k-circle weekly quiz
TRANSCRIPT
William Shockley is credited with the invention of
the semiconductor Transistor while working at Bell
Labs.
Bell Labs promptly patented the invention in the
late 1940s and started charging royalties for
commercial or research use of the transistor.
However, as a tribute to a person and that
person’s lifelong dedication, companies or
individuals wanting to use the transistor in certain
type of medical devices were exempt from
royalties.
Which products, as tribute to whom?
A play on the name of a science, what 9-lettered
term is pejoratively used to describe the following
photographs?
This doodle commemorated the 100th birthday of a Nobel laureate whose most famous work is titled after the legend shown in the animation.
Who and what legend?
Albert Camus
Myth of Sisyphus
Sisyphus was the Sinner, condemned in Tartarus to
an eternity of rolling a boulder uphill then watching
it roll back down again.
In a section in France's Bibliotheque National
library some manuscripts are stored in boxes
created from a special material. These
manuscripts are believed to be created about
100 years back in the 1910s.
Any visitor to the Bibliotheque wishing to
access these manuscripts must do so under
stipulated special guidelines, and only after
signing a waiver of liability.
What are these manuscripts, authored by
whom?
The original research papers of Marie Curie. These
are laced with radioactive Polonium and are still
radiating.
'Photon Polarization' is a property of light which is central
to the wave (oscillating) nature of light. Polarization is an
inseparable property of a photon and a photon without
polarization is theoretically not possible. Polarization is
measured using a device called Interferometer.
In November 2013, through an experimental set-up,
physicists were able to show that a photon will travel
through the left arm of an interferometer with 100%
certainty, yet its polarization can be detected in the right
arm, where there is 0% probability of the photon traveling.
That is, the photon is in one place while its polarization is
in another, thus contradicting theory and resulting in a
paradox.
This paradox is appropriately named after which fictional
character that appeared first in a 19th century book?
Cheshire Cat Paradox.
" Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin," thought Alice; " but a
grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever say in my
life!"
Kurokos are Japanese
Kabuki stage performers,
dressed in all black as
shown here, and form an
important part of
traditional Kabuki stage
performances.
For what purpose are the
Kuroko performers dressed
like this?
The all black dress makes them invisible against the black
background, thus helping produce special effects on stage like
object flying in the air. (Here is a stunning video of Kurokos in
action!)
Following is the description of a test demonstrated in
Mythbusters (a TV program on Discovery channel investigating
popular rumours and myths):
To begin the test, the Mythbusters were exposed to bright
light and then sent into a dark room with light-accustomed
eyes and were told to complete certain objectives. Their
movements were hampered by the darkness and it took them
five minutes to finish.
Then, the Mythbusters were exposed to bright light for 30
minutes, with only one eye exposed and the other covered.
Then, they were sent into a rearranged but equally dark room
after covering the eye that was exposed to light. In this case,
the Mythbusters were able to complete the test in less than
two minutes.
Which myth was thus deemed ‘Plausible’ by the Mythbusters?
The myth that Pirates wore eye patches to preserve night
vision in one eye.
Pirates frequently had to move above and below decks,
from daylight to near darkness, and the smart ones wore a
patch over one eye to keep it dark-adapted outside.
This image of a
Pulsar wind Nebula,
produced by the
dense remnant of a
star was captured by
a NASA telescope in
January 2014.
What phrase is
being used to
describe this
formation,
reminiscent of a
famous sport
incident of the
1980s?
In a 2013 Sinquefield Chess Cup match, Hikashi Nakamura played the
match against Carlsen with sunglasses on throughout the match.
Though Nakamura tweeted that the reason for his sunglasses was that
he "just felt like doing something different", many fans on social media
and chess blogs were citing a bizarre reason for the sunglasses which
might have saved him the game against Carlsen.
What was the alleged reason for the sunglasses?
There is a belief among some fans that Magnus
Carlsen can hypnotize the opponent and turn the
game in his favour.
