Oct 31, 2015

Q.1857

Shown is a sub-tropical evergreen plant. It shares its name with an Indian e-commerce portal. Sanjeev Mohanty on 30th October 2015 was appointed as CEO and MD of this brand. Praveen Sinha, the founder of the company, says:
We named ourselves after the thought of being evergreen and bright. The orange colour in our brand signifies our ability to be adventurous, creative and social.


Identify the plant/brand.

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Oct 30, 2015

Q.1856

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi on 29th October 2015 was awarded ______ Prize for Freedom of Thought for the year 2015. An announcement in this regard was made by the President of European Parliament Martin Schulz. Subsequently, Schulz appealed to Saudi King Salman to free him, so he can accept the prize. This prize is named after a Russian nuclear physicist who became renowned as the designer of the Soviet Union’s ‘Third Idea’, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons.

Fill in the blanks.

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Oct 29, 2015

Q.1855

John Pombe Magufuli, on 29th October 2015 won presidential elections of a certain country. The name of this country was created by combining the names ‘Tanganyika’ and ‘Zanzibar’, the two states that unified to create the country.

Which nation are we talking about?

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Oct 28, 2015

Q.1854

One of Britain’s most well-known Indian-origin peers, Lord Gulam Noon on 27th October 2015 passed away in London due to liver cancer. He was known as the ‘Curry King’ and he founded the Noon Products business.

What is the claim to fame of his company?

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Oct 27, 2015

Q.1853

The image shows the cast of a certain movie directed by Pan Nalin in the famous pose from the movie’s poster. The film, on 25 October 2015, was awarded with BNL People’s Choice Award at the 10th Rome Film Festival. The movie stars Sandhya Mridul, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sarah-Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda, Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande, Pavleen Gujral playing lead roles with Adil Hussain. It is a tale of a girl who invited her closest girlfriends to Goa to announce her wedding, and how it all turned into a wild bachelorette party.

Name the movie.


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Oct 26, 2015

Q.1852

Indian sportsperson Abhishek Verma on 24th October 2015 created history by winning the first ever silver medal in the World Cup Final of this sport held in Mexico City. Verma was beaten by Turkey’s Demir Elmaagcli in the summit clash.

Identify the sport.


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Oct 25, 2015

Q.1851

The image shows one of many such ‘Thank you, Dr. ___’ notes that emerged on April 12, 1955. The day almost became a national holiday and _____ was hailed as a ‘miracle worker’. When asked who owned the patent to it, he famously said, “There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”

Identify the person in question and what did he resist patenting?


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Oct 24, 2015

Q.1850

It was located on the banks of river Krishna and derives its name from Amareswara temple. It was the ancient seat of power of the Satavahanas for over 400 years who ruled the country way back in 230 BCE. It literally means the ‘Abode of Immortals’.

Why was it in the news in late October 2015?

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Oct 23, 2015

Q.1849

Two mountaineers Arjun Vajpai and Bhupesh Kumar in third week of October 2015 created history by becoming first people to climb a 6180 meter high unnamed peak in Himachal’s Spiti Valley.

After which Bharat Ratna awardee did the duo name this unexplored new peak located near Bara Shigri Glacier?

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Oct 22, 2015

Q.1848

The Chinese alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize was established as a response to the announcement that Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo had won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Its awardees have been Vladimir Putin, Kofi Annan and Fidel Castro among others. On 22nd October 2015 it was awarded to the Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

It has been named after a certain ‘Kong Fuzi’ or ‘The Grand Master Kong’. How do we know him better?

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Oct 21, 2015

Q.1847

The Svalbard Seed Vault (also dubbed the "Doomsday Vault") is located in the Arctic, where it holds seed samples of different types of crops from across the world.

In 2015, researchers from the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas requested a "bank withdrawal" for some seeds. This was because their research centre's gene bank at its headquarters was no longer available, due to a conflict.

If the HQ has now moved to Beirut in Lebanon, where was it previously housed - the largest city in a nearby country?

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This day last year: Q.

Oct 20, 2015

Q.1846

In Buddhism, this word means "place of the deathless" and has philosophical significance. It later became the name of a place in India with Buddhist temples. In Hindu myths, it is the city with the court of Indra.


In 2015, a place with this name is formally coming to being. Which place?

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This day last year: Q.1481

Oct 19, 2015

Q.1845

"The Long Utopia" is the fourth in a series of books called "The Long Earth" series, which is co-written by British science fiction writer Stephen Baxter and another author, who passed away in 2015.

Which author?

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This day last year: Q.1480

Oct 18, 2015

Q.1844

Image: National Theatre, UK

The actor Benedict Cumberbatch is seen here on the sets of a 2015 play he is starring in. (This is during a recording of the play, for viewing in cinemas).

Which play is he acting in?

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This day last year: Q.1479

Oct 17, 2015

Q.1843

On the occasion of this author's 125th birth anniversary in 2015, an international festival to celebrate the occasion was held in Torquay in England, where this author was born.

Which famed author?

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This day last year: Q.1478

Oct 16, 2015

Q.1842

In Oct 2015, the Oxford University Press announced the longlist for its annual "Place of the Year" vote (something they do along with the publication of new editions of the "Atlas of the World".

