Question for October 31st

Decipher the image above. Click on the image for a larger view. Dark green indicates before 1820s, then shades of green through various decades of 19th century, yellow 1900s and 1920s, brown 1940s and 50s, light red 60s and 70s and dark red 80s. Black means "not yet" and grey-"no data".

Question for October 30, 2009

In an episode of the chat show, Friday Night, Saturday Morning, X and Y engaged in a debate with Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood, the Bishop of Southwark, on the topic of Z. Throughout the debate, Muggeridge and Stockwood ignored X and Y's claims that Z was about the abuse of faith rather than faith itself. According to Y, the bishop started with a sermon addressed to the audience, and in the first three or four minutes, had brought in Ceausescu and Zedong, without making a single point about Z. He then accused X and Y of making a mockery of Mother Teresa, and was "smug and patronising" all through-out. The audience, however, appeared to be on the side of X and Y, especially when X noted that they would have been burned at the stake 300 years ago for Z. The Bishop, though, was particularly upset at the use of crucifixion, forgetting the fact that it was used as a traditional Roman punishment.

Both, X and Y, were later extremely disappointed with Muggeridge and Stockwood for engaging in cheap pot shots instead of making serious points. X was especially disappointed in Muggeridge, claiming that his reputation had plummeted in his eyes, while Y claimed that Muggeridge preferred to simply have a contrary opinion than no opinion at all. X felt that Z was "completely intellectually defensible" and claimed to have enjoyed the debate. This was apparently Douglas Adams' favourite bit of television, and he felt it was rivetting.

Identify X, Y and Z.

Question for Oct 29th 2009 - Hari

Connect.

1.

2.

3.

Question for October 28th

Hi,
I thought the order for posting was supposed to be Anshul, Ishani and then me, Dev and so on..... but somewhere along the line looks like something got messed up. Anyhow, decided to squeeze in a post :)

The exact origin of X is disputed. Its growth may be traced across three different North American countries, and Russia. In 2002, Tamás Vicsek of the Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary along with his colleagues analyzed 14 videos of X , developing a standard model of the behavior of X (published in the September 12 issue of Nature) . He noted that, once started, it usually rolls in a clockwise direction at a rate of about 12 m/s (40 ft/s).
It gained worldwide prominence, and its official name, during the 1986 FIFA Football World Cup.
Identify X.

Pinakin

Question for Oct 27th. - Dev

Identify the famous personality in the following two pictures:


Some helpful facts:

• He was an accomplished actor, filmmaker, musician and academy award winning composer.
• Born four days before Adolf Hitler. Both Hitler's persona and his persona had a common thing, making them instantly recognizable. Can you guess what that thing was?

Question for October 26

What does this map show?

Question for Oct 25th

Hello people,
Apologies for being more than 24 hours late in posting the question. :-)
You will have time till tomorrow night to reply with an answer.
--
In July of 1714, during the reign of Queen Anne, the X Act was passed in response to the merchants and seamen petition presented to Westminster Palace in May. A prize of £20,000 was offered for a method of determining X to an accuracy of 30 miles.

To solve the X problem, Y produced 4 versions of Z. These were later named H1, H2, H3 and H4. H1 was a giant sized Z but H4 was only 13 cm in diameter. Captain Cook used a copy of H4 in voyage of three years, which ranged from the Tropics to the Antarctic. On returning he remarked that it had been "our faithful guide through all the vicissitudes of climates".

What is X Y and Z.
--

10 to 16 million years old

It evolved millions of years ago. Philosophers have tried explaining it for over 2000 years and science may finally have an explanation.

Certain experiments have concluded that it may just be an "automatic response to a situation rather than a result of concious strategy".

Although it may seem uniquely human, that may only be because of the changes that have happened over millions of years. In others it occurs too, however in forms that maybe confusing and difficult to identify.

What's it?

Question for Oct 23

X, is a company owned and operated by the Government of Karnataka. The company was started by (Maharaja) Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar in 1937. In 1962, X was selected to manufacture Y for Z. X is the only company in India authorised to produce Y. Y is supplied in vials having volumes of 5 ml, 7.5 ml, 20 ml, 50 ml and 80 ml. A 5 ml vial can be used for about 300 people. Y is also exported to countries like Turkey, Papua New Guniea, South Africa, Denmark and many more.

Although X manufactures many products (besides Y), and has a lot of customers for those other products, X's business is highly dependent on Z (its major customer). When X supplies Y to Z, the company's turn over, which is around Rs 9 crore a year, shoots up to around 13 crore with an over all 44 per cent increase in it's annual turnover. These figures are quoted from a Times of India edition of this decade.

Identify X,Y,Z.

Hint for X: The visual shows the logo of X.

