Dry Trivia

1. “During WWII, in Nazi occupied France, a group of Jewish - American soldiers were chosen to spread fear throughout the Third Reich. They were to do this by scalping and brutally killing whatever Nazi scumbag got in their way. This group of people were known as the __________”

Fill in the blank.


2. He said this was his year… to win 3 percent. Even after teaming up with Obama girl, he could manage only 0.56 percent. Who?

3. X addressing Y on Y’s 90th birthday in November 2002:
You're right, we did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again.

Identify X & Y and hence give the context.


Answers:
1. The blank is Basterds or Inglourious Basterds (the upcoming Tarantino movie)
2. Ralph Nader
3. X - Ben S. Bernanke
Y - Milton Friedman
The context is the Great Depression.

Scores:
Nakki - 3
Pankaj & happy jack - 2

The Dots Quiz

Quiz held on 31st October 2007. I'm giving only a select few of the questions as most of the quiz was mega-connects and some of those were Audio/Visual questions.

1. This 3000 year old, 1214 Carat stone is worth about Rs. 135 Crores. It was stolen by Alexander The Great when he came to India but Chandragupta Maurya took it alongwith Seleucus' daughter in marriage. For a thousand years nobody knew where this stone was when one day during the Mughal rule it was found in a garden. In 1765 the Portuguese seized it from the Mughals. Then the English took it away in 1796, Colonel Columbus' great grandfather got it from the English under the command of Tipu Sultan. Then again it vanished for a 100 years after which it was discovered to in the private museum of an American millionaire from where it fell into the hands of Sir John Locksley. Finally it was retrieved by Agent 3694, Division 4, Section 2 of CBI.

2. Identify the Publishing house.
3. Started by Sundaram Karivardhan many Indian drivers such as Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandok, Armaan Ebrahim etc. started off their careers with ________________.


4. On a small island in the Indian ocean was located the laboratory of Dr John, an exceptional scientist, who gave him (____X____) supernatural powers and a dress that protected him on earth and in space. His friend, Lambu, who had turned shorter (barely nine inches) after drinking a potion made by Dr John, assists him in his space operations. Dr John, ___X____ and Lambu along with Dorf rocket (that works on its own), master computers Bharat and Antarikshak, safeguard earth from aliens and attacks from other galaxies, neighboring hostile planets etc. Name the comic book superhero.

The butterfly flitting from flower to flower ever remains mine...

1. X is naturally right-handed, but became a left-handed batsman at a young age so that he could use his brother’s equipment. He has been dubbed ‘Lord Snooty’ by The Wisden Cricketer, which goes on to remark: “At the crease it was sometimes uncertain whether his partner was a batsman or a batman being dispatched to take his discarded sweater to the pavilion or carry his kit bag. But mutiny was afoot among the lower orders. In one match X, after reaching his fifty, raised his bat to the home balcony, only to find it deserted.”

Identify X.

2. Y used to sell AGA cooking stoves door to door in Scotland. His success at this marked him out to his employer, who asked him to write an instruction manual, The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA cooker, for the other salesmen. After Y’s brother showed this manual to his company, they offered Y a position as an account executive. This is how Y began his career. Identify Y.

3. The Economist : Big Mac :: Commonwealth Securities : ?

4. This dot-com, founded in 2002, has the tag-line ‘Insanely Different’. Its office is headquartered at Mumbai and is named ‘Inzane Labs’. Its logo is Monsieur Green. Identify.

5. ‘Roy and Raghavan’ is a firm of lawyers committed to working with integrity and dedication and against injustice in all its forms. The firm headed by Aparna Roy and Vivek Raghavan has also nurtured the talents of Maggie and Naina. Roy & Raghavan despite their reputation are finding it difficult to make ends meet because of the poor economic profile of its clients. Where would you find this law firm?

6. Z began his career as a teacher in a government school but later joined the Indian army at the lowest rank of sepoy. He fought in the 62 and 65 wars, and was taken a prisoner of war in the latter. His seniors in the Army named him the Rock of Gibraltar, and he soon rose to the rank of Colonel. He wears a bandhej turban and is rumoured to keep an Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary by his side at all times. Identify Z.

7. They’ve not been too successful outside of their core competency, where they claim to be the World’s No. 1. In the 90’s, they came out with a brand of tea, called ‘Editor’s Choice’, which like their track record, failed. Their banking arm too was taken over. Their TV arm provides TV for information, music, entertainment & sports. Who?

9. "Tom, the playing field is being leveled" – Who said this to whom?

10. According to Steve Jobs, The Whole Earth Catalog was a conceptual forerunner of a Web search engine. What was the farewell message placed in the last page of the last issue of the catalog?

“Eternal Salvation -- Or triple your money back”

1. "I am the living death, the Memorial Day on wheels. I am your Yankee Doodle Dandy, your John Wayne come home, your Fourth of July firecracker exploding in the grave." Whose words?

