My Own Quiznet Quizzes: Baker's Dozen
Originally posted on Quiznet in July 2004
1. According to myth, in the 7th century a dragon rose from the waters of the Seine River in France. Unlike the typical dragons, this one breathe water. The monster proceeded to lay waste to the countryside around Paris by drowning it. St. Romain, the Archbishop of Rouen, accompanied only by a condemned prisoner, set out to stop the beast. Upon confronting the monster, the Saint formed a cross with his two index fingers, taming it. The dragon was led back to Paris, where it was slain and burned. The head, however, was saved and mounted on a building. In commemoration of this event, architects began to design gutter spouts in the shape of the dragon, and eventually in the shape of all manner of bizarre creatures. Identify the word that derives from the name of this dragon.
Answer: Gargoyle. The name of the dragon was 'Gargouille'.
2. His first-class career lasted from 1900 to 1907. In all he played 10 matches for MCC - 18 innings, 6 not-outs, 231 runs, highest score 43, average 19.25. He also took one wicket for 50 runs. Identify him.
Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle. His only wicket in first class cricket was W G Grace.
3. This extinct volcanic mountain's Persian name 'Koh-i-Nuh' is 17160 feet high consists of two peaks that are seven miles apart. It stands in Turkish territory overlooking the point where the frontiers of Turkey, Iran and Armenia converge, and is about 25 miles in diameter. On September 7, 1829 Johann Hacob von Parrot, a German in the Russian service, made the first successful ascent. How do we know these mountains better as and what is its claim to fame?
Answer: It is 'Mount Ararat' where Noah's Ark came to rest. The Persian name means Noah's Mountain.
4. What is being referred to?
Director: Antoine Bardou-Jacquet
Voiceover: US author Garrison Keillor
Line: Isn't it nice when things just work?
Background Score: "Rapper's Delight" by Grand Master Flash & the Sugar Hill Gang
Possible Inspirations: Short film titled 'The Way Things Go" by Peter Fischli & David Weiss (or) Engineering of Caractacus Potts' breakfast-making machine in the Sixties film 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
Answer: Honda Accord - The Cog Commercial
5. This expression is derived from an ancient Greek expression: "ta syka syka, te:n skaphe:n de skaphe:n onomasein". This is first recorded in the Aristophanes' play 'The Clouds' (423 BC), and was used by Menander and Plutarch, and is still current in modern Greek. In ancient times the phrase was often used pejoratively, to denote a rude person who spoke his mind tactlessly. In the Renaissance, Erasmus confused Plutarch's 'skaphe:n' with the Greek word for 'digging tool', i.e., 'skapheion'. Hence, it was translated into English in 1542 by Nicholas Udall in his translation of Erasmus' version as what?
Answer: To call a spade a spade
6. Born in Austria in 1955, he graduated from Vienna's School of Graphic Arts in 1975 and worked for the Austrian National Bank until 1998. He became famous after certain designs of his, created on a Power Macintosh PC using Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Freehand software were selected ahead of 300 other competitors. Identify him and what did he design?
Answer: Robert Kalina, who designed the Euro Banknotes. One side of each bill depicts open windows and portals, as symbols of access and transparency. The other side depicts composite bridges reflecting various architectural periods viz., E5 - Classical, E10 - Romanesque, E20 - Gothic, E50 - Renaissance, E100 - Baroque & Rococo, E200 - Age of Iron and E500 - Modern.
7. Connect the following poem by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell with John Lennon.
Gin a body meet a body
Flyin' thro the air,
Gin a body hit a body,
Will it fly? And where?
Ilka impact has its measure
Ne'er a' ane hae I
Yet a' the lads they measure me,
Or, at least, they try.
Answer: Poem is a parody of Robert Burns' poem "Comin' Thro The Rye" - J D Salinger's "Catcher In The Rye" - Mark Chapman (John Lennon's assassin)
8. In the latter part of the 1770s, Franz Joseph Müller von Reichenstein was appointed Chief Inspector of all mines, smelters and saltworks in the tiny province of Transylvania. He began experimenting with the ores from his mines. An ore of gold, known as 'Aurum Album', caught his attention when he extracted a different metal from it. He and other chemists working on similar samples assumed it to be Antimony. By 1783, they realised that it was not antimony. What was it later named as?
Answer: Tellurium (Element 52)
9. The 1893 World Fair was held in Chicago to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing in America. The Chicago Fair organizers wanted something that would rival the Eiffel Tower since Gustave Eiffel had built the tower for the Paris World Fair of 1889, which honored the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Architect Daniel H. Burnham, who was in charge of selecting the project for the Fair, complained at an engineer's banquet in about having found nothing that "met the expectations of the people". Among the audience was George Washington Gale _______ Jr., owner of a firm that tested iron and steel. He had an inspiration and scribbled a design on a napkin during the dinner. What did he come up with?
Answer: Ferris Wheel. The person's surname was Ferris. It was considered an engineering wonder: Two 140-foot steel towers supported the wheel; they were connected by a 45-foot axle. The wheel section had a diameter of 250 feet and a circumference of 825 feet. Two 1000-horsepower reversible engines powered it. 36 wooden cars held up to sixty riders each. The ride cost fifty cents and made $726,805.50 during the World Fair. The original Ferris Wheel was destroyed in 1906.
