Monday 29 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–418

This should be easy.

what

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!

aw0wPMB_700b_v2

Thursday 25 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–417

An easier one for the day.

1.

ville contemporaine 2

2.

ville contemporaine 1

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.

Sunday 21 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–416

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

what

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.

Friday 19 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–415

This ought to be an interesting one.

what

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!

Tuesday 16 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–414

This should be very easy.

what

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.

Sunday 14 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–413

Should be an absolute sitter.

what

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.

Thursday 11 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–412

This may not be all that easy.

what

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.

Wednesday 10 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–411

This should be an absolute sitter!

what

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’!

Tuesday 9 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–410

This should be interesting…

what

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!

Monday 8 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–409

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

what

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.

Saturday 6 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–408

An easy one for the day.

who what and to whom

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.

Friday 5 April 2013

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–407

This one may not be all that easy.

what

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.