Zephyr Quiz League

Round 1

Player 1 Question 1:

By what punny altered name did Democrat challenger Marcus Flowers call his far-right Republican opponent, Marjorie Taylor Greene, following allegations that she had lied under oath while testifying about her role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack?

Answer: Perjury Taylor Greene

Player 1 Question 2:

This screen grab from Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next references a cult-classic film. From the attire worn by Ariana and her posse, you can assume this sequence was shot on a Wednesday. Which film?

Answer: Mean Girls; The line referenced being "On Wednesdays we wear pink".

Player 2 Question 1:

Claimed to be the highest navigable entity of its kind, which water body was once considered by the Incas as the centre of the universe? As per local legend, because the sun and the moon were created here, its islands Isla de Sol and Isla de La Luna are named after them.

Answer: Lake Titicaca; The image is taken from Isla Del Sol.

Player 2 Question 2:

Hans Zimmer began work on a 2014 film by writing a four-minute piece about what it meant to be a father. At the end of the filming, the director gave Zimmer a watch with the inscription “This is no time for caution.” Which film?

Answer: Interstellar (The director, of course, was Christopher Nolan)

Player 3 Question 1:

Acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation, what pseudo force is experienced by a mass moving in a rotating system? It is named after a French scientist who provided the mathematical expression for it in 1835. The effect of this force is used to explain certain weather patterns in the two hemispheres of Earth.

Answer: Coriolis force; The Coriolis effect makes storms swirl clockwise in the Southern hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

Player 3 Question 2:

The 4.2-kiloyear BP aridification event affected societies around the world in c. 22nd century BC. A decades-long drought led to which empire ruled by Shar-Kali-Sharri to start abandoning cities in northern Mesopotamia and taking refuge in southern regions? This eventually resulted in a confrontation with the Gutians and collapse of the empire by c. 2150 BC.

Answer: Akkadian Empire

Player 4 Question 1:

Which Bollywood movie was overshadowed by Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ) and finished as the second highest grossing movie in 1995? Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, it was about two brothers who reincarnate to seek revenge on their greedy uncle.

Answer: Karan Arjun

Player 4 Question 2:

When a company becomes the target of a hostile takeover, it may try to make itself less attractive to the potential acquirer. What is this alliterative tactic called? It was used by Twitter recently when Elon Musk offered to buy it.

Answer: Poison Pill (Accept: Shareholder Rights Plan)

Round 2

Player 1 Question 1:

One of "les trois grandes dames" (the three great ladies) of Impressionism, she also modelled for many of her fellow Impressionists. Which artist, seen here in a painting by her friend and future brother-in-law Édouard Manet?

Answer: Berthe Morisot; The painting is Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets by Édouard Manet.

Player 1 Question 2:

___ (3) Wallace is a former Detroit Pistons star who shares his nickname with a structure that returned to regular service in spring 2022 after a period of five years. Every time he would make a key play, the arena would be filled with the sound of chimes. What two-word alliterative nickname?

Answer: Big Ben

Player 2 Question 1:

The origin of which word in biology is from a Latin word that referred to the unrolling and reading of a book that existed in the form of a scroll? In biology, it was first used to describe the progressive development of an embryo.

Answer: Evolution (from Latin evolutio)

Player 2 Question 2:

What form of unique tourism would lead travelers to visit a ghost town in a Ukrainian river valley, the underground annex to a university football stadium in Chicago, specific portions of the Nevada desert and a coastal part of Japan?

Answer: Atomic/Nuclear/Nuclear Disaster/Radiation Tourism

Player 3 Question 1:

In this takeover defense tactic, the target company sells its most attractive assets to a friendly third party or spins off the valuable assets in a separate entity to make the company less attractive. What is this tactic called? It shares its name with ceremonial objects housed at the Tower of London.

Answer: Crown Jewel Defense

Player 3 Question 2:

____ (4) is a collective noun for a group of batteries. One would have come across this term in the name of a portable device encountered in the same context. What term?

