1. This Emperor belonged to the Flavian dynasty, and ruled Rome during the 1st century A.D. His bust can be found in the Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles. The Flavian amphitheatre, also known as the ‘Colosseum’ was constructed during his rule. Historical records of his rule are generally positive, with him helping those affected by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the 1st century. Name the emperor.

2. This English businessman is generally considered to be the founder of Pennsylvania, and the creator of the city of Philadelphia. His father bore the same name as him, and he belonged to religious group ‘Quakers’. An early proponent of democracy, his ideas where incorporated into the Constitution of the United States. Name the person.

3. This aeroplane named ‘Kanishka’ was blown by a terrorist off the coast of Ireland in 1985, leading to the death of 329 people – mostly Canadian, British and Indian. Believed to be perpetrated by group called ‘Babbar Khalsa’, the investigations lasted for almost 20 years. A man called ‘Manjit Singh’ cleverly planted the bomb in the aircraft. Which incident or flight are we referring to?

4. His first name was Claudius and he was a Greek polymath who lived during the 1st-2nd century. His most famous works are ‘Almagest’ and ‘Geography’. He also published a work on the mathematics of music called ‘Harmonics’. There are craters on the moon and Mars named after him. Name the person.

5. An American rock band of the 1960s, their founding vocalist was Doug Ingle. They are best known for the song ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’ (also known as ‘In The Garden of Eden’). They still exist today with Ron Bushy, one of their longest serving members, playing the drums. Which band?

Answers:

1. Titus.

2. William Penn.

3. Air India Flight 182.

4. Ptolemy.

5. Iron Butterfly.

1. Currently an attraction for tourists in Germany, it was once the point where you could cross from West to East Berlin. During the crisis of 1961, it was occupied by Russian and American tanks on both sides. The death of Peter Fechter, who died bleeding after being shot while trying to cross the wall, is a famous incident related to this place. What are we referring to?

2. It’s scientific name is Cygnus Atratus, and it’s an animal primarily found in Australia. They were discovered by the English scientist John Latham. Featured in the flag of Western Australia, it has lent its name to a book as well as a movie starring Natalie Portman. Name the animal.

3. Created by a German Dr. Johann Siegert, it is an alcoholic drink containing certain vegetable extracts. It has some medicinal properties like being a cure for an upset stomach. It is used as a mix for cocktails as well as a flavoring agent. It is known for being sold in a bottle with an ‘oversized label’. What are we talking about?

4. An American actor, his middle name is Bonaventure. He has been nominated for the Best Actor at the oscars nine times, and won it for the movies ‘Captain Courageous’ and ‘Boys Town’. Louise Treadwell was his wife, even though he a long affair with actress Katherine Hepburn without divorcing her. Name the actor.

5. This American businessman was also a film producer, even though he is better known for ‘other’ ventures. ‘Hell’s Angels’ and ‘The Outlaw’ are two controversial films which he produced. There is a Medical Institute bearing his name which still exists today. He once helped the CIA recover a Soviet submarine. Name the person.

Answers:

1. Checkpoint Charlie.

2. Black Swan.

3. Angostura Bitters.

4. Spencer Tracy.

5. Howard Hughes.

1. This bank was officially created in 2001, and was one of the ‘Big Four’ banks in the UK till it merged with another in 2009 during the height of the financial crisis. The headquarters of the bank are located at ‘The Mound’. Andy Hornby was a former CEO of the bank, one of the youngest ever for a global bank. Which bank?

2. This is one of the highest military award in many of the Commonwealth countries, which were previously colonies of the British empire. It comprises a medal made of bronze with the crown and a lion. It’s motto is ‘For Valour’. The maximum number of awards on a single day was given during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Which award?

3. This test is used by the Supreme Court of the United States to determine if an action can be considered ‘obscene’. This was first developed in a landmark case against Marvin Miller by the State of California. It specifies three conditions which must be satisfied before something is considered obscene. Name the test.

4. It is a member of the Kuiper belt and is made up of rock and ice. It’s mass in one-third of that of the moon. It was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. Named after the Greek ruler of the underworld, it has a large concentration of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide in its atmosphere. What are we referring to?

5. A French mathematician born in the 18th century, he is very well known for his work on stochastic processes to model real world phenomena. He was a member of the prestigious ‘French Academy of Sciences’. He worked with noted mathematicians of his day, which include Joseph Lagrange and Pierre Laplace. Name the mathematician.

Answers:

1. Halifax Bank of Scotland.

2. Victoria Cross.

3. Miller test.

4. Pluto.

5. Simeon Denis Poisson.

1. This University was unofficially established around the 11th-12th century AD, and is part of the ‘Golden Triangle’ of British Universities. It’s motto is in Latin which in English means ‘The Lord Is My Light’. Notable alumni of this university include Clement Attlee, Indira Gandhi and Bill Clinton. Which university?

2. A noted lawyer in his day, he helped draft the Constitution of the United States and was once the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The article on him in the Encyclopedia Britannica was written by John F Kennedy. Being a friend of Samuel Morse, the first ever message transmitted using this medium was proposed by his daughter. Name the person.

