Hyderabad Quiz Club

Landmark Quiz 2011 - Hyderabad Leg

2011-10-11T03:46:00.000-07:00

The first ever edition of the Hyderabad leg of Landmark Quiz 2011 would be held on 22nd October at RNR Auditorium. Please click on the image for details.

One of the biggest quizzes in India, this would be a treat for each and every quizzing enthusiast in the city. Please do register in advance to ensure that you get to participate in this event.

Five more that bit the dust

2011-07-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

1. It gets its name from the fact that it was observed mostly around Christmas by South American fishermen. A study conducted in 1998 also alludes to this having caused poor crop yields in Europe in 1789-93 which in turn might have helped spark of the French Revolution.
What?

2. Students at the Univ Of Konstanz recently demoed a unique project aimed at providing a revolutionary new navigation system for the blind that analyzed the space around them and then helped them to navigate the space by giving voice instructions.
This system consisted of a belt to be worn by the user which housed the feedback system and helmet with a device mounted on it that formed the heart of this system.
Which “unusual” device did this system use?

3. In the 1600’s when Christopher Wren was redesigning the St. Paul’s Cathedral he was faced with a peculiar problem. He wanted to construct a huge dome but did not know the structure would support the weight.
He posed this problem to his friend X who incidentally had been studying the work of Christian Huygens related to chains. X suggested that Wren should design the dome in the form of an inverted chain since that dome can support its own weight and does not need external support. He even came with the equation to describe such a catenary dome and Wren went back and constructed such a dome and the rest is history.Who was the unlikely architect of the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral?

4. Composed of large, white, sweeping dunes, Lencois Maranhenses, a national park and not a desert, lies just outside the Amazon basin. The region is subject to a regular rain season during the beginning of the year which cause a peculiar phenomenon: fresh water collects in the valleys between sand dunes, spotting the desert with blue and green lagoons. Why or how do we know this place?

5. Super 30 is a highly ambitious and innovative educational program which hunts for 30 meritorious talents from among the economically backward sections of the society and shapes them for India's most prestigious institution – the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). After which famous Indian is it named?

We have become nicer!

2011-07-23T11:20:00.002-07:00

Yes, with India all set to get a drubbing at Lords, Baba Ramdev no more running in drag on National Television and Anil Kapoor having been snubbed in the MI-4 trailer, the world is no more a nice place. We, however, are such nice people that we are going to do what no one else has done, ever before.

We are going to give away our rejects. Yes! The Greenko Open 2011 rejects and not old, expired questions. Fresh from the editing board and with much heartburn from the owners of the respective questions.

As the start of our benevolence, this Saturday Late Night Fever edition of five questions is just the beginning.

N.B: The questions are at various levels of rejection (We are shamelessly admitting that some may not have been researched enough and have been rejected outright before our stringent rounds of verification, which can put Credit Card companies to shame)

The first one in Jun 2010 lasted 665 minutes. The second in Jun 2011, a mere 123 minutes. What are we talking about?
The purchase of which famous painting in 1937 for $110,000 with funds from a trust fund for the Philadelphia Museum of Art by their major benefactor Joseph E. Widener was welcome by the editorial of "The Philadelphia Record" as "No less than 41,000 of the city's dwellings—one in every ten—are without bathtubs and One hundred and ten thousand dollars would buy bathtubs for nearly half of these bathtubless dwellings.''?
They are a gotra (clan) of Jat, found in the eastern uplands of Sargodha and Gujrat districts, of Punjab, Pakistan. A small number are also found in Jhelum and Gujranwala districts. The most famous of them went by the name Dheedo but was immortalized as the gotra / clan name as part of an epic love story. Who?
Identify the original movie and singer of the song remixed here:
To whom is this Google doodle a tribute?

Greenko Open Quiz 2011

2011-07-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Fellow accumulators of useless knowledge and esoteric trivia, pay close attention. This is the time to mark your calendars.

Rustam-e-Dauran, Arastu-e-Zaman, Muzzafar-ul-Mulk, Wal Mamalik, Field Marshal, Fateh Jung, Sipah Salar, Faithful Ally of the Quizzing Circuit, Nizam-ud-Daula, Nizam-ul-Quizdom, Greenko Open Quiz IV is bringing its tashreef.

It will be held on 30th July (Saturday) 2011 between 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm in Hyderabad at the RNR Auditorium, Banjara Hills. Please do mark it in your calendar and be there.

Chuninda Details

Date: July 30, 2011 (Saturday)

Venue: RNR Auditorium, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad

Time: Prelims at 2:00 p.m. and finals at 5:00 p.m.

Type: Open

Teams: <= 3 hominids per team, 8 teams in the finals

Entry Fee: 0. Nil. Zilch.

Title Sponsor: Greenko Group

Prizes: In excess of Rs. 80,000 in cash including prizes for all finalists, audience, and other categories

Quiz Masters: Nitish Khadiya, Ravi Mundoli, Priyambad Pattanayak, Diwakar Pingle

Greenko Hyderabad Open Quiz 2010

2010-07-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

We're back, baby! We're back!! And we've changed venues. This time it will be in a vastly superior hall that we will bheja fry some of the best quizzers in India.

Date: 31st July (Saturday)

Time:
2:00 pm – Written Elimination Round

4:30 pm – Finals

Please be seated by 1:30 pm

We are sincere in our attempt to be Nazi about punctuality. Be warned :)

Team size: 3 or less

Venue: RNR Auditorium, Opposite Lotus Pond, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad (Route Map)

Eligibility: Must have pulse. Central nervous system desirable but not mandatory.

Entry Fee: Nil. Zero. Zip. Nada. There is no need for any registration either.

Number of teams in finals: 8

The Dabbus:

Ist Place - Rs. 18,000 cash
IInd Place - Rs. 12,000 cash
IIIrd Place - Rs. 9,000 cash

Cash prizes for all finalists!

Special prizes for school teams and corporate teams also.

Attractive audience prizes as well.

Quiz Masters: Diwakar Pingle, Priyambad Pattanayak, Nitish Khadiya and Ravi Mundoli

Please mail us at quizhyd [ATHERATEOF] gmail [DOT] com for any clarifications or call
Nitish(+919885679460) or Ravi(+919500008907).

A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Regards,

The Team

Phase Forward ACE 2010 Corporate Quiz

2010-05-14T03:42:00.000-07:00

The 6th edition of the Phase Forward ACE Corporate General Quiz will be conducted in a couple of weeks.

Date: 12 June 2010

Venue: Indian School of Business, Hyderabad

Title Sponsor: Phase Forward

More details on the website.

KQA MegaWhats 2009

2009-12-07T01:50:00.000-08:00

Mega-Whats is a quiz designed to answer the question ‘Which is India’s best open quizzing team?’.

The operative word here is ‘open’; anybody can form a team to participate, and any team can win. The syllabus, to preempt the obvious question, is surprise.

The quiz will be held across nine cities simultaneously--Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa, Thrissur, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Kolkata.

Date: Sunday, 13 December 2009

Venue: Vasavi Hall AC Auditorium(3rd floor), Opp Sensation Theatre, Khairtabad, Hyderabad.

Entry fee: Rs. 150 per team

General quiz, open to all
Teams of FOUR members (or less).
Prior registration is essential.
To register, please email kqaquizzes@gmail.com with Mega-Whats 2009 and the city you are competing from in the subject-header.
Please provide the names of the four people who comprise your team in the email–also indicate whether you are taking part in the school or open categories
Email registrations will close on Sunday 6th December 2009. Centre coordinators will allow entries after the cut-off date at their discretion.
Please note that the quizzing community in your city may charge an entry fee to meet venue and equipment hire expenses. For Hyderabad this entry fee will be Rs.150 per team.
The school category is open only to teams comprising students from Std. VIII-X .
School teams ( Std. VIII-X) are allowed free entry. A school may field a maximum of TWO teams (of four members each)
Please report by 1430hrs at the venue in your city. The quiz will start at 1500hrs (sharp) and end by 1730hrs.
Contesting teams will answer a written quiz of six sections and about sixty questions, inclusive of audios, videos and visuals.
Answers and scores will be announced on the same day–prizes will be given out for Best School Team and Best Open Team.
Prizes for Open and School category winners.
We will also announce a national winner and rank the top 100 teams across the country–this list will go up by the 25th of December.
The rankings will be announced after adjudication. The decision of the quiz-master will be final and binding on all participants.

For more details, please email kqaquizzes@gmail.com, or call Arul Mani (097312-14519) or visit www.kqaquizzes.org

General Quiz for Corporates and B-School students

2009-11-10T03:13:00.000-08:00

A General Quiz for Corporates and B-School students is planned for teams of 2 members to help raise funds for charity. Details are given below:

Date : Saturday, November 21, 2009
Time : 1pm - 5:30 pm
Registration : 12:30 pm
Prelims : 1 pm
Finals : 2:30 pm
Venue : C.E.S.S ( Centre for Economic and Social Studies), Ameerpet, Hyderabad ( http://www.cess.ac.in/CessHome/locationmap1.htm )

QMs : Nitish Khadiya & Diwakar Pingle

Participation Fee : Rs. 5000/- for one team or Rs. 4,000/- per team if there are more than 2 teams from the same institution

PRIZES :
Winners : approximately worth Rs. 15,000/-
1st runners up : appro. worth Rs . 8,000/-
2nd runners up : appro. worth Rs . 5,000/-

The team participation fee should be treated as a donation for charity and the donation will be tax exempt under Section 80 G of the Income Tax. Cheque/ D.D. should be made in favour of Concern India foundation.

The quiz is open to teams of 2 members wherein both the team members must belong to the same corporate institution or must be students of the same B-School. Participants are requested to carry ID Cards/Letters from HR/Principal for identification purposes.

For any further clarifications please contact :
Laxmi Sukumaran
Concern India Foundation
Flat No:403, Nirman Towers
East Marredpally
Hyderabad-500 026
Tel:+91-40-2773 1460 / 2773 4936

Prelims of the Greenko Hyderabad Open Quiz 2009

2009-08-04T04:25:00.000-07:00

HQC Open 2009 Prelims

Greenko Hyderabad Open: Traffic Restrictions in the city tomorrow

2009-07-31T03:24:00.000-07:00

Seems like the traffic on SP Road will be diverted or stopped tomorrow due to the Vice President's visit to the city. As per popular newspapers, the timing of the diversions are 12:15 pm to 1 pm and 3:30 pm to 4 pm in the SP Road area, but it can go a little beyond given the nature of such things. The traffic in and around Rajbhawan road and Khairatabad area will be affected from 2pm -4 pm. Please do factor this in while trying to reach the venue tomorrow.

The gates of the auditorium will open at 1:45 pm so please try and be at the venue on time.

Greenko Hyderabad Open Quiz 2009

2009-07-24T00:36:00.000-07:00

We're back. The gori details...

Date: 1st August (Saturday)

Time:
2:30 pm – Written Elimination Round

4:45 pm – Finals (We expect the finals to finish by 7:15 pm)

Please land up at least 30 minutes before the quiz and get cracking. We are sincere in our attempt to be Nazi about punctuality.

Venue: Hari Hara Kala Bhavan, Secunderabad (see below for map)

Team Size: Teams of 3

Eligibility: Must have pulse. Central nervous system desirable but not mandatory.

Entry Fee: Nil. Zero. Zip. Nada. There is no need for any registration either.

Prizes
First Prize – Rs. 18,000 cash
Second Prize – Rs. 12,000 cash
Third Prize – Rs. 9,000 cash

Prizes for all finalists + Top 3 School Teams + Best Corporate Team + Audience Prizes

A splendid time is guaranteed for all. Official website is here.

Map (click to enlarge):

Greenko Hyderabad Open 2009

2009-07-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

The Hyderabad Open is back!! Please save the date and look for more details on the blog as well as the website:

Date: 1st August 2009
Time : 3pm - 7:30 pm (tentative)
Venue: Hari Hara Kala Bhavan, Secunderabad

Phase Forward ACE 2009 Corporate Quiz

2009-05-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Hyderabad chapter of Asha, in association with Phase Forward and the Indian School of Business present their annual summer fund-raising even, the Phase Forward ACE 2009 Corporate Quiz.

Date: 13^th June, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Venue: Khemka Auditorium, ISB, Gachi Bowli, Hyderabad

Quizmasters: Quizerati

Entry: Rs. 1000 per team of 2

More details, entry forms, FAQ etc. on the website.

Do help Asha by being a sponsor or participant, and with publicity etc.

Mahaquizzer 2009

2009-05-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

FYI

From: Arul Mani - arulmani_98 [AT] yahoo [DOT] com

Hello,

We will hold the fifth edition of Mahaquizzer across 12 cities on Sunday, 24 May 2009. The cities where centres are being offered are Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Thrissur and Mysore. If we are able to obtain permission, Singapore will also figure among the venues.

Mahaquizzer is the National Quizzing Championship. It is open to single entrants. There is no entry fee. Contestants are required to answer 150 questions over 90 minutes.

