PEARL 2017

THE GENERAL QUIZPRELIMS

Pearl 2017

QuBITS – The BPHC Quiz Fest

The General Quiz

Prelims

Content and Presentation

Sameer Dharur

34 questions.

Questions 27 to 34 carry two points each, and will resolve ties.

42 points in all.

No negatives. Feel free to take guesses for every question.

Malpractice is too much effort. Don’t bother trying.

Good luck!

The Deal

1 pointers

1.

Actis Tech is a Mumbai based company that has pioneered the use of innovative audio-visual, presentation and meeting technologies since 1971 for various corporate, education, government and residential applications.

About 4 years ago, it was approached to create a comprehensive acoustics solution for its most expensive project costing in excess of ₹200 crore and among the largest of its kind in India – working around a double-layered false ceiling to improve the reach of the sound transmitted.

What structure were they working on, whose progress was regularly monitored by one of India’s top industrialists?

The Answer is …

The auditorium at BITS PilaniHyderabad Campus.

2.

A recent piece in The Huffington Post looks at the changing fortunes of The Daily Show, once helmed to perfection by Jon Stewart.

It describes the dip in ratings following his exit in 2015 and the subsequent rise – which culminated in the steady popularity it enjoys today.

What was this piece appropriately titled, mythologically punning on the current host and his coming-of-age at the show?

The Answer is …

3.

The following sequence in Casino Royale involves the breathless pursuit of one of the criminals in the plot by James Bond, with the help of some technology that turns out to be timely and useful.

In one of the well documented stories of the technology world, this clip was viewed by a certain Canadian immigrant dwelling in San Francisco around the time of the film’s release which made him change profession for the better.

What resulted from his watching this portion of the film?

The Answer is …

Uber.

4.

The Peterloo Massacre of 1815 occurred in Manchester when a cavalry charged into a peacefully protesting crowd that demanded a reform of parliamentary representation – resulting in 15 deaths and over 100 injuries.

Predictably, this sent shock waves among the liberal class of the country, with calls to protect the culture of dissent and the freedom to protest wrongdoing without having to toe the line of the establishment, or be fearful of the consequences.

What aptly titled organization, that continues to operate on these ideals even today, was formed in the aftermath of the massacre?

The Answer is …

The Guardian.

5.

Horizon Zero Dawn is a recently released action game that revolves around a hunter and an archer fighting on against robots – set in a post apocalyptic world.

The game opens off with a sequence of the young protagonist being brought into the world being carried on the back of her mentor. The act that follows is intended to be a hat-tip to another character from over a couple of decades ago, with parallels drawn between the two life stories.

What is the following sequence a tribute to?

The Answer is …

The Lion King.

6.

Following much criticism over the last few years, Mozilla finally decided to rebrand its main logo to a well received alternative in January this year.

Through the logo, Mozilla intended to convey a public understanding of what the company does and also indicate the many other products it is responsible for, each meant to promote web literacy and online security.

How exactly were the company’s expansive internet roots referenced in the logo, through something whose inventor from over a couple of decades ago now considers a redundancy?

The Answer is …

The double slash in the URL.

7.

Andrew Scott Waugh was a British Army officer and the former Surveyor General of India during the 19th century.

On one of his official missions in 1856 to the Eastern parts of the country, he broke the tradition of giving local names to features surveyed – since he found that this already had multiple versions in various neighbouringplaces, including one that translated to ‘Goddess Mother of the World’ in Tibet.

What was the eventual name given, in honour of his Welsh predecessor?

The Answer is …

Everest.

8.

Kevin Pietersen, back in the day when he wasn’t grappling through an identity crisis, was best known for his innovative stroke-making that put opposition bowlers out of their rhythm.

Apart from the switch-hit, the following shot of his was hailed for its improbable zone of execution and the constrained use of his limbs in accomplishing it.

As a result, what creature from the natural world was this shot appropriately named after?

The Answer is …

The flamingo shot, named for his ability to stand on one leg and direct the ball accordingly.

9.

The following clip is an excerpt from a short-film released last year that earned much online traction – with its plot featuring a crime scene and a subsequent chase by the police.

What iconic piece from popular culture served as the inspiration for this film?

The Answer is …

Bohemian Rhapsody.

10.

The Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland last year was faced with a peculiar case of employer ill-treatment that made news all over the country (and the world) bringing to light the little known pressures of a seemingly fashionable profession.

The employees were paid a paltry $5 per hour, often made to put up their own expenses of travel and on their preparation – and regularly fined for even the slightest errors in using their props. The issue was also reported by several other employees all over the country, including by school and college students for whom it continues to be a part-time source of revenue.

