Wednesday Trivia: Feb 20, 2013

by Idéfix Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:18 pm

I am posting this a little early as I will be gone for a bit. Usual rule: no googling please.

1. This book is said to contain the first written description of mouth-to-mouth kissing in history. At 1.8 million words, the book is longer than the Bible and Shakespeare’s works all combined. In medieval times, it was translated into several languages: in Persian it was called Razmnameh (“book of wars”); in old Javanese, it was abbreviated as Kakawin. Name the book.

2. The Constitution of the United States specifies four elected positions within the federal government: Representative (member of the lower House of Congress), Senator, Vice President and President. In all of American history, just two people were elected to all four of those offices at different points in their careers. As luck would have it, one of them succeeded the other to the office of President. Name them.

3. The Bofors scandal roiled Indian politics in the 1980s and 1990s. Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors AB is alleged to have paid about $12 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure an order from the Indian Army at a total price tag of $285 million. The scandal was unearthed by Chitra Subramaniam of The Hindu, and she was tipped off by Sten Lindstrom of the Swedish police. The Bofors product that was bought as part of the deal was used successfully in the field, including in the brief Kargil War. What was the product?

4. The original name given to this city by its founders in 1781 translates to “the town of Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula.” Today Mumbai is one of its designated sister cities. The city is home to some of the largest population of Iranians, Armenians, Vietnamese, and Laotians outside their native countries. Before European colonization, the area was inhabited by the Chumash tribe, who called it “the valley of smoke.” Name the city.

5. New York City is served by four major commercial airports: Kennedy, La Guardia, Newark, and White Plains. Each airport is assigned a three-digit airport code (e.g. SFO for San Francisco International Airport). Which of these airports have the letters NY in their three-digit airport codes?

6. Indian Standard Time (five and a half hours ahead of UTC) is the time zone used in India and one other country. Name that other country.

7. Historically, different cities around the world used their own local times. There was no real need for standard time zones until the advent of railways and telegraph. Railway networks had a strong need for standard times, as different operators sharing the same tracks using different times was a recipe for accidents. As the railway networks of various presidencies of British India got connected to each other, India needed a standard “railway time.” The time zone of one city was chosen as this standard. Which city?

8. This celebrated book opens with the following notice: “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR, Per G. G., CHIEF OF ORDNANCE.” Name the book and its author.

9. This famous writer was an engineer by training. As a young man, he got involved with a progressive-utopian secret society. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. As he was lined up to be shot by a firing squad, he had a hard time figuring out what was going on because of his acute myopia. The king had commuted his sentence at the last minute, and he was sent to prison instead. In prison, he developed epilepsy that afflicted him for the rest of his life. He was released from prison due to ill health, and then went on to write his best-known works. He was a compulsive gambler and died in penury despite earning large sums for his books. Name this novelist.

0. In antiquity, this river was known as Vaksu. That name survives today as the name of one of its tributaries, the Vakhsh. The Greek name for the river, derived from the Sanskrit Vaksu, was Oxos, and the Romans knew it as Oxus. The Persians knew it as Wehrod (“good river”). What is the current name of this glacier-fed river, where does it begin, and where does it end?

by Obnoxious Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:21 pm

1. Mahabharatha?

by Obnoxious Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:22 pm

3. Tanks.

by Obnoxious Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:24 pm

5. None. They are JFK,LGA, NWK & HPN.

by Obnoxious Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:25 pm

6. Sri Lanka.

by goodcitizn Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:32 pm

2. Johnson and Nixon?

by goodcitizn Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:40 pm

4. Los Angeles

by goodcitizn Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:43 pm

7. Madras Time

by Obnoxious Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:50 pm

9. Dostoyevsky?

by indophile Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:56 pm

All guesses.

1.
Mahabharata

2.
John Q. Adams

3.
Artillery Gun

4.
Los Angeles

5.
White Plains

6.
Nepal

7.
Nagpur

8.
Sounds like Gen. Cariappa

9.
Can’t even guess
10. Amu Darya (the river that forms part of the
northern border of Afghanistan). Begins in Central Asia and ends in the Helmand
desert in Afghanistan

by goodcitizn Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:01 pm

10. Amu Darya from the Pamir Knot (Eastern Afghanistan) to Kyzyl Kum Desert (Turkmenistan)

by goodcitizn Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:09 pm

9. Henri Charriere who wrote Pappillon?

by Guest Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:19 pm

panini press wrote:6. Indian Standard Time (five and a half hours ahead of UTC) is the time zone used in India and one other country. Name that other country.

nepal?

