MEGAWHATS 2016SEMI FINAL 1

Research By

Mitesh Agarwal and Venkatesh Srinivasan

1. Hammer and Tongs – Kolkata

2. Ingit Bergman – Mumbai

3. Mavericks – Dubai

4. Memory Blank – Chennai

5. Metaquizziks – Bangalore

6. Swami and Friends – Hyderabad

7. The Travelling Pillsburys – Mumbai

8. We Are Like This (W)Only – Bangalore

16 questions clock-wise on Infinite Pounce

Written Round with six questions

16 questions anti-clock-wise on Infinite Pounce

Top four teams qualify for the finals

16 questions

+10 on Infinite Bounce

+10/-5 on Infinite Pounce

No part pounces

MegaWhats 2016

Ornithologists Dr Hentati-Sundberg and Dr Olsson of Stockholm University borrowed an idea that historians of architecture are starting to use to track

changes to buildings.

They used Stora Karlsö in the Baltic Sea for their experiments, as the island is well known as a nesting site for guillemots and razorbills. They found that the

number of nesting pairs increased from 1918, dropped in the 1960s and recovered again more recently.

Their hypothesis is – what worked on Stora Karlsö would surely work for other seabird colonies that have significant tourists visiting.

What simple, yet effective method were they using to collect this data?

1

MegaWhats 2016

Tourist photographs

MegaWhats 2016

Recently, this famous cosmetics brand ran an awareness campaign in

South Africa – which has the highest rates of a type of cancer in the

world.

They set up this slide on the beach so that families could solve a

particular problem in a fun way that would require no cajoling on the

part of the parents.

Which brand? What does the slide do?

2

© Nexus Consulting 2016

MegaWhats 2016

Nivea

The slide is coated with sunscreen, which kids are

generally loathe to put on

MegaWhats 2016

a) In use since the 1910s, this hyphenated word comes from American English and is used to denote an aggressive and hard-working person, and is often

used as a desired quality in recruitment advertisements. Which word?

b) In the pic, if red represents the route taken for one commodity, what does the blue line represent?

Both (a) and (b) find usage today as brand names in a particular niche publication industry in India. In your answer, please indicate the respective

owners of each “publication”.

Each correct pair gets five points.

3

MegaWhats 2016

a. Go-Getter – Go Air

b. Spice Route – Spice Jet

MegaWhats 2016

The following are the five Indian names honoured in a list of nearly 1000 or

so such names in a particular location far, far away.

1. Avvaiyar – the Tamil poet

2. Dr. Jerusha Jhirad – physician and first woman to be granted a scholarship

by the Indian government to study abroad

3. Anandiben Joshee – first Indian woman to get a US medical degree

4. Pandita Ramabhai – social reformer

5. Dheepa – a common first name for women

What honour has been bestowed on these five people?

4

MegaWhats 2016

Impact Craters on Venus

All craters on Venus are named after famous women or female first names.

MegaWhats 2016

Mariana, by John Everett Millais, was first exhibited at the Royal

Academy in 1851, with the display caption from Tennyson's “Mariana”

She only said, ‘My life is dreary,

He cometh not,’ she said;

She said, ‘I am aweary, aweary,'

I would that I were dead!

The painting and the poem both are inspired from the same work.

Identify

a)the Author

b)the work

5

MegaWhats 2016

William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure

MegaWhats 2016

When this actor was a child in London, his parents divorced, leading to

his grandmother taking him along to a different country.

The community his grandmother moved to was filled with religious and

spiritual personalities: the boy too shaved his head and wore Buddhist

clothes. He became a particular favorite of the old lady who ran the

community, and interacted with some of the leading thinkers and

philosophers of the day. The boy later moved to Sydney to study and

start his career.

Which familiar community is this?

Also identify this well-networked boy.

6

MegaWhats 2016

Theosophical Society

Peter Finch(the old lady was Annie Besant)

MegaWhats 2016

This is a stunning image of the frozen

Abraham Lake in Alberta, Canada.

What gives the lake its distinct blue colour even when frozen?

7

MegaWhats 2016

Methane gas

The gas, which is emitted by bacteria after they consume

dead organic matter, is fairly harmless but the bubbles

can cause an explosion if lit

MegaWhats 2016

According to the Vlasic website, this “spokes-bird” was chosen by merging a

mythological story about the bird with another common story about certain

women craving for their product.

What is the story? Which real-life person was the “spokes-bird” based on?

8

MegaWhats 2016

Storks have been associated with babies; the other

myth is about pregnant women craving pickles.

Vlasic marketed themselves as “the pickle pregnant women crave...after all,

who's a better pickle expert?”

Groucho Marx was the model

MegaWhats 2016

The term “__A___ ____B_____” entered common usage in the inter-war

years of the 20th century as expanding rail networks and car ownership

helped people use available time for indulging in activities like a race,

a ball, a shoot or a political gathering.

