Blast from the Past: The Journey Continues

Old questions do not die - they just fade away, tucked up in old directories. You will still find these questions making their isolated comebacks in today's quizzes, sometimes spiced up with additional facts, supporting dates and visuals (thanks to Google). What you will find here is a grand revival on a Douglas MacArthur scale.

For most of you, the events and people desribed in these questions, happened way before you were born - but hopefully they are still interesting. Take the same test with the questions you have set recently - review them after 20 years - and see for yourself how many of them will be relevant, memorable and worth asking!!

1. What dish is said to have been created in Paris around the turn of the century to honour the actress SUZANNE REICHENBERG?

[A] The CREPES SUZETTE - Suzette was her stage name.

2. What was inaugurated by a binary signal from the Viking spacecraft approaching Mars?

[A] The National Air and Space Museum at the SMITHSONIAN.

3. In 1808, while governor of Australia, he tried to eliminate rum smuggling. A “Rum Rebellion” occurred and his own officers mutinied and held him prisoner until a new governor arrived. Who was he?

[A] Capt. William Bligh, against whom the sailors of the “Bounty” has mutinied earlier.

4. In Saratoga National Park, in the U.S., a monument stands, which is probably the only one in the world that honours a leg, but not a whole man. Whose leg is it?

[A] General BENEDICT ARNOLD’s. Arnold was first a hero of the American war of Independence and the monument is in memory of the wounds he received. However, his subsequent treachery made it impossible to honour his entire character.

5. Who helped launch the Czech new wave film industry in the 60’s with three social comedies “Black Peter “, “Loves of a Blonde” and “The Fireman’s Ball”, but flopped with his first American film “Taking Off”?

[A] MILOS FORMAN - his 2nd film “One flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” won him an Oscar, as did “AMADEUS” later.

6. What phrase owes its origin to the mammoth American-owned United Fruit Corporation which controlled vast tracts of land in South America and did not hesitate to manipulate govts. in deference to its interests?

[A] ‘Banana republic’.

7. Who founded the town of Kinshasha?
[A] H.M. Stanley - who founded it as a supply depot in 1881.

8. Which sporting personality was the first president of the English Bowling Association?

[A] W.C. Grace.

9. In the columns of a British newspaper about 70 years ago the following advertisement appeared - ‘Men wanted for hazardous journey - small wages, bitter cold, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success’. The advertiser was deluged with replies as if all the men in Great Britain wished to accompany him. Who was he and for what purpose did he apply for assistants?

[A] Sir Ernest Shackleton for his famous Antarctic expedition.

10. The Roman senator Marcus Porcius Cato, the Elder, ended every speech with the same sentence although frequently it had nothing to do with the rest of his speech. What was the sentence?

[A] DELENDA EST CARTHAGO, meaning - Carthage must be destroyed.

Blast from the Past

While doing some early spring cleaning on my computer, I came across these questions which were set way back sometime between 1985 and 1995. Long before there was public Internet, cable TV or cell phones. Surprisingly the questions have aged well (or at least I feel so). Hope you have fun answering them.

1. The element named after America is Americium. Which is the element named after Russia?

2. Louis Cyphares, one of the two survivors of the Mont Pelee eruption which killed 30,000 people, was a prisoner at the time of the holocaust. After he was rescued, he was pardoned. How did he spend the rest of his life?

3. Egyptians, placed their right hands on what they considered the symbol of eternity where they took Oaths etc. What was this symbol of eternity?

4. This former RAF pilot took a career analytic test which showed he could be a great author. So he dropped everything and wrote a story for a TV drama which was a hit. His second wife Sheila wrote the novel "I Married a Best-Seller." Name him.

5. What is common to the films - “Aradhana”, “Kati Patang”, “Mehbooba” “Ajnabee” and “Jheel Ke Us Paar”?

6. What is common to LPG & Skunk?

7. Robert Boyle and his French assistant invented it in 1680. The invention then took the name of the assistant rather than Boyle’s. What was his invention?

8. Who won the 1976 women’s doubles at Wimbledon?

9. What is the Tibetian word for “Thunder bolt”?

10. Where would you find the following words inscribed: ‘He who sleeps at the edge of the sea’?

11. About whom did actress Joan Rivers say, “She has more chins than a Chinese phone book”?

Answers - Baker's Dozen (revival)

No new quiz this week, but I am reviving an old post of mine from Quiznet, all the way back from April 2001. This one got 50 replies and some of the answers, as sampled below, makes interesting reading/ viewing.


1) What common vocation connects Pope Pius XI, Mao Tse Tung and Casanova?

A] Librarians

2) The first cooking demo on TV demoed what?