7. Historically, different cities around the world used their own local times. There was no real need for standard time zones until the advent of railways and telegraph. Railway networks had a strong need for standard times, as different operators sharing the same tracks using different times was a recipe for accidents. As the railway networks of various presidencies of British India got connected to each other, India needed a standard “railway time.” The time zone of one city was chosen as this standard. Which city?

allahabad?

9. This famous writer was an engineer by training. As a young man, he got involved with a progressive-utopian secret society. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. As he was lined up to be shot by a firing squad, he had a hard time figuring out what was going on because of his acute myopia. The king had commuted his sentence at the last minute, and he was sent to prison instead. In prison, he developed epilepsy that afflicted him for the rest of his life. He was released from prison due to ill health, and then went on to write his best-known works. He was a compulsive gambler and died in penury despite earning large sums for his books. Name this novelist.

dostoevsky. he also attributed some of his compositions to the epiphany that precedes an epileptic fit.

by Guest Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:22 pm

Silk Smitha wrote:6. Sri Lanka.

oops. i think you are right.

by Kris Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:27 pm

panini press wrote:

2. The Constitution of the United States specifies four elected positions within the federal government: Representative (member of the lower House of Congress), Senator, Vice President and President. In all of American history, just two people were elected to all four of those offices at different points in their careers. As luck would have it, one of them succeeded the other to the office of President. Name them.

>>>>FDR and Truman ( I don't know id Truman got elected for a second term. Thought he became president the first time after the demise of FDR)

4. The original name given to this city by its founders in 1781 translates to “the town of Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula.” Today Mumbai is one of its designated sister cities. The city is home to some of the largest population of Iranians, Armenians, Vietnamese, and Laotians outside their native countries. Before European colonization, the area was inhabited by the Chumash tribe, who called it “the valley of smoke.” Name the city.

>>>Los Angeles

5. New York City is served by four major commercial airports: Kennedy, La Guardia, Newark, and White Plains. Each airport is assigned a three-digit airport code (e.g. SFO for San Francisco International Airport). Which of these airports have the letters NY in their three-digit airport codes?

>>>>Newark

6. Indian Standard Time (five and a half hours ahead of UTC) is the time zone used in India and one other country. Name that other country.

>>>Maldives?

7. Historically, different cities around the world used their own local times. There was no real need for standard time zones until the advent of railways and telegraph. Railway networks had a strong need for standard times, as different operators sharing the same tracks using different times was a recipe for accidents. As the railway networks of various presidencies of British India got connected to each other, India needed a standard “railway time.” The time zone of one city was chosen as this standard. Which city?

>>>Calcutta- am guessing because this was the original capital

8. This celebrated book opens with the following notice: “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR, Per G. G., CHIEF OF ORDNANCE.” Name the book and its author.

0. In antiquity, this river was known as Vaksu. That name survives today as the name of one of its tributaries, the Vakhsh. The Greek name for the river, derived from the Sanskrit Vaksu, was Oxos, and the Romans knew it as Oxus. The Persians knew it as Wehrod (“good river”). What is the current name of this glacier-fed river, where does it begin, and where does it end?

>>>>Amu Darya- begins in afghanistan and ends in the arabian sea?

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:40 am

Silk Smitha wrote:1. Mahabharatha?

Correct.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:40 am

Silk Smitha wrote:3. Tanks.

No.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:41 am

Silk Smitha wrote:5. None. They are JFK,LGA, NWK & HPN.

Correct! The code for Newark is EWR, but you had the other codes right.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:41 am

Silk Smitha wrote:6. Sri Lanka.

Correct.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:41 am

goodcitizn wrote:2. Johnson and Nixon?

Correct. I was thinking this may be a tough one, but you got it right away!

