QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–436

A slightly difficult one here.

This structure is a slightly eroded dome that is 40 km in diameter. It’s claim to fame, among others, is that it is visible to the naked eye from outer space, and has often been used by astronauts for reference. Although it is politically in the country of Mauritania, geographically it is within a much larger land feature. As a result, the depicted formation, also called the Richat or Ritchat Structure, gets its more popular name.

Enough hints. Identify the structure, and without the help of search engines or other internet tools, please.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Five replies and all correct! This structure is indeed referred to as the “Eye of the Sahara”.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–435

An absolute sitter this time.

What is being constructed here?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

A score! Twenty comments in all, and barring a couple of stray “Eiffel Tower” guesses, the unanimous voice points to the correct answer. This is the cross-river structure more popularly known as the Howrah Bridge, which connects the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–434

Should be interesting.

The woman seen here is paying a floral tribute at the grave whose headstone commemorates a man who died in 1806 at the age of 72. It also commemorates his son, named after him, who was a captain in the army and died in Trinidad at the young age of 26, also in 1802.

After having been neglected for around two centuries, these graves in Edinburgh, England Scotland, have suddenly become the centre of attraction in recent times, with a lot of people in a certain literary demographic.

My question is which literary demographic, and who does the headstone commemorate?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Four answers, and all correct! The tombstone indeed commemorates a certain Mr Thomas Riddell, whose name served as the inspiration for the nomenclature of Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–433

Should be another easy one.

Simply identify the lady with Charlie Chaplin. Her identity should be amply given away by what she is trying to do here.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Four replies, and all correct! This is indeed Hellen Keller, the hearing and speech-impaired girl who still continues to be an inspiration for many after all these years.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–432

A relatively easy one for today.

Simply identify the writer and the context.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Five replies here, and all answers are correct! The answer is indeed Banksy, the secretive British graffiti artist who is now in New York, leaving around his works in different parts of the city.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–431

Warning! This is one of those bait-and-switch questions. Please don’t mind the inferior quality of the image.

This is Elizabeth Key Grinstead, the first woman of African descent in the North American colonies to sue for her freedom and achieve it. She did it as long ago as in 1656, and not just for her own self but her infant son too! In fact, it was due to this lawsuit of hers that a new law was passed, decreeing that children born in the region would have the status of their mothers – “bond or free” – and not of their fathers, as had been the precedent till then.

She is ancestor to many famous people, including Days of our Lives and Liar Liar star Krista Allen. However, Allen is definitely not Grinstead’s most famous descendant. So who is? That, my friends, is the question for the day.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Four answers here, and all correct! The most famous descendant is indeed versatile actor Johnny Depp!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–430

This could be a wringer.

Simply identify this gentleman. Hint: He is rarely remembered like this. We are generally more familiar with how he has looked after a his features changed in a major way, and have been like that for quite a few decades now.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: For those in and around Bangalore, here’s a request to take a minute of your time and sign this petition, which I have started to aid a colleague.

***

At least 12-13 replies, with several doubles. But all more or less correct. This is indeed the thespian and veteran A K Hangal, hard as you might find it to believe. Yes, the same old man in the movies, whose youth we have purportedly never seen…

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–429

Simple.

Identify both gentlemen.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Five answers, and four and a half are correct. These are indeed the two Stephens, Colbert and King. Yes, the TV personality and the bestselling author. And yes, they are holding hands!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–428

This might be slightly cryptic.

Identify the very specific name that this “dish”/”edible article” goes by, and tell me what it’s claim to fame is. And please don’t just give me the generic name of what you see here.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Eight replies, but only six of them are correct, and even then partially so. This is indeed the Quadruple Bypass Burger, an offering by a US eatery called the Heart Attack Grill. As many have mentioned in the replies, this is indeed an unhealthy burger, whose long-term consumption can lead to heart failure. But the “claim to fame” I was looking for is actually Guinness World Records calling it the “world’s most calorific burger”. Yes, it’s official!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–427

Should be another easy one.

This gentleman, the subject of a 2011 regional-language blockbuster film, dreamt of building a futuristic city contemporary of the Vijayanagara empire in 16th century CE. He did too, and the city’s current name is forever tied to his now.

