This Broadway musical was inspired by the classic Don Quixote, by Cervantes?
Ans: Man of La Mancha
What does the weather service call the boundary between two air masses?
Ans: A front
Name the writer/director of the film “American Graffiti”?
Ans: George Lucas
Rembrandt’s ground breaking painting The Night Watch hangs in what city?
Ans: Amsterdam
Name the statesman that declared, Peace is at hand?
Ans: Henry Kissinger
What country provides the setting for Shakespeare’s Macbeth?
Ans: Scotland
What is Canada’s largest city?
Ans: Toronto
Name the man who invented the stock ticker in 1870?
Ans: Edison
What is the name of the rock that has a black shiny appearance?
Ans: Obsidian
A perfect game in tenpin bowling is?
Ans: 12 strikes
Topic: Apple
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and he found Apple Computer. He renounced his stake in the company two weeks after it was founded. Who?
Ans: Ron Wayne
Another easy one to end with! Who directed the 1984 Apple Mac ad?
Ans: Ridley Scott
Steven Levy titled his book about the development and history of the Mac, “Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything.” Why?
Ans: It was a catch phrase that Steve Jobs used.
A supposedly biographical movie was made movie on the lives of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. What was it called?
Ans: Pirates of the Silicon Valley
This machine came in 1983 with an unprecedented 1MB of RAM (the Apple II has shipped with 48K and the popular Commodore computers of the mid-1980s only shipped with 64K or 128K). It featured a built-in screen, two floppy drives, a menu bar, windows, the ability to run multiple applications at once, a universal copy and paste feature (something that some operating systems don’t even have fully implemented today), a hierarchal file system complete with icons and folders, and a completely new device in personal or corporate computing called a mouse. It also had a price tag of $9995, which placed well out of the range of most companies. Just name it!
Ans: Lisa
The project was codenamed Macintosh. It was intended to produce a low cost computer aimed at home users (funny how that sounds like a description of the iMac all these years later). Who envisioned it?
Ans: Jeff Raskin
Simple! Who replaced Jobs At Apple?
Ans: John Sculley
The Apple 1 is introduced and sold at a computer store called the Byte Shop. It sold with no case, monitor, keyboard, or other “enhancements” and was little more than the basic motherboard. How much did it cost?
Ans: $666
It was the first laptop to offer the array of power saving and management features that we find commonplace today. It was also the first laptop that could be docked to a desktop and appear as an external hard drive for easy and fast file transfers.
Ans: The Powerbook
HP, Commodore and this company were all offered the chance to purchase the Apple I and all rejected the offer. Name this company.
Ans: Atari
SAAB-Viggen the car manufacturer cum aeroplane company belongs to which country?
Ans: Sweden
Topic: Airlines
What is unique about Blue Dart and Elbee Express services apart from being popular courier services?
Ans: Services operating Airlines specifically for courier service
What type of aircraft is the SOKOL-3?
Ans: Hang-glider
Which Russian made combat plane has been assigned the suffix ‘Fishbed’ by the USAF?
Ans: MIG-21
India’s first regular passenger flight on Nov. 26,1935 carried two passengers between which cities?
Ans: Bombay-Trivandrum
A certain arcade game by Novalogic Inc. has given the Russian KA-50 strike helicopter a unique name. What?
Ans: Werewolf
What has the Indian Air Force(IAF) rechristened the MIG-29 as?
Ans: Baaz
Coming to fundamentals now. The burning of additional fuel for a short duration in the jet pipe to provide for additional thrust,is assigned what common term ?
Ans: After-Burners
In the Falklands war(1982) British Sea-Harriers accounted for shooting down 38 Argentine aircraft. What is the salient feature of these combat aircraft?
Ans: Vertical Take-off and landing(VTOL)
The first flight of FLYER I in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina(1903) by the Wright Brothers lasted for what duration?
Ans: 12 seconds
Which Commercial Airlines does not operate on Saturdays?
Ans: El Al
Which Indian tycoon was the first to make a solo flight to the UK by flying from Karachi to Cryoden?
Ans: JRD Tata
In Naval aircraft, what is the Steam-catapult employed for?
Ans: Launching Aircraft from Carriers
Expand BCAR (Hint:Something to do with regulation of Aeronautical manufacturing standards).
Ans: British Civil Airworthiness Requirements
What type of aircraft was ‘Enola Gay’, the plane that dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima?
Ans: B-52 Statofortress
The F-16 Fighting Falcon featured prominently in which of these Hollywood flicks?
Ans: Iron Eagle
Thomson-CSF are reputed manufacturers of which essential component in modern aviation?
Ans: Radars
The TU-142M is used for what purpose?
Ans: Long Range Maritime Reconaissance/Anti-Submarine warfare
Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to fly past the sound barrier on a Bell X-1 on October 14,1947 named his plane after his wife. What was the striking name?
Ans: ‘Glamorous Glennis’
The Simon Bolivar International Airport serves which capital city?
Ans: Caracas
Gary Powers was flying a ‘stealth’ aircraft in May 1960 when a Russian SA-2 SAM detected his plane and sent a missile which exploded periliously close to his wing, thereby forcing him to eject. Which aircraft was he flying?
Ans: Lockheed U-2
Which philanthropist cum aviator re-created the myth of Daedalus by pedalling his plane from Crete to Santorini for a record 74 miles?
Ans: Kanellos Kanellopoulos
During World War II the Chance-Vought F7U-3 Corsair was mostly used in which theatre of war?
Ans: Pacific Ocean and East Asia
The first non-stop flight around the world in 1986 was made on an aircraft designed by Burt Putan which had a revolutionary carbon-fibre design that carried a fuel weight which was five times that of the aircraft itself. What was it called ?
