Solstice 09 Prelims

Much effort was made to settle the long standing argument : “Who is a better classical music composer – The German born George Handel or the Italian Bononcini?” Eventually, John Byrom, a revolutionary English poet, wrote the following verse: Some say, compar'd to Bononcini That Mynheer Handel's but a Ninny Others aver, that he to Handel Is scarcely fit to hold a Candle Strange all this Difference should be 'Twixt _______ and __________ Fill in the blanks.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee from “Through the Looking Glass” & “Alice in Wonderland”

“ A brighter seat of my memories is based on pursuing my rubber ball. Once it happened to bounce under the kitchen table, and I was trying to retrieve it while it was still bouncing. Stooping with full-bended knees, but with my back and head vertical, I fit under the tabletop while scooting forward reaching for the ball. This squatting manner was requested by members of the family many times thereafter and soon, from their appreciation and encouragement, I looked forward to the ritual. “ Who describing what?

Chuck Berry on the “Duckwalk”

Unhappy with the overwhelming authority of FIDE (international chess association), X – the reigning world champion in 1993, split to form his own governing body and chose his own challenger for the World Chess Championship. The new organization was dubbed “Professional Chess Association”. On being asked who his challenger would be, X remarked: “ It will be Y and the match will be short” X and Y?

X : Gary Kasparov Y : Nigel Short

The length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger is a special distance. It has varied over periods The Egyptians assumed it to be 530 mm (21 in) In Biblical times, it was closer to 560mm (22 in) By the Roman times, it had shrunk to about 460 mm (18 in) From the Latin word for elbow, comes the name of a forgotten unit of measure, one that Noah used to build his Ark. What? *

Cubit, from the Latin “cubitum”

If TinyUrl launched bit.ly, Google will launch _____ Facebook will launch ______

Google launched goo.gl Facebook launched fb.me

___ _____ is a derogatory term used to refer to appropriation of government spending for localized projects which benefit only the representative’s constituency/district. The term may have originated in the US during the pre-Civil War days when slaves were given 1 salt ____ ____ as reward and requiring them to compete amongst themselves to get their share of the handout. In an 1863 story by Edward Hale, the term began to be associated with public spending for the citizenry. What term?

John Dennis, a popular English critic playwright of the 1700s, wrote a play called Appius & Virginia Story goes that Dennis developed a unique background effect for the stage during the play but the play was cancelled by the theatre due to lack of audience When Dennis returned to the theatre for another play, he saw his effect being used without permission and exclaimed: “ That’s my _____, by God! The villains will play my ____ but not my play!” What did English language gain due to this incident?

The phrase “Steal my Thunder” came in the English language

A certain American manufacturer that made jukeboxes, pianos, organs but none so famous as the “Mighty _____” – the theatre organ that was used frequently in silent movies. Id manufacturer name synonymous with instrument below

Wurlitzer from “The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company”

“ We have no conviction ... that this is the right point of view from which to criticize the political situation at the present time. After all, your pigs are far more intelligent than the other animals, and therefore the best qualified to run the farm – in fact there couldn’t have been an Animal Farm at all without them: so that what was needed (someone might argue) was not more communism but more public-spirited pigs. “ “ I have a high regard for your work because it is good writing of fundamental integrity, but I regret that my rejection will deny Faber the opportunity to publish this work ” Probably the literary snub of the century. Whose letter rejecting Animal Farm? *

T S Eliot. Extract from letters released by his widow after his death.

This Athenian philosopher was actually an advocate of moderation. He believed that pleasure was preferable to pain but warned that over gratification of physical desire led to greater pain than pleasure. His philosophy eventually became hedonism and gained many followers. However, he is much remembered for lending his name to high-living gourmet experts.

Epicurus, from whose name comes “epicure”

Mobile phone service providers officially designate certain days as “Blackout Days” during the year. What are these Blackout Days?

Days during the year when any special tarrifs/plans are disabled intentionally to avoid companies from incurring spiralling costs on these special plans.

