Apr 30, 2012

Q.578

One of the collaborating artists on the album, the singer M.I.A, suggested the name "MDNA" which became the album's title. The name was also a sly reference to a notorious drug.

Which performer's 2012 music album?

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This day last year: Q.212

Apr 29, 2012

Q.577

This is a Czech company, but its name has been in unsavoury headlines in India. Though born in 1850, it took its present name in 1919, a time when Czechoslovakia had just been born. The name came from a mountain range that separates present-day Slovakia and Poland.

Which company that is now the subject of much head-beating?

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This day last year: Q.211

Apr 28, 2012

Q.576

The following is an excerpt from a company's "About Us" webpage. Just fill in the two blanks:
When we were kids we loved playing around with cameras - we loved how all the old Polaroid cameras marketed themselves as '_____' (something we take for granted today). We also felt that the snapshots people were taking were kind of like _____ in that they got sent over the wire to others - so we figured why not combine the two?

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This day last year: Q.210

Apr 27, 2012

Q.575

A visual anagram (base image: Wikipedia) - unscramble the text to get the name of the in-the-news person next to President Obama:




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This day last year: Q.209

Apr 26, 2012

Q.574



"Vytynanky" or "Wycinanki" is a cultural practice in this European region, involving the cutting of paper into various shapes, from nature, culture, and religion. This logo evokes the practice, in the shape of 3 flowers.

The colours represent two countries. For which event was this logo created?

Image: Wikipedia

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This day last year: Q.208

Apr 25, 2012

Q.573

The final part in this video game trilogy was released in March of 2012, bringing to an end the saga of Commander Shepard. The game's various endings themselves, however, did not find favour with fans. Soon, protests spread through game forums, with fans complaining that the three endings were not very distinct. In a novel gesture, protests were tied to helping a children's charity (instead of just ranting on the internet).

Which game, that provoked such a mass reaction?

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This day last year: Q.207

Apr 24, 2012

Q.572

"Alu Anday" is a song that catapulted them to fame in late 2011, on the internet and off it, with newspapers like the New York Times and The Economist taking notice. It sends up several topics from the Pakistani zeitgeist, ranging from the army, its politicians, and the culture of violence.

The Pakistani music group behind the song (and its accompanying video) has an aptly irreverent name. What are they called?

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This day last year: Q.206

Apr 23, 2012

Q.571

Was gesagt werden muss is a German poem; the title can be translated as "What must be said". Containing lines such as
Das allgemeine Verschweigen dieses Tatbestandes, dem sich mein Schweigen untergeordnet hat, empfinde ich als belastende Lüge und Zwang, der Strafe in Aussicht stellt, sobald er mißachtet wird; das Verdikt "Antisemitismus" ist geläufig
the poem has ignited controversy in Israel, with the country declaring the poet 'persona non grata'.

Which Nobel Literature Laureate wrote this?

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This day last year: Q.205

Apr 22, 2012

Q.570

This is Trenton Oldfield, LSE graduate and self-proclaimed "scourge of the elites" and he's being led away after he tried to disrupt the 158th edition of an annual sporting event. This cherished British event was restarted, only to wade through more controversy, during and after its conclusion.

Oldfield was lucky to make it out alive, and seemed to be unfazed by it all. Which event had he so gatecrashed?

Image: @mrdiscopop/Twitter/The Daily Mail

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This day last year: Q.204

Apr 21, 2012

Q.569

Within a long and feted filmography, he was best known for his collaboration with a director. The film critic Pauline Kael said he was that director's "one man stock company". In "Talking about Films", another critic Chidananda Das Gupta said that the director cast him so often because he bore a distinct physical appearance to Rabindranath Tagore.

Who?

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This day last year: Q.203

Apr 20, 2012

Q.568

The Subroto Roy Sahara stadium at Gahunje outside Pune was inaugurated in April 2012, and will be the Maharashtra Cricket Association's official stadium, as well as the home of the Pune IPL team.

Which professor's statue can be found outside this stadium?

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This day last year: Q.202

Apr 19, 2012

Q.567

What connects:

1. A line right below a horse-wheel-bull
2. The last shot of the Mahabharata sequence in the film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro
3. A song by the super-group Super Heavy
4. An Aamir Khan production

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This day last year: Q.201

Apr 18, 2012

Q.566

This now annual event was first held at Yekaterinburg in 2009. Since then, it has been held at Brasilia, followed by the South Chinese city of Sanya, and this year at New Delhi. This was the logo for this year's event.

What's the event?

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This day last year: Q.200

Apr 17, 2012

Q.565

In light of all the philanthropic work done by Sean Penn to help this earthquake-hit country by raising money for healthcare and reconstruction, the grateful nation has appointed the actor as "Ambassador at Large". This will allow him to represent the country internationally to further these efforts.

Which country?

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This day last year: Q.199

Apr 16, 2012

Q.564

The final of this year's Ryobi Cup (Australia's domestic one day cricket competition) ended in an exciting tie between South Australia and Tasmania, with the former being declared champions on the basis of finishing higher in the league phase. Tasmania, chasing, needed 2 off the last ball, but could only manage a single off a bye.

