Now, serving your favorite Quizine..!

What is this the 1st of ?

2009-11-03T22:17:00.000-08:00

Simple Question..

What is the significance of this picture ? This innocous report inadvertently started something unique in the technical field. What is it ?

Note : Click on the picture to enlarge it

Answer: Whats the good phrase?

2009-09-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

Question : Etymology researchers are yet to determine when this phrase first appeared. The first popular occurrence was in a 1991 case concerning a car bumper sticker – The supreme court of Georgia ruled that using lewd or profane stickers on vehicles was unconstitutional. It then made it to television on an episode of Chicago hope running past the censors who deemed it a harmless.

It has now found its place in popular culture occurring in movies (Forest Gump, Predator), music (Every time I die), games (Duke Nukem 3D) and even WWF for that matter. What phrase?

Answer : The phrase is 'Shit Happens' !

In the movie Forrest Gump , during his quest to keep running, Forrest unwittingly inspires two separate entrepreneurs to create Smiley Face/"Have a Nice Day" T-shirts and "Shit Happens" bumper stickers. While being asked questions by an excited fan, Forrest steps in a pile of dog feces. The fan tells Forrest he had just stepped in a big pile of shit, to which Gump replies, "It happens." to which the fan replies, "What, shit?" In the film, this incident inspires that fan to create the "shit happens" slogan,

Whats the good phrase?

2009-09-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

It has now found its place in popular culture occurring in movies (Forest Gump, Predator), music (Every time I die), games (Duke Nukem 3D) and even WWF for that matter. What phrase?

Answer: Dont play games with me !

2009-08-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

Question : Identify X !

X was first published in 1948 in the United Kingdom by Anthony Pratt. It concerned a particular Mr. Black who was the owner of a mansion. Its North American version had a different name for the owner (more popular ). A movie dedicated to this game was made in 1985 with the tagline "It is not just a game anymore" making it the first game to inspire a movie.

What is X ?

Answer : The answer is the game 'Clue' also known as Cluedo . Published and popularized by the Parker brothers in UK, it came to the United States in the 1970s where it was published by the Hasbro brothers! The North American version actually was a comical movie first where the owner of the mansion was 'Mr. Boddy'.

So, any Clue what the next question will be ?

Dont play games with me! Just give me the answer..

2009-08-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Identify X !

X was first published in 1948 in the United Kingdom by Anthony Pratt. It concerned a particular Mr. Black who was the owner of a mansion. Its North American version had a different name for the owner (more popular ). A movie dedicated to this game was made in 1985 with the tagline "It is not just a game anymore" making it the first game to inspire a movie.

What is X ?

Answer : Whats the connection ( Its a toughie! )

2009-08-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Question : There is a particular term that connects the below 3 pictures. Whats that?

Answer: The term we are looking for is Nebuchadnezzar . Whats that you ask? The funda goes like this ...

The 3rd picture shows the picture of the ship used by Morpheus and his crew in the movie 'The Matrix'. The name of this ship is the Nebuchadnezzar. The 2nd picture is a depiction of one of the ancient wonders of the world 'The Hanging gardens of Babylon' (of which there are no remains apart from some bare ruins . This wonder was built by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar . The 1st picture is an over sized bottle of wine which is also called the Nebuchadnezzar (bottles that can hold 15 litres )

There you go! .... you had it in the back of your mind , didnt you?

Question: Whats the conection (Its a toughie ! )

2009-08-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

There is a particular term that connects these 3 pictures. Whats that? U get this and i will shall call you 'master' for the next year!

Picture 3: (any clue here wld be giving it away :)), Picture 2 is a place and Picture 1 is actually a measurement of something. Ready, set and go!...Answers in 5 days

Answer: Where did the word come from

2009-08-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

Question: Most etymologists agree that this word is Dutch in origin. The most popular version suggests that the word is a bastardized version of ‘John Kaas’ or ‘John Cheese’, which can be thought of as a parallel for John Bull or Uncle Sam, and was used for Dutch settled in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. This nickname came to the New World when the English applied it contemptuously to Dutch pirates. The New York Dutch applied the term with the same contempt to the residents of Connecticut. Which word?

Answer : The word is 'Yankee' used to refer in general to people of US origin or in earlier times specifically people belonging to New England region of the US. Now you know what the New York 'Yankees' are made of...... Cheese!

Where did the word come from ?

2009-08-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

Most etymologists agree that this word is Dutch in origin. The most popular version suggests that the word is a bastardized version of ‘John Kaas’ or ‘John Cheese’, which can be thought of as a parallel for John Bull or Uncle Sam, and was used for Dutch settled in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

This nickname came to the New World when the English applied it contemptuously to Dutch pirates. The New York Dutch applied the term with the same contempt to the residents of Connecticut. Which word?

Answer : Noble work gets Noel Prize

2009-08-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

Question : The Knights Hospitaller (a Christian organization formed in Jerusalem) were the first to bring the concept of ‘X’ and practice it.

In 1877 , St. John’s ________ were the first to teach this practice officially by forming rooms and teaching centres in railways and mining areas. ‘X’ was started by a Swiss man, who helped a group of villagers help soldiers in the Battle of Solferino.

The Swiss man was awarded the 1st Nobel Prize in 1901 for forming X.

What is X ?

Answer : The last name of St. John was Ambulance and that is what gave the term to the vehicles that carry people in emergencies. He worked with Jean Henry Dunant to form the Red Cross for which he was awarded the 1901 Nobel Peace Prize

Noble work gets Nobel Prize ?

2009-07-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

The Knights Hospitaller (a Christian organization formed in Jerusalem) were the first to bring the concept of ‘X’ and practice it.

The Swiss man was awarded the 1st Nobel Prize in 1901 for forming X.

What is X ?

Answer : Drink up the daily doze of quiz boys and girlz

2009-07-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

Question : This drink was first introduced by glaxo during World War 2 as an essential nutrient supplement for soldiers. It made its way to India in 1964 when it was marketed through doctors as a health drink used for recuperation after an illness. To increase the user base, the brand was positioned as a nutrional supplement as opposed to just a compensator for dietary deficiencies. Identify this food drink which is now owned by Heinz Foods

Answers : Complan! ... Yes u knew it, didnt you. What our mothers forced us to drink actually started in WW 2

Answers : Honeymoon to Business , What a trip!

2009-07-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

Question : In 1972 Tony & Maureen Wheel got married and decided to go on an adventure trip for they honeymoon . They visited London and France and when done with it wanted to extend their travel by visiting Iran, Iraq , Afghanistan, Pakistan and India overland. When they arrived back in London, their eager friends would ask the stories of their travel. After many such party stories, on the urging of their friends they began to share pictures, recommendations for restaurants , boarding and even places to visit.To avoid bankruptcy (due to travels) they began documenting small essays on their travel and began selling them to would-be travellers. What did these essays culminate in and how is presented to us today?

Answer : The Lonely Planet travel books! ... They started writing about not so obvious places they visited in their honeymoon trip (initially for eager honeymooners) and slowly expanded that for a lot of places for all types of customers. They decided to publish a book out of their notes, and thus a really helpful travel guide came out

Answers: Do you know the good idea?

2009-07-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Answers for an old question

Question : Chad and Steve had plans of attending a dinner party in February 2005 along with Jawed but Jawed could not make it. Although Chad & Stevens , went to the party they could NOT easily provide the “proof” to Jawed who altogether did not believe that the party ever took place. The 3 of them hence hit upon an idea and setup their office above a pizzeria and a Japanese Restaurant. The name they gave their company, caused a lawsuit against them because the _________ & Rollform Equipment company’s machines had become overloaded due to customers incorrectly searching for the wrong name.What was Chad, Steve’s and Jawed’s idea?

