FRESHIE GEN QUIZ FINALS

ROUND 1

Two questions per team

Infinite bounce

Infinite pounce
Question 1

Last year, Google searches for ‘How far is 2 km’

and ‘How far is 5 km’ spiked in the US. What
phenomenon caused this?
Question 1

Pokemon GO
Question 2

What are these different terms for - Chip stick, Bug, Geek
chip, Geek stick, Geek whistle, Jump stick, Jumper, Key,
Keyfob, Magic key, Magic Stick, Nerd bling, Nerd necklace,
Nerd stick, Peg, Snib, Stick, Thumb key, Travel stick?
Question 2

Pen Drive
Question 3

The Mughals were obsessed with architectural symmetry.

The arch in the centre in most Mughal buildings is larger and
more prominent than the arches on either side. And the sets
of arches on either side comprise the ‘______’ and its ‘______’:
they match each other. What are they called, referring to their
harmonious symmetry, literally fitting the event here?
Question 3
Question 3

The ‘Sawaal’ and the ‘Jawaab’.

Question 4
B is an American YouTuber and singer who was violently thrust in the media’s
spotlight when the music video for her 2011 single X went viral on YouTube. Only 13
at the time, she was hailed as the next Justin Bieber as some, but the vast majority
reacted extremely negatively, some going so far as to declare X ‘the worst song ever’.
Yet despite the ensuing bullying, B eventually came out the right side. Her notoriety
led to her appearing in a music video alongside Katy Perry, a much better received
sequel song in 2013, reality television opportunities, a fairly successful YouTube
career, and even getting to host YouTube Rewind after X was revealed as YouTube’s
No.1 video of 2011. Recently, B even appeared on Buzzfeed to tell the entire story of
X. Identify B and X.
Question 4
B = Rebecca Black
X = Friday
Question 5
The Russian team for the London Olympics in 1908 happened
to arrive late by 10 days. The reason for their delayed arrival
is absurd. All the Russian sports minister had to say in
response was to blame Julius Caesar for the shameful
moment. What was the actual reason for the delay?
Question 5
Until 1918, the Russians followed the Julian Calendar, unlike the
rest of the world that followed the contemporary Gregorian
calendar. The Julian calendar failed to account for the leap years and
soon fell out with celestial phenomena. Pope Gregory XIII in 1583
proposed an overhaul of the calendar that didn’t go down too well
with Russia as they had to skip ten days in order for the calendar to
be consistent. These ten days came back to haunt them in 1908.
Question 6

The 1975 Cricket World Cup match between Sri Lanka

and Australia was interrupted by a section of Sri Lankan
supporters who conducted a protest on the pitch refusing
to let the game go on. What are they protesting here?
Question 6
Question 6

The absence of Tamil players in the Sri Lankan team.

 Question 7

Late last year a popular microblogging site banned NSFW content as a response
to increasing reports of child pornography. However this announcement was
very poorly received, and the implementation was even worse, as shown below.
In fact, in one instance the site marked one of its own notices are explicit. ID this
website, which initially built a reputation for its posts that were LGBTQ+
friendly, sex-positive, pro-mental health, and fandom-based.
Question 7
Question 8
This comic-book and television franchise was created by the Belgian
cartoonist Peyo in 1958. When at a meal Peyo forgot the word "salt"
and asked his friend (in French) to pass the schtroumpf. His friend
jokingly replied: "Here’s the Schtroumpf—when you are done
schtroumpfing, schtroumpf it back..." and the two spent the rest of
that weekend speaking in "schtroumpf language". Name this
comic-book/television/movie franchise.
Question 8
Question 9

The Samsung helpline number is 1800 40 7267864.

What do the last 7 digits signify?
Question 9

Samsung -7267864 are the number keys you would

have to press to type Samsung on a standard phone
keypad
Question 10

The USS Diablo was rechristened PNS ‘Z’ when it joined the
Pakistan Navy as their first submarine. It was hailed as the Pakistan
Navy’s flagship vessel until it sunk during the Indo-Pak war of 1971.
While the exact cause for the submarine sinking near India’s eastern
coast is debated, it featured prominently in two fairly recent films
with Z being a part of the title of one of the films. Identify Z and
name the two films.
Question 10

