Answers to Quiz - 16

1) What is the slang term for the Canadian dollar?

Loonie

2) Placebo is a medicine given more to please than to benefit the patient. What does placebo mean in Latin?

I shall please

3) Which celebrated astronomer was the first to study the crystal structure of snow, publishing in 1611 the treatise ‘on the six-cornered snowflake’?

Johannes Kepler

4) What is the term used for a company that has no specific business plan or purpose other than acquiring or merging with another unidentified company?

Blank Cheque Company

5) He is the great grandfather of Aleksander Pushkin, who wrote an unfinished novel about him – The Moor of Peter the Great. Name this African slave who was brought to Russia by Peter the Great.

Abraham Petrovich Gannibal












6) What is the name of the Russian revolutionary movement of 1860’s and 1870’s that takes its name from the Russian phrase for ‘going to the people’?

Narodism

7) One of the world’s first great architectural styles that evolved more than 4000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia continues to be widely used even today. What is the name of this terraced pyramid structure?

Ziggurat

8) What is the term used by Dr. Lyall Watson to describe the sudden spontaneous and mysterious leap of consciousness achieved when an allegedly "critical mass" point is reached in animal and human behaviour?

The hundredth monkey phenomenon

9) What word describes the act of looking at something, especially accidents on the road, when you drive by?

Rubbernecking

10) Which sect of Shiite Islam has given to the world the word Assassin due to the terrorist and murderous activities of its members in the 11th Century?

Nizari Ismailis

QUIZ - 16

1) What is the slang term for the Canadian dollar?

2) Placebo is a medicine given more to please than to benefit the patient. What does placebo mean in Latin?

3) Which celebrated astronomer was the first to study the crystal structure of snow, publishing in 1611 the treatise ‘on the six-cornered snowflake’?

4) What is the term used for a company that has no specific business plan or purpose other than acquiring or merging with another unidentified company?

5) He is the great grandfather of Aleksander Pushkin, who wrote an unfinished novel about him – The Moor of Peter the Great. Name this African slave who was brought to Russia by Peter the Great.

6) What is the name of the Russian revolutionary movement of 1860’s and 1870’s that takes its name from the Russian phrase for ‘going to the people’?

7) One of the world’s first great architectural styles that evolved more than 4000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia continues to be widely used even today. What is the name of this terraced pyramid structure?

8) What is the term used by Dr. Lyall Watson to describe the sudden spontaneous and mysterious leap of consciousness achieved when an allegedly "critical mass" point is reached in animal and human behaviour?

9) What word describes the act of looking at something, especially accidents on the road, when you drive by?

10) Which sect of Shiite Islam has given to the world the word Assassin due to the terrorist and murderous activities of its members in the 11th Century?

Answers to Quiz - 15

1) What is Gelotolgy the study of?

Gelotology is the study of humour and laughter and its effect on the body.

2) Where is he headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specalised agency of United Nations dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property system?

Geneva

3) What is the science of simulating pressure, texture, vibration and other sensations related to touch?

Haptics

4) Name the Berlin-based non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1993 to curb corruption in international transactions.

Transparency International

5) What is the name given to positions in space where gravitational forces and the orbital motion of a body balance each other?

Lagrange Point

6) After which French engineer was the unit to measure the speed of telegraphic transmission named?

Baud after Jean-Maurice-Emile Baudot

7) Name the American inventor who is credited with having built the first solar cell in 1880’s.

Charles Fritts

8) Name the world's first commercially available general-purpose computer

The Ferranti Mark 1

9) In which historic Copenhagen building, recently in news for its demolition, was March 8 proclaimed as International Women’s Day in 1910?

Ungdomshuset (Youth House)

10) In medicine what is the name given to delivery agents that enhance the effectiveness of the active drug?

Adjuvants

QUIZ - 15

1) What is Gelotolgy the study of?

2) Where is he headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specalised agency of United Nations dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property system?

3) What is the science of simulating pressure, texture, vibration and other sensations related to touch?

4) Name the Berlin-based non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1993 to curb corruption in international transactions.

5) What is the name given to positions in space where gravitational forces and the orbital motion of a body balance each other?

6) After which French engineer was the unit to measure the speed of telegraphic transmission named?

7) Name the American inventor who is credited with having built the first solar cell in 1880’s.

8) Name the world's first commercially available general-purpose computer

9) In which historic Copenhagen building, recently in news for its demolition, was March 8 proclaimed as International Women’s Day in 1910?

10) In medicine what is the name given to delivery agents that enhance the effectiveness of the active drug?

Answers to Quiz - 14

1) Why is Google’s cafeteria at its headquarters in Mountain View named as Café 150?

Because all ingredients for everything on the menu are sourced from within 150 miles of the Google campus.

2) What is the Israeli system of self-defence, which in Hebrew means ‘Contact Combat’?

Krav Maga

3) The world’s most expensive coffee is derived from berries processed in the digestive system of the Palm Civet, a small cat like creature found in the island of Sumatra. Name this coffee.

Kopi Luwak

4) What symbol that is widely used today was originally developed by Harvey Ball in 1964 to ease the tension between the employees of two insurance companies that had merged?

Smiley

5) Which company has developed ‘T9 Text Input’, the global standard for mobile text messaging?

Tegic Communications

6) Which New York hotel tycoon in 1919 created a $25000 prize for the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris, which was eventually won by Charles Lindbergh?

