2017 MegaWhats Semifinal 2 true version

MEGAWHATS 2017SEMI FINALS 2

Research By

Mitesh Agarwal, Vivek Karthikeyan and Venkatesh Srinivasan

1. Aardvarks – Mumbai

2. Aardvarks Alliance – Chennai

3. BMQJ – Bengaluru

4. Feni Vidi Vici – Goa

5. Memory Blank – Chennai

6. Remembrance of Things Fast – Chennai

7. Tiruppur Tughlaqs – Kovai

8. Travelling Pillsburys – Delhi

▪8 questions

▪+10 on Infinite Bounce

▪+10/-5 on Infinite Pounce in writing

▪Blank lengths NOT indicative in any question

MEGAWHATS 2017

This is an artist’s impression of a Sassanian-era structure located near the modern city of Firuzabad in Persia, called the Terbal, which

has been re-imagined as a Fire Temple.

The building likely inspired the architecture of a structure in a city designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The structure was, for a

time, the largest of its kind in the world.

Which site?

1

MEGAWHATS 2017

The Great Mosque of Samarra

MEGAWHATS 2017

Born in 1879 as Muhammad Shah, he soon opted to be called as 'Agha Hashar Kashmiri' after finding out that his roots were in Kashmir. A

prolific playwright, he adapted several famous works; this output gave him what nickname referencing his language of proficiency and the

original author of these works ?

Mureed-e-Shak

Shabeed-e-Naaz

Shabeed-e-Havas

Safed Khoon

Khwab-e-Hasti

Saide Hawas

Khoobsurat Bala

2

MEGAWHATS 2017

Shakespeare of Urdu

Mureed-e-Shak – The Winter’s Tale

Shabeed-e-Naaz – Measure for Measure

Shabeed-e-Havas – King John

Safed Khoon – King Lear

Khwab-e-Hasti – Macbeth

Saide Hawas – King John

Khoobsurat Bala – Macbeth

MEGAWHATS 2017

Of the three people that made up the committee that met on June

25, 1903, two of them went on to receive the Nobel Prize.

Gabriel Lippman was awarded in 1908 and Henri Moissan in 1906.

The three men were of the unanimous opinion that what

they were listening to represented one of the greatest scientific

contributions ever made. This opinion was reinforced by an

announcement later that year.

What was the committee engaged in?

3

MEGAWHATS 2017

Marie Curie’s doctoral thesis defence

They were the judges

MEGAWHATS 2017

You will find many ‘Ima’s in Manipur. All of them in the famous

protest against the Indian army’s killing of Manorama,

were named Ima—Ima Ibemhal, Ima Ramani, Ima Taruni,

Ima Nganbi and Ima Ibetombi.

There is also the vibrant Ima Keithal, a bustling bazaar in

the heart of Imphal like any other in India, but with one

distinct difference—the 5000 traders managing its stalls.

It is the largest of its kind in the world, possibly.

What does ‘Ima’ mean? What is unique about this market?

4

MEGAWHATS 2017

Mother

All the traders are women

Ima Keithel translates to ‘mother’s market’.

MEGAWHATS 2017

The Continental System was a blockade designed by Napoleon

to paralyze Great Britain through the destruction of the

economy—he decreed that neutrals and French allies were not

to trade with the British. This resulted in a particular scarcity,

and in turn, a culinary coup d’état of sorts where this French

native (image) took over.

What was this change that has since continued to be part of

standard addition even today?

5

MEGAWHATS 2017

Adding chicory to coffee

MEGAWHATS 2017

Young Woman with Peonies, 1870. oil on canvas, is seen as Frederic Bazille’s homage to another painter. The flower vendor

appears to be a reference to the black woman with the extravagant bouquet in an infamous work. The flowers also

offer a kind of tribute. The other painter cultivated peonies

and often painted their lush blooms.

Who is the homage to, a person who

‘remains’ in our memory?

Which is the other work?