Ghazi ; The Ghazi Attack and Raazi

Question 11

The logo of this company featuring three overlapping ellipses

is an illustration of thread passing through a needle eye so as
to represent the company’s past - the company used to
produce weaving machines. Also individual parts of the logo
also spell out the letters of the company’s name. Which
company am I talking about?
Question 11

Toyota
Question 12

A _____ is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval

ships, It is where the admiral’s flag is flown. Used more loosely, it is
the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest,
most heavily armed, or best known. Over the years, the term ______
has become a metaphor used in industries such as broadcasting,
automobiles, technology, airlines, and retail to refer to their highest
profile or most expensive products and locations. Fill in the blank.
Question 12

Flagship
Question 13

Ytterby is a small quarrying suburb of Stockholm in

Sweden with a population of a few hundred miners.
However, the name of the village is famous throughout
the world and it holds a particular record that no other
place in the world does. What is Ytterby's claim to fame?
Question 13

The town provides its name to the most number of elements in the
Periodic Table.
Yttrium, Ytterbium, Terbium and Erbium directly, Gadolinium (found
there, named after
Johan Gadolin), Scandium (after Scandinavia) and Holmium
(Stockholm) indirectly.
Question 14

The first edition of the International __ Atlas which defined

ten types of __, described the Xth type (X is a number) as the
cumulonimbus which rises to 10 km (6.2 miles), the highest a
___ can be. This is the etymology of which phrase?
Question 14

On Cloud Nine
Question 15

The computer HAL’s name in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ is

rumoured to be derived from the name of a famous company
due a coincidental relationship between the name of the
company and the name HAL. What company and what is the
relation?
Question 15

IBM - Subtract one letter from each letter of IBM and you get
HAL.
Question 16

Metallica became the first and only band to achieve this

feat when they performed a concert called “Freeze ‘Em
All” at X. Identify X or name the feat achieved by them.
Question 16

Antarctica - they became the first band to perform on all

continents.
ROUND 2: Steal

One question per team

Pounce, no bounce
+10/-20
Question 1

What is Panasonic trying to sell

in this iconic advert?
Question 1

What is Panasonic trying to sell

in this iconic advert?

Hair-dryer!
Question 2

Following is an excerpt from a retelling by J. C. Gorham of Lewis

Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is part of a series of books
which was "selected specially for young people's reading, and told in
simple language for youngest readers". Each book of the series
differs from the original in a particular way. Identify this simple
difference.
Question 2
Gorham's retelling:
“There seemed to be no use to wait by the small door, so she went back to the stand with the hope
that she might find a key to one of the large doors, or may-be a book of rules that would teach her
to grow small. This time she found a small bot-tle on it ("which I am sure was not here just now,"
said Al-ice), and tied round the neck of the bot-tle was a tag with the words "DRINK ME" printed on
it.”

Carroll's original:
“There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went back to the table, half hoping
she might find another key on it, or at any rate a book of rules for shutting people up like
telescopes: this time she found a little bottle on it, ("which certainly was not here before," said
Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words "DRINK ME" beautifully
printed on it in large letters.”
Question 2

The retelling was written in words of one syllable as far as possible.

Question 3
Darren Criss is known for his portrayal Blaine Anderson on Glee and winning an
Emmy for his portrayal of Andrew Cunanan in the award-winning The Assassination
of Gianni Versace, among other accolades. He recently made news when he
announced he was co-writing and executive-producing a new musical comedy series
Royalties, with longtime collaborators Nick and Matt Lang, fellow co-founders of
YouTube sensation Team Starkid. Team Starkid earned a name in its own right for
musicals- evident by the fact that they managed to over half a million dollars in a
recent Kickstarter campaign - more than 350% of their initial goal.
But Starkid’s humble beginning was as a college theatre group making a musical
parody of what?
Question 3
Harry Potter - their first musical was titled ‘A Very Potter Musical’.
Question 4
How are we more familiar with this photo of Jerry West,
a famous American basketball player in the 20th century?
Question 4
Question 5

During World War 2, the British regiments in Germany were facing a

striking defeat in Germany. In order to delay the eventual defeat, the
British Army introduced a bizarre new feature in all their military
tanks which they claimed would boost the morale of the tank
crewmen and allow them to pose a sustained attack. The feature
reflects a classic British tradition and till date, remains in every
British tank. What feature is this?
Question 5

A kettle to brew tea at any time, even during war, which they
believed would refresh the crewmen without having to get
out of the tank.
Question 6

