1)My favorite!! What did Calvin [of Calvin & Hobbes] modify his "TRANSMORGIFIER" into? Ans: A duplicator, ethicator and time machine in that order. 2) Literature. What is the origin and meaning of the phrase “ ”an albatross around your neck” which is now a part of everyday English? Ans : “ The Rime of The Ancient Mariner “ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. – feeling of guilt . He has written articles on Boer War. He was an eye doctor by profession and a motor cycle specialist. He played against W.G Grace and even proposed the idea of wearing Helmet in WWII. ( His fictional work lives on 221 Baker Street) Who is this person ? Ans: Arthur Conan Doyle 5)”Is this the face that launched a thousand ships? ” Who said this and about whom? Ans: This was said by Faustus in Chritopher Marlowe's famous "Dr. Faustus " . The lady in Question is Helen Of Troy. 6) This cry was originally used by German Knights during there Jew Hunts and in its entirety means: " Jerusalem is lost to the infidels and we are on the road to paradise". What??? Ans: HIP HIP HURRAH HIP was an acronym for Hiersolyms est perdita meaning Jerusalem is destroyed and hu-raj is slavonic for paradise. 6.Toughie. He was said to be one of the most handsome youths in his time. He claimed that in his previous life he was Euphorbus, a warrior in the Trojan War. Legend also has it that one of his thighs was of gold and that he could communicate with animals. Who am I talking about?? Ans: Pythagoras 7) More F1. This former world champion driver founded an international airline. He lost an ear and was nearly burned to death in an accident at the Nurburgring in 1976 but was racing again two months later and clinched his second World Championship title the following year. Who am I talking about ? Ans. Niki Lauda 8) Music : Ronan Keating is to “ Ronan” as Stephen Gately is to : Ans : "A New Beginning" (we are talking about the debut solo albums of these singers from Boyzone) 9) Iin the middle ages, the planets were supposed to be the controllers of human health and so people took great care to appease them. Jupiter was said to be the most powerful among the gods. How has this practice survived till today ? Ans: The symbol Rx used on medical prescriptions. This was a symbol of Jupiter. 10) This was considered by the ancient greeks to be the most deadly creature alive. It could be killed only by crows, roosters, weasels and mongooses. Its eggs take a full nine years to hatch and supposedly the eggs are laid by enchanted roosters and then hatched by toads. Identify. ANS: BASILISK 11) .Harappans had trade relation with Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. A lot of seals , ceramics, beads, dice of Indus Valley Civilization are found in Mesopotamia. However objects of Mesopotamian origin are almost non-existent in Harappa. Why?? Ans : Mesopotamia traditionally exported leather goods and perfumes ---which are bio-degradable. Hence non existent now. Some of it's round/cylindrical seals are however found in Indus Valley Civilization. 12) During the Great Plague in Europe, what was made compulsory for students at Eton to ward off infection?? ANS: SMOKING . Tobacco was supposed to have plague preventive properties.... 13) Where would you find the offices of the following companies under the same roof?? a. Radio Tests Limited. b. Universal Export Company. c. Delayney Bros Ltd. d. Omnium Corporation. Ans: M's office. ( MI6 headquarters, James Bond's office etc. ) 14) Flags. Name the Only country whose national flag is not rectangular in shape. Ans : Nepal ( red with a zig zag pattern ) 15) Easy. Which organization has the motto Blood and Fire “ on its badge ? Ans: Salvation Army. 16.Workable.This is powered by an Intel Pentium processor with MMX technology and was specially modified by Intel Engineers.The software was written by a guy called Walt Woltosz and is called "Equalizer".It is also equipped with a speech synthesizer and a wireless remote control for entertainment systems. What?? Ans: Actually the software-hardware combo which drives Stephen Hawking’s wheelchair as well as helps in his communication. 17. WWII What was Pluto ? Ans: A cross channel system which was laid to supply the Allied forces with oil during the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944. Pluto stands for Pipeline Under The Oceans. 18) What does the Beaufort scale measure? Ans : Wind velocity- devised by British admiral Francis Beaufort 19) Why is the P.O Box number of ABC- Australian Broadcasting Corporation 9994 ? Ans : Bradman’s average- 99.94!! . 