1. Informal Dubai Quiz Session

2. Rules: Let's keep this simple. 2 Teams. I pick two team captains. They get two captain's picks. The rest of the players are randomly distributed All questions are worth 2 points. Part points will be awarded at the QM's discretion. There might be certain topics/themes that might get repeated. Apologies in advance. We'll go on till 60 questions/people get bored (whichever comes first)‏

3. The typeface known as Spencerian script, developed in the mid 19th century was the dominant form of formal handwriting in the United States during that period. In popular culture, what arguably is the best known representation of this script?

5. Since he was born in 1942, at a time when the Quit India movement was at its strongest, his parents nearly named him after the Urdu word for ‘revolution’. Sumitranandan Pant is said to have given him the name we now know him by. In 1984, he participated in a creative venture which bore the Urdu name. Who?

6. If JFK was the first Catholic President, who is the first Catholic VP of the United States?

7. What is being depicted?

8. Who is this?

9. Unlicensed Copy of a 1941 Pete Arno cartoon from the New Yorker. What memorable caption did Arno thrust upon us ?

10. Designed by Luigi Moretti. Named after the last lock which diverted this river into the neighbouring tidal basin during floodtides. What building?

11. What contest have these girls just participated in?

12. Swedish Newspaper Afton Dagbladet carried a picture of Kristin Enmark and Birgitta Lundblad in 2003 to mark the 30 th anniversary of a June 1973 event that made them sort of famous. What am I talking about?

14. Friends turned foes. Id them both

15. Song: ? Movie Name: Narsi Bhagat (1957)‏ Singer: Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey, Sudha Malhotra Music Director: Ravi Lyricist: ? Identify the song and lyricist for 1 point each? Q

16. Song: Darashan Do Ghanashyam Nath Mori Lyricist: Gopal Singh Nepali The lyricist’s name was wrongly given as Surdas in Slumdog Millionaire

17. Which film personality would connect these three ?

18. Where? What was the occasion?

19. "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" Where have you seen the latin version of this text?

20. "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Standard placeholder text for font previews : Lorem Ipsum

21. Emilio Fernandez, better known as El Indio, as persuaded to pose naked for an assignment by Cedric Gibbons. What was the result?

24. The first one held in 1901 was attended by 113 guests, last year the number was 1300. The organizing staff includes a catering manager, banqueting hall manager, head chef, 8 head waiters, 210 waiters and waitresses, 5 wine waiters, 20 cooks and about 20 people responsible for washing up and transporting food. Sample menus given below. What is the event? Q 2008 2007 Sole with Swedish shellfish, fennel and dill Lobster aspic with dill-baked halibut and Kalix bleak roe Fillet of veal, accompanied by seasonal vegetables and potato terrine Young cockerel with cockerel sausage, accompanied by almond potato and celery root terrine Poire Belle Hélène 2008 Raspberry and blackcurrant parfait on beds of pistachio, with vanilla ice cream Wines Wines Jacquart Brut Mosaïque Millésimé 2002 Jacquart Brut Mosaïque Millésimé 1996 Champagne Magnum Chateau Moulinet 2000 Corton Grand Cru Grèves Bourgogne 2002 Pomerol Domaine Jean-Claude Belland Beerenauslese Chardonnay, Helmut Lang 2006 Tri de Vendange Coteaux du Layon 2003 Neusiedlersee Raymond Morin

25. Identify furniture and folder

26. Conspiracy-theorists see in it the Runic letter of death while people who disapprove of the hippies have described it as a chicken's foot. The looniest interpretation comes from the ultra-conservative John Birch Society, which describes it as a Satanist device - 'an upside-down, broken cross'. What?

27. Who? When was this taken? HINT: Person was in the news in 2009

28. A collaboration that did not fructify. Id them both

29. Dagen H (The H day), today mostly referred to as Högertrafikomläggningen , was the day, 3 September 1967, on which something happened in Sweden. What?

30. Sweden switching fron left hand drive to right hand drive.

31. In 1892, Dr. Washington Sheffield of New London, Connecticut, created this design innovation for a product he created called the Creme Dentifrice. The inspiration for this idea came from a visit to Paris where he found artists benefiting from an innovation for storing paints. What familiar design idea?

32. Id the 3 gentlemen with BO.

33. Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, originally as a way to help Jewish singles. The first event took place at Pete’s Café in Beverly Hills in late 1998 before other secular services cropped up thanks in no small part to shows like Sex and the City . The trademark ___________ is now a registered trademark of Aish HaTorah.

34. A Statue of six year old Edgar Hernandes was recently unveiled in La Gloria, Mexico. What is Edgar's claim to fame?

35. The Agama mwanzae is a species of lizard found in Sub Saharan Africa and quite recently a popular choice of pet in the United Kingdom. The male's head, neck and shoulders are bright red or violet, while the body dark blue. It can also climb vertical walls and run on its back,blue socked feet . What is it more commonly known as?

37. 5.The first world championship of this event was held in Budapest in 1982. Some of the techniques used are the Roux,Petrus,ZZ,Corners-first and the Fridrich method (named after 2003 runner up Jessica Fridrich). The governing body has outlawed the use of lubricants such as Acetone,Methylene Chloride and WD-40. Id.

38. What feature is being advertised?

39. 7.