Answer: Bank (Accept: Power Bank)

Player 4 Question 1:

Belgian Scotch Ales trace their history back to WWI when brewers came up with special blends to cater to Scottish soldiers who were stationed there. Gordon's, arguably the most popular of the Scotch Ale brands, takes this connection further by serving the beer in a glass designed to resemble what entity from the natural world?

Answer: Thistle; The Thistle is the national emblem of Scotland

Player 4 Question 2:

This screen grab from Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next references a film that saw renewed interest following Kim Kardashian's latest career change. Which film?

Answer: Legally Blonde

Round 3

Player 1 Question 1:

An Irish physicist and mathematician derived a mathematical expression for the drag force resisting the fall of small spherical particles through a fluid. He lends his name to the law and also what force acting on the interface between the fluid and the particle? He, along with a French scientist, lends his name to a Millenium Prize Problem.

Answer: Stokes' drag force; The Millenium Prize Problem being the Navier–Stokes equations.

Player 1 Question 2:

Although the word “evolution” in its present sense was first used by Charles Bonnet in 1762 for his concept of pre-formation, in which females carried a miniature form of all future generations, which famous book first published in 1859 on the same subject surprisingly did not mention the term "evolution" at all?

Answer: On the Origin of Species (Accept: Origin of Species); The word appeared only in its sixth and final edition.

Player 2 Question 1:

In the run-up to the 2016 US Presidential Elections, Donald Trump's campaign released a Pac-Man inspired parody video to disparage his Democratic opponent. What replaced the snack pellets in the parody? The highest possible score in the game was presumably 33,000.

Answer: Emails; A reference to the 33,000 emails Hillary Clinton was accused of deleting.

Player 2 Question 2:

In 2018, which Nepalese leg-spinner became the first from his country to play in the IPL? His debut came for the Delhi side against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He also plays for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL.

Answer: Sandeep Lamichhane

Player 3 Question 1:

This unique form of tourism involves traveling to a country/destination and purchasing the local edition of a particular product. Following this, they visit at least four railway stations and a few utilities agencies but make sure to avoid landing up in jail. What product, that saw sales boom during lockdowns, acts as their itinerary?

Answer: Monopoly Tourism; Tourists purchase the local version of Monopoly (such as Phuket) and visit places mentioned in it.

Player 3 Question 2:

A central religious text mentions the use of one black and one white string for a particular practise. When it is bright enough for the two strings to be distinguishable, the practice begins and when they are no longer distinguishable, the practice ends. What roughly month-long practise?

Answer: Fasting OR Fasting during Ramadan/Ramzan (Prompt: Ramadan/Ramzan)

Player 4 Question 1:

Wilt Chamberlain, characterised by his towering 7 foot 1 frame, is one of the most dominant players to have ever played in the NBA. He gained one of his nicknames because he had to ___ (3) his head as he walked through doorways. What two-word nickname, also the name of a particular pattern of stars?

Answer: Big Dipper

Player 4 Question 2:

This is the coat of arms of the Venezuelan state Zulia, which depicts Catatumbo lightning, an atmospheric phenomenon that produces the highest concentration of lightning in the world. Which lake does this phenomenon take place in?

Answer: Lake Maracaibo

Round 4

Player 1 Question 1:

Nimrod, the ninth entry in a classical orchestral work with 14 components, is played at the Cenotaph in London every year during the Remembrance Day Ceremony. Its importance in this regard got Hans Zimmer to use it on the soundtrack of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. Which cryptic orchestral work by an English composer was Nimrod from?

Answer: Enigma Variations (Prompt: Variations OR Edward Elgar)

Player 1 Question 2:

As per legend, the distinctive hexagonal glass design of which Belgian beer brand, named after a municipality in the Flanders region, is based on the design of jam jars, which were allegedly used for drinking beer when people ran out of glasses?

Answer: Hoegaarden; The hexagonal shape of the glass is apparently inspired by jam jars;

Player 2 Question 1:

Described by the Guardian as “art’s greatest supermodel”, which artist was the muse of multiple Pre-Raphaelite painters? Her work was admired by John Ruskin, the pre-eminent art critic of her time, who was also her chief patron.

