Zephyr Quiz League

Round 1 Player 2 Question 2:

Going by the ancient texts on architecture and sculpture, if the Indian temple complex is designed to mirror the cosmos, which mythical location do the towering gopurams (temple towers) symbolise? It is even more accurately imagined in the five towers of the largest temple complex in the world at Angkor Wat.

Answer: Mount Meru (or Sumeru); It is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the universes.

Round 2 Player 3 Question 2:

The two major styles of temple architecture in India are Nagara in the north and Dravidian in the south. The third style is a hybrid of Nagara and Dravidian style of architecture and was therefore aptly named "vesara". The word “vesara” is Sanskrit for which animal?

Answer: Mule (A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse)

Round 5 Player 4 Question 2:

The towering gopurams (temple towers) of the temples of southern India such as the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur found scientific use as convenient locations to hoist a theodolite for which daunting project conceived by William Lambton of the East India Company in 1802?

Answer: The Great Trigonometric Survey of India (Accept: Survey of India or any mention of the terms Great Arc/Meridian/Longitude/Survey);

Round 7 Player 1 Question 2:

The sanctum santorum is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples where the idol of the primary deity lives. Accepting the deity as the source of all life, which part of the human body is this part of the temple supposed to metaphorically resemble? This is reflected in its Sanskrit name.

Answer: Uterus or womb; The Sanskrit word is garbhagriha, meaning womb chamber.

Round 3 Player 1 Question 1:

An infant Hercules strangling a creature is used as the mascot as well as in the ads of Woodwards Gripe Water. When this brand came to India, the marketing campaign was localised and Hercules was replaced by a depiction of which god seen dancing upon and subduing the same creature?

Answer: Lord Krishna (Grudgingly accept: Vishnu)

Round 4 Player 4 Question 1:

This is the logo of a Japanese beer brand which features an ancient hybrid Chinese mythical creature. The creature supposedly appeared to the pregnant mother of Confucius and also foreshadowed the great sage's death. Identify the creature, which shares its name with the brand.

Answer: Kirin or Qilin (company is Kirin Brewery Company)

Round 6 Player 3 Question 1:

The crowdsourced logo of Iran Air features a legendary Persian bird that was always in flight and never rested. The airline operates a ____ (4) Aviation Training Center, has owned the ____ (4) Hotel Group, and is domestically known by the bird's name. Fill in the blank.

Answer: Homa or Huma

Round 8 Player 2 Question 2:

Novo Nordisk is a Danish pharmaceutical company that features a stylised version of which animal deity sacred to the ancient Egyptians? Identified as the son of Hathor, this deity has been seen as a protector of the dead and is usually depicted with a solar disc between the horns.

Answer: Apis Bull (Accept: Hapis and Hapi-Ankh)

Round 3 Player 3 Question 2:

The Bridge, Da Capo and The Golden Ratio are albums by which Swedish pop group, comprised of siblings? The band's name is inspired by a popular song by Motörhead.

Answer: Ace of Base; the Motörhead song is Ace of Spades

Round 4 Player 4 Question 2:

Youth & Young Manhood, Mechanical Bull and When You See Yourself are all albums by which American rock band whose carnal experience is presumably burning with passion? The band is named for the founder's grandfather and not for the monarchy that ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula between 910–1833.

Answer: Kings of Leon; the hint was for Sex on Fire, one of their most popular songs

Round 6 Player 1 Question 1:

Rated R, Lullabies to Paralyze, Villains, and Era Vulgaris are albums by which American rock band? Dave Grohl accepted an invitation to join them to record their 2002 album Songs for the Deaf.

Answer: Queens of the Stone Age

Round 7 Player 2 Question 1:

The albums Blunderbuss, Lazaretto, Boarding House Reach, and Fear of the Dawn forms the entire solo discography of which artiste better known to us as the lead vocalist and guitarist of a duo?

Answer: Jack White; the lead singer and guitarist of the duo The White Stripes - THEME OF THE QUAD : Ace of Base, Kings of Leon, Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White

Round 2 Player 2 Question 1:

The Sopranos is a series centred around an Italian-American Mafia don. The show encompasses family dynamics, drama and violence. What is the letter 'r' in the title aptly stylised to represent?

