Q.U.I.Z.(Finals) Gursheel Singh

Rounds

Dry-Clockwise(12) Category(6) Dry-AntiClockwise(15)

Rules

Flat Scoring +10 Infinite Bounce

In the movie Rasputin and the Princess (image next slide) it was insinuated that the character Princess Natasha was raped by Rasputin. The real life Princess Irina who was supposedly the inspiration behind the character sued MGM. After seeing the film twice, the jury agreed that the princess had been defamed.

Princess Irina and her husband were reportedly awarded $127,373 in damages by the English Court of Appeal in 1934 and $1 million in an out-of-court settlement with MGM.

As a preventive measure against further lawsuits, the film was taken out of distribution for decades.

Movies were never the same again. Why?

Answer

First use of the disclaimer.

Which painting, one of the best recognized works of Japanese art is the inspiration behind the logo?

Answer

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

A Mr. Harvey first spotted this face on a postcard pinned to the office bulletin board of a friend who was an editor. "It was a face that didn't have a care in the world, except mischief," recalled Mr. Harvey. The face would become an essential feature of something that Mr. Harvey started. Initially it was named ‘Mel Haney' but soon it would acquire its more famous name that continues till date. Id.

Answer

Mad Magazine's Mr. Neuman

The author of this seminal book had difficulty picking a title. among those she considered was 'man against nature'.however her agent disliked it and suggested she take the heading of one of the chapters as the title of the book.the book was at the fifth position in the modern library's 100 best non fiction books list. id

Answer

Silent Spring/Rachel Carson

Hydrox was a landmark product by a small company named Sunshine. It had terrific sales for the first few years till a much larger company created a rip-off. Using their vastly superior, already established distribution channels and massive advertising budgets they created a huge market for their product. As a result the rip-off product became so popular that people started calling Hydrox its imitation. The company manufacturing Hydrox eventually shut down.

The rip-off product is now one the most famous of its kind and a cultural icon. Identify.

Answer

During the 1850s a certain Gustave Dore came up with a suggestion for Hachette, the leading French publisher. He wanted to the Hachette to republish Dante's Inferno with some additions by him. Because of the additions the book would cost a 100 Francs. Hachette turned him down, saying no one would pay that much. Doré said he would pay for the entire edition. Hachette was listed as the publisher but was actually just the printer. But again Hachette cautioned Doré to only have a hundred copies bound, so as not to waste all that money on binding. The book came out in 1861.

A couple weeks later, Doré received a famous telegram from Louis Hachette. "Success! Come quickly! I am an ass!“ Far from selling 100 copies, there have now been over 200 editions of that book.

What did Gustave add to the book?

Answer

He illustrated it.

What was Freud describing when in 1925 he wrote “where such men love they have no desire, and where they desire they cannot love,” specifically, he noticed the difficulty some men had in having sexual relations with their wives because they differentiated women because of this. Those men were aroused by prostitutes and mistresses but not their wives because, paradoxically, they respected the latter too much to be sexually attracted to them.

Answer

Madonna-Whore Complex

The founding members of the Parents Music Resource Center(PMRC), founded in 1985 included Tipper Gore, wife of Al Gore; Susan Baker, wife of the Treasury Secretary; Pam Howar, wife of a Washington realtor; and Sally Nevius, wife of a former Washington City Council Chairman. They were known as the "Washington wives" – a reference to their husbands‘ connections with government in the Washington, D.C. area.

According to many, Tipper's involvement in the committee was a misguided attempt to get attention for her husband's presidential aspirations.

What is PMRC's most important contribution to the world, which is also referred to as the ‘Tipper Sticker’?

Answer

The PMRC was founded stated goal of increasing parental control over the access of children to music deemed to be violent, have drug use or be sexual via labeling albums with Parental Advisory stickers.

Harnik Food Industries was founded by a certain Mr. N. L. Hingorani over four decades ago. Their range of products includes instant food mixes and desserts and a wide range of confectionery products.

Their product X is one of its kind in India and remains by far the company's most famous one. Id the product, which had a rather sincere following among Indian kids.