Answer: Elizabeth Siddal; The painting is Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Player 2 Question 2:

What force is exerted on a charged particle moving through a combination of an electric field and magnetic field? Also known as electromagnetic force, it is named after a Dutch physicist who arrived at a complete derivation for it in 1895 and later won the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Answer: Lorentz force

Player 3 Question 1:

This 1917 Bengali romance novel is probably one of the most adapted works in Indian cinema. The 1979 adaptation in the language it was written in starred Soumitra Chatterjee and Uttam Kumar. Identify the book or movie.

Answer: Devdas

Player 3 Question 2:

This screen grab from Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next references a film starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. Which film, with a title based on a song from Sound of Music, is this?

Answer: 13 Going On 30; The song being 16 Going On 17.

Player 4 Question 1:

What weak chemical force attracts neutral molecules to each other in gases, and in almost all organic liquids and solids? It is named for a Dutch physicist who postulated these intermolecular forces in 1873 while developing a theory to account for the properties of real/non-ideal gases. He won the 1910 Nobel Prize for Physics.

Answer: Van der Waals force

Player 4 Question 2:

While composing music for Christopher Nolan’s Inception, Hans Zimmer read a 1979 book for inspiration. The book, which explored the common themes in the lives of three people, combined the idea of playfulness in mathematics and playfulness in music. Which book?

Answer: Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (Accept GEB)

Round 5

Player 1 Question 1:

Having played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL from 2011 to 2015, which Dutch all-rounder has turned up for 29 games for the franchise? He has also captained Essex in the County Championship.

Answer: Ryan Ten Doeschate

Player 1 Question 2:

A decline in trade with the Egyptians and Mestopotamians (caused by the 4.2-kiloyear event) combined with a weakened monsoon that affected the rain-fed Ghaggar-Hakra system led to the eventual collapse of which South Asian civilisation? The inhabitants moved towards the east, occupying regions around the Ganges.

Answer: Indus Valley OR Harappan Civilisation (Prompt: Mohenjodaro)

Player 2 Question 1:

The followers of which religion observe a fast during the annual holy celebration “Paryushana” that lasts for either 8 or 10 days depending on the sect? They may additionally adhere to the “Proşadhopavāsa”, fasting on the eighth and fourteenth days of the lunar month.

Answer: Jainism

Player 2 Question 2:

These two long-stemmed, bowl-shaped glass designs differ by the thickness of the glass. Name either of these two beer glass designs that are used for many Belgian Trappist beers and hark back to common drinking vessel designs prevalent from the medieval times.

Answer: Chalice OR Goblet

Player 3 Question 1:

Kevin Durant, one of the NBA's best players, has been lauded for his killer instincts and scoring prowess despite his slender build. What two-word nickname, that is a wordplay on a personification of death?

Answer: Slim Reaper; A play on Grim Reaper.

Player 3 Question 2:

What two-word name, also the title of a 1972 adult film, was given to the whistleblower who was instrumental in uncovering a major political scandal that played out between 1972 and 1974 in the US?

Answer: Deep Throat

Player 4 Question 1:

A series of extraordinary floods caused by the influence of the 4.2-kiloyear event in the lower Yangtze River area led to the wipeout of which Neolithic jade culture centred around present-day Zhejiang? Discovered following excavations by Shi Xingeng in 1936, the largest ancient walled city in China was part of this culture.

Answer: Liangshu Culture

Player 4 Question 2:

The only illustration in the 1859 publication of The Origin of Species was a sketch showing Darwin’s early insight into how a genus of related species might originate by divergence from a starting point. What is the three-word term Darwin uses to describe this drawing, a common visual metaphor for the connection of all living things?

Answer: Tree of Life

Round 6

Player 1 Question 1:

Jose Miguel _______ (7), a respected military hero and a founder of Chile is said to have set up one of the earliest national newspapers in his home country, the Aurora de Chile. Which lake (7) was named to honour him? The lake is referred to as Lake Buenos Aires on the Argentine side.