The current name of the city has several origins, some even dating back to the 9th century CE. However, the most famous, and probably apocryphal, origin story is that of Hoysala King Veera Ballala II being given boiled beans by an old woman after he lost his way in the forest during a hunting expedition. The king reportedly named the area in the local language to mean “town of boiled beans”.

The question is two-part, but simple. Identify the person in the photo, whose name has been immortalised because the Central Government has recently named a key landmark in the city after him. Also, identify the city itself.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Done and dusted, 14 replies, and all point correctly to Kempe Gowda, the founder of Banglore, aka Bengaluru. And Bangalore’s airport has recently been named after him.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–426

An easy one this time.

In a tribute to all those years of learning engineering drawing, and for all those mechanical and civil engineers out there, this is the bottom view (as opposed to the top view) of a famous monument. Identify it.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Like I said, easy-peasy! This is indeed the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as a good 20 of you have deigned to identify!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–425

A connect after some time.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

The first four images have been put up in a specific order. Connect them with the fifth pic, and arrive at the answer, which is of relevance to the world of music and entertainment. As usual, filenames have not been changed to make your job a little easier.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Six answers, and five of them are SPOT ON! The connect is indeed the song Bilqis from the album Avengi Ja Nahi by Rabbi Shergill. However, I think it would be interesting to see what train of logic led Utsav to ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Meanwhile, enjoy the video!

Bilqis by Rabbi Shergill

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–424

Should be another easy one.

Given here is an apology published by a certain newspaper over a certain incident. It went viral on several social networking sites, for apparently being the most unapologetic and cheeky apologies of all times. Which newspaper is apologising, and to whom?

PS: There are some major hints within the apology itself!

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Six answers, and all of them are correct, at least in part. This is indeed The Sun apologising in a very tongue-in-cheek way to the Church of Scientology.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–423

An interesting, albeit super-easy one.

As is evident, this is an advertisement for towels. The brand was Delhi Cloth Mills, the shoot happened in 1973, when the model was only 17 then, and the hoardings were plastered all across Delhi for quite some time in 1974. However, in the ad itself, though her real first name was used, she was stated to be 22 years of age.

Then, in July 1974, the model’s father called up the ad agency and asked them to return all the pictorial and photographic material that they had produced of her. The day after the call, the model’s engagement was announced.

Simple. Tell me how do we know this lady better today.

PS: Although this pic is available through Google Search, I came across it and the pertinent material on a blog called At The Edge.

***

A full 10 replies, and all correct! This is indeed Maneka Gandhi before marriage, then known  by the name Menaka.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–422

It’s a double feature today, but not a connect.

1.

2.

Two similar-looking flags, but they belong to different entities. The names of both entities begin with the same alphabet. And the second one is a World Heritage site. Interestingly, Both entities are entwined in some way or the other in plans of world domination or leadership. Identify both entities, and tell my why the second flag has black stars.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Most of you are correct on the second one, but read the question better, please. True, that the first flag is the Grand Union Flag, but I said that the names of the entities of both flags begin with the same alphabet. As a result, while most of you got the second one – the Bikini Atoll flag – correct, you slipped up in the flag of the British East India Company, which would have been the acceptable answer in a live quiz. As for the black stars in the Bikini Atoll flag, the region still holds the US responsible for the destruction and desolation of a number of islands in the atoll, and mark the destroyed or uninhabitable islands with black stars.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–421

A connect, after some time.

1.

2.

3.

There were two other images I was thinking of uploading, but refrained because they would have been dead giveaways! So try and figure out the connection from these three images. But to make things easier, I mention here that the photos have been given in a certain order.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Eight replies, of which six are more or less correct. Both Manohar aka Manya Surve and Shootout at Wadala are acceptable answers. I might have accepted S Husain Zaidi’s Dongri to Dubai as an answer too! And in case your mind veers to the order of the photos, consider this sentence. Manya Surve used a plot point from novels by James Hadley Chase to kill Shabir, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar’s brother, and was in the end killed by Ishaq Bagwan, in what is often regarded as Mumbai Police’s first encounter killing. The entire episode was chronicled in Zaidi’s book, which became a reference point for the film.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–420

Interesting number on top, but today’s question has nothing to do with those digits.

Simply tell me what these candies/munchies/tasty snacks are collectively known as. Although I think the flavours are a dead giveaway!