Answer

Phantom Cigarettes

Koni's real name is Connie Paulgrave. She was born to Henrietta Bush and Alkor Ross Bradford in Russia. There are rumours, although they are unconfirmed, that Koni was named after Condoleeza Rice. She's very close to Vladimir Putin and answering a question at a press conference, Putin stated : "In tough situations I try to consult with Koni, who gives me good advice."

What is so special about Koni?

Answer

She's Putin Black Labrador

Why were the following two changes made in Kubrick's masterpiece Dr. Strangelove or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb

Major Kong's comment about the survival kit was originally

"A fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff". "Dallas" was overdubbed with "Vegas". Kong still mouths the word "Dallas".

Additionally, the climactic pie-fight scene was cancelled which included General Turgidson exclaiming, "Gentlemen! Our gallant young president has been struck down!" after Muffley takes a pie in the face.

Answer

Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas

When in November 1963, the film was just weeks from its scheduled premiere. The release was delayed until late January 1964 as it was felt that the public was in no mood for such a film any sooner, and one line ("a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff") was dubbed to become "in Vegas".While the pie fight was filmed but cut, this line, no matter how coincidental, would have hit too close to home to be used.

A was a fan of B's work. However there was one thing about one of B's characters that A didn't like. He wrote a letter voicing his opinion. Greatly impressed by A's expertise, B created a new character named after A. Id

A B

Answer

A-Geoffrey Boothroyd B-Ian FlemingBoothroyd was a Glasgow based firearms expert and was unhappy with Bond carrying a .25 Beretta pistol stating in his letter to Fleming that

“‘I don’t think Bond was going to last very long if he used a 25 Beretta pistol...”

Greatly impressed by Boothroyd's knowledge Fleming created the character Major Boothroyd, who first appeared in the sixth novel Dr. No as Bond’s service armorer. This character became “Q” in the Bond films,who was played by Ben Wishaw in Skyfall (2012).

Choose your pick.

Weird Stuff 1

Weird Stuff 2

Indian Doctors 1

Indian Doctors 2

Paul McCartney's Quotes-1

Paul McCartney's Quotes-2

Weird Stuff-1

Mike, the chicken was to suffer the same fate as most of his brothers. However starting from September 10, 1945 he became a world famous celebrity and remained so since his death 18 months later. In fact on May 16-17, 2014 the 16th Annual Festival celebrating his life will be held in Colarado. Various events at the festival include a 5k run, bike poker ride, disc golf tournament, wing and peep eating contests etc.

As was expected Mike earned his owner almost $4500 back in 1946($48,000 in 2010 dollars).

What happened on September 10, 1945 to Mike?

back

Weird Stuff 2

An ordinary rural fence in New Zealand is now a rather controversial tourist attraction thanks to something that started at some point between Christmas and New Year in 1999.

People started to attach X to the fence. Initially they were just four in number but as the news spread, more of X began to appear. Each time the local authorities cleared the fence of Xs, the news spread, leading to more additions subsequently. Sometime in April, 2006 locals tried to create a world record of the longest X chain. Though the world record was never created, almost $10,000 were raised in charity.

What am I talking about?

The Cardrona Bra Fence back

Indian Doctors-1

Dr Y. M. Bhende was born on 27 September 1911. He graduated from Grant Medical College, Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1935 and did his MD in General Medicine in 1940. Subsequently, he completed his MD in Pathology from Seth G.S. Medical College and K.E.M. Hospital in 1945. He joined Seth G.S. Medical College as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology in 1945 and went to England in 1947 on a Nuffield Research Fellowship.In 1952, Dr Bhende along with his co-authors published a paper in The Lancet proposing something that hogged the limelight in a 2012 Bollywood movie. Though many must have thought it fictional, it does exist. What?

Bombay Blood Group/Kahaani back

Indian Doctors-2

Methaqualone was first synthesized in India in 1951 by Indra Kishore Kacker and Syed Hussain Zaheer, for use as an antimalarial drug. It however became highly successful as a sedative in the US in 1972 when it was sold under the brand name X. Though regarded by its manufacturers as an excellent sleeping pill, the brand got into a lot of trouble because of its illegal use as a recreational drug. The company chairman even remarked, "X accounted for less than 2% of our sales but created 98% of our headaches". Id.