Answer: Lake General Carrera

Player 1 Question 2:

Which 2008 action thriller starring over 40 Mollywood stars including Mohanlal and Mammooty was a fundraiser for the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists? It shares its name with a sports format that was emerging around that time.

Answer: Twenty:20 (Prompt: T-20)

Player 2 Question 1:

______ (6) is a collective noun for a group of pickpockets. This is something a pickpocket might do, and is used in a similar sense in the title of a Guy Ritchie film. What term?

Answer: Snatch

Player 2 Question 2:

In this tactic against takeovers, the target firm issues a charter that prevents individuals with more than 10% ownership from transferring their securities to voting stock. What tactic, that gets its name from an entity designed to catch larger crustaceans easily but allows smaller ones to escape? The Krusty Krab from SpongeBob SquarePants is modeled on this entity.

Answer: Lobster Trap Defense; Accept variants of trap as long as Lobster is mentioned

Player 3 Question 1:

Remembered now mostly as the muse for Picasso’s Weeping Woman, which 20th century painter, photographer and political activist also helped in documenting the creation of Picasso's Guernica in a series of photographs?

Answer: Dora Maar (Accept: Henriette Theodora Markovitch)

Player 3 Question 2:

Shortly after leaving the Galápagos in 1835, Darwin noticed that a pair of birds he had collected from different islands were not all alike – his first hint that species might evolve over time. What group of passerine birds from the family Mimidae were these?

Answer: Mockingbirds; Darwin observed variations in finches only a decade later and the term "Darwin's finches" was first applied by Percy Lowe in 1936.

Player 4 Question 1:

In which religion is fasting observed for 19 days from sunrise to sunset during the month of “Ala”? The fasting is followed between March 1 or 2 and March 19 or 20 each year, and its rules are laid out in the holy text Kitáb-i-Aqda.

Answer: Baháʼí faith

Player 4 Question 2:

Which UAE opener was picked in the 2017 IPL auction by Gujarat Lions for 10 lakh rupees but didn't get a chance to play a game? He is presently the vice-captain for his national side.

Answer: Chirag Suri

Round 7

Player 1 Question 1:

The village of Nejapa, El Salvador, annually celebrates the festival of Los Bolas de Fuego that commemorates a phenomenon that took place in 1658. What phenomenon, attracting a category of thrill-seeking hunters who also head to Hawaii, Iceland, and Indonesia in its pursuit?

Answer: Volcanic Eruption OR Volcano (Prompt: Lava etc.); Los Bolas De Fuego means ‘balls of fire’. Tourists who seek volcanic activity call themselves lava hunters, or lava chasers.

Player 1 Question 2:

_____ (5) is a collective noun for a group of fairies. This ‘attractive’ term is also something a fairy might be able to perform. What term?

Answer: Charm

Player 2 Question 1:

The makers of this Telugu film didn't have an idea for a title, so they referred to the project using the initials of the two lead stars and its director. They used ___ (3) as hashtags and the response of the audience was overwhelming. Which film (3) thus got its title?

Answer: RRR; The initials of Ram Charan, N.T. Rama Rao Jr, and Rajamouli.

Player 2 Question 2:

This screen grab from Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next references "_____ __ __ !"(5,2,2), a film that has been dubbed the "Citizen Kane of Cheerleader Movies". Which film (5,2,2), about a high school cheer team ready for the challenge of nationals, is this?

Answer: Bring It On

Player 3 Question 1:

With a bulbous body that narrows slightly before flaring out to accommodate the beer's head, this popular beer glass design used by multiple Belgian beers is named after something that must have cost a lot more money than a beer during the 17th century. What?

Answer: Tulip;

Player 3 Question 2:

Debuting in 2021 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against Chennai Super Kings, which Singaporean middle-order batsman became the first from his nation to play in the IPL? Currently part of the Mumbai Indians team, he has also been a part of the Multan Sultans (PSL) and the Saint Lucia Kings (CPL).