Answer: A Gun; Accept revolver, pistol or other similar alternatives.

Round 3 Player 1 Question 2:

BoJack Horseman is a series centred around the title character and his tribulations as a former TV star. What is the letter 'C" in the title aptly stylised to represent?

Answer: A Horseshoe

Round 5 Player 3 Question 1:

Baskets is a series starring Zach Galifianakis as Chip Baskets, who fails from a renowned clowning college in Paris. What is the letter 'A' in the title aptly stylised to represent?

Answer: Eiffel Tower

Round 8 Player 4 Question 1:

Ozark is a series centred around the Byrde family and their plans to launder money for a Mexican drug cartel. An inverted version of what symbol is the letter 'Z' in the title stylised to represent?

Answer: The Dollar Sign

Round 2 Player 3 Question 1:

The Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944) was a decisive naval battle that crippled the Japanese who had thrown in their entire fleet against the combined forces of USA and Australia in a last ditch attempt to take control of the Pacific. After losing almost all of its fleet, what desperate measure was employed by the Japanese for the first time ever during this battle?

Answer: Kamikaze or Divine Wind; Accept: suicide attacks using planes or a similar description

Round 4 Player 1 Question 2:

Yet Zeus, the all-seeing, grants to Athene’s prayer that the wooden wall only shall not fall. This line in a prophecy led Themistocles to propose a strategy in a narrow strait, thereby neutralising an invading force's superior numbers and using his more maneuverable triremes to resounding success in which naval battle from 480 BC? A 2014 movie sequel is also partly based on events from this battle.

Answer: Battle of Salamis; the 2014 movie is 300: Rise of an Empire

Round 5 Player 2 Question 2:

What battle was fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet? It is named after a Northern European peninsula that gets its name from a tribe that used to inhabit the region and not from the way Denmark protrudes out of Germany.

Answer: Battle of Jutland; Accept: Battle of Skagerrak; Jutland is named for the Jutes.

Round 8 Player 4 Question 2:

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms adds numerous fictional elements to the real life Battle of Chibi, such as the use of magic by Zhuge Liang to propel fireships. The effect of the fireships on the appearance of steep geographical structures in the vicinity led to what two-word, colourful name for the battle? It is also the title of a two-part John Woo film about the battle.

Answer: Battle of Red Cliffs; Accept Red Cliff OR Red Cliffs

Spare Question 3:

Which location in London was named as a tribute to an 1805 naval battle that happened off the coast of a cape in the Spanish province of Cadiz? The battle marked the death of one of the leading admirals of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Answer: Trafalgar Square

Round 1 Player 3 Question 1:

In 1926, Roald Amundsen and 15 other men made the first aerial crossing of the Arctic in the airship Norge. Which archipelago, with a more well-known 21st century claim to fame, did the airship take off from during the final leg?

Answer: Svalbard (Accept: Spitsbergen)

Round 5 Player 1 Question 1:

Before embarking on his landmark Arctic expeditions in the 1900s, Robert Peary was an engineer on the surveys for a project in Central America. Which project that remains unrealised till date?

Answer: Nicaragua Canal (Accept: If they EXACTLY say Grand Interoceanic Canal or anything Nicaragua + Canal)

Round 6 Player 2 Question 2:

In 1989, German explorer Arved Fuchs became the first to reach the South Pole with neither animal nor motorised help, using skis and a parasail. This made him the first person to reach both poles by foot within one year. Which Italian adventurer and explorer was his companion during this expedition?

Answer: Reinhold Messner, the first man to climb all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres

Round 7 Player 4 Question 2:

The first person to visit both the North and South Poles by surface means and the first to completely cross Antarctica on foot happens to be the relative of a pair of actor siblings, with one of them playing an antagonist in the Harry Potter films. What is their shared surname?

Answer: Ranulph Fiennes (Prompt on Ralph Fiennes/Joseph Fiennes)

Round 1 Player 4 Question 1:

Outfits made using what needlework style - that involves interlocking loops of yarn or thread using a hooked needle - were worn by several attendees at Coachella 2022? This style gets its name from the French word for “hook”.

