An Important Announcement

Hi all,

I will have to discontinue posting new quizzes for some time, as I will be out of station due to some works. I don't think that Internet connectivity is available in the places where I will be staying and so....won't be able to update the blog.

But I assure that I will be back in a short while, probably by the end of the next month, Aug '05. Till then, good bye!

Answers & scores for SHOVON's Sports Misc. 2 of July 23, 2005

Hi,

Prateek Vijayavargia mastered this one with a 9.5 out of possible 10. Subramanian Natarajan with 9 was not far behind either. Congrats to Prateek and Subramanian!

The answers are -

1. England allrounder Ian Botham was banned for two months from all County and Test Cricket in 1986. Over which specific incidence was he banned?

Ans: Admitted taking Cannabis/Marijuana

2. Which brothers, born in Queenstown, South Africa, returned identical bowling figures 4-53 in their debut test matches for England in 1972 and 1982?

Ans: Tony & Ian Greig (Given points for Tony Greig and his brother also)

3. Which tennis player from Australia was nicknamed 'The Rockhampton Rocket'?

Ans: Rod Laver

4. Which great heavyweight boxing champion was nicknamed "The Brockton Blockbuster"?

Ans: Rocky Marciano

5. Which heavyweight boxing champion's image features on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles?

Ans: Sonny Liston

6. 1985 film "Kabhi Ajnabi The" featured three test cricketers in its credited cast. Who are the cricketers?

Ans: Syed Kirmani, Clive Lloyd (as himself) & Sandeep Patil

7. Visual. Identify all the boxers in the below photo.



Ans: Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Forman, Larry Holmes, Muhammad Ali

8. Another Visual from Boxing. The Boxers in the image below are Ali and Frazier fighting for the world championship. Ali went on to win the fight and retain his heavyweight title. This particular battle was given a hyped up name for creating more interest. What was the name given to this championship fight?



Ans: "Thrilla in Manila" (I have given points for Thriller in Manila also)

9. Identify the soccer star. He was considered a symbol of rebirth and vindication for post war Germany.



Ans: Fritz Walter

10. Identify the soccer star from the image below. Nicknamed 'Pablito' he was born on 23 Sep 1956 in Prato, Italy.



Ans: Paolo Rossi

Answers & Scores of Dry Round 2 of July 23, 2005

Hi,

Well it was a very low scoring one, so I am not publishing detailed scores. But hats off to Mr. Aravind Ghosh Suri. As usual, he came on top with 8 out of 10. He was actually very close on the audio clue also, just that it's Sify iway and not Sify Broadband. It might have just helped if he knew my background :-) . I was working for Sify in the iway projects division. So, the audio clue!
And the answers are -

1. Pepsi launched it's Pepsi Cola with the famous ad "Are you ready for the magic?" in India. Which two celebrities featured in this ad?

Ans: Remo & Juhi Chawla

2. The hit 100 Days song "Bol baby bol" was used in the TV ad for which product? (Please be specific. Don't say Windows. Specify whether it's Windows98 or WindowsXP)

Ans: Bakeman's Glucogold

3. This product ran ads in the visual media featuring Javed Jaffery and Pankaj Kapur. The themes of the ads were spoofs on Ajit - The Loin and were titled like "One Day with Lily", "The Great Escape" etc. The tagline for the product was, "It's different". Which is the product in question?

Ans: Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Chilly Sauce (Remember, 'It's Different!' ?)

4. Remember Digen Verma? A particular brand had created a lot of hype and suspense over the question "Who is Digen Verma?". Which product I am talking about?

Ans: Mango Frooti

5. It's an audio clip mainly aired on FM. Listen to the clip by clicking on the below link. Identify the product or service.

http://www.geocities.com/shovon76/track3.wma

Ans: Sify iway

The rest five questions are visual. Click on the links to view the pictures. The pictures are stills taken from visual ads. You have to identify the product or service associated with the ad.