The reflective sunglasses were supposedly to avoid
eye contact with Carlsen.
Name the book in which this appears and what
is it a description of:
“Look! Brahmins and chumars, bankers and
tinkers, barbers and bunnias, pilgrims and
potters—all the world going and coming. It is to
me as a river from which I am withdrawn like a
log after a flood.
And truly the _____ _____ ____ is a wonderful
spectacle. It runs straight, ………….—such a river
of life as nowhere else exists in the world.”
Located on the Norwegian island of
Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard
archipelago, this structure is called the
'Doomsday Vault'.
This location was chosen for this structure
because the natural formation of permafrost
soil and thick rock ensure that, even in the
case of a power cut, the inside of the structure
remain frozen. What is the purpose of this
structure?
Pictures follow…
It is a seedbank.
The seed vault is an attempt to insure against the
loss of seeds in other gene banks during large-scale
regional or global crises.
More than 800000 seed samples from various parts
of the world are stored in the vault.
The _X_ test is a urine test used to detect the concentration
of the alkaloid _X_ and is mandated by most of the
insurance companies for insurance applicant.
The high concentration of this chemical in the urine is an
indication that the applicant is at higher risk of developing
certain diseases and the application is liable for rejection.
The name of this chemical _X_ is an anagram of name of
another chemical _Y_.
_Y_ is named after a 16th century French diplomat who is
known to have introduced a "simple headache remedy" for
the French queen. This ‘remedy’ later became identified
with the pleasures of nobility.
X, Y?
Cotinine test.
Nicotine.
Jean Nicot.
High concentration of Cotinine in the urine is an
indication of a regular smoker and the insurance
application is liable for rejection.
In his autobiography, who is describing his favourite pastime?
I practiced and I practiced until I could get the last two numbers
off an open filing cabinet, hardly looking at the dial. Then, when
I'd be in some guy's office discussing some [science] problem, I'd
lean against his opened filing cabinet, and just like a guy who's
jiggling keys absent-mindedly while he's talking, I'd just wobble
the dial back and forth. Sometimes I'd put my finger on the bolt
so I wouldn't have to look to see if it's coming up. In this way I
picked off the last two numbers of various filing cabinets. When I
got back to my office I would write the two numbers down on a
piece of paper.
After a while my reputation began to sail, because things like
this would happen: Somebody would say, "Hey, __________!
Christy's out of town and we need a document from his safe--
can you open it?"
This constellation is
depicted as dolphinfish
(Coryphaena) and is
known by a popular name
that is the Portuguese
word for this fish.
This name also finds
frequent mention in
literature as the name of a
legendary king, most
notably in Milton's Lost
Paradise and Voltaire's
Candide.
What is the name?
Shown here is an object designed by Scottish physiologist, John Haldane
in early 1900s. Fitted with Oxygen cylinder on top, this box would be
carried by people of certain profession during their professional duties
and would act as warning mechanism and a life saver.
The way this this device was used, gives rise to an idiomatic expression
meaning “advanced warning of impending danger”
What phrase OR how was this device used?
Canary in the coal mine!
To test for gas the glass door was opened to let air in. If the bird
showed signs of distress the miners were alerted to the
presence of carbon monoxide. The door was then shut and a
valve opened to let in oxygen to revive the canary. This method
saved thousands of lives across the world.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother is seen here on
the occasion of inauguration of the monument in
Ontario Canada.
What is blanked out on the plaque?
Identify the statue besides this monument.
Frederick Banting Flame
of Hope. This is an
eternal flame dedicated
to Diabetics throughout
world, never to be
doused until a cure of
diabetes is found.
In liturgy, the canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms
of periods of fixed prayer at regular intervals.
By the 9th century, the canonical offices consisted of eight daily
prayer events:
1. Lauds : At daybreak
2. Prime : First hour of daylight (6.00 AM)
3. Terce : 9.00 AM
4. Sext : 12.00 Noon
5. _____ : Etymologically similar to the day of the half moon (eight
days before the Ides) in the Roman calendar.
