1. SPHINX THEGENERAL QUIZ(PRELIMS)

2. Q1.The Qibla is the direction that Muslimsneed to face while praying, towards theKabba. Determining the Qibla is one ofthe reasons why medieval Islamicscientists were good at mathematics andastronomy. However, North AmericanMuslims have the option of prayingeither towards the northeast or towardsthe south-west. Why do the Americanshave such a choice? 3. Q2.In the 1930 novel by the AmericanAgatha Christie Mary Roberts Rinehart,The Door, the protagonist Elizabeth Bellis the mistress of a large household withmany servants and of course thetraditional house guests (a niece) whenthe family nurse is killed. Which clichdmurder mystery trope is this novelfamous for popularising? 4. Q3.The city of ________ has 3 St. Andrewscrosses or Xs on its flag andescutcheon. One of the theories for whatthey represent refers to the three chiefhistorical perils faced by the city: floods,fire and the Black Death. Id the city. 5. Q4.What term originated from writer andsocial critic Louise Kappe Howe todescribe women working in the personalservice industry (such as waitressing,teaching, nursing etc.)? 6. Q5._______ is a famous comic book villainwho used to be a dacoit and became animmortal giant upon drinking a magicpotion. Simple binary whos beingtalked about? 7. Q6.#kolstyle Why would the Space Shuttlenot be launched if the flight ran fromDecember to January? This reason wasno longer valid after NASA did somework in 2007. 8. Q7.A controversial origin of this offensiveterm appears to be the practice bybounty hunters of ______ bringing backtheir victims bloodied scalps as proof ofbounty. What much in the news term?HINT: Think current affairs. 9. Q8.In a surprise move, Mark Twain enteredthe New York Times bestsellers list inNovember 2010 with the release of thefirst volume of his autobiography(peaking at no. 2 and spending 20weeks on the list). However, since MarkTwain died in 1910, why was hisautobiography suddenly popular acentury later? 10. Q9.The inventor X patented his famousinvention Y in 1867. He originallyintended that it be called Xs safetypowder in order to help re-establish hisname and improve the image of hisbusiness from the earlier controversiesassociated with his previousexperiments in the same field, whichhad led to numerous lab accidents andexplosions. However, he eventuallysettled on Y, based on the Greek wordfor power. Id X, Y. 11. Q10.From 1984-1994, South Africa had aTricameral Parliament i.e. it had threeseparate chambers. The House ofAssemblies represented the Whites, TheHouse of Representatives was for theColoured (mixed-race) population. TheHouse of Delegates was intended forwhom? 12. Q11.Whose response to the 2014 Oscarresults: When they read the results, myface was...frozen. But then I thoughtabout it, and I just decided just to...let itgo.? 13. Q12. HOMAGE TO WHATWORK? 14. Q13.In moveable type printing press, wordswere assembled one letter at a time. Asa result, in order to be more efficient,printers used to keep common wordsready on a plate. What word did this leadto? 15. Q14.The UNIX Millennium Bug is the UNIXanalogue for the Y2K bug, where thesigned 32-bit integer counting epochseconds from 1 January 1970 rolls overto negative values. Which yearrepresents the maximal date in thissystem? 16. Q15.The organisation X was originally goingto be called Y and its magazine was tobe called Z, which was Latin for mind.However, in order to avoid peopleconfusing its magazine with an existingsoft-core pornographic magazine, theyadded a trailing a to Z to get the nameX, by which it is now known. X? (X doesnot mean mind) 17. Q16.X used to work as a cooks helper on asteamer, a chef, a dish washer, a pastryboy among various other menial jobs.However, later on in life, he rose tobecome a representative of the Socialistparty of France in 1920 and a foundingmember of the Parti CommunisteFrancais. As his stature increased, headopted a name meaning He who hasbeen enlightened. How do we betterknow X? 18. Q17.Scandinavia historically and culturallyrefers to three northern Europeancountries: Norway, Sweden and _______.FITB. 19. Q18.Where would you find Ishtar terra,Cleopatra, Mona Lisa, Isabella, Ruth,Mariko, Dickinson and Maria Celeste(non-exhaustive list)? 20. Q19.Flamingo Air calls itself Cincinnati'smost outrageous airline and is bestknown for its hour long $425 specialflight on a private curtained aircraftwhere the passengers are provided withchocolates, champagne, and one verydiscreet pilot. What is so special aboutthis flight? 21. Q20.Id this courageous woman. Sheis the youngest recipient of theAshok Chakra due to her actionsduring the hijacking of Pan AmFlight 73 in Karachi. When theterrorists demanded passengerpassports to identify Americans,she along with the otherattendants under her charge hidthe passports of the 41Americans on board. Later onshe opened the emergency doorand helped a number ofpassengers escape and was shotwhile shielding three childrenfrom a hail of bullets 22. Q1.The Qibla is the direction that Muslimsneed to face while praying, towards theKabba. Determining the Qibla is one ofthe reasons why medieval Islamicscientists were good at mathematics andastronomy. However, North AmericanMuslims have the option of prayingeither towards the northeast or towardsthe south-west. Why do the Americanshave such a choice? 