Every station on the Indian Railways network is associated with a

station code. For example, CST for Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus,
Mumbai.
What is Kanyakumari’s 4-letter Indian Railways station code? The
code also happens to be a common English word, which in this case
doesn’t appear to be a coincidence.
Question 6

CAPE
Question 7

X used to work as a cook’s helper on a steamer, a chef, a dish washer,

a pastry boy among various other menial jobs. However, later on in
life, he rose to become a representative of the Socialist party of
France in 1920 and a founding member of the Parti Communiste
Francais. As his stature increased, he adopted a name meaning “He
who has been enlightened”. How do we better know X? (Hint: A
major Asian metropolis was renamed after him)
Question 7

Ho Chi Minh
Question 8

This drink is believed to get its name because it was made for the
workers in a steel works in Glasgow. These workers were dying from
the large amounts of beer drunk to quench their thirst from the heat
of the steel works and this was introduced as an alternative by A.G.
Barr. It is now quite popular in Scotland as ‘Scotland’s other national
drink’, after whiskey. Identify the drink.
Question 8

Irn Bru, loosely translates as Iron Brew.

ROUND 3

Two questions per team.

Infinite bounce.

Infinite pounce.
Question 1
In computational complexity and optimization the ________ theorem
is a result that states that for certain types of mathematical
problems, the computational cost of finding a solution, averaged
over all problems in the class, is the same for any solution method.
There is, therefore, no solution that can be classified as a shortcut.
The name of the theorem is also a popular adage popularized by
American bars in the 20th century, and is also widely used in
economic discussions. Fill in the blank.
Question 1

‘No Free Lunch’

Question 2

Given below is a photograph of X, whose family faced persecution

during the Holocaust. Both X and her sibling, Y had one practise in
common which eventually led to Y becoming one of the most
recognisable faces of the Holocaust. A slightly similar image of Y
became incredibly famous as it is consider to personify the
Holocaust in some ways. Identify X and Y.
Question 2

Margot and Anne Frank

Question 3
A slightly edited excerpt from a 2013 post from Merriam-Webster’s website reads:
“F. Scott Fitzgerald did it. So did James Joyce, W. M. Thackeray, Charlotte Brontë and others of their ilk.
But the fact that Charles Dickens used [it the same way] doesn't stop readers from complaining about our
definition. [...] Some people choose not to leave such comments on our site (perhaps they do not wish to
hurt our feelings), but still want to make their displeasure clear. These people comment on other forums,
as in this sample taken from a recent comment thread on dailykos.com:

❏ Our poor language, I’m figuratively about to hurl.

❏ Agreed! How you you [sic] agree to accept (I’m looking at you craven dictionary editors!) a word
that means the exact opposite? It’s unfathomably stupid.
❏ Never trust anything but the OED…
It's fine to trust the OED, but you might want to check their definition first.”
Question 3
The above is from an article written explaining why a certain word
was redefined. What was this word and what’s the current accepted
definition (according to dictionaries, anyway)? (Hints in the italicised
words).
Question 3

Literally. Merriam Webster now defines literally in two senses:

1) in a literal sense or manner : actually
2) in effect : virtually
Question 4
Spurred by a large number of reported sightings in early 2009,
Scottish scientists set out on a mission to find the Loch Ness
monster. Having investigated the bottom of the historic lake,
they discovered something that startled the world. Aghast at the
discovery, Scotland shut the vicinity of the Loch to tourists for an
extended period of time claiming the discovery was a sign of
extended disregard tourists had for Scottish heritage. What, in
particular, was the startling finding?
Question 4

Over 100,000 golf balls were found at the lake bed, with the zinc
content of the balls posing a threat to the habitats in the
surroundings.
Question 5
One probable theory of the origin of this phrase is as follows.
In the Second World War where trucks were often run on
petrol when there was a shortage of diesel. Petrol, being
highly unstable in nature, would cause the trucks to explode
at the slightest accident. Hence a warning would be painted
on the back containing a variation of this phrase. Identify the
phrase.
Question 5
Horn OK Please
Question 6

For the small island of Tuvalu, X is a very profitable business

with almost 10% of its revenue coming from it. In 2009,
GoDaddy advised against dealing in X for the reason that
Tuvalu has alarming rise in sea level and in a few years, it could
be on the verge of sinking. Identify X.
Question 6

The .tv domain.