Answer : Ofcourse itwas 'YouTube' (Eventually bought by google). The proof Jawed asked for was any kind of video evidence that they had gone to the party. They hit upon an idea to let people upload and share videos that could be later and thus one of the most heavily visited sites was born!

Answers: Where have I heard that?

2009-06-27T23:44:00.000-07:00

We shall begin posting answers from now after every question with a gap of 3 days to 1 week at a maximum. Provided below are the answers to some of the questions that have been asked before

Question : Although the origin of this phrase is based on an alteration of an older form, it is supposed to have come from poker. In poker, to gain entry to play a round you have to make a small bet called an ‘ante’. Two bits made an ante (two bits = 1 quarter).This analogy was used in common literature and has led to something we say which is expected to allow us gain entry into a conversation. What phrase?

Answer : The phrase is 'Here is my 2 cents' that people often say when they provide their opinion in a conversation that has been going on. Like the 2 bits that need to be played in poker to play the round or stay in the round, we often say 'Here is my 2 cents' to become a part of the conversation's active members

Drink up the daily dose of quiz boyz & girlz

2009-06-11T23:51:00.001-07:00

This drink was first introduced by glaxo during World War 2 as an essential nutrient supplement for soldiers. It made its way to India in 1964 when it was marketed through doctors as a health drink used for recuperation after an illness. To increase the user base, the brand was positioned as a nutrional supplement as opposed to just a compensator for dietary deficiencies. Identify this food drink which is now owned by Heinz Foods

Honeymoon to Business , what a trip!

2009-06-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

In 1972 Tony & Maureen Wheel got married and decided to go on an adventure trip for they honeymoon . They visited London and France and when done with it wanted to extend their travel by visiting Iran, Iraq , Afghanistan, Pakistan and India overland. When they arrived back in London, their eager friends would ask the stories of their travel. After many such party stories, on the urging of their friends they began to share pictures, recommendations for restaurants , boarding and even places to visit.

To avoid bankruptcy (due to travels) they began documenting small essays on their travel and began selling them to would-be travellers. What did these essays culminate in and how is presented to us today?

Do you know the good idea... ?

2009-05-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

.
Chad and Steve had plans of attending a dinner party in February 2005 along with Jawed but Jawed could not make it. Although Chad & Stevens , went to the party they could NOT easily provide the “proof” to Jawed who altogether did not believe that the party ever took place. The 3 of them hence hit upon an idea and setup their office above a pizzeria and a Japanese Restaurant. The name they gave their company, caused a lawsuit against them because the _________ & Rollform Equipment company’s machines had become overloaded due to customers incorrectly searching for the wrong name.

What was Chad, Steve’s and Jawed’s idea?

Where have I heard that?

2009-05-15T16:33:00.001-07:00

We are back :) and we will be uploading a new question 1-2 times a week. So here you go!! ...

Although the origin of this phrase is based on an alteration of an older form, it is supposed to have come from poker. In poker, to gain entry to play a round you have to make a small bet called an ‘ante’. Two bits made an ante (two bits = 1 quarter).This analogy was used in common literature and has led to something we say which is expected to allow us gain entry into a conversation. What phrase?

Identify the Person in the Caricature

2008-10-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

Lots of clues in the pic :). Who is this guy ?

IBCQ - Indian Born Confused Quizzer?

2008-09-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

Hey,

After yet another stint at hibernation (we do that very well ) here is a sampler of 3 questions on India.

The quizmaster conducted a recent successful India Quiz – Chakraview 2008 at Seattle which was attended by over 150 people and was conducted as a promotion for AID India (Seattle chapter). A report on that quiz shall follow …

Questions

1. Although Southern India is mainly thought to be the origin of this game - Yemen, Ethiopia, China, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka are other cited origins. Experts opine that the game may have been independently developed in several cases as a mixture of billiards and shuffleboard. The theory gains credence given that the modern name of the game is a corruption of the English word for “Shot” used in one of the suggested parent games. National Championships are held in Philippines, Australia, Denmark and China each with their own variations. Which game?

2. This Indian Brand was started in 1952 apparently on a request by Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru was concerned that Indian Women were spending precious foreign exchange on cosmetics and requested JRD Tata to 'fix' the problem with an indigenous solution. Tata gave life to the brand as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills and named it after a French opera. The opera itself is set in 19th century India and named after the chief character (an Indian Goddess). Enough clues, which brand?

3. The Kedgeree is a dish consisting of flaked fish, boiled rice, eggs and butter. It originated amongst the British Colonials in India and was introduced to the UK as a popular breakfast in the Victorian times, part of the then fashionable Anglo-Indian cuisine. Which Indian dish was this derived from? (The name of the dish is a derivation as well)

----

Answers for these questions will be provided in a few days. We are also working on a
new format for displaying instant answers based on suggestions we received from
loyal quizzahut champions. We hope to have that ready soon

Until then chao!

Who am I : Quiz Drop for [ June 13th]

2008-06-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

The myth goes like this..

I was pure white a long time ago. One day a leapord attacked me and i thought i was going to be killed, but just then a shepherdess jumped in and fought with the tiger and saved me. But Alas, she paid the ultimate sacrifice saving me. In her funeral I wore a black arm band to pay my respect. I was so grief stricken and sad that tears began streaming down my eyes and when I rubbed my eyes the black dye in the arm band mixed with my tears and formed black spots all around my eyes.

I vowed that day never to rub those spots and I have it right till this day! Do u know who am i?

Movie Trivia Week

2008-04-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Hey Quizzartists,

Well, we got some good feedback and we will probably alternate between providing the 'Quiz drop' a day during most weeks and providing a theme based quiz per week in between.. And therefore here we have a movie based quiz!!

So, Put on your 3-D glasses and join us for a ride across movieland ...

1. Whose most famous lines were "Oh, wow. This is the best drink of water after the longest drought of my life." When and what was the occassion ?

2. 200,000 were volunteers and about 90,000 were paid for this movie scene. This scene was shot on the exact day of the 33rd anniversary of the subject of the scene/movie. About 20,000 feet of reel was shot and it was lated edited to within 2 minutes on screen.Stalwarts like Anthony Hopkins, Alec Guinness were considered for the role but was finally done by a then unknown actor , who was seen in a play by thedirector's son.

What role and what scene are we talking about?

3. Which was the first movie to win an Oscar for the best film for itself and its sequel?

4. There is a condition that when any artist / actor tries to sell 'X' , he or she should first attempt to sell it to 'Y' the place which is responsible for producing 'X' for $1. If the artist does not agree to the condition , the artist cannot obtain X.

However it has been found that X's obtained before 1960s have sold for 1.5 million dollars in the black market. What is X & Y / what are we talking about?

5. After his first professional performance in Scotland , he acted as Charlie Chaplin's understudy for a brief time in 1910. He came to America in 1916 and starred in the movie "Lucky Dog" which would be the start of a wonderful career because of his meeting with another noted cast member.

Identify this gentleman who won a Lifetime Achievement Academy award in 1961 and who ordered the following to be written in his epitaph.