The phrase in polite British circles was still “___X____-to-___Z___”, to

distinguish the leisured class from those who had to be at work on a

particular day.

2015 was considered a bumper year for this kind of “holiday” –

a whopping 58 days (in India).

What is the term? What is the phrase?

9

MegaWhats 2016

Long Weekend

Saturday to Monday

MegaWhats 2016

Far from preaching abstinence from earthly pleasures, Vowz, a Tokyo

bar, encourages the opposite. In a similar vein, Japan’s 77,000 such

“establishments” run cafés, organize fashion shows or host pets in

daycare. Still, hundreds close every year as with an estimated 40%

expected to close down in the next few years.

Their biggest “business” is waning and sociologists estimate that they

need support from 200 families to break even.

What “establishments” are we talking about and how do they break

even?

10

MegaWhats 2016

Japan’s Buddhist temples

Their biggest business is Funerals!

The approx. cost of a funeral is apparently ~25000 US$ (yearly installments)

MegaWhats 2016

In 1995-96, Manchester United were having a torrid phase in the

English Premier League. A change that had been made at the beginning

of the season did not seem to help matters. In one match, away against

Southampton, they were down 0-3 at half-time.

At half-time, Sir Alex Ferguson was so livid, that he ordered the change

that had been made to be reversed. He latter attributed this to

practicality and not superstition.

What change? Please be specific.

What reason did Sir Alex give?

11

MegaWhats 2016

Changed the grey away jersey

Players could not pick each other out

Manchester United lost four and drew one of their five (or four

and a half) games in the notorious grey kit. It was officially

retired two days after this game, and they proceeded to win

every remaining fixture to take the title.

MegaWhats 2016

The person in the picture went to meet Bimal Roy for a role in a 1953

film. After meeting him, Bimal Roy, initially rejected him, for a particular

reason. Later on he relented and the actor in question (and pic), went on

to play a memorable lead role.

Why was he rejected?

12

MegaWhats 2016

Balraj Sahni for Do Bigha Zameen

Bimal Roy thought he looked too much like an

Englishman in suit and all!

MegaWhats 2016

This was a T-Shirt released by Disney. It blended the likeness of Mickey

Mouse with the cover artwork from a band's 1979 album.

Name the band/album.

When Disney was informed of the origin of the band’s name and the fact

that the lead singer hanged himself, they withdrew the T-Shirt.

What was the origin of the band name?

13

MegaWhats 2016

Joy Division (Unknown Pleasures) borrowed their name

from the prostitution wing of a Nazi concentration

camp

MegaWhats 2016

Learned travel agents have begun to charge a premium for those

discerning travellers that request for the following room numbers –

16, 22, 100, 105, 401, 434, 449, 525, 609, 3327, and many more.

In this vein, a particular part/feature of Room #306 at the Lorraine Hotel

in Tennessee has been in demand since the late 1960s.

What specific request are the travel agents trying to accommodate?

14

MegaWhats 2016

Hotel Room Numbers that celebrities have died in

The list includes names like Whitney Houston, James Gandolfini,

Anna Nicole Smith, David Carradine and others

The balcony of Room #306 in Lorraine Hotel in Tennessee is where

MLK Jr. was shot

MegaWhats 2016

175 Grams is a short-film made for the Sundance Short Film Challenge

2015; the film is directed by Bharat Mirle and Aravind Iyer and

showcases a sporting team called Flywild in Chennai, which is made up

of a number of young boys and girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Chennai is a major hub for the sport – appropriate given one of its

natural features.

The sport in question has caught on widely in India, with a team

representing the country in the World Championships this year.

What is the film about? (2-word answer)

Why is it called 175 Grams?

15

MegaWhats 2016

Ultimate Frisbee

The weight of the Frisbee

MegaWhats 2016

The forest landscape of Portugal produces approximately half of ____

harvested annually worldwide, with Corticeira Amorim being the leading

company in the industry. The company took its name from the local

name of this plant which is a key “object” required for a thriving

Portuguese export. A famous scientist coined a term to describe a basic

building block of life, after examining the walls of the same plant. It

apparently reminded him of the walls of a monastery.

a. Give the common name of the plant/object.

b. Name the scientist and the word he coined.

16

MegaWhats 2016

Cork

Corticeira is the local word for Cork; the export is Port Wine

Robert Hooke coined the term Cell by examining the

walls of Cork

Score Check!

• Six questions in writing

• +5 for each correct answer

• +3 for each part

• Full names needed everywhere

MegaWhats 2016

Fill in the blank with two words.

1

MegaWhats 2016

Identify the two people sparring in the aftermath of a book release.

2

MegaWhats 2016

Identify the two lovers who had a much publicized spat in 2014.

