Qua Qui Gen Quiz

Only Rule: No Googling. Nope. No.

 Round 1
5 Questions. Structures.
60 seconds per question, after reading
Infinite pounce to all. No direct.
1.

This was designed by Alec-Fraser Brunner after winning a design competition. The
tourism board of the country initially used it as a symbol of its board which was
trademarked as well.
The structure is covered with porcelain plates and makes use of two small red
teacups. It was unveiled in 1972 but its location was moved in the 2000s because the
view got obstructed.
A unique feature of the structure has now entered the local medical lexicon as a term
for a medical condition.
What structure (10)? What is the medical condition talked of here? (10)
Merlion, Singapore.
Merlion is now a local medico slang for the condition of “intractable vomiting”
2

This is a mausoleum monument inaugurated in 1992 in Dominican

Republic, as a lighthouse to celebrate a centennial anniversary. The beams
are supposedly so bright it even reaches Puerto Rico.
They claimed to have housed the remains of X here although this became a
massive dispute leading to DNA testing by authorities behind another
monument Y who went on to prove the remains actually lie inside Y.
The construction of this in such a shape is because of a certain purpose X
had in mind.
Image follows.
Columbus Lighthouse

The other building is the Cathedral of Seville (in his hometown).

The building is shaped like a cross to represent the idea of Columbus wanting to
spread Christianity around the world
3

Constructed in 1896, the building on the right is one

of Portugal’s biggest tourist attractions, incidentally.
The reason for this is that a certain X lived for a time
in the area and worked as an English language
teacher. When X created their most famous creation,
descriptions of a certain entity in the creation
matched this building in a major way leading to
belief that X was inspired by this.
Today fans of X throng this building with expensive
tickets to get a glimpse of the same.
What am I talking about? (10)
Livraria Lello, Porto
This is the supposed
inspiration behind Flourish
and Blotts in Hogwarts and
the winding staircases.

J K Rowling lived in Porto and

was married to a Porto local.
4

“My claim is that (well before concept of X was found), the tower that Gustave Eiffel built in
Paris deliberately incorporates the idea of a _______full of branch points.

However, the A's and the tower are not made up of solid beams, but of colossal trusses. A truss is
a rigid assemblage of interconnected submembers, which one cannot deform without deforming
at least one submember. Trusses can be made enormously lighter than cylindrical beams of
identical strength. And Eiffel knew that trusses whose 'members' are themselves subtrusses are
even lighter.

The fact that the key to strength lies in branch points, popularized by Buckminster Fuller, was
already known to the sophisticated designers of Gothic cathedrals. The farther we go in
applying this principle, the closer we get to a ______ ideal!”

What concept is being talked about here in this 1942 book?

5
The building you will see in the next slide is one of a series of 9 such - 8 of which are
in different parts of India, 1 in another country. The one pictured is the oldest in the
world and most famous of the lot, put together in the 7th century AD.

The journey of consecrating the same involved a long arduous journey across the
border, battling storm at seas, taking shelter at caves among others. Consecrating the
central piece of this involved collecting elements from 16 different sources like a
funeral, a potter’s kiln, a tree struck by lightning etc.

Identify the building/ location along with what it represents. (5 + 5)

Where is the 1 outside the country (Country will suffice, 5)

Udvada, Gujarat - Atash Behram

This is the centre of Zoroastrianism where an eternal fire burns inside.

Missing one is Yazd, Iran - from where the Parsis migrated.

 Round 2
General Round.
10 Questions. Infinite Pounce.
Negative on Pounces if wrong (50% of score available)
1

Image on the next page is a satirical print from 1830 featuring X

administering something to “wives who have been shouting at their
husbands”.
X is the person who coined the colloquial term we use for what is being
shown here.
Obviously, this isn’t used for curing scolding wives anymore but instead in
rockets, motor racing, and a key medical usage.
Who is X (5)? What am I talking about (5)
Humphrey Davy
2

In Fiji, this item is considered the most important element of Fijian life usually only
given as gifts at important events. It is almost never sold anywhere - Fiji has heavy
restrictions on its export too, allowing only 225 pieces to be exported in a year.

The chiefs back in the day were buried with this item as it was supposed to help them
in their afterlife.

When the Queen visited Fiji in 1977, this item was also given to her as a gift that now
sits at the Buckingham Palace.

What? (10) Exchanging of this item in 19th century lead to what art form in Europe?
Sperm Whale Tooth (Tabua)

Scrimshaw is the art of teeth/bone engravings of whales/ walruses

3

The X alphabet was first used by the Sufi poets of Punjab. It became the conventional
writing style for the Muslim populace of the Pakistani province of Punjab following
the Partition of India, while the largely Hindu and Sikh modern-day state of Punjab,
India adopted the Y to record their language.

X and Y also vary in terms of its writing style (beyond alphabets) in a key way.