"If anybody has a long face in my funeral, I shall never speak to him again" [ One of my all time favorites!!! ]

6. What's common to

Awful, Biggy, Blabby, Dirty, Gabby, Gaspy, Gloomy, Hoppy, Hotsy, Jaunty, Jumpy, Nifty, and Shifty?

Pretty easy to guess if I tell you that the set of names that completes the list were chosen by a poll conducted in the United states to choose the most suitable/favorable names.

7. Whats common to the following movies as of 2008 :?

...And thats all folks! have fun with the movie quiz-tracks we have dished out for you !

-Viv & P3

[Answers] 7 on words

2008-04-21T00:49:00.000-07:00

The questions are posted here.

1. Alcohol (from Al-Kuhl) – Well cracked all round. Alkali was a terrific guess.

2. Budget

The bag was called ‘bougette’ (French for little bag). ‘Opening the bougette’ over time turned into ‘Opening the budget’. Surprisingly, this was the least cracked one. Exchequer (finance) was a hint. Couple of folks wrote in with ‘Debrief’ which I thought was a great guess as well.

3. Tantalize

The sinner was Tantalus. There are various accounts of his sin. The most popular one being – He stole food (ambrosia) from the Gods and gave them to Mortals hence revealing the secrets of the Gods.

4. Yankee

John Kaas -> Jan Kaas , John Cheese -> Jan Kees -> Yan Kees
NY/Connecticut was a hint. This one was decently cracked as well.

5. Moron

Idiot was the most popular answer. I’m not sure if ‘Idiot’ made it to the classification, my hunch is, it might have.

6. Tough one. Cobalt from Kobolds.

Not many got this. Someone mashed magnetism and gob-lins to arrive at cob-alt which was slick.

7. Easy one, I guess. Most of you got this.

S.O.S does not really stand for anything. It was selected cause of its easy representation in Morse code (…---…) and it wasn’t too easy to be sent accidentally.

Trivia revealed [Apr 14 - Apr 19]

2008-04-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

Apr 14th Answer -

The fabled continent of Atlantis. Atlantis, according to Plato, existed around 9500 BC and after a failed attempt to invade Athens, sank into the ocean in a single day & night.

Apr 15th Answer -

Timbuktu :) The lady's name was Buktu. And 'Tin Buktu' literally meant the house where Buktu lived. Tin-Buktu fused into 1 word and through ages, was transformed into 'Timbuktu'

Apr 16th Answer -

Foo. Yup, just that, "Foo". We were tempted to throw in a 'meta-syntactic variable in computer science' hint but then, that would've made it really easy :)

Apr 17th Answer -

Albert Pinto ko Gussa kyon aata hain :) Albert Pinto was the owner.

Apr 18th Answer -

Apr 19th Answer -

Byomkesh Bakshi. Now, you remember? :) The world war 2 connection threw off a few people but this was well cracked, overall.

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 19th]

2008-04-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

X meets his lifelong friend, Ajit in Satyanveshi, where he introduces himself as a “truth seeker”. Later, X and Ajit share a flat on Harrison Street. Ajit’s ambition from the start is to become a writer and he becomes moderately successful by narrating their exploits. X buys a car in the later years of World War 2 and marries Satyaboti. X?

[Answer(s) on Apr 20th, Sunday]

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 18th]

2008-04-18T12:27:00.001-07:00

When Polaroid was first introduced in Russia , the cameras were an instant hit in spite of the high cost of these cameras and their method of development. The Russians were NOT particularly rich and did NOT enjoy as high a standard of living then. Upon research and a lot of interviews, reason [X] was determined to be the reason.

What was X (The Reason)?

[Answer(s) on Apr 20th, Sunday]

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 17th]

2008-04-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

It’s not often, that you see the name of the main protagonist in the title of the movie. This movie was another one of those bollywood oddities where-in most of the interior shots were done at the residence of a certain gentleman and being unable to pay him, the producers bartered by using his name for the main protagonist and a subsequent place in the title.

Which movie?

[Answer(s) on Apr 20th, Sunday]

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 16th]

2008-04-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

RFC269 was the first to use this word. The word owes its origins to comic strips and cartoons of the 30’s. A very early version of Daffy duck holds up a sign saying "Silence is X".

Perhaps the earliest documented use was in a cartoon strip about a nutty fireman. This appeared in various american comics between the 30’s and 50’s and frequented the license plate of cars and nonsensical phrases.

What word?

[Answer(s) on Apr 20th, Sunday]

Quiz drop for the day [April 15th]

2008-04-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

This place was established by nomadic Tuareg tribes in the 10th century. It owes its name to an old Malian woman who lived in the region and was known for her honesty.

Tuareg and other travelers would entrust this woman with any belongings for which they had no use on their return trip to the north. So, when a tuareg returned and was asked where he had left his belongings, he would reply "At …" meaning the place where the woman lived.

The name has carried over for over a millennium now, which place?

[Answer(s) on April 20th, Sunday]

Quiz drop for the day [April 14th]

2008-04-14T22:50:00.002-07:00

The Story : When Zeus divided the world into 3 parts he gave Haedus the underworld , took the heaven for himself and gave Poseidon the seas and also one small portion on earth.

The Question: : Identify this 1 portion of the earth which is indicated in the below pic by a circle

Quick note before we reveal the answer to yesterday's question. Starting tomorrow, we will publish our answers on Sunday to all questions asked during the week. So, we'll ask a question each day from Monday to Saturday and publish the answers to those questions on Sunday.

Clear enough? Let's move on to the answer for yesterday's Q -

Trivia revealed [Apr 13th]:

The Answer : "Shit Happens"

Forrest Gump intro: The phrase was featured in the movie Forrest Gump during gump'srun across the United States. While being asked questions by an excited fan, Forrest runs over a pile of dog feces. The fan tells Forrest he had just stepped in a big pile of shit, to which Gump replies, "It happens." to which the fan replies, "What, shit?" In the film, this incident inspires that fan to create the "shit happens" slogan, shown in the form of a bumper sticker on a pickup truck that enters an intersection and gets T-boned. In the TV version, the audio is blanked out to say "it happens" and the "SH" is blurred out on the bumper sticker [To avoid lawsuits, i guess :) ]

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 13th]

2008-04-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

Etymology researchers are yet to determine when this phrase first appeared. The first popular occurrence was in a 1991 case concerning a car bumper sticker – The supreme court of Georgia ruled that using lewd or profane stickers on vehicles was unconstitutional.

It then made it to television on an episode of Chicago hope running past the censors who deemed it a harmless. It has now found its place in popular culture occurring in movies (Forest Gump, Predator), music (Every time I die), games (Duke Nukem 3D) and even WWF for that matter.

What phrase?

Trivia revealed [Apr 12th]:

Men who took to the air were the first to popularize the humble ball point pen. Fighter pilots, especially, navigators in planes, used fountain pens at high altitude and pens leaked consistently at the altitude. They switched to Biro invented ball point pens to solve the problem.

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 12th]

2008-04-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

The first Ball-point pens were invented by the hungarian journalist 'Lazelo Biro' and introduced in the Budapest International fair in 1931. They did not sell well at the fair, because they were considered unnecessary at that time. However the popularity of these pens went up after World-War II , as this group of people could make great use of it. Off-course , since then there has been looking back for the Ball-point pen :) ..

Who were this group of people and why were they in such a need of it?

Trivia revealed [Apr 11th]:
X = "Chinaman"

Quite guessable , wasnt it? Yeah, he said "done by a Chinaman" and the word just stuck. In another version, Charlie 'Buck' Llewellyn, a South African all-rounder is supposed to have invented this at around 1900s while playing against the English.