Mahaquizzer 2009 has been set by Arun Hiregange, Dibyendu Das, Thejaswi Udupa, Avinash Thirumalai and Ochintya Sharma.

Four prizes will be given out in each city: Best Quizzer, Best Woman Quizzer, Best College Quizzer and Best School Quizzer.

The person recording the highest score across all centres will hold the title of Mahaquizzer for 2009. She/he will also be awarded the Wing Commander G.R. Mulky Trophy for Quizzing Excellence.This trophy will be given in June 2009 during the KQA 26th Anniversary event.

You can have a look at previous editions of the quiz (2005-2008) here: http://kqaquizzes.org/quizzes/

Participants interested in registering should mail Mahaquizzer@gmail.com. Please mention the city where you would like to appear from in the subject-header. Please do mention age and institutional affiliations if you are a student. Since seating is limited in many centres, local coordinators will work on a first-come first-served basis. Please register by Sunday 17 May 2009 to avoid disappointment.

We are working on finalising the venues--a list with full addresses will be put up at http://kqaquizzes.org in a few days.

Please pass the information around at work and on other fora that you may have access to. Please do try and get friends who've never quizzed before to try out this quiz.

For clarifications or for more information , please call me at 97312-14519.

Thank you,

Best Regards

Arul Mani
Coordinator
Mahaquizzer 2009

K-Circle Quiz Fest

2009-02-25T23:29:00.000-08:00

K-Circle invites you to participate in the K-Circle Quiz Fest on March 7, 2009 at the Khemka Auditorium, Indian School of Business campus, Gachibowli, Hyderabad between 9am and 4 pm. The Quiz Fest consists of a Business Quiz and an Open Quiz.

Advance Registration Mandatory.

Participants are required to register in advance to participate. Participants must carry a Photo Identity Card with them. We solicit your cooperation in this regard.

Registration

The registration form is available on www.kcircle.com. Please fill in the form and mail it to kckcircle@gmail.com

Particulars of Quizzes:

Business Quiz: Teams of two from the same organization
Open Quiz: Teams of three. Any combination permitted.

Prize Money:

Rs 15,000 for each quiz

Open quiz on 8th of February

2009-02-04T00:05:00.000-08:00

The next quiz by HQC is on Sunday, the 8th of February.

Here are the details:

Quizmaster: Diwakar Pingle.

To borrow from Dharam paaji in Johnny Gaddaar, "It's not the age, it's the mileage." Like the pater familias he is, Diwakar has provoked feelings of fear, respect, admiration, and dare we say it, affection in the hearts and minds of quizzers across the peninsular and insular subcontinent for the better part of 2 decades. Many a callow lad has embarked on his quizzing career quivering in terror as the Ping's teammate, and having bashed on regardless through fire and brimstone, emerged on the other side as a fine quizzer and leader. Their experience is perhaps best described via General Freiherr Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg letter to Generalsfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel in July, 1944: "The recent battles in a theater of quizzing more exacting than any I had hitherto experienced have, in addition to providing me with my posting...and uniting me in purpose with yourself, wrought an inner change in me. Your quizzerly qualities and experience have transformed the temper of my obediance into something different and finer than the effort of will it had hitherto been. I feel I may ask you, Herr Field Marshal, to accept my thanks for the confidence you placed in me in those brief hard days of quizzing which we went through together..."

He has founded quizzing organizations in more than one city, helped foster and nourish them through a careful combination of carrot and stick (bludgeon, actually) and has set questions for some of the finest quizzes in recent memory. While he claims to specialize in sports, buisness, nature and science, ever so often he will whip out a completely uncharacteristic stunner of an answer involving wildebeest, Evil Kanievel (we don't even know how to spell it) and Raveena Tandon. Quite apart from quizzing, his sports mania now runs to running, and he has many half marathons under his belt (even if it doesn't show over the belt!).

Whew. What we're basically trying to say is that the man is ji heera hai heera. We hear he's doing a westward ho in a few months, and we will sorely miss his organizational skills and his ability to get us off our collective butts into doing something. Here's to you, old man; there's a reason why they say "Ping is King"!

Date: 8 February 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions)

Format: Team quiz - Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Directions: From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Contact: Nitish (98856 79460) and Ravi (94418 86489)

Few questions from the quiz on the 11th of January

2009-01-12T22:04:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the questions from yet another blockbuster quiz at HQC on the 14th of October done by Praveen.

1. Chewits,a British confectionary firm,released a list of most scary villains this Christmas.The Joker topped it. Darth Vader and Freddy Keuger came third and fourth.Who was second?

A: George W. Bush

2. ____ and _____ were the largest seafaring provinces in Netherlands and hence these two countries originally discovered by Dutch sailors were named as X and Y.While X later changed to Z the name Y stuck.Id X,Y,Z

A: X = Holland, Y = Zeeland, Z = Australia

3. X was so popular in England that the Germans aimed to make a fatal blow to the public confidence by attributing his death in 1915 to a Zeppelin attack. X?

A: W.G.Grace

4. This set of 30 people received an exclusive gift hamper set consisting of Nokia N-Series cell phones,a gold coin,a custom T-Shirt and personalized letter of thanks.Who and why?

A: The stars in the "all star" song from Om Shanti Om as they refused to charge money for appearance.

5. X died in prison on April 28, 1918 due to tuberculosis. Being too young to receive the death penalty X received the maximum sentence of twenty years in prison. What was he imprisoned for?

A: X was Gavrilo Princip, imprisoned for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which act precipitated World War I.

6. The first use of this term is attributed to Alfred Thayer Mahan an American naval strategist in an article published in Sept 1902
"The ___________, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar; it does not follow that either will be in the Persian Gulf. Naval force has the quality of mobility which carries with it the privilege of temporary absences; but it needs to find on every scene of operation established bases of refit, of supply, and in case of disaster, of security. The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden, India, and the Persian Gulf "

A: Middle East

7. The kidnapping & murder Adam Walsh was a landmark case in the US bringing about a number of changes like establishment of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, The Code Adam program for helping lost children in department stores and also the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.Besides these,the murder also led to something very famous.What it is?

A: America's Most Wanted

8. The recent boxing day test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka brought back a tradition last seen 13 years ago to facilitate the general elections held in the country.Which tradition?

A: Rest day

9. Mona Simpson is an American novelist and essayist who's written popular books like Anywhere But Here,Lost Father and A Regular Guy.She's the younger sister of X. Because X was placed for adoption as a baby by their then-unmarried parents, she first met her sibling only as an adult.ID X?

A report of the quiz will be up soon...
A: Steve Jobs

10. A particular graveyard in Burlington, Vermont is the only of its kind, with each addition made with huge fanfare.Who/what is buried in this graveyard?

A: Ben & Jerry's flavours

Open Quiz on 11th of January

2009-01-05T22:04:00.000-08:00

The next quiz by HQC is on Sunday, the 11th of January.

Here are the details:

Quizmaster: In a parallel universe Praveen is Steven Gerrard who is trying to save the world from evil decepticons from Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal among others. He is also the author of the best selling book 'Everything Red: How Liverpool and not 42 is the answer to life,universe and everything'.
While in this universe he is the next big quizzing superstar (which we believe), who also writes complex God-level codes (so we have been told) for Oracle and code-jam contests and it gives us immense pleasure to introduce Praveen as the quizmaster for the next HQC monthly on Sunday, 11th January.

Date: 11 January 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions)

Format: Team quiz - Teams of 3. And we stick to our word of allowing you to participate with your own team.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head => Rs. 75 per team.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Directions: From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Contact: Nitish (98856 79460) and Ravi (94418 86489)

Report on the HQC monthly quiz on 14th December

2008-12-19T23:24:00.000-08:00

QM: Navneet Bal

Format: Teams of 2

Report: Navneet delivered a masterpiece of a quiz.

The attendence was low. While there are theories of pressing engagements and exams we blame it on the 'lazy Sunday morning' syndrome. The low attendence was however the perfect setting for a very serious and classic quiz by Navneet. As usual the quiz threw up a few new faces which again proved that as far as quizzing in Hyderabad is concerned, people needn't worry.

The quiz was divided into two infinite bounce rounds split by a breather. It was a fantastic quiz with a lot of questions on history, Geography, War, Sports and India.

Without being disrespectful to others a team consisting of Ravi and Praveen in a history, geography and war quiz was the team to beat. Despite a splendid performnace, Diwakar and Debjit fell short of beating the eventual winners. Team Priyambad and Afzaal finished a close third.

The venue as usual was provided by Innobox. A big thank you for them.

The quiz lasted almost two hours, and left the entire group thoroughly satisfied with having taken the effort to wake up and show up for the fantastic quiz. Thank you very much Navneet for a splendid quiz.

Winners:
1. Ravi, Praveen, Satish
2. Diwakar, Debjit
3. Priyambad, Afzaal

Thumbs Up
1. Great questions
2. Navneet (Finally a question on Ijazat :) )
3. As usual the fantastic venue
4. The Hitchcock question and the Micheal Holding question

Thumbs Down
3. None actually

Team HQC’s Note
Our thanks to everyone who took time off on a lazy Sunday morning to attend.

The next quiz will be by Praveen and is scheduled for 11th January, 2008 (Sunday) at the same time and in the same place. As it is 'Odyssey Quiz' time, people can come with their own 3 member teams for the January Monthly.

HQC monthly on 14th December - Some pics

2008-12-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Have a look at the fantastic venue provided by Innobox to us.

We will soon put a review of the sensational quiz by Navneet. Till then do with some pics.

Navneet the quizmaster getting the applause.

Awe and shock for Sharda ! Debjit can't take it anymore !!

Kiddo unleashing his rendition of Raag Megh Malhaar on the hapless people

Some magic trick?

Open Quiz on 14th of December

2008-11-24T22:12:00.000-08:00

The next quiz by HQC is on Sunday, the 14th of December.
Here are the details:

Date: 14 December 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions and map)

Format: Team quiz, with a little bit for everyone.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head.
Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Quizmaster: Navneet Bal

Directions:
From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Map:

Questions from the quiz on Nov 9th

2008-11-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

Questions from the delectable quiz that Lathish did:

1. This insect order consists of approximately 2,000 species worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. Their name is often misspelled since they are notoriously predatory, they are in fact named after their typical stance. The name derives from the Greek word for “prophet” or “fortune teller”. In Europe, the name refers to only a single species, _______religiosa. Their closest relatives are the orders Isoptera (termites) and Blattodea (cockroaches). Which insects?

A: Preying/Praying mantis

2. Ancient Greek grammarian Dionysius Thrax is credited with their creation. An anonymous author of the 1733 book The English Accidence called them “the foundation upon which the beautiful fabric of the language stands.” John Stuart Mill felt they represented the universal categories of human thought. There was a lot of shuffling around until Joseph Priestley’s 1761 Rudiments of English Grammar finally estd. the baseball size line up. They have been generally accepted for the last quarter-millennium. What?

A: Parts of Speech

3. The origins of _____ date back at least to Roman times, to a game called paganica and reached Britain by 400AD (although the Chinese claim to have invented it by 2500 BC) It developed towards its modern form in Scotland where the first written reference comes in a decree which was actually released to encourage the royal sport of archery. It ran "futeball and ______ be utterly cryit doune and not usit." Its name is thought to have been derived from Dutch word for "club" or from an Old Scots word meaning "cuff" or "strike hard.“

A: Golf

4. What was the term coined by English romance novelist and screenwriter Elinor Glyn to describe actress Clara Bow as she appeared in a 1927 Hollywood silent film ?

A: The "It" Girl

5. The nickname of Martha _____ Canary (1852-1903) of Deadwood South Dakota. She behaved like a cowboy but was generally unlucky in nefarious activities and brought catastrophe on her associates. Eleven of her twelve husbands died untimely deaths. She dressed, swore and shot like a man eventually went into show business and threatened ‘_______’ to any man who offended her.

A: Calamity Jane

6: X was the elder son of Shantanu and Satyavati. He ascended the throne of Hastinapura, and was very successful which angered a Gandharva king of the same name. They fought an even matched duel before X was slain and Vichitravirya ascended the throne.
In another episode, Arjuna’s wanderings took him to ancient Manipur where he meets princess Y, the daughter of the king of Manipur and falls in love. According to the matrimonial customs of Manipur, the children born of Y were the heirs and were not allowed to be taken away. Arjuna agreed to this stipulation and finally wed the princess. X and Y?

A: X= Y = Chitrangada

7. DVD cover of which movie?

A: Zodiac

8: Who is behind the questions mark?

A: Salman Rushdie

9: Cover of what?

A: Modesty Blaise's first book

10 : Whose signing ?

A: Bruce Springsteen

Open Quiz on 9 November

2008-10-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

The next monthly quiz is scheduled for November 9 (Sunday). The gory details:

Date: 9 November 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions and map)

Format: Team quiz. Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Quizmaster: Lathish Venugopal

Directions:
From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Map:

Contact: Nitish (98856 79460), Priyambad (99484 53388), Ravi (94418 86489)

Report on the 12 October - HQC Monthly Quiz

2008-10-16T01:20:00.001-07:00

QM: Pradeep Ramarathnam (In absentia as he was busy participating in a quiz in Bombay / Pune) – Was done by Nitish instead who did a commendable job by sacrificing a place for the spoils – Dude you deserve your Biryani (will see what I can do)

Format: Teams of 4. There were exactly 32 people in 8 teams ap.

