Latest Questions
Monday, August 24, 2009
295. La Gripe Española?
Spain was a neutral country in WWI and had no special censorship for news against the disease and its consequences. Most other countries did not allow the press to report deaths.
287. What light from yonder window breaks?
This is supposedly the window where Juliet pined for Romeo and which facilitated numerous rendezvous between the two at the House of the Capulets!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
283. Horny Heave ho!
The instrument is the Botswain's whistle - the artifact is called the Bosun's chair.
280. Pride, Prejudice and then some more...
Zombies (the book is a retelling of the classic with the minor difference that all the characters are zombies now...)
276. What, no sports?
Only people to win Olympic medals competing under the banner of the Olympic flag.
274. The noble laureates who flunked....
The group was termed the "Termites". After Lewis Terman, who devised the IQ test.
271. Encore! after two centuries...
The first time was for the opening of the La Scala in Milan. Second time around for the re-opening of the La Scala post restoration.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
267. The last cut
The answer I had in mind was Mozarella, but apparently Tagliatelle also fits the bill :)
Monday, May 11, 2009
255. Red, Yellow or Green?
Red = Endangered/close to extinction Species - hence avoid
Yellow = Can become extinct if consumption rates continue - search for replacements
Green = Abundant - Gorge all you can!!
Yellow = Can become extinct if consumption rates continue - search for replacements
Green = Abundant - Gorge all you can!!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
244. Monalisa with a Moustache?
L.H.O.O.Q., is a pun, since the letters when pronounced in French form the sentence, Elle a chaud au cul. "Elle a chaud au cul" literally translates into "She has a hot ass".
243. How Einstein Could Not Learn To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
Einstein's sad face on the TIME Cover of the Person of the Century. Einstein was sad because of the incident and the same got manifested on the Cover.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
234. Tooth-aches and annunciation...-
A coded sequence employed by members of the Sicilian mafia to recognize each other in public places.
232. The flowers of Yamazakura...
The first four Kamikaze squadrons were named Yamato, Shikishima, Yamazakura and the Asahi based on this famous Tanka!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
230. The mother of all hyperboles...
The patent was granted for an instrument used for slicing bread and hence the hyperbole "the greatest thing since sliced bread"!
227. The Privilege du Blanc...
Can dress in white when visiting the Pope. Otherwise the de facto and expected dress code for ladies is black.
Monday, March 16, 2009
224. Connect?
1. The movie 'Glory to the Filmmaker!' 2. Takeshi Kitano 3. Venice Film Festival
In 2007, the Venice Film Festival introduced a new award named after the film, Kitano was also the first recipient of the Glory to the Filmmaker! award.
In 2007, the Venice Film Festival introduced a new award named after the film, Kitano was also the first recipient of the Glory to the Filmmaker! award.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
219. Spice and Smoke....
Kretek is primarily due to the crackling sound made by the spices when they burn. Essentially Onomatopoeia...
217. Harold and Maude
Harolding = Hanging around in cemeteries/graveyards and other such morbid places....
Thursday, February 12, 2009
214. Kiss and Start Telling?
Kissing the Blarney Stone.
According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab....
According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab....
213. A whole lotta whiskey....
Whisky Galore! was a 1949 comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Compton MacKenzie. Both the movie and the novel are based on the real-life 1941 shipwreck of the S.S. Politician and the unauthorized taking of its cargo of whisky in the Hebridean island of Eriskay
In France, the movie was retitled Whisky a Go Go, after which a Paris discothèque and later a West Hollywood nightclub were named, ultimately giving the English language the term go-go dancer.
Phew.
In France, the movie was retitled Whisky a Go Go, after which a Paris discothèque and later a West Hollywood nightclub were named, ultimately giving the English language the term go-go dancer.
Phew.
207. Two to tango....
Frédéric Chopin
Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant, best know by the pseuodonym George Sand.
Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant, best know by the pseuodonym George Sand.
205. A Whale Tail?
This is the image you see when Twitter stops working.
The image is that of a Beluga whale - which in distress produces extremely high-pitched tweets - being rescued by a group of birds. The relevance to the context is apparent.
The image is that of a Beluga whale - which in distress produces extremely high-pitched tweets - being rescued by a group of birds. The relevance to the context is apparent.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
203. The Mizo Cultural Society
The "Mautam" : The flowering of the Bamboo flower every 48 years which in turn gave rise to widespread famine (the flower attracts rats, the rats destroy crops)- The Mizo Cultural Society organized itself into the Mautam front to tackle the famine and from then on morphed into the Mizo National Front to aggressively push for statehood for Mizoram,
202. Doodh ka Doodh.....Pani ka Pani!
The Swan - (Hansa) from which supposedly originates the spiritual title "Paramhansa"
Sunday, January 11, 2009
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