Question 7

X was the only candidate who stood against Dr. APJ Abdul
Kalam in the presidential elections with the support of the
communist parties. She was the minister of woman affairs in
Subhash Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind government. Known for
her exploits during World War II, she was popularly called
‘Captain X’. Identify X.
Question 7

Lakshmi Sahgal
Question 8

Variations of ‘X’ (derived from the italian word for “to trip”)
includes A’s X, B’s X, Evan’s X, Latvian X (also known as Greco
counter__X__) and Englund X. Usually done by the starting
player, it can also be performed by the opponent which is
sometimes called ‘counter’ X. Even though B’s X is very famous, it
actually is not a true X. What is X?
Question 8

Gambits (as in ‘chess gambits’)

 Question 9

A ‘Stolpersteine’ was German artist Gunter Demnig’s way of commemorating individuals at exactly
the last place of residency or work which was freely chosen by the person before they fell victim to
Nazi terror. Literally meaning "stumbling stone", it’s a 10x10 cm concrete cube bearing a brass plate
inscribed with the name and life dates of victims, and today has been expanded by many others to
become the world’s largest decentralized memorial. Stolpersteine are not placed prominently, but are
rather discovered by chance, only recognizable when passing by at close distance. In contrast to
central memorial places (which can be easily avoided or bypassed) Stolpersteine represent a much
deeper intrusion of memory into everyday life.
The choice of a provocative term and lack of defense against potential desecration of these memorials
was deliberate. It was done to keep alive the memory of a particular act of desecration by the Nazi
Germany against Jews. What was this practice?
Question 9

When Jewish cemeteries were destroyed throughout Nazi

Germany, the gravestones were often repurposed as sidewalk
paving stones. The desecration of the memory of the dead was
implicitly intended, as people had to walk on the gravestones and
tread on the inscriptions. The Stolpersteine provocatively hint at
this act of desecration, as they lack any kind of defense against new
acts of shame.
Question 10

At the age of 16, he gave up his homeland’s citizenship and spent

quite some time not being the citizen of any country. The FBI
always had an eye on him as he had relations with some Socialist
groups. They even suggested the embassy to not give him an
American citizenship. Who is this notorious person?
Question 10

Albert Einstein
Question 11
The males of the common side-blotched lizard from the Pacific
Northwest come in 3 colours and follow a peculiar mating strategy.
Orange-throated males (strongest) fight the blue-throated for mates.
The blues can’t compete against the oranges but form strong pair
bonds and defend against the yellows. The yellows are smallest, but
coloured like the orange females and can approach them for mating.
What is this strategy called by the biologists who study this creature?
Question 11
‘Rock Paper Scissors’
Question 12
The following is a (since contested) origin of a phrase X: “This
expression, first recorded in 1771, is thought to allude to the
cat-o'-nine-tails, or “cat,” a whip with nine lashes widely used to
punish offenders in the British military.”
‘X’ is used to mean a very little space or cramped quarters. What
is X?
Question 12
No room to swing a cat.
Question 13
The Hollywood singer George Murphy was elected to the US Senate in 1965.
Unable to resist his cravings, he used to carry great amounts of X to the Senate
and stuff it under his back-row desk. Often, other senators would also join in,
some even from opposition parties, as Murphy was happy to share his stock of
X with them. Although this made Murphy popular, he couldn’t win another
term to office. However this tradition was maintained and till date, one of the
tables in the Senate has large quantities of X under it. In 1985, Senator Gorton
labelled this a great American tradition and called for X to be supplied by local
businesses from his home state. Identify X.
Question 13
Candy!
Question 14
The Nizams of Calcutta originally used iron skewers to make
their kebabs as the skewers were easy to maintain and lasted a
lifetime. As they grew in popularity, the long heavy skewers
started becoming a problem; far more were required than could
be handled. In 1964 they replaced them with something, which
lends its name to certain dishes. What name/dishes?
Question 14

Kathi/Kathi roll. The heavy metal skewers were replaced by

sticks, hence the name ‘Kathi’.
Question 15

On what occasion did

Mercedes-Benz release
this iconic advertisement?
Question 15

Mother’s Day
Question 16

If GPS is turned off or unavailable on

your Android phone and you fire up
Google Maps, it sometimes puts the
location marker in this unexpected
place. Why?
Question 16

It’s the place where the Equator and

Prime Meridian meet, the ‘origin’ of the
Terrestrial Coordinate System.