6. _______ : Latin word for evening, evocative of a fictional
character featured in Ian Fleming's novel "Casino Royale".
7. Compline : Before retiring for night
8. Vigil : On festive occasions.
Hapax Legomena pose particular problems for
cryptographers to decipher ancient texts.
Some literary examples of Hapax Legomena are:
“Honorificabilitudinitatibus” in works of Shakespeare
“Zanjabil” (Ginger) in Koran
“Zechuchith” (Glass) in the Hebrew Bible
So, what is a Hapax Legomenon?
A word which occurs only once in either the written
record of a language, the works of an author, or in a
single text.
For example, the mention of word
Honorificabilitudinitatibus appears only once in the
entire works of Shakeapeare.
On the 60th anniversary of this tragedy on March 27, 1997,
the then president of a country issued an apology to the
citizens of another country :
"The victims of that brutal attack have been exposed to
tremendous sufferings. We hereby swear that the horror
caused by our air force will never be repeated. We wish to
extend hand of friendship and reconciliation and hope for
peace for the future for the people of both nations."
Name the two countries.
What is the subject of this apology, that has been also the
subject of several artistic depictions, poetry, music and
even a short film?
According to biographers, madness was a regular guest in his home.
His grandmother had schizophrenia, his mother, sister and his
daughter all suffered depression and mental problems and his most
beloved uncle, British MP, Sir Samuel Romilly committed suicide by
slitting his throat.
In spite of this, he excelled in academics and in 1814 he invented a
“log-log” slide rule for calculating the roots and powers of numbers.
His explanation of the illusion of motion and persistence of vision was
an important point in the history of motion pictures.
He contributed with articles for several editions of Encyclopaedia
Britannica.
As a tribute to him, the 20th century poet Sylvia Plath called herself
"_______'s Strumpet".
His most famous creation gained popularity in USA when Americans
went crazy for crossword puzzles in the 1920s.
Who?
This is a 1783 painting by a
French painter Louise Le Burn.
a) Who is the subject of the
painting?
b) The dress worn by the lady
in the painting is a stylized
depiction of a type of
undergarment, the name of
which is borrowed from the
Urdu word for Shirt. What is
such dress called?
c) The fabric of the dress
shown in the painting takes its
name from a city, now in
modern day Iraq. What is the
fabric called?
In 2011, Government of South Korea passed a law
which would ban all gamers aged under 16 from
playing online games between midnight and 6:00
am.
This shutdown law is known by what appropriate
alternative name?
The name of this software literally means "a stupid or worthless person (especially a man)".The original author of the software ostensibly states that being an 'egotistical bastard', the software is indeed named after himself.Name the software and the author.
Popular in the early 1900s,
these type of theatres in USA
used gaudy posters and
ornamented facades to
attract customers.
The name used for these
theatres was a combination
of the common word for the
US 5-cent coin and the Greek
word for "singing place”.
What were these called?
Following are two examples for the syntax
of an esoteric programming language.
What is the name of the programming
language?
Operation : a = (b + 5) > c
Program :
GET TO THE CHOPPER a
HERE IS MY INVITATION b
GET UP 5
LET OFF SOME STEAM BENNET c
ENOUGH TALK
Operation : if(a) print "a is true"
else print "a is not true“
Program :
BECAUSE I'M GOING TO SAY PLEASE a
TALK TO THE HAND "a is true"
BULLSHIT
TALK TO THE HAND "a is not true"
YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR LOGIC
Their official website says that "Established in
1767, it is the oldest engineering and scientific
department of government of India."
The motto of the department, depicted on the
logo, is the Sanskrit phrase : "Aa Setu
Himalacham", meaning "From the Setu to the
Himalayas“.
This motto in essence represents the purpose of
their office, but ironic to its 'scientific' purpose,
makes a reference to the mythological ‘Setu’.
Which department?
