General Quiz-6

Mail the answers to batty_bharath@yahoo.co.in. Answers will be put up in a week

1. United States Patent 6152797. In the ‘Object and advantages section’ of the patent:

It is an object of the present invention to provide tetrahedral or octahedral modules that snap together at adjoining faces so that the octahedral or tetrahedral modules won't slide relative to each other.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide tetrahedral or octahedral modules would be durable and reusable.

It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide tetrahedral and octahedral modules that come in contact with each other over a maximal amount of surface area, thus distributing stress more evenly and resulting in a stronger structure.

It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide modules not based on the 90° angles of most modules. In the modules of the present invention can be found these angles: 600°, 120°, arc cosine(1/3)--approximately 70.5°, and arc cosine(-1/3)--approximately 109.5°.

What am I talking about?

2. A study was conducted by the Pontificate Centre for Culture in 1992. After the study published its results, the then Pope John Paul II expressed regret at how things had been till that date and carried out a major decision. What was the study about and what did the Pope do?

3. Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter and a major force in the abstract expressionist movement. Jackson Pollock has commented: "...look passively and try to receive what the painting has to offer and not bring a subject matter or preconceived idea of what they are to be looking for.”

This is the reason for a practice that Pollock follows. What?

4. The Conquered Lorikeet is a species of parrot that became extinct 700-1300 years ago. It was named by David Steadman, as a wordplay on ___________. Its range was from the Cook Islands to the Society and Marquesas Islands.

What was its scientific name?

5. The word X (as used in Y) a language puzzle that has never been satisfactorily accounted for. A fairly old and widely-used word, it refers to a community social gathering at which friends and neighbors join together in a single activity. Those who used the word, including most early students of language, assumed that it was the same word as referred to the insect. They thought that this particular meaning had probably been inspired by the obvious similarity between these human gatherings and the X’s social nature.

One possibility is that it comes from the Middle English word _____, which means "a prayer" or "a favor“ . In England, a dialectal form of this word, referred to "voluntary help given by neighbors toward the accomplishment of a particular task .

6. X was the first service uniform registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The tight costume forced Y to bend at the knees, not the waist, when serving drinks in a manoeuvre known as Z. There was usually a seamstress for each Club to maintain the fit. To avoid rumors, the Club Manager had only two responsibilities for the Y, floor service and weigh in. Before every shift the Manager would weigh in each Y as they could not gain or lose more than one pound.

Genuine X in good condition have sold for over $10,000. The only two on public display are in the collections of The Smithsonian and the Chicago History Museum.

7. X, Chief __________to the Cabinet Office (c. 1988 – March 2006) served under the premierships of Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair, but retired a few months after the Blairs moved in to Downing Street.

At a cost of about £100 a, X was said to be of considerably great value. In June 1995, X went missing. On 25 September 1995, the Prime Minister's press office announced his apparent death. Upon his return, X issued a statement through the civil service stating, "I have had a wonderful holiday at the Royal Army Medical College, but it is nice to be back and I am looking forward to the new parliamentary session.”

8. The origin of the band name was described by Brian Downey in an interview in the 2007 DVD Live and Dangerous: The band's lead guitarist Eric Bell, who was a fan of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, bought a copy of The Dandy comic after seeing Eric Clapton depicted reading a copy of its sister publication The Beano. Bell suggested ________, the name of a robot character from the comic which was in turn named after the nick for _________. Lynott liked the idea, but while arranging a gig at a Dublin venue over the telephone, the venue owner assumed that '_____' was actually '______' due to Phil's strong Dublin accent. The band turned up to find themselves advertised outside the club as '_______' and the name stuck.Identify the band.

9. X went on to solve the Sphinx's riddle: "What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?" To this X answered "Man." Distraught that her riddle had been answered correctly, the Sphinx threw herself off the side of the wall. His reward for freeing the kingdom of Thebes from the Sphinx's curse was kingship and the hand of the queen, Jocasta.

10. It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a waistline of 33 feet, and is about 800-1000 years old. In February 1998, a local company took cuttings from the Major Oak and began cultivating clones of the tree with the intention of sending saplings to be planted in major cities around the world. The purpose was to provide a focal point for an Internet-based study of the Major Oak, its history.

What is it famous for?

Ciao......

ANSWERS GENERAL QUIZ-5

1 .During the 2004 U.S presidential elections there were allegations of data irregularities and systematic flaws especially in Florida. Diebold, the company manufacturing the voting machines tightened its security after it was revealed that a simple virus can hack its electronic voting machines. But however months later a hacker broke their lock. How did he do it?

The advertisement contained the image which was an exact replica of the key to the electronic voting machines.


2 . Helen Duncan (1897 – 1956) a scottish woman, during World War II. In Portsmouth, she indicated knowledge that a warship had been sunk. Because this fact had been kept from the public, the British Admiralty chose to attempt to discredit her. She was arrested and eventually charged at first __________, she was jailed for nine months. Winston Churchill was less than impressed with the whole thing and eventually repealed the___________Act in 1951.

WITCHCRAFT


3. X is a catchphrase and proverb used in discussing economic inequality. William Harrison said, in an October 1, 1840 speech, " I believe and I say it is true Democratic feeling, that all the measures of the government are directed to the purpose of making X.

In 1821, Percy Shelley argued that in his England, "the promoters of utility" had managed to exasperate at once the extremes of luxury and want. X; and the vessel of the State is driven between the Scylla and Charybdis of anarchy and despotism.
The phrase X was also very famously quoted in a movie. Give me the name of the movie and the phrase.

X- The rich richer and the poor poorer Movie is Rajnikanth's latest Sivaji

4.
Fill in the first blank

'Why does a chicken cross the street?