Answer: Crochet

Round 4 Player 1 Question 1:

A rainbow sequin version of what one-piece garment with the top and trousers attached together in one continuous piece did Harry Styles take to stage at Coachella 2022? Originally worn by certain members of the airforce, it became a staple with entertainers during the disco-era and orange versions gained popularity following the Netflix series Orange is the New Black.

Answer: Jumpsuit (Prompt: Onesie, Romper); originally worn by parachuters.

Round 5 Player 2 Question 1:

What type of hat with a narrow, downward-sloping brim was a popular choice at Coachella 2022 to beat the heat? Typically made of denim or canvas, its variants include the fisherman’s hat and the Irish country hat.

Answer: Bucket hat

Round 7 Player 3 Question 1:

What type of footwear - with a thick sole that is usually in the range of 3 - 10 cm - was all the rage at Coachella 2022? They trace back to Ancient Greece where they were used in theatre to raise the height of important characters.

Answer: Platform heels/shoes/boots/sneakers

Round 2 Player 2 Question 2:

What fitness program was created in the 1990s by Beto Pérez in Colombia after he forgot his usual music one day and instead used cassette tapes of Latin dance music for class? It is intended as a total-body cardio and aerobic workout.

Answer: Zumba

Round 4 Player 3 Question 2:

What fitness program was developed by South African bicycle racer Johnny Goldberg in the mid-1980s after he was struck by a car while training for a race at night? The program/brand is now used to refer to any type of indoor cycling fitness classes.

Answer: Spinning (Accept: Spin)

Round 6 Player 4 Question 1:

Described as "constantly varied functional movement performed at high intensity", what fitness regimen was conceived by Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai in Santa Cruz during the mid-1990s? The classes are held at affiliated locations called as "boxes".

Answer: CrossFit (Do not accept HIIT/Circuit Training etc.)

Round 8 Player 1 Question 1:

A blend of the exercise regimen developed by German physical trainer Joseph _______ (7) and a form of mind and body practise from ancient India, what 4-letter portmanteau term is used to market this fitness program created by Chalene Johnson? It is a low-impact strength workout that enhances flexibility.

Answer: PiYo (Prompt: Pilates/Yoga)

Round 2 Player 4 Question 1:

These panels from a Sandman comic show the chance encounter between Emperor Norton and which struggling author? The meeting is shown to have inspired a short story about a celebrated jumping frog that would be one of the first successes in an illustrious career. (Provide 35 seconds on direct)

Answer: Mark Twain OR Samuel Langhorne Clemens; The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Round 4 Player 2 Question 2:

The Fiddler's Green is a sentient part of the Dreaming, filled with everlasting music, that all travelers seek. The human personification of the Fiddler's Green, a portly man named Gilbert with a penchant for paradoxes, is a tribute to which early 20th century English writer? (Provide 35 seconds on direct)

Answer: GK (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

Round 7 Player 1 Question 1:

These panels from a Sandman comic show a dream encounter between 13th century romance writer Rustichello da Pisa and which cellmate of his? Rustichello wrote a million tall tales about the cellmate in an extremely popular travelogue of the times. (Provide 35 seconds on direct)

Answer: Marco Polo; The travelogue was called Book of the Marvels of the World or IL Milione.

Round 7 Player 3 Question 2:

In a Sandman issue titled Thermidor which famous pamphleteer and advocate of common sense is shown in jail in 1793/94? He was released after the diplomatic efforts of James Monroe. (Provide 35 seconds on direct)

Answer: Thomas Paine; who famously published the pamphlet Common Sense advocating US Independence.

Round 2 Player 1 Question 2:

A cadet is assigned to accompany a blind captain on his trip to Naples, where he intends to commit suicide, but when a woman enters his life, he contemplates on his plan. This is the synopsis of the 1974 Italian film Profumo Di Donna. Name the 1992 Hollywood remake, which earned the lead actor his only Academy Award.

Answer: Scent of a Woman

Round 3 Player 2 Question 2:

“In a Norwegian city with a 24-hour daylight cycle a Swedish murder investigator has been brought in on a special case. Sleep deprived, he makes a horrible mistake which is discovered by the killer he has been hunting.” This is the synopsis of a 1997 Norwegian thriller. Name the 2002 Hollywood remake of this film.