Answer: Tim David

Player 4 Question 1:

Between 1917 and 1937, American photographer Alfred Stieglitz made over 300 portraits of his muse, later his wife. Which modernist American painter, known for her paintings of non-human subjects, was Stieglitz’s muse?

Answer: Georgia O’Keeffe

Player 4 Question 2:

In the run-up to the 1988 US Presidential Elections, pictures of leading Democratic candidate Gary Hart emerged showing him engaged in an extra-marital affair with Donna Rice aboard a yacht going by what name? The yacht's name, a two-word term, also ap(e)tly described Hart's mischievous behaviour.

Answer: Monkey Business

Round 8

Player 1 Question 1:

This tactic against hostile takeovers involves companies liquidating or destroying valuable assets to make themselves unattractive to hostile bidders. What is this tactic called, sharing its name with a military strategy where defending forces would destroy anything that could be useful to the enemy?

Answer: Scorched Earth Defense

Player 1 Question 2:

Which religion advocates the “bigu” – a fasting practice of avoiding grains associated with achieving "xian", meaning transcendence or immortality? This has been variously interpreted from avoiding food grains, cereals, the Five Grains, wugu, or staple food, to not eating anything at all.

Answer: Taoism OR Daoism

Player 2 Question 1:

Paul George is one of the top players of the NBA today. His nickname may hint at the fact that his play may be inappropriate for children that aren't teenagers yet. What nickname, that is familiar to all from an entertainment context?

Answer: PG-13

Player 2 Question 2:

From c. 2150 BC, a series of exceptionally low annual Nile floods (caused by the 4.2-kiloyear event) led to the collapse of the Sixth Dynasty marking the end of the ___ _______ (3,7) period in ancient Egyptian history. Which period (3,7), that saw the construction of the pyramids, and was succeeded by the First Intermediate Period?

Answer: Old Kingdom

Player 3 Question 1:

The nine-minute suite for the Joker ("Why So Serious") in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was based around two notes played by electric cello, solo violin, guitars and a string section. To depict anarchy musically, Hans Zimmer took inspiration from a band from his native Germany. Which band, founded by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider and widely considered one of the pioneers of electronic music?

Answer: Kraftwerk

Player 3 Question 2:

Due to the abundance of plankton, 3 of the 6 flamingo species of the world are found on this Bolivian salt lake named for its distinctive hues. Which lake, whose name can be arrived at by changing the last letter in the name of the American state with the highest mean elevation?

Answer: Lake Colorada (Prompt: Colorado)

Player 4 Question 1:

Mexico: For the prescription-less availability of a drug called pentobarbital; Switzerland: Largely due to efforts of an organisation called Dignitas; Oregon: Owing to the alliteratively named _____ (5) with Dignity Act. What specific reason, that is legal in the Netherlands, inspired tourism to these locations?

Answer: Suicide/ Euthanasia/ Assisted Suicide Tourism (Accept: Kill Oneself; Prompt: Death OR Dying)

Player 4 Question 2:

______ (6) is a collective noun for a group of motorcyclists. What is this mechanism that one might be able to spot on a motorcycle? We hope you can score on this crucial question.

Answer: Clutch

Spare

Spare Question 1:

______ (6) is a collective noun for a group of butchers. It is apt that a commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe who butchered people had this as his surname. What term?

Answer: Goring (The Nazi referenced is Hermann Goring)

Spare Question 2:

In this extreme takeover defense tactic, the target firm takes steps that might threaten the firm’s existence to save itself from a hostile takeover. What is this tactic called, named after the 1978 massacre in Guyana where Jim _____ (5) led the people of his cult to kill themselves? It is also called the ‘suicide pill’ defense.

Answer: Jonestown defense

Spare Question 3:

What is the force, attraction or repulsion, of particles or objects caused due to its electric charge? It is named for a French physicist who in 1785 published the results of an experimental investigation into the correct quantitative description of this force. It is also known as electrostatic force.

Answer: Coulomb force