Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Quiz Time


It's Quiz Time!


Yr Host - Aaman Lamba.



I have been a quizzer for many years. It has been a fulfilling and stimulating hobby. The quizzing fraternity in India is vibrant, and large. It is modeled mainly after British quizzing of the pub and Mastermind variety. Individuals band together to form a quiz team, usually of 4 members, and give themselves a name. Our team was called "Mustafa & the Fat-Bottomed Girls. Other teams I have known include "The Polyphonic Motets of Lassus", "Foucault's Chutney", "We Are Like This Wonly"."Corrosion of Conformity","Meta-Quizziks", and "Trans-dimensional Lesbian playwrights"


Various quizzing societies exist around the country - Calcutta, Bangalore and Chennai are some of the key quizzing centers, although fine quiz teams/societies operate in almost every town.(Write-up on the history of quizzing in India) Some quiz societies of note include the Quiz Foundation of India,the Karnataka Quiz Association and Derek O'Brien's crew in Calcutta. I have interacted, quizzed, drunk the night away with many of the august personae comprising these societies, and it has made one a better person.


Quizzing is done at various levels, from the 3rd grade upto college, and open quizzing. Corporate quizzes are quite popular. Quizzing is big business too, with a number of big-ticket, sponsored quizzes, such as the Economic Times Brand Equity quiz conducted by Derek O'Brien.


Quiz topics are very broad, ranging from rock to culture to ancient history to abstruse trivia about commonplace things. Researching was an art, fulfilled through discussions over beer, trawling through used bookstores and libraries in those pre-Google days. Being able to pull together the knowledge one has and present it on the spot in 30 seconds is an experience one cannot describe to the unitiated(British Quiz Association FAQ on quizzing) Most quizzers have their specialities, and a motley, eclectic collection of curiosities & complementary skillsmakes a good team


Perhaps the best way of getting a feel for quizzing of this sort is a quiz itself. Please find a few questions below. If there is interest, this can be made a regular feature. If there are sponsors, there can be prizes. Quiz on!





Questions


1. Which fictional character was the nanny of the Banks' children?>

 



2. Which country has two AK-47 assault rifles on its flag?

 



3. Which business tycoon once said "I don't think the Internet is going to change how people chew gum?"

 



4. Peter Merholz announced in early 1999 "I've decided to pronounce the word "______" as _____. What common term comes from this announcement ?



5. What is Alex Jamieson's claim to fame?



6. Name the new book by Cory Doctorow



7 I keep my exact age a secret, but I can say I am in my thirties and was born on February 14th. I had a privileged upbringing, never really knowing my mother, my father was a well respected archaeologist. Whilst at Gordonstown I excelled at athletics, later at a Swiss finishing school I developed a natural talent with firearms I followed in my father’s footsteps, coming to the world’s attention in 1996 when I was hired by Jacqueline Natla, head of Natla Industries, to recover a mysterious artefact rumoured to be in a Peru?



8.Who owns the Portland Trailblazers?



9. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion / Through passion, I gain strength / Through strength, I gain
power / Through power, I gain victory/ Through victory, my chains are broken/ The Force shall free
me." In popular culture/fiction, this is called "The ------- Code". What?



10. Jane Austen, in 1798 in 'Northanger Abbey', said about her protagonist Catherine. " It was not wonderful that Catherine, by nature had nothing heroic about her and should prefer cricket, __________, riding on horseback and running about the country at the age of 14". Fill in the blank



11. What sports Hall of Fame is located in Canton, Ohio?



12.The 100-m dash world record was broken recently. Name the sprinter, and the new record.



13. Name the four hurricanes that struck the Carribean and Florida last year (2004).



14. His name is Arabic for The Demon's Head. He also shares his name with a star, and a programming language. He can replenish his aged, injured, or dead body with a bath in a Lazarus Pit, and has a dedicated group of followers. His goal is to cleanse the world and society. Who?



15. What is the Enigma of Kryptos (Hint: Dan Brown)?




Posted by Frater P.A. at 3:20 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Some Fine Books

Blog Archive