I apologize, but I do not have enough context to identify the incomplete word or phrase being referred to here. Could you please provide some additional clues

MEGAWHATS 2018
SEMI-FINALS 1
Research By
Mitesh Agarwal, Vivek Karthikeyan and Venkatesh Srinivasan

1. Aardvarks – New Delhi
2. Hammer and Tongs – Kolkata
3. Insignificant Others – Chennai
4. Remembrance of Things Fast – Chennai
5. Sheikh Yerboutis – Dubai
6. The Colonels and their Batmen – Pune
7. The Travelling Pillsburys – Mumbai
8. We Are Like This (W)Only – Bengaluru

Saturday, June 30
Arts Quiz for teams of four or less – 1000 Hrs – CIDs from Kerala
Movies Open Quiz for teams of four or less – 1500 Hrs – Anustup, Thejaswi, Varun
Sunday, July 01
GS Hiranyappa Memorial Hist.-Geog. Open Quiz
for teams of four or less – 0930 Hrs – Ashwin, Nagaratna, Rajagopal
Sesame General Open Quiz for teams of four or less – 1430 Hrs – Arul, Appu,
Santosh

▪ 16 questions each clock-wise and anti-clockwise
▪ 9 questions written
All Clock/Anti-clock questions are for +10 on direct/pass and
+10/-5 on Infinite Pounce
All Written questions are for +6; no stakes, maximisers etc.

▪ 8 questions
▪ Infinite Bounce-Pounce
▪ +10, no negatives
▪ +10/-5 on Pounce
▪ Length of blanks MAY NOT be indicative of the number of letters in
the answer

MegaWhats 2018 Karnataka Quiz Association
After resisting it for a full 151 years, an article titled “The art of the
________” was published in the Christmas 1994 issue, and this caught
the eye of Bill Emmott, the then editor. It took another four months
and finally in April 1995, the first ________ was published.
Some sub-sections in the Dec 1994 article had the following titles:
Kind Words and Coronets, Absolved, Rose-Tinted Spectacle.
What are we talking about?
Which publication?
1

The Art of the Obituary
The Economist
They started publishing obituaries only from April 1995

He is primordial Greek god of blame, censure and criticism. He always portrayed
negative feelings of failure, insignificance and worthlessness to mortals, draining
them of their confidence. He is depicted below and on the next slide you will see
a famous painting where he is criticizing the God’s creations.
Who is this & how is this ‘dumpling’ celebrated?
2

Momus, the Greek God
King Momo in Mardi Gras

Archaeological scholars are among those
who are benefitted by Hodgson’s formula.
The formula is G = H – H/33 + 622
So, if H is 1107, a scholar can infer that
G = 1107 – 1107/33 + 622
and arrive at 1696.
What do the G and H stand for?
3

G represents the Gregorian year and H the Hijra year

What self-referencing plot-line connects these films?
4

Films about making a film of the same name

Eusebio Leal is the official historian of the city of _________, a
regal-sounding position given to him for single-handedly bringing
the city from the brink of ruin to its current status as the most
ravishing and vibrant architectural enclave in the Western
Hemisphere.
Two of the most famous buildings he helped restore are shown in the
pics. One of them was the first skyscraper in that country, which
served as the headquarters of a company, and the other (Hotel Ambos
Mundos) is connected to a man of words.
Which city? Which Company? Who is the man of words?
5

Havana
Bacardi
Ernest Hemingway

The Pillalamarri Banyan tree measures 405 feet from east to west, and
408 feet from north to south, and is a tourist attraction in the
Mahabubnagar District in Telangana.
The tree is under severe threat due to a multitude of reasons, which
include soil degradation, restriction of water flow, and invasion by ants
and fungi.
Officials hit upon a very novel solution in order to replenish the
nutrients for the tree, and mimicked a procedure otherwise
commonly used.
What did they do?
6

IV treatment

Over a period of time, the scarcity of this has meant that other
varieties like the Royal Ann, Rainier, or Gold are used as
substitutes.
The name __________ originates from the fact that they were
largely found in Dalmatia, and were soaked in a liqueur of the
same name. We see it commonly on cocktails, milkshakes,
ice-cream sundaes, sweet paan, and the like.
What specific variety, of which product, are we talking about?
7

Maraschino cherry
References the Marasca cherry grown in Croatia and the maraschino
liqueur made from it