6

MEGAWHATS 2017

Edouard Manet and Olympia

Manet means ‘he remains’ in Latin

MEGAWHATS 2017

Prog-Rock legends Genesis paid a tribute to another band for the front and back cover of their 1982 E.P. 3x3. The album they were paying

tribute to was a compilation, the songs already having appeared previously in another collection. Talking about the titular song, their manager said:

I knew that ______ was a real larynx-tearer and I said, ‘We’re not going to record that until the very end of the day, because if we record it early on, you’re not going to have any voice left.’ So that was the last thing we did

that night. We did two takes, and after that John didn't have any voice left at all. It was good enough for the record, and it needed that linen-ripping

sound.

Name the album that was paid tribute to.

7

MEGAWHATS 2017

Twist and Shout

MEGAWHATS 2017

X : This word originated from the Greek root for ‘fatherland’,

morphed into ‘fellow countryman’ in Latin, and moved

to French with the sense of ‘someone who is prepared

to defend their country against enemies or detractors.

Y: A bird that gets its name from a Latin word, which is

related to the Dutch valk, for sickle—the image shows why.

What are X and Y, reminding us of an

early 2017 confrontation?

8

MEGAWHATS 2017

Patriots and Falcons

They fought in Super Bowl 51

S C O R E S

▪Three questions in writing

▪+8 for a correct answer; +4 for each part

▪No negative marking

▪Stake +4/-4 only if you know both parts

MEGAWHATS 2017

Lapra, Konka, Hesalong, and Mayapur are among the villages that were integrated to form this “homeland” location for a

group of people in 1933. The purported rationale chosen was three ‘R’s, which made the place accessible to settlers from all

over India, apart from its great weather.

What is the name of this place, which is today

the location of the Don Bosco Ranchi school? (3 points)

What were the three ‘R’s? (3 points)

How did this place come back to popular

consciousness recently? (2 points)

W1

MEGAWHATS 2017

Identify the film.

How did this clip come back into the limelight recently?

W2

MEGAWHATS 2017

Identify the brand.

Identify the original source for the background score.

W3

Please exchange sheets

MEGAWHATS 2017

Lapra, Konka, Hesalong, and Mayapur are among the villages

that were integrated to form this “homeland” location for a

group of people in 1933. The purported rationale chosen was

three ‘R’s, which made the place accessible to settlers from all

over India, apart from its great weather.

What is the name of this place, which is today

the location of the Don Bosco Ranchi school? (3 points)

What were the three ‘R’s? (3 points)

How did this place come back to popular consciousness

recently? (2 points)

W1

MEGAWHATS 2017

Mcluskiegunj

Rail, road and river

A Death in the Gunj

MEGAWHATS 2017

Identify the film.

How did this clip come back into the limelight recently?

W2

MEGAWHATS 2017

Double Indemnity

House of Cards Season 5

MEGAWHATS 2017

Identify the brand.

Identify the original source for the background score.

W3

MEGAWHATS 2017

Tata Gluco+

Malgudi Days

S C O R E S

▪8 questions




MEGAWHATS 2017

Toyota is building a flying car called SkyDrive,

along with Cartivator, a start-up. The car is designed to

drive at roughly 10 metres height, keeping in mind its initial

goal in the next three years.

What is the first big demonstration of the car that is being

planned? Please give a specific answer.

9

MEGAWHATS 2017

To the light the Olympic Torch

in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

MEGAWHATS 2017

This person was never referred to by his surname Sharma

during his cricketing career. He was a fairly competent lower-

order bat, often extricating India from tricky situations, which

earned him a nickname meaning ‘of assistance’ in Hindi.

He had a cricketing ‘first’ to his name in 1975.

Who and what was his nickname?

10

MEGAWHATS 2017

Madan Lal Sharma and his nickname was

Maddat Lal Sharma

Madan Lal bowled the first ball of the 1975 World Cup,

with John Jameson of England facing

MEGAWHATS 2017

In 1953, a young geologist named Marie Tharp made a map

discovering a 10,000-mile-long ridge – a find that was initially

dismissed as “girl talk.” Her work revealed two theories that

were always debated as there wasn’t enough scientific

evidence to prove them. Which two theories?