On December 8, 1869 Leopold and Fanny (both writers) signed a contract making Leopold the slave of Fanny Pistor Bogdanoff for the period of six months. The stipulation on the contract stated that the Baroness (as Fanny called herself) wear furs as often as possible especially when she was in a bad mood. Leopold would be disguised as a servant and travel in the 3 rd class while Fanny would travel in the 1 st class. The real life contract served as the base for a novel in which the character represented by Fanny acquired a lover to arouse jealousy in the character represented by Leopold. What is the significance of this story? *

Leopold’s full name was Leopold Von Sacher Masoch. His last name inspired the term “Masochism”

Identify the shaded region in the map Indian School of Business, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

A letter from an offended man to his father : ‘ Instead of taking my petition (to leave for Vienna) or procuring me an audience or advising me to send in the document later or persuading me to let the matter lie, Count Arco hurls me out of the room and gives me a kick on my arse. Well, that means in our language that Salzburg is no longer the place for me, except to give me the favorable opportunity of returning the Count’s kick, even if it should have to be in the public street’ Legend also has it that a popular canon “Leich Mich Im Arse” (Lick me in the Arse) originated due to this incident. Who was the writer?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, prior to leaving the service of the Archbishop of Salzburg.

From the story “The Greek Interpreter”: "There are many men in London, you know, who, some from shyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows…It is for the convenience of these that the _____ _____ was started, and it now contains the most unsociable and unclubable men in town. No member is permitted to take the least notice of any other one, no talking is, under any circumstances, allowed, and three offences, if brought to the notice of the committee, render the talker liable to expulsion. My brother was one of the founders, and I have myself found it a very soothing atmosphere."

Diogenes Club, of which Sherlock Holmes’ brother Mycroft Holmes was a member. Painting is that of Alexander meeting Diogenes

The table below lists the number of ‘peaks’ in which popular edible brand? 12 100g 15 200g 17 750g 15 400g 11 75g 11 50g 9 35g 3 Mini Peaks Size

The origin of the name of this European capital city is of much debate. Founded around 1049 by King Harald III, it is commonly held that the name means “the mouth of the Lo river”, referring to an alternative name of the river Alna, but this is most likely apocryphal. A fire in 1624 destroyed much of the medieval city, and when the city was rebuilt it was renamed Christiania . The original name was restored in 1925, a decision which caused much debate in its time. Which capital city?

The Cedars of Lebanon (evergreen trees in Lebanon) were candidates in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition, but they were eliminated in the first stage They lost to Lebanon’s national candidate and first choice for the competition, which is depicted on the Lebanon 1 Leira currency note below. Name this Lebanese wonder?

Considered the most dangerous fish in the ocean, this grotesque creature is almost impossible to spot against rock and coral and will lie motionless with venomous spines until it’s too late for a human/marine prey. A sting from this fish is followed by excruciating, maddening pain and afflicted humans have died more due to pain induced drowning than due to the venom. Which fish?

Pick the fruit just after the frost kills the vine Peel off the outer skin of the fruit Squeeze it repeatedly from the middle towards the ends to remove the fleshy substance inside Remove all seeds in the process and dry what remains What would you call what remains? *

The fruit in question is the “luffa”/”loofah”. Natural bath sponges can be made from the fruit itself. The ones in the market are from fabric.

The _______ _______ Club is a fictional men-only dining club for a series of 66 mystery stories, starting 1971, which was based on a literary dining club “The Trap Door Spiders”, which the author was part of. All stories follow the same convention: the six club members and a guest sit down to dinner, served by the waiter Henry Jackson. During the meal, one of the guests proposes a problem (personal or actual crimes) and all club members try to propose rational solutions but eventually Henry provides the correct and usually simplest answer. Henry himself was inspired by Jeeves, esp. because the author himself was a fan of PG. Which club?

The Black Widowers’ Tales by Isaac Asimov

Solstice 09 Prelims

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