Question for October 22-Gaurav Kane

Identify X

X was born in Pontiac, Michigan, to Armenian-American parents. He graduated from Pontiac Central High School with honors in 1945, at the age of 17. He then enrolled at the University of Michigan Medical School, from which he graduated in 1952. In 1991 the State of Michigan revoked X's medical license and made it clear that given his previous actions, he was no longer permitted to practice medicine. Between 1990 and 1998, X assisted in the deaths of nearly one hundred people, according to his lawyer Geoffrey Fieger. On March 26, 1999, X was charged with first-degree homicide and the delivery of a controlled substance to Thomas Youk.

The Michigan jury found X guilty of second-degree homicide. The judge sentenced X to serve a 10-25 year prison sentence and told him: "You were on bond to another judge when you committed this offense, you were not licensed to practice medicine when you committed this offense and you hadn't been licensed for eight years. And you had the audacity to go on national

television, show the world what you did and dare the legal system to stop you. Well,

sir, consider yourself stopped."

Terminally ill with Hepatitis C, which he contracted while doing research on blood transfusions in Vietnam,X was expected to die within a year in May 2006. After applying for a pardon, parole, or commutation by the parole board and Governor Jennifer Granholm, he was paroled on June 1, 2007, due to good behavior. He had only spent 8 years and 2 1/2 months behind bars rather than the predicted 10–25 years

Question for Oct 21 - PS

Below is a set of images that are ordered and exhaustive (the second image is missing).

Identify what the images represent.

A)

C)

D)

E)

F)

Quiz question for October 20th

This equation is sometimes called "The Green Bank equation", "The Green Bank Formula" or often erroneously called "The Sagan equation" (after the astronomer and SETI proponent Carl Sagan). The main purpose of the equation is to allow scientists to quantify the uncertainty of the factors that determine N.

In a 2003 lecture at Caltech, Michael Crichton, the science fiction author, stated:

The problem, of course, is that none of the terms can be known, and most cannot even be estimated. The only way to work the equation is to fill in with guesses. As a result, [it] can have any value from "billions and billions" to zero. An expression that can mean anything means nothing. Speaking precisely, [it] is literally meaningless...

It has made many appearances in popular culture. It is cited in Michael Crichton's Sphere, it appears in the Electronic Arts game Spore, it is mentioned multiple times in Carl Sagan's science fiction book Contact and this equation was mentioned by Howard and detailed by Sheldon in an episode of the The Big Bang Theory.

What's the equation about? Bonus points for identifying the parameters. As always, creative answers get most points :).

Quiz question for October 19th

A computational study conducted by a joint Indo-US team led by Rajesh P N Rao of University of Washington, consisting of Iravatham Mahadevan and others from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, was published in April 2009 in Science, which claimed "entropic evidence for .... in X". One of the key figures in the paper is shown below, which compares the conditional entropy of X with other kinds of Y in an attempt to establish X as similar to them.


The paper has added fuel to an already raging fire of controversy over this politically sensitive topic, with some researchers claiming that X is not even a Y in its common form, but simply ideographical.

Identify X and Y.

Question for Oct 18, 2009

The following list is ordered, but not exhaustive. Identify the blanks.

Joe Biden, _______, Robert Byrd, _______, Timothy Geithner, Robert Gates, Eric Holder.

Question for October 17th - Hari

What am I talking about?

Question for Oct. 16th - Dev

X was born in Trymbakeshwar in Nasik. He was born to a Sanskrit scholar, studied at J.J. college of Art in Bombay and at Kala Bhavan, Baroda. He then studied architecture and became landscape painter of academic nature studies. He worked in a photographic studio and at Ratlam learned three-colour block making and ceramics. He then worked as a portrait photographer, stage make-up man, assistant to a German illusionist and as a magician! He was offered backing to start an Art Printing Press and his backers to acquaint him with the latest printing process arranged for him to go to Germany provided that he remain with the company. But by the time X returned he knew that a printing career would not satisfy him. He raised a loan from his friend and pledging his life insurance, went to England to purchase the necessary equipment and acquaint himself with the technical aspects of Y. When he returned from London he launched Z about an honest king who for the sake of his principles sacrifices his kingdom and family before the gods.

After a somewhat successful career in Y, X retired. He died in Nasik, a forgotten man. But today he is considered as a pioneer of Y in India and a prestigious award is named after him.

Identify X, Y and Z.

Question for October 15

Hint: It is a computer game.

What am I talking about?

• I, J, L, O, S, T, and Z are the official names for the structures used in the product as mentioned in the official manual but other names do prevail among common users.

• It is one of the most popular products in it's category but the person in the image made almost no money out of it, despite being the inventor, due to the Soviet system of communism. However, in 1996 he created a company that now holds the sole rights to it across the world and has licensed it to numerous companies in order to derive revenue from it.

Question for October 13th - Ishani

Short and simple question about something that confused people all over the world for very long!

X goes by the name "hindi" in Turkey, "peru" in Portuguese, "Ethiopian" in Arabic, "French girl" in Greek, "india" in French and interestingly, "chameleon" in Persian.

What is X.