Ans: Voyager
What is the actual designation of the Stuka Dive Bomber?
Ans: Junker JU 87 D
The French Bleriot XI holds what claim to fame?
Ans: First aircraft to cross the English Channel
The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was brought into mass-production by the Third Reich for which speciality?
Ans: Quick-start
The Klemm Kl 35 trainer aircraft was first fown in which European Nation?
Ans: Germany
The U.S. Navy built 10346 of these sports cum training aircraft from 1937 onwards. Which one?
Ans: Stearman Kaydett
The F-4 Phantom is predominantly used by the Naval forces of which nation despite being originally designed in another nation?
Ans: United Kingdom
Topic: Computer Hard Disk
When disturbed slightly above the stipulated shock level of the hard disk, the Hard disk…
Ans: Develops bad sectors and then crashes
What is the Maximum number of hard disks you can have in a machine of only 2 IDE ports?
Ans: Four
Which unit is used to measure seek time?
Ans: Seconds
How many Bytes make a kilobyte?
Ans: 1024
Which of the three emits the most amount of heat when in use?
Ans: Processor
The main difference between a SCSI Hard disk and IDE hard disk is…
Ans: Bandwidth
The rotation speed is measured in ________?
Ans: Revolutions per Minute
It is not recommended to attach two hard disks of different specifications to the same IDE cable because…
Ans: Speed of the faster one will be toned down to suit the speed of the slower one
Which of this is absent in a Hard disk?
Ans: RAM
Which of these three companies first made the IDE 80 GB hard disk?
Ans: Maxtor
Topic: Computer Graphics
The technique of giving an image a 3D perspective by adding highlights and shadows is…
Ans: Bevel and embossing
Art obtained by multiplying or resampling definite geometric patterns in different directions or dimensions is termed as…
Ans: Fractal-art
The most portable of these formats for high-end image applications is…
Ans: RAW
The Process of mixing colours to yield new colours that were not initially available is called as…
Ans: Dithering
When resampling a picture, the interpolation technique to add colour values to the newly created pixels is termed as…
Ans: Bi-cubic interpolation
Images that use grids or pixels to display picture composition are called as…
Ans: Raster images
When line drawing algorithms were first implemented, it was observed that oblique lines had ugly jagged edges. This problem was termed as the…
Ans: Stair case effect
The process of giving dark spots a 3D look especially used in character models is…
Ans: Bump mapping
The method where in equally shaded regions of cyan, magenta and yellow ink are replaced with black in order to conserve ink is termed as…
Ans: Under colour removal
The process of smoothing jagged outlines by creating partially shaded pixels is…
Ans: Anti-Aliasing
———–
In the musical scales, which is the highest adult male voice?
Alto
Nicholas Breakspeare became famous under the title Adrian 4. What was his claim to fame in history?
First and only English Pope
This famous writer left a fortune for the establishment of a new phonetic language to assist spelling in his will. Name him.
GB Shaw
Name the first known person to die of radiation poisoning.
Marie Curie
Who are ‘steel-collar workers’?
Robots
‘Gaggle’ is the collective noun for which animal/bird?
Geese
Name the oldest known alcoholic beverage made.
Mead
According to English legend, who was the only knight to survive King Arthur?
Bedivere
The French call it ‘La Manche’. How do we better know it?
The Chunnel
What is the claim to fame of the River Churun, in geographical terms?
Is the river with the Angela Falls
History and myth
The former name of this country was ‘Belgian Congo’. How do we better know it now?
Zaire
Who was the President of the Congress Party the maximum number of times?
Nehru
In Indian constitutional history, who was the first ‘Prime Minister’ to be dismissed?
Sheikh Abdullah
Which Roman god is the equivalent of Ganesh, as he is the guardian of doors and is invoked at the beginning of any new project?
Janus
Who did Alexander the Great bequeath his empire to?
The strongest
This English city is currently the capital of Wessex and was the capital of England before London. Name it.
Winchester
Which bird was used by the Roman Empire as a symbol of its power?
Golden Eagle
In WW2, what was common to Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal?
All remained neutral
In Greek myth, she was the symbol of fidelity as, during her husband’s absence, she was pursued by many suitors but she discouraged them using many strategies. Name her.
Penelope
In Hindu myth, ‘apsaras’ were born of one of the elements. Name it.
Water
1. Which is the shortest verse in the Bible?
2. On which Shakespeare play is the musical “West Side Story” based?
3. In Tintin, Captain Haddock is a member of SSS. Expand SSS.
4. If Rama’s wife was Sita, who was Shatrugana’s wife?
5. Which drink is nicknamed “scandal broth”?
6. What is Dennis’ surname in the comic strip “Dennis the Menace”?
7. Which famous English city has the sobriquet “City of Dreaming Spires”?
8. What was the Rashtrapathi Bhavan initially called?
9. What are Isohels?
10. Which element, after Oxygen, is most abundant on earth’s crust?
11. Which multiple-Oscar-winning actor once handled fan mail for Tom and Jerry?
12. What does the phrase “play opossum” mean?
13. Who was the first President of India to have died in office?
14. “1,000,000”, “Rotary Ten” and “Driver 8” are some of the “numerically inspired” songs of which group?
15. In 1964, which two places merged to form Tanzania?
Answers
1. “Jesus Wept”; 2. Romeo and Juliet; 3. Society of Sober Sailors; 4. Shrutakirti; 5. Tea; 6. Mitchel’ 7. Oxford; 8. Vice- Regal Lodge; 9. Lines on a map joining places with equal sunshine; 10. Silicon; 11. Jack Nicholson; 12. A
person “acting dead” when attacked/criticised; 13. Zakir Hussain; 14. R.E.M.; 15. Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
Which English football club lost 8 of its players in a plane crash in 1959?