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:42 am

goodcitizn wrote:4. Los Angeles

Correct.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:42 am

goodcitizn wrote:7. Madras Time

Correct. Another one that I thought was tough, but clearly not.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:42 am

Silk Smitha wrote:9. Dostoyevsky?

Correct!

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:46 am

indophile wrote:1.
Mahabharata

Correct.

indophile wrote:2.
John Q. Adams

No, this is Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.

indophile wrote:3.
Artillery Gun

Correct.

indophile wrote:4.
Los Angeles

Correct.

indophile wrote:5.
White Plains

No, White Plains is HPN. None of the NYC airports has the letters NY in its code. The others are JFK, LGA and EWR.

indophile wrote:6.
Nepal

No, Sri Lanka.

indophile wrote:7.
Nagpur

No, Madras. Indian Railways ran on Madras time.

indophile wrote:8.
Sounds like Gen. Cariappa

No, you are way off Smile

.

indophile wrote:10. Amu Darya (the river that forms part of the
northern border of Afghanistan). Begins in Central Asia and ends in the Helmand
desert in Afghanistan

You are right on the name. It begins in the Pamir region and flows northwest towards the Aral sea.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:46 am

goodcitizn wrote:10. Amu Darya from the Pamir Knot (Eastern Afghanistan) to Kyzyl Kum Desert (Turkmenistan)

Correct.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:49 am

goodcitizn wrote:9. Henri Charriere who wrote Pappillon?

No, Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:58 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:6. nepal?

No, Sri Lanka.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:7. allahabad?

No, Madras Time was the railway standard. Later in 1906, they changed to Indian Standard Time which was based at Mirzapur near Allahabad at a more rounded latitude (82.5 degrees east) than Madras at 80.27 degrees. As real-time communications over telegraph and telephones expanded, people felt the need to convert time from one place to another place quickly, so there was now value in being pegged to rounded longitudes. Madras time is 5 hours 21 minutes ahead of GMT, so it is harder to convert than the more rounded 5.5 hours that Mirzapur is ahead of London.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:9. dostoevsky. he also attributed some of his compositions to the epiphany that precedes an epileptic fit.

Correct! I probably told you this on chat once -- he is one of my favorite writers.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:11 am

Just one question remains. I thought this would be one of the easier ones, but clearly not; so here are some hints.

8. This celebrated book opens with the following notice: “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR, Per G. G., CHIEF OF ORDNANCE.” Name the book and its author.

Hints: The book was first published in 1884. Apart from the above notice, the book also contains an "explanatory" at the beginning stating that the book uses several dialects. The author explains that he had painstakingly sketched out the dialects of his characters, relying on personal familiarity with those dialects. He helpfully adds: I make this explanation for the reason that without it many readers would suppose that all these characters were trying to talk alike and not succeeding.

The first paragraph of the book goes: You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of ______; but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. ______, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing..."

Here is an extract from the last paragraph of the book: ...and so there ain’t nothing more to write about, and I am rotten glad of it, because if I’d a knowed what a trouble it was to make a book I wouldn’t a tackled it, and ain’t a-going to no more.

PS: Those blanks in the first paragraph are my edits. The author includes his name, and that of his previous book, in the first paragraph of this book.

by goodcitizn Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:20 am

panini press wrote:Just one question remains. I thought this would be one of the easier ones, but clearly not; so here are some hints.

8. This celebrated book opens with the following notice: “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR, Per G. G., CHIEF OF ORDNANCE.” Name the book and its author.

Hints: The book was first published in 1884. Apart from the above notice, the book also contains an "explanatory" at the beginning stating that the book uses several dialects. The author explains that he had painstakingly sketched out the dialects of his characters, relying on personal familiarity with those dialects. He helpfully adds: I make this explanation for the reason that without it many readers would suppose that all these characters were trying to talk alike and not succeeding.

The first paragraph of the book goes: You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of ______; but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. ______, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing."

Here is an extract from the last paragraph of the book: ...and so there ain’t nothing more to write about, and I am rotten glad of it,
because if I’d a knowed what a trouble it was to make a book I wouldn’t a tackled it, and ain’t a-going to no more.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; The Hound of the Baskervilles?

