Friday 30 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–467

Try this one.

Who

The gentleman highlighted by the red circle was a celebrity responder to the 9/11 attacks, and worked tirelessly with the search and rescue teams on the ground. He clearly did not want any publicity out of it, and hence, this is probably the clearest photo of him we have from the day. Identify him.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Five answers, and all have correctly identified Steve Buscemi!

Thursday 29 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–466

A workable one for the day.

Who

The cover shown above is one from the 20 albums this versatile performer has released since 1984. He has sung in a number of languages, including Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Taiwanese and English.

In fact, one of his songs was incorporated into the recruitment advertisement of the Royal Hong Kong Police in 1994. He also recorded a song in 2007 to mark the one-year countdown to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He performed this song at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

Surprisingly enough, these are only his smaller claims to fame! Name him.

***

Four answers, and all correct! This is Jackie Chan.

Tuesday 27 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–465

This is one of those non-workables.

Who

Identify the older gentleman, who has left behind him a legacy of contact combat that started with fighting the Nazis and ended up being used by all across the world, especially in urban self-defence.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Five answers, and all correct! This is Imre Lichtenfeld, aka Imi Sde-Or, the creator of the martial art Krav Maga.

Monday 26 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–464

A slightly difficult one for the day.

Who

Identify this gentleman, who was the first head of an Indian organisation that was formed in 1968 because its need was felt after the country’s loss to China in the 1962 war.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Five replies, and only a couple seem to have paid attention to the question. I had asked the name of the gentleman; the part about the organisation was meant only as an indication as to who he was. This is indeed R N Kao, the first chief of India’s spy agency Research and Analysis Wing.

Friday 23 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–463

A quirky one for today.

Who

Give me the name of the calculating old woman who wrote this book, which happens to be the first of its kind written by an Indian citizen. PS: Sorry for the small photo. Will post a bigger one if I can find it.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Seven answers, and all spot on! The “calculating old lady is indeed Shakuntala Devi, the famous mathematician for whom the statement “mind faster than a computer” actually held true.

Thursday 22 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–462

A super-simple one for the day.

Who

Lots of clues on the gravestone as to the identity of the person laid to rest here. Just tell me his name.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

A dozen replies, and all correct, bar one. Yes, this is Mel Blanc, the voice behind the beloved characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn and oodles of others!

Fun fact: When Blanc slipped into coma after a car accident, a lot of people lost hope as he was not responding. Two weeks after the accident, a neurologist, probably having failed all ways to elicit a response, and in a sort of last-ditch effort, asked him how Bugs Bunny was. Apparently, he answered through his coma, “Myeeeeh, what’s up, doc?” It took seven months for him to recover, but this is probably one of the most inspiring incidents of a creation saving his/her creator.

Wednesday 21 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–461

A really simple one for today.

Who

Simply identify this eminently recognisable polymath, who happens to be a modern-day stalwart in the performance arts today. Apologies in advance for the photo quality.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Five guesses from three people, and two correct answers. Santanu gets it right the third time. This is indeed Saurabh Shukla, still somehow most recognisable as “Kallu Mama” from the film “Satya”.

Tuesday 20 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–460

A connect after a long time.

1.

Magsaysay Award

2.

Judge Judy

3.

Kartavyam

Connect to a single person. Shouldn’t be all that difficult. If you need a further clue: “Crane”.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Six replies, and all correct, despite a few wayward guesses at the clues. The answer is indeed Kiran Bedi—Ramon Magsaysay Award-winner, anchor of “Aap ki Kachehri”, based on the show “Judge Judy”, and inspiration behind the film “Kartavyam”. Oh, and she was called “Crane” Bedi during her tenure as a police officer. Read it up. It’s super-inspirational!

Monday 19 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–459

A somewhat easy and difficult one for the day, depending on your interests.

What

This was the director’s vision of a certain component in a trilogy of films. He hand-moulded some play-dough to give it a basic shape, and the designers did the rest. It has bean described in the canon as originally being a prototype armoured tank designed as a bridging vehicle for the military, including weaponry and the ability to boost into a rampless jump. This version o the vehicle, in fact, is the current evolution of something that first appeared in print in 1939.

Simply tell me what we are talking about. If possible, name both this and the earlier version.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: As has been pointed out to me, some people might find this NSFW-ish because of the shape. There is nothing NSFW about the finished product, unless you are on the wrong side of the law.

***

Nine answers, of which seven are correct. This is indeed the Tumbler, the updated version of the BatMobile depicted in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. And yes, that play-dough is Nolan’s own handiwork.

Sunday 18 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–458

An easy one for the weekend.

What

Simply identify the brand Amitabh Bachchan is advertising for. Hint: Ironically, all that talk about India and being Indians is for a firm which has a very un-Indian component to its name.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Seven replies from six people, but only four are correct. As user “ARVIND” has pointed out, the hint is in the tagline. The brand is BPL, and the un-Indian component therein is the fact that it expands to British Physical Laboratories.

Friday 16 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–457

A somewhat different one for the day.

Who

This gentleman has achieved cosmic greatness today, but is seen in this photo as a strapping young wrestler from his college days. Just identify him. Oh, and sorry for the photo quality, but this is the best I could get.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Nine replies, of which six are correct. This is Neil deGrasse Tyson, the gentleman responsible for the demotion of Pluto from the status of “planet”, and the man who has hosted the latest edition of the TV series “Cosmos”.

Wednesday 14 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–456

Sorry for the unintended break in questions.

Who

Here’s an intriguing one to start with. Identify the gentleman. Hint (Yes, you need one): Look very closely.

Photo credit: Arthur Sasse / Albert Einstein Sticking Out His Tongue (1951), 2014 © Sandro Miller. Image courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Four answers, and all correct! This is indeed actor John Malkovich posing as Albert Einstein.

