Zephyr Quiz League

Round 1

Player 1 Question 1:

Exclusive to the Paralympics, wheelchair _____ (5) involves players attempting to carry the ball over the opponents' goal line. Fill in the blank. This sport was originally known as murderball.

Answer: Rugby (Accept: Quad Rugby)

Player 1 Question 2:

What widely used forensic technique has limitations to its use, especially in patients suffering from rare genetic diseases such as adermatoglyphia and ectodermal dysplasia? Criminals are known to use sandpaper, fire or unusual methods involving pineapple juice to evade detection from this technique.

Answer: Fingerprint Analysis (Accept: Anything that includes Fingerprint)

Player 2 Question 1:

Which philosopher is portrayed next to his teacher Plato in Raphael's The School of Athens? The founder of the Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, this polymath helped lay the foundation of several subjects. He was also the tutor for Alexander the Great.

Answer: Aristotle

Player 2 Question 2:

The GIGN is the elite special forces tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. In 1979, they famously advised and provided assistance to another nation during the seizure of a religious structure in a certain city. However, as per credible accounts, GIGN commandos did not physically enter the city. Which city?

Answer: Mecca; The GIGN commandos couldn’t enter Mecca because they were not Muslims.

Player 3 Question 1:

In 543 CE, which dynasty asserted their independence from the Kadamba kingdom and established Vatapi (Badami) as their capital? They derived their name from the old Kannada word for "salki", the agricultural tool used by their forebears.

Answer: Chalukya

Player 3 Question 2:

Gnorm the Gnat was an unsuccessful comic strip that forced its creator to veer away from insects to a more relatable anthropomorphic pet. Which gag-a-day comic strip, featuring a character that does not enjoy the start of the week, did he go on to create?

Answer: Garfield

Player 4 Question 1:

Which anthology series (3,8,4) was rebooted in 2019 by Simon Kinberg, Marco Ramirez and Jordan Peele, who also narrated it? Like the mid-20th century original, each episode deals with a theme such as the supernatural, race, social issues through disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "___ ________ ____" (3,8,4).

Answer: The Twilight Zone (Accept: Twilight Zone)

Player 4 Question 2:

While the motifs on this medal are inspired by Louis Sullivan, the father of skyscrapers, the motto “firmitas, utilitas, venustas” is from attributes associated with Vitruvius. Identify the prize for which this medal is awarded.

Answer: Pritzker Architecture Prize (Accept: Prizker)

Round 2

Player 1 Question 1:

This conglomerate started in the 1980s by publishing computer magazines such as Oh! PC and Oh! MZ - in keeping with the first part of its name. Its biggest influence now is through its Vision Fund that invests in AI, robotics, IoT etc. - in keeping with the second part of its name. What one-word compound name hinting at the conglomerate's aspiration "to be a key source of infrastructure for the information society"?

Answer: SoftBank

Player 1 Question 2:

In 2013, following revelations of institutional doping between 1973 and 1989, Swimming World decided to strip six East German (DDR) swimmers, all women, of their World and European Swimmers of the Year titles won during this period. Two of them were three-time winners of World Swimmer of the Year. Name either.

Answer: Kornelia Ender OR Kristin Otto

Player 2 Question 1:

Which game show was rebooted as a version for adults, 15 years after the original Nickelodeon series stopped airing? Elements of the show are said to have inspired a popular mobile game (visual).

Answer: Legends of the Hidden Temple (Prompt: Temple Run or if answer contains two of three words: Legends, Hidden, Temple)

Player 2 Question 2:

Exclusive to the Paralympics, in which sport do players roll the ball into the opponent's ____ (4) while the opposing players try to block the ball with their bodies? Played by visually impaired competitors, bells inside the ball help to orient them and hence, the arena is completely silent during the game. The blank is part of the answer.

Answer: Goalball (Prompt: Goal)

Player 3 Question 1:

Which club, named after the main protagonist, who was also its founder and perpetual president, was the centre of action in the first novel by a celebrated Victorian author? Featuring characters such as Nathaniel Winkle, Augustus Snodgrass and Sam Weller, this 1836 novel popularised the genre of serialised fiction and cliffhanger endings.

Answer: Pickwick Club OR Pickwick Papers; The novel being The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.