Manchester United
Which Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie made Amitabh Bachchan a Star and Rajesh Khanna a Superstar?
Anand
What is the name of the Egyptian Sun God?
Ra
Which company invented the Walkman?
Sony
In which ad would you expect to hear Mozart`s 25th Symphony?
Titan
Which Indian player won a Bronze medal in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996?
Leander Paes
Who coined the term `Non Aligned` to describe countries that, during the Cold War, aligned neither with the United States nor with the Soviet Union?
Krishna Menon
Name the first Indian to win the Commonwealth Prize for Literature?
Nayantara Sehgal
Who is the only player to have won the Junior Tennis Grand Slam – the Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open Junior Singles?
Stefan Edberg
Which company gave Santa Claus his traditional dress?
Coca Cola
Traditionally, the leaves of what tree are supposed to improve your singing voice?
Neem
Which creature gets its name from the Greek word for `womb` because it resembles the shape of the womb?
Dolphin
Which Indian cricketer was captain in one test and dropped to 12th man in the next?
Venkatraghavan
How is polyhexamethyleneadipamide better known as?
Nylon
Who was Tipu Sultan`s father?
Hyder Ali
Who was the first rock star to be arrested on stage?
Jim Morrison
What do we know Barbara Millicent Roberts better as?
Barbie
What does the `i` in the iMac computer stand for?
Internet
Which cricketer owns a restaurant called Curry Leaves?
Aravinda De Silva
Which of these words has no perfect rhyme in the English language?
Purple
Topic : quotes / Famous Words
Who did Elizabeth Bowen describe as “a stupid person’s idea of a clever person�
Aldous Huxley
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do thatâ€. Whose words?
Martin Luther King Jr.
Who once defined history as, “History is a set of lies agreed upon�
Napoleon
Who once said, “You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone”?
Al Capone
Which architect once said, “A house is a machine for living in�
Le Corbusier
He was responsible for coining the phrase “Naughty but nice†for the real-cream TV Ads. Which author?
Salman Rushdie
“The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let themâ€. Which poet said this?
Robert Frost
Which author once said, “The most essential gift for a good-writer is a built-in-shock-proof shit-detector�
Ernest Hemingway
Sean O’ Casey called this person, “English Literature’s performing fleaâ€. Who?
P.G.Wodehouse
“I like the silent church before the service begins, better than any preachingâ€. Whose words?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Which Hollywood actress once said, “I’d marry again if I found a man who had 15 million and would sign over half of it to me before the marriage and guarantee he’d be dead within a yearâ€?
Bette Davis
“The truth is more important than the facts.†These are the words of which American Architect?
Frank Lloyd Wright
“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other peopleâ€. Which female novelist said these words?
Virginia Woolf
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian dietâ€. Whose words?
Albert Einstein
“Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wifeâ€. Whose words?
Groucho Marx
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Whose words?
Mother Teresa
In which comic strip would you find these words, “The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us�
Calvin and Hobbes
Which author’s description – “A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window”?
Raymond Chandler
“Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” Whose words?
Pablo Picasso
“A sweetheart is a bottle of wine, a wife is a wine bottleâ€. Whose poetry?
Charles Baudelaire
Who once said, “Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book”?
Ronald Reagan
“He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad newsâ€. Whose words?
Bertolt Brecht
What is Irish for “ourselves alone�
Sinn Fein
“If you can’t convince them, confuse them†: President Frau Eva von Zeppelin uttered these words in what context?
Led Zeppelin using his family name
This philosopher wrote, “What is it: is man only a blunder of God, or God only a blunder of man?†Who?
Friedrich Nietzsche
This person once famously remarked, “Religion is the opium of the peopleâ€. Who?
Karl Marx
Oscar Wilde once said about this person, “He hasn’t an enemy in the world, and none of his friends like himâ€. Who?
George Bernard Shaw
This scientist, after winning the Nobel Prize, when asked to give a brief about his research, said, “If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn’t have been worth the Nobel Prizeâ€. Who?
Richard Feynman
“Why doesn’t she like me? Is it my hair, my overbite, the fact that I’ve worn the same shirt and shorts for the last four years?†Whose words?
Bart Simpson
Who once said, “It is easier to die for a woman one loves than to live with her�
Lord Byron
Topic : General stuff
Name the only British Governor-General to be impeached.
Warren-Hastings
How do we better know the game of nine-pins?
Skittles
This Indian ruler collected taxes labelled as ‘chauth’ and ‘sardeshmukhi’. Name him.
Shivaji
Spielberg’s production company is named after his very first short film. Name it.
Amblin
‘In Quest of the Ashes’ is the autobiography of which famous cricketer?
Jardine
‘More stars than there are in heaven’ was the publicity line of which studio?
MGM
Who was described as the ‘Byron of Indian Cricket’?
Lala Amarnath
Participants of which sport are called ‘male geishas’ in Japan, because of the large amount of time they take to get ready?
Sumo wrestling
Name the first US city to host the Olympic Games.
St Loius
Which famous organisation in the history of Indian independence was founded by Rashbehari Bose?
INA
Trivia time
Which word has been referred to as ‘The Great Australian Adjective’?
Bloody
In ancient Rome, what was awarded to a gladiator, signifying that he would never have to fight again?
A cracked shield
Which English writer displayed a swastika on the cover of his books?
Kipling
This fictional character’s only wife was named Tracy Daco and he’s a graduate of Oriental languages from Cambridge. Name him.
James Bond
In the Enid Blyton ‘Noddy’ series, name the character that was responsible for actually creating Noddy.
Mr Carver
The name of which character from the Ramayana literally means ‘furrow’?