Report: Pradeep, the quizmaster couldn’t be here as he was busy participating in a quiz faraway in Pune and had sent us the questions. Nitish had to become the quizmaster for the day and did a commendable job.

In terms of attendance, the quiz was just perfect with exactly 32 people in 8 teams. A lot of new faces were present which was a very healthy sign as far as quizzing in Hyderabad is concerned.

The quiz was divided into two infinite bounce rounds split by a written round and a theme round. The theme round had some memorable questions but was too elementary to crack. Most of the teams went around it and missed it.

It was a sensational quiz nonetheless. The quiz was full of brilliant questions without becoming too obscure – Super show Pradeep.

In a very close finish the team of Diwakar, Raghavendra, Vishal and Navneet pipped the team comprising Chandu, B.Aditya and Vignesh. Team Raghu, Muneer and Rahul Girish finished a close third.

The venue as usual was provided by Innobox. A big thank you for them.

The quiz lasted almost two hours, and left the entire group thoroughly satisfied with having taken the effort to wake up early on an otherwise sleepy day.

Winners:
1. Diwakar, Vishal, Raghavendra & Navneet
2. Chandu, Vignesh and B. Aditya.
3. Raghu, Rahul Girish & Muneer.

Thumbs Up
1. Great questions (Kudos to Pradeep)
2. Navneet (Neville D’Souza – How on earth!!!)
3. Cozy and comfortable (air-conditioned?!) venue
4. The P word questions and the BC questions. 
5. A questions on the KK (both of them )

Thumbs Down
1. Navneet fast becoming the new Ravi Mundoli (Back to back winner) 
2. Venue felt cramped (which actually was a good sign)
3. The Subhash Ghai connect 

Memorable Questions:
Sutta, Golden Fleece, Oscar Wilde, Dravid questions.

Team HQC’s Note
Our thanks to everyone who took time off on a lazy Sunday morning to attend.

The next quiz will be by Latish Venugopal (Ladeeshmogan of the Crucible fame) is scheduled for 9th November, 2008 (Sunday) at the same time and in the same place.

Open quiz in Hyderabad on 12th of October

2008-10-06T00:36:00.001-07:00

The next quiz by HQC is on Sunday, the 12th of October. Here are the details:

Date: 12 October 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions and map)

Format: Team quiz, with a little bit for everyone.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head.
Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Quizmaster: Pradeep Ramarathnam of BQC (Bombay Quiz Club)

Directions:
From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Map:

Contact: Nitish (98856 79460), Priyambad (99484 53388)

Report on the 14 September Quiz

2008-09-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

The down and dirty on the 14 September 2008 edition of the HQC Monthly Quiz series. Thanks to Renu and Majji for the report (with minor editorial kirkiri).

QM: Ravi Mundoli, Priyambad Pattanayak, Nitish Khadiya, Diwakar Pingle (in absentia)

Format: Teams of 2 and 3. There were 20 odd people in 8 teams, in toto.

Report: Earlier this year, the QMs conducted the Greenko Hyd Open Quiz – which was the biggest quiz in recent years in Hyd and which was attended by some of the top quizzing teams in the country. The quiz this Sunday (Sept 14th) was essentially culled from the surplus questions of the aforementioned Open Quiz.

In terms of attendance, the quiz could have done better. Some of the usual suspects were missing perhaps because it was the day of Vinayaka Nimarjana or a lazy Sunday morning.

The quiz was divided into three rounds based on the level of difficulty: Plain Sailing, Base Camp and Summit Assault – a format inspired by the Quiz Mountain, apparently. Needless to say, the level of difficulty of questions in Summit Assault racked the brains of all present.

The questions ranged from word-origins to mythology to sports to movies, making sure all kinds of palates were satiated; and were of the top quality. In fact, some of us felt that quite a few of these should have made it to the Open Quiz in August.

Most of the teams did well in the Plain Sailing round (the round with the easy questions). It was the next 2 rounds - Base Camp and Summit Assault where the boys were separated from the men. Bhargav was in cracking form and could not have been stopped by anyone on that day. His team led from the beginning and had their hands on the top place by the time the rounds were reversed. Subbareddy and Sudhir – with their late surge in the final Summit Assault round - gave a run for the "coupons" to the team placed 2nd (Debjit & Co.), but it was too late to catch up.

The prizes in the form of coupons from Walden (and not Odyssey as always!). The venue – a small, comfy conference room with a seating of about 40, was provided by Innobox. The QM (Ravi Mundoli alias Kiddo) livened up the quiz with his easy style and sarcastic humour.

The 48 question quiz lasted an hour and a half, and left the entire group thoroughly satisfied with having taken the effort to wake up early on an otherwise sleepy day.

Winners:
1. Bhargav & Navneet
2. Debjit & Co.
3. Subbareddy & Sudhir Pai.

Thumbs Up
1. Great questions (Kudos to Diwakar, Priyambad, Nitish & Ravi)
2. Ravi
3. Bhargav (superlative performance!)
4. Cozy and comfortable (air-conditioned?!) venue

Thumbs Down
1. Not enough participation
2. Venue a tad difficult to locate
3. Some of the questions were possibly mis-classified i.e. we didn't judge the difficulty properly. --Ed
4. Power went off and on a couple of times. --Ed

Memorable Questions
Coaches of the Palace on Wheels, creamy layer, Bharuch/Kalyan, Kishore Kumar, flags of convenience

Quizmasters' Note
Our thanks to everyone who took time off on a potentially troublesome Sunday morning to attend. In particular, we were thrilled to play host to the new K-Circle executive committee! Of course, none of this would've been possible without Innobox's continued support, so thanks for that too.

The next quiz will be by Pradeep Ramarathnam of the BQC is tentatively scheduled for 12th October, 2008 (Sunday) at the same time and in the same place.

Open Quiz on 14 September

2008-09-08T02:52:00.000-07:00

The Open Quiz turned out to be a bit of a surprise. 178 teams showed up. 178!!! Who would've thunk it that 500 people would be interested in a quiz conducted by an unknown little quiz group? A bunch of pictures are here.

The reason why we've been so silent so far is because we were recovering from the shock!

And we come back to you now, with the regular monthly quiz series, beginning with the second Sunday of September. The gory details:

Date: 14 September 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions and map)

Format: Team quiz, with a little bit for everyone, with a Top Secret Ultra Cool Mega Attractive Quiz Mountain format.

Entry: Free, open. However :), quiz clubs do not run on enthusiasm and curiosity alone, and a little something from you (since we don't collect membership fees) will help us keep the flag flying. We suggest a contribution of Rs. 25 per head.

Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Prizes: Prizes for podium finishes (no national anthems!), as usual!!

Quizmasters: Ravi Mundoli, Nitish Khadiya, Diwakar Pingle, Priyambad Pattanayak

Directions:
From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Map:

Contact: Ravi (94418 86489), Nitish (98856 79460)

Greenko - Hyderabad Open Quiz Prelims questions (non audio-video)

2008-08-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

The cover of a book by Narendra Luther. What is the title?
With reference to the human anatomy, the first seven sets of these are known as True, the next three sets are False and the next two are called the Floating. What?
This famous food item is made not from besan, as elsewhere in India , but from ground moth pulse, the only crop that flourishes in this arid land. A secret ingredient is a good fistful of fine, clean, desert sand mixed into the dough. These, together with the region's bone-dry air, are what give it that special crispness and long shelf life. What food item are we talking about?
Complete this quote attributed to Sam Manekshaw: “Anyone who says he doesn’t know fear is either lying or is a _________.”
Called the Ursus maritimus, this is the world's largest predator found on land. An adult male weighs around 300–600 kg , while an adult female is about half that size. The IUCN now lists global warming as the most significant threat to this animal, primarily because this reduces its ability to find sufficient food. What?
Listen to the piece. Identify the lead vocalist.
The US benchmark for pricing this commodity is West Texas Intermediate while the British and European benchmark is the variety that we are all familiar with. Other varieties include Saharan Blend from Algeria, Girassol from Angola, Minas from Indonesia, Iran Heavy, Basra Light from Iraq, Kuwait Export, Es Sider from Libya, Bonny Light from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia's Arab Light, Murban from theEmirates and BCF 17 from Venezuela. What commodity?
This was co-founded by Dick Durrell as a spin-off from Time magazine. Its first managing editor, Richard Stolley, characterized the magazine as “getting back to the people who are causing the news and who are caught up in it, or deserve to be in it. Our focus is on people, not issues.” The magazine is perhaps best known for its yearly special issues naming “The Most Beautiful People”, “The Best and Worst Dressed”, and “The Sexiest Man Alive”. What?
Connect the visual to the audio piece you will hear.
The Beijing National Stadium which will host the opening and closing ceremony of the Olympics and the track & field events has a nickname because of the way it looks. What is it?
These two words come from two Sanskrit words meaning “fear” and “sound”. Traditionally they were devotees of Lord Shiva and they lived in and around cremation ghats. It is said they exorcised the spirits of the dead. They have given their names to two musical ragas. Name either.
Take a look at the visual. Identify the country that has introduced currencies in such denominations.
Manuel Santana was the first person from a particular country to win a prestigious event in 1966. Who is the second person?
He is referred to by the title “King of Darkness”. He is treated as a personification of darkness itself even though he was once a human being who later became very powerful and committed many evil deeds. His trademark quote is “Andhera kaayam rahe!” (“May darkness persist!”), which is also used by his followers. It is said that the source of his strength is one-half of the Shakti Punj which he obtained by trickery. Who is this great villain?
On 7 July 2008, this Indian tourist attraction joined among others Melaka and George Town in Malaysia, the Kuk Early Agricultural Site in Papua New Guinea, Stari Grad Plain in Croatia, the fortifications of Vauban in France, Berlin Modernism Housing Estates in Germany, Mantua and Sabbioneta in Italy, San Marino Historic Center and Mount Titano, and the Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountain area as additions to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Which one?
The aquatic part of the larger Silk Route, passes through this place. From the 7th to the 13th centuries, this island was controlled by the Srivijaya empire based in Sumatra. The city then changed hands several times before coming under the influence of the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. After the fall of Malacca to the Portuguese in 1511, it came under the control of the Malay Sultanate of Johore. Which city?
The constellation called Mensa is the only one in the universe to be named for a terrestrial feature. Which one?
Take a look at the map. Whose journey is it depicting?
Watch this video. What very famous painting are they trying to recreate?
Guru Gorakhnath visited the palace of Narbhupal Shah, a ruler of a small region. The wandering ascetic offered a bowl of curd to Prithvinarayan, the son of Narbhupal, who threw the bowl to the ground - a portion of the curd spattering to his feet. From this occurrence, the Guru predicted that Prithivinarayan would have the world at his feet and would rule a large kingdom. However, this new kingdom would be ruled only till the 12th generation of the Shah dynasty. The first part of the prophecy did come true and Prithivinarayan established a kingdom. Coincidentally the last part othe prophecy also came true when the 12th generation of the dynasty became the last to rule this kingdom. Who was the last king belonging to the 12th generation ?
Identify the person you see in this visual.
With respect to the United States, how would you better know: The Federal National Mortgage Association and The Federal Home Mortgage Corporation.
Vultures in India are being driven to extinction due to the use of the drug Diclofenac, which is given to cattle and in turn is a poison for vultures. The Bombay Natural History Society’s efforts to conserve vultures are being supported by members of a certain religion, because vultures play an important part in their tradition. Which religion?
“Quota-1” means West A Zone, West B Zone, North A Zone, North B Zone, Central Zone, East Zone, South Zone. “Quota-2” means minimum 50% between 18 - 35 years of age. “Quota – 3” means minimum 25% women. This quota system is the basis for selecting people for what TV programme?
“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens is about which two cities?
Even though it is not an ore producing region, Rewari in Rajasthan has been known for its brasswork and metal craft. Historians attribute the popularity of this profession to the fact that it was started by an emperor from Rewari. Trusting only his kith and kin, he asked them to manufacture the weapons for his army and sowed the seeds for the industry. Who was this Hindu emperor who ascended the throne of Delhi ?
The last movie in which this person will be seen is “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus”. Which is the second last one?
Identify the person you see in this stamp.
What might this chart help you derive?
In Norse mythology Bifrost is the bridge leading from Midgard, the realm of mortals, to Asgard, the realm of the gods, which the gods travel daily to hold their councils and pass judgments at Urdarbrunn. The bridge is guarded by Heimdall and is destroyed at the end of the world, Ragnarok. How do we know the bridge commonly?
Take a look at the video. Identify the Nobel laureate in the video.
Baobab is a rare medicinal tree and is the national tree of Madagascar and is known colloquially in Africa as the “upside-down tree”. The diameter of the tree varies between 5 and 7 metres. Once it dries up, the hollow part of the tree is used as a natural hut by some African tribes. In India, there are only 9 such trees. 5 of them are found in Ranchi's Doranda area and people believe the tree has spiritual powers. How do we know it in India as?
Literally meaning two rivers, this term is used in India and Pakistan for a tract of land lying between two confluent rivers. It designates the flat alluvial tract between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in western and south-western Uttar Pradesh, extending from the Shivalik range to the two rivers' confluence at Allahabad. What region?
The visual shows two official residences of this person. Which is the third one?
GOLKONDA which produced many diamonds had a mnemonic to remember it. The diamonds mined which made up the mnemonic were:

G - Great Table
OL - Orloff
KO - Kohinoor
N - ?
DA - Darya-i-Noor. What does N stand for?