In January 2015, after a surge of photos of some
Saudi citizens on social media, a prominent cleric in
Saudi Arabia issued a fatwa saying : “God has given
people space to make whatever they want which
does not have a soul, including trees, ships, fruits,
buildings and so on. However, it is not permitted to
make _________, even by way of play and fun.”
Though the fatwa was criticized on social media, it
found some supporters with one writing :
"_________ imitates the infidels, it promotes
lustiness and eroticism".
What did this fatwa ban?
The names of the three books in this
trilogy by an author under a pseudonym
FF8282 are:
Volume 1: Belmarsh: Hell
Volume 2: Wayland: Purgatory
Volume 3: North Sea Camp: Heaven
Who is the author?
What are the titles of the three volumes
inspired from?
In March 1876 a congressman from Ohio, showed a certain written demonstration to a mathematics professor at Dartmouth University. Later that year, the demonstration was published in the famous Journal of Education.
The article, in the journal begins, “In a personal interview with _____ _________, member of Congress from Ohio, we were shown the following demonstration of the pons asinorum, which he had hit upon in some mathematical amusements and discussions with other M. C.’s [members of Congress]. We do not remember to have seen it before, and we think it something on which the members of both houses can unite without distinction of party.”Pons Asinorum in the article is a reference to Proposition 5 of Euclid’s Elements and represents the isosceles right angled triangle.Who was this congressman?
A feudal custom recorded in early 19th century
England regulated the use of firewood from royal
forests by peasants. The peasants would be allowed
to take as much deadwood as they could pull down
and cut with ease using these two devices.
What phrase is supposed to trace its origin to this
custom?
This is a 1783 painting by a
French painter Louise Le Burn.
a) Who is the subject of the
painting?
b) The dress worn by the lady
in the painting is a stylized
depiction of a type of
undergarment, the name of
which is borrowed from the
Urdu word for Shirt. What is
such dress called?
c) The fabric of the dress
shown in the painting takes its
name from a city, now in
modern day Iraq. What is the
fabric called?
In 2011, Government of South Korea passed a law
which would ban all gamers aged under 16 from
playing online games between midnight and 6:00
am.
This shutdown law is known by what appropriate
alternative name?
The name of this software literally means "a stupid or worthless person (especially a man)".The original author of the software ostensibly states that being an 'egotistical bastard', the software is indeed named after himself.Name the software and the author.
Popular in the early 1900s,
these type of theatre in USA
used gaudy posters and
ornamented facades to
attract customers.
The name used for these
theatres was a combination
of the common word for the
US 5-cent coin and the Greek
word for "singing place”.
What were these called?
Following are two examples for the syntax
of an esoteric programming language.
What is the name of the programming
language?
Operation : a = (b + 5) > c
Program :
GET TO THE CHOPPER a
HERE IS MY INVITATION b
GET UP 5
LET OFF SOME STEAM BENNET c
ENOUGH TALK
Operation : if(a) print "a is true"
else print "a is not true“
Program :
BECAUSE I'M GOING TO SAY PLEASE a
TALK TO THE HAND "a is true"
BULLSHIT
TALK TO THE HAND "a is not true"
YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR LOGIC
Their official website says that "Established in
1767, it is the oldest engineering and scientific
department of government of India."
The motto of the department, depicted on the
logo, is the Sanskrit phrase : "Aa Setu
Himalacham", meaning "From the Setu to the
Himalayas“.
This motto in essence represents the purpose of
their office, but ironic to its 'scientific' purpose,
makes a reference to the mythological ‘Setu’.
Which department?
In January 2015, after a surge of photos of some
Saudi citizens on social media, a prominent cleric in
Saudi Arabia issued a fatwa saying : “God has given
people space to make whatever they want which
does not have a soul, including trees, ships, fruits,
buildings and so on. However, it is not permitted to
make _________, even by way of play and fun.”
Though the fatwa was criticized on social media, it
found some supporters with one writing :
"_________ imitates the infidels, it promotes
lustiness and eroticism".
What did this fatwa ban?