11

11

MEGAWHATS 2017

The theories of plate tectonics and continental drift

(or that the ocean bed was not flat and her thinking

helped to vindicate Alfred Wegener’s 1912 theory of

moving continents)

MEGAWHATS 2017

This British museum’s aspiration is to provide context for current debates and borrows its idea from Daniel Defoe’s 1701 quote, “A true-born Englishman’s a contradiction/In speech an

irony, in fact a fiction.”

In Britain, ____________ is often thought of as a late-20th

century affair. Although Britain has distinguished and vibrant museums, there has been no institution devoted solely to

____________. This has started to look remiss, given that many other countries have spaces dedicated to the issue, including

the Museum of the History of ___________ in Paris.

What is the subject-matter of the museum?

12

MEGAWHATS 2017

Immigration/Migration

MEGAWHATS 2017

The movie is a fascinating exploration of a form of journalism that is

simultaneously of both the past and the present. The writers walk

into their little corner of the newsroom each day ignorant of their

assignment. They are rarely portrayed in fiction or on film, and

when they are, it’s usually as the butt of a joke.

In “Closer” (2004), Jude Law describes his job as “the Siberia of

journalism”. In “Serendipity” (2001), Jeremy Piven’s character brags

about writing at The New York Times, before an overheard phone

call between him and his boss reveals the painful truth.

Either give the title of the movie or the genre of journalism.

13

MEGAWHATS 2017

Obituarists / the film is Obit

MEGAWHATS 2017

This is the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman. The

designers used concrete which has strong thermal properties to

balance the high temperatures during the day and low

temperatures at night.

What is the design inspired by?

14

MEGAWHATS 2017

Bedouin Tents

MEGAWHATS 2017

The dish in the picture got one of its names because of its

resemblance to a phenomenon seen in London. The most

striking example of this happened in December 1952 and

claimed many thousands of lives over four days.

The phenomenon, in turn, is known by

a nickname referencing the dish.

Identify the dish and the phenomenon.

15

15

MEGAWHATS 2017

The great Pea Soup(er) refers

to the thick fog in London

MEGAWHATS 2017

It's a frame of mind. They talk slowly. And the reason they talk

slowly, is because they're usually about six feet tall and have a

gun. And they know you're listening! And they're not in a hurry

to do anything. It's a very hot place. It's a very big place, and it

can be a very lonely place.

So they don't talk very much. And when they do, they make sure

you listen. And it's a very lazy sort of voice.

This is Michael Caine describing which specific

variety of US English – an alliterative two-word term?

16

MEGAWHATS 2017

Texas Twang

S C O R E S





MEGAWHATS 2017

Allen Hill – Nathaniel Thomson

Alan Thomson – ____________

Daryll Tuffey – Michael Clarke

Each pair of players above represent two ends of a first.

What is this list all about?

Which cricketer’s name fills in the blank?

W1

MEGAWHATS 2017

On April 19, 1966, she did

something unprecedented,

wearing a hoodie-sweatshirt and

Bermuda shorts. It led to

headlines like, “A Game Girl In A

Man’s Game”.

Who?

What was she the first to do?

W2

MEGAWHATS 2017W2

MEGAWHATS 2017

In May 2017, he became the first Indian to win a GP3 race. He

also got a contract to be a development driver for a Formula 1

team that made its debut in 2016.

Who?

Which F1 team?

W3


MEGAWHATS 2017

Allen Hill – Nathaniel Thomson

Alan Thomson – ____________

Daryll Tuffey – Michael Clarke

Each pair of players above represent two ends of a first.

What is this list all about?

Which cricketer’s name fills in the blank?

W1

MEGAWHATS 2017

Bowler/batsman pair involved in the

First wicket to fall in Tests, ODIs and T20Is

(Note: First ball bowled in respective formats is wrong)

Geoffrey Boycott

MEGAWHATS 2017

On April 19, 1966, she did

something unprecedented,

wearing a hoodie-sweatshirt and

Bermuda shorts. It led to

headlines like, “A Game Girl In A

Man’s Game”.