A] Making an omelette. Some guys said making an egg (which would be rather difficult for humans!) have been awarded 0.5 points.

3) Give me the names of the missing two members of this family: alpaca, guanaco, llama, vicuna.
A] Dromedary & Bactrian (Single and double humped camels). I have not awarded points for Camel as all the animals mentioned above belong to the Camel family.

4) What was the name of AA Milne's son?

A] Christopher Robin (He never forgave his father for having used his name!)

5) Which film director's home town is Nelliyatil?

A] Manoj "Night" Shyamalan. Ravi Verma writes - "Nelliyatil sounds quite Malayalee. But I remember reading somewhere that Manoj Shyamalan was born in Podicherry and his middle name Nelliyatil means Night in Malayalam. Since he grew up in the US he opted to literally translate his tongue twisting middle name to English. Could you please check to make sure that Nelliyatil is indeed his home town?"

6) Which city served as the capital of Portugal between 1807 and 1822?

A] Rio de Janeiro. Subhendu Roy writes - "When Napoleon's forces invaded Portugal in 1807, the king of Portugal, John VI, fled to Brazil, and on his arrival (1808) in Rio de Janeiro that city became the capital of the Portuguese Empire"

7) Which precious stone is named after a country?

A] Turquoise from Old French for Turkey. I am in a way delighted with the question, which sounds like a chestnut but was cracked only by Tathagata Chatterjee. However, Shardul Deo points out that that there are only 4 precious stones (Diamond, Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire), in which case I should have used the word "gem".

8) Which acid is named after the Latin for "ant"?

A] Formic Acid. Ants live in Formicary. Quite a few answered (in jest I hope!) "Antacid."

9) On hearing what news did Jack Warner say, "Its our fault. We should have given him better parts."?

A] Reagan on being elected governor of California. Quite a few confused it for his presidential election (0.5 points) which happened after Warner's death (he died in 1978).

10) To what profession did Ellen Church and the other early air hostesses hired by United Airlines belong to?

A] Nurses. Lot of people wrote in with "Prostitutes" - giving a whole new meaning to the phrase - "fasten your seatbelts - it is going to be a bumpy ride"

11) Which was the first ship to use the SOS signal?

A] RMS Titanic. Arvind Lakshmikumar points out (supported by Sreeram) that SS Arapahoe was really the first to do it.

12) At Wimbledon, what should not be longer than 3/16th of an inch?

A] Grass. Few of you hoped that it was the ladies' skirts!

13) What was dubbed "Explosion in a shingle factory"?

A] Marcel Duchamp's "Nude Descending a Staircase". Subhendu Roy has send me a gif (which I have attached - it is not the painting in question, but what the heck, it's interesting!). Some of you wrote in with "Pokhran Blast!"

Answers - Through the Quizzing Glass

Answer to the third set of questions.

The title of all the quizzes on this blog including the name of the blog have some direct or oblique reference to the origin of quizzing as a word and a pastime. Have fun figuring these allusions.

The quizzing news in 2007 is upbeat. Apart from the comeback of KBC (which does its venal bit to boost quizzing in general), there is also the comeback of Navin Jayakumar as Quizmaster. The news is that he will be conducting both the Chennai and Bangalore Landmark quizzes in 2007. Pune can derive some satisfaction from the arrival of the Landmark quiz in the city - however it is a masala version of the original product (like a Hollywood remake of Solaris, Insomnia or Rashomon). Let us hope, Pune, Bombay and Calcutta can enjoy the original quiz with Navin, soon. Corporates have been taking up internal Quizzing to either improve employee morale (e.g. WIPRO in Feb'07) or to improve their brand image in B-Schools (UTI in Jan'07).

1) This domestic appliance was the first one to use plastic in its construction because of its use primarily by women and also because it had to be continuously lifted for use. What equipment?

A] Hair Dryer

2) Which chemical is named after the Latin for "island" because of its production in the endocrine cells of the pancreas which are distributed the way islands are distributed in a sea? See illustration.
A] Insulin produced in the Islet of Langerhans.

3) This place is Asia’s largest wholesale market. Built by a king for his favorite daughter in 1650 AD so that she could shop all she wanted to, this market place derives its name from the canals filled with water that sparkled like silver in the moonlight. What place in contemporary Asia is this?

A] CHANDNI CHOWK - built by Shah Jahan for Jahan Ara.

4) During the late 1960's, Boeing had proposed the building of a Concorde-style airplane. It never got built, but the name lives on today – how?

A] In the name of the team - Seattle Supersonics.