The names of the three books in this
trilogy by an author under a pseudonym
FF8282 are:
Volume 1: Belmarsh: Hell
Volume 2: Wayland: Purgatory
Volume 3: North Sea Camp: Heaven
Who is the author?
What are the titles of the three volumes
inspired from?
In March 1876 a congressman from Ohio, showed a certain written demonstration to a mathematics professor at Dartmouth University. Later that year, the demonstration was published in the famous Journal of Education.
The article, in the journal begins, “In a personal interview with _____ _________, member of Congress from Ohio, we were shown the following demonstration of the pons asinorum, which he had hit upon in some mathematical amusements and discussions with other M. C.’s [members of Congress]. We do not remember to have seen it before, and we think it something on which the members of both houses can unite without distinction of party.”Pons Asinorum in the article is a reference to Proposition 5 of Euclid’s Elements and represents the isosceles right angled triangle.Who was this congressman?
A feudal custom recorded in early 19th century
England regulated the use of firewood from royal
forests by peasants. The peasants would be allowed
to take as much deadwood as they could pull down
and cut with ease using these two devices.
What phrase is supposed to trace its origin to this
custom?
By Hook or by Crook.
From the custom in mediaeval England of allowing
peasants to take from royal forests whatever
deadwood they could pull down with a shepherd's
crook or cut with a reaper's billhook.
Easter Islands
Christmas Islands
Ascension Islands
Pentecost Islands
Whitsunday Islands
Islands named for Christmas holidays.
Shown here is Turkish foreign minister gifting to the
UN, the replica of something (original shown in an
Istanbul museum). What item is this and what 'first' is
it known to be?
It is a finely divided siliceous material of volcanic
origin that reacts chemically with slaked lime in the
presence of moisture to form a strong slow-
hardening cement.
In ancient Rome, this material was instrumental in
the evolution of new architectural forms in Europe
in such monumental constructions as the Pantheon
and the Baths of Caracalla at Rome.
Being discovered first near a town close to Naples in
Italy, it is named after this town. What is this
material called?
This is a collection of short
stories by Agatha Christie.
According to the foreword in
the book,
“In the period before his final
retirement Poirot would accept
these twelve cases, no more, no
less. And those twelve cases
should be selected with special
reference to the ______ ___
________. Yes, that would not
only be amusing, it would be
artistic, it would be spiritual.”
What is the title of the book?
This form of headgear used by militants is called
Balaclava, named after a town in former Crimean
peninsula.
Alfred Tennyson's poem ‘Charge of light brigade’ is
based on the battle of Balaclava, a significant event
in the Crimean war.
What event does this
medal
commemorate?
The inscription says :
"Flavit Jehovah et
Dissipati Sunt"
a phrase from the
‘Book of Job’ from
Hebrew Bible.
The fall of the Spanish Armada.
The phrase translates to : Jehovah breathed and
they scattered, thus emphasizing the divine nature
of the victory.
The three major tributaries of the river that flows through this country are named the Black _____, White _____ and Red _____.These tributaries were expressed in the original post-independence tri-colour flag adopted by the country in 1958.Which country?
This British author, considered master of short
stories adopted a pen name that may have been
inspired from the name of this species of monkey,
or from the name of the cupbearer, who serves
wine in Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat.
Who is the author and what pen name?
Das Antlitz der Erde (The Face of the Earth), is a four-
volume treatise on the geologic structure of the earth
that discusses the theories of geologist Eduard Suess
about the structure and evolution of the lithosphere in
greater detail, tracing the ancient changes in the
continents and seas necessary to form the modern
features of the Earth’s surface.
Many concepts and terms first proposed in this book are
still in use in geology.
One such term in geology, that was first mentioned in this
book can be associated with certain Dravidian people of
central India and also with 12409/12410 superfast train
that runs between Raigarh and Hazrat Nizamuddin.
What term?
Seuss named the two supercontinents as Laurasia
and Gondwanaland, which is named after the
Gondwana regioin in India, which gets its name
from the Gond tribes of central India.