Report on the Greenko - Hyderabad Open Quiz

2008-08-07T03:07:00.000-07:00

Quizmaster – Diwakar Pingle

Content Team – Diwakar Pingle, Ravi Mundoli, Nitish Khadiya, Priyambad

Format: Prelims consisting of 35 questions (1 mark each) with 10 tie-breaker questions. Finals: 5 rounds on round robin basis with a special environment round and a Wipe the Grid round. To even the scoring chances one of the normal rounds was based on a patented algorithm :).

Thumbs Up:
• Huge audience – 300 teams registered and 178 teams participated
• About 800-900 people in the auditorium
• Representation from many major cities like Bombay, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and major quiz clubs like QFI, KQA and BQC
• The questions covered a lot of varied topics – so we think
• Balanced set of questions – so we think
• Finished the quiz bang on time – The last question being asked at 7:30 p.m
• Your feedback is essential and please do comment on this post

Thumbs Down:
• The school kids were disappointed by a high-standard finals (We promise to do a school quiz next year for the kids)
• Some teams cribbing about seating arrangements – The teams had the option of picking their spots in the finals (Should put an end to all cribs)
• The power failure – We couldn’t help it what with the acute power shortage in Andhra Pradesh. (But then Andhera Kaayam Rahe)
• Your feedback is essential and please do comment on this post

Memorable questions: You tell us. (Other than the Blade Runner and the Wittgenstein questions which we know were sensational, weren’t they :))

1st: We Are Like This Wonly (WALTO) – Anustup Dutta, Ochintya Sharma and Apu from Bangalore
2nd: Ping(Le) Is King – Arul Mani, Vinod Ganesh, Jayakantan from Banglore/Chennai
3rd: Travelling Pillsburys – Rajiv Rai, Vibhendu, Sumant Srivatsan from Bombay.

With a tremendous performance ‘WALTO’ romped home winners with ‘Ping is King’ being a distant second. A great debut by ‘Rangeele from Rangoon’ who we hope will definitely improve by the time we are back for the next round. The Quizzing Royalty of India dished up a fantastic show and whetted the appetite of Hyderabadis hungry for quality Open quizzes. A majority of questions were cracked while a few passed all the teams only to be cracked by the intelligent Junta of Hyderabad. All the Prelims Questions from this quiz will be posted soon.

Thanking all the sponsors of this huge Open – GREENKO, TMC, Novotel Accor Group, Odyssey Books and Leisure Stores, Sun Direct for their support to make the event a big success; All the participants for turning up and putting up a great show; and above all the intelligent junta of Hyderabad for their enthusiasm.

Not to forget Odyssey Leisure Stores, Junior Chambers, Innobox and K – Circle for the year round support for our monthly meetings.

See you next year.
Happy Quizzing till then…

Online Quizzes - Teaser before the HQC Open

2008-07-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

The daily online quizzes preceding the Greenko Hyderabad Open Quiz have begun from Monday, the 28th of July, 2008.

There will be a quiz put up on the website, www.hyderabadquiz.org everyday and one lucky winner, answering the maximum number of questions correctly will win gift vouchers from Planet M.

For detailed rules and the online quizzes, please visit www.hyderabadquiz.org.

The Greenko Hyderabad Open Quiz

2008-07-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

We now have a website.

We're also thrilled to be supported by the Greenko Group in our first open quiz

Date: 2^nd August (Saturday)

Time:
Prelims: 2:30 p.m. (Teams to be in their seats by 2:00 p.m.)
Finals: 5:00 p.m.

Venue: Hari Hara Kala Bhavan

Prizes: Rs. 30,000++ !!

Eligibility: Must have pulse. Central nervous system desirable but not mandatory.

Entry Fee: Nil. Zero. Zip. Nada.

More details.

Register.

A splendid time is guaranteed for all, apparently.

Phase Forward ACE 2008 Corporate Quiz

2008-06-10T03:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who helped with WQC and Mahaquizzer. Another quiz is on the cards. It has a blog.

The Hyderabad chapter of Asha, in association with Phase Forward and the Indian School of Business present their annual summer fund-raising even, the Phase Forward ACE 2008 Corporate Quiz.

Date: 14^th June, 2008 (Saturday)
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Venue: Khemka Auditorium, ISB, Gachi Bowli, Hyderabad

Quizmasters: Quizerati

Prizes: A total of Rs. 50,000 +

Entry: Rs. 5000 per team of 2, Rs. 4000 per team if more than one team from the same organization, Rs. 4500 for the Early Birds (before May 31^st)

More details, entry forms, FAQ etc. on the website.

Do help Asha by being a sponsor or participant, and with publicity etc.

World Quizzing Championship - 2008 @ Hyderabad

2008-05-28T23:18:00.000-07:00

The World Quizzing Championships - 2008, an individual quiz contest, will be held on Saturday, 7th June 2008 at Hyderabad and five other cities across India and 23 countries worldwide.

The quiz would have 240 questions spread across 8 genres to be answered in 2 hrs (120 qns on either side of a 15 minute break).

Those interested in participating must mail quizhyd@yahoogroups.com or priyambad@gmail.com.

Please do try and register by Thursday 5th June 2008. On-the-spot entries will be allowed if seating is available, but in the event of a space-crunch, first preference will be given to those who had registered before the deadline.

Date: 7th June, Saturday

Time of Registration: 1600hrs ( 4 PM)

Event starts at: 1630hrs (4:30 PM simultaneously at all locations).

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73

Directions:
From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Map:

Coordinator: Priyambad Pattanayak(91-9948 453388)

Other cities: New Delhi. Chennai. Mumbai. Bangalore. Kolkata.

Additional information:
The categories of the quiz [and general content areas] are a combination of academic and popular culture topics including:

Culture [Architecture, Fine Arts, Philosophy, Museums,Religion,Mythology]

Entertainment [Music (Classical, Blues, Film Score, Jazz, Rock, World), Ballet, Musicals and Operas, Radio, Television]

History [(<450AD),(450- 1492),(1492- 1900),(1900- date), Current Affairs, Explorations, Famous People, Civilizations]

Lifestyle [Costume, Design, Fashion, Food & Drink, Handicrafts, Health & Fitness,Human Body, New Age Beliefs, Products & Brands, Tourism]

Media [Movies [(1900-1980) , (1980-2000)] , (recent), Literature [(<1900),(1900- 1980),(recent) ], Poetry, Drama, Comics, Language]

Science [Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Social Sciences, Fauna, Flora]

Sport [Track and Field, Team Sports, Motor Sports, Winter Sports, Games, Hobbies & Passtimes, Records]

World [Geography, Cities, Space, Technology, Transport, Inventions]

Phase Forward ACE 2008 Corporate Quiz

2008-05-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Hyderabad chapter of Asha, in association with Phase Forward and the Indian School of Business present their annual summer fund-raising even, the Phase Forward ACE 2008 Corporate Quiz.

Date: 14^th June, 2008 (Saturday)
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Venue: Khemka Auditorium, ISB, Gachi Bowli, Hyderabad

Quizmasters: Quizerati

Prizes: A total of Rs. 50,000 +

Entry: Rs. 5000 per team of 2, Rs. 4000 per team if more than one team from the same organization, Rs. 4500 for the Early Birds (before May 31^st)

More details, entry forms, FAQ etc. on the website.

Do help Asha by being a sponsor or participant, and with publicity etc.

Mahaquizzer 2008

2008-05-13T23:21:00.000-07:00

The 2008 edition of the Karnataka Quiz Association's annual individual written quiz Mahaquizzer will be held this weekend. This is an open quiz.

There are prizes for best overall quizzer, best woman participant, and best student participant. Please carry valid identification if you are competing as a school/college student.

Write to kqaquizzes [AT] gmail [DOT] com or mahaquizzer [AT] gmail [DOT] com to register, mentioning which city you would like to appear from in the subject line.

Date: 18 May, 2008 (Sunday)

Reporting Time: 0930 (Please be in your seats by this time. No one will be allowed in after 0945.)

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad - 73

Map:

Directions: From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Hyderabad Coordinator: Satyajit Chetri (91-99591-89943)

Classroom,Classroom...My kingdom for a classroom!

2008-05-12T04:29:00.000-07:00

Or, maybe not.

The point being that the 4th edition of the Karnataka Quiz Association's annual summer written individual Mahaquizzer quiz is scheduled to be held at 9:30 a.m., on Sunday, 18 May.

And we are trying to help them arrange a venue for the same. And it is turning to be a herculean task at the moment. So please if any of you out there have any information/contact who can help us with the same then do let us know by dropping a mail to quizhyd[at]gmail [dot] com.

Help would be much appreciated. Helpers would be suitably rewarded too.

Mahaquizzer 2008

2008-04-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

FYI

> From: arulmani_98@yahoo.com
> Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:08:50 +0000
> Subject: [kqanews] Mahaquizzer 2008
>
> Hello,
>
> Mahaquizzer, KQA's annual solo championship, will be
> held on Sunday, > 18 May 2008. As usual, the
> contest will require you to answer 150 questions in
> 90 minutes.
>
> Those who have already begun shuffling towards
> encyclopedias devoted to vague plants and animals
> should note first that this year's contest is being
> set by a new team--Arun Hiregange, Thejaswi Udupa,
> Avinash Thirumalai and Mihir Jayaraman, coordinated
> by Ochintya Sharma.
>
> The contest will be held simultaneously in nine
> cities: Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Hyderabad,
> Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram.
>
> We are working on finalising the venues--a list
> with full addresses will be put up at
> http://kqaquizzes.org
> in a couple of weeks.
>
> Four prizes will be given out in each city: Best
> Quizzer, Best Lady Quizzer, Best College Quizzer
> and Best School Quizzer.
>
> The person recording the highest score across all
> centres will hold the title of Mahaquizzer for 2008.
> She/he will also be awarded the Wing Commander
> G.R. Mulky Trophy for Quizzing Excellence. This
> trophy will be awarded in June 2008 during the KQA
> 25th Anniversary event.
>
> You can have a look at previous editions of the quiz
> here: http://kqaquizzes.org/quizzes
>
> Participants interested in registering should mail
> mahaquizzer AT gmail DOT com. Please mention the
> city where you would like to appear from in the
> subject-header. Please do mention age and
> institutional affiliations if you are a student.
>
> For clarifications or for more information, please
> call me at 98452-06690.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Best Regards
>
> Arul Mani

THRILLA in HQC

2008-04-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

QM : Priyambad Pattayanayak and Nitish Khadiya

Format : Written prelims followed by a final for six teams
Finals - Infinite Bounce and one written round.

Winners : 1.Kiddo and Diwakar
2.JK and Vijay
3.Majji and Borax

Report : Those present at the vasavi audi on 6th april came to experience first hand what back with a bang meant.
After a couple of months in the wilderness HQC came back with a quiz that enthralled one and all. It is hard to find a specialist quiz that satisfies everyone but this came mighty close with questions on every facet of sport from polo to atari to origin of the word sport itself.
The prelims were very good bunch of workoutable questions mixed with some trivia and due diligence questions. The final that followed topped it by a mile, there were very few repeats and the quiz covered a wide range of sports and not just three or four.
Kiddo and Diwakar(who scored an incredible 20.5/25 in the prelim) raced into a lead early on and comfortably won the quiz and it always looked like a race for the second spot which was taken by the team of vijay and jk who came up with some memorable cracks.
The audience were kept interested throughout with new funda's in every question and the special written round were one had to recall one hit wonders like Helder postiga, Kanitkar and Pat Cash was particularly enjoyable.

On the whole a sunday morning well spent.

Thumbs Up:
1.Awesome questions.
2.No repeats.
3.Diwakar :-)

Thumbs Down:
1.Kiddo won again :-)
2.The hall was not great
3. the quiz was probably not advertised well enough.

Memorable questions:
Divot stomping, Augusta masters, Badminton, Superstars settling it in a WWE match, Atari and Go. I could go on.

On behalf of Praveen (Thanks a lot dude for the effort)

And Now for Something Completely Different

2008-03-25T02:28:00.000-07:00

It doesn't get bigger than this.

It's almost a year since you first sacrificed "your precious" Sunday morning sleep. We made you skip breakfast, kept you hungry till lunch, made your life miserable by unleashing quizmasters month after month till you couldn't take the humiliation anymore and stopped coming.

Just Kidding.