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:22 am

goodcitizn wrote:
panini press wrote:Just one question remains. I thought this would be one of the easier ones, but clearly not; so here are some hints.

8. This celebrated book opens with the following notice: “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR, Per G. G., CHIEF OF ORDNANCE.” Name the book and its author.

Hints: The book was first published in 1884. Apart from the above notice, the book also contains an "explanatory" at the beginning stating that the book uses several dialects. The author explains that he had painstakingly sketched out the dialects of his characters, relying on personal familiarity with those dialects. He helpfully adds: I make this explanation for the reason that without it many readers would suppose that all these characters were trying to talk alike and not succeeding.

The first paragraph of the book goes: You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of ______; but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. ______, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing."

Here is an extract from the last paragraph of the book: ...and so there ain’t nothing more to write about, and I am rotten glad of it,
because if I’d a knowed what a trouble it was to make a book I wouldn’t a tackled it, and ain’t a-going to no more.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; The Hound of the Baskervilles?

No.

by Kris Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:42 am

#8 - Mark Twain- Adventures of Hucklebery Fin

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:43 am

Kris wrote:#8 - Mark Twain- Adventures of Hucklebery Fin

Yes, you got it!

by goodcitizn Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:50 am

panini press wrote:
Kris wrote:#8 - Mark Twain- Adventures of Hucklebery Fin
Yes, you got it!

Good one, Car. And Kris. My fav book of Mark Twain is Puddin'head Wilson.

by Guest Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:51 am

panini press wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:9. dostoevsky. he also ~~attributed~~ claimed that some of his compositions to were inspired by the epiphany that precedes an epileptic fit.
Correct! I probably told you this on chat once -- he is one of my favorite writers.

i think you told me this on the forums. you recommended his short story white nights that i read. see how we are able to appreciate his ~~feelings~~ writings in translation. Smile

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:52 am

goodcitizn wrote:
panini press wrote:
Kris wrote:#8 - Mark Twain- Adventures of Hucklebery Fin
Yes, you got it!

Good one, Car. And Kris. My fav book of Mark Twain is Puddin'head Wilson.

I haven't read that one. I thought I read most of Twain's works, have to look this one up. I absolutely love his sense of humor.

by goodcitizn Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:03 am

panini press wrote:
goodcitizn wrote:
panini press wrote:
Kris wrote:#8 - Mark Twain- Adventures of Hucklebery Fin
Yes, you got it!

Good one, Car. And Kris. My fav book of Mark Twain is Puddin'head Wilson.
I haven't read that one. I thought I read most of Twain's works, have to look this one up. I absolutely love his sense of humor.

This particular book is remarkable in that it deals with racism during his times. And his exact rendition of ebonics is astounding. Yes, his humor has always been his distinguishing signature!

by Kris Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:19 am

goodcitizn wrote:
panini press wrote:
goodcitizn wrote:
panini press wrote:
Kris wrote:#8 - Mark Twain- Adventures of Hucklebery Fin
Yes, you got it!

Good one, Car. And Kris. My fav book of Mark Twain is Puddin'head Wilson.
I haven't read that one. I thought I read most of Twain's works, have to look this one up. I absolutely love his sense of humor.

This particular book is remarkable in that it deals with racism during his times. And his exact rendition of ebonics is astounding. Yes, his humor has always been his distinguishing signature!

>>>I made it a point to drive to Hannibal once when I was in St Louis, just to get a sense of the place. The one thing that comes to mind is seeing various translations of his works, including a book in Telugu.

by indophile Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:56 am

Kris wrote:
>>>I made it a point to drive to Hannibal once when I was in St Louis, just to get a sense of the place. The one thing that comes to mind is seeing various translations of his works, including a book in Telugu.

Interesting. I encountered something similar - while visiting the Saraswati Mahal library in Tanjavur, I saw a manuscript of Tamil Kamba Ramayanam transliterated (not translated) into Telugu (I don't know how they managed since not all sounds of Tamil can be transliterated into Telugu and vice versa), and the most surprising thing of all - I saw a Ramayana manuscript in Oriya (original, not transliterated).

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