Ron Kovic

2. Bill Brown by __________ __________, Australia v India, Sydney,

Ian Redpath by Charlie Griffith, Australia v West Indies, Adelaide,

Derek Randall by Ewen Chatfield, England v New Zealand, Christchurch,

Sikander Bakht by Alan Hurst, Pakistan v Australia, Perth,

Fill in the blanks and name the mode of dismissal.

Vinoo Mankad, Mode of Dismissal: Mankaded

3. Connect: Anil Ambani, Rahul Dravid, Shahrukh Khan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Orkut.

MTV Youth Icons

4. This writer studied architecture at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. In the 1980s she did an assignment with the Italian edition of Vogue magazine, adorning Rajasthani jewelry. Identify.

Arundhati Roy

5. “On October 4, 2003, at 5 pm, about 60 people gathered outside Crossroads in Central Mumbai. First, they gesticulated wildly like stockbrokers and yelled into their phones: 'Reliance ek hazaar becho!' and 'Khareedo, khareedo!' Then they broke into an impromptu garba dance, and at a shouted signal, they froze and held their pose for exactly half a minute. A voice yelled, 'Move!' and each of the 60 odd men and women unfurled their umbrellas and melted away into the crowd.” What am I describing here?

India's first flash mob

6. Whose epitaph reads thus–

Nature, and nature's laws, lay hid in night,

God said, let __________ be! And all was light.

Isaac Newton

7. “And so at last the beast fell and the unbelievers rejoiced. But all was not lost, for from the ash rose a great bird. The bird gazed down upon the unbelievers and cast fire and thunder upon them. For the beast had been reborn with its strength renewed, and the followers of Mammon cowered in horror.”

- from X, 7:15

Where would you find these lines and what is the significance of 7:15?

about:mozilla (The Book of Mozilla), the 7:15 chapter and verse notation refers to July 15, 2003, the day when America Online shut down its Netscape browser division and the Mozilla Foundation was launched.

9. This company, a financial dot-com, launched an incredible celebrity endorsement campaign featuring three of the most expensive celebrities in the country with the signature line – ‘Life Means More’. The campaign was used as a cover for a meticulously planned financial scam. Which company?

HomeTrade

10. X is a community of nature worshippers. X, when translated, means 29, because the founder Guru Jambheshwar laid down 29 principles to be followed by the sect. Before his death, he stated that the animal Y was his manifestation after death and should be conserved. What are X and Y?

Bishnoi, black buck

All Your Base Are Belong To Us

Quiz Club Meet for 5th September

1. In the Ramayana, Lord Rama's mother, Queen Kaushalya is the daughter of the King of Koshal. Which modern day place would be Koshal?
Orissa

2. All episodes of Season 5 of this sitcom were named after Led Zeppelin songs and subsequent seasons followed the same pattern. For the sixth season it was The Who, for the seventh it was The Rolling Stones and for the eighth season it was Queen. Which sitcom is this?
That 70s Show

3. This engineer from IIT had a perfect score of 1600 in his SAT, has an IQ of 240 and also has some super-powers such as Telekinesis and the ability to make other people explode, which he learned while at IIT. Who?
Asok

4. Simply name the song.
They won't take you to the vet
You're obviously not their favorite pet
You may not be a bed of roses
And you're no friend to those with noses
Smelly Cat

5. This company was founded by Justin Frankel in 1997 and bought over by AOL in 1999. The company's name is a parody of Microsoft, deriving from the fact that ____ is smaller than micro. The company's mascot is Mike the Llama. Which company is this?
Nullsoft

6. Unix was created by Dennis Ritchie alongwith __________. ______________ is also the author of B the precursor to C. Apart from Unix he also came up with Multics and the Plan 9 Operating Systems. He wrote the Bon Programming Language and came up with UTF-8 Character encoding. He is currently a fellow at Entrisphere Inc. Name this legend in computer science.
Ken Thompson

7. Who is the author of The Phantom of Manhattan a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera? He is more famous for writing modern day thrillers. In his own words - "I had done mercenaries, assassins, Nazis, murders, terrorists, special forces soldiers, fighter pilots, you name it, and I got to think, could I actually write about the human heart?"
Frederick Forsyth

8. Kambei Shimada, Katsushiro Okamoto, Gorobei Katayama, Shichiroji, Kyuzo, Heihachi Hayashida and Kikuchiyo are collectively better known as?
The Seven Samurai

9. There is a school for ‘Gifted Youngsters’ at 1407 Graymalkin Lane in Salem Center, a city in Westchester County, New York though every human only sees it as the Westchester chapter of Jehovah’s Witnesses. What are the students collectively known as?
X-Men

10. This band was initially called Starfish before they settled on their current name which was taken from a friend who had grown tired of the name as it was 'too depressing'.
Coldplay

11. Who is "Chief Internet Evangelist" at Google? He is more famous for a paper he published in 1974 alongwith Robert E. Kahn.
Vinton Cerf

12. A Kiss Before Dying, a novel by Ira Levin has been adapted to film three times; a 1956 version starring Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward and a 1991 version starring Matt Dillon and Sean Young. Name the third movie.
Baazigar