5. During Perestroika, they began to feature leaders of the Soviet Union. Easily Mikhail Gorbhachev was the largest, then Leonoid Brezhnev, Nikita Khruschev, Josef Stalin and the puniest Vladimir Lenin.

But in recent times the largest Gorbhachev has been replaced with Vladimir Putin, then comes Boris Yelstin, Mikhail Gorbhachev, Josef Stalin and then the Vladimir Lenin. Explain.

A matryoshka doll or a Russian nested doll

6 X are non-structural details that make up letters and symbols. The explanation proposed by Father Edward Catich in his 1968 book The Origin of the X is now broadly accepted: the Roman letter outlines were first brushed onto stone, and the stone carvers followed the brush marks which flared at stroke ends and corners, creating X.

In print, Y are more typically used for headlines than for body text. The conventional wisdom is that X help guide the eye along the lines in large blocks of text. In typography, a Y is one that does not have the small features at stroke endings. Y have become the de facto standard for body text on-screen, especially online.

X- Serif Y-Sans-Serif

7 In "From the Ruins of the Reich", Douglas Botting claims the term originated among black GIs in occupied Germany when the occupying soldiers sometimes slept with German war widows; getting sex he didn't deserve so she could feed her children.Whats is the not so famous word but used ubiquitously?

This question is not meant to offend anyones sentiments.... just for the sake of quizzing.... Motherfucker

8 Moghal-e-Azam (1960)
Taj Mahal (2005)
Sohni Mahiwal (1984)

What connects these three films?

Indian films that were screened in Pakistan

9 The first person who claimed to be X was the Brazilian businessman José Roberto Penteado. When Penteado started to get media attention, including an offer to be in a Volkswagen commercial, a 25 year old Hungarian man named Péter Guzli came forward as the real X.
Guzli took the photo on November 28, 1997, and was also responsible for the initial edit. He edited the image for a few friends, not realizing it would spread so quickly. He first provided the original undoctored photo and several other photos from the same series as proof to a Hungarian newspaper. Later on, the show Wired News examined the evidence and confirmed that Guzli was the real X. What are we talking about?

The tourist guy, also known as the accidental tourist ,WTC Guy, or tourist of death, is an Internet phenomenon consisting of a photograph of a tourist that has appeared in many photoshopped pictures after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

10 What is the name of this rather commercial painting/cartoon?

"The last breakfast" ---the characters are the mascots of kellogs cereals.

Ciao
Bharath

General Quiz -1

These q's are taken from the NITTFEST Lonewolf quiz conducted in April 08 courtesy Thamizh, Barghav and TSV.. Please refrain from googling or wikiing since there are lots of clues in the q's ..Send in your answers to batty_bharath@yahoo.co.in or post them as comments .. Answers will be put up in a week

1.
1. Latin for “course of life”.
2.French for “summary”.

Both terms used interchangeably in India. Give both.

2.X attempted to write a six-word story as part of a Wired Magazine article but wrote ten words instead. His article was "God said, 'Cancel Program GENESIS.' The universe ceased to exist."

The person refused to lower the word count. Who is this person?

3. Kasparov vs. X was a game of chess played in 1999. The host and promoter of the match was the MSN Gaming Zone. After 62 moves played over four months Kasparov won the game. In his words:
"It is the greatest game in the history of chess. The sheer number of ideas, the complexity, and the contribution it has made to chess make it the most important game ever played."
The moves were slowed down to a pace of one move per day. Also, MSN provided a bulletin board for the discussion of X's moves. It was hoped that these advantages would collectively allow for true consultation, and raise the level of play.

Opponent?

4.The name of the place is said to come from a Tuareg woman who dug a well in the area where the city stands today. The main language of the place is Koyra Chiini.
The image of the city as mysterious or mythical has survived to the present day in other countries: a poll among young Britons in 2006 found 34% did not believe the town existed, while the other 66% considered it "a mythical place".

5.What consisted of:
4th and 13th Light Dragoons
17th Lancers
and the 8th and 11th Hussars

Under the command of Major General the Earl of Cardigan.

6.According to the Principles of Jurisprudence, what must meet the following conditions in order to be valid:
1. It is in line with relevant legal proofs and in line with hadiths
2. It is issued by a person (or a board) having due knowledge and sincerity of heart;
3. It is free from individual opportunism, and not depending on political servitude;
4. It is adequate with the needs of the contemporary world.

7.“It’s lasted so long because it's very simple, very catchy....basically incorporating four notes. It’s got tons of personality!”

What famous piece is being described here?

8.People who lean toward math and engineering are certain that X was chosen because it is the sine of the angle of wing sweep. It's not, since the wing sweep is 35 degrees and not 45. However, more people lean toward superstition and feel that the positive connotation of the number was the reason it was selected.

Was ist das? (Ja, ich kenne deutsch.)

9. During the Diwali celebrations at the British House of Commons, the Asian community anointed the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown by giving him an Indianized version of his first name, which is one of the many names of Krishna.

What was the Indianized name?

10 In 1963, The State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts (now known as Hanover Insurance) purchased Guarantee Mutual Company of Ohio. The merger resulted in low employee morale. In an attempt to solve this, Harvey Ball was employed to create something specific, which he created in less than ten minutes. What did he create ?

11 The site was founded in 2002 by Canadian star Shawn Rees who was working for another company when he got the idea for X, and he created the brand to capitalize on the term. Shawn Rees' image is instantly recognizable among many viewers an achievement that is not often obtained by male actors.
The majority of the movies are filmed in Miami, Florida. The movies contain live narration from either the cameraman or X himself, and some viewers find their comedic style to be irritating or distracting. However many fans stayed loyal as the "buddy" nature of the comedy-- and the seeming friendship between the cameraman and X added to the "realism" of the series. Name the series/site.


Ciao

Bharath