Sita
‘Secrets of a Sparrow’ is the autobiography of which famous singer?
Diana Ross
In Bollywood, how do we better know Mumtaz Jahanara Begum?
Madhubala
In 1718, an English pirate called Edward Teach was killed in a battle with British forces off the coast of Virginia. How was he better known?
Blackbeard
Ben Franklin did not want the eagle to be the national symbol for the USA as he considered it a “bird of bad moral character” as it lived by “sharping and robbing”. Which bird did he suggest instead?
Turkey
Which mode of dismissal in cricket was introduced last?
Being timed out
In 1995, a probe from this spacecraft first entered the planet Jupiter. Name it.
Galileo
George Jorgensen was a former US GI who had gone to Denmark in 1950 and returned in 1952 after undergoing a particular treatment, a first in the world. What had he undergone?
Sex-change operation
Tsai Lun, a eunuch, invented it in 105 AD. According to official history, he was given an aristocratic title when he presented it to Emperor Ho Ti for the first time. What?
Paper
During WW1, English soldiers were called by a particular nickname. This came about from the example name on the form soldiers were supposed to fill out, which was ‘Thomas Atkins’. What was the nickname?
Tommies
In a batting line up in cricket, who is a ‘jack’?
The number 11 batsman
On 7 Dec, 1963, this was used for the first time during the Army-Navy football game by CBS TV in the USA. What?
Instant replay
Mehboob Khan’s ‘Mother India’ was actually a remake of an earlier movie of his. Name it.
Aurat
There is one phobia that is mainly a physical disease and not just a state of mind as it is caused by a viral infection. Name it.
Hydrophobia
Which former West Indian cricketer played World Cup soccer for Antigua?
Viv Richards
This famous writer left a fortune for the establishment of a new phonetic language to assist spelling in his will. Name him.
GB Shaw
According to English legend, who was the only knight to survive King Arthur?
Bedivere
What is the claim to fame of the River Churun, in geographical terms?
Is the river with the Angela Falls
Valentine
In Rome in A.D. 270, Valentine had enraged a mad emperor , who had issued an edict forbidding marriage. Why did he forbid marriage?
He felt that married men made poor soldiers
White roses are for true love.Red roses are for passion.Yellow roses are for friendship. What do black roses signify?
Farewell
It is said that Valentine was a priest that secretly married couples.Under which Emperor’s reign was this?
Claudius
“To-morrow is Saint Valentine”s day, All in the morning betime”-Hamlet (Act 4, Scene 5).In which other play does Shakespeare mention St.Valentine?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Cupid was a a mischievous, winged child, whose arrows would pierce the hearts of his victims causing them to fall deeply in love. Who was his mother?
Venus
One of the practises of this festival, was the putting of girls” names in a box and letting the boys draw them out. These couples were supposedly paired off for the whole year. A similar practice was began in the fourteenth century. A sweetheart was chosen for a day by lot. This was done to correspond with the belief that the springtime mating of birds took place on Valentine”s Day.Which festival?
Lupercalia
What is the claim to fame Esther Howland of Worcester, Mass.in Valentine’s Day celebration history? published the first American Valentine Back in the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentine would be. They wore these names on their armour for one week.What phrase originated from this?
Wearing the heart on one’s sleeves
Legend has it that the first valentine was sent by St. Valentine himself on the eve of his execution for refusing to denounce Christianity. Signed “from your Valentine” Who was it sent to?
the jailer’s daughter
Topic : Trivia
What fictional city is home to Batman and Robin?
Gotham City
Which game did James Naismith invent in America?
Basketball
Based on archaeological evidence, what is the world’s oldest known vegetable?
Peas
Where would you find the Islets of Langerhans?
Pancreas
Which brand sponsors Andre Agassi?
Nike
Can you name Time magazine’s Man of the Year for 1952?
Queen Elizabeth II
What will you find in the collection of a spermologer?
Trivia
Which country`s flag is fully green?
Libya
Which sport does Tiger woods play?
Golf
In 1885, what did Canada sell to the State of New York for $150,000?
Niagara Falls
Called “Harpastum†by the Romans and “Tsuchu†by the Chinese. What is it in English?
Football
In Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, how does the character Krook meet his end?
He spontaneously combusts
From which sport comes the phrase “to set the ball rolling�
Croquet
This book was banned in 1885 because it was considered to be of “low grade of morality†and was couched in “a language of rough dialectâ€. Which book?
Huckleberry Finn
The figure of speech “paronamasia†is better known as:
Punning
Which world famous logo was designed by Art Paul?
The Playboy bunny
What creation of Arthur Wynne’s first appeared on December 21, 1913 in the NY World?
The crossword
Connect: Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ, Elvis Presley, Adolf Hitler
All were removed from the cover of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album
When asked for an autograph, he would sign his name “8.9â€. Who?
Bob Beamon
Which of the following is true of the Nazi epic Kolberg?
The movie with the largest cast ever
Topic : mythology
What does the parasu in Parasurama signify?
Axe
Ashvins, the twin gods of morning were also physicians to the Gods. On the request of a certain lady, they restored her aged husband – a sage – to youthfulness. Name this sage.
Chyavana
According to legend, the Indian Noah, Manu travelled far and wide during the Great Flood. Until his boat hit land, and the desolate land became green. Where did Manu alight?
Manali
What literally means quick mover or goer?
Ganga
When Ravana sets fire to Hanuman’s tail as punishment, Hanuman retaliated by leaping around Lanka setting to fire all the buildings. Which was the only building that survived.
Vibheeshana’s house
Where did Ravana undertake a penance to bring Shiva to Lanka?
Gokarna
Indra punished this person for having leapt towards the heavens and the offender fell to earth. His name literally means someone whose jaw is injured. Who?
