PHOENIX QUIZ by Aditya World Wars: 1.The 'Carpathia', was sunk by torpedoes from a German U - Boat during the First World War on July 17, 1918.How is it famous? It is the ship, which came to the rescue of some of the drowning passengers of the 'Titanic' 2.Why is the 'Map room' in the White House, Washington, D.C. so called? Because it was used by Roosevelt to follow troop movements in WW-II 3.India Gate in Delhi was built in honor of the memory of soldiers killed in which war? WW-I 4.We have heard and read about World War I and World War II. But what is World War 3.0? Bestseller on Microsoft antitrust trial 5.What were the names of the bombs, which were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima during World War II? Fat man and little boy 6.What was developed in Germany during World War II when local bottlers ran out of the ingredients for Coca Cola? Fanta 7.In WW-I, what occurred 'at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month? The mutual treaty concluding the WW-I came into force at 11.00 hrs on 11th November 1918 8.In World War II what was Operation Dynamo? Evacuation of Dunkirk 9.During World War II, B.O.A.C. used to fly mail planes from Australia to the U.K. via Calcutta. But these planes were not allowed to land at Calcutta's Dum Dum airport. Why? As they were boat planes i.e. amphibious they were routed to the harbor instead. 10.In World War II, what was Operation Bernhard? Printing of fake currency Solar System: 1. Which planet in the Solar System spins in the opposite direction to all the others? Venus 2. What is the most obvious feature of Mercury's landscape? Craters 3. What material are Saturn's rings made from? Ice 4. Beagle 2 is scheduled to rendezvous with which planet early in the next millennium? Mars 5. What is the temperature on the surface of Pluto? -230°C 6. What is responsible for the Earth's aurora? Particles from the solar wind 7. Which astronomer discovered the planet Uranus? William Herschel 8. Triton is a moon of which planet? Neptune 9. What chemicals make up Jupiter's atmosphere? Hydrogen, methane and ammonia 10. What is the farthest planet from sun as observed recently on March 1999? Neptune (from Jan 1979 to mar 1999) Indian History: 1.With what famous discovery in 1921 is Raklal Banerjee and Dayaram Sahani credited? Mohenjadaro and Harappa 2.Zahir-ud-din Mohammed is the real name of which famous emperor who ruled in India? Babar 3.What was the 'Sally Bomber’? The plane, which crashed killing Subhash Chandra Bose 4.Who carried away the Peacock Throne from India in 1739 A.D.? Nadir Shah 5.What was Tarikh-i-khudadadi? Autobiography of Tipu sultan 6.When she was born, she was named Manikarnika. How do we know her better? Rani of Jhansi 7.Which area was ruled by the Asaf Jahi dynasty? Hyderabad 8.What title did the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb bestow on the rulers of Jaipur, feeling that they were 25 percent more brave and handsome than the rest of the world? Sawai 9.What is dedicated to Arjuman Banu Begum? The Taj Mahal 10.Jawaharlal Nehru became the President of INC in the historic Lahore session in 1929. Whom did he succeed? Motilal Nehru Science and technology: 1.What first did Samuel Hopkins achieve in 1790 in the US? He got the first (numbered) US Patent (US Patent #1). Thousands of patents were issued before his, but he was the first to get one after the numbering started. 2.In 1948 Einstein was offered this, but politely declined. What? The Presidency of Israel. 3.This 1926 Fritz Lang science fiction masterpiece featured a mechanical being whose creator had magical symbols carved on his wall. The film was liked a lot by Hitler. Which film? Metropolis. 4.What is being described here: They (the narrator’s uncle’s household) debated whether to stay indoors or take their chance in the open, for the buildings were now shaking in violent shocks, and seemed to be swaying to and fro as if they were torn from their foundations. Outside, on the other hand, there was the danger of falling pumice stones... Pliny the Younger’s account of the disaster that destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD. 5.The English astronomer Fred Hoyle once said, 'Space isn’t remote at all. It’s only an hour’s drive if _______________________________.' Fill in the blank. ...Your car could go straight upwards! 6.Designed by the architect William LeBaron Jenney, the first of its kind was built for the Home Insurance Company in Chicago, in 1885. What? The first ‘skyscraper’. It was a ten-storey marble building. 7.Once he passed out of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, Einstein supported himself with odd jobs before finally accepting an offer as an examiner of applications at this place. Which? The Swiss Patent Office in Berne. Unfortunately, almost nothing is known about which patent applications he approved and which he rejected. This might throw light on whether any of the proposed patents stimulated his thinking on the various theories he put forth in physics. 8.In 1926 he pioneered fiber optics, radar, and 'noctovision', a system for seeing at night by using infrared rays. For what invention is he better known? For the invention of television. The person of course is John Logie Baird. 9.Many scientists call 1905 the Annus Mirabilis, the miracle year, because in this year alone Einstein produced four path breaking scientific research papers, which would have taken a good scientist a lifetime to produce. This year has been compared to 1666, when another scientist produced a wealth of path breaking inventions and discoveries. Who? Isaac Newton. In 1666, he gave an explanation for the spectral nature of sunlight, invented differential and integral calculus, and derived the theory of gravitation. 