism '_____'. However, it’s also said to
come from a word for liqueur coffee; an aperitif served in many a _____ today. FITB.
[Answer – Bistro]
3. X restaurants have their origins in the 8 monasteries started by Sri Madhavacharya . They were
organized all over India by Shivali Brahmins. X is the name of a small South Indian town known
for its Krishna Temple. Sometimes X is taken to indicate ‘vegetarian’ as well. X?
[Answer – Udupi Hotels]
4. ‘The Knowledge’ is one of the toughest tests in the world. The test is conducted in London every
year since 1865, changing very little over time. There are two levels to the test – Green and
Yellow badges. It usually takes twelve appearances to clear, after preparing for 3 years. What is
‘The Knowledge’ held for? (Civil Services exam : IAS : : ‘The Knowledge’ : ____ )
[Answer – London Cabdrivers]
5. Corona, Double Corona, Robusto, Churchill, Torpedo, Half Corona, Rothschild, Lonsdale, Toro
and President are all variants of ?
[Answer – Cigars]
6. In order to reach X, the venue for “The 2010 Summit on the Summit” conference on global
water crisis, you could take any of 6 routes, with Machame being the most scenic and Rongai,
being the easiest. Maybe the local Chagga people could’ve helped you en route to X.
Hemingway had written a short story mirroring his failed attempt to reach it. X?
[Answer – Mt. Kilimanjaro]
7. In the Libyan uprising, this place took on a similar significance to Tahrir Square in Egypt. Because
of its symbolic importance, its name has always changed along with political circumstances.
First, it was the "Italy Square". Then "Italy" became "Independence". Now, since Arab Spring, it
has become "Martyrs Square". What was its name in Gaddafi’s regime?
[Answer – Green Square (Mirroring Gaddafi’s popular Green political ideology]

2. 8. A statue of X in anger holding her anklet in one hand in the scene from the Tamil epic
Silappadigaram, when she demands justice, is an important landmark near Chennai’s Marina
Beach. It was removed in 2001, due to a mystic counsel to Jayalalitha, that the statue’s presence
would cost her the CM post. X?
[Answer Kannagi]
9. ID the person who is very famous as this photo, a popular meme before the internet.
[Answer – Andre the Giant]
10. “A hot curry with chillies, peppers, onion and tomatoes. Marinated meat is fried in oil and
spices to produce a dry, thick sauce. Dating from the time of the Mughals, ____ comes from the
Bengali Jhal meaning spicy.” Voted the most popular dish in Indian restaurants in the UK, FITB.
[Answer – Jalfrezi]
11. X is mostly used to refer to the subject of a favorite hobby among many scholars in the 18th
century. It has become idiomatic as something that is critical to decryption or translation of a
tough problem; like the dynamic binary translator in Mac OSX or a Language Learning brand. X?
[Answer – Rosetta]
12. Charles X was an American businessman and attorney. In 1885, on a visit to South Dakota, while
returning to Harney Peak Tin Co., at Pine Camp he neared a (now) famous summit. X turned to
his guide and asked its name. He jestingly replied: "Never had any, but we'll call the damn thing
X."; the name stuck. X eventually became famous after a landmark 1927 project. The peak?
[Answer – Mt. Rushmore]
13. “You can actually let Christian symbols fall apart, but if you do this with an Arab symbol, you
would have a fatwa, and that’s what the state of this world is. So I left it out of the script. My co-
writer said - I will not have a fatwa on my head because of a film.” Which structure being talked
about here, by the director of a popular 2009 apocalyptic film?
[Answer – Kaaba at Mecca]

3. 14. Originally named îles Gilbert, after the British Captain Thomas Gilbert, the island is now known
as ____. Although in the native Gilbertese tongue they called the land differently, they chose the
name ____, which is the Gilbertese Rendition of 'Gilberts', which weirdly doesn't sound very
close to Gilbert at all. It’s the first the first country to celebrate New Year in the world. FITB.
[Answer – Kiribati]
15. ‘Pour coffee liqueur and vodka into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice. Float fresh cream on
top. Stir slowly and drink the Caucasian like a dude.’ This cocktail was once considered passé,
often likened to alcoholic milkshake. It now enjoys iconic status after the release of a 1998
movie which also flopped then achieved cult status. ID the cocktail.
[Answer – White Russian]
16. This sculpture by American artist Jim Sanborn comprises large copper plates, granite & quartz.
The subjects of the 4 encrypted messages on it are heavily discussed. Three have been solved,
and the last is one of the most famous unsolved codes in the world. Where can you find this?
[Answer – CIA Headquarters, Langley]
17. X is a genre, a design aesthetic, a philosophy. It was first a literary subgenre of sci-fi and fantasy,
then spreading to other arts. It re-imagines the technological aspects of the 19th century, with
current innovations as Victorians might’ve imagined them. Many visual and musical artists and
architects have been described as X.
[Answer – Steampunk]
18. Beginning on April 10 2012, the city expects a huge boom in tourists till April 14th, coinciding
with the unveiling of ‘X Belfast’, a monument to Belfast’s maritime heritage, on the site of the
former Harland and Wolff shipyard. It tells the story of X, which is the cause of this boom. X?
[Answer – RMS Titanic]
19. Much before truck drivers’ patronage, refugees from Pakistan had carried the Sanjha chulha to
India. Thus, the X was born simultaneously at anonymous towns where refugee families were
scattered, in order to cater to their culinary needs. If 3rd went South to North, X went N to S.
[Answer – The Punjabi Dhaba]
20. Originally built for the Brussels World Fair 1958, it has 9 steel spheres connected to form the
unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. With escalators connecting each sphere
and a very fast lift (by 1958 standards), name this monument designed by Andre Waterkeyn.
[Answer – Atomium]
21. Unveiled in 1980, X is a granite monument in the USA with names of eight languages along the
edges (English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese and Russian). It’s inscribed ‘ten
rules’ have evoked polarized views – both as Pillars of Rationality, and as Satanic guidelines. X?
[Answer – The Georgia Guidestones]

4. 22. Previously located on the site of the Empire State Building, this hotel was the first to start Room
Service facilities. Its name evoked the famous song & expression “Meet Me at the Hyphen”. Also
referenced in numerous songs (e.g. Cole Porter’s ‘you’re on Top’) & movies (Serendipity etc). ID.
[Answer – Waldorf=Astoria]
23. X is a salad consisting mainly of shredded cabbage which is dressed with curd, mayonnaise,
carrots and other vegetables. The name arose from the Dutch ‘koolsalad’ meaning cabbage
salad. Though other versions are region-specific, only the KFC version enjoys global fame. X?
[Answer – Coleslaw]
24. The tendency of still wine from the _____ region to sparkle was noted historically since the
middle ages. X, a French monk, had the task of finding a way to stop the bubbles in order to
prevent bottles from exploding. This led to seeing bubbles as a plus, and thus ___ grew in fame.
Moët & Chandon named their iconic ____ brand as X ; now a globally popular name. X?
[Answer – Dom Perignon]
25. X is a famous English chef and TV personality. With a repertoire of Italian and Spanish dishes, he
has hosted many food porn TV shows; the most famous of them being ‘The Naked Chef’. In
2010, he was awarded the $100,000 TED Prize awarded to help winners realize a chosen wish to
change the world. X?
[Answer – Jamie Oliver]