13. This character was originally drawn by Derek Riggs but has had various incarnations drawn by Melvyn Grant and is also featured in a first-person shooter video game, Ed Hunter. Which character is this?
Eddie - Iron Maiden's Mascot

14. _____A_____ movie theatres were known for continuous programs of B movies, usually consisting of a double feature where two films were shown back-to-back. Since most large urban areas in the US did not have drive-ins, these movies were shown in older theaters that formerly featured burlesque shows which included "bump and _____" dancing, leading to the term _____A_____. Just give me A.
Grindhouse

15. Ye Mahan Drushya hain,
Chal raha Manushya hain,
Ashru, Sweth, Rakta se Latpat Latpat Latpat…
________, ________, ________. Fill in the blanks.
Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath

Quiz Meet: 19th April 2007

The following quiz was conducted by Rohan.

This is my last quiz at NSIT. Kinda like my last dance. Feeling quite senti rite now, but wont launch into a speech or etc. Just wanted to make this last quiz a bit special. I hope my effort hasn’t gone vain.

The questions at first glance are almost impossible to answer. So I am providing a master key to crack all the questions.

The Key is given after the questions, so that u can have a first glance without it.

1. Some people suggested "policium" as a possible name for Darmstadtium before the element was named. The reason is related to a particular application of its atomic number. I want the no. and the reason.

2. In a 1998 preface to his book "Books I Have Loved", his personal dentist stated that he dictated three books while undergoing dental treatment under the influence of nitrous oxide (laughing gas): Glimpses of a Golden Childhood, Notes of a Madman, and Books I Have Loved. This led to widespread allegations that he was addicted to nitrous oxide gas. In addition, on the American CBS television show 60 Minutes, his former secretary claimed that he took sixty milligrams of Valium every day, again causing an uproar.

3. In Aldous Huxley's novel Island, _____ is a type of mental stimulant which the residents of the island of Pala use to reach a state of temporary trance.

4. The necropolis of _________ is located on the West Bank at Thebes, Egypt. The necropolis is based around a hill, and has five Old Kingdom tombs and over 50 tombs from the 18th and 19th dynasties.(photo below)

5. Due to its enormous popularity, during World War II, "the entire production of its U.S. plant, about a million cases a year, was reserved for military use only". Name the product.

6. This word, meaning lowlands of Scotland, was also traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole. More recent interpretations assume it refers to the dialects of south and central Scotland and Doric, a term once used to refer to Scots dialects in general, is now generally seen to refer to the Scots dialects of north east Scotland.

Both Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson used it in their works to refer to the Scots language.

7. Bible Churchmen's Missionary Society (BCMS) is an evangelical Anglican missionary society founded in 1922. They ran the Bible Churchmen's Missionary and Theological College, which later became part of Trinity College, Bristol. They are now known as ________

8. Identify the movie.

9. This is a picture of the Samadhi of a famous person in Lahore. Identify.

OK!

The key is NSIT. All the answers are connected to NSIT in some way or the other.

P + ρgh + ½ρv(^2)

1. This cricketer is 3rd on the all time list for ducks and has scored the most runs of any Test cricketer without making a century. He also does promotional work for hair-loss-recovery company Advanced Hair. He has often been the subject of parodies and jokes and has even had a number of songs written about his exploits: "Horny ______ " by Horny ______ and the Whites, which received some airplay in Australia; "The _____ _____ Song", by Kevin Bloody Wilson, "_____ _____ (There's a Brand New Aussie Legend)", by The Handsome Young Strangers, and most recently, a tribute/retirement song simply titled "______", by Dicks with Chicks.
No need to fill in the blanks. Just name the cricketer.

2. Complete the list Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, _____ ____, _____ ____. [Obviously this list is not exhaustive].

3. Rustam-i-Hind, Rustam-e-Punjab, Rustam-i-Zamana, Bharat-Kesri are all titles awarded in India for which sport?

4. John Woodcock, cricket journalist once said, "It's no use asking an Englishman to bat like _______ __________. For, it would be like expecting a greyhound to win the London Derby!" This person holds the till now unmatched record of maximum number of consecutive centuries in Test Cricket on debut. Who?

5. On February 17, 2005, Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath did something in the first ever Twenty20 international, played between Australia and New Zealand in the last over of the match which prompted New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden to produce a mock red card. This drew a large reception from the crowd, which was mostly made up of New Zealand fans. What did Glenn McGrath do?

6. On February 1, 1981 Bruce Edgar scored 102 not out which is referred to as "the most overlooked century of all time". Why?

7. This Rock Band gets its name from a rule from gully cricket. Their albums have been ______ ____ ____, Eleven, Bring It On, and their most famous single is Can’t Bowl, Can’t Throw. Name this band whose lead vocalist is Richard Chee Quee.

8. She did her schooling from Modern School, Vasant Vihar and is currently a student of Literature from Shri Venkateshwara College. She currently has a FIDE ranking of 2821 and a National Ranking of 42 and is brand ambassador for Aricent. She attracted snide comments from fellow chess players when she said, “I love clubbing, wearing skirts and dresses, and doing other things that girls do.”