X and Y? Key difference please? (5 X 3)

Shahmukhi & Gurumukhi

Shahmukhi is written right to left, Gurmukhi from left to right

4

These objects get it name from a building in Venice (in the next slide), which itself
gets its name from an Arabic term that describes the function of this building.

The term was originally used to refer to a gold coin that was a primary currency of
trade in Europe until the 1800s Napoleonic invasion of Italy.

Although there’s evidence that these objects were used as early as 2500 BC as a status
symbol, only in 1920s did it become popular. It was France that first started using it
as a decorative item and change the meaning of the term to mean this object. Earlier,
they were made from shiny metals but now are mostly made from plastic.

What objects? (10) What’s the arabic term? (5)

Sequins <- Sikka < - Zecca (Mint) of Venice
5
A lot of places in India, pre-independence, bore the name “_____ _____” s a reference
to the type of people who were allowed to inhabit the area while the locals inhabited
a different part of town which had its opposite name. This type of segregation was a
common feature in many places, like at the Pentagon which has 2x the bathrooms it
needs for this reason.

Post-independence, places like Fort St George in Chennai , Chowringee in Kolkata

which were once called _____ _____ changed their names to these. However, in one
part of the country it infamously still bears the “____ ____” name and serves as its
tourism centre.

What?
White Town/ Pondicherry
6

This phrase was first used in context of the battles of Lexington and Concord on
April 19, 1775, which began the American Revolutionary War and led to the creation
of the United States of America. It has also been used in context of assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand that led to World War I.

However, the phrase has now found usage in places beyond war especially in some
iconic sporting events.

For eg, when Sonny Corleone was gunned down at the toll booth, his car radio was
the commentary of one such moment - an iconic one at that in American sport.

What? (10)
Shot Heard Round The World
7

● A ______ egg is an egg-shaped tool, made of stone, porcelain, wood, or similar

hard material, which is inserted into the item to be repaired to hold it in the
proper shape and provide a foundation for repairs.
● A _______ mushroom is a mushroom-shaped tool usually made of wood. The
item is stretched over the curved top of the mushroom, and gathered tightly
around the stalk to hold it in place.
● A ______ gourd is a hollow dried gourd with a pronounced neck. The item can
be stretched over the full end of the gourd and held in place around the neck.

What is blanked? What is the item (5 X 2) Images follow

Darning/ Socks & Stockings
8

Rashid is a port city on the Meditteranean coast of Egypt. It was a famous British
tourist destination, much like Greek Isles, given it features Ottoman mansions
and citrus groves.

In the West, the town assumed a different name given to it during Napoleon’s
campaign in Egypt. In 1799, something was found here which took a part of the
town’s name and probably erased its Middle-Eastern name from memory.

What am I talking about? (10)

Rosetta/ Rosetta Stone
9

"Home Taping Is Killing Music" was the slogan of a 1980s anti-copyright

infringement propaganda campaign by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), a
British music industry trade group.
It’s logo featured a ______ in the form of a silhouette of compact cassette with the
terms at the bottom “And It’s Illegal”.
Ironically, a company that launched in 2003 and has been the centre of many
controversies has the logo of the campaign at its centre.
What company? What’s blanked? (5 X 2)
10

The term X was given to the defensive lineup of the Rangers FC in the 1940s and
1950s. These positions refer to the old 3-2-5 formation, where the three defenders
would mark the two opposing wingers and centre forward, while the wing-halves
dealt with the opposing inside forwards.

This provided a great matchup to the Y style of their rivals Hibernian FC.

In Scotland, most youngsters would know the term X for this footballing master
stroke as opposed to the geopolitical situation we may know this term by. As for Y,
very likely the Scots would think of the Hibernian Y as opposed to the book series
that may strike our minds first.

Give me X ad Y (5 X 2)
11

The Temple of Dendur in New York, Temple of Ellysia in Turin, Temple of Taffeh in
Leiden, and most famously the Temple of Debod in Madrid were all put up in their
respective locations in the late 60s/ early 70s.

All of them have a common connection in that it was a gift given to these
respective nations by X. The reason X gave this was a token of gratitude for
something these countries did for X at this time post a major engineering
upheaval in the nation.

Identify X (5)/ Why were they gifted (10) -- an image on next slide
They were gifted by Egypt for helping save the
archaelogical structures of the country post
construction of Aswan Dam
12

When JFK was to be sworn in as President of the US in Jan 1961, the city of
Washington was faced with a weather issue.
It kept snowing till the morning of the event covering the Capitol area with 8 inches
of snow, which was very big for those days. The traffic jam at the time is talked of as
well to be one of the worst days in American road traffic.
To clear the snow on Pennsylvania Avenue, an unconventional method had to be
deployed using an innovation designed by a German Scientist in 1901 which the
Germans put to great use during the World War II.
What?
 Round 3
Thematic Round
5 Images. All on Stamps of India
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Ans:

1. Indian Institute of Science (IISc)

2. Chittorgarh Victory Tower
3. Konark Horse
4. Mahabalipuram Shore Temple
5. Dilwara Temples of Mount Abu