Why did Ricky Ponting, the non-striker on that ball, get booed by the crowd? (this is an image of his as it happened)

Image: Herald Sun

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This day last year: Q.198

Apr 15, 2012

Q.563

The Festival au Désert is an annual music festival in the African country of Mali, that primarily features music of the nomadic Touareg tribe. It also provides a platform for several other genres of world music. The 2012 edition got a high dose of publicity after U2 singer Bono made a surprise appearance, even appearing on stage for a short while.

This festival is usually held in the town of Essakane, which is very close to a legendary city. Which city?

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This day last year: Q.197

Apr 14, 2012

Q.562

A series of posters have been commissioned by leading artists on the occasion of the London Olympics and the Paralympics. This is one of them, painted by British-American artist Sarah Morris, best known for her abstract paintings on urban subjects.

What London landmark is depicted in this painting?

Image: The Guardian

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This day last year: Q.196

Apr 13, 2012

Q.561

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, a book by New Yorker magazine staff writer Katherine Boo has received great reviews for its writing and content. Reviewers said it was one of the best books about India in recent times (and one without the usual clichés of the genre).

The book is set in a slum called Annawadi in Mumbai, exploring the lives of various characters. What explains the book's unusual title?

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This day last year: Q.195

Apr 12, 2012

Q.560

On 4th April 2012, the same day the Indian Express put out a controversial story about two army divisions having made non-notified movements in January 2012, another important Indian military development happened.

In cryptic terms, this can be explained as the welcoming of a disc, which was once known as the Baikal seal. What is all this?

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This day last year: Q.194

Apr 11, 2012

Q.559

This brand had been shelved by Nissan, the Japanese car manufacturer. It came about in the early 1930s and was archived in the mid-eighties, with the name being replaced by "Nissan" itself.

In March 2012, the company announced that it was planning to resurrect the name, as that of low cost cars to be sold in countries like India, Indonesia, and Russia.

What car marque?

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This day last year: Q.193

Apr 10, 2012

Q.558

The Golden Raspberry Awards have been celebrating the worst of Hollywood movies each year, for over three decades. Traditionally, these awards (now in its 32nd edition) have been announced a day before the Academy Awards ceremony. In 2012, however, only the nominations were announced one day prior to the Oscars.

When was the actual Awards ceremony for 2012 held?

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This day last year: Q.192

Apr 8, 2012

Q.556

N.K.P Salve, politician, cricket administrator, BCCI President during the Indian cricket team's 1983 World Cup win, passed away in April 2012.

Which domestic cricket tournament, begun in 1998, is named after him?

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This day last year: Q.190

Apr 7, 2012

Q.555

"Invisible Children" was founded in 2004. Their first movie was "Invisible Children: The Rough Cut", the same year. This was followed by efforts such as "Sunday: The Story of a Displaced Child", "Roseline: The Story of an AIDS Victim", "Together We Are Free", "The Rescue" and "Tony".

This is a poster of their latest creation. What is the subject of this film?

Image: Wikipedia

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This day last year: Q.189

Apr 6, 2012

Q.554

As of March 2012, this list is exclusive four items long, with the fourth being added on 26th March. The first three are these:

1. Trieste - 1960
2. Kaikō - 1995
3. Nereus - 2009

What distinction, and who was in the fourth?

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This day last year: Q.188

Apr 5, 2012

Q.553

In February 2012, in an effort to make official forms easier to use, the French government announced a decision to drop this gender-specific title from a set of prefixes that one can choose before one's name. Though many news reports wrongly interpreted this almost as the doing-away of this word from the lexicon.

Which word?

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This day last year: Q.187

Apr 4, 2012

Q.552

Image: The JC.com

Israel and this self-governed territory were all set to issue this "friendship" stamp in February 2012, featuring two landmarks from each side. However, the choice of the Israeli landmark being the David Citadel tower turned out to be controversial because it is in the geo-politically disputed city of Jerusalem.

Eventually, the stamp was withdrawn, despite many copies having been printed.

Which is the other territory?

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This day last year: Q.186

Apr 3, 2012

Q.551

A satirical French TV show called "Les Guignols" (literally, "The Puppets") caused a lot of anger in Spain in Feb 2012, after airing an episode showing a Rafael Nadal puppet using his urine as fuel for his car (and getting pulled over for speeding). It also made insinuations about other Spanish sportsmen.

This episode was aired soon after a doping event involving a Spanish sportsman. Who?

Image: Sydney Morning Herald

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This day last year: Q.185

Apr 2, 2012

Q.550

This European capital city held a contest in Feb-March 2012 to find itself a new visual brand. This logo emerged as the winner. The logo has blue for a river that runs through the city, green for the city's parks, yellow stands for the temples, and red for love.

Which capital city?

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This day last year: Q.183

Apr 1, 2012

Q.549

This is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article about what in-the-news publication?


Click to enlarge

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This day last year: Q.183