Hanuman
Buddha, on his road to nirvana, once cut off his eye-lashes because he kept going off to sleep. Where the lashes fell to the ground, a plant arose that had the magical property of banishing sleep. Which plant?
Tea
A particular city was traumatized by the evil demon Mahishasura, until he was slain by Chamundi. The city took the name from this incident and till date has a temple dedicated to the goddess. Which city?
Mysore
The river Ganga is supposed to be brought down to earth from the heavens by…
Sage Bhagirath
Topic : animals
What is the name of the railcar used in the small-gauge railway to Shimla?
Safed Murgi
Which animal did Noah release first from the Ark?
Dove
The world knows this animal from the corruption of Telugu for Pig-rat. Which one?
Bandicoot
Dork, the word of mild abuse for someone with low intelligence, is actually…
A whale”s penis
Why is the fish “Bombay Duck” called by this name?
Corruption of its local name, Bombilli
What are polled cattle?
Without horns
In the middle east, there’s a law that forbids people from consuming the meat of a particular animal with which they’ve just had sex. Name it.
Sheep
Original ”Indian Yellow” dye used to be sourced from Munger in Bihar, until its production was banned in 1908 because of the way in which it was sourced. What way?
From the urine of cows fed on mango leaves
Why were Lhasa Apsos originally bred by Buddhist monks?
To keep their exposed feet warm during winter
Shahtoosh, from which shawls are made, comes from which animal?
Tibetan Antelope
Topic : spirits / Alcohol
In which country is Geneva gin made?
Holland
Cognac can be made only in a specific area of France. Where can brandy be made?
Anywhere in the world
What do the letters VSOP on a bottle of brandy stand for?
Very Special Old Pale
Between 1740 and 1970 British sailors received a daily ration of grog. What is grog?
A mixture of rum and water
Where did the American whiskey ”Bourbon” get its name?
It was first made in Bourbon County, Kentucky
A popular Yorkshire liqueur flavoured with herbs is named after the Bronte sisters. On which spirit is it based?
Brandy
What is added to gin to make pink gin?
Angostura bitters
Which drink has been known as ‘Dutch courage’ and ‘Mother’s ruin’?
Gin
The fermented molasses left over from the sugar-refining process is used in the manufacture of which spirit?
Rum
What is the meaning of the Dutch word ‘brandewijn’ from which we take the word brandy?
Burnt wine
Gourmand
You can tell a _______ by just reading it. Famous tagline. Which brand?
Sunkist oranges
On discovering something in 1668, a blind priest exclaimed: Oh, come quickly. I am drinking the stars. What was he drinking?
Champagne
Which is the most widely eaten fish in the world?
Salmon
Laws forbidding the sale of sodas on Sunday prompted William Garwood to invent what in Evanston, Illinois in 1875?
Ice-cream sundae
Who introduced noodles to Italy after a trip to China?
Marco Polo
In 1847, Hanson Gregory, a 15 year old baker’s apprentice knocked the soggy parts off a fried confectionery, thus creating what?
The first ring donuts
The Mai Tai cocktail was created in 1945 by Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic). It got its name when he served it to two Tahitian friends who exclaimed “Maitai roa ae!” What does it mean?
Out of this world
What is traditionally made from the root of the blue agave cactus?
Tequila
In the New Testament, St. John the Baptist survives on what foods while in the desert?
Locusts and honey
What new fad did the brand Wonder Bread introduce in 1930?
Sliced bread
What is the essential difference between apple juice and apple cider?
Apple juice is pasteurised and cider is not
Shoot a Waco was the original name of what product
Dr Pepper
The hamburger, invented in 1900 by Louis Lassen is called so because
It was invented in Hamburg
Natural vanilla flavouring comes from
Orchids
In the Middle East, what is called the poor man.s food?
Figs
In 1853 in Saratoga Springs a chef George Crum retaliated to a patron.s complaint that his French fries were too thick. How?
He invented Potato chips
The first product to have a UPC bar code on its packaging was a food product. Which?
Wrigley’s
The Ladakhi gur-gur chai gets its name because
The tea is churned in pipes and makes a gur-gur sound
Which product gets its name from a Roman soldier who was a great wrestler during the Ancient Olympic Games?
Milon
In an open competition to select a name for this brand, a name was chosen which loosely translated from Latin as Strength of Man. Which brand?
Hovis Bread
After his tomato crop failed, a certain gentleman dabbled in something else. It gave rise to a product which takes its name from an American Indian word that means ‘a place with fertile and humid soil’. Which brand?
Tabasco
Name the Japanese fish considered a delicacy, which if not cleaned carefully can prove fatal.
Fugu
A Napoli baker designed the first pizza in the shape of the Italian flag using tomato, cheese and parsley. He dedicated it to the visiting King Philip.s wife, thus naming the first ever pizza. The name?
Margharita
What.s the name of the McDonald.s clown?
Ronald
What.s the name of the dimpled cheese traditionally shown in cartoon strips/films?
Gouda
What range of products are Messrs. Mahashiyan di hatti famous for?
Masala
Why is the drink Punch called so?
Traditionally has 5 (paanch) ingredients
Topic : trivia
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys never did this because he feared that: “Fire might come out – or gas—or snakes—or, most terrifyingly of all, nothing at all.†What?
Taking a shower
This person created a written script for the Cherokee Indians. Who?
Sequoia
Every man of the Confederate Army had to carry this book, because its leader, Robert E. Lee. believed that it espoused their cause. Which book?
Les Miserables
The smash-hit “Dude Looks Like a Lady†by Aerosmith was addressed to?
Vince Neal
Which company had its origins in a chartered train journey from Leicester to Loughborough, UK, in 1841?