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 11th]

2008-04-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

EE Achong was a left arm spin bowler who played for the West Indies in the early 30’s. He played 6 tests, took 8 wickets and faded away. But, we still hold him in collective memory due to an incident that occurred in the 1933 Manchester test against England.

Achong had Walter Robbins stumped and was celebrating. As Robbins walked back to the pavilion, he said to Joe Hardstaff Snr., the umpire – "Fancy being done by a bloody X". X is now a commonly used cricketing term - X?

Trivia revealed [Apr 10th]:

X = The Red Cross.

Henry Dunant was awarded the 1901 Nobel Peace Prize for founding the international red cross. He recorded his memories and experiences in the book 'A memory of solferino', which served as an inspiration for the founding of the Red Cross in 1863.

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 10th]

2008-04-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

The Knights Hospitaller (a Christian organization formed in Jerusalem ) were the first to bring the concept of 'X' and practice it. In 1877 , St. John's ________ [Disclosing this word would be a give away :)] were the first to teach this practice officially by forming rooms and teaching centres in railways and mining areas. 'X' was started by a Swiss man, who helped a group of villagers help soldiers in the Battle of Solferino.

The Swiss man was awarded the 1st Nobel Prize in 1901 for forming X.

What is X ?

Trivia revealed [Apr 9th]:
X – RK Laxman, Y – Bal Thackeray (RK was reminded of William Makepeace ‘Thackeray’) . Offcourse, one of them became famous for the "Common Man" and the other was quite an "uncommon" person !!

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 9th]

2008-04-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

X studied at Maharaja’s college, Mysore majoring in Politics, Economics and Philosophy. After graduation, he arrived at Delhi to find a job. The Hindustan Times told him he was too young and that he should start with provincial papers. The Free Press Journal in Bombay gave him a break. On his first day at the job, he was seated next to Y who was furiously sketching a bird in a cage. After introduction, X thought “Is Y an Indian name?”

X didn’t last long at the Free Press Journal. One day, the proprietor banned him from making fun of the communists. He left, caught a train and walked into the Times of India Office. The rest, as they say, is history.

Identify X, Y.

Trivia revealed [Apr 8th]:

South Africa’s historic re-entry into cricket in 1991 in front of a packed crowd at Eden Gardens, Calcutta. The picture features South African skipper ‘Clive Rice’ (clasped hands).

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 8th]

2008-04-08T22:33:00.001-07:00

Momentous occasion in its own right. What was it?

Trivia revealed [Apr 7th]:

X = Pierre Omidyar, Y = eBay
Omidyar realized that there is a market for almost anything. The rest, as we know, is glorious history :)

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 7th]

2008-04-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

In 1998 over a holiday X created his personal site and dedicated it to providing more information on the ebola virus. As the site evolved, one day he wanted to give away his broken laser printer and put up that in his site. When a customer bought it for $14.83, X called up the customer and asked him if realized that it was a broken printer? The customer replied that he was a collector of "broken laser printers" and this gave X an idea to change his site into Y.

As always, Identify X & Y :)

Trivia revealed [Apr 6th]:

This ‘piece of paper’ is widely regarded by numismatists to be the first paper currency in circulation. Labelled ‘Jiaozi’, this was introduced by the Northern Song Dynasty at the end of the first millennium A.D

Quiz drop for the day [Apr 6th]

2008-04-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

What is the claim to fame of this rather decrepit looking piece of paper?

Testing your Visual Quiz Power

2008-03-18T19:27:00.001-07:00

Hey Folks,

Apologies for the long hiatus in between. Its been a crazy ride at work, play and also some life-changing events!! :) Now that the dust from the Busy season has settled down here is a different kind of a Quiz .. - The Audio / Visual Kind.

Below are some questions that are based on Visual Clues. Some of them are simple identifies, others connect-the-visuals by a common theme questions..

Let us see how well you connect your eyes with your memory and knowledge :)...

1. This person was awarded the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize because the Nobel Committee was not sure in which category they need to award him. Identify this person who became famous first with his work in Mexico. He is also one of the ONLY 5 people who have received the Nobel Prize, the Presidential Medal & the Congressional Gold Medal. Who is this person about whom it has been said "He has saved more lives than anybody in the history of mankind".

Who am I ??

2. Connect the 3 pictures. The connection(answer) has given a lot of reasons to laugh for the young and the old alike! The 2 people in the picture inspired something , a form of which was picture 2. Confused?? :).

Picture 1 shown is a philosopher
Picture 2 is a diagram of a weapon?
Picture 3 is that of a Theologist?

Philospher	Weapon	Theologist

3. Identify this super hero, who will start saving the world with the help of his very unique weapon [Clue !! :) ] from June 2008. He has been saving a different set of people for the past 19 years in a very different way and one can only hope this superhero from Virgin Comics will continue to do so for a long time!!!

4. Whats the name given to this kind of a video? The name is taken from a similar concept in the world of pictures :)

5. What is the significance of this picture in terms on industrial engineering? Apaprently , the creator was inspired by the way labourers worked in a butcher shop in Chicago in the 1900s.

6. Connect the following 3 pictures of people [Not exactly world famous on their own, but they have been honored in their own way]

The first one was a well known professor, the second (is obvious) and the third made a startling revelation, and changed the course of his company and had a huge effect on the industry in which he worked and how it has been perceived since then.

Clue: But the connection is a Hollywood connection :)

Academics	Boxer (ofcourse)	[known in his industry]

7. In olden days when women aboard a warship gave birth to a kid, the ship’s registry would specify the father’s name. As it often happened, sometimes the actual father of a child was NOT certain. The consequences of this led to the phrase

Look @ the pic to get clues:

7 on Words ...

2008-03-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Hello All,
7 questions on word origins to exercise the etymological part of your brain :)

Answers in a week. Enjoy :)

1. The fact that this popular word is Arabic in descent is easily noticeable by the occurrence of an Arabic definite article in the word (equivalent of ‘the’ in English). The word itself derives from the Arabic word for a fine black powder, made from antimony, and used by women to darken their eyelids (‘Kajal’ in India). The Arabic word is also responsible for its English counterpart, called Kohl. Which word?

2. In early times, it was custom for the English Chancellor of the Exchequer to bring his papers to the House of Commons in a leather bag or portfolio. He placed the bag on the table and then at the opportune moment, he opened the bag to display his papers and initiate a process. The process itself took its name from the chancellor’s act of ‘opening the bag’. What process/word?

3. This English word owes its origins to a sinner in Greek Myth. This sinner was condemned to a life of eternal frustration. For his sins, he was made to stand in a pool of water up to his chin. But each time, he leaned over to drink, the water receded. He was standing amidst trees laden with ripe, delicious fruit. But again, each time he reached for the fruits, the winds blew the branches away from him. Forever, he remained deprived in a land of plenty. His name symbolized his unfortunate life and is now part of the English language, the word mostly used in its adjective & verb variants. Who or what word?

4. Most etymologists agree that this word is Dutch in origin. The most popular version suggests that the word is a bastardized version of ‘John Kaas’ or ‘John Cheese’, which can be thought of as a parallel for John Bull or Uncle Sam, and was used for Dutch settled in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. This nickname came to the New World when the English applied it contemptuously to Dutch pirates. The New York Dutch applied the term with the same contempt to the residents of Connecticut. Which word?