Raymond Orteig

7) Name the Sun God, the chief God of the Inca Pantheon.

Inti

8) The asteroid, which astronomers in 2004 believed was on a collision path with our planet, was named after the Egyptian God of Destruction. What is its name?

Apophis

9) In Greek mythology who was condemned to stand forever in water under trees laden with fruits, but never able to reach out to them?

Tantalus

10) Which celebrated advertising personality said ‘The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife’ ?

David Ogilvy

QUIZ - 14

1) Why is Google’s cafeteria at its headquarters in Mountain View named as Café 150?

2) What is the Israeli system of self-defence, which in Hebrew means ‘Contact Combat’?

3) The world’s most expensive coffee is derived from berries processed in the digestive system of the Palm Civet, a small cat like creature found in the island of Sumatra. Name this coffee.

4) What symbol that is widely used today was originally developed by Harvey Ball in 1964 to ease the tension between the employees of two insurance companies that had merged?

5) Which company has developed ‘T9 Text Input’, the global standard for mobile text messaging?

6) Which New York hotel tycoon in 1919 created a $25000 prize for the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris, which was eventually won by Charles Lindbergh?

7) Name the Sun God, the chief God of the Inca Pantheon.

8) The asteroid, which astronomers in 2004 believed was on a collision path with our planet, was named after the Egyptian God of Destruction. What is its name?

9) In Greek mythology who was condemned to stand forever in water under trees laden with fruits, but never able to reach out to them?

10) Which celebrated advertising personality said ‘The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife’ ?

Answers to Quiz - 13

1) What are Folle Blanche, Colombard and Ugni Blanc?

They are the three mandatory grapes from which the wine must be derived to make Cognac

2) Which is the world’s oldest daily newspaper that is still in publication?

Weiner Zeitung, which appeared for the first time on August 8, 1703 under the name of ‘Wiennerisches Diarium’

3) What organisation was founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933 with the aim to ‘live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ’?

The Catholic Worker Movement

4) Which Italian political party uses a portrait of Gandhi in its logo?

Radicali Italiani (Italian Radicals)

5) After which French astronomer is the scale for classifying total lunar eclipse named?

André Danjon

6) Which six countries signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, that led to the formation of the European Economic Community, the precursor to European Union?

France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg

7) What is the Torino Impact Scale used for?

To categorize the earth impact hazard associated with newly discovered comets and asteroids

8) In honour of which 13th Century Persian mystic poet has UNESCO dedicated the year 2007?

Jalal-ud-din Rumi whose 800th birthday is being observed this year


9) Based on whose theories did Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers develop the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a personality test designed to assist a person in identifying some significant personal preferences?

Carl Jung’s theories in his work Psychological Types

10) Name the political action committee in USA that derives its name from the saying “Early money is like yeast, because it helps to raise the dough” and whose aim is to help elect Democratic women to political office.

EMILY’s List

QUIZ - 13

1) What are Folle Blanche, Colombard and Ugni Blanc?

2) Which is the world’s oldest daily newspaper that is still in publication?

3) What organisation was founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933 with the aim to ‘live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ’?

4) Which Italian political party uses a portrait of Gandhi in its logo?

5) After which French astronomer is the scale for classifying total lunar eclipse named?

6) Which six countries signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, that led to the formation of the European Economic Community, the precursor to European Union?

7) What is the Torino Impact Scale used for?

8) In honour of which 13th Century Persian mystic poet has UNESCO dedicated the year 2007?

9) Based on whose theories did Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers develop the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a personality test designed to assist a person in identifying some significant personal preferences?

10) Name the political action committee in USA that derives its name from the saying “Early money is like yeast, because it helps to raise the dough” and whose aim is to help elect Democratic women to political office.

Answers to Quiz -12

1) Titanic (1997), Ben-Hur (1959) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) share the honours for the film to have won the most number of Oscars. How many Oscars did they each win?

Eleven

2) What is the Oscar connection between Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion and Sofia Coppola?

They are the only women directors ever nominated - for the films Seven Beauties (1976), The Piano(1993) and Lost in Translation (2003) respectively

3) In terms of Oscars, what is common to the films - "Morning Glory" (1933), "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (1967), "The Lion in Winter" (1968), and "On Golden Pond" (1981).

They all brought Oscars to Katherine Hepburn, who holds record for winning the most number of acting Oscars



















4) If Titanic, Ben-Hur and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King share the honour for the film winning the most number of Oscars, which two films share the honour for the most nominations at 14 each?

"All About Eve" (1950) and "Titanic" (1997)

5) In the history of Oscars. What unique distinction is held by Harold Russell ?

In 1946 Harold Russell, a disabled World War II veteran was presented a special Oscar for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in "The Best Years of Our Lives." Later that evening he also won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the same performance, thus becoming the only person to win two Oscars in the same year for the same performance in the same film.

6) What is unique about the film Midnight Cowboy that won the Oscar for the Best Picture in 1969?

It is the only X-Rated film to have won the Best Picture Oscar








7) Who has won the most number of Oscars (4) for the Best Director?

John Ford



















8) Name the only silent film to have won the Best Picture Oscar

Wings (1927)

9) Name the man who is credited with designing the Oscar statuette and which he also himself won 11 times for Best Art Direction.

Cedric Gibbons









10) Which country has the distinction of winning the most number of Best Foreign Language Film?

Italy (13)