10. In 1944, Japan realized that the Allied Navy was preparing to claw back the Philippines. Hence, they decided that what their country lacked in military might, it would make up for in fervor. That was how the XXXXX was formed, led by Admiral Takijiro Onishi a ruthless warrior and one of the heroes of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The first strike came on October 25, 1944, off the Philippine island of Leyte, and included 26 fighter planes. It peaked with the start of the battle of Okinawa in April 1945. Admiral Takijiro Onishi, after seeing all his desperate attempts to ward off his country’s imminent defeat fall through and hearing the Emperor’s decision to capitulate, swam in a pool of blood for a whole 18 hours and died squeezing the hand of a close friend. Identify XXXXX.
Answer: Kamikaze
11. Juno, once saw her husband Zeus, with the nymph Io in the form of a cow and asked to have it as a gift and Zeus consented. She asked Argus who had a hundred eyes in his head, to keep watch on Io. Zeus was troubled at the sufferings of his mistress, and called, Mercury to go and despatch Argus. Mercury assumed the form of a shepherd and strolled on blowing his Syrinx or Pandean Pipes, which were supposed to lull people. As Argus slept, Mercury cut his neck and freed Io. Juno took the 100 eyes of Argus and did what?
Answer: She put them as ornaments on the tail of her peacock.
12. In the 1920s, the US Patent Office would only trademark emblems of manufacturers and merchants. Service companies were not permitted to trademark their emblem. This firm made a case to the US Copyright Office, arguing that its coat of arms was of unique artistic quality. It won and 'Truth Well Told' was copyrighted in 1926, making it the first emblem of a service company to be afforded government protection. Identify the firm.
Answer: McCann-Erickson
13. Connect: Samuel Purchas, Papaver Somniferum, Alph and Svlad Cjelli.
Answer: Kubla Khan by Samuel T Coleridge
Coleridge got the inspiration after reading 'Pilgrimage' by Samuel Purchas.
'Papaver Somniferum' is the biological name of Opium - Opium induced dream state.
Alph is the river by whose side Xanadu was built.
Svlad Cjelli is the real name of Dirk Gently (Douglas Adams' creation). Well, do I have to tell you the funda.
1. According to myth, in the 7th century a dragon rose from the waters of the Seine River in France. Unlike the typical dragons, this one breathe water. The monster proceeded to lay waste to the countryside around Paris by drowning it. St. Romain, the Archbishop of Rouen, accompanied only by a condemned prisoner, set out to stop the beast. Upon confronting the monster, the Saint formed a cross with his two index fingers, taming it. The dragon was led back to Paris, where it was slain and burned. The head, however, was saved and mounted on a building. In commemoration of this event, architects began to design gutter spouts in the shape of the dragon, and eventually in the shape of all manner of bizarre creatures. Identify the word that derives from the name of this dragon.
Answer: Gargoyle. The name of the dragon was 'Gargouille'.
2. His first-class career lasted from 1900 to 1907. In all he played 10 matches for MCC - 18 innings, 6 not-outs, 231 runs, highest score 43, average 19.25. He also took one wicket for 50 runs. Identify him.
Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle. His only wicket in first class cricket was W G Grace.
3. This extinct volcanic mountain's Persian name 'Koh-i-Nuh' is 17160 feet high consists of two peaks that are seven miles apart. It stands in Turkish territory overlooking the point where the frontiers of Turkey, Iran and Armenia converge, and is about 25 miles in diameter. On September 7, 1829 Johann Hacob von Parrot, a German in the Russian service, made the first successful ascent. How do we know these mountains better as and what is its claim to fame?
Answer: It is 'Mount Ararat' where Noah's Ark came to rest. The Persian name means Noah's Mountain.
4. What is being referred to?
Director: Antoine Bardou-Jacquet
Voiceover: US author Garrison Keillor
Line: Isn't it nice when things just work?
Background Score: "Rapper's Delight" by Grand Master Flash & the Sugar Hill Gang
Possible Inspirations: Short film titled 'The Way Things Go" by Peter Fischli & David Weiss (or) Engineering of Caractacus Potts' breakfast-making machine in the Sixties film 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
Answer: Honda Accord - The Cog Commercial
5. This expression is derived from an ancient Greek expression: "ta syka syka, te:n skaphe:n de skaphe:n onomasein". This is first recorded in the Aristophanes' play 'The Clouds' (423 BC), and was used by Menander and Plutarch, and is still current in modern Greek. In ancient times the phrase was often used pejoratively, to denote a rude person who spoke his mind tactlessly. In the Renaissance, Erasmus confused Plutarch's 'skaphe:n' with the Greek word for 'digging tool', i.e., 'skapheion'. Hence, it was translated into English in 1542 by Nicholas Udall in his translation of Erasmus' version as what?