The Telangana postal service released this special cover last year in
honour of Dr Nerella Venu Madhav, a Padma Shri awardee.
Growing up in this city, he had a very special talent as a kid, which he
continued to nurture all his life, including being a faculty member at
the University, where he taught this ‘art’, as well as writing a book in
Telugu on the same. His performances were much sought after, and
with the encouragement of B Nagi Reddi, he also acted in a bunch of
films.
What art form is he an exponent of?
Which city did he grow up and live all his life in?
8

Mimicry
Warangal
The famed Warangal gate is visible on the cover

▪ Three questions carrying six points each; three/part, if applicable
▪ All answers are one word/phrase
▪ Surnames will suffice, unless specified

This is the term for an embarrassing mis-hit in a sport. Either the
equipment misses the ball completely, or usually it is struck by
the ‘heel’ of the equipment, and goes flying off to the right. The
best players in the sport have been seen hitting this shot.
It is so superstitious that players of the sport do not like to hear
this word, or even see this happen when they are out playing,
for fear that it will afflict them!
What is this dreaded word?
1

This 1986 single by the post-punk band The Fall caused a stir. The song titled,
Hey! Luciani brought back attention to the murky events of the summer of 1978.
What were they singing about?
Aborteum
I said Luciani
The future's here today
I said hey Luciani
_______ of three three days
They made out you were are an ultra nut
And had no time for your christianity
You paid with your life for their treachery
The future's here today
The future's here to stay
Luciani
2

This is perhaps the only foreign country to derive its
capital city’s name from that of a US President.
Similarly, there is perhaps only one foreign country
that has its capital city’s name derive from a British
Prime Minister’s name.
Name both the countries and their respective
capital cities.
Alternately, name the US President and the British
Prime Minister.
3

This is the term for an embarrassing mis-hit in a sport. Either the
equipment misses the ball completely, or usually it is struck by
the ‘heel’ of the equipment, and goes flying off to the right. The
best players in the sport have been seen hitting this shot.
It is so superstitious that players of the sport do not like to hear
this word, or even see this happen, when they are out playing,
for fear that it will afflict them!
What is this dreaded word?
1

Shank
In golf

The death (murder?) of Pope John Paul I
who died just 33 days after assuming office
His given name was Albino Luciani

Liberia – Monrovia named for James Monroe
New Zealand – Wellington named for Arthur Wellesley

It has a cult following. Its supporters say it’s faster and easier to learn.
Its users are passionate. Alec Longstreth, a cartoonist, aggravated that
people don’t change, says, “Can you imagine there was some other means
of transport that was 70% more efficient than driving a car. You’d think
‘what are all these morons doing driving a car?’”
On the other side, some say it’s very difficult to declare what is better.
For example, medical transcriptionists, ticket agents, and executive
assistants all have different needs, and it can’t be one size fits all.
Very few companies make them. Canadian firm Matias is one of the few,
and it sells fewer than a thousand a year, about 0.1% of their total sales.
What are we referring to?
9

Dvorak keyboards

Had 19-year-old Gerry Hazlitt thrown the ball well, the second Ashes
Test of 1907–08 will be the one that is talked about, and not the
incident that took place many years later.
Hazlitt had his chance when fielding at cover point and Arthur Fielder
floundered mid-pitch. Instead of lobbing the ball to the keeper,
Hazlitt decided to trust his own aim. He only managed a wild heave.
As Wisden later noted, the result could be equally attributed to
‘X’ and ‘x’.
What was the result that went abegging? What are X and x?
10

Tied Test
A. Fielder/a fielder

According to Katrina Onstad, an author of a best-selling work on this
topic, the idea probably came with the advent of Judaism. In the
17th century, the idea was to give time to men to spend their
hard-earned money.
In the 19th century, sobriety became a reason as most men would
spend money on booze after working in factories and they were
expected to come back sober to work. The Americans cited religion
once again to convince the government for its need.
What are we talking about?
11

5-day work week (OR)
2-day weekend

Music producers in the 1920s travelled to small towns looking
for technological advances. They recorded several regional
artists in odd places like warehouses, offices, and ballrooms
using innovative equipment like an electric microphone and an
amplifier.
These were operated along with a pulley-driven lathe to power
the turntable and a recording arm to transfer sound to a wax
master-disc. It roughly took a certain amount of time for the
90-pound pulley-weight to descend.
What is this the origin of?
12

The origin of the three-minute song that became the
standard duration for pop singles.