Thomas Cook
According to Greek mythology, this creature was a she-goat with a lion’s head, goat’s body and serpent’s tail. It is:
Chimaera
“Sometimes I think that the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere is in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.†Whose words?
Calvin
“Beelzebub†is another name for the devil. What does it translate to?
“Lord of the fliesâ€
A special material was used to clothe the kings of France. It literally means “clothing of kingsâ€. Which of the following?
Corduroy
Which organisation’s slogan is this: I WILL STRIVE TO LIVE, WITH LOVE AND CARE, UPON THE LEVEL, BY THE SQUARE
Freemasons
Topic : Innovations
The ‘Lucifer’ match-sticks devised by Frenchmen Charles Suria in 1830 came to be widely used. Name the igniting substance used by these ‘Lucifers’.
White Phosphorus
Ladislao Biro, a Hungarian artist and Journalist developed the ball-point pen in the 30’s with his brother Georg, a chemist. However, he had to flee Budapest at the outbreak of world war II. From which city did the Biro brothers oversee the manufacture of ball-pens for the Allied Air forces?
Buenos Aires
Georges De Mestral, a Swiss engineer observed burrs sticking to his woollen socks. This natural occurrence prompted him to look at burrs under a microscope and he used the Hook and loop arrangement with woven Nylon to
develop Velcro. The name Velcro was derived from two words. One was ‘Velours’ and the other is _____________.
Crochet
Micro-encapsulisaton is a process used in manufacturing perfumed paper. Which U.S. based dcorporation poularized this method in the 60’s?
3M
The ‘Hookers 2’ designed by Swedish engineer Gideon Sundback in 1913, is exactly what?
The zip-fastener
The non-stick finish on modern kitchenware PTFE was developed after an accidental discovery by Dr. Roy Plunkett in 1938. Under what trademark did Du Pont market PTFE?
Teflon
Elisha Graves Otis installed the world’s first passenger lift in New York. Which building saw this implementation?
V. Haughwout & Co’s China Store
This one’s a little vague. Sonora, in Mexico is a quality production centre for which input in everyday industry?
Graphite
A certain adhesive was rejected during research on a ‘Superglue’ in a laboratory in St. Paul, Minnesota since it’s sticking power was negligible. However, Art Fry an employee used the disposed adhesive to make bookmarks for his hymn book. Which conventional office stationery did he initiate with this?
Post-it Notes
The conception of the Voltaic cell by Allessandro Volta of Pavia University in 1800 was initiated by an experiment using copper hooks, an iron hail and certain creatures hanging on them. Which creatures?
Frogs
Specimens of Bombyx Mori are involved in the manufacture of which fiber?
Silk
Which ingredient is conventionally used to whiten a toothpaste?
Titanium Oxide
Which nation issued a plastic currency note in 1988 to mark it’s bicentenary?
Australia
The disposable crown cork was the invention of __________.
William Painter
Experiments with alloys in order to build stronger gun-barrels led British Metallurgist Harry Brearley to discover what in 1913?
Stainless Steel
‘Blue Plains’ is the location for the advance sewage plant serving which city in the U..S.?
Washington D.C.
The Raytheon Company based in U.S. brought about the use of which domestic appliance in the 1950’s?
Microwave Oven
If USA’s National Meteorological centre is situated in Wshington D.C. then where is Britian’s Meteorological Office located?
Berknell
A certain book took 50 years for the compilation of its’ 12 volumes with 252,259 entries before it’s first publication. Which book?
The Oxford English Dictionary
James Harrison,a Scottish immigrant in Australia devised refigeration using ether to cool down metallic containers. He used the principle for the first time in a building in Bendigo, Victoria during the Gold Rush in 1851. What did the building function as?
Brewery
Paul Neal Adair (Red Adair) the legendary firefighter(born 1915) has never failed in putting out a fire,whether it lasted a few seconds or several months. His real-life story inspired a Hollywood film ‘Hellfighters’ in 1968. Who played the lead part?
John Wayne
The Cullinan Diamond, discovered by a miner near Pretoria, South Africa was successfully cleaved by Joseph Asscher on Feb. 10,1908. In which city was this commendable task performed?
Amsterdam
The power-suply for coal mining operations in the Rhine Valley is mainly generated in a pressurized water reactor at which German town since 1963?
Biblis
The expansion and contraction of a rock is generally measured by a simple instrument which is laid out in the form of thin ducts. Identify the instrument.
Strainmeter
Dr. Denis Gabor is credited with the first successful demonstration of which process in 1947?
Holography
Early Bird, the world’s first communication satellite was launched under the aegis of which organisation?
INTELSAT
The first completely synthetic material was developed in 1907 by using Carbolic Acid, Formaldehyde gas and Celluloid. Which momentous product is being referred to? The inventor’s name would be a give-away.
Bakelite
The first artificial satellite to employ solar cells in 1958 was _________.
Vanguard
In 1851, British Photographic pioneer W.H. Fox Talbot attached a copy of The Times newspaper to a wheel, rotated it rapidly and succeeded in taking a clear picture by illuminating the wheel very briefly with an intense spark of light. Recent verifications have put the exposure-period for this experiment at what duration?
1/1,00,000th of a second
Which man-made fibre was invented by Wallace Carothers in 1935?
Nylon
Topic : trivia
What orchestra chose “Moonlight Serenade” as their theme?
Glenn Miller Orchestra
What nationality is former tennis pro Vitas Gerulaitis?
American
Which group of sports participants had the highest Internet usage rate in 1999?
Tennis players
What’s a capon?
A castrated rooster
Who was the first non-American to win the Masters golf tournament?
Gary Player
Infamous writer Clifford Irving was imprisoned for faking who’s autobiography?