On the shortlist were places such as Cuba, Palmyra (Syria), and the Spratly Islands. Which is the non-Earth place in this list, because of something that happened in July 2015?

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This day last year: Q.1477

Oct 15, 2015

Q.1841

Sandi Toksvig is a British presenter, comedian, and politician who hosted the BBC radio show "The News Quiz" from 2006 till 2015. In Oct 2015, it was announced that Toksvig would be taking over presenting duties of a series, presumably for the N-Z half.

Who did the A-M half of that series?

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This day last year: Q.1476

Oct 14, 2015

Q.1840

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is situated amidst different kinds of palms and its name is said to mean "city of palms". Which place, which has been under severe attack in 2015, is this?

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This day last year: Q.1475

Oct 13, 2015

Q.1839

In a 2015 release, "Lucia Sciarra" will be the oldest such person (usually described as a two-word phrase). In an interview, "Sciarra" said: "I can't say I'm a ____ girl because I’m too mature to be a ____ girl. I say ____ lady; ___ woman".

What is she talking about?

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This day last year: Q.1474

Oct 12, 2015

Q.1838

How have the following groups been collectively recognised in October 2015?:

* A country's General Labour Union (UGTT)
* The same country's Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA)
* Its Human Rights League (LTDH),
* and an Order of Lawyers in the country

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This day last year: Q.1473

Oct 11, 2015

Q.1837

Tennis player Serena Williams narrowly missed out on achieving a calendar Grand Slam when she lost in the semi-final of the 2015 US Open. Another sporting star missed out on a "Super Grand Slam" - this was Inbee Park of South Korea.

A Super Grand Slam in her sport is when someone completes a "Career Grand Slam" by winning the four biggest tournaments in one's career, and also wins the "Evian Championship".

Which sport does Inbee Park play?

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This day last year: Q.1472

Oct 10, 2015

Q.1836

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has a training academy (called the "FBI Academy") for different kinds of agents and law enforcement recruits. It's located on a Marine Corps Base in a town in the state of Virginia.

What's the town called, whose name has an Indian entertainment connection?

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This day last year: Q.1471

Oct 9, 2015

Q.1835

Andy Weir worked as a software engineer, while also writing science fiction. In 2011, he self-published a book, serializing it on the web and later publishing it on Kindle for the minimum price. Thanks to fan interest, the book was finally noticed and re-released in 2014.

And now everyone's heard of it. Which book?

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This day last year: Q.1470

Oct 8, 2015

Q.1834

In 2007, Columbia University created a designation called "Artist". This was invented to allow a doctor to carry out inter-disciplinary work across Columbia.

Which doctor, who passed away in 2015?

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This day last year: Q.1469

Oct 7, 2015

Q.1833

In Sept 2015, which European country became the smallest country by population to qualify for the European football championships, for the 2016 edition in France?

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This day last year: Q.1468

Oct 6, 2015

Q.1832

The previous British record was 23,226 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes. This was broken on Sept 9, 2015.

Who broke it, and what is this record about?

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This day last year: Q.1467

Oct 5, 2015

Q.1831

During his California visit in Sept 2015, Indian PM Narendra Modi announced a new 'non-stop' Air India flight from New Delhi to San Francisco. Previously, there had been speculation that this would be a 17+ hours Bangalore-SFO flight, potentially the longest active non-stop flight.

The record holder at the time of the speech was a Qantas flight between Sydney and Dallas. In Aug 2015, Emirates announced a longer flight to begin in 2016.

This is slated to link Dubai to which Central American capital city?

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This day last year: Q.1466

Oct 4, 2015

Q.1830

* "Koru"
* "Silver Fern (Black, White, Blue)
* Red Peak
* Silver Fern (Red, White, Blue)
* Silver Fern (Black, White)

These is the 5 entries that were shortlisted in Sept 2015. One of them will be selected by a vote in late 2015, and go into a final face-off in March 2016.

What is this all about?

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This day last year: Q.1465

Oct 3, 2015

Q.1829

"Das Reboot" is the name of a 2015 book by Raphael Honigstein. The book is about "How German ____ Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World" after 1998.

What word is in the blank?

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This day last year: Q.1464

Oct 2, 2015

Q.1828

This 2015 film was originally titled "Nyodda", for the place in which the events of the film are set. Its international release is called "Guilty", for what happens to some of the people in the film.


The name of its mainstream Indian release partly refers to the real-life people that inspired the film.


Which film?

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This day last year: Q.1463

Oct 1, 2015

5 years later and the Resumption

Infinite Zounds turns 5 years old today. Thanks for being a part of these last 5 years. I know we have left this blog dormant over the most part of 2015 - and apologies for that - but starting today, we're back in business. We'll also be 'patching in' questions for the missing days of 2015 and we'll surely post them all on our Facebook page.


Happy quizzing and we'll see you around.


Q.1827

While it's not clear who exactly coined it, this term (a letter away from a piece of equipment in another Olympic sport) is believed to have been the invention of Severin Lüthi. Lüthi, a man with a Harry-Potter-esque name, has been team captain of the Swiss Davis Cup team for a few years.


What are we talking about?

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This day last year: Q.1462