Which acclaimed TV show is the
book about? The book cover is
rendered in the style of the show’s
credits.
The show won three consecutive
Primetime Emmys for Comedy Show.
Which two shows hold the joint
record with five consecutive
awards in this category?
13

Mary Tyler Moore Show
Frasier / Modern Family

Manuscripts of the Quran exist in many different sizes and
forms. One unique Quran is the ‘si-varqī’. These are based on
equal sections called juz’ with one juz’ spread over two
facing pages. In the reign of Shah Jahan, a scribe called
Abd Allah, a particularly famous naskh calligrapher, came to
India from Iran, and presented Prince Aurangzeb this Quran.
What was the specific purpose of
designing these Qurans?
14

These were designed to be read over a single 30-day month,
notably the fasting month of Ramadan. One juz’ per day.

This is the statue, in a place near Pune, of an Indian army
commander, who fought against the Mughals in the 17th century,
and defeated them in a heroic battle on the Brahmaputra river.
He is considered a hero in his state and Nov 24 is celebrated as
______ Diwas.
Almost two decades ago, an award (medal) was instituted in his
name.
Who?
Appropriately, who gets this medal each year?
15

Lachit Borphukan
The best passing out cadet of the
National Defence Academy

This word is an example of an eponym that was adopted from an
existing name and then re-invented to mean something else entirely.
The term was first used in 1915 and supposedly derived from the
noise that was made when someone pushed a finger into the
“object’s” surface. When cartoonist David Low was looking to satirize
the British officer class of the 1930s, he created a character, borrowing
the name from the “object” to satirize stupidity.
A 1943 movie made the name very popular, but Winston Churchill still
wanted it banned because it showed older officers as doddery. The
word is now usually used to describe someone who is out of touch.
What word/object and which 1943 movie?
16

Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Griot is the artificial intelligence system designed by Shuri for
the virtual plane that guides Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman)
during an epic battle scene in the film Blank Panther.
"Griot" is also the West African word for storyteller, and many of
the Blank Panther characters speak the South African language
of Xhosa.
Who, a Xhosa speaker in real-life, gave the voice-over for
Griot?
1

Astley John Cooper wrote an article in The Times in 1891,
advocating setting up something to enable people to have a
better understanding of the British Empire. The matter was
put on the back-burner for many years until a journalist
working for the ________ Spectator in Canada, Melville Marks
Robinson, took it up. He liked what he saw in 1928, and
wanted a more informal version. The town where Robinson’s
paper was published put up a purse of $ 30,000 to cover
costs.
What did this lead to? Which town?
2

This 1969 song was perhaps India’s first Indie-pop hit.
With music by Mini Kava and vocals by Uma Pocha, it still
defines this city’s traditional catholic tune. It had bi-lingual
lyrics, Indian instruments alongside Western ones, and
an addictive melody.
Name the song.
Who is Uma Pocha’s younger sister?
3

Trevor Noah

Commonwealth Games
Hamilton

Bombay Meri Hai
Usha Uthup

Although many Gen X music fans know the song “Istanbul (Not
Constantinople)” as a They Might Be Giants song, it was first recorded
by The Four Lads in 1953.
This novelty song was later copied by another music great in 1985
with totally different lyrics. While he acknowledged having been
inspired by The Supremes, he perhaps missed this song.
Bollywood duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal flicked the same tune for their
superhit song in 1989.
Name the 1985 and 1989 songs.
1

Part Time Lover by Stevie Wonder
Na Jaane Kahaan Se Aayi Hai, Chaalbaaz

This person founded an institution in a small town in Kerala in
1902. It is today well-known across India, and the town itself has
become synonymous with the organization. In 1933, British India
honoured him with the title, “Vaidyaratnam”.
Quite appropriately, this institution owns fairly large tracts of
land near Ernakulam and Pallakad.
What is the place and the institution?
What land tracts are these?
2

Kotakkal Arya Vaidya Sala
An Ayurvedic healthcare centre/hospital founded by PS Varier
They own herbal gardens which provide the herbs to AVS
factories

The subject of this painting was also an art critic of sorts.
He wrote a play called Therese Raquin, in which one of the
main characters is a painter, whose work is denigrated by art
critics. It is believed that this character was based on his
friend Paul Cezanne.
Identify the subject and identify the painter of this
work.
3

Portrait of Émile Zola by Édouard Manet

A variety of the zither, it is found in various cultures,
including in India, where a variant of it is the santoor.
Considered an ancestor of the piano, it is usually trapezoidal
in shape; variants include the Hammered, the Appalachian,
the Banjo, and the Electric.
A famous work from the 19th century mentions it – there is a
vision of a maid playing it, and singing about Mount Abora.
Name the instrument, and the work.
4

