Rendezvous 2021 sci-tech quiz finals

Rendezvous 2021 – Evolution (Sci-Tech) Jyotesh Singh
Evolution – The
Sci-Tech Quiz
Jyotesh Singh

Rules
32 questions – 4Q written 1, 12 Q clockwise, 4Q written 2, 12 Q
anticlockwise
+10/-5 on pounce, +10/0 on bounce
Please use discord Pounce-bot for pouncing (test this right now as I ask
each team to do so)
In case of multiple unrelated pounces, first pounce accepted. Don’t
worry about typos, and I will let you know if I need clarification

Written 1
+10 each
4 Q
Theme: Evolution

1
While tracing this creature’s evolution, the philosopher postulated that
evolution linearly proceeded from mineral life to angelic solar spirits.
For this creature, the suspected origin was an ancestor that lived
among subterranean rocks was trapped there until evolved into surface
dwelling “more advanced and evolved” species.
The surface species included a subspecies that behaved like
hummingbirds, grazing on flower nectar.
What creature is being discussed here?

2
This hypothesis on cellular evolution claims that a primitive cell evolved
protrusions called blebs to swallow bacteria living on their surface. As
the blebs grew, the eventually engulfed the bacteria on the surface,
making the surface the new interior (diagram on the next slide)
What organelle did the bacteria become (2), what is this hypothesis
trying to explain (3) and what is the hypothesis called based on the
description in the first para, which will remind you of a 2015 pop
culture entity (5)?

surface dwelling
bacteria

3
These two corresponding parts (T1 and T2) of the human anatomy have
evolved in opposite directions. While other primates, due to the nature
of their dwelling, have both at a similar level of evolution, humans took
both to opposite extremes, with one .
Australopithecus afarensis was one human ancestor that still had the
earlier edition of T2, which surprised researchers as they were known
to walk upright. This probably indicates that they had a rolling gait like
other non-hominids.
What are these two body parts T1 and T2?

4
2009 was Darwin’s 200th birth centenary. A lot of people worldwide
tried to honour Darwin in different ways.
One student identified that Darwin’s key finding seemed to be that
major shifts happened with very gradual changes over time. This
theory of continuous progress instead of drastic revolutions resonated
with a message that was becoming the rage at that time.
Whose message did the student compare Darwin with, creating parody
images featuring Darwin instead of this person?

Exchange Sheets. Answers

A1
This is the Theosophist CF Leadbeater’s “theory” of the evolution of
Fairies

A2
• Mitochondria
• Eukaryotic evolution/formation of nucleus
• Inside-Out hypothesis

A3
• T1 Thumb T2 Big Toe
• One is fully opposable, other isn’t opposable at all

A4
Obama “Change we can believe
in”

END OF WRITTEN 1, SCORE CHECK

Infinite Pounce - I
12 Clockwise Questions
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+10/0 on bounce
If unanswered, next question passes to subsequent team
Pounce using Pouncebot on discord

5
These objects have been placed on the
reservoir Los Angeles. They were
inspired from similar objects used in
runoff-ponds near airports. What
purpose were they used for in
airports?
They are a cheap solution to a problem
that was of great value to LA from
2011-2017 (and still is). How were they
helping solve that problem?

SAFETY

A5
• Prevent birds from settling on nearby ponds and hence cause bird
strikes
• Reduce reservoir evaporation during drought/water conservation

6
The volcano indicated by the
arrow in the picture is one of a set
of three volcanoes on Mars. The
volcano is 14 km high and is
located very near the Martian
equator. As a result, a lot of
science fiction novels choose this
volcano as the ideal setting for
what technological marvel?

A6
• Space Elevator

7
Plants in the carrot or parsley family (Apiceae) are known to be
estrogenic, while others are also abortifacients.
These properties mean that a presumably extinct herb used in
antiquity as a contraceptive aid is believed to belong to this family.
What herb?
The fruit of this plant, consisting of two fused carpels that separate at
maturity is hence believed to be the inspiration for what?

A7
• Silphium
• Heart Symbol

8
Looking at this data from an event
in Mexico caused many scientists to
be puzzled, as the observations
were being made in places where
they shouldn’t have happened.
The puzzle was proven to be
caused by reflection and refraction
at a boundary. Which scientist
discovered this and what specific
model had they just established?

A8
• Molten outer core and solid inner core
• Inge Lehmann

9
When this nowadays barbarous experiment (probably considered to be
peak enlightenment at the time) was formulated, the plan was for
twelve children to be raised in isolation with twelve mute nurses and a
mute porter.
Twelve years later, the children were questioned by a Jew as the
expected hypothesis supposed the answer to be Hebrew.
Who conducted the experiment? Instead of Hebrew, what was the
ingenuous answer, which prompted one researcher to say “Care has
found a way”?