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Several answers, and eight of them are correct. Interesting to see that Denita Mendez went the other way after getting the answer correct the first time! The answer is indeed Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans from the Harry Potter books.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–419

As mentioned in the answer to the earlier post, I have shifted from Delhi to Bangalore, where I now work as Chief Sub Editor with Deccan Herald. This, as you can imagine, has caused the delay between this post and the last, so please pardon the inconvenience. And now, towards today’s question.

Shown above is a kind of ticket that began to be given out at sporting events in the US, but the name that was given to this ticket, when used in a sentence, has gone on to mean that someone intends to do something on a later date.

Simple. Give me the name of these kinds of tickets, and the phrase that originate from it. If you get one, you get the other. Yes, this is one of those kind of questions.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Six replies, but two of them seem to have gone in the wrong direction. The word blocked out is indeed Rain Check, giving rise to the phrase “to take a rain check”. As for the seventh comment, thank you, Suneel from Mysore, for welcoming me to Karnataka!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–418

This should be easy.

Shown above are three screen-grabs from a very specific episode of the Powerpuff Girls. The four people featured are, obviously, Mojo Jojo, HIM, Fuzzy and The Princess. Simply tell me who this episode pays a huge tribute to, and how the way the Powerpuff Girls finally defeat the quarter quartet is a further tribute to the same person or persons.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Please pardon the delayed answering, but I have had to shift from Delhi to Bangalore, where I work now as Chief Sub Editor with Deccan Herald.

Nine replies, with one exhorting me to answer this as quickly as possible! The rest are correct.

The answer, obviously, is the Beatles, given that this motley collection from PPG called themselves the Beat-alls. Their defeat comes when they break up as a result of Mojo Jojo falling in love with a female monkey called Moko Jono, a clear reference to the Beatles breaking up due to Yoko Ono.

Here’s a better picture of all the covers. As you can clearly see, the last panel would have been a dead giveaway!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–417

An easier one for the day.

1.

2.

The two photos here are of the proposed Ville Contemporaine, a proposed superstructure that was to have been built over a large chunk of Paris so that a lot of people could be housed together. This was in the 1920-30s, but it was never built.

Your task is simple. Identify the architect/designer behind this.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

A whole dozen in comments, and I believe most of them are correct! The designer and architect is indeed Le Corbusier, who is also responsible for our very own Chandigarh.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–416

This one should be interesting. It’s not all that easy, mind you.

Shown here are several trophies awarded to various pilots belonging to the US Air Force during the 1920s and 1930s, who plied their trade in the McCook Airfield and Wilbur Wright airfield in the state of Ohio. What are the names of these trophies, and why were they awarded?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Only three answers, out of whom SS Panda and Ali are correct. These are indeed the Blunder Trophies. They were awarded to bumbling pilots for actions like flying off without enough fuel for the mission or bungling easy landings.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–415

This ought to be an interesting one.

This is clearly a formula, but for what? And what is special about the product insofar as the way it is owned, produced and distributed? Hint: It has parallels in the world of information technology, and has actually been inspired by a certain IT concept.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Seven replies, but not all are correct. Ali, Naushi, Abhijit Kane and Sujoy Das are correct, while Kushal Shah is very near the answer. This is indeed the formula of something called the Open Cola. The inspiration behind the product are the open-source computer programs that many people rely on these days. There is one formula now, and anyone can use it for any purpose, and even improve upon it if they want!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–414

This should be very easy.

This image is a minimalistic representation of the friendship between two individuals. Please notice the colours and how the paw seems to be see-through, which is an indication of the relationship that the two individuals share. Identify both.

Meanwhile, happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Eight answers, but only Kavin Ayyapparaj, Manchester and Saurav have got it. These are indeed Calvin and Hobbes. The reason they are not Baloo and Mowgli or any other character is that the paw is transparent, indicating that the character to which it belongs was a figment of imagination of the character to which the hand belongs.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–413

Should be an absolute sitter.

What very specific term, related to the world of information technology, is depicted here? I may want a two-part answer.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

A cool dozen answers, and almost all of them are correct. Only Komal Agarwal and Prerna Singh are a little way off, given that her answer is incomplete. This is not just any HTML error. This is Error 404: Page not found. Hence page number 404 is missing from this book.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–412

This may not be all that easy.

Identify the owner of this musical instrument, and its significance. It was in the news recently, for both the right and wrong reasons.