9. In this list Ravi Shastri is at the top. Other prominent people in this list are Brian McMillan (100), Chaminda Vaas (200), Jacques Kallis (300), Alec Stewart (400), Hashan Tillakaratne (500), Marcus Trescothick (600), and Andrew Strauss (700). Who is the last person in this list?

10. How is Dalip Singh an officer in the Punjab state police better known as is the world of sports entertainment? He played the role of Turley a prison inmate in the movie The Longest Yard. He also starred in the title song of Pahari pop singer Suresh Sharma's album "Sawan Ko Aane Do." Some time back he was suspended from the Punjab Police for going on leave without sanction only to be reinstated within hours.

11. Once as a student, _________ nicknamed Gopu couldn't resist the urge to meet Sachin Tendulkar. Stopped by a security guard, he managed to bluff his way in, saying that Tendulkar had paid for his scholarship. Only a few years later, he would grab Sachin's wicket to earn his place in the national squad. He is an accomplished dancer and was the national break-dance champion while in the eighth grade. Name this cricketer.

12. ______A______ is a professional soccer club based in ____B______, that participates in Major League Soccer. The name refers to ____B_____ being the home of many 'stars'. The team colors are gold and green. The home jerseys are gold with a green sash and some minor black accents. Just give me A.

13. The most common dismissal in Test Cricket is ___________________ ?
[as of 4^th January 2007]

14. Law 30: Bowled, Law 31: Timed out, Law 32: Caught, Law 33: Handled the ball, Law 34: Hit the ball twice, Law 35: Hit wicket, Law 36: Leg before wicket (LBW), Law 37: Obstructing the field, Law 38: Run out, Law 39: Stumped, Law 2.9(b): _______
Only two players in Test history have ever been given out in this manner, Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene - both in the same innings of the same match playing for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in September 2001.
[This question is dedicated to KK Mukund]

The problem with sports questions is that stuff that was true once, records that were held once are broken and the question becomes outdated. Also sports trivia is not really my forte. So if there are any inconsistencies in the questions kindly do point them out.

Atomic Proportions

"If you want to go somewhere, goto is the best way to get there."

Quiz Club Meet 12th February 2007.
1. Every month an issue of this magazine is mailed, uninvited and for free, to the office of each member of the United States Congress. Which magazine is this?

2. Garfield.com (The online home of Garfield) was providing a free service via ________.com that as of 2004 has been moved to e-Garfield.com. Why?

3. This footballer was once set off by the referee in a match against Crystal Palace and on his way out kicked an abusive Crystal Palace fan. In the press conference called later he entered the room, sat down and said in a slow and deliberate manner; "When the seagulls... follow the trawler... it's because they think... sardines will be thrown... into the sea" and promptly walked off. Nike once ran ads that said – " '66 was a great year for English Football. ______ was born." He has also played the role of the French Ambassador in Elizabeth. Name this footballer.
4. Whose first words on landing on the moon were – "This is it!... I've walked a few steps!... for the first time in the history of mankind there is an EXPLORER ON THE MOON! But already I'm not alone… there's the Captain coming to join me."

5. It was first seen in an antique store, where a meek, ineffectual guy named Stanley who bought it as a gift for his girlfriend. It made him manic, uninhibited, relatively invulnerable (he could be damaged but always snapped back). His conscience disabled, Stanley went on a rampage of killing and maiming the many people who had wronged him in the past. Not surprisingly he wound up dead. What was the gift that he bought?

6. Which product was marketed as Life Is Random. Give Chance a Chance. Random is the new order. Enjoy Uncertainty.

7. In the movie Don – The Chase Begins Again there is a famous painting (which was stolen a few years back and has only recently been recovered) hanging in Don's vault. Which painting is this?

8. She was born Vickie Lynn Hogan, became Playboy's Playmate of the Year in 1993 because she was a Marilyn Monroe look-alike, landed plum roles in the movies The Hudsucker Proxy and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. Famously derided for being a gold-digger because she married a older oil billionaire – J Howard Marshall. She was involved in a lawsuit for control of his estate after his death against the rest of his kin. She finally won the lawsuit with a vote of 9-0 in her favour. Who is this person?

9. This comic strip created by Sandra Bell-Lundy in 1994 focuses on the lives of Maeve – Sales Director, Kimberly, a housewife, and Susan – whose husband Harvey is a funeral director. Which strip is this?

10. Ashley Roberts, Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Jessica Sutta, Kimberly Wyatt, and Melody Thornton together constitute ___ _______________ ______. One of their videos was ripped for the song – Paisa from Apna Sapna Money Money. Which band is this?

atomic proportions...

Quiz of 5/2/07 .along with few extra questions.

1. This movie recently won 64th Golden Globe Award as best film drama of

2006.The name of this movie is the name used in the Hebrew Bible for

the city of Babylon . Tell the name of the movie?

2. This country has seen four definitive coups in the last two decades due

to the religious tussle between Methodist church and Hindus. The last

coup in December 2006 was bloodless and was led by the military

commander of the country. Name the country?