Answer: Insomnia

Round 5 Player 3 Question 2:

“A woman and her ex-husband investigate a series of teen deaths caused by a mysterious videotape. Their investigation takes an ugly turn when their own son becomes a victim.” This is the synopsis of a 1998 Japanese horror film. Name the 2002 Hollywood remake of this film.

Answer: The Ring

Round 6 Player 4 Question 2:

“Chan Wing Yan, a policeman, successfully infiltrates a Triad while Wong Chi-Shing, a Triad member, becomes a mole in the police force. However, things change when both of them must seek each other out.” This is the synopsis of a 2002 Hong Kong film. Name the 2006 Hollywood remake of this film.

Answer: The Departed; The Hong Kong film is Infernal Affairs.

Spare Question 2:

Returning home from war after being assumed dead, a pilot weds the woman he has long loved, unaware that she had been planning to marry his best friend. This is a synopsis of the 1962 Bollywood film Sangam. Which much-panned 2001 Hollywood movie about a historical incident from 1941, was heavily borrowed from it?

Answer: Pearl Harbour

Round 2 Player 1 Question 1:

In the African savannah, giraffes munch on the leaves of this tree, inspite of its defence mechanism of thorns and unpleasant taste. Name this species of hardwood, probably originating from the Greek word "ake" meaning "point or thorn".

Answer: Acacia

Round 4 Player 2 Question 1:

The characteristic black colour of this tree's wood has led to it being traditionally used in the production of the black keys in a piano and black pieces in chess. Identify this dense black/brown hardwood, that was known in Egyptian as "hbnj".

Answer: Ebony

Round 5 Player 4 Question 1:

While the genus Salix has around 400 species of deciduous trees, the species Salix alba aaerulea is unique because it doesn't splinter easily. This makes it the ideal choice for a particular sporting equipment and is harvested across England for this purpose. Name this species of hardwood, that is also the nickname for the sporting equipment.

Answer: Willow; Cricket bats are also called "willows".

Round 8 Player 3 Question 2:

Name this species of hardwood, a possible corruption of 'm'oganwo', an African word for these trees. Principally reserved for shipbuilding during colonisation of the Caribbean, it appears on the Belizean national flag.

Answer: Mahogany

Round 1 Player 3 Question 2:

Argon is used to create an oxygenless atmosphere in what high temperature industrial process that involves the use of electricity to create enough heat to melt and fuse metals? The concept for the process was discovered by Humphry Davy in 1800.

Answer: Arc welding (Accept: welding)

Round 3 Player 4 Question 1:

Krypton's multiple emission lines make ionised krypton gas discharges appear whitish. This has led to the use of small krypton-based bulbs in what field as a flashy bright white light source?

Answer: Photography (Accept: Filmmaking and other reasonable alternatives)

Round 6 Player 2 Question 1:

Xenon’s high solubility in lipids combined with a fast elimination rate makes it more potent than the usual nitrous oxide for what purpose in medicine? Other substances used widely for this purpose are isoflurane and desflurane.

Answer: Anaesthetic (Accept: Sedative and other reasonable alternatives)

Round 8 Player 1 Question 2:

Helium does not exhibit narcotic properties under high pressure. As a result, mixtures such as trimix, heliox and heliair are used widely in the gas cylinders for what activity? While heliox is a combination of helium and oxygen, trimix and heliair include nitrogen as well.

Answer: Diving (Accept: scuba diving etc.)

Round 1 Player 1 Question 1:

Which city hosted the 12th Asian Games in 1994? The emblem of the games is an abstract image of a dove in the shape of the first letter in the city's name, to hint at the city's desire for peace.

Answer: Hiroshima

Round 2 Player 4 Question 2:

Which city hosted the 14th Asian Games in 2002? The emblem of the games combined sea waves with the Taegeuk to hint at the city's status as one of the world's major ports.

Answer: Busan; in South Korea.

Round 6 Player 3 Question 2:

Which city, the HQ of the Alibaba Group, will host the 19th Asian Games in 2022? The emblem of the games hints at four elements - a hand fan, a running track, the Qiantang River, and wireless connectivity.

Answer: Hangzhou (Do not accept Guangzhou)

Round 8 Player 2 Question 1:

Which capital city will host the 22nd Asian Games in 2034? The emblem used for the bidding process depicts the map of the country as an outline enclosing various sporting pictograms.