10.What is common to diamonds, graphite and buckyballs? All three are forms of pure carbon. Indian Mythology: 1. In the Mahabharata, which animal accompanied the Pandavas on their last journey? A dog 2. Which Guru initiated the construction of the Golden Temple at Amritsar? Guru Ramdas 3. The Three Jewels or Triratna is the three pillars of the Jain creed. What are the three pillars? Right knowledge, faith and conduct 4. In Islam, who is a Hafeez? One who can recite Koran from memory 5. In which country is The Ramayana known as 'The Ramakien’? Indonesia 6. In Mahabharata, what was the Anjalika? Weapon used by Arjuna to kill Karna 7. To which god of the Hindu pantheon is the Gayatri Mantra addressed? Surya 8. He was named Dasagreeva. However, he is better known by another name because he screamed in pain. How do we know him? Ravana 9. Which is the only country that has a temple with a living goddess residing in it? Nepal - Parvathi (a young virgin chosen from Newar community) 10. How is Tensing Gyatso known to his followers? XIV Dalai Lama Computers and www: 1.Who was the first customer for the UNIVAC, the first US commercial computer? The US census department. 2.Beginning September 14, 1995, there was a change in the context of domain name registration. What was the change? Registration of domain names was no longer free. 3.This was the first national commercial online service in the US to offer Internet access to its subscribers. It opened up an email connection in July 1992 and full Internet service in November 1992. Which? Delphi. 4.How do we know the Practical Extraction and Reporting Language? As PERL, an interpreted script language created by Larry Wall. 5.There was also a bit of luck for this person. His family had connections with John Opel, then the IBM chairman, who worked for a powerful charity, the United Way. This person’s mother, Mary, sat on the same board. Who? Bill Gates. 6.This company began its life in 1985, and was originally founded as Quantum Computer Services. It changed to its present name in 1989. Which company? America Online. 7.What was Dennis Ritchie, before he invented 'C'? A well-known hacker. 8.The origin of this company’s name is disputed. Some say that it is an allusion to the Beatle's record company and others to a summer that its co-founder spent picking fruits in Oregon. Which company? Apple Computers. 9.HTML is derived from a parent Markup Language. What is it called? SGML - Standardized Generalized Markup Language. This became the lingua franca in 1986 for formatting of text and documents. 10.On October 29th 1956, the first of its kind was born at IBM. The original was the size of two refrigerators. What? The first hard disk. It had 5MB of data at a cost of about $10,000 per MB. Cricket: 1.Connect Bob Simpson and Tied tests? He was a player in the first and the manager in the second tied test 2.Who is credited with inventing the leg glance? Ranjitsinghji 3.Connect Moshin Khan, Andrew Hilditch, Darryl Cullinan and Steve Waugh? All were out handling the ball 4.The highest electronically measured speed for a ball bowled is 160.45 kmph. Who is it? Jeff Thompson 5.What is different about cricket matches played in ancient china? They were staged fights between carefully nurtured killer crickets 6.What is called the corridor of uncertainty? The line on or around the off-stump 7.Where do you find the fielding position long stop? Behind the wicket keeper to prevent 4 byes 8.It was originally called the scone theory. It became famous as what? Bodyline 9.I'm the first Indian to score a century against the entire test playing nations. I also scored a century on my first class debut. My brother-in-law is a legend. Who am I? Gundappa Viswanath 10.Name the two cricketers who traveled around the world presenting the talk show named "The King and I"? 'King' Richards and Ian Botham Current affairs: 1.Beijing recently won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics. Which city came in second? Toronto 2.What is the claim to fame of Ms Denise Quinones? Current Ms Universe 3.Who will be the Communist Party of India-Marxist nominee from Ranaghat (West) for the May 2001 assembly elections in West Bengal? Jyotirmoy Sikdar 4.Name the village from where the Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar was kidnapped by Veerappan? Gajanur 5.Which topical entity is a part of Buffalo Networks Pvt Ltd? Tehelka.com 6.Why is the UK-based company Celador very much in the news of late? It holds worldwide rights for 'Who wants to be a millionaire' 7.Who is Aastha Arora? India's One-billionth baby 8.Which US consulate in the world processes the maximum number of H1B visas? Chennai, India 9.Who won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in April 2000 for her maiden effort 'Interpreter of Maladies’? Jhumpa Lahiri 10.In early 2000, the owner of Consolidated Press Holdings was in India to announce a series of new business ventures. Name him? Kerry Packer, the richest Aussie business tycoon Art & Architecture: 1.What is the official residence of the South Korean President? Blue House 2.In which country did Venetian blinds originate? Japan 3.Why is the White House in Washington, D. C. white? To cover the smoke stains by a fire set by British in 1814 4.The twin towers of the World Trade Center, New York City are not the same height but what is the difference in storeys? None 5.Where is the largest church in the world? Who designed it? Vatican - Michelangelo 6.What was the tallest building in the world until 1930? The Eiffel tower 7.What, in the medieval architectural world, was a manticore? Human headed animal 8.In which famous French palace will you find the Hall of Mirrors? Versailles 9.Whose tomb was discovered in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor in Egypt? King Tutankhamen 10.Which palace incorporates three cathedrals, seven churches, a monastery and a convent? The Kremlin Moscow General: 1.Who discovered the polio vaccine in 1953? Jonas Salk 2.Which Indian sportsman's autobiography is 'By God's Decree'? Kapil Dev 3.What was R.K. Narayan's first book? Swami and friends 4.Who invented the bifocal lens? Benjamin Franklin 5.Which temple's gopuram is the inspiration for the Tamil Nadu government logo? Srivilliputhur temple 6.What is the collective noun for Bears? Sloth or sleuth 7.Which flower is represented in the Scouts / Guides symbol? Fleur-de-lis 8.Expand MIDI. (As in MIDI sound files) Musical instrument Digital Interface 9.How is the Asian ruler Temujin better known? Genghis Khan 10.In which temple is Shiva worshipped in his form as 'Fire'? Thiruvannamalai