What popular profession is this, that began in the USA but quickly made its way to various countries around the world in the last decade or so?

The Answer is …

Cheerleaders at sporting events.

11.

In early February 2003, when diplomatic officials from the USA were lobbying at the UN pressing the case for war against Iraq, the tapestry in the media briefing room had to be obscured before any press briefings owing to a painting it contained – which was considered to be inappropriate imagery at a time when war was being considered.

What painting was this, from nearly seven decades before the time, that remains iconic for its dystopian depictions of wartime horrors?

The Answer is …

Guernica by Pablo Picasso.

12.

First appearing in the 16th century, most notably in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, this word was derived from the Latin verbs for the sprinkling of rain – or figuratively – blessings. It began to be widely used in the context of religious ceremonies to refer to the scattering of holy water.

However, English speakers were soon uncomfortable with this holy connotation since they noticed the water would often contain soil and stain.

What word, now widely used in a negative light, owes its origins to these events?

The Answer is …

Aspersions.

13.

Osteoarthritis is a condition characterized by the stiffening and pain of the joints whose symptoms could become constant over a long time.

An innovative method of treatment was devised a few years ago by doctors at a university in Israel – called intermittent balneotherapy, where the patients were treated with sulfur and mineral-rich mud compresses at regular intervals of time that significantly reduced the pain among those with a long history of suffering.

Which place, where the said substances are abundantly present, were these patients taken to for treatment?

The Answer is …

The Dead Sea.

14.

As part of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launch last month, NASA sent along a special module to help track multiple parameters of interest in space.

It contains visible, infrared and lidar sensors to help track approaching spacecraft whose data would be relayed back home to build a machine vision system capable of guiding a spacecraft to rendezvous with another.

Owing to its multipronged ways to keep track of its surroundings, what famous and enigmatic fictional character does it take inspiration from?

The Answer is …

The three eyed raven from GoT.

15.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games saw a respectable showing by the Indian contingent, winning a total of 49 medals. The star of the group was shooter Samaresh Jung who finished with 7 medals – 5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze – in his name.

Not to be left behind, his wife Anuja Jung joined the podium to win a gold of her own in the women’s three-position rifle event. Sports historians were quick to draw parallels with a similar occurrence of familial glory at a major sporting event from the mid-20th century encompassing 4 illustrious golds and a bronze, which included a unique world record.

Whom were they compared to?

The Answer is …

Emil and Dana Zatopek at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games.

16.

Developers at the Game Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California recently made a trip to the East Coast to help with the creation of their new game, set in a location designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1962 for its cultural significance.

It is an unusual game that intends to have stillness at its core and, ironically, intends to leave its players wanting to take a ‘walk in the real world’.

What is this game inspired from – a famous literary pitch for austerity over material pleasure?

The Answer is …

Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

17.

The paucity of accessible doctors to the lower-income groups of 17th

century societies in countries like Germany and France prompted people of a certain other profession to take to it, with great success.

Offering consultation at significantly lower cost, they combined their knowledge of human anatomy with the need to revive their social standing and were of enormous help to a large chunk of the population for different kinds of physical ailments – which eventually earned them the recognition of the high-ranking individuals and a formal legalization of their medical practice.

Who exactly were these people?

The Answer is …

Executioners.

18.

In a famous and long-lasting case of public interest, the London Metropolitan Police in 1996 decided to sue the BBC over an alleged copyright infringement that was misleading its viewers.

The case invited a lot of criticism to the police for overreacting –especially around 30 years late and spending exorbitant amount of tax payers’ money in the legal battle. Despite help from the Ministry of Defense, the police lost the case and incurred a fine of £850 after 6 years of conflict in court.

What was this alleged copyright infringement all about, that the BBC justified with the intention of depicting as mundane an object as possible?

The Answer is …

The use of TARDIS in Doctor Who, inspired from London’s police boxes.

19.

Sergei Piontkovski is a Ukrainian biologist whose work has often put him on the radar of the Russian Navy especially during the Cold War when the subject(s) of his study attracted the attention of both the USA and the USSR.

Facing military conflict, the US Navy had plans to transport ships, tanks, men to Europe across the Atlantic potentially crossing well hidden Soviet submarines. Detecting them along the way was of top priority and was helped along accidentally by something that inspired further research on the matter from marine scientists on both sides.

What was this helpful factor, which often aided the Navy in stealth warfare?

The Answer is …

Bioluminescent planktons, which illuminated hidden submarines and made them vulnerable.