5. This word, perhaps the only one to be voted into the English language, was adopted in 1910 by the ‘American Association for the study of the feeble-minded’. Its technical definition was ‘an adult with a mental age between 8 to 12’. The word was part of a classification system pioneered by Dr. Henry Goddard. The classification system was subsequently disbanded and with the word gaining popularity as an insult, the technical definition was also dropped. What word am I referring to?

6. German Miners, when they first discovered this metal, were tricked by its bright silver and pink luster, and thought they were in contact with the underground spirits/creatures of German folklore. They named the metal after them. The metal has its primary uses, as an alloy in high speed steels, as magnets and as pigmenting substances. And the German word that this metal derives its name from is also responsible for the English word ‘Goblins’ (Do not reverse derive – could be misleading). Name the metal or the German root.

7. What does S.O.S stand for? ‘Save our ship’? ‘Save our Souls’? Or maybe ‘Sink or Swim’? If your answer is any of these, you are wrong. And you are not alone :) For instance, in 1912, in an enquiry into the sinking of the Titanic, the British Attorney General, during his reasoning (?) session, explained CQD, the older signal, was used instead of SOS, which he then explained, meant ‘Save Our Souls’. SOS was selected just 6 years earlier, in 1906, at the Radio Telegraph Conference. Why was it selected and what does SOS stand for?

[Answers] Satyameva Jayate

2008-02-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome Folks,
We present the answers to our India Quiz - 'Satyameva Jayate'. We hope you had as much fun answering the quiz as we enjoyed setting it. Here's capping off our yatra with the answers. Enjoy :)

1. Rakhi

While researching for this question, we came across an incredible & hardly believable story which sent our ‘apocryphal-bells’ all berserk. The story, however, was too good to be skipped :) So, here goes …

Alexander’s wife was accompanying him on his march to India when she hears of a local custom where-in protective bands (rakhi) are tied around wrists. She ties one on Alexander’s wrist. When Alexander is fighting Porus (Raja Puru), he is about to be killed by Puru when the Raja notices the Rakhi on his hand and spares him. Alexander regroups to beat Raja Puru and as a gesture lets him go alive. Wah, Wah !! Bollywood?

2. Sairaj Bahutule

Apparently, he had to coax his bowlers to return the next day. Not many were brave enough to face the continued onslaught. Checkout the scorecard at http://www.cricinfo.com/database/ARCHIVE/1980S/1987-88/IND_LOCAL/OTHERS/HARIS/SV_SXHS_LHSCT_23-25FEB1988.html

3. Swastika

We were planning on inserting a European connect but that would’ve turned this into a sitter. One of the oldest known symbols, Swastika shaped ornaments have been found dating way back to the Neolithic period.

4. Dharmendra/Sanjeev Kumar

The movie was Sholay :) Dharmendra was in love with Hema Malini and so was Sanjeev Kumar. Dharmendra was first set up to play the role of Thakur Baldev Singh and the roles were then switched, as we now know.

5. Gurkha(s)

History contends that this tenacious race blocked the first Islamic advance to the India Sub-continent in the 8th century. They stopped the Muslims from invading Afghanistan (Ghandhara -> Kandahar) which was Hindu/Buddhist at the time. The British recruited heavily from this race for their colonial army and the Gurkha Regiment, to this day, is known for its bravery.

6. Paan

This turned out to be the sitter of the quiz. Another interesting answer, we received, was, Gulab Jamun :) Paan is also talked about as the only Mughal addition to Hindu cuisine. We couldn’t verify this piece of trivia, though.

7. Saare Jahan Se Achcha (The Prof. was Mohd. Iqbal)

Side Trivia – Rakesh Sharma, India’s first Cosmonaut, employed the first line of this song to describe to India Gandhi how India appeared from Outer Space.

8. The Hare-Krishna Mantra

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

9. Digboi

The city has classic etymological origins. British Engineers kept repeating the phrase ‘Dig, boy! Dig’ to encourage the workers who turned it into a working chant and the eventual name of the city.

10. The Great Indian Rope Trick

Over the years, various theories (Mass Hypnosis, Levitation) have been floated to explain the trick but none have been widely accepted. In a research, it was found out that the timelag between credible truncated versions of the trick was about 3-4 years while for the most complex descriptions, it ranged from about 20-40 years - which makes skeptics believe, the story and myth had been embellished over the years. And that the trick did not involve vanishing of the subject. So, we continue to muse - Did the great Indian rope trick really exist?

Quizza Masala - Flavor of the Month

2008-01-31T18:43:00.000-08:00

.....and Welcome back! How was the India quizza ? packing ur bags to go to india to get the answers to the questions ? I even had one of my friends (in Delhi) reply that he went to India Gate to see if he could get a glimpse of the Rashtrapti Bhavan!!!! ( Beautiful Minds Quiz question)..

This is a more general quizza with toppings of Trivia that you have either observed in your life or are surrounded with entities that we take for granted , or use without knowing its source. Some side orders that you will find with this quizza are historical trivia. As they say , eating slowly and enjoying your food helps digestion and your health. Similarly with this quizza, read slowly, think about the answers (bcos u know them) , digest them and have fun :) ...

5,4,3,2,1 .... Quiz Off!

1. It was 1949, a project known as MX981 took place at Edwards Air Force base for the purpose of testing human tolerance for g-forces during rapid deceleration. The tests used a rocket sled mounted on a railroad track with a series of hydraulic brakes at the end. Initial tests used a crash test dummy strapped to the seat of the sled but later tests were performed by Air Force Captain Paul Stapp. During the tests, questions were asked about the accuracy of the instrumentation. Edward, who was in charge of the measurement devices, suggested improvements which again provided an incorrect sensor reading due to faulty wiring. Exasperated and extremely irritated, Ed then made a profound pronouncement. What was it?

Clue : Well known phrase / concept used in the world today :)

2. This database originated from two lists that started as independent projects in early 1989 by participants in the usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies. In each case, a single maintainer recorded items emailed by newsgroup readers, and posted updated versions of his list from time to time. It began with a posting titled "Those Eyes", on the subject of actresses with beautiful eyes. The size of the repeated posting grew far beyond a normal newsgroup article and it soon became known simply as "The List". How do we know "The List" today?

3. Trashti, the Vulcan of hindu Mythology took the following items and mixed them in a specific ratio to create something. What did he create with all these? Lightnesss of the leaf , Gaiety of the sun’s rays , Tears of the mist , The inconsistency of the peacock, the softness of a ‘swallows throat’, the harshness of the diamond , the cruelty of the tiger, the warmth of the fire and affection of a turtle dove.

Atleast half the people in the world will like the answer! ;)

4. Recently there was a list of top 100 movies of the last Century (from all over the world ) that was released by experts in conjunction with the TIME Magazine. 3 Indian movies made it to the list. 2 of them were ‘The Apu Trilogy’ by Satyajit Ray and ‘Pyaasa’ by Guru Dutt. What was the third movie?

5. This term was introduced in World War II to describe the destruction of an area equal to 2 football fields by bombers of the Allied Force. This term was later used as a synonym for 'impact' and today is more propular in other fields too. [Clue: U might be within 3-4 miles range of this].
What is the term?

6. Ernest Beaux was asked to create 6 different samples each with a different formula. He used a very expensive distilling process (used to extract jasmine) to produce one of them. To it he added coal tar, formaldehydes, plant oil, rose and most importantly the glands of the animal ‘civet’. The owner rejected all bottles except one for mass production. What was that 1 bottle that became a big hit with the rich (mostly)?