Our sincere thanks to all the enthusiastic quizzers of the lovely city of Hyderabad, especially the quizmasters who gave us hell with their questions once every month and Odyssey Book Store and Junior Chambers for supporting us throughout the year.

We want you back for an event you never had in Hyderabad till date.

We hereby announce "Sudden Death - HQC's Annual Sports Quiz ", on completing a year of presence, assuring you of blockbuster quizzes in the coming months.

"Sudden Death - HQC Annual Sports Quiz"

Here is your chance to get even with everyone. Beat everyone at your own game. Be Evil. Make a deal with the devil. Mug everything that is even remotely concerned with sports. Everything. Prove who the daddy is when it comes to knowing everything about 'Games that people play'.

Event Details:

A written preliminary round will be followed by the grand finale between the top six scorers.
Teams of 2 people.
On the spot registration
Registration fee - Rs 50/- per team
No registration fee for school students

Quizmasters: Nitish and Priyambad

Date and Time: 6th April, 10:00 a.m

Venue: Vasavi Hall Auditorium,1st floor, Opp Sensation Theatre, Khairtabad. (please note that this is not the usual 2nd floor venue)

Directions: From Khairatabad while going towards Lakdi ka Pul, right opposite the Sensation theatre near IIMC

Prizes:

"Sudden Death - HQC Annual Sports Quiz" winner: Pride and gift vouchers worth Rs 1500 from Odyssey Book Stores

1st runner up: Heartburn and gift vouchers worth Rs 1000 from Odyssey Book Stores

2nd runner up: Our sympathies and gift vouchers worth Rs 500 from Odyssey Book Stores

Contact Details:

Nitish: 9885679460

Priyambad: 9948453388

N.B: Due to some restructuring we were unable to do the quizzes for a few months. Now we are back with a line up of some of the best quizzers of India as quizmasters in the months to follow.

Open Quiz on the 20th of January

2008-01-14T03:09:00.001-08:00

Hi,

This is to inform you of a team quiz that is being organized on the 20th of January, 2008(Sunday). The details are as follows:

A General Quiz open to all members of the public.

QM: Srinivas

Venue: Vasavi Hall @ #6-1-91, II Floor, vasavi Seva Kendram, Opp Sensation Insomnia Theatre, Khairtabad.

Directions to the venue: From Khairatabad while going towards Lakdi ka Pul, right opposite the Sensation theatre near IIMC

Date and Time: 10 am,20th of January, 2008(Sunday). We request the participants to please be on time.

Format: The quiz is open to all members of the general public who are interested. As a warm-up for Odyssey quiz on 26th January, people are allowed to participate with their regular teams. 3 members per team.

Prizes: Gift vouchers from Odyssey Bookstore.

Entry Fee: Rs 25 per person. Free for school students.

In case of any clarifications please contact Nitish at 9885679460 or Priyambad at 9948453388. Please also drop a mail to quizhyd@gmail.com in case you intend on coming for the quiz. And also please forward the mail to all those who you think might be interested.

Odyssey Open Quiz 2008 - Registrations Open

2008-01-06T21:05:00.000-08:00

Dear All,

The registrations for the Odyssey Open Quiz 2008 (Jan 26th 2008, Music Academy, Chennai, Team of Three, Open General Quiz) is on - please note that the registrations this time is online only and there is no need to go to the stores to collect and submit the forms.

To register your team please go to this link and register -
http://www.odyssey.in/quiz2008/index.html

Please note that you will have to carry a print out of the confirmation that you receive from the Odyssey Leisure store as a proof of entry.

Questions from the quiz on Dec 16th

2007-12-23T05:41:00.000-08:00

Q: Alex Tew lay on his bed in his family home in Cricklade, Wiltshire brainstorming about his financial problems. He already had an overdraft, which was sure to multiply at university, and he felt his poverty was reflected by his lack of decent, or matching, socks. The first thing he wrote in his pad was "How can I become a millionaire? What was the result of his brainstorming?

A: Million Dollar Page

Q:It is a popular folk dance of Bihar and Orissa. Since masks form an important feature of this dance it is called '_____', which means mask. All the performers hold swords and shields while performing. The stages are decorated and brightly lit by torches, lanterns and flickering oil lamps. The musical instruments used are the Dhol (a cylindrical drum), Nagara (a huge drum) and Shehnai (reed pipes). It is interesting to note that the entire body of the dancer is engaged as a single unit. Which dance?

A:Chau

Q: Tambalacoque or Calvaria major is a long-lived tree in the family Sapotaceae, endemic to Mauritius. It is valued for its timber. In 1973, it was thought that this species was dying out. There were supposedly only 13 specimens left, all estimated to be about 300 years old. The true age could not be determined because Tambalacoque has no growth rings. It was widely believed they became extinct because of their unique method of propagation. Although not all agree with this hypothesis what was widely believed reason of their so called extinction?

A: Dodo were supposed to be responsible for their polination

Q: This literary technique has its origin in the conventions of ancient Greek and Roman drama where a god was introduced by means of a crane to decide the final outcome. The Greek tragedian Euripides was notorious for using this plot device as a means to resolve a hopeless situation. This term / phrase nowadays describes an unexpected or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation. What phrase?

A:Deus Ex Machina

Q: This city is about 500 years old. The first name of the settlement, according to the compilers of the first edition of the district Gazette, was Khanpur Shansi after an individual of the Jat caste called Khan Shansi who founded 11 villages in the region. Later, the tribe "Gujjar" occupied the land. They reached such dominance that the town came to be known as _______________, which means "Land of the Gujars". In present day too, the Gujars form the majority population of the city. Which city?

A:Gujranwala

Q:When the eight Vasus visited Vashishta's ashram with their wives, one of the wives took a fancy to Kamadhenu and asked her husband to steal it from Vashishta. He stole it with the help of the others, and was cursed by Vashishta to be born in the world of men. The seven Vasus had their curse softened to be liberated from their human birth as soon as they are born, but the last Vasu, due to his being instrumental in the theft, was cursed to endure a longer life on the earth, though the curse is softened so that he becomes one of the most illustrious men of his times. How were they born and who was the last VASU born as?

A:The sons of Ganga and Bhisma

Q: When Kalale Nadadur Varadaraja Iyengar discussed his venture with others, he had to face the wrath of skeptics who warned him of his 'misadventure' and predicted the newspaper's doom. He was, however, supported in his venture by an editor of a Kannada newspaper and by a former Joint Director of Information. Ignoring the skeptics, he published the first issue of Sudharma on July 14, 1970 from a location called 'Ganapathi Totti'. The paper is currently published out of a press in the Ramachandra Agrahara locality of Mysore. What is so special about this newspaper?

A:Sudharma is the only Sanskrit newspaper of India

Q:It was invented in 1924 by ________ Cardini. Cardini was an Italian restaurateur and chef in Tijuana, Mexico. He was living in San Diego but working in Tijuana to avoid the restrictions of Prohibition. When a 4th of July rush depleted the kitchen's supplies Cardini made X with what he had. What did he invent?

A:Cesare Cardini invented the Cesare Salad

Q:Founded in 1874 they are one of seven original members to have never won the Premier League. They were originally known as Christ Church. The club got their namebecause they moved to so many different playing fields and headquarters in their early existence that it was suggested that the club should change its name to _______ ___________, and in 1877, the name came into being. What?

A: Bolton Wanderers

Q: It is a short river in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Its name derives from the Native American word "Missi-Tuk", which translates to "great tidal river" and it lies to the north of and flows approximately parallel to the Charles River. Name this river that has a long history of industrial use and a continuing water quality problem?

A: Mystic River

Q: Paul-Ferdinand __________ was a French physician most famous for treating "X" during his last weeks in Auvers-sur-Oise. He was a great supporter of artists and the Impressionist movement. In fact, he himself was an amateur painter, signing his works "Paul van Ryssel", referring to his birthplace "Ryssel", and this is the Flemish name of Lille. Who?

A:Dr. Gatchet

Q: When Louis XIV of France wanted to build a new palace to be located in the French countryside in Versailles, Louis's Minister of Economy, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, was appointed to construct the facility and display various new technologies in the new palace. One of the technologies to be presented was glass. What resulted?

A: St. Gobain Glass Company

Report on the quiz on Dec 16

2007-12-23T05:32:00.000-08:00

QM: Priyambad Pattanayak

Format: Infinite bounce with one written theme round and one written RG (relative grading) round.

Thumbs Up:

• Pat stepped out of his MELA/SPENT comfort zone and ventured into the natural sciences, history, language, cuisine, folk art and mythology
• Variety, variety, variety. Visuals, audios, videos, dry - room for everything
• An enjoyable, crackable quiz with a little something for everyone

Thumbs down:

• Some cribs about the quiz being a little too heavy on the Greek myth front were overheard. The QM's defence is that this was only in the written theme round, and not in general.
• Somewhat skewed points structure, especially in the theme and RG rounds. Contact Ravi M for a full explanation :-)
• Two Coco Chanel questions in the RG round?!!

Memorable moments/questions: Wong kar wai question, silver bullet funda,chau, trainspotting visuals funda

Standings:

1st: Nitish, Dhaji, Archana, Latheesh
2nd: Diwakar, Sudhir Pai, Anil
3rd: Raghu, Bharath, Ravi M and one more person

A keenly contested quiz, with the teams that ended up on the podium alternately taking over the lead from each other. Ms. Coco Chanel gave Nitish & co. a surge, and unlike GWB's surges this one seemed to actually work. Pat was in full form, right from installing codecs which seem to have rendered my laptop useless (kidding!) to introducing Wong Kar-wai to the hapless quizzers of Hyd. Watch this space for the "Best of..." questions from "The Return of the Quiz".

Quiz on the 16th of December

2007-12-11T02:53:00.000-08:00

In the mists of time, when the world was young, and Evil did not walk the face of all the lands, the Hyderabad Quiz Club was formed. Month after month, it was the last bastion against the arrayed forces of Boredom and Ignorance; where men were real men, quizzers were ravening despos, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were figments of Douglas Adam's imagination. And we were treated to one good quiz after another. Ere long, November happened, and no quiz came around.

And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend, legend became myth, and for two months The Quiz passed out of all knowledge and memory. Until when chance came, it ensnared a new quizmaster. The Quiz came to the creature Pattanayak, who took it deep into the verdure of Chikoti Gardens. And there, it consumed him. The Quiz brought to Pat unnatural long night-outs. For countless months, it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Pat's apartment, it waited. Darkness crept into the Hyderabad quizzing world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear, and The Quiz perceived its time had now come.

But, soft! what light through yon window breaks? It is Bhubaneswar, and Priyambad is the sun. And he comes back to us now, at the turn of the tide, not to mention after a strenuous attempt at CAT, to conduct the December edition of The Quiz. The cry goes around that the exam didn't go so well, so the quizmaster is quite intent on roasting unsuspecting quizzers on the spit of interrogation to get back at those evil paper setters. Pat has ranged the Outer Worlds on a chariot drawn by his trusty steeds (who answer to the names of Google, Wikipedia, IMDB and Raghu) in the Quest for the Definitive, Cult question of the Millenium, and rumour has it that he has finally acquired this Brahmastra.

So be there if you want to watch Priyambad unleash one missile after another, it will be the perfect ending for 2008.

Time: 16th of December, 2007, 10:00 am

Venue: Vasavi Hall AC Auditorium, Opp Sensation Theatre, Khairtabad.

Directions: From Khairatabad while going towards Lakdi ka Pul, right opposite the Sensation theatre near IIMC

Prizes : Gift vouchers from Odyssey Bookstore.

Entry Fee: Rs 25 per person. Free for school students.

Contact: Nitish at 9885679460 or Priyambad at 9948453388. Please also drop a mail to quizhyd@gmail. com in case you intend on coming for the quiz

(PS. Thanks to Ludwig for the creative inputs)

Report on the quiz on 14th October

2007-10-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

QM: Rohit Chopra

Format: Infinite bounce with AV rounds in between.

QM Caveat: Pop culture quiz and pop culture quiz it was...

Thumbs Up:

• A question on Danny Trejo - Holy Cow - Cracked by urs truly :)
• Good crackable questions
• Ent, ent and ent :)
• Kiddo was all at sea

Thumbs down:

• Ent, ent and ent :(
• A round on Album covers
• A round on cover songs
• Kiddo was all at sea but still managed to win

Memorable moments/questions: Borat, Breath Analyser, Handcuffs, Danny Trejo(;), Bunker 13 – The bad sex award, Sex, Lies and Videotape, Some Frank Zappa Album cover - and yes Raghu cracked it.

Standings:

1st: Sudhir and Kiddo
2nd: Priyambad,JK and Neerad
3rd: Raghu,Diwakar and Rahul

Sudhir and Kiddo comfortably defeated the team comprising Priyambad,JK and Neerad.The team of Raghu,Diwakar and Rahul finished third with some good answers as well. Despite being an out and out entertainment quiz, it had some nice general questions as well. Hope the future quizzes are more balanced.

Questions from the quiz on 14th October

2007-10-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the questions from the quiz on the 14th of October done by Rohit.