3. At least 804 people were dead or missing in the Philippines as a result

of a very deadly typhoon which also affected parts of Vietnam and indo

china in December 2006. The same name was given to a typhoon that had

affected china in 2001. The name is originally derived from a popular

Southeast Asian fruit. What is this famous name given to the typhoon?

4. This is the most popular search engine in China accounting for 52%

share in market and consistently among the top in Alexa's internet

rankings. The specialty of this search engine is that it can locate file

formats such as MP3, WMA and SWF. It recently announced its plan to

provide service in Japanese . Name the search engine?

5. It is an English-language social networking website, popular among

college students. It was originally developed for university students,

faculty and staff, but has since expanded to include everyone, including

high school, corporate and geographic communities .Recently it was in

news for a possible sale to a very famous internet portal but talks have

not materialized till now. The site was founded by Mark Zuckerberg at

Harvard University in February 2004. Name the website?

6. He is a Bangladeshi banker and economist. He is the developer of the

concept of micro credit, (founded by Pakistani Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan ),

the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for

traditional bank loans. He is also the founder of Grameen Bank. In 2006,

he and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for their

efforts to create economic and social development from below." He has

received several other international honors, including the ITU World

Information Society Award, Ramon Magsaysay Award, the World Food

Prize and the Sydney Peace Prize. He is the author of Banker to the Poor

and a founding board member of Grameen Foundation. Name Him?

7. The famous inquiry into the death of a world celebrity with her friend

in 1997 in Paris has spurned many conspiracy theories. The inquiry was

headed by Lord Stevens and it finally concluded that there were no

suspicious circumstances and that the fatal car crash in which she died

was a 'tragic accident'. This inquiry was published on 14 december,2006.

Name this Famous operation?

8. Competing software manufacturers Microsoft and Company X held a

press conference on November 2 to announce a collaboration on

technologies for inter operation between Microsoft's Windows and X's

operating systems. The company X is nicknamed "Big Red" and it

specializes in network operating systems. Name X.

9. This American Public corporation was ordered to pay $78 million in

compensation to current and former employees for breaking labor laws in

the U.S. state of Pennsylvania by forcing its employees to work through

rest breaks and off clock. It is the world's largest retailer and second

largest corporation behind Exxon Mobil. In 2005, it was the world's

second highest-grossing corporation. Name the company?

10. This is the Jewish holiday of the Day of Atonement. It falls on the

tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, the seventh of the Religious

Calendar .The day is commemorated with a 25-hour fast and intensive

prayer. Name the holiday.

11. Stephen Robert Irwin nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", who

achieved world-wide fame from the television program The Crocodile

Hunter, an internationally-broadcast wildlife documentary series co-

hosted with his wife Terri Irwin. Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by

a variety of cartilaginous marine fishes whilst snorkeling at the Great

Barrier Reef. What is it popularly called?

12. Connect : Stanford , Yahoo and Jonathan swift .

13. She was a Canadian-born American film and television actress, best

known for her role as "Lily Munster" on the 1964-1966 CBS television

series The Munsters. Some of her famous movies include River Lady

(1948), Hotel Sahara (1951),Song of Scheherazade (1947).Her Movie

Casbah in 1948 enjoyed a very long run in madras and other parts of

India. She died on January 8, 2007 .Name the Actress.

NSIT-QC Meet: February 5, 2007

|| puissant se poussin tak ||

The prizes:

1^st prize: An all expenses paid trip to the Indian Grand Prix.

2^nd prize: Awaiting sponsor confirmation.

3^rd prize: There is no 3^rd prize.

1. Michelle is a cricketing term, most recently used by Sunil Gavaskar while congratulating Sreesanth after he won the Man of the Match Award in the 1^st South Africa-India Test. What does Michelle refer to?

2. Connect: ‘Driven to Extremes’, ‘Driving Force’, ‘The Greatest of All?’, ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ & ‘The Rise of a Genius’. (Some titles suitably modified)

3. This phrase first appeared in P. G. Wodehouse's comic novel Psmith, Journalist but is usually (and falsely) associated with another fictional character. Which phrase?

4. Which legendary sportsman was once kidnapped by Fidel Castro's goons in order to prevent him from participating in a sporting event sponsored by the Cuban government?

5. In 1782 Ned **** destroyed some stocking frames of a textile mill because of the despair and unemployment caused by the introduction of machinery which gave birth to the word X used to describe an anti- technology person. Which word?

6. "There are no small accidents on this circuit." – Who? When? Where?

7. Garv nahin to kuch nahin. This is the tagline for what?

9. El Caganer, a rather strange figure, has been a characteristic of Nativity scenes all over Catalonia for many years. No self- respecting Catalan Bethlehem scene would be complete without him. Nowadays he comes in many shapes and forms, from monks to shepherds, Barcelona or Madrid football players to famous film stars. What does this figurine depict?

10. Bernd Mayländer is a German racing driver and plays an important role in Formula One races. What exactly does he do?

11. Thanks to a toy he developed as a lecturer, who became Hungary's
richest citizen, a bona fide Communist millionaire at age 36?