Quaaludes back

Paul McCartney's Quotes-1

“Perhaps the rumor started because I haven't been much in the press lately. I have done enough press for a lifetime, and I don't have anything to say these days. I am happy to be with my family and I will work when I work. I was switched on for ten years and I never switched off. Now I am switching off whenever I can. I would rather be a little less famous these days”

What rumor is being referred to here?

back●

● The rumor that Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike.

● In September 1969, American college students published articles claiming that clues to McCartney's death could be found among the lyrics and artwork of the Beatles' recordings. Clue-hunting proved infectious and within a few weeks had become an international phenomenon

Paul McCartney's Quotes-2

"You know what doesn't feel very good, is going on tour and paying to sing all my songs. Every time I sing Hey Jude, I've got to pay someone."

What was he talking about? Id the 'someone'

back ● ●

● The fact that Michael Jackson owned rights to almost 200 of The Beatles’ songs.

●

● In 1985 Jackson, then flush with Thriller cash, beat out Sir Paul (and Yoko Ono, John Lennon's widow) in a bid to snatch up the rights to 200 of the Fab Four's iconic hits.

●

Horace Fletcher(image nxt slide) believed that his method, 'fletcherizing' as it was popularly known, would increase the amount of strength a person could have while actually decreasing the amount of food consumed. He promoted his theories for decades on lecture circuits, and became a millionaire. Upton Sinclair, Henry James and John D. Rockefeller were among those who gave his ideas a try. Henry James and Mark Twain were visitors to his palazzo in Venice.

At the age of 58 he took part in a series of vigorous tests and endurance versus Yale University athletes The tests claim that Fletcher outperformed these Yale athletes in all events and that they were very impressed with his athletic ability at his old age.

What is 'fletcherizing'?

Answer

Masticating or chewing your food 32 times before swallowing.

He believed, "Nature will castigate those who don't masticate."

Every year Cuba receives a cheque of $4,085 made out to the “Treasurer General of the Republic", a position that ceased to exist after Cuba's 1959 revolution. Cuba has only once cashed a check in almost half a century and then only by mistake. In a television interview years ago, Fidel Castro showed the checks stuffed into a desk drawer in his office.

Who sends these cheques and why?

Answer

United States/Guantanamo BayThe United States, as a rent for the controversial Guantanamo naval base which houses the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The U.S. government maintains that cashing that check constituted an official validation of the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903 that stipulates that Cuba lease to the United States specific lands in Cuba, most notably the land that surrounds Guantánamo Bay, for the purpose of coaling and naval stations, for as long as necessary.

Inspired by the works of M C Fischer, a Dutch graphic artist, the logo of this rather controversial brand shows a man morphing into a bird. according to the parent company of this brand , it allows you to experience your life in totality and in harmony with nature and hence the logo.

Id.

Answer

What have I blanked out? What is the significance of the 'tragedy'?

Answer

Jury Trials were abolished in India.

The man in the image shown was a Swedish backstroke and freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

In 1936 he was a member of the Swedish relay team which finished eight in the 4×200 metre freestyle relay competition. In the 100 metre backstroke event he was eliminated in the semi-finals. He won the 400 m and 1500 m freestyle events at 1938 European Swimming Championships.

Id

Answer

Bjorn Borg

The American free skiing jackets for the Sochi Olympics are made by North Star. On the insides of these jackets there is a yellow star cut out from a very special fabric. What is the specialty of the fabric in question?

Answer

The fabric is made from the gear that has been used on Mount Everest

The .mkv extension is used for video files that adhere to the Matroska Multimedia Container file format. It is a container format that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio or subtitle tracks in one file. It is intended to serve as a universal format for storing common multimedia content, like movies or TV shows. Matroska is similar in concept to other containers like AVI, MP4, or Advanced Systems Format (ASF), but is entirely open in specification, with implementations consisting mostly ofopen source software.

The name Matroska is derived from Matryoshka which refers to something in Russian that is famous the world over. The name was chosen mainly because the format was a container format and as Wikipedia puts it “to appeal to "open" source computer programmers, who need concepts like container and nesting.”

What does Matryoshka refer to?