1. On September 27, 2007 there was a four-page advertisement in The New York Times. The advertisement primarily spoke about this country’s many natural resources and its general growth in glowing terms. This advertisement preceded the official visit of the President and his diplomatic entourage and was part of a greater PR campaign including the release of a book “________ Nuclear Disarmament: A Global Model for a Safer World.” This was seen as a reaction of what the country’s politicians believe was a propaganda war against them. What was the reason?

Ans : They were largely reacting to the movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”

2. This started with an innocuous upload of a simple 1 minute 8 second video by one of the supporters of Barack Obama on to youtube using a unique way of showing Hillary Clinton as an authoritarian and a “Big Brother figure” who wanted to use acts such as “Gun control” etc to control America and the world. As is the case in the online world, a quick parody to this parody was uploaded by Hillary supporters on to youtube in a matter of days. This got into a rather interesting mud-slinging match between both candidates supporters. What was being used to create the parody in the first place?

Ans : The TV commercial – Apple 1984

3.The symbol is remarkably simple; silver lettering on a circular black band that encases four segments. The image has its origins in World War I, when the certain Luftwaffe planes were painted in two distinctive colours, affording the pilot a view through his propellor of blue and white segments. This inspired the stylized design we now recognize. Which logo ?

Ans BMW logo

4. These earlier versions caused discomfort for people with slightly larger frames. That changed in 1862, when W. V. Adams revolutionized the device with the invention of adjustable ratchets. An Adams ____ consisted of a square bow with notches on the outside that engaged with a lock mechanism shaped like a teardrop. Several years later, Orson C. Phelps patented a version of the _________that placed the ratchet notches on the inside of the square bow. What am I talking about?

Ans : Handcuffs

5. First used and developed in the 1930s for "The Thief of Baghdad," The credit for development of this is given to Larry Butler - nominated for five academy awards, winner of two. The technique has had a slight shift in name due to the higher luminance value of ______. What technique heavily used in recent films am I referring to?

Ans : The Blue screen now which is now replaced by the green screen

6. The ancient Greeks recorded the use of the willow bark as a fever fighter. The leaves and bark of the willow tree contain a substance called salicin, a naturally occurring compound similar to acetylsalicylic acid. What did this eventually evolve into?

Ans : Asprin

7. Since the discovery of the bones in Indonesia in 2003, researchers have wrangled over whether the find was an ancient human ancestor or simply a modern human suffering from a genetic disorder. The wrist bones of the 3-foot-tall creature, technically known as Homo floresiensis, are basically indistinguishable from an African ape or early hominin-like wrist and nothing at all like that seen in modern humans and Neanderthals, according to the research team led by Matthew W. Tocheri of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.Why was there so much interest in this creature?

Ans : The creature resembled the hobbit

8. Numbers, pattern, trick, technical, full body, bounce, football are all types of what ?

Ans : Types of ball juggling

9. He was hardly more than five feet four inches but carried himself with great dignity. His head ___________, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound. Yet this quaint dandified little man who, I was sorry to see, now limped badly - Who on whom?

Ans : Captain Hastings on Hercule Poirot

10. Aniruddha Bahal is the founder and editor-in-chief of Cobrapost.com. He has worked for India Today and Outlook and is also the co-founder and former CEO of Tehelka.com, the news website. While at Tehelka, he exposed match-fixing in international cricket, titled "Fallen Heroes". He also exposed the corruption in Indian defense procurement, more popularly known as “Operation Westend.” He even wrote a book which was an espionage thriller which got some attention in international press. In 2003 for this outstanding contribution to literature he was conferred a rare literary award for an Indian. What is the name of the book and which award?

Ans : Bunker 13 – The bad sex award

Questions from the quiz on 16th September

2007-10-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the questions from the quiz on the 16th of September done by Sudhir and Lathish.

1. X was an ancient Greek poet in the second half of the 1st century BCE. He was the author of short elegiacs, some of which are preserved in the Greek Anthology, e.g., "Crown of Meleager". He also composed an epitaph for Sappho in which he stated that she died of natural causes and was buried in her homeland. Cicero (Oratore, III, 50 and de Fato, 2) described him as a brilliant epigrammist but sometimes too fond of imitation.He, along with Philo , Strabo, Herodotus, and Diodoros collaborated on Y. Over the centuries, Y has been subjected to a lot of criticism from historians all over the world on account of the bias of the authors. Identify X and Y.

Answer: X =Antipater, Y = Seven Wonders of the World

2. X put down his Speed Graphic camera onthe ground, so that he could pile rocks to stand onfor a better vantage point. He nearly missed the shotin doing so. Realizing it, he quickly swung uphis camera, and snapped the photograph without usinghis view finder. Ten years after this, he wrote "Iswung my camera and shot the scene. That is how thepicture was taken, and when you take a picture likethat, you don't come away saying a great shot". Whatwas being captured on camera here?

Answer: Joe Rosenthal describing the photo of the soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima

3. Actinomycetes are a type of filamentous bacteria found in soil which thrive when conditions are damp and warm. However when dry conditions prevail, these form spores/cysts. Upon contact with moisture (which acts like an aerosol) these spores burst open resulting in what?This phenomenon is named after the fluid that is supposed to be flowing in the veins of Greek Gods.

Answer: Smell of wet earth after the rains

4. Origin of this phrase is from a puppet show character of the 17th century based on his Italian counterpart, Polichinello. Though it was a popular show upto the 19th and early 20th centuries, its popularity declined due to factors including political incorrectness; for instance the protagonist who was a baby murdering wife beater was depicted as self-satisfied and pleased with his evil deeds. He is considered synonymous with pleasure or pride due to the show's storyline which has him calling out "that's the way to do it" in a gleeful voice each time he murders another victim.

Answer: Pleased as punch

5.It was expression used by highway men or robbers in England in the 17th century. When these robbers held up stage coaches, they would shout _______ & _________. By X they meant that they wanted the coach not to move and by Y they meant, the passengers should hand over all their valuables to them.

Answer: Stand and Deliver

6. "Buzzing Hornets", "Bitten Heroes", "Bitten and Hisses", "Be On Edge“. Simply Connect!!!

Answer: Names used by Benson and Hedges on their F1 Cars in countries where tobacco advertising is banned.

7. According to the Middle English dictionary entry for noumpere, the predecessor of X, which came from the Old French nonper (from non, "not" + per, "equal") meaning "one who is requested to act as arbiter of a dispute between two people"--meaning that the arbiter is not paired with anyone in the dispute.

Answer: Umpire

8. Where is this pic from?

Answer: The original oceans 11

9. What did this pic inspire?

Answer: The US Democratic Party's election symbol

10. Connect

Answer: The first is a move in basketball called "Alley Oop" which derives its name from a cartoon strip that is featured in the second visual.

Questions from the Aug 19th Quiz

2007-09-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

1. Fill in the blank:

Ashwatthama Balir Vyasa

Hanumaancha Vibheeshana

Kripa Parasuraamascha

Saptaike _______________

A: These are the 7 CHIRANJEEVIs

2. In 1711, when St. Paul's Cathedral in London had been completed and was shown to King George I, the king told Christopher Wren, the architect, that the cathedral was awful and artificial. Why

A. In eighteenth century England, "awful" and "artificial" were compliments, because "awful" (also spelled "aweful") meant "filling with awe," and "artificial" meant "full of art."

3. The last remaining supply of its raw material is a bronze cascabel tended by 15 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps at Donnington. 1356 have been given to 1353 people (3 people had 2) between 1854 and 2006, 24 were given for a single day on 16 November 1857. What?

A. The VICTORIA CROSS

4. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the growing sea port of Liverpool became fabulously wealthy and most of that wealth was earned by city businessmen and sea captains who took cheap trade goods to the west coast of Africa and exchanged them for men, women and children whom they then shipped off as slaves to the West Indies. Several streets were named after these merchants. In 2006, a proposal was put up to rename these streets and dissociate them from the ignoble slave trade. Only one was considered for exemption. Which one?

A. PENNY LANE

5. Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the radio astronomer who first discovered the pulsar in 1967, was moved by the precision of its 1.33-second periodicity to name it, tongue in cheek, the LGM signal. Expand LGM.

A. LITTLE GREEN MEN. Initially, it seemed astounding that any signal not created by a sentient life form could be so accurately periodic.

6. Fiction: What, very specifically, connects

A 'joyless economist' in San Francisco

A shop that sells sweetmeats in Brahmpur

A solicitor in London

A. All from VIKRAM SETH's works and are ANAGRAMS of his name:

KIM TARVESH

SHIV MARKET

KEITH VARMS

7. The director and cinematographer were in conversation on the set, when they happened to see a beam of light reflected from a light boy's mirror. The effect of the beam indoors made the cinematographer wonder how nice it would be if it were possible to capture it on screen. The director immediately urged him to find a way of putting the beam in the scene. The problem of getting a beam of sunlight indoors was solved by reflecting sunlight from one lighting mirror on the roof onto a second mirror which could be adjusted to cast the beam in the desired direction. To make the beam more visible, sambrani smoke was used. What resulted?

A. The WAQT NE KIYA KYA HASEEN SITAM song from Kaagaz Ke Phool

8. The plaintiff has filed suit in the US District Court in New York alleging that the defendant is entitled to use this trademark only in connection with nonprofit relief services. The suit contends that the plaintiff has exclusive rights to use the trademark on commercial products and has been doing so since 1887. The defendant claims that profits from many of the products it sells go to boost nonprofit activities.What is this trademark that has recently been in the news?

A: The RED CROSS. The plaintiff is Johnson & Johnson and the defendant is the American Red Cross.

9. Identify the person caricatured here.

A: LUTYENS, the architect of New Delhi. Check out his hat, it is the familiar dome of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

10. What is this series of numbers called? Ta(2) is the most famous one and has been blanked out.

A.TAXI/TAXICAB numbers, from the incident where Ramanujan tells Hardy that Hardy's taxi number 1729 (Ta(2)) is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two cubes.

Report on the quiz on 19th August

2007-09-06T04:46:00.000-07:00

Posting on behalf of Priyambad

QM: Ravi Mundoli

Format: Infinite bounce with written themes in between.

Thumbs Up:
• Absolute Cracker of a Quiz
• No LVCs
• References to Pop culture icon Megatron :)
• Good crackable questions covering a lot of varied topics

Thumbs down:
• Nothing other than the fact that it beat the living daylights of many a quizzers in Hyderabad.

Memorable questions: Jonny socko and the giant robot,Taxi cab numbers,Biafra, Coat Of Arms Of George Martin, Mousetrap

Standings:

1st: JK,Latheesh and Srini
2nd: Bhargava, Arvind and Raghu
3rd: Anil, Balaji and Rahul Girish Kumar

In a very close contest JK, Lateesh and Srini defeated Bhargava,Arvind and Raghu. A great performance by JK who came out with some amazing cracks followed by Bhargava in terms of inspired cracks. Anil and Team finished third with some very deep answers as well. Despite being a quiz on the tougher side majority of questions were cracked and credit goes to the quizmaster for the same. All in all Mahaquizzer stuff!

The next quiz has been scheduled for the 16th of September and will be done by Lateesh and Sudheer.