5) The idea originated through an American businessman named William Willett who wanted it primarily because he wanted to play golf in the evenings. It was briefly instituted during World War I as a way to conserve energy supplies but such was the antagonism to the idea that it was dumped and not revived till 1966. Now it is standard in much of Europe as well.

A] Daylight Saving or Summer Time. Incidentally, this year DST in USA is happening a few weeks earlier (to save energy) - leading to chaos across global IT systems.

6) The French thought that this bird came from India and called it the Chicken of India. The German, Dutch and the Swedes thought that these specifically originated from Calicut and called it Kalkoen/Kalkon. When the bird was introduced in England, where were they thought to have come from?

A] Turkey. Incidentally in Turkey they are called American Bird which is quite correct because they originated from North America.

7) This brand name was a synonym for Icebox since the 1820s. In 1918, a small company (owned byGeneral Motors from 1919 to 1979 and now by Electrolux) seized upon the idea of building cold storage device for consumers and became the largest producer of this equipment and a by-word for this category. Which company?

A] Frigidaire

8) This military term which was in news in India in late 2006 comes from the technical term for a hand grenade. What term?

A] The grenade is technically a fragmentation device. This was commonly used to kill other officers. Thus "to frag" is to kill a fellow officer.

9) The name of this oilseed was changed so that it does not offend any delicate sensibilities. In America it is now called Canola. What is it called in India?

A] Rape-Seed (from "rapa," latin for "turnip").

10) The legends of ancient Zoroastrians worshipping pillars of fire and nomads in Rajasthan creating fire for cooking with virtually nothing, is now explained by science as what phenomenon?

A] Natural Gas escaping through fissures in the rock.

The Writing on the Wall - Answers

Here are the answers.

I was reading about the way you audition for Who Wants to be a Millionaire in the US. You apply through email, you are called for a written test, the qualifiers have a viva voce and if the producers think you are telegenic enough - you are on TV! Contrast that with KBC. You send SMS worth a few thousand rupees, get shortlisted through a lucky draw, answer a question, get selected again through lucky draw, reach KBC and then reach the hot seat through a fastest-finger-first. Life is tough or what?

Anyway, here is redemption at hand. If you cannot make it to KBC, answer these questions, instead. No designer watches and designer hugs if you do not know the answers, but at least you did not wear out your fingers SMSing to reach this far.

The next set of 10 questions on topics of general interest. Send answers to my yahoo email id (given on the right). Answers in 10 days.

Coming Up Next: The Odyssey Quiz 2007 - My favorite questions!

1) WHO AM I?

a) I was the Union Army's youngest general at the age of 34.

b) I was the son of a governor and myself the governor of New Mexico. I signed the death warrant of Billy the Kid and sent sheriff Pat Garrett to shoot the Kid. I was also the US minister to Turkey.

c) I was a judge at the court martial of Abraham Lincoln's killers.

d) I wrote a best selling novel which has never been out of print and three movies have been made out this novel.

A] I am Lew Wallace (the writer of Ben Hur)

2) This legendary ship was named after a German town. She was the last piston engine warship to be commissioned into the Navy. She was based out of the Chinese town of Tsingtao, now more famous for its beer.

When the World War I started, she ventured out into the Indian Ocean. She acquired the nickname "Swan of the East" because of the graceful lines of the ship. While ravaging ships in the Indian Ocean (she must have sunk over 30 ships), she put up a dummy fourth smokestack to fool other ships which were deployed to hunt it down. Its sally into the port towns of south-east Asia created panic and added words into Sinhalese and several other languages. It was eventually defeated and destroyed by HMAS Sydney at the Battle of Cocos. Identify.

A] EMDEN (phrase and words in Malayalam, Tamil, Sinhalese)

3) If George W Bush and Dick Cheney were both to resign (a mouth watering supposition!), who is next in line to become the President of the USA? Hint: It would create a first in the history of USA.

A] Nancy Pelosi - the current speaker of the House of Representatives - the highest-ranking woman in the history of the American federal government - and the closest a woman has come to becoming President

4) A multifaceted personality, he started as a professor in Medicine and Surgery and later become a professor in chemistry and pharmacy. He was the first to distinguish between organic and inorganic substances. He discovered the law of constant proportions and developed the chemical notation which we all know (representing water as H2O etc). He discovered silicon, selenium, thorium, cerium and helped discovered lithium and vanadium. He coined the term protein. He wrote a well-respected text book on Chemistry. He also studied the famous stone Runamo - and concluded that the supposed runic inscriptions were nothing but natural cracks in the rock (the accepted conclusion today). Who?