Dulcimer
Kubla Khan
or, A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The library plaza in Columbus, Indiana has three significant
structures. The First Christian church at one end was designed by Eliel
Saarinen, and the library was designed by IM Pei. There is a large
open space in the middle, in which this sculpture stands. The artist
designed this in his studio in England, and it stands 20 feet high and
12 feet wide, and measures 5.5 tons.
The artist mentioned that ever since he saw another famous structure
as a kid, he was inspired to do work that could be walked through
and around.
Name the sculptor and the inspiration (5)
What is the rather prosaic, descriptive name of the work? (5)
5

Henry Moore; he was inspired by the Stonehenge
Large Arch

These were a regular feature of the 18th-century ______ trade to
Europe, where they were prized as wall hangings and bed and table
coverings. In fact, over the years, the word itself has come to refer to
a bedspread or cover. They typically show a central flower-and-fruit-
bearing serpentine tree emerging from a hillock with stylized peaks
or rocks. They were made in India using the kalamkari technique, and
created primarily for export to the Dutch and English markets, and to
wealthy Europeans in countries like Sri Lanka.
What is this called?
What is the blank, a more generic name given to such printed,
multi-coloured fabric?
6

Palampore
Chintz

This stone statue is at the Oxford University Museum
of Natural History.
ID the person.
Also, tell us what is being represented to honor
him.
7

Carl von Linnaeus holds a sprig of Linnaea borealis, and
at his feet is the Lapland plant Menyanthes trifoliata

In 2014, the EBU attempted to reclaim £631,000 in taxes from
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs department. The EBU lost every
appeal and re-appeal, until in 2017, the matter went to the European
Court of Justice. The dispute in question has been causing an
argument for decades, usually around pub tables after several drinks,
but also among governing bodies and lawyers.
Finally, for the EBU, Polish lawyer, Maciej Szpunar, invoked
Wittgenstein’s “Philosophical Investigations”, in which he had argued
that the meaning of words was nothing more than how we use them.
The EBU won in 2017.
What was the EBU fighting for?
8

Game vs Sport argument for Bridge and thus taxation
being different
EBU – European Bridge Union

▪ Three questions carrying six points each; three/part, if applicable
▪ All answers are one word/phrase/name
▪ Surnames will suffice, unless specified

This scientist appeared as "Hero Scientist of the Atomic Bomb" in the
March 1946 issue of Marvels of Science.
It's the real-life story of smuggling a Nobel laureate out of his
Nazi-occupied country in 1943, followed by the British and
Norwegian secret mission to blow up a critical part of the German's
atomic bomb program.
His escape was harrowing and he almost died of asphyxiation while
hiding in a British airplane's bomb bay!
Which scientist?
1

Nicola Pietrangeli was an Italian tennis player, who was a
multiple-Grand Slam champion, and adept at both singles
and doubles. He also represented Italy with distinction for
nearly two decades.
His name appeared in the Indian media earlier in 2018, in
the context of one of his achievements being overtaken by
an Indian sportsman in the same sport.
What was the achievement that was surpassed?
2

The earliest known printed citation of this expression is in James Kirke
Paulding's Westward Ho! It appeared in several American newspapers
throughout the 1830s, and is also expressed in this watercolour by
Keith Mountford. The painting refers back to the time when hunting
for raccoons was a fad.
The expression was used as the title of a bestselling 2017 self-help
book which sought to explain “the surprising science behind why
everything you know about success is (mostly) wrong”.
What are we referring to?
3

Dr. Neils Bohr

Leander Paes overtook his record to record the
maximum number of Davis Cup doubles wins

Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Dr Zakir Hussain had an untimely death in May 1969. The norm was
to elevate the V-P to the post of President. The Congress however,
wanted to break protocol and nominated X.
Indira Gandhi however, had misgivings about X and tried to nominate
her own candidate, Jagjivan Ram. She justified this by saying that the
latter was an appropriate choice given what was being
commemorated that year (1969); it was not accepted, though.
What was her justification?
Some years later, X went on to become the first non-Congressman to
be elected to a post. Who and which post?
9

1969 was Gandhi’s centenary and Jagjivan Ram was a
‘Harijan’
Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy – first non-Congress speaker

As per the principle of “uncertainty avoidance,” a concept that describes a
culture’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity, in unstable societies, this
might be taken as a sign of duplicity, hostility, or ignorance.
Historical explanations might be more accurate considering that
throughout the 20th century, millions of people have died in this country
from war, starvation, or imprisonment, thus lowering the general happiness
quotient by a great degree. However, all this is making news all over again
for a totally different reason, thanks to the government of this country
getting instructors from franchises like McDonald’s and other western
retailers to teach their people something.
What is the reason and what’s being taught?
10