20.

The War of 1812 fought against the UK brought long lasting damage of property to some the USA’s biggest cities, most notably Washington where several places of prominence were set ablaze.

Restoration work followed for a few years after the war which involved efforts to mask the visible damage suffered by the buildings, made possible with appropriate choice of paints and other essential construction material.

What is the lasting legacy of this renovation effort carried out around the city, lending itself to nomenclature that prevails to this day?

The Answer is …

The White House, named for the colour of the paint used to hide the damages suffered by the building.

21.

In his top-selling book Leading, Sir Alex Ferguson describes various hitherto unknown stories of his leadership tactics at Manchester United that ensured several successful years for the club.

In one such anecdote, he reveals that he used an apt portrait in the locker rooms to help convey the idea of team spirit and balance – which are indispensable to the success of the team as a unit – with each player recognizing the need to stick to one another under all circumstances failing which they would all fall together.

What iconic imagery from the 20th century, considered the symbol of a changing city, was used to denote this need for unity and poise?

The Answer is …

Lunch Atop A Skyscraper.

22.

Gareth Johnson is a British MP of the Conservative Party who introduced a bill in the Parliament last year that drew widespread, bipartisan support.

Called the Awards for Valour (Protection) Bill, it sought to penalize ordinary citizens found guilty of wearing unauthorized medals with prison terms and fines of £5,000 – with the problem becoming widespread enough for the bill to have the approval of most military families in the country.

What common name was given to these offenders, inspired from an iconic 20th century work of fiction with multiple on-screen adaptations?

The Answer is …

Walter Mitty.

23.

Dadwan is a village present in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab that houses several families crying out for justice from the government over many years.

The only ray of hope for the families was in 2005 when the state’s Public Works Department Minister Pratap Singh Bajwa promised two lakhs each to the families – which has never reached them to date, despite efforts in the judicial process – as much needed damages for the physical and psychological scars the families carry to this day as part of the occupation.

What exactly were these people employed to do, which received a spike around the late 1990s?

The Answer is …

Spying for the RAW across the Indo-Pak border.

24.

The Italian port of Bari was a strategically important position for the Allies during WW II where they had stored much of their chemical weapons. Soon enough, it was discovered and heavily bombed by the Germans resulting in over 2,000 casualties from several hundreds of kgs of mustard gas.

Lt. Steven Francis Alexander performed the autopsies and discovered that the victims all had very low levels of a certain type of blood cells, along with suppressed myeloid cell lines. This information, when relayed back to medical researchers back home in the US, paved the way for a revolutionary introduction in the world of medicine that persists to this day.

What groundbreaking medical practice resulted from this discovery?

The Answer is …

Chemotherapy, where nitrogen mustard gas was institutionalized to decrease growth of specific cells.

25.

The administrative regime in Ethiopia has been a fractured one in the recent past – being an unhealthy example of occasional democracy overshadowed by covert dictatorship.

One such event of a seemingly genuine exercise in competitive elections was championed in 2005 by the incumbent government – which changed its tracks upon learning of the early results that indicated defeat, and sent in the Army to the Oromia region to brutally crackdown on and arrest dissenters, resulting in over 200 deaths and 20,000 unlawful detentions.

How did the world come to know of these events over a decade after they transpired, thanks to the actions of a local from the targeted region?

The Answer is …

Feyisa Lilesa’s protest gesture after winning the marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

26.

John Jairo Velasquez Vasquez, aka Popeye, was one of Pablo Escobar’s top men – in charge of communications with the high and mighty leaders of the region to help rig the system for his trade.

In a revelation made about a couple of years ago, Popeye claims to have taken the help of someone to write letters to the Castros for the smooth passage of drugs through the area. He adds that this person was reluctant to come on board initially given his popularity all over the country and even in the USA, but was eventually coerced into it by the gang for his skills of communication.

Who was this celebrity, later spied on by the FBI from the 1960s to the 1980s despite his iconic stature?

The Answer is …

Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

2 pointers

27.

Erskine Crum was an American diplomat who received a significant posting in Asia around the mid-20th century.

Talking about a head-of-state in the region, he reveals that a secretive bilateral deal was offered with the idea of finding a fair ending to long conflict in one of multiple places. However, having investments in mills worth over ₹2 crore and being strongly attracted to the city’s culture made him decline the offer, in the fear of losing and in the hope of pursuing alternative ways to meet his end.

Who was the subject of this offer, whose country has since then called for more of the same in other regions? What event did these failed negotiations finally culminate in?