Answer

Matroyshka Dolls/Russian Dolls

The product though made by different manufacturers across the world is reassuringly uniform in size so much so that some have suggested that its dimensions should be made a standard unit. It is rectangular in shape roughly 3.1cm by 6.1cm and 5mm in depth. There are ten holes on the product.

First introduced in 1910 in the United Kingdom, these were introduced in India in 1955. Though many believe that the name is taken from a French -Italian Dynasty, it is in fact a combination of names of two cities. One, where it was invented and the other where the inventor was born.

It was the first of its kind product on the moon.

Answer

Bourbon Biscuit

The 2003 IgNobel Peace Prize winner was a certain Lal Bihari(Image next slide) from India. His (mis)adventure started in 1975 when he applied for a bank loan. It took him two decades to set things straight and in the process, Mr. Bihari, a poorly educated merchant, found his mission in life: championing the cause of those suffering a similar fate. The organisation he formed for the same purpose now has around 20k members.

His plight was depicted in a 2011 Bollywood movie.

Funda please.

Answer

He was officially dead between 1975 and 1994. His uncle had bribed a government official to register him as dead, so that he would get the ownership of Bihari's ancestral land at Khalilabad, which measured less than an acre.

You'll find this character X in the web application Y. Y was launched in 2005. Although it was only in 2007 when the 'new' version of Y was launched that X became visible. X's name comes from the fact that he's shaped like a clothes peg. He's personified in several of Y's demo videos and has also appeared at official events of Y.

Though traditionally yellow, he dresses up for special occasions and events, like donning a Santa Claus hat for Christmas. Id

Answer

The story about X's existence in Y's life is largely apocryphal. Some say that Y never had anyone like X in his life while some say that X was a rather important part in Y's life. According to one anecdote X helped Y solve two theorems in a single morning. In a more famous anecdote X is seen as being responsible for destroying, some of Y's works however, those who believe that X never existed say that it was simply a gust of wind that caused the accident. What am I talking about?

Answer

Diamond and Newton

Last year Gareth Bale wanted to patent his famous "heart celebration"(image next slide). He filed a trademark application with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) which would’ve allowed him to use his logo on goods made from precious metals and leather as well as on clothing, footwear and headgear.Sadly for him, the gesture may already have been patented by a tech company for one of its products. The tech company patented the gesture in 2011, though it is unlikely that the patent will actually be implemented. Which tech company and which product?

Google Glass

The Independent are reporting that Google protected the finger gesture back in 2011 as they intend it to function as their equivalent to Facebook’s like feature – which will see users wearing the Google Glass augmented reality headset to perform the gesture, thus forming a heart around a real-life object they wish to “I Like”

Answer

The under construction website of this cafe(X) in Pakistan has this as the first line.

"They said "bring a gora franchisee and scene on hai".

This is an obvious reference to chains like Starbucks. The logo of the cafe(image next slide) is deceptively similar to the Starbucks logo and so is the name. They even claim that Starbucks wouldn't stand a chance if it were to open a cafe in Pakistan. Id

Answer

Whose bust was Nitish Kumar bowing to in the picture?

The bust is located in a village named Motihari in Bihar.

Answer

Mr. Tushar read an article in the Times of India in 1995 that something (X) which rightfully belongs to his family was stored in a bank vault in the Bank of Orissa and had been there for 49 years then.

The bank managers and government contested for months that it was a hoax, blocking his access to the vault. After months of court hearings and a hunger strike the Supreme Court finally ruled that X was authentic, and authorized their release to the Mr. Tushar’s family.

What am I referring to ?

Answer

●X-Gandhiji’s Ashes.

X-Gandhiji’s Ashes. Mr. Tushar is Tushar Gandhi, the leader’s

great-grandson. When Gandhiji died, his ashes were kept

in urns and sent all over India to be immersed. One urn however was kept in the Bank of Orissa branch and was forgotten.

Extra Questions

The lady and the gentleman (images next slide)were seated next to each other on a flight from Paris to London in 1981. The lady had just placed her straw bag in the overhead compartment of her seat, but the contents fell to the floor, leaving her to scramble to replace the contents. The lady then complained about something and sat down. This incident inspired the man to create something and three years later he came up with the product which was named after the lady. What am I talking about?

Answer

Hermes Birkin Bag