7. It began as a tool in Europe to help a group of physicists obtain knowledge and answer tough questions about the universe. The first one in the US was created and installed in the Stanford Linear Accelarator Center in 1992. This person

created the first of its kind and Robert Cailliau became the first person to use it.

It's website was put at http://info.%20cern,ch/

What am I talking about?

8. Remember your chemistry?

If you notice, the structure on top is similar to the pic below. And they both represent different compounds. Now, the structure on the right is that of adenosine (ATP – Powercell of the body). The two compounds are so structurally similar that they confuse the nerve cell which then allows only one of them to bind to its adenosine receptors. Depending on who wins the slot often makes that crucial difference in the afternoons.

Simple Question: What is the compound on top?

9. Ha, Let's test your observation!

The game " American football" (stylized rugby ) is usually a mixture of running, throwing , pouncing on somebody etc with a not so significant use of the legs. Why is it called "football" then, when actually "soccer" should ideally be called football ( as it is usually done in Asia).

10. Identify X & Y.

X studied at Maharaja’s college, Mysore majoring in Politics, Economics and Philosophy. After graduation, he arrived at Delhi to find a job. The Hindustan Times told him he was too young and that he should start with provincial papers. The Free Press Journal in Bombay gave him a break. On his first day at the job, he was seated next to Y who was furiously sketching a bird in a cage. After introduction, X thought “Is Y an Indian name?” The only similar name he had heard was of William Makepeace ….

X didn’t last long at the Free Press Journal. One day, the proprietor banned him from making fun of the communists. He left, caught a train and walked into the Times of India Office. The rest, as they say, is history.

--

Have fun with this quiz and post your answers! We will be back in 10 days with another quiz post to titillate your grey cells.

Till then, Enjoy the Quizza!

-Viv & P3

[Answers] Beautiful Minds

2008-01-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

... and here it is folks, some Beautiful answers to the quiz on Beautiful Minds :). Hope u guys had fun solving the quiz or maybe it was too easy. Ok, time for you to be introduced to the legends.

Tip : Subscribe to the RSS Feed provided so that you will be notified of a new quiz / entry the moment it is updated :)

2. Author : Agatha Christie. The play : ' The MouseTrap'

The '3 Blind Mice' must have been an ample clue :)). Its still running in some theatre in West London. Oh, my!!

Based on a true story, Agatha Christie requested that the book-version not be published not a film adaptation be done until the theatre version runs and hence the historical run... The name 'MouseTrap' incidentally came to Agatha Christie based on a character's answer to a kind in the Shakespeare's play of Hamlet.

3. Ah, some more info before the answer. In the 1920s a lot of movies and animations were silent and this person was tryign to introduce sound into his movies as the next big thing. Although he was beaten in the race to introduce sound, he became one among the first to introduce sound in aninmations movies. Yes, u guessed it , it was 'Walt Disney'

His pet project was the musical 'Fantasia' - Disney's successfull attempt to bring back the popularity of his favorite character Mickey Mouse after his popularity went down in the late 1930s to other characters like Donald Duck, Goofy.

There are no dialogues in this movie, and the sound effects used were called 'Fanta sound'. Hence the Oscilattors from HP :)

4. Here are the answers to the algaebraic equation. This was a sitter, once u identified that the monument built to commemorate soldiers of WW I was India Gate. If u didnt, u need to redo ur history books!!

A = Edwin Lutyens (Architect of Chandigarh / Rashtrapathi Bhavan)
X = Rashtrapathi Bhavan, ofcourse!
Y = India Gate

5. X = Charles Darwin.

Charles Darwin had the chance to visit the now popular 'Galapagos Islands' where his scientific observations and measurements led to the defining 'Theory of Evolution'. Galapagos is famous for its rich diversity in fauna.

Also, supposedly the only place on the equator where u can find penguins!

6. Ok, this is a good one.

While the World War victory parade was scheduled to be made the first televised Color program in the world, a few days before the parade the inventor of Television : John Logie Baird passed away. To honor him for his lovely invention, they decided to televise his funeral as the first ever color television program :).. nice, eh!

7. The Florence Nightingale Oath.

"The Lady with the Lamp", who gave up her riches and upper class status to go and work with the poor and served as a nurse in the Crimean War tending to the injured. She also co-wrote the Royal Commission on the health of the army and brought about changes to medical amenities to soldiers. France honored by naming a city after her - "Florence". Her work 'Notes on Nursing' went on to inspire many women to take to a career of nursing.

Here is an illustration..

8. Ok, Story Time!!

President Theodore Roosevelt was on a hunting expedition and he was unable to hunt down any deer or other animal. Just before the end of the day , his troops caught hold of an harmless , unprotected bear cub whose mother had died and tied it , for Roosevelt to shoot. Roosevelt immedietely ordered the Bear to be released taking pity on its situation.

This made news praising Roosevelt's show of kindness. Well, now President Roosevelt was called 'Teddy' (simplified name for Theodore, i guess!). In a few days a particualr paper came out with this cartoon which depicted the president's refusal to hunt the bear cub.

The paper named it 'Teddy's Bear'! And thats how the 'Teddy Bear' first got its name. Soon after A shop owner in Brooklyn , got the idea of a new toy and based it on the paper's illustration and called it the 'Teddy Bear Toy'.......and then for generations children have been troubling their parents to get them one.

The picture put up in the quiz was the later-modified. Here is the original

9. Another sitter.

"Harry Houdini" the world's greatest escape artist and an inspiration for all magicians of the current era [ David Copperfield / PC Sirkar / Chris Angel etc..]. His 'Chinese Water torture cell' made news all over the world. Arthur Conan Doyle believed that he was a medium , who can dematerialize in 1 place and materialize in another.

Here is a classic pic of him bound in chains:

10. We had to end with the Most Beautiful Mind the world has seen in the last few centuries..

- None other than Mahatma Gandhi!!
- F.D. Roosevelt was the other runner up.

Hope u had fun going through the answers. Please be the "Beautiful hands" and send us feedback :).

Another quiz coming up in 4 days!! Till then, chao..

Satyamave Jayate!.... But guessing also works! :)

2008-01-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

We are going to take you on a tour of a place that Mark Twain said ".... is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition." - Ofcourse u guessed rt, - Our own Mother India! :)

.. Irrespective, if you are in Tanjore, Noida , Nairobi , Berlin, Seattle or Adelaide you will surely enjoy this quiz which inclines a little towards Indian History & Mythology - both subjects that are magical and downright fascinating!

Like always, the goal is to make most questions guessable, to render a story and provide interesting insight. Give it a shot and let us know what you think.

1. In medieval India, when the Rajputs were fighting off Muslim invasion, Rani Karnawati, the widow of the King of Chittor, was in distress, as the Sultan of Gujarat (Bahadur Shah) launched an attack on Chittor. In order to save the city, she asked for help from Humayun and sent a “X” to him. Humayun, touched by the gesture, sent his troops to save Chittor. Time was short and they arrived late, and by then, Rani Karnawati and the women of Chittor had tragically commited Jauhar (mass suicide).
What is "X"?

2. A question on our un-official national sport …
Many remember the legendary "Shardashram vs Xavier's" Harris Shield school match as part of cricketing folklore, the emergence of teenage geniuses. Tendulkar and Kambli's mammoth 664 run un-beaten partnership for Shardashram set the stadium alight. Few would remember, however, that donning his pads and waiting impatiently for his turn to bat for one and a half days was yet another precocious talent. A 13 year old then, he went on to play for India. I'll give you the answer to this one, it was Amol Mazumdar. Interestingly enough, the captain of the opressed St. Xavier's team, the lead bowler on their side, also went on to play for India. So, Who was he (the bowler/captain)?