23. A1.They can choose the shortest distancevia a Great circle to the north-east or viaa constant bearing rhumb line along aMercator projectionKeywords: Great circle. Rhumb line. Lineon Map Projection (prefer Mercator) isacceptable instead of Rhumb line. 24. Q2.In the 1930 novel by the AmericanAgatha Christie Mary Roberts Rinehart,The Door, the protagonist Elizabeth Bellis the mistress of a large household withmany servants and of course thetraditional house guests (a niece) whenthe family nurse is killed. Which clichdmurder mystery trope is this novelfamous for popularising? 25. A2.The Butler did it 26. Q3.The city of ________ has 3 St. Andrewscrosses or Xs on its flag andescutcheon. One of the theories for whatthey represent refers to the three chiefhistorical perils faced by the city: floods,fire and the Black Death. Id the city. 27. A3.Amsterdam 28. Q4.What term originated from writer andsocial critic Louise Kappe Howe todescribe women working in the personalservice industry (such as waitressing,teaching, nursing etc.)? 29. A4.Pink Collar Worker 30. Q5._______ is a famous comic book villainwho used to be a dacoit and became animmortal giant upon drinking a magicpotion. Simple binary whos beingtalked about? 31. A5.Raaka 32. Q6.#kolstyle Why would the Space Shuttlenot be launched if the flight ran fromDecember to January? This reason wasno longer valid after NASA did somework in 2007. 33. A6.They werent sure the computers couldhandle the year end roll-over in flight 34. Q7.A controversial origin of this offensiveterm appears to be the practice bybounty hunters of ______ bringing backtheir victims bloodied scalps as proof ofbounty. What much in the news term?HINT: Think current affairs. 35. A7.Redskins 36. Q8.In a surprise move, Mark Twain enteredthe New York Times bestsellers list inNovember 2010 with the release of thefirst volume of his autobiography(peaking at no. 2 and spending 20weeks on the list). However, since MarkTwain died in 1910, why was hisautobiography suddenly popular acentury later? 37. A8.It was released a century late on theauthors request 38. Q9.The inventor X patented his famousinvention Y in 1867. He originallyintended that it be called Xs safetypowder in order to help re-establish hisname and improve the image of hisbusiness from the earlier controversiesassociated with his previousexperiments in the same field, whichhad led to numerous lab accidents andexplosions. However, he eventuallysettled on Y, based on the Greek wordfor power. Id X, Y. 39. A9.X - Alfred NobelY- Dynamite 40. Q10.From 1984-1994, South Africa had aTricameral Parliament i.e. it had threeseparate chambers. The House ofAssemblies represented the Whites, TheHouse of Representatives was for theColoured (mixed-race) population. TheHouse of Delegates was intended forwhom? 41. A10.Indians 42. Q11.Whose response to the 2014 Oscarresults: When they read the results, myface was...frozen. But then I thoughtabout it, and I just decided just to...let itgo.? 43. A11.Pharrell Williams 44. Q12. HOMAGE TO WHATWORK? 45. A12.Sound of Music 46. Q13.In moveable type printing press, wordswere assembled one letter at a time. Asa result, in order to be more efficient,printers used to keep common wordsready on a plate. What word did this leadto? 47. A13.Clich/Stereotype (identical origin storyfor both words) 48. Q14.The UNIX Millennium Bug is the UNIXanalogue for the Y2K bug, where thesigned 32-bit integer counting epochseconds from 1 January 1970 rolls overto negative values. Which yearrepresents the maximal date in thissystem? 49. A14.2038 (You could have calculated it) 50. Q15.The organisation X was originally goingto be called Y and its magazine was tobe called Z, which was Latin for mind.However, in order to avoid peopleconfusing its magazine with an existingsoft-core pornographic magazine, theyadded a trailing a to Z to get the nameX, by which it is now known. X? (X doesnot mean mind) 51. A15.Mensa 52. Q16.X used to work as a cooks helper on asteamer, a chef, a dish washer, a pastryboy among various other menial jobs.However, later on in life, he rose tobecome a representative of the Socialistparty of France in 1920 and a foundingmember of the Parti CommunisteFrancais. As his stature increased, headopted a name meaning He who hasbeen enlightened. How do we betterknow X? 53. A16.Ho Chi Minh 54. Q17.Scandinavia historically and culturallyrefers to three northern Europeancountries: Norway, Sweden and _______.FITB. 55. A17.Denmark 56. Q18.Where would you find Ishtar terra,Cleopatra, Mona Lisa, Isabella, Ruth,Mariko, Dickinson and Maria Celeste(non-exhaustive list)? 57. A18.Venus 58. Q19.Flamingo Air calls itself Cincinnati'smost outrageous airline and is bestknown for its hour long $425 specialflight on a private curtained aircraftwhere the passengers are provided withchocolates, champagne, and one verydiscreet pilot. What is so special aboutthis flight? 59. A19.For Passengers wishing to join the MileHigh Club 60. Q20.Id this courageous woman. Sheis the youngest recipient of theAshok Chakra due to her actionsduring the hijacking of Pan AmFlight 73 in Karachi. When theterrorists demanded passengerpassports to identify Americans,she along with the otherattendants under her charge hidthe passports of the 41Americans on board. Later onshe opened the emergency doorand helped a number ofpassengers escape and was shotwhile shielding three childrenfrom a hail of bullets 61. A20.Neerja Bhanot 62. Results soon