6. Identify the specific product from this ad featuring Udham Singh.



Ans: Britannia Chekkers

7. Identify the product from the ad, which is a spoof of the more famous Liril ad.



Ans: Center Fresh Lemon

8. Identify the product from the ad.



Ans: Kwality Wall's Feast

9. Identify the product from the ad.



Ans: Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Chilly Sauce

10.Identify the product from the ad.



Ans: Touch Wood

SHOVON's Sports Misc. 2 of July 23, 2005

Hi all,

Time for another round of quizzing. Pls. send in your answers to shovon76@gmail.com. The answers along with the scores will be published on July 28, 2005.

1. England allrounder Ian Botham was banned for two months from all County and Test Cricket in 1986. Over which specific incidence was he banned?

Ans:

2. Which brothers, born in Queenstown, South Africa, returned identical bowling figures 4-53 in their debut test matches for England in 1972 and 1982?

Ans:

3. Which tennis player from Australia was nicknamed 'The Rockhampton Rocket'?

Ans:

4. Which great heavyweight boxing champion was nicknamed "The Brockton Blockbuster"?

Ans:

5. Which heavyweight boxing champion's image features on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles?

Ans:

6. 1985 film "Kabhi Ajnabi The" featured three test cricketers in its credited cast. Who are the cricketers?

Ans:

7. Visual. Identify all the boxers in the below photo.


Ans:

8. Another Visual from Boxing. The Boxers in the image below are Ali and Frazier fighting for the world championship. Ali went on to win the fight and retain his heavyweight title. This particular battle was given a hyped up name for creating more interest. What was the name given to this championship fight?


Ans:

9. Identify the soccer star. He was considered a symbol of rebirth and vindication for post war Germany.


Ans:

10. Identify the soccer star from the image below. Nicknamed 'Pablito' he was born on 23 Sep 1956 in Prato, Italy.


Ans:

Dry Round 2 of July 23, 2005

Hi,

Introducing audio and visual clues for the first time. This week, it's a special on ads/adlines of Indian products. Send in your answers to shovon76@gmail.com. Answers with scores will be published on July 27, 2005.

Here are this week's questions -

1. Pepsi launched it's Pepsi Cola with the famous ad "Are you ready for the magic?" in India. Which two celebrities featured in this ad?

Ans:

2. The hit 100 Days song "Bol baby bol" was used in the TV ad for which product? (Please be specific. Don't say Windows. Specify whether it's Windows98 or WindowsXP)

Ans:

3. This product ran ads in the visual media featuring Javed Jaffery and Pankaj Kapur. The themes of the ads were spoofs on Ajit - The Loin and were titled like "One Day with Lily", "The Great Escape" etc. The tagline for the product was, "It's different". Which is the product in question?

Ans:

4. Remember Digen Verma? A particular brand had created a lot of hype and suspense a few years earlier over the question "Who is Digen Verma?". Which product I am talking about?

Ans:

5. It's an audio clip mainly aired on FM. Listen to the clip by clicking on the below link. Identify the product or service.

http://www.geocities.com/shovon76/track3.wma

Ans:

The rest five questions are visual. The pictures are stills taken from visual ads. You have to identify the product or service associated with the ad.

6. Identify the specific product from this ad featuring Udham Singh.



Ans:

7. Identify the product from the ad, which is a spoof of the more famous Liril ad.



Ans:

8. Identify the product from the ad.



Ans:

9. Identify the product from the ad.



Ans:

10.Identify the product from the ad.



Ans:

Answers to SHOVON'S Sports Misc. - 1 of July 14, '05

Hi, this post saw the highest number of replies till date for any quiz published by me. Hopefully, people will have the same level of interest in future also.

Minhaj Alam and Aravind Ghosh Suri topped the quiz with 8 points. Special thanks to Arun Kumar for correcting my first question.

And the answers are -

1. To facilitate which German player's comeback, were the Davis Cup rules changed in 1948 to allow a player with one arm to use the racquet to toss the ball?

Ans: Hans Redl (Thanks to Arun Kumar for pointing out that Hans was indeed an Austrian. He had also played against India in 1954 Davis Cup tie which India had won 3-0)

2. Identify this famous Badminton player from India. He won the National Badminton Singles title 8 times in a row between 1980 and 1987. He was allegedly murdered due to a love tringle resulting from his wife's extra marital affair with a powerful UP politician and scion of a royal family.