Who?

What was she the first to do?

W2

MEGAWHATS 2017

Roberta ‘Bobbi’ Gibb

First woman to run the Boston Marathon

MEGAWHATS 2017

In May 2017, he became the first Indian to win a GP3 race. He

also got a contract to be a development driver for a Formula 1

team that made its debut in 2016.

Who?

Which F1 team?

W3

MEGAWHATS 2017

Arjun Maini

Haas

S C O R E S

▪8 questions




MEGAWHATS 2017

The term was coined by Rene Descartes in 1637 and was meant

to be derogatory. The earliest reference to numbers of the kind

occurred in the work of the Greek mathematician and inventor

Heron of Alexandria in the 1st century AD, when he considered

the volume of an impossible frustum of a pyramid.

What?

17

MEGAWHATS 2017

Imaginary numbers (complex numbers)

MEGAWHATS 2017

This military order get their name from a “noble sanctuary” – a famous religious site. They are credited with creating modern banking with a system where pilgrims could deposit money in Europe and withdraw the deposit in the Middle East, making

the journey a bit safer from robbers. However, King Philip IV of France wanted their funds for himself and so, in turn,

convinced Pope Clement V that this order had become heretical and corrupt. Across Europe, they were arrested and

their goods seized; they were then executed.

Which order? Identify the religious site,

comprising three holy structures.

18

MEGAWHATS 2017

The first headquarters of the Knights Templar, on the

Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Crusaders called it the

Temple of Solomon and it is from this location they

derived their name of Templar.

MEGAWHATS 2017

The picture shows a historic signing in 1982, which resulted in a

return of sorts. What are we talking about?

The word used to describe this, was a backronym formed by

dropping the first two letters from a word meaning, “returning

an asset”. What’s the word?

19

MEGAWHATS 2017

MEGAWHATS 2017

Signing of Canada's Constitution Act, 1982

which was signed by then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau

and by Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada on April 17, 1982

on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

The term used was Patriation

MEGAWHATS 2017

This venture was re-named TBC – To Be Continued, when Boeing

objected to the name being confused with The Boeing Company!

In May 2017, the founder announced that the first equipment

used will be called Godot after the Samuel Beckett play,

Waiting for Godot.

“First machine is Godot. Still waiting ... Don't know why, when or

where,” he said in a tweet. The tweet exemplified his frustration.

Who and what’s the interesting idea?

20

MEGAWHATS 2017

In December last year, stuck in a traffic jam in Los

Angeles, Elon Musk tweeted “Traffic is driving me nuts.

Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start

digging.” Within an hour, he had a name for the project —

“It shall be called ‘The Boring Company’,” he wrote.

MEGAWHATS 2017

This pioneering work was likely not intended as a record of a

wedding or an announcement. The lady, it has been analysed,

is probably not pregnant, as is often thought, but holding up

her full-skirted dress in the contemporary fashion. Set in

Bruges, the work has a great amount of detail and symbolism.

Among other elements analysed, include some writing on the

wall above the mirror, which has been compared to modern-

day graffiti and a marker of sorts.

Identify the work and the artist.

What does the inscription read?

21

MEGAWHATS 2017

The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck

Van Eyck was Here 1434

MEGAWHATS 2017

This crescent-shaped atoll has been referenced in the travels of Marco Polo, where he says he visited a “female island”, and Ibn

Battuta, who called this place Malook, and called it a land of independent and fearless women. The local name is Mahila-du or “island of women”, and language here is derived from Maldivian

Divehi, making it distinct from the rest of its surrounding territory. All the houses here are owned by women, and once they get

married, grooms are assigned a bare room in the bride’s house, which they have to furnish – a form of “reverse dowry”.

Identify this place, which has only one access route via the sea, and has government controlled tourism packages.

22

MEGAWHATS 2017

Minicoy

MEGAWHATS 2017

This movie is famous for 2 unique cameos.

The first one is an old quizzing chestnut – so go ahead and

take 2 points for identifying the person in the first clip.