Player 3 Question 2:

The first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, Zaha Hadid studied geographic formations such as moraines to design the stations of the Hungerburgbahn, ensuring they blend into the local cityscape of Innsbruck, Austria. What natural formations, abundant in the area, are the stations built to resemble?

Answer: Glaciers (Prompt: Ice or Snow or Iceberg)

Player 4 Question 1:

Identify this type of thin noodles made from wheat flour, salt, water, and kansui, a form of alkaline water. Imported from China to Japan during the Meiji period, it is used most commonly in a noodle soup dish of the same name.

Answer: Ramen

Player 4 Question 2:

The Monuments are five classic cycle races generally considered to be the most prestigious one-day events in men's road cycling. The start and end points of the last Monument of the season, the Tour of ________ (8) alternates between the cities Bergamo and Como. Which Italian region (8) does it take place in? Deriving its name from the Proto-Germanic terms for long beard, its administrative capital is Milan.

Answer: Lombardy

Round 3

Player 1 Question 1:

From the 16th to the 19th century, what two-word name was given to this region (shaded black) based on the chief export from here? The present-day countries of this region include Nigeria, Togo and Benin.

Answer: Slave Coast (Accept: Variations like Slave Bay, Slave Harbour etc.); Red = Pepper Coast (Liberia); White = Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire); Yellow = Gold Coast (Ghana).

Player 1 Question 2:

According to the protagonist of a series of works, which club, comprised of “the most unsociable and unclubbable men in town”? Sharing its name with the founder of Cynic philosophy, it features in several stories from the series such as The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter and The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans.

Answer: Diogenes Club

Player 2 Question 1:

In 618 CE, the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II successfully repelled an attack by Harsha, the ruler of which dynasty that reigned over regions north of the Narmada extending as far as Kamarupa? Centred in Sthanvishvara (Thanesar) and later Kanyakubja (Kannauj), it was also known as the Pushyabhuti dynasty.

Answer: Vardhana dynasty

Player 2 Question 2:

A particular Drosophila gene's role involves guiding nerve cell axons, the long wires of our nervous system, towards their targets. Therefore, it is named after which mythological character who similarly helped out a hero?

Answer: Ariadne

Player 3 Question 1:

The Navy SEALs (SEa, Air and Land) are the primary special operations force of the US Navy. Their most famous mission in the 21st century took place on 2 May 2011. What was the end result of this mission? The model of the location where this unfolded, which was used on the news show 60 Minutes, is pictured here.

Answer: Death of Osama Bin Laden (Accept: Variants such as Killing/Assassination/Capture etc. of Osama Bin Laden); Prompt on Geronimo - ask for end result.

Player 3 Question 2:

Named World Swimmer of the Year twice (2015, 2018), who is the only British swimmer to have won the title? This breaststroke specialist is also the first swimmer from Great Britain to have retained an Olympic medal.

Answer: Adam Peaty

Player 4 Question 1:

Which 1936 Russian work for narrator and orchestra was written to introduce children to the instruments of a symphony orchestra? The joyous strings represent the young hero while his friends are represented by a flute (bird), oboe (duck), clarinet (cat), bassoon (the grandfather), and kettledrum (hunters), with three sinister French horns representing a big bad canine.

Answer: Peter and the Wolf (Accept: Variations that include Peter and Wolf; Prompt: For either Peter or Wolf)

Player 4 Question 2:

Which gag-a-day comic strip features titular characters whose names also happen to be the surnames of English philosopher Thomas ______ (6) and French theologian John ______ (6)? Its creator also illustrated this series (visual) on the banality of daily life.

Answer: Calvin and Hobbes

Round 4

Player 1 Question 1:

Identify this type of thick noodles made from wheat flour, used widely in Japanese cuisine. Known for its ability to soak up flavours, its simplest form is in a hot soup with a mild broth called kakejiru made from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin.

Answer: Udon

Player 1 Question 2:

The second woman to win the Pritzker Prize, Kazuyo Sejima designed the Sumida _______ (7) Museum with slanted walls to minimise the amount of sunlight which could potentially harm the two-century-old works it houses. Who is this museum dedicated to?

Answer: Hokusai

Player 2 Question 1:

What two-word alliterative term was given to the system of commerce in which arms, textiles, and wine were shipped from Europe to Africa, enslaved people from Africa to the Americas, and sugar, tobacco, and other products from the Americas to Europe? It gets its name from the appearance of the routes on maps.