Ans: Syed Modi

3. At the 1948 London Olympics, who became the first and only woman athlete to win 4 athletic gold at a single Olympic Games?

Ans: Fanny Blankers

4. Which hockey-like game, adapted from the American Indians, is so named from a fancied resemblance of its stick to a bishop's crozier?

Ans: Lacrosse

5. Who were the first father and son to represent India in the Davis Cup at different times?

Ans: Sumant and Gaurav Mishra

6. The Berlin Olympic of 1936 was organised to show to the world the might of Hitler's Germany. In this Olympic which ritual was introduced for the first time?

Ans: The ritual of Olympic Torch

7. Who is the only Indian woman athlete to have won the 800m and 1500m events in a single Asian Games?

Ans: Jyotirmoyee Sikdar in 1998

8. Which hard hitting Kiwi cricketer was nicknamed 'The Butcher'?

Ans: Lance Cairns

9. In 1986, which batsman scored 126 not out to register his third successive century at Lord's?

Ans: Dilip Vengsarkar

10.In 1934, which Kolkata based team became the first Indian team to win the IFA League (1st Division)?

Ans: Mohammedan Sporting (Its IFA League and not IFA Shield)

Answers to Dry Round - 1 of July 14, '05

Hi folks! A very good response to this Dry Round which saw Neeladri Chakraborti topping with 9 points out of a possible ten.

Last week saw this site being mentioned in Aniruddha Dutta's blog, which I must admit is a very high standard blog on quizzing. I am one of the fans of his blog.

This week, I am looking forward to the much awaited meeting between George Bush Jr. and our very own Dr. Manmohan Singh. It's going to be very interesting. Not the least because Henry 'who-ever' Kissinger, but because of Ms. Amrit Singh, the daughter of our PM.

Quoting today's The Telegraph (URL-http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050718/asp/frontpage/story_5003671.asp) - "Amrit Singh, the Prime Minister’s New York-based daughter, is expected to join her father as part of the “VVIP family” during the current Indian state visit to Washington. There is nothing unusual about this: except that Amrit is a perennial thorn on the sides of Bush and his defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, one of the strongest advocates in the present US administration for closer ties with India.

Amrit is an attorney with the Immigrants’ Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.She is a stormy petrel of civil rights in America and has taken on the Pentagon for abusing prisoners in Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison as well as the blackhole US detention camps in Guantanamo, Cuba, where suspected al Qaida terrorists are imprisoned.

Amrit has also taken on American airlines for allegedly discriminating against passengers with brown skin in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. More recently, she got involved in allegations against US soldiers that they knowingly desecrated the Quran.

Bush’s disdain for civil liberties is well-known although he preaches democracy abroad, selectively applying his standards of freedom to countries which do not allow US bases or troops on its territory.

He has also insisted since he made a statement to that effect on November 6, 2001, that “you are either with us or against us in the fight against terror”. By that yardstick, Amrit is clearly against Bush.

Indian officials had made arrangements for Amrit and her husband to stay in Blair House, the presidential guest house adjacent to the White House, where Manmohan Singh is staying.As of now, she is also expected to go to the White House on Monday night, when she will be formally introduced to Bush and the First Lady, who are hosting a state dinner for the Singhs.

Those in New York who know her — and Indian government officials — speak of her as the finest prime ministerial offspring India ever had because she has no airs, she does not throw her weight and she never speaks about her family connections."

I found a very good article written by her titled, "SECRETS AND LIES: UNCOVERING THE TRUTH ABOUT TORTURE" which is available at www.aclu.org/iclr/singh.pdf

And now, lastly time for the answers -

1. Which 18 years old actress did John Hinckley confess to be trying to impress when he shot President Reagan on March 30, 1981?

Ans: Jodie Foster

2. This breed of dog was known as the 'Firehouse Dog' as it was the mascot of American fire stations for a long time. Their popularity surged after a Hollywood film of 1996 and lead to a widespread demand from households for the particular breed to be taken as pet. Which is the breed in question?

