11 April, 2007

Windmill, whiplash and hammer

Question by BV Harish Kumar

What are these some of the types of: up and down, circular swing (windmill), Drunk style, half-circle, figure eight, side to side, whiplash, Two up, Two down, all-out, tandem, hammer, full body?

10 April, 2007

Punching the fuhrer

Question by BV Harish Kumar

He was rejected by the US Army because of the poor constitution of his body in the early 1940s but later managed to enlist himself for a top-secret Defense project Operation Rebirth. He was also seen punching Hitler in the nose in March 1941. Who?

09 April, 2007

Short, easy to pronounce, unique

Question by Amit Varma

In 1888, while registering X as a trademark, this person explained his criteria for choosing a brandname: “it must be short, you can not mispronounce it, and it could not resemble anything or be associated with anything but X.” Who are we talking about, and what is X?

06 April, 2007

Bullish and bearish

Question by BV Harish Kumar

The _____ ______ theory states that _____ ______s are short in times when general consumer confidence and excitement is high, meaning the markets are bullish. In contrast, the theory says _____ ______s are long in times of fear and general gloom, indicating that things are bearish. Fill in the blanks.

03 April, 2007

Between Shevchenko and Del Vecchio

Question by BV Harish Kumar

Andrei Shevchenko - 2005; _______ - 2006; Gennaro Del Vecchio - 2007.

Fill in the blank.

02 April, 2007

Not Polish at all

Question by BV Harish Kumar

The Polish media and the foreign ministry of Poland have voiced objections to the use of the word ‘Polish’ with reference to something, and the Polish government has even made a request for a name change to UNESCO regarding the same. What are we talking about?

30 March, 2007

And then there were eleven

Question by BV Harish Kumar

What is common to these Amitabh movies: Amar Akbar Anthony, Deewar, Besharam, Ganga Jamuna Saraswati, Giraftaar, Inquilab, Khoon Pasina, Lal Badshah, Mard, Muqaddar ka Sikandar, Suhaag?

(This is an exhaustive list.)

29 March, 2007

The four states of the soul

Question by BV Harish Kumar

"Its length is 96 times the breadth of the four fingers of a man, which is believed to be his height. Each of the four fingers represents one of the four states that the soul of a man experiences: waking, dreaming, dreamless sleep and knowledge of the absolute.”

What are we talking about?

28 March, 2007

Three short - two long - three short

Question by Sumant Srivathsan

If “three short - three long - three short” (. . . - - - . . .) is Morse code for SOS, where would you be most likely to come across “three short - two long - three short”?

27 March, 2007

Who is Goldy?

Question by BV Harish Kumar

Goldy studied at the elite Bishop Cotton School, Shimla from 1963-73 after which he graduated from St Stephens College in Delhi. He then inherited a successful family transport business. Why has he been in the news lately?

26 March, 2007

A beauty therapist invited to India

Question by BV Harish Kumar

"Dear ____ _____, Once your current commitments are over, may we invite you to experience the healing nature of India. ... As a beauty therapist, you may be especially interested in visiting one of the many spas where you can cleanse your stresses away, enjoy yoga in the land that invented it and experience Ayurvedic healing, which promotes positive health and natural beauty. ... We look forward to welcoming you soon—yours sincerely, India Tourism Office.”

Fill in the blanks.

23 March, 2007

Bringing the house down

Question by J Ramanand

The word “sockdolager” means “a decisive blow or remark” or even “something exceptional or outstanding”. Though not very popular these days, it used to be in vogue in the 19th century, appearing in popular culture. An example of usage from a play was: “Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal—you sockdologizing old man-trap”, which apparently would bring the house down. This word has a curious place in American history. Why?

21 March, 2007

Defuse that charge!

Question by Shamanth Rao

What is the term for a naval vessel used to detect and defuse explosive charges?

(Hint—Your computer might have one.)

19 March, 2007

Blackbeard foiled!

Question by J Ramanand

Edward Teach, a.k.a Blackbeard, punished a mutinous crew by banishing them on a tiny island in the Caribbean Sea. Each crewman was given a cutlass and some drink to survive the snake infested place. He also hoped that they would eventually get rid of each other. But returning after a month, he found that fifteen of them still survived. What is this tale supposed to be the origin of?

16 March, 2007

A life-sized monster?

Question by Amit Varma

"X was a phenomenon at that time, and what was I? I was a non-entity. The press turned me into a life-sized monster. I have a fourth degree black belt in martial arts and all these plus points became my negative points.