PS: Just another reminder. I am conducting a quiz tomorrow at Lady Shri Ram College for Women. Find out more about the event here, and register here.

***

Four replies, and only Ishan and Ali got it. This violin is said to belong to Wallace Hartley, the leader of the musicians aboard the Titanic, and reportedly, this was the musical instrument Hartley was playing as the Titanic went down.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–411

This should be an absolute sitter!

The image above is a slightly more literal depiction of the catchphrase of a consumer product. What is the product, and what is the catchphrase?

PS: Just another reminder. I am conducting a quiz on April 12 at Lady Shri Ram College for Women. Find out more about the event here, and register here.

***

Six answers, of whom Ali, Siddharth, Vignesh, Pranav and Jeevan are correct. This is indeed a depiction of ‘Red Bull gives you wings’!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–410

This should be interesting…

The image above is that of a letter sent by Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California State Assembly sometime in March 2010, in opposition to a certain Assembly Bill. However, this letter ended up kicking up a controversy due to some apparently difficult-to-spot reasons.

Identify the reason, and hence the controversy.

***

Five responses, and only the anonymous reply got it wrong. Start reading the first alphabet on every line from “For some time…”, and see how they form ‘F*ck you’! The Gubernator denied any mischief on his part, but the proof of the expletive is very clear!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–409

This one may be a bit of a wringer. Easy if you know it, otherwise a difficult proposition.

Identify this internationally-recognisable structure that is shown here in the process of being built. Hint: It connects twin cities. That should make it absolutely easy!

PS: Just another reminder. I am conducting a quiz on April 12 at Lady Shri Ram College for Women. Find out more about the event here, and register here.

***

Karthick DS is correct, and Sthavira Acharya is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off course. This is indeed the ubiquitous Howrah Bridge, which connects Howrah to Kolkata, which is being built.

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An easy one for the day.

This was hand-drawn and sent by one famous pioneer of the field to another. Identify the two, and tell me the occasion. There are waaaaaaaaaay too many hints in the image.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: I am conducting a college quiz at the Lady Shri Ram College for Women in New Delhi on April 12. IF you are interested, feel free to register here. You can also find further information about the event here.

***

Seven replies, but only Ali, Ishaan, Vignesh and Sudarshan are correct. This is indeed a painting by George Lucas sent to James Cameron when Titanic overtook the box office collections of what was then the Star Wars Trilogy. SS Panda got it backwards, Karthike got the people correct but the occasion wrong and Rohan Kar was not entirely specific.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–407

This one may not be all that easy.

What you see here is a device that is a modified form of the Wheatstone Bridge. It has been claimed that it can successfully cure 70% of all human ailments, but that has since been disproved. Another claim surrounding it is that it can read changes in the human brain. This claim, too, has been disproved.

Simply identify the device, and give me the name of the ‘group’ it is associated with.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: I am conducting a quiz in New Delhi on April 12. If you are interested, have a look-see here, or find out more about it on Facebook here.

***

Five answers, and their needles point to the same direction. This is indeed a Hubbard Electropsychometer, used ‘extensively’ by Scientologists, although they claim that only trained Scientologists can use it well.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–406

This one may not be all that easy to crack.

Here’s an infographic of the world’s top-selling books, according to their numbers. The biggest ‘seller’, obviously, is The Bible. Give me the name of the second-biggest seller.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Image courtesy Jared Fanning, whose website you can visit from here. He has kindly consented to the use of the image here.

***

A total of 17 replies! However, only nine are correct. The second-most-read book in the world, according to the source is Quotations from Chairman Mao, or Mao’s little red book.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–405

This one might be a little difficult to answer, especially without Googling.

Identify the gentleman whose name has been blocked out of the opening screen card of this famous cartoon film. Give me his name, and his biggest claim to fame.

HINT: Many actually credit someone else – his partner, actually – with this claim to fame. But note that his name actually appears in bigger font than another, more famous person here. There’s a reason for that.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Four answers, and three have given the correct name, but no one was given me the claim to fame. This is indeed Ub Iwerks, one of the earliest collaborators of Walt Disney, and is widely credited as the creator of Mortimer Mouse, aka Mickey Mouse. In fact, for at least the first five cartoons, his name appears in bigger and bolder fonts than Walt Disney, which was a recognition of his achievement. However, as Disney himself often pointed out, Iwerks wasn’t hungry for fame, and wasn’t much of an extrovert either. So, he didn’t end up making much of a name for himself.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–404

It is probably fitting that the number of the post portends that something was missing or had not been found for close to a century, but is depicted in the image below.