3. In Hinduism, this represents the 2 forms of Brahma. Facing right, it represents the evolution of the universe and facing left, it represents the involution. It is also said to represent the sun’s rays, without which there would be no life. In Buddism, it represents Dharma, universal harmony and balance of opposites. Jainism probably gives this the most prominence as it is considered one of the 24 auspicious marks and almost all ceremonies typically begin and end by creating this. What is ‘this’?

4. The casting for roles in one of India's biggest movie hit was pretty convoluted and just as filmi. Actor 'X' wanted to play a certain character in the movie. The director informed him that if he did that he wouldn't get the heroine (in the movie) and actor 'Y' would. Apparently, X was in love (real-life) with the actress playing the heroine and actor 'Y' was "also" in love with her and had in fact, proposed marriage to her before the movie (She was yet to make up her mind). With the director's help and some back-room politics, 'X' pushed 'Y' out of the role and 'Y' eventually played the role 'X' was supposed to play, and the rest, as they say, is history.
X/Y?

5. As legend goes, Bappa Rawal (born as Prince Kalboj) was a teenager in hiding. He came across a warrior saint (Guru Gorakhnath) while on a hunting expedition in the jungles of Rajasthan. Bappa decided to stay behind and care for the saint who was in meditation. When the saint woke up, he gave Bappa a kukri (knife) and he told him that he and his people would henceforth be called X. Deemed a martial race by the British, what is X?

6. This food-item is said to be popularized by Mughal Empress Nur Jehan. As natural elements were used as cosmetics, Nur Jehan, during her experimentation, discovered that adding a few ingredients to this food-item gave a beautiful natural color to the lips of those eating it. How do we know the food-item today?

7. In 1905, Lala Hardayal, a freedom fighter, who eventually founded the Gadar party, was a student in Lahore's Government College and he invited his Literature Professor to preside over a function. The professor, instead of delivering a speech, sang a patriotic poem that he had originally penned for children in the Ghazal style of Urdu Poetry. The poem gained in popularity with every passing year and is now the official march of the Indian Armed Forces. Which poem?

8. This was first attested to in the Kali Santarana Upanishad, when Narada is instructed by Brahma. *Rough translation follows+ “Learning the Vedas, one can cross Samsara of Kali only by uttering a name of Lord Narayana”. Narada asks to be told this name of Narayana and Brahma replies with 16 words and says “These 16 words are destructive of the evil effects of Kali. No better means to be seen this than in the Vedas”. What were those 16 words?

9. During the British Rule in India , British officers hit upon a idea of mining systematically in a certain part of India inspired by initial tests from scientists. To speed up the process, they encouraged their laborers by chanting a slogan/phrase/group of words that eventually became the name of that place. What is this place / slogan ?

10. The earliest account of this comes from Arab Traveller, Ibn Batuta, who saw this in 1346 enroute to Hangzhou, in China. Andrew Mullen, a physicist from Univ of Manchester tried to work this out. It was proved that you could keep a stick resting vertically on your hand by moving your palm of your hand rapidly up-and-down instead of side-to-side. Supposing, you were to get two sticks and link them with a metal loop, once again you can have them stand vertically by moving your palm up and down fast enough while moving through a distance short enough. What was he trying to explain?
(Hint: This is an India Quiz J)

We hope, you enjoyed the questions. We promise, that the answers are even better :) Good luck and happy quizzing !!

[Answers] Getting off the mark

2008-01-18T19:14:00.001-08:00

Answers to the first quiz – Getting off the mark …

Apologies for the delay, Folks. The quiz was well cracked and well received overall. Bunch of attempts made their way into our mailboxes as opposed to the blog :) We’ve enabled anonymous answering option on the blog, that should make it easier to post a comment. Similar to side dishes that enhance your meal in restaurants, at quizzahut we serve our quizza-answers with a side dish of history, sprinkling of explanation and other information that will make your experience of quizzahut more pleasing. So, without any further delay, the answers –

1. April Fool’s Day. Turned out to be the sitter of the quiz :)

History: In 1564, Charles IX the then king of France changed the New year from the 1st of April to the 1st of January. Many people did NOT believe this change and refused to follow this. Such people were referred to as April Fools since they followed the old custom of celebrating April 1st as the New Year. Hence the term 'April Fools Day'

2. The Mastermind Quiz Contest. It was hosted in the UK by Magnus Magnusson (‘I’ve started so I’ll finish’ fame) and in India, by the inimitable Siddhartha Basu.

History: Bill Wright the person who devised the quiz show was a war veteran who was imprisoned as a POW and interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II. This experience involved being put on a chair with the light on him and being bombarded with questions, a style that has become the signature of Mastermind Quiz shows!

3. X = Uncle Pai, Y = Amar Chitra Katha. Amar Chitra Katha was the premier source of Hindu Mythology knowledge for most folks of our ‘generation’. This question, interestingly, received a few ‘Mastermind’ answers.

4. Tetris. S-Z pieces were a give away.

Picture : Here is a snapshot from the game where the pieces look like S and Z.

5. The Laughing Buddha – ‘Smiling, Laughing Face’ was a humongous hint.

6. Chyawanprash :) Chawan Rishi was the creator.

Thanks to our mothers who fed us in our childhood (or force fed) in some cases :). This Rishi's transformation into a handsome youth was the inspiration behind the ayurvedic medicine being named "Chyawanprash"

7. Fido-Dido. Fizzled out as an icon initially, was revived. Strands of hair, Pepsi-co were huge hints.

8. Typewriter :) Would you believe it!!

9. All were once sports in the Olympics and were snubbed out.

Cricket, oh yeah was played in 1900. England beat France for the cricket Gold. The French team essentially comprised of English expatriates :)

10. Wedding Ring. Maybe we should store half the wealth in your wedding ring then? ;)

Hope, you guys enjoyed the quiz. We’ll keep the quizzes going. Thanks for taking the time to read and keep the feedback flowing.

- Viv & P3!

Beautiful Minds

2008-01-09T23:40:00.000-08:00

This quiz is a tribute to all the discoverers , architects , artists , authors and conceivers of an idea so beautiful or important that it allowed man to experience a new paradigm of living. They shaped the future, they shaped our world as it stands today. It is in honour of such extraordinary men & women that we present this quiz on 'Beautiful Minds'.

As usual the answers will be available after a week. Close answers will be pointed out and you can expect clues after a few comments. We highly encourage you to post the answers as comments :). Any/All suggestions welcome!

2. The condition to publish this short story as a book was that, the book could be published only when the theatrical performance of the story was finished running in a theatre and NOT replayed for 6 months. Following that condition, the short story has NOT been published yet. The short story started as a radio broadcast program in honor of Queen Mary, wife of King George V. The original name of this short story ("The 3 blind mice") was disputed as NOT being original and hence the name was changed to B. It was originally written as a birthday present for Queen Mary on her 80th Birthday. Identify this not-yet-published book B , that has become world famous by its theatrical version! :)

3. In 1938 Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett [Yes, Hewlett & Packard] released their first product called a RESISTANCE-CAPACITY AUDIO OSCILLATOR which tests sound equipments. This person ‘J’ was trying to make a big difference in his field using sound equipments. When he heard of this product he became the first customer of this product and he used it for his pet project ‘K’. Identify J & K!!