12. The motorsport equivalent of the Grand Slam is the ‘Triple Crown’. Graham Hill is the only driver to have completed the ‘Triple Crown’. Which races does the Triple Crown comprise of?

13. The logo of this organization is a kite and borrows elements from the logos of its predecessor societies: the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Radio Engineers. Identify the organization.

NSIT-QC Meet on Mondays

Hello friends

NSIT Quiz Club meets are being rescheduled to Mondays (1630 hours) w.e.f. February 5, 2007.

The venue for this week's meet is Room 110, First Floor, Connecting Block.

Quiz Club Meet on 08/08/06

1. A sitter to begin with. In the world of Renaissance art, how do we better know the model who was also the wife of Florentine banker Zanobi Del Giaconda?

2. What word for a subversive agent was coined by British author John Le Carré in his 1974 novel, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy?

3. Which Indian cartoon character started life on 2 December, 1957 in a spoof on the Russian spaceship Sputnik I?

4. Parvati Patil and Padma Patil are the two characters of Indian origin in the Harry Potter series. According to J K Rowling which book served as an inspiration for these two characters?

5. As a kid, I grew my hair and tied a band around it to copy my idol John McEnroe. I was a bully at school and loved to pick a fight. I am ambidextrous (autograph and eat with my left). Who am I?

6. If Othello : Omkara, then Macbeth : ________________

7. The official website of X is GaneshaSpeaks.com. X also writes a column for the Sunday Times of India titled Ganesha Says. Identify X.

8. As a young student in England, Osama bin Laden used to support a popular English football club, and often attended their matches. Which club?

9. Chunkylover53 has an AOL member profile:
Name: _____________ _____________
Location: _____________, USA
Sex: Male
Marital Status: Married to M_____________
Hobbies & Interests: What was the question again?
Favorite Gadgets: I'm not the one on trial here!
Occupation: ____________________________
Personal Quote: This book's too hard.

10. Warrd, a carbonated drink comprising of a blend of pomegranate and trinj juice mixed with rosewater was specially created in 2004 for which annual event?

11. Sir Barry Robson, former Barcelona coach once said, “X is a country and FC Barcelona is their army.” The current Spanish Grand Prix circuit derives its name from the region X. Recently, the people of X approved a new autonomy charter with a 74% yes vote. Identify X.

12. X was rejected from the 49th Bengali Regiment because of his poor eyesight. X achieved fourth rank in the Indian Civil Services examination in 1920. Identify X.

13. Which 1965 film was based on the work The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Austrian born writer Maria Augusta Kutschera?

BAN ki Moon '06

“If the value of 'g' was one sixth its value, man could take jump over building”
- Unknown 9^th class Physics textbook

1. A style of comedy, noted for being over the top, usually involving violence. Named after a device used in its earliest incarnations, which, when someone was struck with it, made a loud noise.

2. Although several US presidents have held office for two terms, only one has done so for two non-consecutive terms. Who?

3. Who/What/When/Where/Why is 'mathcore'?

4. The familiar and very popular “AIR FM Radio” theme tune is actually lifted from another song. Whose song?

5. Johnny Got his Gun is the name of a book written by Dalton Trumbo. In 1971, he directed a movie of the same name. Who owns the rights to this movie?

6. 'Manda Chuva' in Brazil, 'Temistocle' in Italian,'SuperKater' in German and finally 'Topi Katti' in Finnish. Who/What am I talking about?

7. An extract from one of my favourite books -

“High up in the North in the land called Svithjod, there stands a rock. It is a hundred miles high and a hundred miles wide. Once every thousand years a little bird comes to the rock to sharpen its beak.

When the rock has thus been worn away, then a single day of eternity will have gone by”

Which book?

QC Meet - 5 April 2006

“Are you triskaidekaphobic?”

1. A sitter to begin with. What does T9 stand for?

2. QDOS, the predecessor of PC-DOS, was a simple 16-bit operating system written in 1980. Expand QDOS.

3. The main characters in this game X are Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde and X. In some versions of this hugely popular game, the characters are also known as Oikake, Machibuse, Kimagure and Otoboke; the name X remaining nearly the same in all versions. The great success of this game spawned a number of sequels, all retaining X somewhere in their name. The game has been voted the #1 video game of all time. Which game am I talking about?

4. “And so at last the beast fell and the unbelievers rejoiced. But all was not lost, for from the ash rose a great bird. The bird gazed down upon the unbelievers and cast fire and thunder upon them. For the beast had been reborn with its strength renewed, and the followers of Mammon cowered in horror.”
- from X, 7:15

Where would you find these lines and what is the significance of 7:15.

5. Whose epitaph reads thus - 'He lies here, somewhere.' (Translated from German)

6. This automobile X has come to be regarded with affection as a symbol of East Germany and of the fall of communism. It was called ‘the miracle car’ simply because it was a miracle that it moved. The name X means ‘satellite’ in German. Identify X.

7. What is common to the Shah Nawaz Committee, late Shri Samar Guha, the G D Khosla Commission, the Mukherjee Commission and www.indiansforaction.com?