A9
Language deprivation experiment conducted by Akbar
Sign language

10
While the more famous secondary effects of this cataclysmic event weren’t
felt until the following year, some scientists and historians attribute
unseasonal rain at a place >11,000 km away two months after the event to
the presence of charged particles in the ionosphere.
This rain caused inclement mud and forced a particular person to delay their
action at a pivotal moment until the ground would dry. This, among other
decisions, would decisively change the earth.
What was the original cataclysmic event, and what happened 11,000 kms
away two months later?

A10
• Mt Tambora eruption
• Battle of Waterloo

11
In the ongoing Cold War, the USSR launched Intervision as the Warsaw
Pact’s answer to Eurovision.
Launched in 1977, it was expected to work as a tool of solidarity, and
viewers were expected to determine the winning performance via
voting. Unfortunately, very few households had telephones in the
Communist bloc. The organisers came up with an extremely bright
idea to measure aggregate approval in a geography by asking viewers
to do one simple action while in their own homes to indicate their
approval.
What were they supposed to do to vote?

A11
• Turn on a light, temporarily increasing power consumption in the area

12
Coastal and offshore development in the Persian gulf has resulted in
severe damage of its coral reef system. A company called Reef Arabia
has been trying to solve the problem. However, reefs formed from
concrete molds have their limitations and haven’t been able to help
curb the situation.
With the help of a company called DShape and some sandstone
material, Reef Arabia seems to have overcome this limitation.
Sandstone, unlike concrete, is closer to a natural earth rock and has a
neutral pH surface which makes it more attractive to coral larvae
looking for a home. So how did DShape solve this problem?

A12
Using 3D printers, they have manufactured artificial reefs

13
During WWII, Britain created large underground bombproof oil tanks
(44 feet high,779ft x 30 ft base) were used to cache British stores of oil
in bombproof environs.
In 2014, 12 years after the tanks were decommissioned and emptied,
an acoustic engineering professor recorded the sounds of blanks fired
from a gun and successfully went on to create a world record. What
was he trying to achieve? (Images follow)

A13
World Record for longest echo (112 seconds) in a man-made structure

14
In 2015, fans of an author started adding a header in their websites. The
author had created a semaphore system where a 3 letter prefix, with each
letter meaning “send the message on”, “do not log the message” and
“turn the message around at the end of the line and send it back again”
ensured that whatever message was attached to the prefix would be
forever transmitted.
This ensured that “A man is not dead while his name is still spoken”.
What is this prefix (famous in technology circles even outside the fandom)
and who is the author?

A14
GNU Terry Pratchett (d. 12th March 2015)

15
When news of this purchase broke, the clowns on social media jumped
at the comedy value
Comments comparing this to typical comic book supervillain behaviour
were made, with gems such as:
“Extremely rich corporate overlord has two floating bases named fear
and dread”
What purchase is being talked about?

A15

16
This dreadnought battleship, seized by the United Kingdom for WWI
service holds the record for the greatest number of turrets.
Look carefully at the ship’s turrets number and configuration, and tell
me what quotidian naming scheme was used for the turrets.

A16
HMS Agincourt’s 7 turrets were named for the days of the week

HALF-TIME, SCORE CHECK

Written 2
+10 each
4 Q
Theme: Nuclear research

17
When the hydrogen bomb was being developed, nuclear physicists
were pessimistic because of the huge technical challenges in ensuring
consistent compression to trigger fusion before a “fizzle” happened.
However, one key physicist was extremely enthusiastic about the
project, to the point that colleagues claimed he was manically obsessed
with it. As a result, physicists informally named a unit of measuring
enthusiasm with his name. Which physicist?

18
When the Soviet reports were discussing results from the Manhattan
Project, their unfamiliarity with English caused them to mistranslate
and report one key breakthrough as having to do with a “pumpkin
field”.
What breakthrough was hence mistranslated, and why pumpkin field?

19
After 1950, funding for nuclear research had started drying up,
Physicist James Tuck tried to divert funds from a previous project,
Project Lincoln, which had been taking place at the Hood Laboratory in
MIT.
In trying to be clever and funny, what did his well-read colleagues call
the subsequent research project?

20
When the creators for this product were coming up with names for the
different versions, they settled on using destructive weapon associated
names. The first two versions, for example, were named after Project
Manhattan and Project Orion.
Which ubiquitous product versions were named as such?

A17
Edward Teller

A18
Chicago Pile (first nuclear reactor) was built on a Squash court, Squash
and Pumpkin are synonyms in American English

A19
Project Sherwood
“robbing Hood to pay Friar Tuck”

A20
DirectX

END OF WRITTEN 2, SCORE CHECK

Infinite Pounce - II
12 Anti-Clockwise Questions
+10/-5 on pounce
+10/0 on bounce
If unanswered, next question passes to subsequent team
Pounce using Pouncebot on discord

21
Subway recently lost a case in Ireland to classify its sandwich bread as a
a staple food, and hence exempt from VAT.
However, the Irish SC noted that Subway’s bread could not be
compared to ordinary bread because it exceeded a certain component
criteria.
What criteria, and what is Subway bread classified in Ireland as?