The Answer is …

Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Operation Polo, which was inevitable after Hyderabad was offered for a referendum and

eventually declined owing to his fear of losing it.

28.

The wireless communications division at Qualcomm Inc has seen a sharp rise in investment over the last year or so, in view of a rapidly emerging market. A large chunk of resources from the wireless team at its HQ is likely to be deployed for this effort, with sales of over 2.2 million across companies throughout the world last year.

The process was an attempt to overcome regulations from the US Federal Aviation Administration put in place for the purpose of public safety. The company’s operations were appropriately based in the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego to help prove the effectiveness of its service.

What exactly are the subjects of these experiments? How did this place become popular to the world around 3 decades ago?

The Answer is …

Wireless communication on drones, working around the existing mandatory visibility rule.

The setting for Top Gun.

29.

Among the greatest public fundraising efforts in the USA occurred in late 1937 when several bags of mail arrived at the White House in large numbers from various parts of the country, following an annual event in which the President had made a recent appearance.

The money was intended to tackle a nation-wide problem prevalent around that time, that seemingly generated more awareness owing the event. The volume of money received necessitated the creation of an organization, majority of whose funds were used up for researching a solution to the problem – which bore fruition nearly 15 years later.

Why was there a huge influx in the funding? Whom was the money eventually directed to, who dedicated his solution to the people in a historic event in Michigan?

The Answer is …

To cure Franklin D Roosevelt’s polio.

Much of the money was redirected to Jonas Salk’s project which eventually created the vaccine for it.

30.

In the aftermath of the Russian revolution, the government under Lenin was looking for ways to boost industrial productivity and efficiency.

In this endeavor – they ironically took a liking to Frederick Taylor ’s rudimentary principles of management and intended to apply them, not to exploit the workers for the profits of greedy capitalists, but to ensure the results of increased production would be equally distributed among workers. In this, they also enlisted the help of another revolutionary consultant whose representation of work related resources had transformed management practices back then and survives to this day.

What eventually unsuccessful governmental strategy (image follows), later adopted by India, did this inspire? What representations are these, that also found their way into scientific study?

The Answer is …

Five Year Plans.

Gantt charts, used to display the efficient use of resources.

31.

The fight for raising the minimum wage in the USA is often marked by the citing of a case roughly a century ago in Highland Park, where over 52,000 men were offered a job at $5 per hour – in stark contrast with the $2.25 that was the norm of the day.

However, labour activists have often debunked any goodwill in this story pointing out that the increased costs were intended to cut the training time and turnover of the work-force, while extracting physically strenuous work that helped the owner exert rigid control upon employees.

Who was this pioneer, revolutionizing his field at the time? What concept did he introduce, the norm in the industry till today, that necessitated this wage raise?

The Answer is …

Henry Ford.

The Assembly Line.

32.

The Oklahoma Capitol Building recently took strong objection to the illegal projection of an artwork onto its façade that paid tribute to a certain local icon from the 20th century and featured his most famous object.

It was considered to be appropriate symbolism for the times and sought to protest the changing events in the country using a depiction of this symbol that shot to worldwide popularity in the 1940s owing to a spontaneous inscription upon it by the owner following a politically themed exhibition.

Which famous personality in a certain field featured on this artwork? What four word phrase was famously inscribed on his original object, intended to make a telling political statement in the current times?

The Answer is …

Woody Guthrie.

This Machine Kills Fascists.

33.

Lunar Orbit Rendezvous was a concept studied extensively at the Langley Research Center in the 1960s to optimize the weight of a spacecraft necessary to undertake a mission to the moon. The advantage of this approach was to have a lighter, residual version of the craft taking advantage of the moon’s gravity to help reduce the fuel used in the journey.

After much debate, a decision in favour of this approach was taken and carried out in early 1970 – whose accuracy was proven to anxious fans in the months to come, although not in the intended manner.

Why was the scientific community convinced about this being the best approach since then? How did this make a revival in a similar setting a few years ago?

The Answer is …

The rescue of the Apollo 13 mission, made possible by the conservation of fuel through this approach.

The rescue plan in The Martian, intended by Ridley Scott to be a hat tip to Apollo 13.

34.

Kaavalkaaran is a Tamil spy thriller film from the 1960s starring Jayalalithaa and MGR, revolving around a typical love story stacked against overwhelming odds.

In the following video of a song from the film, the director intended to draw an apt analogy with a famous historical pair, referenced in the costumes of the actors and the setting.

Whom are MGR and Jayalalithaa being compared to?

The Answer is …

Antony and Cleopatra.

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