20) Sitter. The official residence of the President of USA is the Whitehouse . Name the official residence of the President of France. Ans : Elysee Palace. 21) Internet. Larry Page and Sergei Brian are famous for what ? Ans : They came up with Google. 23) This drummer is most remembered for his live Jams. Part of a legendary quartet in the seventies, he is remembered by his bandmates as the greatest drummer .His most famous drum solo was the "Moby Dick", reaching upto half an hour in length sometimes! Who is this guy who died tragically on September 25,1980 ? Ans: John Bonham. 24). During the vedic age, a king's enthronement was given religious sanction thru a no. of yajnas. However 3 stood most important of all. One of these was Ashwamedha Yahna, name the other two. Ans : Rajsuya and Vajpeya. Rajsuya declared the king and in Vajpeya the king won a chariot race which declared him the king. 25) What was the anti-NAZI graffiti initiated by a belgian lawyer, Victor de Levelaye, on 14 January 1941? Ans: It was the V for Victory sign [as against the HAIL HITLER] 26) First it was made of bricks, then they doubled it's size and replaced the bricks by stones. Then they added 4 gateways--one in each direction. Railings were also added which were carved ornamentally by ivory carvers and served as an advertisement of their skill. What am I talking about? Ans : Sanchi Stupa--made during Ashoka's period and doubled during Sunga dynasty. Gates were donated by Gautamiputra Satkarni. 27) . What is the martial art that refers to the weapons art form of Okinawa and Japan? The word literally means "ancient martial way". Ans : Kobudo 28) Which was the first company to file a patent for the "Sound" its product made? Ans Harley Davidson Inc.[for its potato potato sound] 29) Who said this about whom-" I think he has a Napoleonic concept about himself and his company, an arrogance that derives from unalloyed power and success, with no hard experiences or reverses whatsoever" . Pretty famous and recently in the newspapers. Ans : .This was Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson lashing out at Bill Gates. 30) Potter Time. The Department of Magical Transportation has banned this mode of transit. What and Why ? Ans : “ Flying carpets – as it is regarded as a Muggle artefact by the ministry. 31) The essay “ Necessity of Atheism caused this poet to be thrown out of Oxford. He was drowned to death with a copy of Keats poems in his pocket. Whom am I talking about ? Ans : P.B Shelly. 32) The telegraphic distress signal now used is sos. What was the distress signal before the acceptance of sos in 1906 ? Ans: CQD Seek you- Danger. 33) Movies. Who played the two newspaper reporters in the much discussed film – “ All the President’s men “ ? Ans: Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman 34) What is the Sacred black stone on the holy building “ Kaaba” in Mecca actually ? Ans: A meteorite! 35) What did Queen Victoria in 1853 describe “ soothing , quieting and delightful beyond all measure “ ? ( Clue : medicine ) Ans : Giving birth to her eighth child Leopold painlessly under anesthesia , chloroform. 36) Workable. This Greek mythological character fell in love with his own reflected image in water. He lends a word to the English language after his name. Name him. Ans. Narcissus. ASTRO QUIZ Parsec is a unit of interstellar distances, what does par sec stand for ? Ans : Parallax Second. The three moons of Jupiter , Io, Europa, Ganymede have something unique about them . What ? Ans : These three moons are locked into resonant orbits such that Io orbits twice for each orbit of Europa which in turn orbits twice for each orbit of Ganymede. What are “ lunar occultation “ ? Ans : A lunar occultation takes place when the Moon's edge creeps up to a star and suddenly snuffs it out. The star reappears just as suddenly on the Moon's opposite side up to an hour or more later. Name the biggest asteroid of the solar system. Ans : Ceres Name the two celestial co ordinates that are necessary to ascertain the Position of a star in the sky with respect to the earth ? Ans : Right Ascension and Declination Full, Waxing Gibbous, Ist quarter, Waxing Crescent, New, Waning Crescent , III quarter, waning gibbous and full..what am I talking about ? Ans : The phases of the earth’ moon. Who was the first person to ask this Question “ of what is the universe made “ ? Ans : Thales Which Arthur C. Clarke’s SF book ends with the words.- “ The Ramans do everything in threes “ ? Ans : Rendezvous with Rama.