Ans: Dalmatian

3. What question asked by Adolf Hitler was adopted by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre as a title of a book set during the World War II?

Ans: Is Paris Burning?

4. Which planet has satellites named after characters from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest?

Ans: Uranus

5. Which all time classic Hindi film opens with the lines 'I am Hindustan', spoken over a map of India?

Ans: Mughal-E-Azam

6. Which 19th century tract begins with the lines 'There is a spectre striding across Europe; the spectre of communism'?

Ans: The communist Manifesto (Strange! Isn't it?)

7. How are Daya Ram, Dharam Das, Mukkam Chand, Sahib Chand and Himmat Singh collectively known in the Sikh religion?

Ans: Panj Pyare

8. The Indian Air Force was formed in 1933. But it took 15 more years for the first jet aircraft to be inducted in to the IAF, which was a single seater fighter aircraft. What is the name of the aircraft?

Ans: Vampire

9. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel signed their first music contract with Big Records in 1957 under the name Tom and Jerry. What surname did they take up to go with their stage names?

Ans: Graph and Landis

10.Which Popeye comic book character's vital statistics are 19-19-19?

Ans: Olive Oyl

Sports Misc. - 1

Hi,

This is the first of the weekly sports quizzes. The answers will be published on Monday, 18th July '05. Send in yours answers to shovon76@gmail.com.

1. To facilitate which German player's comeback, were the Davis Cup rules changed in 1948 to allow a player with one arm to use the racquet to toss the ball?
Ans:

2. Identify this famous Badminton player from India. He won the National Badminton Singles title 8 times in a row between 1980 and 1987. He was allegedly murdered due to a love tringle resulting from his wife's extra marital affair with a powerful UP politician and scion of a royal family.
Ans:

3. At the 1948 London Olympics, who became the first and only woman athlete to win 4 athletic gold at a single Olympic Games?
Ans:

4. Which hockey-like game, adapted from the American Indians, is so named from a fancied resemblance of its stick to a bishop's crozier?
Ans:

5. Who were the first father and son to represent India in the Davis Cup at different times?
Ans:

6. The Berlin Olympic of 1936 was organised to show to the world the might of Hitler's Germany. In this Olympic which ritual was introduced for the first time?
Ans:

7. Who is the only Indian woman athlete to have won the 800m and 1500m events in a single Asian Games?
Ans:

8. Which hard hitting Kiwi cricketer was nicknamed 'The Butcher'?
Ans:

9. In 1986, which batsman scored 126 not out to register his third successive century at Lord's?
Ans:

10.In 1934, which Kolkata based team became the first Indian team to win the IFA League (1st Division)?
Ans:

Awaiting your responses!

Dry Round - 1

Hi folks,

I am starting two weekly quizzes from now onwards, one Dry and one on Sports. This is the 1st one of the lot on Dry questions. Answers with scores will be published on Monday, 18th July '05. Send in your answers to shovon76@gmail.com.

Here are the questions -

1. Which 18 years old actress did John Hinckley confess to be trying to impress when he shot President Reagan on March 30, 1981?
Ans:

2. This breed of dog was known as the 'Firehouse Dog' as it was the mascot of American fire stations for a long time. Their popularity surged after a Hollywood film of 1996 and lead to a widespread demand from households for the particular breed to be taken as pet. Which is the breed in question?
Ans:

3. What question asked by Adolf Hitler was adopted by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre as a title of a book set during the World War II?
Ans:

4. Which planet has satellites named after characters from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest?
Ans:

5. Which all time classic Hindi film opens with the lines 'I am Hindustan', spoken over a map of India?
Ans:

6. Which 19th century tract begins with the lines 'There is a spectre striding across Europe; the spectre of communism'?
Ans:

7. How are Daya Ram, Dharam Das, Mukkam Chand, Sahib Chand and Himmat Singh collectively known in the Sikh religion?
Ans:

8. The Indian Air Force was formed in 1933. But it took 15 more years for the first jet aircraft to be inducted in to the IAF, which was a single seater fighter aircraft. What is the name of the aircraft?
Ans:

9. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel signed their first music contract with Big Records in 1957 under the name Tom and Jerry. What surname did they take up to go with their stage names?
Ans:

10.Which Popeye comic book character's vital statistics are 19-19-19?
Ans:

Cheers!