40. Whose death is this commemorating?

41. The graph on the next slide shows the evolution of the Piphilology world record. In 2004, Lu Chao, a 24 year old graduate from China took 24 hours to set the record (67,890) before it was broken by Akira Haraguchi in 2006 who touched the 100,000 mark. In June 2009, Andriy Slyusarchuk, a Ukrainian neurosurgeon, claimed to have set the new mark at an astonishing 30 million.

43. Who were the unseen protagonists of this comic strip by Arthur "Pop" Momand?

45. Dear AAA – Hi there — I’m BBB, director of the new Star Trek movie. I read about you and your situation, and ALSO your affinity for things Trek. So, I just wanted to put the invitation out there — that if you had any desire to be in the film (can’t promise you a role as CAPTAIN, but… we could do SOMETHING!), it would be my honor and pleasure. Best, BBB AAA accepted and here’s what he had to say about the experience: Jai & I hopped a plane to LA, where I got a custom-made Star Trek uniform and my own station on the bridge, where I had lots of buttons and controls. I even got a LINE!!!! . AAA promptly donated his $217 paycheck to charity. Who are AAA and BBB?

46. Contrary to popular belief, Al Copeland originally named his stores after Gene Hackman's character X in The French Connection and not the more popular Y. Copeland later acquired the rights to use Y, which was subsequently used in all its marketing campaigns.

48. This photograph was taken at “Our Way Home”, a peace event in Castlegar, British Columbia in July 2006. The person on the left serves as a UN Goodwill Ambassador and has also given speeches on Veterans Day in the United States.

49. Napalm Girl

50. What was the reaction of a U.S. Air Force captain working on Project MX-981 in 1949 on finding that John Paul Stapp had been strapped into a special harness with every G-force sensor wired backward?

51. This Russian-Jew manufacturer of woman’s clothing and founder of Jennifer Juniors Inc. became famous for his hobby. Who?

52. Nicholas Hughes, an Oxford-trained fisheries biologist, hanged himself at his Alaska home on March 16 2009. How did his mother die in 1963?

53. Id the two gentlemen

54. A New York Real Estate Developer named Seymour Durst sponsored the first X near 42 nd street in 1989 to highlight public awareness about Y. For eleven years, it functioned normally before it was turned off for two years between 2000 and 2002 because of improving conditions. After the restart, X ran smoothly till September 30th 2008,when it was forced to shut down for a very strange reason. There are now plans to install a newer version of X. What are X,Y?

55. The National Debt Clock

56. After Engand's win in the 2005 Ashes, the Royal Mail issued a series of 68 pence stamps to commemorate their win. Why was this particular denomination chosen?

57. One of the less significant events of 2006 was the modification of a name to include the number 134340. What am I talking about?

58. In March 2009, a court case involving a Finnish tourist Marko Kulju was front page news in Chile. After a lengthy hearing, he was fined 17,000$ and barred him from entering the country for three years. However some officials advocated a harsher punishment - “ If an ear is cut off, then an ear gets cut. Eye for an eye.tooth for tooth: That would be my form of justice”. What crime had Marko Kulji commited?

59. A new PETA advertisement in South America has the slogan “Join the Vegetarian _______”. The ad features 23 year old Lydia _______ wearing nothing but camouflage pants, a red beret, and bandoliers of baby carrots. Why has this ad received a lot of attention?

60. Lydia is Che Guevera's granddaughter

61. Following a successful petition drive in 1999, Brevard County in Florida was assigned this three digit area code for its contribution to _____ in the United States. Fill in the blank and also tell me what the new area code is

62. Jonathon Hutchinson and Hastings Gilford described this rare medical condition in 1886 and 1897 respectively. Since they were working independently, the condition is often referred to by both their names. What do we call this condition which results from a genetic mutation leading thus to an unusable form of the Lamin A protein .

63. He earned his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of Bombay before pursing his real passion – acting. His credits include TV Appearances on The Guinness World Records TV Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Boston Legal and the National Bingo Night. He was also credited in the the Marathi movie Shwaas. Where have we seen him lately?

65. In June 2008, F-1 drivers David Coulthard and Sebastian Bourdais drove their cars for a promotional event in the Navarre region in Spain. What was so special about this event?

66. A theory that directly links the name of this place to a Vedic myth has been suggested. In Hindu mythology, the sage Kapila is said to have burnt King Sagar's 60,000 sons to the ground on being accused of abducting their horse. This incident is said to have taken place at "Kapilaaranya" - derived from Kapila Aranya or Kapila's Forest. The link between the Paatala-loka (underworld) which is where the horse allegedly ran off to and the situation of America on the Earth directly opposite to India, or in other words "beneath" it, has been noted by proponents of this derivation of "X". The existence of an Ash Mountain Park in X and a Horse Island in Alaska seem to consolidate this possibility, although few authorities have voiced any opinions regarding the Kapilaaranya/X mystery.

67. A 1930 photo of Nan ____ and Dr. Byron McKeeby. What have I blanked out in the picture?

69. Original: ________ Torquette Considered:______ Kazi Final: ______ X, thanks to an Indian cricketer

77. What has been blanked out?

78. Assam Dorset Scotland Jamaica Thai Anaheim What does this scale measure?

80. The standard method (left) is based on an exponential curve, while the proposed new method (below) is based on a regression fit

84. Fernando Botero is a renowned Colombian artist. In 2007, he exhibited his latest series of pictures, one of which is shown below. What did he cite as the inspiration for this work?