Russia is teaching its workers how to smile for the
2018 FIFA World Cup

________’s Delight is the highest peak in Belize and is in the heart of
the Mayan mountains. It was named only in 1989 by Sharon Matola
who named it after an author who wrote a novel that features
pre-historic animals and dinosaurs being found on a South American
plateau, with the central character based on the explorer Percy
Fawcett (Lost City of Z) and the Scottish physician William Rutherford.
Till the 1980s, most thought that Victoria Peak was the highest
mountain in Belize, and so Sharon was inspired by this book, where
she recalled how the central character was always delighted to
discover new species of exotic animals in South America.
Who was the author? Which book and character?
11

Doyle’s Delight after Arthur Conan Doyle
The Lost World - the character being Professor Challenger

The 30% club is an organization started in UK in 2010, with a specific,
measurable metric (of 30%). The number was 12.5% when they
started, and it has improved to 28.9% now, through their efforts of
building awareness, supporting public policy, collaborating and
going the voluntary route, as opposed to the mandatory one.
The 30% club has now expanded its footprint to many countries
across the globe. The global number is 15%, while India languishes at
12%, and that too after some statutory interventions recently.
What does the 30% club aim for?
12

30% of board-members in companies being women
They started with specific focus on FTSE-100 companies

In 2014, three truck drivers sued Oakhurst Dairy, seeking more than four
years’ worth of overtime pay that they had been denied. Maine law requires
workers to be paid 1.5 times their normal rate for each hour worked after 40
hours, but it carves out some exemptions :
The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing,
packing for shipment or distribution of:
(1) Agricultural produce;
(2) Meat and fish products; and
(3) Perishable foods.
The relatively small-scale dispute gained international notoriety in 2017, when
the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled in favor of the
drivers by ordering a US$5M settlement.
What (or its absence) did the court cite as an indicator of uncertainty to
rule in favor of one of the parties?
13

The Oxford Comma
In a list of three or more items — like “beans, potatoes and rice” — some people would
put a comma after potatoes, and some would leave it out. If there were a comma after
“shipment,” it might have been clear that the law exempted the distribution of
perishable foods. But the appeals court on Monday sided with the drivers, saying the
absence of a comma produced enough uncertainty to rule in their favor. In other words:
Oxford comma defenders won this round.

This country’s currency has lost 99.9% of its value since 2016, but
thanks to subsidy, it also has the cheapest electricity in the
world. This last fact makes its citizens the biggest buyers of the
contraption shown.
Which country that has the world’s largest number of individuals
doing a particular activity?
What is the contraption shown?
14

Venezuela, where the Bolivar has devalued by almost 100%
It has the highest number of bitcoin miners
The contraption is the Antminer S9, the most popular bitcoin
miner

This is the Villa Grande in Oslo that today ironically houses the Center
for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities. From 1941-45,
it was the residence for a person who had came to international
prominence as a close “collaborator” of explorer Fridtjof Nansen,
organizing humanitarian relief during the Russian famine of 1921 in
Povolzhye. His family name that entered the dictionaries worldwide is
based on the village of Kvislemark near Slagelse, Denmark.
Which name that has now become a noun and what does the
word mean?
15

Quisling
from Vidkun Quisling, the Norwegian Nazi collaborator whose
surname became a noun for traitor

This 1978 Bollywood movie was the directorial debut of Muzzafar Ali
(the first of the director’s Awadh trilogy along with Anjuman and
Umrao Jaan).
Nana Patekar was introduced in this movie, Akhlaq Mohammad Khan
'Shahryar’ made his debut as lyricist, and the playback singer
Hariharan made his debut too.
Name the movie which literally means ‘departure’.
Also, tell us who the movie is dedicated to.
16

Gaman
Dedicated to the taxi drivers of Mumbai
The film deals with the issue of the futility of urban migration, using the
story of a migrant from Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai, who tries to find a
foothold in his new life as a taxi driver.

I apologize, but I do not have enough context to identify the incomplete word or phrase being referred to here. Could you please provide some additional clues

I apologize, but I do not have enough context to identify the incomplete word or phrase being referred to here. Could you please provide some additional clues

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I apologize, but I do not have enough context to identify the incomplete word or phrase being referred to here. Could you please provide some additional clues