Answer: Riyadh; (Prompt: Saudi Arabia - ask for capital city)

Round 1 Player 4 Question 2:

Which competitive medieval event's name is derived from the Latin term "iuxtare" meaning "to approach or meet"? The same term is part of the phrase "verbal _____" (5), that refers to a garrulous debate.

Answer: Joust/Jousting

Round 3 Player 3 Question 1:

What term, popularised by an 1809 Scottish work, was used to refer to knights that would travel across regions for various jousting tournaments while not pledged to a single ruler? The term is used in a similar vein in the modern world.

Answer: Freelancer or Freelance (Prompt: Mercenary); The work is Ivanhoe.

Round 6 Player 1 Question 2:

What term, now a synonym for jousting, came from the barrier used to separate the two jousting knights? The term used for this barrier, which would stabilise the horses as the rider shifted their weight to strike his opponent, is best known to us via a delusional phrase from literature.

Answer: Tilt/Tilting, the phrase referenced is Tilting at windmills from Don Quixote.

Round 7 Player 2 Question 2:

What common English word comes from a diminutive of the term used for the small shield typically placed on a jouster's shoulder? A jouster aims their lance at this shield to score a point.

Answer: Target from Targ/Targe.

Round 1 Player 1 Question 2:

Known locally as "Halab", which city at the crossroads of several trade routes between Europe and Asia was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1986? It finds mention in multiple plays of Shakespeare, and is the location where a "Moor of Venice" stabbed "a malignant and a turban’d Turk" for beating a Venetian.

Answer: Aleppo; The Moor of Venice is Othello, who speaks about a time when he was in Aleppo.

Round 3 Player 2 Question 1:

Inhabited continuously since Neolithic times and referred to in the past by names as Jubayl and Giblet, which Asian city is associated with the discovery of the Phoenician alphabet? Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, a religious text may have derived its name from a Greek mispronunciation of the city’s name.

Answer: Byblos; The bible may have got its name from Byblos.

Round 4 Player 3 Question 1:

Which ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid empire was conferred UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1979? It also served as the title of an autobiographical series that catapulted an Iranian-French author to the limelight two decades later.

Answer: Persepolis

Round 7 Player 4 Question 1:

Which city is home to a series of 8 structures called the Atamasthana - the places Buddha (according to legend) had visited during his three visits to the country? With places of veneration such as Ruwanwelisaya and Thuparamaya, the city was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982.

Answer: Anuradhapura; in Sri Lanka.

Spare Question 1:

This national park, which includes the three large islands of ______ (6), Padar and Rinca and 26 other smaller islands, was created in 1980 to protect an endangered reptilian species of the Varanidae family. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. Fill in the blank.

Answer: Komodo National Park

Round 1 Player 2 Question 1:

Locals in Kullu believe that Lord Shiva created the pass and in Lahaul, they believe that it was created by Gyapo Gyasar, the king of Western Tibet. In the Ladakhi language, its name is Bhoti which translates to a “Pile of Corpses”, due to the numerous people who died trying to cross the mountain pass. Which pass?

Answer: Rohtang Pass

Round 3 Player 4 Question 2:

The Border Roads Organisation created a world record in November 2021 by constructing the world's highest motorable road at the Umling La pass in Ladakh at an altitude of 19,024 feet. It overtook the road at which mountain pass at a height of 18,380 feet, essential to the supplies for the Siachen Glacier?

Answer: Khardung La or Khardung Pass

Round 5 Player 1 Question 2:

A part of the Tibetan kingdom in medieval times, local rulers and rulers from Bhutan have ruled the region. Declared by the British as off-limits in 1873, it was invaded by Chinese troops during the 1962 war who later withdrew. It is the location of the Gentse Gaden Rabgyel Lling monastery. Which mountain pass, that offers views of the Kangto and Gorichen Peaks, some of the highest in a North-East Indian state?

Answer: Bomdila

Round 8 Player 3 Question 1:

Since the 18th century, this mountain pass and the 89 sq. km. area around it has often changed hands due to repeated raids on it and has been an area of continual conflict to-date. What area, between a stream and a river and literally meaning rocky path, that made news in 2017 is this?

Answer: Doklam (Accept: Doka La Pass, Zhoglam or Donglang)