Sunday 11 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–455

A somewhat humorous one for the day.

Who

This is probably one of the best examples of why a good sub-editor or copy editor of a newspaper is much more than a glorified spell-checker, as some detractors may claim. It is also a good example of what happens when a novice is over-zealous what the spell-check tool, or trusts it more than his or her abilities.

The question, however, is quite easy. Simply identify the gentleman being referenced.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Thirteen replies—a dozen and one more to spare! And all of them are on the correct track. This is indeed Benedict Cumberbatch. However, there should actually be nothing “elementary” about him. That word, which we so often associate with him, is never actually spoken by the character in all the books or stories he appears in. It was actually the product of a TV show that was made much later.

Saturday 10 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–454

This should be easy.

who

Identify this gentleman.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Six answers, but I still can’t figure out exactly from which angle this looks like Satyajit Ray, as an anonymous individual has guessed. As for the others, kudos for correctly identifying Pranab Mukherjee, our current President, in a relaxed, suave avatar!

Friday 9 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–453

A somewhat quirky one for today.

What

Identify EXACTLY what you are seeing here. Hint: This is a cross-section of a bigger object.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Three answers, and all correct! This is indeed a cross-section from an aloe vera.

Thursday 8 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–452

A little bit of pure trivia for today.

Which

Simply identify the bank that is advertising its pioneering service of drive-in banking through this vintage TV ad.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Well, there seems to be no taker for this question here. It was answered on the Facebook links, though. This, ladies and gentlemen, was a service by the Indian Overseas Bank.

Wednesday 7 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–451

Another somewhat easy one.

Who

Identify her. Yes. Just that much.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Eleven answers—just one shy of a square dozen—and all but one of them are correct. This may certainly look like Sitara Devi, but it’s actually actor Zohra Sehgal!

In reply to someone’s query posted while answering: I’m afraid there’s no prize YET, either for guessing or answering questions bang on. But with your support, a little luck and some more elbow grease from yours truly, that can be a reality too!

Tuesday 6 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–450

A slightly difficult one for the day.

Who

Identify the young girl from this grainy photo. Sorry for the poor image quality, but this is the best of this photo I could find.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

So seven answers came in, and all of them are bang on!! This is, as has so succinctly been put on Facebook, “Momta Di”, aka Trinamool Congress chief and West Benngal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Monday 5 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–449

An easy one to help you tide over those Monday blues.

Which

Simply identify the film from this minimalist poster. To be honest, if ever a film deserved a minimalist poster, it was this one. And it also seems to have the most of them around. Of course, I have been known to be wrong, but this one is just my observation. So that’s it: Simply identify the film!

Happy quizzing, and have nice life, folks!

***

Six answers, and all of them are bang on! “Aap Gyaani hain, Antaryaami hain, Shaktimaan hain, Buddhimaan hain; balki main to yeh bhi kehta hoon ke aap Purush hi nahi… (awkward pause) Mahapurush hain, Mahapurush!” Am I fanboying too much about Andaz Apna Apna?

PS: I honestly do not know who created this minimalist poster, and would have no qualms about giving him/her due credit. If you come across/know this person, please direct them to me, or me to them.

Sunday 4 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–448

A somewhat easy one for the day.

What

The photo above is a combination of the game “Adventure” (left), released by Atari in 1979-80 for its 2600 video game console. On the right is a hidden room in the game, which shows the words “Created by Warren Robinett”, a bit of code put in by Robinett himself. A probably apocryphal story goes that he thought he would not get credit for his work, and so chose to put this in.

When Atari was finally made aware of this code bya 15-year-old gamer after its release, the company, after considering other options, decided to keep it in the game, and assured customers of more such features in future products.

By and large, what word or phrase is thought to have originated from this entire incident?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Three answers, and all correct! This incident is indeed the origin of the term “Easter Egg”, as used in the context of electronic media and software.

Saturday 3 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–447

A somewhat easy one today, given that the year’s first weekend is starting.

What

We have the origin of something or someone in this image. Just tell me exactly what it is. That’s it.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Only one answer here. And Tauseef Warsi is correct! The soft toy is indeed the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.

Friday 2 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–446

Let’s continue with the habit this New Year.

What

The poem above has been written by an individual named Yuen Ren Chao in Classical Chinese, along with its English translation. What is the claim to fame of these otherwise ridiculous verses? Hint: Think pinyin or Mandarin Chinese.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Three answers, and all correct! This entire poem, in Mandarin Chinese or pinyin, consists of the syllable or sound “Shi”. As Wikipedia puts it:

« Shī Shì shí shī shǐ »


Shíshì shīshì Shī Shì, shì shī, shì shí shí shī.

Shì shíshí shì shì shì shī.

Shí shí, shì shí shī shì shì.

Shì shí, shì Shī Shì shì shì.

Shì shì shì shí shī, shì shǐ shì, shǐ shì shí shī shìshì.

Shì shí shì shí shī shī, shì shíshì.

Shíshì shī, Shì shǐ shì shì shíshì.

Shíshì shì, Shì shǐ shì shí shì shí shī.

Shí shí, shǐ shí shì shí shī shī, shí shí shí shī shī.

Shì shì shì shì.

Thursday 1 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–445

Let’s start off the New Year with a slightly difficult question.

Who

The photo above purportedly shows Abyssinian royals in their full regalia. Truth is, these were all British people who presented themselves as emissaries from Abyssinia and tricked the Royal Navy into showing their flagship, the battleship HMS Dreadnought, led by Irish poet and noted prankster Horace de Vere Cole. Your job is to identify the individual to the far left.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Two answers, and both correct. That individual is indeed Virginia Woolf. Yes, THE Virginia Woolf. How many else are there?