Howard Hughes
Name the science fiction writer who imagined “The Invisible Man” and “The Time Machine”?
H. G. Wells
What did the initials T.S. stand for in author T.S. Eliot’s name?
Thomas Stearns
In what city was presidential candidate Robert Kennedy assassinated?
Los Angeles
What sweetener was discovered by Ira Remsen in 1879?
Saccharin
What American author was portrayed on-stage by actor Hal Holbrook in a one-man show?
Mark Twain
What is the height of the goal net used in soccer?
8 feet
Name the astronaut that remained in the command module while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon?
Mike Collins
What sort of animal is a mandrill?
Forest Baboon
Christopher Jones captained what well known ship?
Mayflower
Entire families may be developing asthma thanks to the smog around this city, called the nation’s smog capital by the Associated Press?
Houston
Can you name the actress who is actor Warren Beatty’s sister?
Shirley MacLaine
To what royal house did England’s King Henry VIII belong?
Tudor
Native American Pocahontas acted as a guide to the settlers of the Jamestown colony. Along what river is she buried?
Thames
Name the actor who took best actor honors at the 1955 Oscars for the title role in “Marty”?
Ernest Borgnine
How many double centuries did Bradman score in his Test career?
12
The kaliyug is associated with which Hindu Text ?
Tantra
Which of these cars in India has Korean Technology?
Hyundai Santro
In Greek mythology what do Castor and Pollux represent ?
The twins in the Gemini Constellation
Why was the clockwise direction chosen for the clock ?
Sundials ran clockwise in the northern hemisphere
Kohinoor Diamond was taken away by?
Nadir Shah
Which insect is the cause of most human diseases ?
Housefly
Name the king who was commonly known as Raj Pithora, and is celebrated in several Indian ballads and poems?
Prithviraj Chouhan
Which of these is the correct chronological order?
The Gupta dynasty, The Chalukya dynasty, The Chola Dynasty
Which star is also known as the Dog Star?
Sirius
What algorithm (as yet undiscovered) is called “God’s Algorithm�
The shortest general solution of the Rubik’s cube from any configuration
What is the Nipper the dog’s claim to fame?
He is the dog from the HMV logo
This Greek goddess can run and fly at great speed. She is the daughter of Pallas and Styx and the sister of Cratos, Bia, and Zelus. She was represented as a woman with wings, dressed in a billowing robe with a wreath or staff.
Nike
Which member of the Apollo 10 crew wore his Mickey Mouse watch into space?
Eugene Cernan
Whose middle name is “Fauntleroy�
Donald Duck
Which of the following movies is named after a story by William Burroughs?
Blade Runner
This term, coined by Washington Irving in 1809, means a native of New York. Which?
Knickerbocker
Actor Tony Curtis said kissing what female co-star was “like kissing Hitler”?
Marilyn Monroe
Whose words are these: “Old soldiers never die. They just fade away�
Douglas McArthur
Which of the following is true of Wrigley’s chewing gum?
First product to have a bar code
This word literally means “talking to womenâ€. Which word?
Ghazal
Born in India, she won two Academy Awards (1940 & 1952). Who?
Vivien Leigh
What is Occam’s Razor?
A rule of thumb that states that the better scientific theory is the simpler one
Something silly to end with. Whose words are these: “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.”
Mark Twain
Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel called “Gadsbyâ€. What is its claim to fame?
Not a single word contained the letter ‘E’
On whose epitaph would you find: S = k log W.
Ludwig Boltzmann
According to legend, the Gordian knot was an intricate knot, tied by Gordius, king of Phyrgia. Whoever cut it was destined to rule all of Asia. Who supposedly cut it?
Alexander the Great
In Australian cricket slang, what is a ‘Coughie’?
A bad umpiring decision
Who is the only Asura to have been spared by Lord Vishnu?
Mahabali
During the design stage, the length of the compact disc was changed from 60 minutes to 74 minutes at the insistence of the head of the design team. Why?
Seventy-four minutes is the length of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Topic: Archeology
Of the genus Phaseolus, and with ancestor Vicia Faba, it was important to man from the beginning of food production. What?
Beans
What is the capital of the Khmer Empire in Cambodia?
Angkor
This island is referred to in Mesopotamian as “Dilmunâ€. What?
Bahrain
Hjortspring, Sutton-Hoo, Triremes, and Carracks are all types of what?
Boats
This place first reached prominence under Hammurabi. It was the ancient capital of Mesopotamia. Which place?
Babylon
The religious writings of Essenes, a sect who dwelled in a monastery at Qumran has texts called what?
Dead Sea Scrolls
What is the Egyptian hieroglyph for “life�
Ankh
Which was the last of the Barbarian tribes to enter the Valley of Mexico after the collapse of the Toltec Civilisation?
The Aztecs
What is the name given to the single humped camels of Arabia?
Dromedary
What resulted when two races settled in the Ebbe Weser region of England after the breakdown of the Roman rule?
Anglo-Saxons
Assur, Nineveh, and Nimrud are all ancient capitals of which place?
Assyria
What is the study of fossil remains of animals called?
Palaeontology
Sir Arthur Evans named the people of Bronze Age Crete after their legendary leader. What did he call them?
Minoans
Who was the God of the Sun and the city of Heliopolis?
Ra
Known as “The Holy Islandâ€, after the Celtic Church acknowledged the supremacy of Rome, it was the center of a cultural Renaissance in North Umbria in 700 A.D. Which place?
Lindisfarne
This figure is represented by the crook and flail, the uraeus and other symbols of authority. Crowns include the White Crown, Red Crown and Blue Crown. Who?
Pharaoh
Which ancient Egyptian God of death is represented as a Mummy?