3

MegaWhats 2016

Identify the two brothers-in-law, trading accusations after one of them

released his autobiography in 2014.

4

MegaWhats 2016

This 1843 cartoon called Cartoon No. 1 Substance and Shadow is an

illustration by John Leach. It satirizes the preparation of frescoes to

adorn the revamp of which building?

5

MegaWhats 20165

MegaWhats 2016

Identify either of the two economists seen sparring over the NREGA

scheme.

6

Exchange Sheets…

MegaWhats 2016

Fill in the blank with two words.

1

MegaWhats 2016

Drew First

MegaWhats 2016

Identify the two people sparring in the aftermath of a book release.

2

MegaWhats 2016

Sanjaya Baru

Upinder Singh / Manmohan Singh’s daughter

MegaWhats 2016

Identify the two lovers who had a much publicized spat in 2014.

3

MegaWhats 2016

Preity Zinta

Ness Wadia

MegaWhats 2016

Identify the two brothers-in-law, trading accusations after one of them

released his autobiography in 2014.

4

MegaWhats 2016

Amarinder Singh

K Natwar Singh

MegaWhats 2016

This 1843 cartoon called Cartoon No. 1 Substance and Shadow is an

illustration by John Leach. It satirizes the preparation of frescoes to

adorn the revamp of which building?

5

MegaWhats 2016

Palace of Westminster / Houses of Parliament

Being re-built after the fire

MegaWhats 2016

Identify either of the two economists seen sparring over the NREGA

scheme.

6

MegaWhats 2016

Jean Dreze/Surjit Bhalla

Score check…

16 questions

+10 on Infinite Bounce

+10/-5 on Infinite Pounce

No part pounce

MegaWhats 2016

The person who recently proposed this radical move, Anthony Kent, says

that he got the inspiration from a similar act by Henry VIII in the

16th century – though there are no authentic records of the same.

While records seem to suggest that pulling the item in question was a

punishable offence, there seems to be no record for the item itself.

The well documented instance of this is Peter the Great, who started the

practice after he went to Western Europe, saw the men over there, and

realized that Russia was behind the times and they needed to change.

What are we talking about?

1

MegaWhats 2016

Beard Tax

MegaWhats 2016

This word is British theatrical slang for unintentionally breaking

character by laughing. In the US, it is referred to as “breaking”.

The Brit usage comes from the fact that an actor playing a particular

kind of character in a play or film could absolutely not laugh, since that

would completely go against the character; actors often try this as a gag

to make their fellow actors laugh and several TV show episodes and film

scenes actually show this happening.

What 8-letter word is this?

2

MegaWhats 2016

Corpsing

MegaWhats 2016

Who, talking about a role in a 2014 film?

According to him, he was chosen to play this role, because of a

memorable role he played in a film 28 years prior; he says, “They needed

someone to yell ‘Game over, man,’”. Which older film?

3

MegaWhats 2016

Bill Paxton talking about Edge of Tomorrow

Aliens

MegaWhats 2016

The human body produces a lot of sweat, which is full of sodium

chloride. When silver nitrate solution is coated on any object, it reacts

with the sodium chloride, and produces silver chloride, which is visible

to the eye.

This was the breakthrough technique used by an American organization

in 1933 to help William Hamm, and has since become the standard.

Today, more sophisticated lasers and alternative light sources are used

for the same.

What are we talking about? Please give an exact answer.

4

MegaWhats 2016

Latent Fingerprint identification

MegaWhats 2016

In the William Hamm kidnapping case discussed in the previous

question, the incriminated gang had one very interesting personality,

named Arrie. The person was described by J Edgar Hoover as, “the most

vicious, dangerous and resourceful criminal brain of the 1930s”.

In 1977, a slight variant of Arrie’s nickname was in the limelight again,

where Arrie was described as “the meanest in Chicago town”, and “had

no heart at all”, and described how Arrie died with a gun in hand,

without any friends.

How do we better know Arrie? What was the later work?

5

MegaWhats 2016

Kate “Ma” Barker

Ma Baker by Boney M

MegaWhats 2016

There are three people who can be termed as “jinx breakers”.

In one category, it is only the person on the extreme left who has

broken the jinx in 2014.

In the other category, there are two exceptions from the early days, till

someone joined this list recently.

What are we talking about? Who is the latest ‘jinx-breaker’?

6

MegaWhats 2016

Robin Uthappa – only Orange Cap winner to win the

IPL title

Sohail Tanveer and RP Singh – only Purple Cap

winners to win the title,

till Bhuvaneswar Kumar joined them recently

MegaWhats 2016

The Spanish explorer, Francisco de Orellana, was the first European man

to explore the area of Marañón.

During these travels, Orellana baptized some of the affluents of

Marañón; he also renamed it, while he was attacked during an ensuing

battle.

What exactly did he do?

