1. These words are spoken by the poet and musician Rafiq Ghaznavi at the beginning of films produced by Mehboob Productions. Its English translation is: “The Plaintiff might wish you a million ills, but what of it? That alone happens that God allows.” What is the original Urdu version of it?

Answer – “muddai laakh buraa chaahe to kyaa hotaa hai, wahi hotaa hai jo manzuur-e-khudaa hotaa hai”

2. This is what Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective, once said –

‘I suppose that its influence is physically a bad one. I found it so stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small movement.’

What was he talking about?

Answer – Cocaine.

3. Epithets of misery clatter after its name like a ball and chain : Poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest on Earth. It is also known as the world’s first independent black republic.

Name the country.

Answer – Haiti.

4. About 40 million people, including 16 million in India, may have died of an illness between Jan 1918 to Dec 1920 called ‘The Spanish Lady’.

What was the illness or what’s the name of the disease?

Answer – Influenza Pandemic.

5. A district of Himachal Pradesh created a national record by organising a 21 km long Half Marathon at the height of 10050 ft on Aug 10, 2013. A total of 261 sportsman from HP, J&K, Punjab and Army participated in this event. ______ is the administrative centre of the Lahaul & Spiti district of HP.

FITB

Answer – Keylong.

6. X is the custom of applying painfully tight binding to the feet of young girls to prevent further growth. Foot binding became popular as a means of displaying status and was correspondingly adopted as a symbol of beauty in Chinese culture. The Chinese bound the feet of women to keep them small. A foot which is only 3 inches long, was the ideal.

Name X.

Answer – The Lotus Feet.

7.

If you’re in there for any length of time, you have to sit down because it can be so disorienting. Orfield said the longest anyone’s held out is just 45 minutes.

NASA uses a similar chamber for its astronauts, who are placed in water-filled tank to see how well they respond to hallucinations.

What’s so special about this room?

Answer – Minnesota Lab Room or An anechoic chamber(anechoic meaning non-reflective, non-echoing or echo-free) or World’s quietest room.

8. (Video)

It was first aired on New York’s WNBT-TV. It shows a picture of a clock superimposed on a map of the United States accompanied by the voice-over “America runs on Bulova time.”

What’s so special about this video?

Answer – It was the first ever television ad aired on July 1, 1941.

9. X is a process in which a society takes the characteristics of a fast food restaurant. The term X was coined by George Ritzer.

Following are the primary components of X:-(i)Efficiency(ii)Calculability(iii) Predictability(iv) Control What is X?

Answer – McDonaldisation.

10. Connect

Answer – Companies sponsoring the Academy Awards (The Oscars) 2014.

11. About what did a Soviet President say this – “Some people say these are due to the

excessive consumption in the United States of Scotch Whiskey. They are, I think, due to the activities of a Soviet Discus thrower practising foe the Olympics and unconscious of his strength.”

What was he talking about?

Answer – UFOs.

12. She has been a traffic-stopper since 1967. Her wit, her sharp sense of humour and her unique style of analyzing current affairs have always been a subject of fascination. Towering over at all prominent landmarks of all major Indian cities, she has been attracting more eyeballs than even Bollywood bombshells. And at over 40, she continues to be envied by even the best in the industry.

Who has been described?

Answer – Amul Girl.

14. Connect

Answer – 26th July… Castrol movement, Mumbai flood and Kargil Vijay Divas

15. Connect

Answer – These were all famous people who died each time Aaron Ramsey scored a goal, making them victims of Ramsey’s killing curse… Also, Moses’ older brother was Aaron, and Ramsey is from Wales…

16. Connect

Answer – The connection is that both of them are related to 12 districts.

There are 12 districts in the Hunger Games world.

Federal Reserve divides the US into 12 banking districts.

17. What is special about this question from the 1994 Miss India contest: "What do you know about the textile heritage of India and what’s your wardrobe like?"

Answer – 1994 was the only time when the Miss India contest ended in a tie (between Susmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai). This was the tie breaker question, which Ms. Sen had the less worse answer to. She answered, "As far as I know, the textile heritage of India dates back to Gandhi and the khadi movement. And no, my wardrobe has no khadi in it, although I love ethnic clothes."

18. On The Hindu’s masthead, which figure from Hindu Mythology do you see on the left?

Answer - Kamadhenu

19. Veerappan, the sandalwood smuggler, once publicly proposed to a politician. Name the politician.

• Hint- She was earlier an Indian dacoit(armed

bandit), and later she became an politician.

Answer – Phoolan Devi (10 Aug 1963-25 July 2001). - Popularly known as the “Bandit Queen”. - Political Party – Samajwadi Party.

20. In the preface to a book published in 1998(it was a compilation of the first season), he wrote:“I clearly recall my impressions of it when I first saw it, on a grey day, sunk in a sofa at my sasural in Surrey. This was way back in 1985. The effect was electric. And this was certainly not for idiots.”Name the person and the book.

Answer – Siddhartha Basu in the preface to the first Mastermind India Quiz Book.

THANK YOU ALL…