8. I, along with Beckham and Zidane, will play a small role in the movie ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’. In my spare time, I play as a striker for FC Aubonne. I have won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year twice. Who am I?

9. During World War II, Norwegians were prohibited by the local Nazi authorities from wearing buttons depicting the king or his initials on their lapels. As an alternate symbol of national unity, they started using X, falsely believing that X had been invented by a Norwegian. What is X?

10. This company, a financial dot-com, launched an incredible celebrity endorsement campaign featuring three of the most expensive celebrities in the country with the signature line – ‘Life Means More’. The campaign was used as a cover for a meticulously planned financial scam. Which company?

11. Alex Ostrovsky recently got a brand new iMac, ten fifth-generation 60GB iPods, and $10,000 in iTunes store credit for doing what?

12. This person, a Republican Senator in the 1950s, gained notoriety for making accusations of being Soviet spies or Communist sympathizers towards people from all walks of life. His name has become an -ism to specifically describe the intense anti-Communist movement known as the ‘Red Scare’ during the 1950s. Who am I talking about?

13. What was the name of Gabbar Singh’s father in the movie ‘Sholay’?

“On a given day, a given circumstance………………… I may fly to Magrathea!”

This is the first quiz I prepared for NSIT-QC. Keep crackin'!

This has to be the easiest quiz I've ever made. Salvaged from one our Quiz Club Meets. Anyone getting less than five should give up quizzing and wait for KBC tritiya.

Easy = MC(2)

1. Ted Lawson, an engineer/inventor, built this android for United Robotronics, in an effort to assist handicapped children. It's features include superhuman strength and speed, an AC outlet under the right arm, a parallel port under the left one, and an access panel in the back. Name the android.

2. Which computer game was originally created by Minh "gooseman" Le and Jess Cliffe, as a total conversion mod of Valve Software's first-person shooter Half-Life. Gameplay consists primarily of the following scenarios Bomb Defusal, Hostage Rescue, Assassination and Escape.

3. This nearly half-million square-mile area achieved its current fame largely through the efforts of Charles Berlitz in his 1974 book _________ ___________ and its subsequent film adaptation. Cinematic depictions of this area include an episode of DuckTales (episode #31: "___________ _________ Tangle"), a season-6 The X-Files episode, simply named "__________", a 1978 episode of Scooby-Doo titled "A Creepy Tangle in ___________ __________", and a Jonny Quest adventure.

4. This very popular 1-2 player computer game created by Blitwise Productions enjoys cult status in our college. So much so that the Wikipedia entry mentions that several original cheats and strategies of ___________ were discovered by a student of NSIT. Adapted from an early Atari 2600 game, the newer version features better physics, dozens of weapons ranging from simple explosive shells to homing missiles, and the ability to move. At the moment along with the expansion packs, there are 145 different weapons total. Name the Game.

5. The three main characters in this series are voiced by Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and E.G. Daily. They live in the fictional city of Townsville, USA. They were created by Professor Utonium, by combining sugar, spice, and everything nice, when (courtesy of his assistant, Mojo Jojo) he accidentally knocked a glass of "Chemical X" into the mixture. Who?

6. This movie director was initially an ad-film maker for the FCB-Ulka ad agency before he got into movie making. His first movie though touted to be a rip-off of John Woo's "Face/Off" in the media actually turned about to be a rip-off of Denzel Washington starrer "Fallen". Some scenes of his latest movie were shot at the Golden Temple, Amritsar thus making it the first production allowed to film there in fifteen years. Name the director, his first movie and his latest movie. [Latest when the quiz was conducted]

7. Name the second book in this series - The Magician's Nephew, ____________________, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. Note titles are in chronological order not in the order of publication. _____________ was the first one to be published.

8. Where would you find Bliss, a photograph of a landscape in the Napa Valley outside Napa, California, with rolling green hills and a blue sky with stratocumulus and cirrus clouds?

9. Who lives at these three addresses respectively - 495 Grove St. Apt. 19, 495 Grove St. Apt 20, and 5 Morton St. Apt. 14, in New York.

10. Who is the author of the books The First Time (her debut novel), Love Hurts, The Shooter, and The Analyst among others. All books by her are based on people and incidents that occur in her life.

...Beethoven has alpha apples

A quiz from the NSIT Lounge archives...

The following quiz was posted by Jaideep Jagannathan (username: kurei) on the NSIT Lounge Quiz Section on November 6, 2005.

1. How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
__________________________________________!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.

These lines are taken from the poem 'Eloisa to Abelard' by Alexander Pope. The missing line is the title of a recent Jim Carrey movie. Name it.

2. The title character of this movie was a real historical person(1619-1655). Shy by nature due to his large nose,he is believed to have been a great swordsman who composed and recited poems while duelling, timing them so that the ending coincided with the death of his opponent.He wrote the earliest science fiction books on record almost 250 years before Jules Verne.

3. Which Metallica instrumental is based on a character in H.P. Lovecraft's 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth'?