3. A Scottish inventor born in the 19th century, he was influential in shaping the history of communication through his inventions. He was one of the founders of the National Geographic Society. His most famous invention was independently created by Elisha gray. Name the inventor.

4. This means of communication between the USA and the USSR was created after the Cuban Missile Crisis as part of an MOU signed in Geneva in 1963. It is also known as the ‘red telephone’. It was the device used for hilarious conversations in the classic movie Dr.Strangelove. What are we referring to?

5. A former footballer who played for The Netherlands, his middle name is Nicolas and considered to be one of the best Dutch footballers ever. He initially played for Ajax, but made his name playing for the English club Arsenal. He has sometimes been called the ‘Non-Flying Dutchman’. Name the footballer.

Answers:

1. Oxford University.

2. Oliver Ellsworth.

3. Alexander Graham Bell.

4. Moscow-Washington hotline.

5. Dennis Bergkamp.

1. This couple was executed on this day in New York. This was the first known civilian execution in the United States for espionage which involved passing of secrets related to the atom bomb to the USSR. Their execution is still considered to be controversial, and was ordered as a result of the decoding of secret Soviet information with the codename VENONA. Name the couple.

2. This character was created by Jim Davis, and was named after the author’s grandfather. The owner of this character is Jon Arbuckle, who also has a dog named Odie appearing along with this character. Bill Murray provided the voice of this character in a movie. Name the character.

3. This comic character was created by Hank Ketcham, and belongs to the family of the Mitchells. He has a cat named ‘Hot Dog’, and idolizes a film character named ‘Cowboy Bob’. He was part of a sitcom produced by CBS where Jay North provided the voice of this character. Name the character.

4. This video game was created by Valve Corporation, and distributed by Sierra Studios. One of the most successful video games ever, it has a cult following with a sequel released in 2004. G-Man is a character who sometimes appears in the video game, and its story was written by Marc Laidlaw. Name the game.

5. His middle name is Edwin, and he sometimes writes under the name Richard Bachman. One of the most successful science fiction and fantasy authors, he has won the ‘Bram Stoker Award’ multiple times. One of his books was made into a movie by Stanley Kubrick starring Jack Nicholson. name the author.

Answers:

1. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

2. Garfield.

3. Dennis the Menace.

4. Half Life.

5. Stephen King.

1. His middle name was Robert, and he was an English naturalist from the 19th century. Considered to be a major influential figure in history, he is buried in Westminster Abbey along with Isaac Newton. He is also the author of ‘The Expression of the Emotion in Man and Animals’. Name the scientist.

2. A well known aircraft used by the United States Air Force, it is manufactured by Boeing. It was originally designed by George Schairer. It was extensively used in the Vietnam War. It is known as the ‘Big Ugly Fat Fellow’ and can carry upto 32000 kilos of weapons. Name the aircraft.

3. This book was written by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. Originally a series of articles published by the Wall Street Journal, it was later converted into a book as well as a movie by HBO. It deals with the leveraged buyout of a prominent company during that time. Name the book.

4. Connect the following – a 2000 film starring Guy Pearce, a novel by Radek John, an Australian hard rock band and a Web archiving project.

5. A German composer who has created tracks for various famous movies, his middle name is Florian and he works for Dreamorks Studios. He was been awarded a Grammy four times, and also won the Academy award for the movie ‘The Lion King’. One of the first movies where he made his mark was ‘Rainman’ starring Dustin Hoffman. Name the composer.

Answers:

1. Charles Darwin.

2. B-52.

3. Barbarians At The Gate.

4. Memento.

5. Hans Zimmer.

1. This former President of the United States was also a mining engineer. He was a firm believer of the ‘Efficiency Movement’ as well as the President during the time of the great depression. He was the first President who had no previous experience fighting elections and also not a high ranking military officer. Name the person.

2. His real name is Orenthal, and is one of the most well known American footballers of all time. He was also called ‘The Juice’. He has had acting parts in films ‘The Towering Inferno’ as well as the ‘The Naked Gun’. Name the former footballer.

3. His middle name was Leonard, and apart from being a very famous actor during the 1950s, he is also known for his enthusiasm for auto racing. He won the best actor award at the Oscars for a film directed by Martin Scorcese. His first film was ‘The Silver Chalice’. Name the actor.

4. This universal bank was founded by Sir Thomas Sutherland in 1865, and has been known by various names in various countries even though now it is just known by an acronym. Their headquarters are located in 8 Canada Square, an iconic building in London. It is a major sponsor of the ‘The Open Championship’, a major golf tournament. Name the bank.

5. A fictional character in The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien, his name can be translated to ‘devoted to the moon’. He was once the king of Gondor and Arnor, and created the city ‘Minas Morgul’. He cut the Ring from Sauron’s hand. Name the character.

Answers:

1. Herbert Hoover.

2. O.J.Simpson.

3. Paul Newman.

4. HSBC.

5. Isildur.