Questions from the July Quiz

2007-08-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

Questions from Anil's quiz

Q.Guru Nanak ran a shop in his native Talwandi. He used to visit a nearby town called Chuhar Kana to make purchases for his shop. On the way to the town, there was a resting place where holy people who were passing through the city could stay. Guru Nanak would have regular discussions with those people and often shared his earnings with them. His father Kalyan Chand was not too supportive of this fact but Guru Nanak continued to share money with the needy people. A Gurudwara stands at that resting place commemorating this. Name the place.
A. Sacha Sauda, named after the fact that Guru Nanak told his father that he was doing a 'Sacha Sauda' - True Business /Bargain

Q.'The Sound Sweep' is a story by J G Ballard set in a futuristic world where waste noise is 'collected' and disposed by the use of a 'sonovac'. Mangon, who is the title character, finds former opera singer Madame Giaconda hiding in an abandoned radio station. She wishes to sing again, but there are no takers for her music. All music are being composed & stored in ultrasonic media and there's no demand for audible music. This story inspired Trevor Horn to do what?
A. The story was the inspiration for the song he wrote - ‘Video killed the Radio Star’

Q.Much of the British East India Company's navigational information in the 18th century comes from two pioneers Capt John Ritchie and X. X was known for his survey of Diego Garcia and surrounding waters in the late 1780s and his work enabled the British to put up a temporary settlement on the island. During this trip, X also did a check on the ocean currents surrounding the Maldives. Later, the Governor of Bombay, Rawson Hart Boddam initiated another survey enlisting officers from the Bombay marines (under the leadership of X) to figure out the geographies of a particular place. X was quite successful in this attempt and managed to produce an accurate map of the place. Identify.
A. Lieutenant Archibald Blair, who surveyed and produced the first map of the Andamans – Port Blair is named after him

Q.This word, in a particular context, was used to refer to a community social gathering at which friends and neighbours join together in a single activity usually to help one person or family. The earliest known usage was when families would come together for a sewing session. According to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, the usage might have originated from an old English word which meant "voluntary help given by neighbors toward the accomplishment of a particular task". This word is now associated with a few events held annually. Which word?
A. Bee, as in the Spelling Bee, Geography Bee etc

Q.He’s reported to have been the first bishop of Pavia in the 1st century. Much of his legend is known today because of a 14th century text ‘De Laudibus Papiæ’ (meaning ‘In praise of Pavia’) – he’s said to have been a follower of Saint Peter and travelled all over Italy to preach and convert. He’s now the patron saint of Pavia and his relics are housed in the city’s cathedral. Among the things named after him are a district in an Italian city and a municipality off Lake Como. Who?
A. Saint Syrus, known in Italian as San Siro – the district in Milan (& hence the stadium area) are named after him

Q.There was a ruler named Neroon who ruled over a city ‘Neroon Kot’ meaning the ‘place of Neroon’. This was a historic place dating back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. Many years later in 1768, Ghulam Shah Kalhora founded this city at the site of Neroon Kot. One of the features of the city was a massive fort that was built by Ghulam Shah to shelter as well as defend the people. He named the place after Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law, who incidentally was given a nickname by his mother for the resemblance of his hair to that of a lion’s mane. Which city?
A. Hyderabad, Pakistan – named after Ali Ibn Abu Talib (named ‘Haider’)

Q.This is the name given to an internet worm which can affect all vulnerable machines in less than fifteen minutes. The SQL slammer worm was the first example of this category - it used a random number generator to determine which IP to attack next and studies by Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA) showed that this method was found to be very effective when it comes to quick propagation. The same name was also applied by John Cullen Murphy Jr, who was the editor of The Atlantic Monthly, in 1997 for a unit of 'celebrityness' or hype. What?
A. Warhol, from Andy Warhol's "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes"; One Warhol would be equivalent to 15 minutes of fame

Q. In 16th century England, whenever someone from an aristocratic family would go on a deer-hunting expedition, the hunters would eat the deer meat (venison) after the hunt. The inferior parts (kidneys, intestines etc) were given over to the servants & the helpers on the hunting mission. The name for the inferior set comes from the French 'lumbulus' meaning a 'little loin' and has given rise to an English phrase. Which phrase?
A. ‘Humble Pie’, comes from (N)umble derived from Lumbulus; the lower classes were associated with eating the humble pie, later moved to become a generic expression

Q. Born in 1201, this French theologian entered the Church at a young age. After completing his education in Paris, he lived under the patronage of Comte d'Artois and Louis IX. Later he became the canon of Cambrai before becoming the canon of Paris. During that period, he began teaching and established a college in Paris to teach theology to poor students. The programme was sponsored by King Louis IX and the Pope too gave a commendation. He taught and preached there from 1258 until his death in 1274. Who?
A. Robert de Sorbon, who founded the College de Sorbonne as a part of the University of Paris. The term Sorbonne is now used for the University itself.

Q. In the Mel Brooks' film 'The Producers', two Broadway directors create a musical 'Springtime for Hitler' which is intended to flop so as to effect a tax dodge. In the film, a mock character of Hitler utters a phrase. This phrase appealed to Joe O'Herlihy, a soundman, who would often utter it while he was working on a particular album in Berlin. The band, with whom he was working, liked the phrase and used it to name their album. Which album?
A. Achtung Baby by U2

Report on the quiz on 22nd July

2007-08-02T04:57:00.000-07:00

QM : Anil

A brilliant quiz with questions covering a whole wide range of topics.

Thumbs Up:

1. An incredible long visual connect on Hyderabadi restaurants
2. Some really well researched questions

Thumbs Down:

1. No Audio or Video questions.

The standings for the quiz were:

1. Ravi Mundoli,Subbareddy and Rishabh
2. JK, Sudhir and Debjit
3. Rahul Paul, Vivek and Devdas

The Mahaquizzer Ravi was in scintillating form and cracked questions left right and center. His team was in lead right from the word go and left the other teams fighting for the remaining 2 podium positions. Eventually JK and Rahul's team came from behind to upstage Nitish and Priyambad who were 2nd for quite a bit of the quiz, to take the 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

The next quiz is scheduled for the 19th of August at the same venue and will be done by Ravi Mundoli so for a change the top spot will also be open to all the teams.

Open Quiz on the 22nd of July

2007-07-19T03:33:00.000-07:00

A General Quiz open to all members of the public.

QM: Anil ( of IIM-C,K Circle and QFI fame)

Venue: Vasavi Hall AC Auditorium @ #6-1-91, II Floor, vasavi Seva Kendram, Opp Meera Sensation Theatre, Khairtabad.

Directions to the venue: From Khairatabad while going towards Lakdi ka Pul, right opposite the Sensation theatre near IIMC

Date and Time: 22nd July 2007, 10:00 am

Format: The quiz is open to all members of the general public who are interested. This quiz will follow a format in which participants will be randomly teamed up into teams of 3 at the time of the quiz itself. This is to provide all participants an equal opportunity at participating in a team quiz even if they do not have other team members in Hyderabad or even if they are new to quizzing itself.

Prizes: Gift vouchers from Odyssey Bookstore.

Entry Fee: Rs 25 per person.

Hope to see you all there.

Questions from the June Quiz

2007-06-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

1. Connect the following - : “The Burial of the Dead”, “A Game of Chess”, “The Fire Sermon”, “Death by Water”, and “What the Thunder Said” ?

A. All parts of T.S. Eliot's " Wasteland"

2. His invention was subtitled “Ars artium omnium conservatrix” meaning “The Art Preservative of all the Arts”. Who and what invention?

A. Gutenberg and the Printing Press

3. The word is derived from the combination of the Old Norse word for “colour” and the name of a lichen growing in northern Europe. This lichen was used to dye wool and other textiles. This later found use in another specific application. Identify.

A. Litmus ( of Litmus Paper fame)

4. "I am happy to greet the geniuses who made me a born-again writer, having announced my retirement in 1978, I now have six books in the works and two probables, all through …..X"
Arthur C. Clarke made the above remarks on meeting Rubenstein and Barnaby.Identify “X”?

A. The typewriter

5. In the 16th century this word referred to “one taking part in dialectic exercises”. The later version of this word was a combination of the Greek words for “wise” and “foolish”. This was to signify the fact that the subjects have acquired some knowledge but still have a great deal yet to learn. Which word?

A Sophomore

6. This 19th century shop owner in Paris discovered that the timbre of a tone is produced not by the type or material of wall which surrounds a column of air but by the proportion given to that column. Using this basic concept, he came up with an enduring invention which he patented in the year 1846. Who is he and what was his invention?

A. Adolph Sax the inventor of the Saxophone

7. Captain Ridley’s Shooting Party commanded by Alistair Denniston arrived at a housing site owned by property developer Captain Hubert Faulkner in August 1939. The site was originally owned by a wealthy London financier Sir Herbert Samuel Leon. What happened here in the next couple of years proved to be historical. Identify the place and what happened here?

A. Bletchley Park-The Enigma Coding Machine was cracked here during WW2

8. The upper part of this column is so highly finished that it is sometimes mistaken as Bronze. This maybe because of embedded sand or Ferric Oxide. Scientists claim that other factors responsible for its unique properties are a high phosphorous content, excellent forge welding, cinder coating and pancake forging. What?

A. Iron Pillar at Mehrauli

9. Who is this guy?

A. Adi Dassler

10. Band backstage after recording one of the Greatest Live Albums of all time. Name Band and Album

A. The Allman Brothers Band and the album was Live at Filimore East.

Report on the quiz on 10th June

2007-06-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

QM: Mihir

Format: Infinite bounce with a special audio round.

Thumbs Up:

• Good crackable questions
• The questions covered a lot of varied topics
• Very good prelims questions
• Good balanced set of questions

Thumbs down:

• A lot of questions on Music (Two on album covers!!)
• Very few questions on India

Memorable questions: The questions on “Animals”, St. Andrews golf course, Tofu, Drucker, Colaba, litmus and the Dynamos.

1st: Nitish and Ravi
2nd: Chandu and Rajsekhar
3rd: Rachit and Vivek

Nitish and Ravi comfortably won the quiz. A great debut by Chandu and Rajsekhar as the newbie team (no disrespect intended for the team) beat many celebrated teams to come second in turn beating another newbie team comprising Rachit and Vivek to the 3rd position. A majority of questions were crackable and credit goes to the quizmaster for setting a very balanced quiz.

The next quiz has been scheduled for the 22nd of July and will be done by Anil (Irevna).

Questions from this quiz will be posted soon.

Open Quiz on the 10th of June

2007-06-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

A General Quiz open to all members of the public. Note this time the quiz is being organised for teams of 2.

QM: Mihir Jayaraman.

Venue: Vasavi Hall AC Auditorium @ #6-1-91, II Floor, vasavi Seva Kendram, Opp Meera Sensation Theatre, Khairtabad.

Directions to the venue: From Khairatabad while going towards Lakdi ka Pul, right opposite the Sensation theatre near IIMC

Date and Time: 10th June 2007, 10:00 am

Format: The quiz is open to all members of the general public who are interested. This time the quiz is being organised for teams of 2. With the ACE Corporate quiz just a week away, we thought that the teams participating in the ACE corporate quiz could come and prepare for the ACE quiz via this quiz.

Prizes: Gift vouchers from Odyssey Bookstore.

Entry Fee: Rs 25 per person.

Hope to see you all there.

Questions from the May Quiz

2007-06-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

Q. Kamboja was one of the countries of ancient Indian history. The country is listed as one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas or great nations in ancient Buddhist texts, and was located in the Uttarapatha in extreme north-west of the Indian sub-continent, contiguous to the kingdom of Gandhara. This region was also very famous for its horses. The residents of this country were known by the same name as the country. Supposed to be a peace loving nation, they were constantly harangued by the Muslim invaders and unable to bear this onslaught, the Kamboja race decided to leave the Indian subcontinent forever never to return. What resulted?

A. The Kamboja race migrated towards south east asia and founded the country of Kampuchea( Cambodia)

Q. It is believed that in Medieval France, upon gaining employment a workman would carry his implements in a bag made of sheepskin or leather and carry it to work on the first day. Upon completing the days work, he would deposit this bag with his employer for safe keeping as it would be quite cumbersome to carry the bag to work everyday. This practice has given rise to a phrase in the English language. What phrase?

A. A bag is called a “Sac” in French. This is origin of the term getting the sack.

Q. The original settlers of the Pitcairn group of islands(Ducie, Henderson, Oeno and Pitcairn) were supposed to be the Polynesians. Some of the islands were discovered by a Portuguese sailor, while Pitcairn Island itself was discovered on July 3, 1767 by the crew of a British ship.
The island became a British colony in 1838. There has been a history of a flawed sex ratio on this island and there are allegations of a long history and tradition of sexual abuse of girls as young as 7, which culminated in 2004 in the charging of seven men living on Pitcairn, and another six now living abroad, with sex-related offences, including rape. On October 25, 2004, six men were convicted, including Steve _______, the island's mayor at the time. The British government has decided to set up a prison for only the island, and spend an annual budget of $950,000, after the six men lost their final appeal.
The question is how has this island been immortalised in literature?

A. Pitcairn Island is where the mutineers from the story “Mutiny on the HMS Bounty” are supposed to have settled. The mayor was called Steve Christian and is supposed to be a descendent of Fletcher Christian, the original mutineer.

Q. This was described by its “creator” as :
“It tells in poetic terms of a lady’s quest for spiritual perfection. She is a paradigm of Spencer’s Faerie Queen, Robert Graves’ White Goddess and every other Celtic heroine – the Lady of the Lake, Morgan Le Fay, Diana of the Fields Greene, Rhiannon”
Many people say that it was inspired by Spence’s “Magic Arts in Britain”. What?

A. Led Zepellin’s “Stairway to Heaven”

Q. What has just happened here ?

A. The assasination of Martin Luther King. You can see his body at the bottom and people pointing towards where the bullet came from

Q. This album cover is a tribute to which famous album cover?

A. The Rolling Stones " Stick Fingers" album cover which looks like this:

Q. What did this guy inspire in the world of comics?

A. Calvin's dad in the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. This is Bill Watterson and he based the character upon himself!

Q. A Time magazine cover. Who is the artist and who is the subject?

A. Roy Lichtenstein's painting of Robert Kennedy

Q. ID the 2 gentlemen

A. Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov

Q. What does the red line depict?

A. Captain Cook's voyage.

Report on the quiz on 13th May

2007-05-20T23:16:00.000-07:00

[Posting on behalf of Priyambad]

QM: Nitish

Format: Infinite bounce with two special rounds. (A video written round and a fantastic Stage 2)

Thumbs Up:
· Original questions (Read no repeats)
· Very good mix of World / India questions
· Very workoutable questions
· Sensational Stage 2 (With a very neat theme)
· No LVCs (Long Visual Connects)
· No convoluted connects

Thumbs down:
· The initial few questions were very unsettling
· The pinkie hint for the Stage 2 (;))
· Slightly long but none the less very enjoyable

Memorable cracks: JK's Mandakini crack, The Grapes of Wrath Crack, Deva's meme crack, the googly crack and the Stage 2 crack by Srini

1st: Bhargav, Srini and Rahul
2nd: Priyambad, Akshat and Deepak
3rd: Sohail, Rahul Girish Kumar and A Revanth Reddy.

