Latest Questions
Sunday, December 21, 2008
192. Pop goes the sequence...
Velocity and Acceleration. What follows are the popular terms for the higher order derivatives of distance wrt time!!
190. Mind Your Language..
X = Percival Christopher Wren
Y = H Martin
Together they wrote the grammar bibles (High School English Grammar and Composition being one) which most Indian children encounter as a rite of passage!
Y = H Martin
Together they wrote the grammar bibles (High School English Grammar and Composition being one) which most Indian children encounter as a rite of passage!
189. On the road to Moreh....
Incredibly enough, the bulk of Moreh's population is constituted by Tamils
Saturday, December 6, 2008
187. True Humility....
Curate's Egg : something that is partly good and partly bad, but as a result is entirely spoiled, something having a mix of good and bad qualities!
183. Favouring the odds?
Gerrymander
Printed in 1812, this political cartoon illustrates the electoral districts drawn by the Massachusetts legislature to favor the incumbent Democratic-Republican party candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry over the Federalists, from which the term is derived.
Printed in 1812, this political cartoon illustrates the electoral districts drawn by the Massachusetts legislature to favor the incumbent Democratic-Republican party candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry over the Federalists, from which the term is derived.
181. The Set-Jet?
The trend of people visiting places/countries/locations which have been used as background settings for a movie. A la Bruges, Switzerland et al.
179. Here's looking at you, Brit...
The "white" cliffs of Dover.
Albion being the archaic name as to an approaching ship, Britain would appear all "white"!
Albion being the archaic name as to an approaching ship, Britain would appear all "white"!
178. Devil on Horseback?
The Janjaweed (which is not derived as some would like to, from ganja and weed!!)
176. Fact or Fiction?
Winnemac, the fictional US state which is the setting for many of Sinclair Lewis's novels: Babbit, Arrowsmith et al.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
174. Links in the Chain of Life...
Ans: The Scarlet Pimpernel. Autobiography of Baroness Emmuska Orczy.
173. Washed away...
172. The Man Who Laughs?
Ans: Joker, the Batman villain. Bob Kane was inspired after seeing a photo of Conrad Veidt from the movie.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
160. Filmspotting?
The 1939 Cannes Film Festival never happened because of the start of WW-2. So the first Palm d'Or was awarded retrospectively, to "Union Pacific" in 2002.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
144. Clever Horse?
The picture shows "Clever Hans" the horse performing one of his many arithmetic tasks by tapping out his hooves. Later on it was discovered that the horse would pick up involuntary postural clues from its trainer which would help it arrive at the right answer in a majority of cases, if not all. This is turn gave rise to the Clever Hans effect which is an important artifact in animal cognition and observer-expectancy effects.....
Friday, August 29, 2008
140. Expirements with Diamonds....
Ans: Lavoisier's experiment on diamonds burning when exposed to air.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
133. How does it matter?
"Not one iota of difference" - signifying a meaningless difference.
The two alternative Greek words, 'homoousios' and 'homoiousios' differed only by an iota - the i - the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet.
The two alternative Greek words, 'homoousios' and 'homoiousios' differed only by an iota - the i - the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet.
132. An address to remember?
36 Chowringee Lane! ( The question was essentially a plot summary of the movie)
131. Pick-Up line...
"Come with me to the Casbah"
The Loony tunes character was Pepe Le Pew, the romantic skunk!
The Loony tunes character was Pepe Le Pew, the romantic skunk!
129. Singing his way outta singsing......
Leadbelly.
Walter Boyd supposedly got that epithet after surviving multiple bullet-wounds on his stomach!
Walter Boyd supposedly got that epithet after surviving multiple bullet-wounds on his stomach!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
118. The Caesar of the East?
Ans: Afonso de Albuquerque. The variety of mango Alphonso is named after the guy. The corrupt name is Aphoos or Hapoos.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
111. Gift from the Heavens...
Umberto Eco. Eco is supposedly an acronym of ex caelis oblatus (Latin: a gift from the heavens), which was given to his grandfather (a foundling) by a city official.
109. Big Yankees in Little China
The beginning of Ping Pong diplomacy - these were all American Table Tennis players!
106. Rainman?
Goscinny died approximately two thirds through "Tintin in Belgium". Hence as a mark of respect, the rest of the book carried on with the rainy melancholy mood....
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
93. Connect?
Pompadour - the shoe, the hairstyle made popular by icons like Presley and the champagne glass, the shape of which was supposedly inspired by Mme de Pompadour's bust :)
Friday, May 2, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
52. The Virgin Killer!
Ans: This explains how the Maldivian people converted from Buddhism to Islam. A muslim traveler suggested that he be sent to the temple in the place of a girl to read verses of the Quran there. After the traveler was sent to the temple, the demon disappeared and was never heard of again. Everyone was grateful that the demon disappeared and in gratitude they accepted the faith of the muslim traveler.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
48. The Rasputin Episode
The now common declaration that "Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental" at the beginning of a movie.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
34. Bologna to Rome!
Ans: Crystallization, the process of fallng in love.
This transformative process actuates in terms of four steps along a journey:
1. Admiration – one marvels at the qualities of the loved one.
2. Acknowledgement – one acknowledges the pleasantness of having gained the loved one's interest.
3. Hope – one envisions gaining the love of the loved one.
4. Delight – one delights in overrating the beauty and merit of the person whose love one hopes to win.
This transformative process actuates in terms of four steps along a journey:
1. Admiration – one marvels at the qualities of the loved one.
2. Acknowledgement – one acknowledges the pleasantness of having gained the loved one's interest.
3. Hope – one envisions gaining the love of the loved one.
4. Delight – one delights in overrating the beauty and merit of the person whose love one hopes to win.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Connect?
Ans: Pablo Neruda and Jan Neruda. Pablo Neruda took his pen name from the Czech writer and poet Jan Neruda.
Stamp dedicated to whom?
Ans: Bertolt Brecht. The upper portion shows a scene from his play Life of Galileo.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Identify both the painter and the painted?
Ans: Painter-Salvador Dali, Painted-Johannes Vermeer
Painting-The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table
Painting-The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
What does this map represent?
Ans: Participation in the Kyoto Protocol: green indicates states parties, yellow indicates states with ratification pending, red indicates those that signed but declined ratification of the treaty and grey is indifferent.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Where would you come across this?
This is at the Swaroski Museum - Innsbruck Austria. The eyes are made of crystals!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Who's the kid?
Ans: Charles Schulz. Schulz's drawings were first published by Robert Ripley in his Ripley's Believe It or Not!.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Whats common to these famous directors with reference to the cartoonish characters??
Ans: The directors are (from the top): Oliver Stone, Jane Campion, John Woo, Guisseppe Tornatore and Majid Majidi. They will all be making short movies to promote the 2008 Beijing Olympics - by invitation of the Chinese Government.
The cartoonish characters are "the five friendlies" - the mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing.
The cartoonish characters are "the five friendlies" - the mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
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