Shovon

Answers to Ashes Special of 20th June '05

Hi folks! I could not publish the scores and the answers on time due to some personal problems. Sorry for that.

This round was won by Aravind Ghosh Suri with a perfect 10. Congratulations to him!!! In general, it is heartening to see many responses and quite a few high scores.

And now, time for the answers -

1. "In affectionate remembrance of English cricket which died at The Oval, 29th August, 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances, RIP. NB The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia."

Australia's first victory on English soil over the full strength of England, on August 29, 1882, inspired a young London journalist, Reginald Shirley Brooks, to write this mock "obituary''. In which newspaper did it appear?

Answer: The Sporting Times

2. Which English spinner destroyed Australia in 1972 with the help of a fungus that infested the pitch?

Answer: Derek Underwood. It is alleged that the pitch was specially designed to suit Underwood's style of bowling.

3. Don Bradman went on an absolute rampage through England in 1930. He scored 4 centuries in the five tests. His scores were 131, 254, ___ and 232. Fill in the blank.
Hint: Think Mark Taylor.

Answer: 334. The highest score by an Aussie in test cricket before Mathew Hayden broke the record. Taylor had declared the innings when he was not out at 334 as he did not want to cross the mark set by Sir Don.

4. Which Australian captain told Plum Warner: 'There are two teams out there, Mr Warner, and only one of them is playing cricket.' ?

Answer: Bill Woodfull, who made his famous statement after being struck over the head by a Larwood thunderbolt during the bodyline series.

5. The first MCC organised Ashes tour of Australia was played in 1903/04. England won it against the odds and Plum Warner, the England captain, wrote up his version of the tour in his book which repopularised the Ashes myth in England. What is the name of the book?

Answer: How We Recovered The Ashes. This book is considered to have rekindled the interest of the english populace for the ashes series, which has not waned till now.

6. 1981, Ashes Series. Australia were set to increase their lead to 2-0 in the third Test at Headingley when they forced England to follow-on 227 runs behind. Famously, an English bookmaker offered odds of 500-1 for an English victory, and two Australian players laid a small bet. But England, banking on the performances of Ian Botham and Bob Willis, won the test match by 18 runs. The two aussie players were later reprimanded for betting on the outcome of a game, but not suspended. Who were the players?

Answer: Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh.

7. The 1924-25 Ashes series saw the debuts for Ponsford, Sutcliffe, Maurice Tate and all the tests were played without any time restrictions. This series also saw the first radio commentary of Tests. Australians won the series 4-1. What was the other unique feature that was tried out in the test matches for the first time in that series?

Answer: The first use of 8 ball overs in tests.

8. 1953, Ashes series saw the first professional captain for the England team. Who was the captain?

Answer: Len Hutton

9. It is 122 years old and it has stayed at its present place since 1927. The only time it left for a trip to Australia in 1988, it was flown by RAAF VIP aircraft and escorted to and from its place to the airport by a police escort. What am I talking about?

Answer: The Ashes urn and the velvet bag.

10. Ashes kept in the urn are the burnt remains of which material?

Answer: Well, this is a controversial question. So I have given full marks to anyone who has mentioned any of these - bail, stump, veil.

( Nobody knows for sure the right answer. Normal belief is its bail and/or stump. But the Grand Daughter-in-law of Bligh, the England captain of 1883 who was presented the ashes urn and the velvet bag, claimed in the nineties that it was veil and not bail. Another unconfirmed theory goes like this. A manservant at the in-laws place of Bligh had spilled the original ash on to the carpet and cud not restore the same inspite of his best efforts. So, he burnt some sticks and put the ashes in the urn.)

Keep watching this space. New questions coming up pretty soon!