A] JJ Berzelius

5) It has been speculated that the crew of the DC-6 incorrectly used altitude data for Ndolo (915 ft, 279 m), which is in Congo and at lower altitude, rather than Ndola (4167 ft, 1270 m) in Northern Rhodesia. What is this an explanation for?

A] Death of Dag Hammarskjöld in Sep 1961 at Ndola in Northern Rhodesia

6) Isabella Eugenie Boyer (1841—1904) was born in Paris to French and English parents. Isabella married Isaac Merritt Singer, the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Co., in New York, in 1863 when Isaac was 52 and Isabella was 22. Isabella was still a striking lady when she met this sculptor . He asked her to be his model - for what? Note: This is one of the two popular theories regarding this sculpture.

A] Statue of Liberty. Sculptor was Bartholdi.

7) In the world of aviation, what is the significance of this spectacular crash?

CLUE: No wonder Rainman travels by car!

A] The QANTAS crash in Bangkok in 1999, which marred a straight 20 year clean run by the airlines.

8) Connect these four animals.

Clue: 21st Century.

A] Western black rhino, the Chinese River Dolphin, Pyrenean ibex and Miss Waldron's red Colobus monkey. These four mammals have gone extinct in the 21st Century.

9) What title was given to the English king for constructing the Westminister Abbey?

A] (King Edward) the Confessor

10) This was the first item in the world to be taxed in 2200 BC in China. Ancient Greek traders bartered their slaves for this extremely precious substance. A lazy or rebellious slave was therefore was deemed not worth the amount of this commodity paid. Roman soldiers were paid a dispensation to be able to buy this substance - giving rise to a common modern word.

What commodity?

A] Salt. The slaves were not worth their salt and the Roman soldiers were paid salarium argentum (Salary).

Answer to a "Simple Set of questions"

I promised answers in a week, and I am back after nearly 9 months. Apart from the usual "week" apologies (my excuse is a move to Bombay!), I will try to be more regular (some questions and answers once in 10 days). I got around 25 responses, nobody could identify the lady (Q5). I will skip the scores and stats, since I do not have the mails with me.

1. Identify the missing company: Agilent Technologies, Barnes Group, _________, Dominion Resources, Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi SpA, Ford Motor Company,...

A) Citigroup. These companies are the onwers of the single letter NYSE tickers - A, B, C, D, E & F. G, H, I & J are currently up for grabs.

2. Identify the parent organization of these famous companies: HBO, Tegix (predictive texting - T9), Mirabilis (ICQ), MapQuest, Nullsoft (Winamp), MAD magazine, New Line Cinema, Atlanta Braves (Major League Baseball team), DC Comics.

A) Time Warner.

3. This one is for Sumo. Connect Lisa Snowdon, Christa Miller and Priyanka Kapoor.

A) Cover girls for the first Maxim issues in UK, USA and India.

4. Lintas opened shop in India to service Hindustan Lever. Why did J Walter Thompson setup its Indian operations?

A) To service General Motors.

5. Identify the lady. Surname should suffice.

A) Anousheh Ansari standing next to the Spaceshipone. The Ansari X prize is named after her family.

6. This American company advertises that "they are _______, and everyone else's are just hot tubs". European immigrants, they started out by picking oranges and building small airplanes. They built a unique propeller known as the "toothpick". They built the first enclosed cabin monoplane. It was used by the U.S. Postal Service to carry passengers from the San Francisco Bay area to Yosemite National Park. Because of their knowledge and design experience in airplane hydraulics, they turned their attention to the need of the agricultual community for ground water and created a new design which won them a Gold Medal at the California State Fair in 1930. Fill in the blank.

A) Jacuzzi.

7. What was originally a wooden board or leather screen at the front of a horse-drawn vehicle to protect the driver and those sitting alongside from the mud splashed up by the horse's hooves?

A) Dashboard.

The Intro Post

Welcome to The Dublin Daly. This blog is not an online newspaper from the Republic of Ireland. It will primarily deal in all things quizzical.

Do we need another blog on quizzing? With several yahoogroups, quiz sites, blogs etc., the there is definitely no crying need. I am not claiming to bring any fresh dimension to online quizzing through these posts.

The reason I am starting this blog is personal. It appears to be a cool thing to do. I can post questions which cannot be asked in popular fora like Odyssey and BT Acumen. If enough people visit this blog and refer it from their posts, it may also appear high on search engine rankings.

I will post assorted trivia and quiz questions from time to time. I cannot promise a regular frequency - but it will be often enough to make it worthwhile for you to bookmark the site and visit it once a week. Once in a while, I will post a proper quiz, make it tough to google and invite entries.

So, as quizmasters love to say, without any further ado, let us get going. I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.