Answer: To call a spade a spade
6. Born in Austria in 1955, he graduated from Vienna's School of Graphic Arts in 1975 and worked for the Austrian National Bank until 1998. He became famous after certain designs of his, created on a Power Macintosh PC using Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Freehand software were selected ahead of 300 other competitors. Identify him and what did he design?
Answer: Robert Kalina, who designed the Euro Banknotes. One side of each bill depicts open windows and portals, as symbols of access and transparency. The other side depicts composite bridges reflecting various architectural periods viz., E5 - Classical, E10 - Romanesque, E20 - Gothic, E50 - Renaissance, E100 - Baroque & Rococo, E200 - Age of Iron and E500 - Modern.
7. Connect the following poem by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell with John Lennon.
Gin a body meet a body
Flyin' thro the air,
Gin a body hit a body,
Will it fly? And where?
Ilka impact has its measure
Ne'er a' ane hae I
Yet a' the lads they measure me,
Or, at least, they try.
Answer: Poem is a parody of Robert Burns' poem "Comin' Thro The Rye" - J D Salinger's "Catcher In The Rye" - Mark Chapman (John Lennon's assassin)
8. In the latter part of the 1770s, Franz Joseph Müller von Reichenstein was appointed Chief Inspector of all mines, smelters and saltworks in the tiny province of Transylvania. He began experimenting with the ores from his mines. An ore of gold, known as 'Aurum Album', caught his attention when he extracted a different metal from it. He and other chemists working on similar samples assumed it to be Antimony. By 1783, they realised that it was not antimony. What was it later named as?
Answer: Tellurium (Element 52)
9. The 1893 World Fair was held in Chicago to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing in America. The Chicago Fair organizers wanted something that would rival the Eiffel Tower since Gustave Eiffel had built the tower for the Paris World Fair of 1889, which honored the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Architect Daniel H. Burnham, who was in charge of selecting the project for the Fair, complained at an engineer's banquet in about having found nothing that "met the expectations of the people". Among the audience was George Washington Gale _______ Jr., owner of a firm that tested iron and steel. He had an inspiration and scribbled a design on a napkin during the dinner. What did he come up with?
Answer: Ferris Wheel. The person's surname was Ferris. It was considered an engineering wonder: Two 140-foot steel towers supported the wheel; they were connected by a 45-foot axle. The wheel section had a diameter of 250 feet and a circumference of 825 feet. Two 1000-horsepower reversible engines powered it. 36 wooden cars held up to sixty riders each. The ride cost fifty cents and made $726,805.50 during the World Fair. The original Ferris Wheel was destroyed in 1906.
10. In 1944, Japan realized that the Allied Navy was preparing to claw back the Philippines. Hence, they decided that what their country lacked in military might, it would make up for in fervor. That was how the XXXXX was formed, led by Admiral Takijiro Onishi a ruthless warrior and one of the heroes of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The first strike came on October 25, 1944, off the Philippine island of Leyte, and included 26 fighter planes. It peaked with the start of the battle of Okinawa in April 1945. Admiral Takijiro Onishi, after seeing all his desperate attempts to ward off his country’s imminent defeat fall through and hearing the Emperor’s decision to capitulate, swam in a pool of blood for a whole 18 hours and died squeezing the hand of a close friend. Identify XXXXX.
Answer: Kamikaze
11. Juno, once saw her husband Zeus, with the nymph Io in the form of a cow and asked to have it as a gift and Zeus consented. She asked Argus who had a hundred eyes in his head, to keep watch on Io. Zeus was troubled at the sufferings of his mistress, and called, Mercury to go and despatch Argus. Mercury assumed the form of a shepherd and strolled on blowing his Syrinx or Pandean Pipes, which were supposed to lull people. As Argus slept, Mercury cut his neck and freed Io. Juno took the 100 eyes of Argus and did what?
Answer: She put them as ornaments on the tail of her peacock.
12. In the 1920s, the US Patent Office would only trademark emblems of manufacturers and merchants. Service companies were not permitted to trademark their emblem. This firm made a case to the US Copyright Office, arguing that its coat of arms was of unique artistic quality. It won and 'Truth Well Told' was copyrighted in 1926, making it the first emblem of a service company to be afforded government protection. Identify the firm.
Answer: McCann-Erickson
13. Connect: Samuel Purchas, Papaver Somniferum, Alph and Svlad Cjelli.
Answer: Kubla Khan by Samuel T Coleridge
Coleridge got the inspiration after reading 'Pilgrimage' by Samuel Purchas.
'Papaver Somniferum' is the biological name of Opium - Opium induced dream state.
Alph is the river by whose side Xanadu was built.
Svlad Cjelli is the real name of Dirk Gently (Douglas Adams' creation). Well, do I have to tell you the funda.
dhanu80@rediffmail.com
posted by Dhananjay Shettigar | 9:54 AM
2 Comments:
I see that u are interested in quizzing......I came across this quiz called IMS Quotient.. It's the biggest and the smartest undergraduate quiz of its time..
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hi dhananjay -great questions- however i'm confused abt yuor question on greek mythology.u say juno was the wife of zeus -actually juno was a roman goddess and her greek counterpart was hera-and hera was the wife of zeus.
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