Answer: Triangular Trade (Accept: Triangle Trade or Trade Triangle)

Player 2 Question 2:

This conglomerate started off in 1947 as Lak Hui Chemical Industrial Corp., focusing on plastics. Later, it spun off another venture (visual) that focused on making transistor radios. Decades later, when the spin-off had become the primary line of business, the two companies merged, and is now known by what two-letter name?

Answer: LG; Lak Hui became Lucky and the logo is of Goldstar. The merged entity became Lucky Goldstar which later became LG.

Player 3 Question 1:

This individual in Raphael's The School of Athens is idenified to be which philosopher, who turned against Platonism and established his own school, known as "the Garden"? An inscription at the site supposedly read "Dear Guest, here you will do well to tarry; here our highest good is pleasure."

Answer: Epicurus (Accept: Epicurean)

Player 3 Question 2:

What forensic technique, that uses biology, physics (fluid dynamics), and mathematical calculations to reconstruct events at a crime scene, came under a lot of fire when a 2009 National Academy of Sciences report concluded that the expert opinions are often subjective and not scientific? The titular character from the TV series Dexter is an expert in this field.

Answer: Blood Spatter Analysis OR Blood Stain Pattern Analysis (Accept: Variants like Blood Patterns etc.)

Player 4 Question 1:

Drosophila with a certain faulty gene cannot hatch, and hence remain trapped in their pupae to die much like how the drunk, walled-in Fortunato meets his end at the hands of Montresor in which short story first published in 1846?

Answer: Cask of Amontillado (Accept: Amontillado, as that is the name of the gene.)

Player 4 Question 2:

Located on Curzon Street in Mayfair, London, which club for valets and butlers is Jeeves a member of? Given Jeeves’s role vis-à-vis his employer, Bertie Wooster, it is apt that this club is named after the cup-bearer of Zeus.

Answer: Junior Ganymede Club (Accept: Ganymede)

Round 5

Player 1 Question 1:

The first Monument of the cycling season, La Classicissima starts in Milan, heads over plains of Lombardy and Piedmont and runs along the coast for 140 km in which Italian region? Lending its name to an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, it consists of the provinces Genoa, Imperia, Savona and La Spezia.

Answer: Liguria

Player 1 Question 2:

In 655 CE, the Chalukya king Vikramaditya I proclaimed himself "Royal Wrestler" (Rajamalla) after defeating another king nicknamed "Great Wrestler". To which dynasty did the "Great Wrestler" belong? His nickname also extended to the name of a famous port city dotted with monuments.

Answer: Pallava; Mahamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) was named after Narasimha Varman.

Player 2 Question 1:

Which gag-a-day comic strip has had almost 18,000 strips published in all, which, according to Encyclopedia Britannica makes it "the longest story ever told by one human being"? Li'l Folks was an early version of this possibly salted comic strip.

Answer: Peanuts (Prompt: Snoopy, Charlie Brown)

Player 2 Question 2:

Known for its rough punishing terrain, the cycling Monument Paris–Roubaix runs primarily across which historical territory and former administrative region of France? Deriving its name from a weapon used by people from this region in ancient times, Emmanuel Macron was born in its largest city Amiens.

Answer: Picardy; The weapon is the pike.

Player 3 Question 1:

The island Gorée off the coast of Senegal has been described by UNESCO as a “memory island” and a symbol of the slave trade. An emotional pilgrimage destination for the African diaspora, the symbolism finds its focal point at this location. Identify the poignant name of this location through which slaves left their homeland forever - the ____ __ __ ______ (4,2,2,6).

Answer: Door of No Return (Prompt: if they're reasonably close)

Player 3 Question 2:

Identify this type of translucent, gelatinous traditional Japanese noodles made from the konjac or elephant yam.  Used popularly in salads or stir-fry dishes, it has gained popularity in the West due to its low-carb, gluten-free nature.

Answer: Shirataki

Player 4 Question 1:

The current holder of the World Swimmer of the Year title among women bettered her performance of one gold at 2016 Rio Olympics by winning 4 golds at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Name this Australian champion, who co-holds the record for the highest medal tally for a woman in a single Olympics.

Answer: Emma McKeon; With 7 medals in a single Olympics, she co-holds the record with Soviet gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya.