But for the remaining 8 points,

identify the Sardar in the movie.

23

MEGAWHATS 2017

Bertrand Russel

Jagjit Singh’s only movie appearance

before he became a cut Sardar!

The film is Aman

MEGAWHATS 2017

Identify the speaker.

He is talking about getting the Queen for a promo for the 2016

edition of what sports initiative that he launched in 2014?

24

MEGAWHATS 2017

Prince Harry

Invictus Games





MEGAWHATS 2017

Affectionately known as Munshi, Hafiz Mohammed ____ Karim,

was the Indian servant, who had a special relationship with the

monarch for the last 15 years of her life; this was captured in

the book, _______ and _____, currently under production as a

film starring Ali Fazal.

The first role Ali Fazal played in Bollywood saw him as a

guitarist who succumbs to the pressures of academic rigour

and an unfinished drone project.

Name the upcoming film. Also name his first film.

W1

MEGAWHATS 2017W1

MEGAWHATS 2017

During the making of the film – Satta Bazaar, the film’s

distributor Shantibhai Patel christened him ‘_____’ meaning

madman. Patel was very impressed by his work but could not

reconcile his excellence to the typical young man in his twenties

who wore a rather colourful shirt. He said, “Main iska naam

_____ rakhoonga. He looks like a ‘_____’ (madman)”.

A major critic of his peers, he believed in quality and not

quantity – thus resulting in just 240 works to his credit (to date).

Who?

W2

MEGAWHATS 2017

1. The Mermaid

2. The Intouchables

3. Monster Hunt

4. Your Name

Which film comes at #5? What is this list about?

W3


MEGAWHATS 2017

Affectionately known as Munshi, Hafiz Mohammed ____ Karim,

was the Indian servant, who had a special relationship with the

monarch for the last 15 years of her life; this was captured in

the book, _______ and _____, currently under production as a

film starring Ali Fazal.

The first role Ali Fazal played in Bollywood saw him as a

guitarist who succumbs to the pressures of academic rigour

and an unfinished drone project.

Name the upcoming film. Also name his first film.

W1

MEGAWHATS 2017

Victoria and Abdul

3 Idiots

MEGAWHATS 2017

During the making of the film – Satta Bazaar, the film’s

distributor Shantibhai Patel christened him ‘_____’ meaning

madman. Patel was very impressed by his work but could not

reconcile his excellence to the typical young man in his twenties

who wore a rather colourful shirt. He said, “Main iska naam

_____ rakhoonga. He looks like a ‘_____’ (madman)”.

A major critic of his peers, he believed in quality and not

quantity – thus resulting in just 240 works to his credit (to date).

Who?

W2

MEGAWHATS 2017

Gulshan Bawra

MEGAWHATS 2017

1. The Mermaid

2. The Intouchables

3. Monster Hunt

4. Your Name

Which film comes at #5? What is this list about?

W3

MEGAWHATS 2017

Dangal

Highest grossing non-English films globally

China’s The Mermaid ($533 million) and Monster Hunt

($386 million), France's The Intouchables ($427 million),

and Japan's Your Name ($354 million).

S C O R E S

▪8 questions




MEGAWHATS 2017

Movable bridges of this type with a counter-weight that

continuously balances the span get their name from a French

word for a common playground equipment. That word is, in

turn, derived from the words battre for ‘to bump’ and cul for

‘buttocks’, evocative of the action that takes place in the

playground.

What are such bridges called?

What is the equipment?

25

MEGAWHATS 2017

Bascule

See-saw

MEGAWHATS 2017

The people who were singled out for praise for the efforts

included William Chester Minor, an American Civil War veteran

who supplied 1000 quotations; Harold Murray, who gave 15k

quotations; William Douglas (28k); and H.R. Helwich, who

submitted 46k slips. Helwich focussed on a 30,000-line Middle

English historical poem.

What were all they helping with?

Which is the M.E. work, and what significance does it have in

relation to the answer to the first question?