Osiris
What term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851 to cover the story of man’s development before the appearance of writing?
Pre-history
What were the mudbrick superstructures over tombs in early Egypt, originally intended to copy the house of the living called?
Mastabas
Topic : gentrivia
It’s ancestor is the guanaco, found in the Andes and it is related to the camel but lacks a hump. What?
Llama
Capra hircus aegagrus, found in S.West Asia was the ancestor of what?
Goat
76 miles is it’s running length from Tyne to Solway to defend the Northern frontier of Roman Britain. What?
Hadrian’s Wall
What is the cemetery region on the West Bank of the Nile opposite modern Cairo called?
Giza
The falcon God of Hieraconpolis in Egypt, believed to be the son of Isis and Osiris is believed to have incarnation in the Pharaoh. Who?
Horus
What is the name given to the circular ritual monuments found only in the British Isles?
Henges
What is the name given in Mexico to any manuscript printed before the Spanish Conquest or written in the native manner during the Early Spanish Period?
Codex
Who was the Sumerian equivalent of Venus, with jurisdiction over love and procreation?
Ishtar
A group of Quechua speaking tribes from the Cuzcoara of the S. Peruvian Andes whose ruler is called “Son of the Sun†are better known as what?
Incas
Two of these confronting each other constitute a “T’ao t’iehâ€. What?
Dragons
Connect John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, apart from their all being Presidents of the USA
All died on the 4th of July
Which city is the backdrop of the shows “the Practice†and “Ally McBeal�
Boston
Born in Peru, he lives in England at Windsor Gardens, 32, London. He has two birthdays, in December and June. He’s appeared on a Japanese credit card and on a 1998 Gibraltar coin. Who?
Paddington Bear
The Maori fisherman have a legend that God’s fishing hook was placed in the sky and remained forever as something. What?
Scorpio
He played 2130 consecutive baseball games, and was nicknamed the “Iron Horseâ€. Later in his life, he suffered from a debilitating disease to which he lends his name. Who?
Lou Gehrig
Why were Donald Duck comics nearly banned in Finland?
Because he doesn’t wear pants
What well known work was created by Sarah Josepha Hale?
The child’s poem “Mary Had a Little Lambâ€
With respect to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, what was “the sacred cow�
His presidential aircraft
Before he was “stuck†with the then little-known Arnold Schwarzenegger, who did James Cameron want to play the lead role in the first Terminator movie?
O.J. Simpson
The teary folliculitis disease is caused by:
Wearing tight jeans
Topic : General
Myra Gale Brown was 13 years old when she married her 3rd cousin in 1958. The marriage happened 2 weeks before his final divorce from his first wife. The scandal affected his career so badly that it was several years before he could make a comeback. Name him.
Jerry Lee Lewis
Which famous architect described a house as “a machine for living in”?
Le Corbusier
Helen Gurley Brown became famous as the publisher of a certain magazine and was also loosely portrayed in the 1964 movie ‘Sex and the Single Girl’ by Natalie Wood. Name the magazine.
Cosmopolitan
In 1893, there was a case before the United States Supreme Court about importing this foodstuff from the West Indies as fruits could be imported tax-free while vegetables couldn’t. Since it was eaten with main dishes, and not as or with desserts, the Court ruled it to be a vegetable. Name it.
Tomato
In Christian terminology, what is a ‘Lady Chapel’?
A chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary
What is the claim to fame of St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City?
Largest church in the world
The name of the main block in this prison was ‘Broadway’ and the other 2 corridors were named ‘Michigan Boulevard’ and ‘Seedy Street’. Name it.
Alcatraz
In a pack of cards, which one is a copyright?
Ace of Spades
Featured in Joel Chandler Harris’s ‘Tales of Uncle Remus’, his voice was provide by Johnny Lee in the 1946 Disney film ‘Song of the South’. Name him.
Br’er Rabbit
He was a tailor who dared to look at Lady Godiva as she rode through Coventry. In 1040, Lady Godiva’s husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry, agreed to rescind a tax on the town if Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets. Godiva asked everyone to observe custody of the eyes – and everyone did, except him. This gave rise to a phrase. Name it.
Peeping Tom
Topic : trivia
In which part of your body would you find a ‘gluteus maximus’?
Ans: Buttocks
Previously the governor of Georgia, he was the only US president to ever report a UFO sighting in October 1969. Name him.
Ans: James Earl Carter
Medically speaking, anosmia is the loss of which of the five senses?
Ans: Smell
The first LP by a solo artist to sell over a million copies was a 1965 album called Calypso. Name the artist.
Ans: Harry Belafonte
This band originally called itself the ______ Transit Authority after the transit company of a particular place, until they were sued by the company. Name it.
Ans: Chicago
‘The Cardinal’s Mistress’, written in 1909, was the only novel ever written by this person. Name him.
Ans: Mussolini
Dale Arden is the girlfriend of which famous comic character?
Ans: Flash Gordon
Fianchetto, j’adoube and zugzwang are all terms in which game?
Ans: Chess
In golf, what is a ‘waggle’?
Ans: To-and-fro movement of the golf stick before the swing
In June, 1978, a tropical storm was detected and named Bud. What was so unique about this?
Ans: First storm to be named after a male
Quinchua was a language spoken by which ancient civilisation?
Ans: Incas
Which famous astrological term was coined by Fred Hoyle?
Ans: Big Bang
His autobiography was titled ‘Memoirs of a Mangy Lover’. Name him.
Ans: Groucho Marx
Name the oldest national airline in the world.
Ans: KLM
He was an autodidact, and could not read music but almost everything he wrote was a success. He only played on the set of black keys. He had a special piano built with pedals that could change the set from F sharp into other keys. Name him.
Ans: Irving Berlin