The quiz saw a neck to neck fight between the team comprising Bhargav, Srini and Rahul and team of Priyambad, Akshat and Deepak till the last round (the stage 2). Srini's Stage 2 crack at a very early stage enabled them to win the quiz in the end. The new team comprising of Sohail, Rahul Girish Kumar and A Revanth Reddy came from behind and finished 3rd with some brilliant cracks.
The quiz had some very good questions asked on Bollywood / Hollywood but still it was a very balanced quiz. The quiz though slightly on the tougher witnessed some superb cracks from almost every team.

The next quiz has been scheduled for the 10th of June and will be done by Mihir.

Questions from this quiz will be posted soon.

Quiz on May 13th

2007-05-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

The next quiz is on Sunday, the 13th of May. Here are the details:

QM: Nitish Khadiya.

Venue: Vasavi Hall @ #6-1-91, II Floor, vasavi Seva Kendram, Opp Meera Sensation Theatre, Khairtabad.

Directions to the venue: From Khairatabad while going towards Lakdi ka Pul right opposite the Sensation theatre near IIMC

Date and Time: 13th May 2007, 10:00 am

Format: The quiz is open to all members of the general public who are interested. This quiz will follow a format in which participants will be randomly teamed up into teams of 3 at the time of the quiz itself. This is to provide all participants an equal opportunity at participating in a team quiz even if they do not have other team members in Hyderabad or even if they are new to quizzing itself.

Prizes: Gift vouchers from Odyssey Bookstore.

Entry Fee: Rs 25 per person.

Questions from the second quiz!

2007-05-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some questions from the second quiz:

1. He paused to calculate the optimal turbulent laminar transition trajectory before it. The man can carry out a multi-variable physics calculation in his head to compute the exact trajectory required. Almost certainly the flow around the ball must have changed from turbulent to laminar several meters from the target. Mr. ------- was applying some very sophisticated physics."-thus concluded a team of scientists analyzing a scene in 2002. Which movie owes its name due to this?

A: Bend it like Beckham

2. Some 78 kms long situated at an altitude of 5,400 meters above sea level , it is the planet's largest alpine glacier outside the poles, and thus is sometimes referred to as the third pole. What is it called?

A: Siachen (literally the "place of roses')

3. The leading spirit behind the formation of this organisation in 1964 was Swami Chinmayananda and the founding religious leaders included Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Sikh leader Master Tara Singh and Jain Acharya Sushil Kumarji Maharaj. Name this organisation which uses a Banyan tree as its symbol?

A: VHP

4. “Because I was in Prabaker’s house, it was decided that I should take the family name of Kharre. Because Kishan was Prabaker’s father, and my adoptive father, tradition decreed that I should take his first name for my middle name. And because they judged my nature to be blessed with peaceful happiness, Rukhmabai concluded, the women had agreed with her choice for my first name. It was _____________ which means man of peace or man of God’s peace.” Fill in the blanks.

A: Shantaram

5. During the reign of King James II, the Royal Hospital was still under construction, so he introduced a system for distribution of army pensions in 1689. The pension was to be made available to all soldiers who had been injured in service, or who had served for more than 20 years. By the time the Hospital was completed, there were more pensioners than places available in the Hospital. Eligible soldiers who could not be housed in the Hospital were termed out-pensioners, receiving their pension from the Royal Hospital but living outside it. The club which got formed in the locality was hence nicknamed “pensioners”. Which club?

A: Chelsea Football Club

6. Some of the other products available in this genre of "fabric" are Dyneema, Goldflex, Spectra, Twaron and Zylon. Which is the most famous of these genre of “fabrics”?

A: Kevlar

7. The popular Indian lore says that on pilgrimage to Mecca in the 16th century, a revered Muslim holy man from India, came across these. Despite a ban on taking this out of its place of origin, punishable by death, he smuggled 7 of it wrapped around his belly. Today he is revered in one part of the country and actually has a mountain/mountain range named after him. What is his contribution to India?

A: Smuggled Coffee into India

8. This instrument was popularized in the 1930s by radio comedian Bob Burns, who is credited with inventing the instrument some 20 years earlier. It was also played by jazz musicians Noon Johnson and Sanford Kendrick. But today when we talk of it, we talk of it in a different context. What?

A: Bazooka

9. What term was first coined by Chris Anderson in an October 2004 Wired magazine article to describe certain business and economic models such as Amazon.com or Netflix. The term is also generally used in statistics, often applied in relation to wealth distributions or vocabulary use.

A: The Long Tail effect

10. He was already a noted aviator before World War I; in 1913 he gained fame for making the first nonstop flight across the Mediterranean Sea from Frejus in south of France to Bizerte in Tunisia. The next year he joined the French army at the outbreak of the conflict. After several aerial missions he decided that shooting and flying at the same time was too difficult, so he fitted a machine gun to the front of his plane so the tasks became one and the same. In order to protect the propeller from the bullets, he fitted metal wedges to the prop. Starting from April 1, 1915, he soon shot down three German planes and quickly gained an excellent reputation. On April 18, 1915, he was shot down and glided to a landing on the German side of the lines. After examining X’s plane, Dutch aircraft engineer Y and his team designed an improved system known as the interrupter gear. Soon the tables were reversed against the Allies due to Y’s planes shooting down nearly every enemy plane they met, leading to what became known as the Y Scourge. Identify X & Y?

A: Roland Garros & Anthony Fokker

Report on the quiz on 8th April

2007-04-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

This sunday witnessed an excellent quiz done by Diwakar and Bhargava. Diwakar's questions were easily workoutable, while Bhargava's question bordered around things that had been in the news recently. Diwakar decided to hark back to the days of good ol' directs and pass questions which was different from the usual Infinite Bounce format. JK seemed to be in awesome form and cracked stuff left right and center.The standings were as follows:

1st: JK, Kanna Ramasubramanian and Praneet
2nd:Srinivas Majji, Ravi Mundoli, Rohit and Shikha Kumar
3rd :Uday,Akshat,Lalit and Nitish

The end of the quiz saw a serious reversal of sorts with Nitish, Uday,Akshat and Lalit coming from behind to tie for 3rd place with team comprising of Anil,Sumant and Srinagesh. The tie breaker saw them breaking the deadlock by indentifying a visual of Henry Luce on a Time magazine cover to sneak into 3rd place. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable quiz.
The next quiz has been scheduled for the 13th of May and will be done by Nitish.
Will be posting some questions from this quiz soon.

Quiz on April 8th

2007-04-05T05:32:00.000-07:00

The next quiz is on Sunday, the 8th of April. Here are the details:

QMs: Diwakar Pingle and EM Bhargava. Diwakar is a founder member of QFI-Chennai, who has among other things been the quizmaster of Odyssey Open Quiz in 2007.Bhargava has podium finishes in some of the biggest open quizzes in India (Odyssey Open and Landmark Open) to his credit. They also teamed up to finish 3rd in the recent Brand Equity Quiz – Hyderabad

Venue: Orchids International School, Road No 36 Jubilee Hills

Directions to the venue: From Jubilee Hills Checkpost, keep coming down the road that leads to Cyber Towers. This is Road No 36. On the left you will pass by Trinethra, Barista etc and then you will find an IBP Petrol Pump. Orchids International is the first building after the Petrol bunk on the left.

Date and Time: 8th April 2007, 10:00 am

Format: Same as last time. Random teams.

Prizes: Gift vouchers from Odyssey Bookstore.

Entry Fee: Rs 25 per person.

See you all there!

Questions from the first quiz!

2007-04-02T01:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some questions from the first quiz:

1. It was first commissioned by The Times (London) newspaper in 1931 and designed by Stanley Morison together with Starling Burgess and Victor Lardent. It was commissioned to address the problems of high-speed printing on low quality newsprint. What am I talking about?

A: The font Times New Roman

2.Which finely woven cotton fabric sometimes associated with femininity derives its name from an Iraqi city, even though it originated in Dhaka in modern-day Bangladesh?

A: Muslin

3. In the midst of the depression, this person opened his first restaurant in the small front room of a gas station in Corbin. He served as station operator, chief cook and cashier and named the dining area "___________ Court & Café." In 1936 Governor Ruby Laffoon of that place made him an honorary Colonel in recognition of his contributions to the state's cuisine. Who am I talking about?

A. Col Sanders of KFC fame

4. It originally meant a glass vial of cyanide salts carried by various spies throughout history, and by Nazi leaders in WWII. Spies could take them when discovered, eliminating any possibility that they could be interrogated for the enemy's gain. It has since become a term referring to any strategy, generally in business or politics, to increase the likelihood of negative results over positive ones for anyone who attempts any kind of takeover. What term?

A: Poison pill

5. ________ Van Der Heijden was a Belgian aristocrat turned art thief, who stole 7000000 Swiss Francs in 1954, and is most notable for the theft of seven Pierre-Auguste Renoir paintings from the Louvre in Paris, France in 1961. His theft of the art pieces serves as the inspiration for what?

A: The movie Thomas Crown Affair.

6.It is a delicacy of the central Bihar region, made from grilled gram flour flakes which are sweetened, mixed with almonds, pressed into balls and fried in ghee. Originally from Maner, a small town near Patna, it is now made and enjoyed throughout India. It is a traditional gift at weddings, engagements and births. Which delicacy?

A: Moti Choor ke Laddoo.

7. What is constituted by Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Sandals of Peace, Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation, and Sword of the Spirit?

A: The Armor of God.

8. King Yayati had two wives, Devayani, the daughter of Shukra of the Bhrigu seers, and Sharmishta, the daughter of Vrisha Parvan, king of the Asuras. He had five sons - Turvasha and Yadu were sons by Devayani; Anu, Druhyu and Puru were sons by Sharmishta. The descendents of these five sons viz. Yadavas from Yadu, Paurav from Purus etc. give the five most ancient Vedic Kshatriya tribes. What was the common name given to these five most ancient Kshatriya tribes?

A: Panchajanya.

9.This company last year tied up with a supplier in Minnesota, made them sign a confidentiality agreement before placing an order for 6,965,000 pieces of reflective Mylar. Which company and what was the purpose?

A: The Time magazine. For their year ending 2006 issue cover, wherein they announced the Time Man of the Year 2006 to be "You", they wanted a material in which the person looking at the cover would see their own reflection and hence they bought all this mylar.

10.This term / phrase means a list of tunes - songs and instrumentals - that are most popular at any given time. The term originated in the late 1930s and has also been used for broadcast programs featuring hit tunes which were broadcast on radio and television in the US for many years. What term?

A: Hit Parade.

11.This fort was built by the Adil Shah of Bijapur on the southern headland of the _________ River. It was also known as "Shahpur" and is now mostly ruined. It has a commanding view of the Vagator beach and is near to Anjunan beach. It was built by the Portuguese in 1617 on the site of an earlier Muslim structure. Deserted in the 19th century, it lies in ruins today, although they still make for superb views. Which fort?

A: This is the fort made immensely popular by the film, Dil Chahta Hai. The fort is called Chapora Fort.

Notes from the first quiz

2007-03-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

The first quiz got quite a wonderful response with around 40 people turning up at St.Francis. After a brief intro by the guys from JCI, Secunderabad who graciously sponsored the venue, Priyambad got the quiz underway with a round on Absolut ads. And quite fittingly, the first question was something that centred around trivia! With this being the World Cup season, the quiz was themed around the World Cup. Questions on popular culture flew thick and fast, the surprise of the quiz being that there were no questions on either James Bond or Quentin Tarantino(!!). The final round was a derailer, which saw Srinivas Majji getting a question on Film Noir of all things and Srini's team graciously giving Bhargava's team a question on Greek Myth to help them get onto the podium. The final standings were as follows:

1st: Chandu, Arjun and Nitish
2nd: Rahul Paul, Rahul, Shreedhar and Shri Nagesh
3rd: Bhargava,Debashish,Ajith and Vivek.

Oddysey Book store were kind enough to sponsor gift vouchers for the top 3 teams. All in all, a Sunday morning well spent :)

BTW, will be posting some questions from the quiz on the blog soon so watch out for that.

Also, the date for the next quiz has been finalised. The quiz will be on the 8th of April ( Sunday) and will be done by Diwakar Pingle and Bhargava. Hope to see you all there!

The First Quiz

2007-02-23T00:43:00.000-08:00

Mark your calendar's people ...the date has been chosen and March 11th it is. The afternoon of that Sunday would be the day when we intend on holding our first quiz. Priyambad has gracioulsy volunteered to be the QM for the first quiz so expect a lot of movies,bollywood and general entertainment related fundaes in the quiz. Hope to see you all there.

Hello World!

2007-02-17T22:36:00.000-08:00

Into the dangerous world I leapt;
Helpless, naked, piping loud,
Like a fiend hid in a cloud.

- William Blake