A21
Sugar content (10% instead of 2% limit), classified as
confectionary/sweet/cake

22
This is a monument commemorating a British
botanist, who discovered key elements for red
algae’s lifecycle.
These insights helped commercial cultivation of
that red algae, which was invaluable for the
aquaculture industry of a country that was
dependent on hitherto unreliable harvests of wild
red algae.
Which country, and who is this botanist?

A22
Japan, Katherine Mary Drew-Baker

23
A musician composed this piece to be played by beginning with a molto
rub-ato and then ending with a secco. The piece begins with a swiping
hand motion to the right and then back along the piano (first along the
white tones and then along the black sharps and flats) followed by
staccato handwidth brushes increasing along the scales.
Listen to the piece, try to visualize the pianist’s movements and tell me
what this piece is supposed to represent”

A23

24
This device has 5 different electrolytic gels, each corresponding to a
different “bucket/grouping” with a 6th gel used as a buffer. Depending
on the electric current (input signal) applied to each gel, its chemical
interaction with the person using the device changes.
Developed by under the Frontier Media Science programme, what does
this device do? (Note: the variant shown in the image doesn’t have the
6th buffer gel)

A24
It is a Taste Display – it reproduces tastes when touched by someone’s
tongue

25
This computer science debate over whether byte orders should be
represented in increasing powers of 2 or as decreasing powers of 2.
The debate is named in honour of a literary reference of two fictional
sects of people who warred over whether boiled eggs should be broken
at the narrower (smaller) “top” or at the more rounded (bigger)
“bottom”.
What one word term is used to describe this debate? Which book is the
source of the literary reference?

A25
Endianness, Gulliver’s Travels

26
Hassan, a Kenyan villager, was tired of his goats constantly dying and
decided to do something about it. He and 4 of his friends waited till the
hottest part of the day and then ran constantly, but not very quickly,
for nearly 7 kms non-stop to chase their dreams.
Their achievement is a testament to the better thermo-regulation of
the human body due to hairlessness and sweating as compared to
other mammals that have to pant?
Why did Hassan and co run in the hot noonday sun, in a throwback to
how ancient hominids had successfully competed to become the apex
predator?

A26
To chase down and capture the cheetahs that were killing their goats
(part points for persistence hunting)

27
This spacecraft has the honour of discovering the most comets (and
hence has its name prefixed to the name of most comets).
This is because its main mission was to observe the sun’s outer
atmosphere, or corona, and hence it is installed with a disc that blocks
out most of the sun. Its steady presence in the L1 point means it is
pointed constantly for 25 years at the sun and hence spots comets
when they are the brightest (near the sun).
Which joint ESA-NASA spacecraft is this?
Hint: Its abbreviation is identical to an NYC neighbourhood

A27
SOHO or SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory

28
The man pictured made a startling discovery while
a slave on the French colony of Réunion.
By using a stick to lift a plant’s flap exposing the
stigma and then smearing pollen with his, he
created a pollination method that is still in use, and
temporarily made Réunion the largest producer of
this plant.
He eventually died in poverty, with the only benefit
accruing to him from his discovery being the
commutation of a prison sentence for theft later in
life.
Identify the plant and the man

A28
Vanilla, Edmond Albius

4 Qs to go, SCORE CHECK

29
This scientist famously conducted an experiment on the efficacy of
prayer while in school, whereby they prayed for success during half
their exams only and did not pray for the second half. They scored
higher marks for the exams they didn’t pray for.
Their most famous discovery is their doctoral thesis on the large
amount of H and He in the sun, concluding that H was the most
abundant element in the universe. They made use of the ionization
theory developed by another scientist for this thesis.
Who is this scientist? Whose ionization theory did they make use of?

29
Cecilia Payne (accept Ceclia Payne-Gaposchkin)
Meghnad Saha

30
While the most famous of these phenomenon is explained as heavy
hydrogen sulphide gas from decomposition moving independently from
the environment and appearing to be visually distinct.
The more semantically precise one is believed to be caused by the
differing densities at a cattle-crossing.
What phenomenon is being discussed here, which would delight a
baritone crab?
Where is the more semantically precise one?

A30
Undersea rivers
Bosporus Strait

31
At extremely low temperatures, Tin undergoes an allotropic transition
from a ductile form to a more brittle form. As a result, solders made
out of pure tin are likely to become brittle and break.
This rupture of supply casks, cans and flasks is presumed to have
helped cause the death of whose companions in a cold weather
adventure?

A31
Robert Scott

32
While taking spectroscopic observations for this event of a lifetime, a
scientist was appalled to note the presence of (CN)2, a poisonous gas
lethal with inhalation of 900 ppm over 10 minutes.
This scientist was subsequently published in the New York Times
(although it noted that others disagreed) as saying that life on earth
was doomed due to this.
What was this hoopla being made about?

A32
Halley’s Comet
Like it, Rendezvous is also always guaranteed to return. Covid or no
Covid.

Thank You

Rendezvous 2021 sci-tech quiz finals

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