26

MEGAWHATS 2017

Oxford English Dictionary

Cursor Mundi is the

most quoted work in the OED

MEGAWHATS 2017

When it first appeared in 1924, it was published as a magazine, but in 1935 it changed to a weekly newspaper. Nikolai Krylenko was

the editor from 1924 until his death in 1938. After a brief interruption during WW II, printing resumed in 1946. In 1968, it was revamped as a weekly magazine by Alexander Roshal and Tigran Petrosian.

In 1986, its publication of 2,000-word excerpt—from a 1954 work Different Shores—caused a flutter. Roshal was severely reprimanded, even though at that

time Karpov was Editor-In-Chief. In 1992, it fell upon hard times and ceased publication but Roshal soon revived it.

Which magazine?Why was the extract of interest—a matter of literary trivia

involving a famous author?

27

MEGAWHATS 2017

64

It was the first time

Vladimir Nabokov was published in Russia

MEGAWHATS 2017

This company was a pioneer in some ways. Its first project, in 1924,

was a crossword book—the books were innovatively sold.

It sold 3,600 copies, a big success. Leon Shimkin became an equal

partner in 1930, joining the co-founders Richard and Lincoln.

In 1925, they became the first publisher to offer booksellers a

certain privilege—a practice that revolutionizes the book business,

and continues till this day.

Which company?

What was the practice?

28

MEGAWHATS 2017

Simon and Schuster

They offered booksellers the privilege

of returning unsold copies for credit.

MEGAWHATS 2017

Back in time, when coins were minted using precious metals such as

gold, crooks found a way to take metal from the coins while still

retaining its original shape and without attracting suspicion.

Mints and treasuries got wind of this, and came up with a design

that would deter the thieves.

What was done to coins to counter pilferage?

An Asian country’s currency takes its name

from this new design idea. Which country?

29

MEGAWHATS 2017

To combat pilferage, countries began

minting coins with jagged edges.

Malaysia

‘Ringgit’ means jagged, serrated or milled

MEGAWHATS 2017

Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli was a 15th century polymath from Florence. He had lengthy correspondence with Fernão Martins, a royal agent. Another person heard of his ideas and wrote to him,

and also sent him an armillary sphere stating his intent.

Toscanelli replied, painting a vivid picture, attaching something

that this person never let go out of his sight. Toscanelli died,

however, without seeing his ‘dream project’ realised.

What was he responsible for—a blunder that

would unfold a decade after his death?

30

MEGAWHATS 2017

He made the wrong map which Columbus

relied on, showing Asia to the West

MEGAWHATS 2017

These are the last eight lines of Tiare Tahiti by Rupert Brooke. The four words blanked out give the

title of a debut effort of a well-known writer in 1920.

The writer wrote the novel after something happened in his personal life; he wanted to quickly repair that; once the novel was published, it would bring him fame and wealth, and win him the right

attention. It did turn out that way finally.

Who is the author? What’re the blanks?

What was the personal goal behind

publishing the book?

31

Limbs that gleam and shadowy hair, Or floating lazy, half-asleep. Dive and double and follow after, Snare in flowers, and kiss, and call, With lips that fade, and human laughter And faces individual, Well ___ ___ __ ______ .... There’s little comfort in the wise.

MEGAWHATS 2017

This Side of Paradise by F Scott Fitzgerald

To win Zelda’s hand in marriage

Last question coming up…

MEGAWHATS 2017

This is a work depicting the Moirai – common figures in Greek mythology and philosophy. They are supposed to control the life of

every human being, by performing three actions with a thread. Lachesis was the allotter – the one who measured the length of the thread and controlled a person’s longevity, while Atropos was the

inflexible one, who cut the thread and ended a person’s life.

The third was responsible for spinning the thread. She also made major decisions, such as when a person was born,

in effect controlling people's lives.

What is her name that lives on as a word in the English language? What is the collective name in English for these three figures?

32

32

MEGAWHATS 2017

The Three Fates

Clotho, from whose name we get Cloth

The Three Fates willing, you will qualify to the finals☺

F I N A LS C O R E S

2017 MegaWhats Semifinal 2 true version

Education