Simply tell me who wrote this, where it can be found and what exactly is being said here. Although several of the vital clues have been hidden, one special clue lurks in the corner for you to find and crack this question.

So happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Four answers, and all correct! This is indeed British Prime Minister David Cameron’s ‘statement’, hand-written in the visitors’ book at the Jalianwala Bagh memorial, making an apology for the behaviour of his ancestors.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–403

This one is super-easy, so please try not to Google it.

Which gentleman is being mourned here by an official release from Warner Brothers? Suffice to say that he was one of the most important people behind the scenes when it came to the cartoon characters that are shown here.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Just two answers, and both arnab (Bong with…) and Ayush are correct. This is indeed Mel Blanc, who voiced most, if not all, of the famous Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies characters. In fact, there are anecdotes of Blanc slipping into a coma, and only responding when he was referred to as one of the characters he voiced! And even the response would be in character!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–402

This ought not be too difficult a crack. Might require some nifty guesswork, though.

As is evident, this is a US currency note that was valid tender for sometime after its first issuing in 1857. Now, this happens to be one of the few of its kind to feature a very specific individual, whose existence has been a question of such hot debate that even the Forbes magazine has once had to give in to the demands of a very specific demographic and withdraw the individual’s name permanently from one of the many lists it publishes.

Simply identify the gentleman who, along with his mode of transport, has been blocked out of this photograph.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Biswapriya Chandra and ali are correct. The blocked-out gentleman is indeed Santa Claus!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–401

May be slightly difficult.

This is obviously a partial reconstruction of an extremely old photograph – this one happens to be a ferrotype – which is often credited to be the seventh-costliest photograph to be be sold in an auction. It fetched around $2.3 million when it was auctioned, and is the only photograph of this person which experts agree on as being authentic.

Simply identify the subject of this photograph. Even better, give me the name he was most popularly known as.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Whoa! Eight replies, and a few of them are anonymous. Ali, Kevin, Rohit S and Trivia Monk are correct. As for vijeeth, Billy the Kid was much more than a mere thief! He is known more for the killings, but later accounts and analyses suggest the stories of those killings may have been highly exaggerated… And Suneel, the Sundance Kid was someone entirely different!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–400

Should not be too difficult.

That sea of ‘humanity’ seen in the stadium is actually attending the 1936 Olympic Games. The question is, from what vantage point is this photograph taken? I want a very specific answer, and just for that, I have highlighted a word as a hint.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Suneel, ali and another anonymous answerer are all correct! This is indeed from the Hindenburg zeppelin, and hence ‘humanity’ is highlighted.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–399

Straight, but may not be all that easy.

The story goes that, when the gentleman in the cylindrical headgear was visiting Sarajevo in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, someone lobbed a grenade at him, which exploded a few sends late, injuring the next vehicle in this gentleman’s motorcade instead. Our gentleman here decided to go to the hospital to ask after the injured, but his driver did not know the way, confusing roads till they came near a cafe where a Slavic freedom movement group member, who had really wanted to kill our gentleman, was having a sandwich, as fate would have it. The student immediately shot him, setting the ball rolling for numerous other deaths.

Simply identify this gentleman.

***

Ali, Niladri, Sunmeet and Siva are all correct. This is indeed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination led to the start of World War I, which led to sanctions on certain European nations, which in turn led to World War II, which gave way to the Cold War and reshaped human history forever!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–398

Should not be too difficult.

Simply identify the white Caucasian male who is excavating the mummified remains of a famous pharaoh of Egypt.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Three answers, and Suneel, ali and an anonymous answerer are all correct. This is indeed Howard Carter, working on the mummy of Tutenkhamen, known as Tutenkhatun before he merged his name with that of the Sun God Amun Ra.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–397

An easy one after a couple of apparent zingers.

Simply identify the gentleman who is being talked about here. Hint: Among his other ‘achievements’ is the fact that he has had a Pokemon named after him.

PS: Photo courtesy www.cracked.com

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Three answers, and all correct. Sunil, Ali and Ameen all have correctly identified this as Jackie Chan. Given below is the full photo, with all the text.