Evocative of its etymology related to
human anatomy, the International
Astronomical Union (IAU) uses this
astronomical symbol for what?
This mural shows two
brothers, who acted as
Christian missionaries to the
Slavic people in the 9th
century. Owing to their
influence on the cultural
development of all Slavs,
they received the title
"Apostles to the Slavs".
Their major influence on the
present day Eastern Europe
is also depicted in the mural.
Identify both.
International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) offers a
number of awards in the field of mathematics including
the much revered Fields Medal.
At the congress, the ICM also recognizes one person with
an award for “outstanding public outreach work for
mathematics”.
This award, whose name is literally translated as 'The
beautiful' is named after a treatise that details the tale of
a young lady whose unfortunate twist of fate is said to
have deprived her of her only chance for marriage and
happiness.
What is this award called?
This 7 lettered word, much in
news recently because of
pictures like this, is an
anagram of the word used
for such rod borne by rulers
as an emblem of authority.
Spell both anagrams.
During Barrack Obama’s 2015 Republic Day visit to India, the
PMO gifted him some motifs created using an extremely rare
400 year old art form that is known to be practised by a single
family in Gujarat's Kutch region.
Name this art form that takes its name from Persian word for
'oil-based'. (Video)
Castellers De Villafranca is an organization in
Catalonia region of Spain whose primary objective is
to promote and nurture the Spanish culture of
'Castells'. Since there is much similarity between the
culture of Castells and a certain Indian tradition
followed in August-September every year, this
organization collaborates with certain 'Mandals' in
Mumbai. As a part of this collaboration, a group of
people from Mumbai visits regularly to Spain and a
group of 'Castellers' visits India. The objective of
these visits is to learn from each other.
So, what are ‘Castells’?
Castells are Human Towers built traditionally in
festivals in Catalonia, similar to the ‘Govindas’ in
Mumbai.
IUCN red list is a comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The internationally accepted categories of conservation status of species are:
LC - Least concernNT - Not ThreatenedVU - VulnerableEN - EndangeredCR - Critically EndangeredEW -EX - Extinct
What does EW stand for and what does it mean?
Extinct in the Wild :
The taxon is known only to survive in cultivation,
in captivity (human care) or as a naturalized
population well outside the past range.
A group of islands, also a British Overseas territory in the North
Atlantic, is known for abundance of this cactus species. This
cactus of the family 'Melocactus' is known for a distinctive
coloured structure at the top. This structure closely resembles
such peculiar hats. Due to the history associated with these felt
hats, the cactus is also known by another name.
What is the more popular name of this cactus and consequently
these islands?
The cactus is called ‘Turk Hat Cactus’ because of the
resemblance to the Fez hat introduced by Ottoman
Turks.
The islands are named ‘Turks and Caicos’ due to the
abundance of the Turk Hat cactus.
Which principle depicted in this children’s story video
is applied in various fields like psychology, biology,
economics and engineering?
The name of this very popular Bollywood
movie of the 1990s is inspired from a
song in a 1974 movie, _X_.
Actor _Y_ played a much appreciated
iconic role in the 1990s movie while _Y_’s
brother, _Z_ played a negative role in the
1974 movie.
X (the 1974 movie), Y, Z?
Following video is the starting scene from the 1996
movie ‘Stendhal Syndrome’, shot in Uffizi museum.
Identify the two paintings / painters in the scene.
Continuing with Icarus, there is an oft
cited story about how Icarus lost wings
because of flying too close to sun.
Which character in Hindu mythology is
known to have met a similar fate for the
same reason?
In professional Tennis tournaments, before the advent of
Hawkeye technology, the electronic line judge system was
used.
In this system, a small box would focus infrared horizontal
beam of lights before and after the service line. When the ball
broke the beams situated beyond the service line, a loud beep
would be produced indicating a foul.
Owing to the appearance of this small box that produced these
infrared beams, what name, evocative of a mythological
character was given to this system?