The man who knew infinity

Below is an edited version of what Y had to say about X, whom he discovered:

The stories, true and false, of what happened when I read the letters have been well spread --- like how I first stored them in my wastepaper basket before retrieving them for a second look, and so on. Only someone of the highest class could have written them. They had to be true, for if they were not, no one would have the imagination to invent them .........

At another time, upon hearing of a famous incident involving X, Y and Y's preferred mode of transport, Littlewood, also Y's collaborator, had commented that every positive integer was one of X's personal friends.

Who is X, the man who knew infinity?

Any Guesses on Y and the famous incident?

Question for Oct 10 - PS

Explain the significance of what you see below (it can now be found at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.):

Question for Oct 9

Even though Benjamin Franklin did not propose X, X has its roots in the 1784 proverb by him:
"Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise".

X was first proposed in 1895 by New Zealander George Vernon Hudson. Many countries have used it since then, details vary by location and change occasionally. The visual shows countries that currently use X, that previously used X, and that never used X. The initial adoption of X (in many countries) was prompted by an energy crisis during World War I.

Identify X.

Question for October 8-Gaurav Kane

Identify X-

X is an island considered the largest atoll, in terms of land area, of the
Chagos Archipelago, and is part of the British Indian Ocean Territories. The island is located in the Indian Ocean, about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) south of the southern coast of India.Other countries in the vicinity of X include Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The X depopulation controversy pertains to the expulsion of the established inhabitants of the island of X, part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), during the 1960s and 1970s. The displaced inhabitants and human rights advocates have claimed that their right of occupation was violated by the British Foreign Office, who they accuse of plotting the depopulation so that the island could be used as a joint UK/US military base.The British government has generally denied any wrongdoing, and disputes that the deportees have a right to be repatriated. However, the High Court of England and Wales has declared the Chagos people should be allowed to return and populate the islands other than X in the BIOT.A resettlement plan is currently underway.The island was used as a base in the US and NATO-led coalition wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for long-range bombing missions.

Quiz question for October 7th

This is a dialogue from one episode of Will and Grace:

Will: You — you did a movie with Val Kilmer?
X: No, but Val was in Top Gun with Tom Cruise, and Tom was in A Few Good Men with me. Huh, that was a short one.

Who's X? What's he talking about? Give me the general funda. Creative answers get more points :).

Question for Oct. 06 - Dev

Can you guess what the following picture is depicting?

Question for Oct 5, 2009

X was an American outlaw who specialized in bank and train robberies, mostly in Missouri, in the second half of the 19th century, and became one of the most notorious criminals of his time. X started out as a soldier for the Confederate army, and after the war, he joined a gang of robbers founded by his old commander. While X was often potrayed as a Robin Hood of his time, he and his gang was never known to share their money with others. X was eventually betrayed and shot by an accomplice, Robert Ford, who was in secret negotiations with the governer of Missouri to bring him in. X has been shown in many films as a heroic outlaw, often as a troubled individual, rather than as a social rebel, though he remains a controversial symbol, who has been interpreted in various ways.

Identify X.

Question for October 4th - Hari

What am I talking about?

______ is believed to have originated in ancient China. Guanzi, a book written in around 300 BC recommends ______ and propounds different methods for this purpose. It is quite well known that the recommendations of Guanzi became an official policy of early Chinese Emperors. At one point of time, _____ constituted over one half of China's revenues and contributed to the construction of the Great Wall of China.

______ has been in India ever since the time of the Mauryas even during the time of Chandragupta Maurya. The Arthashastra which describes the different duties of the people says that a special officer called "lavananadhyaksa" was appointed to enforce _____.

In Bengal, there was ______ in vogue during the time of the Mughals, which was 5% for Hindus and 2.5% for Muslims.

The subject of interest was the catalyst for one of the iconic and greatest acts of protest in modern history.

Quiz question for October 3rd

On 18 December 1961, following the collapse of an American attempt to find a negotiated solution to the issue, the army of X entered Y. Z, which was then administering Y, had just suppressed a popular revolt in Angola, which had radicalised public opinion in X and helped precipitate X's actions on Y. Z took the matter to the security council, but a resolution calling for X to withdraw its troops immediately was defeated by the USSR's veto. Z surrendered on 19 december and X took over the administration of Y.

Identify X, Y and Z.

Hint: Although Z had to cede control of Y in 1961, its overseas empire only came to an end in 1999 after a negotiated handover of its last such territory.

Question for October 02, 2009

Hakenkreuz (German), fylfot, gammadion (or tetragammadion), tetraskelion (Greek), pinyin (Chinese), sun-wheel, double cross are alternate names (list not exhaustive) of what? The name literally translates to "that which is associated with well-being".

Daily Quiz Question - Oct 1st 2009

Apologies for the late post folks...

X belongs to the category of Y and is its most prominently known example.

Other examples of Y include - Cava in Spain, Asti in Italy or Sekt in Germany.

The sweetness of Y can range from 'brut' to'doux'.

In 1891, the 'Treaty of Madrid' legally granted X an Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) which loosely translates as 'controlled term of origin'.

Name X.

-Pinakin