4. The story of 2 good friends who became foes goes like this. We shall call them A & B . This will seem a bit like solving an algaebraic equation.

'A' was the person given the responsibility of building 'X' where the Ruler of the Country would reside. To complement the place another monument 'Y' at the end of the same road was to be built in commemaration of soldiers who died in WW I, such that both buildings could be seen from each other. 'A' trusted the construction of the commemorative monument to his good friend 'B' while he got involved in X. Although 'X' & 'Y' were built fine and according to design, due to a severe miscommunication, the height of the road between them was not accounted for and the heights of the buildings 'X' & 'Y' were such that, one could NOT be seen from the other due to the crest in the road. 'A' & B had a long altercation (for the rest of their lives) and became foes.

Your job is simple! Identify A, X & Y !! :)

5. Robert Fitzroy was conscious of how unforgiving the sea was, extended periods of sea-voyage could disturb the sanest of minds. He knew what caused Captain Stokes & his uncle Viscount Castlereagh to commit suicide. So, for this next voyage, he approached Beautfort and asked him to find a suitable gentleman who would share his scientific tastes and provide him good companionship. Many of those who were first approached turned down Fitzroy’s offer and Fitzroy finally approved an eager ‘X’ for the position. X?

6. The first official color program of the United States was scheduled to be the Victory Parade of World-War II on a particular date. But a couple of days before the parade another incident happened and it was decided that the unprecedented / unique event should be the first color televised program. What was that incident that led to it being a well-deserved first color program.

Clue : It is about Beautiful Minds :)

7. If Doctor's take the Hippocrate's Oath, what oath do nurses take?

This picture depicts an incident that inspired the creation of something that is probably the fantasy of most children for a companion. You might have had one too? What is the incident and what was the inspiration?

9. His public appearance was at the age of 10 as a trapeze artist and he called himself the "The Prince of Air". He performed card tricks and worked in a circus until he met his manager who asked him to concentrate on X [specifying X would be a give-away] which would become his forte. The "Milk Can" , the " Suspended Straightjacket" were some of his famous performances and many were performed across Europe and USA. A close friend of Arthur Conan Doyle once, they broke their friendship when he ridiculed "Spiritualism" which Arthur C. Doyle firmly believed in. Ironically, ever year seances are held to contact him through spirits and learn his trade secrets. Who was this dynamic person who was also a very well known Ghost-buster!

10. At the end of the 20th century (which you would realize wasn't too long ago :)), Time magazine compiled a list honoring the greatest individual contributors of the century in different fields. Albert Einstein was chosen as the overall 'Person of the Century' while two people from a different field were named runner-ups. Who were they?

........ I am sure as you read this you are filled with curiosity and a respect for these great people, and of course you want to know who these are!! The answers will be available in a week :).

Also, we are very interested in hearing your comments about the blog, suggestions for a particular topic of quiz, types of quiz [ AV / easily workable ones] etc. So this is your chance to play "God" and say "Let there be AV .........." . We shall look into your suggestions and serve you the quizza of your choice. After all we are the 'Quizza Hut'.

Till then, adios!!

Getting off the mark..

2008-01-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Sultans of Quizikistan,

This is Viv & P3 (We are actually androids disguised as quizmasters) welcoming you to our first of many blog entries that are going to be peppered with fun quizzes , a lot of trivia , puzzles, reviews and stuff that we want to surprise ourselves with....

We strongly believe quizzing is for everybody and we want to clear the myth and correct the notion that quizzes are only for people who get married to books, always attend quizzes and remember weird-insignificant pieces of information. Quizzing is the art of identifying yourself with your environment, your world and your history. And the way we want to do that is by framing questions that are enjoyable to read, making most questions highly guessable & workable and hoping that on reading the answers, you would say "Oh, wow! I didnt know that!".

If you like racking your head to solve something and your hunger for quizzes & puzzles never dimnishes, this is the resort you need to visit often. No booking required, no travelling needed and totally free. :)

So, without further ado ... We present the first quiz of QuizzaHut. [Answers in about a week] - Remember most answers are workable!! Starting with a question about the "New Year Day"!

1. In 1562, when the New Year day was changed from a certain date to January 1st , in France there were a lot of people who were not informed and some who just did NOT believe it. This gave rise to a new term/ phrase that was applied to those people (to ridicule them) that we still use today. What is it?

2. William Wright, a Royal Air Force gunner of World-War II started X and based this upon his experience as a POW in Germany. Specifically, what he designed was based on the ‘interrogation techniques’ he faced and the way he was interrogated. The first edition of X was aired on BBC in 1972 at Liverpool University. In India, it was held in different heritage sites. What is X?

3. X was watching a quiz contest being aired on Doordarshan in February 1967 and was appalled to see contestants answer complex questions pertaining to greek mythology but floundering when asked simple questions related to Hindu Myth, one of the questions being "Who was Rama’s Mother?". He decided to do something about this, he immediately quit his job and started Y as a consequence. X/Y?

4. Would it be possible to play forever in the game? Multiple thesis and investigations later, it was concluded that a player is inevitably doomed to lose if there were a continuous sequence of S pieces followed by a torrent of Z pieces and a perfect random number generator would eventually produce this sequence. To combat this, it was decided in 2001, that the random number generator used to produce this pieces would be tweaked and made ‘less random’ (pseudo) so as to never produce the fatal S-Z sequence and hence, in theory, let a player play forever. Which game?

5. He is an interpretation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the predicted Buddha to succeed Gautam Buddha in the future. He is now an integral part of Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto culture and is said to be based on an eccentric Chinese Zen Monk who lived during the time of the Liang Dynasty. His smiling, often laughing image graces many temples, restaurants, amulets and businesses. Who?

6. It is said that when this sage/Rishi was young and meditating he was covered by an ant-hill. The princess of the kingdom playing nearby thought there was something funny with the ant-hill and poked it to accidentally blind the sage. As a compensation she became his wife to take care of him. After a few years when he asked her to request a boon, she said she wanted him [her husband] to become young and regain sight. So this sage meditated and took the help of Ashwini Twins [2 Special Devas]. Then … [blah – blah – blah happened] and the ashwini Twins parted with a special secret with the help of which the Rishi set out to create X. This in turn gave youth and good health to the rishi.

Now this X took his name and is a very popular item in India and am sure most of us have encountered it back in India [Did we give it away :-) ??]. Identify the Rishi and consequently X.

7. He came to life on a napkin illustration in a restaurant in 1985. When Susan Rose first sketched him, he needed just 15 lines inclusive of an un-complicated triangular head and a few strands of scary of hair. She was perhaps saying ‘You are what you are and what you are is okay’. He was then licensed to Pepsi-co in the 80s and was dormant until the 90s where he really took off featuring on brands and merchandise alike. Who was he?

8. What is the longest word that can be typed using only the letters in the top most row of a typewriter? [ maybe computer keyboard too ..]

9. What is common to the following sports? Rugby, Golf, Lacrosse, Cricket and Tug of War.

10. By Law, a Bankrupt person can be asked to sell anything by his creditors , to pay up his loans or debt except for 1 thing. What is that 1 thing, no one can ask him to sell or take possession of?

So go ahead and throw your darts on the quizboard. They might land somewhere very near the answer and if so, subsequent posts/ comments will include more clues for you to inch closer to the answer(s).

Have a fantastic 2008 !! :)

- Viv & P3