4. Born in jail and raised in Oakland,California by a former member of the black panthers he was named after _____ Amaru an Incan Indian who was sentenced to death by the Spaniards.This pioneer of gangsta rap lived up to his reputation - he was arrested for sexual assault, assault and battery, was shot and wounded while recording in the studio.He was also publicly admonished by Vice President Dan Quayle. However, his significant influence on contemporary rap music cannot be ignored. He is the most successful Gangsta Rap artist till date.Name him.

5. In the movie "Jaane Bhi do Yaaron", directed by Kundan Shah, what are the first names of the two lead actors? What is significant about these names?

6. The images were drawn by artist Pamela Colman Smith, to the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite, and published by the Rider company. How do we know these illustrations better as?

7. Name -
A. The daughter of Agamemnon and Clytamnestra.
B. The son of Laius and Jocasta.

HINT: Think "Shrink".

8. What is so peculiar about Tom Hanks' and Bill Cosby's ancestry(really weird and slightly doubtful, but couldn't resist, IMDB rules!!)?

9. Who is the only Non- Beatle to have recorded an instrumental track on a Beatles Song. Also name the song.

10. Which "Female role model" of our times, when asked by a journalist how Indian women manged to keep their saris in place said - "Sheer Will-power!" ?

11. How is the Imam of the Khoja Ismaili community better known?

12. This term, coined by the historian Sir William Muir refers to several verses alleged to have been part of an early version of the Qur'an and later expunged. They are spoken of in Ibn Ishaq's biography of Prophet Muhammad, the Sirat Rasul Allah, which is believed to have been written 120-130 years after Muhammad's death.Ibn Ishaq alleges that Muhammad, deviating from the strict monotheism of Islam, spproved of the worshipping of al-Lat and al-'Uzza and Manat, who were at that time worshipped by the Meccans. Give the term.

13. This group allegedly derives its name from the sound made while cocking a gun.


Quiz update
A Corp Quiz will be held at St. Stephens on Friday, December 12, 2006. (unconfirmed)

Keep crackin'!

The first QC meet

Hello everyone!

The end-sem exams are finally over, and a lot of major DU fests are coming up. So we are in for a lot of quizzing action in the next 4-5 weeks.

This post is about the very first NSIT-QC meet. It was held on the 27th of October, 2005 at 4.30 PM. We had a decent turnout of 25-30 people on that day, and arranged ourselves in teams of two. The quiz was prepared by Rohan Sehgal (ECE-Batch of 2007). The questions are as follows:

1. Who was the only US President to be granted a patent - for iniventing a hydraulic device for lifting ships over shoals?

2. This convention was adopted in 1912, after it was used by the Titanic.

3. If you ever happen to see a picture of these two men -
Dismas and Gestas
You'll notice that there's someone in between them, who?

4. This person used to regularly admonish his friend by the phrase - "That's another fine mess you've gotten us into!". Name these two.

5. This goal keeper, made 801 appearances for his(English football) club, during which, he played in all 4 divisions.

6. What name is given to the person authorised to vote on behalf of somebody else?

7. This word is believed to have been inspired by a particularly obstrusive character in Fellini's 1960 film "La Dolce Vita". It has been suggested that Fellini chose the name because it phonetically suggested the relentless nature of the character - the 'z' sound hinted at a buzzing annoying noise.

8. This disease borrows its name from the Greek word for 'Shattered Mind'.

9. In 1938, this famous personality received a special honour for his film. He was given an Oscar and seven miniature statuettes to commend his film. Name the person and the film.

10. Who bought the first hummer manufactured for civillian use in 1992?

11. Developed in 1950 by the then-called 'Zenith Radio Corporation', this device was christened 'Lazy Bones'.

12. 'Billie Jean' was the first video by a black artist to be aired on MTV. Name the artist.

13. This word comes from a Japanese word meaning 'Squadron Leader' and first came into usage in the English language during the American ocupation of Japan following WW-II.

14. Born on 22 September 2890, who's autobiography is called 'There and back again'?

15. Which religious movement was started in 1951 by L. Ron Hubbard in Washington D.C.?

16. What is the Arabic word for someone involved in struggle?

17. If Nino Farina was the first World Driver's Champion in 1950, who was the first World Constructor's Champion?

18. Initially in 1965, this band had two names it oscillated between. One was 'Tea Set', what was the other?

19. Connect Steve Wozniak, Adam and Chris Martin.

20. The cover of this album shows the title in coloured blocks encoded with ITA2, a 5 bit alphanumeric encoding used by telegraphs. The CD booklet contains the ITA2 encoded alphabet.

HINT - This album has a hidden track called "Till Kingdom Come".

21. This famous writer travelled throughout South America, Europe and North Africa. Two years later, he returned to his homeland and began composing popular music lyrics, working with musicians like Raul Sexias. He also planned to create an 'anarchist community' called the 'The Alternate Society' for which he was imprisoned and tortured.

22. In 2002, after 10 years of his death, his wife released hi autobiography - 'Its Been A Good Life', which revealed that his death was caused by AIDS.

Keep cracking!