I would go to hospital regularly to see X. For 3, 4 years, I did not get any work. I had a wife to support and was jobless. I did Z grade films at that time. I struggled for six years after that accident and only after that did people start coming forward to work with me.”

Whose words are these?

15 March, 2007

Fancy some Portugese bread?

Question by Shamanth Rao

What item of local Maharashtrian food gets its name from the Portuguese word for bread?

14 March, 2007

Henry Holroyd and Australian cricket

Question by J Ramanand

Henry Holroyd, a British nobleman, was a keen cricketer and sponsor of the game who arranged for tours of Australia by England in the late 1800s, and in 1891-92, he even made a donation of a large sum of 150 pounds to the New South Wales Cricket Association for development of cricket in Australia. He was known as Viscount Pevensey, but later became the 3rd Earl of what?

13 March, 2007

Newton under a tree

Question by Shamanth Rao

Which company’s original logo comprised of an image of Newton sitting under a tree?

12 March, 2007

A buxom blonde named Belinda

Question by J Ramanand

In 1906 American humorist Gelett Burgess published a book called “Are you a bromide?” It became a success. At a publishing association dinner the next year, as was custom, his publisher handed out copies of the book with a special jacket with “the picture of a damsel.” Burgess himself drew the buxom blonde for the cover and gave it the name “Miss Belinda _____”. What did this add to the publishing world?

09 March, 2007

Got some spiced ham?

Question by Shamanth Rao

This term originally comes from ‘spiced ham’ and referred to the surplus quantities of spiced ham that were circulated in England during WWII. Now, because this was bland and tasteless nobody really wanted it, yet people were forced to buy it because the Government was diverting all other food to the war effort, due to which it was parodied by Monty Python. Many years later, this term got its present meaning in another field. Which term?

08 March, 2007

An asteroid and a dinosaur

Question by Akshat Kumar

One among the many guest stars on The Simpsons, she is among the wealthiest women in the world. She has an asteroid and a newly discovered dinosaur named after her. Much before she became as popular as she is now, she was asked by her publisher to cut short her name and use a pseudonym, as young boys may not want to buy a book written by a female author. She has even used Newt Scamander and Kennilworthy Wisp as pseudonyms for her books. Identify her.

07 March, 2007

Not about Vietnam

Question by Amit Varma

“My film is not about Vietnam, it is Vietnam.”

Who, about what?

06 March, 2007

An address in Assam

Question by J Ramanand

If you want to send him a letter, you could send it to No. 3898 in Ward 51, Sarumataria, Dispur, Near Guwahati, Assam. Whose address is this?

05 March, 2007

One out of seven

Question by Ajay Bhat

Fill in the missing link:

1. __________
2. Colaba
3. Little Colaba or Old Woman’s Island
4. Mahim
5. Mazagaon
6. Parel
7. Worli

02 March, 2007

If Daffy Duck got a little Kwazy…

Question by J Ramanand

Larry Ewing was responsible for its design which has once been described as “if Daffy Duck got a little kwazy on a cruise to Antartica and had a wild one-night stand with some native fowl”. What?

01 March, 2007

Tom and Clouseau

Question by Akshat Kumar

X has been replaced by Tom (of Tom and Jerry fame), a crocodile and an animated Inspector Clouseau followed by the characteristic Pink Panther, among others. Who is X?

28 February, 2007

Monkey’s tail? Snail?

Question by Shamanth Rao

This symbol is known in different languages as monkey’s tail, pickled herring, elephant’s trunk, pig’s tail, ear and snail. Which symbol?

27 February, 2007

HUG-ME

Question by J Ramanand

"The Ground Beneath Her Feet” is a Salman Rushdie novel that begins in Bombay and moves on to the US via England. Two of the central characters, Vina Apsara and Umeed, speak in a quaint argot which they call “HUG-ME”, for it compensated their lack of proficiency of any single language. What was it an acronym for? 

26 February, 2007

Cupid’s Disease

Question by Amit Varma

Which disease, which was once called “The Great Imitator” because it was often confused with other ailments, is also known as “Cupid’s Disease”?

23 February, 2007

No property, no will

Question by BV Harish Kumar

In his year of death, the Nobel committee rejected a flood of nominations for ‘X’ citing, among other reasons, the practical one that he belonged to no organization and left no property and wrote no will: Who will the money go to? The prize was withheld that year as no suitable candidate was found available. Who is ‘X’?