7

MegaWhats 2016

Named the Amazon

Orellana baptized Rio Negro, Napo and Jurua. The name Amazonas came from

the native warriors that attacked this expedition, mostly women, which reminded

Orellana of the woman warriors – the Amazons – from Hellenic culture.

MegaWhats 2016

The White Motor company steam car in the picture was, in some senses

the first US Presidential car – Howard Taft, in 1909 became a big fan of

the vehicle and started using it as his official transport.

Apart from the luxuries and comfort associated with the car, what very

tactical and useful purpose did it serve, when Taft went out?

8

MegaWhats 2016

Helped him hide from the paparazzi

Taft could conceal himself from pesky press photographers with a carefully timed

burst of steam

MegaWhats 2016

This is a parking spot in the Chinese city of Hangzhou which is fast

catching up across China. The parking spots are around 1.5 times wider

than the others and serve a specific purpose.

What is the reason?

9

MegaWhats 2016

The bigger parking spaces are for

women drivers whose driving skills are not superb

MegaWhats 2016

This Zurich headquartered scientific organization has two main ‘color

publications’, known as the Blue Book and the Red Book.

A third publication, known as the Green Book, describes symbols, while

a fourth, the Gold Book, contains the definitions of technical terms.

Similar compendia exist for various branches – the White Book, the

Orange Book, the Purple Book, the Silver Book – each deriving their

name from the predominant color in the field of study!

What are we talking about and which organization is this?

10

MegaWhats 2016

IUPAC Color Books for

Chemistry nomenclature/symbols/terms

MegaWhats 2016

Vertebrate animals, human beings included, are constantly changing their skin—producing new layers of it as old cells slough off from the surface.

Understanding this process of regeneration would help the treatment of skin diseases and of injuries such as burns. A group of researchers have

announced a colorful new technique that should enhance such understanding. They dub it the “____A_____” (a portmanteau word).

A’s are an adaptation of another portmanteau word called “_____B_____”, invented almost a decade ago.

B is used to label nerve cells with different colors.

What are A (7 letters) & B (8 letters)?

11

MegaWhats 2016

Skinbow and Brainbow

MegaWhats 2016

Connect and combine to arrive at famous name.

12

26th President of Mexico; the Mexico City airport is named

after him

Amilcare Cipriani, founder Of the Democratic Club of Italy

Andrea Costa, co-founder of The Italian Socialist Party

MegaWhats 2016

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini

Mussolini was named Benito after Mexican reformist President Benito Juárez, while his

middle names "Andrea" and "Amilcare" were from Italian socialists Andrea Costa and

Amilcare Cipriani.

MegaWhats 2016

Identify the novelist (left) who was his country’s first “cleanly” elected

President in 1948. He is widely considered the greatest Spanish language

author to have not won a Nobel Prize in Literature.

For part points name the country.

13

MegaWhats 2016

Rómulo Gallegos, President of Venezuela

MegaWhats 2016

Betty Joan Perske, Margaret Hyra, Shirley Beaty, Margarita Cansino,

Herbert Joseph Abrahams, José Antonio Domínguez, Catherine Fabienne

Dorléac, Ashley Tyler Ciminella, Diane Hall, Norma Jeane Mortenson,

Reema Lamba all made it big in movies after name changes.

What connects the new names they took?

14

MegaWhats 2016

All took their mother’s maiden name when they changed their

first name or surnameBetty Joan Perske (Lauren Bacall), Margaret Hyra (Meg Ryan), Shirley Beaty (Shirley MacLaine),

Margarita Cansino (Rita Hayworth), Herbert Joseph Abrahams (Herbert Baker), José Antonio

Domínguez (Antonio Banderas), Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (Catherine Deneuve), Ashley Tyler

Ciminella (Ashley Judd), Diane Hall (Diane Keaton), Norma Jeane Mortenson (Marilyn Monroe),

Reema Lamba (Mallika Sherawat)

MegaWhats 2016

The term is attributed to Robert Deutsch, a USA Today staff

photographer, in September of 1999 when writing a story for the

Sports Shooter email newsletter.

The phrase is most likely derived from comparison between the sounds

and actions some make while reviewing images and those of an excited

primate (Oooh! Oooh! Aaah!), or when a photographer is completely

absorbed in the act of analysing, admiring or proudly displaying a shot

to others.

What term, familiar to us in a guessable way?

15

MegaWhats 2016

Chimping

Last question coming up…

MegaWhats 2016

This country is not Islamic and its Muslim population is quite small, yet it

uses an crescent in its flag. It has gone to much length to emphasize that

the crescent is not a representation of Islam but rather that of a country

on the ascent. It remains the only non-Muslim nation to have a crescent

moon in its national flag.

A more honest examination will reveal shades of political correctness

behind the move.

Which nation?

16

MegaWhats 2016

Singapore

Final Scores…