Player 4 Question 2:

A part of forensic odontology, what forensic technique has faced a lot of criticism for being unreliable with some studies claiming a 63% rate of false identifications? A major reason cited by experts is that while the impression(s) on the medium (i.e., skin) can be unique, they aren't preserved properly. Ted Bundy was famously convicted using this technique.

Answer: Bite Mark Analysis (Prompt: If they mention dental or teeth)

Round 6

Player 1 Question 1:

This individual in Raphael's The School of Athens is believed to be which philosopher, the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy? This Hellenistic philosopher lived between 334 – 262 BC and was from Citium, Cyprus.

Answer: Zeno of Citium

Player 1 Question 2:

Which hit show, that ran from the late 90s to the mid-2000s, had a 10-episode reboot on HBO Max under the title "And Just Like That..."? The first episode from the reboot caused a significant crash to the stock of a fitness company.

Answer: Sex and the City; Spoiler alert: Mr. Big dies of a heart attack after a Peloton workout, which led to its stock price plummeting.

Player 2 Question 1:

Nicknamed "the Albatross" for his long arms and not because it rhymes with his name, which West German swimmer was chosen European Swimmer of the Year for five consecutive years but could make the cut as World Swimmer of the Year only once, in 1985?

Answer: Michael Gross

Player 2 Question 2:

In 1961, actor, musician and comedian Danny Kaye created a buzz when he switched his baton for a fly swatter to conduct which short orchestral work that appeared in the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan?

Answer: Flight of the Bumblebee (Prompt: Bee/Bumblebee)

Player 3 Question 1:

Exclusive to the Paralympics, in which sport must competitors lower a bar, hold it motionless on their chest and then press it upwards to arms' length with locked elbows? The bench press is the only discipline in it, with 10 different categories for both men and women, based on body weight.

Answer: Powerlifting

Player 3 Question 2:

Which Drosophila gene is named after a historical personality because it is fatal to developing embryos containing the gene only when the embryos also have access to the acylation stimulating protein?

Answer: Cleopatra

Player 4 Question 1:

This transportation conglomerate started in 1968 with a single cargo vessel. In 1975, it expanded to begin US operations with _________ (9) Marine Corporation, its core revenue generator today. Which conglomerate (9), with its headquarters (visual) in Taipei, that received unintentional, worldwide publicity about a year ago?

Answer: Evergreen (Prompt: Ever Given but do not accept it!)

Player 4 Question 2:

Liberia was founded and named as a haven for liberated American slaves. Its neighbour to the northwest was similarly founded by the British. What is the name of the neighbouring country's capital city, that also evokes liberation?

Answer: Freetown; The capital of Sierra Leone.

Round 7

Player 1 Question 1:

3 Para (SF), part of the Parachute Regiment, is a special forces unit of the Indian Army. The unit was raised in 1813 by Sir Henry _______ (7), the British Resident in the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad. What is the deadly nickname of the unit, the same as the name of the organism pictured here? The blank is part of the answer.

Answer: Russell's Vipers (Accept: Russell Viper; Prompt: Russell or Viper)

Player 1 Question 2:

Half Hitch is a comic strip that ran in the Saturday Evening Post about a short, mischievious sailor. Following successful syndication, the creator started which gag-a-day comic strip, with a rhyming title, that was inspired by his son?

Answer: Dennis the Menace

Player 2 Question 1:

Which out-of-hours dining and social club was made up of Professor ________'s (8) most well-liked and famous students? Active from the 1920s to 1981 and again from 1996, it included students such as Ambrosius Flume, Barnabas Cuffe and his favourite Lily Evans.

Answer: Slug Club (Accept: Slughorn)

Player 2 Question 2:

The sloping concrete buildings in the University of Technology and Engineering (UTEC) in Lima were designed by the Pritzker Prize winners Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. It was inspired by the seaside cliffs of Lima and which architectural style that emerged in the 1950s post-war era and is characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the bare building materials over decorative design?

Answer: Brutalism

Player 3 Question 1:

The oldest cycling Monument, Liège–Bastogne–Liège is a demanding race that is held across the provinces, Liège and (Belgian) Luxembourg, in which region of Belgium? A primarily French-speaking region accounting for 55% of the country’s territory, its administrative capital is Namur. The visual is of the region's flag.

Answer: Wallonia

Player 3 Question 2:

Circus Polka: For a Young _______ (8) was written by Igor Stravinsky for a ballet production George Balanchine did for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Which animal was this composed for? 50 of them accompanied 50 ballerinas during the debut performance of this piece at the Madison Square Garden.

Answer: Elephant

Player 4 Question 1:

This individual in Raphael's The School of Athens is identified as which philosopher, credited as the founder of Western philosophy? The teacher of Plato and Xenophon, he was sentenced to death in 399 BC after being accused of impiety and corrupting the youth.

Answer: Socrates

Player 4 Question 2:

In 753 CE, which lofty kingdom was established by Dantidurga, a feudatory of the Badami Chalukyas, after he overthrew Kirtivarman II? With Manyakheta in the Gulbarga region as its capital, the dynasty's reign saw the construction of several monuments at Ellora, Aurangabad.

Answer: Rashtrakuta; Rashtrakuta literally means "lofty kingdom".

Round 8

Player 1 Question 1:

A particular Drosophila gene combats another gene called Nanos, which translates to dwarves in Greek. Which extremely wealthy antagonist from a 1937 novel is this gene named after?

Answer: Smaug (Prompt: Dragon or Dragon from The Hobbit)

Player 1 Question 2:

The clarinet is used most often to simulate the distinctive two-note call of which bird (6) and plays a role in pieces such as Beethoven’s “Pastorale Symphony”, Saint-Saëns’ “The Carnival of the Animals” and Delius’ “On Hearing the First ______ (6) in Spring”?

Answer: Cuckoo (Accept: Koel)

Player 2 Question 1:

Identify this type of thin Japanese noodles made from buckwheat and served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. It is traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve in most areas of Japan.

Answer: Soba

Player 2 Question 2:

First used by Fritz Hirschi to identify a burglar in the 1960s, what forensic technique uses impressions of helix, antihelix, or tragus on a surface to identify the suspect? It is now rarely used as there have been notable cases where the technique has failed.

Answer: Ear Print Analysis (Accept: Shape of Ear or Ear)

Player 3 Question 1:

Which early 90s sitcom had a gender swapped reboot set in Hawaii with Peyton Elizabeth Lee in the title role replacing Neil Patrick Harris? When 17-year-old Balamurali Ambati graduated from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, he gained comparisons to this title character.

Answer: Doogie Howser M.D (Accept: Doogie Howser)

Player 3 Question 2:

With a winking, scarf-wearing penguin mascot, QQ was which Asian conglomerate's first big success in 1999 and was marketed as the open version of an AOL instant messaging service - ICQ? The biggest success of this Shenzhen-based conglomerate is a super app with over 1 billion users.

Answer: Tencent (Prompt: WeChat)

Player 4 Question 1:

Exclusive to the Paralympics, the aim of which sport is to throw/bowl game balls so that they land as close as possible to the "jack", a special target ball? It is open to athletes with severe neurological conditions using a wheelchair, and derives its name from the Latin word for "boss".

Answer: Boccia (Do not accept Bocce/Bocci or Bocce/Bocci Ball)

Player 4 Question 2:

The Special Air Services, with the motto ‘Who Dares Wins’, is a special forces unit of the British Army. The cap badge of the SAS features not an inverted dagger, but something else from local legend. What is this thing?

Answer: Excalibur (Accept: Sword of King Arthur)

Spare

Spare Question 1:

Due to its strategic location between Africa and Americas, which archipelago settled by the Portuguese around 1460 became a hub for the Transatlantic slave trade where up to 12 million slaves, mostly from West Africa, were shipped to the Americas?

Answer: Cape Verde OR Cabo Verde

Spare Question 2:

Swimming World magazine awards World Swimmer of the Year honors every year in 7 categories. If six of them are World Swimmer, American Swimmer, European Swimmer, World Disabled Swimmer, African Swimmer, and Open Water Swimmer of year, what’s the seventh category – also the name of the 2013 sci-fi film starring Idris Elba?

Answer: Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year

Spare Question 3:

A certain gene mutation can lead to nerve cells starting to break down in the pupal stage of Drosophila. Adult flies with this gene have a characteristic pattern of holes in their brains leading to their resemblance to what geographical indication product from Bern?

Answer: Swiss cheese (Accept: Emmental OR Emmentaler Prompt: Cheese)