Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Weekend Workout (week starting Feb 16, 2014)




Connecting People
(remember: larger versions of all visuals can be seen by clicking on them)

1. What is common to the 13th-century Mongolian ruler and wrestling champion Khutulun; the 12th-century Japanese warrior Tomoe Gozen; the 18th-century Sikh warrior who became Guru Gobind Singh's bodyguard, Mai Bhago; and the 19th-century Chinese pirate Ching Shih? By no means an exclusive list, these are just a few illustrious examples among billions.

2. Recently, Cricinfo published a full cricket XI out of famous cricketers named Smith, like Graeme, Robin, Collie, Mike, etc. There was one man on the list – who in 1899 became the first man to score 3000 runs in a season – who wasn't called Smith; indeed, far from it. Who was he, and why was he on the list?

 3. Taking your cue from the images around him, identify this Roman Emperor. (The wavering grey line indicates that that connection is a little different from the others.)

4. Who are all these people? You don't have to identify them individually, but they all have the same profession – tell me what that is.

5. What name (the same one in each case) has been blanked out on all these movie posters/DVD covers?

6. Which famously generous trio do these images point to?

7. You might remember him from 'Roswell', 'The Good Guys' (pic above) and 'Dexter'. Who's his daddy?

8. Identify the name missing from this (exhaustive) list: Qutbuddin Aibak, Aram Shah, Shamsuddin Iltutmish, Ruknuddin Firoz, _____________, Muizuddin Bahram, Alauddin Masud, Nasiruddin Mahmud, Ghiyasuddin Balban, Muizuddin Qaiqabad and Kayumars.

9. Name X and Y in this exchange of insults between famous American authors.
X on Y: “He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.”
Y on X: “Poor X. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?”

10. What's common to all these celebrities (and many more)?

Answers
1. They were all women.
2. Ranjitsinghji, who on joining Cambridge Unviersity, was nicknamed Smith by his classmates who found his name too difficult to pronounce.
3. Tiberius
Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD, he has prominent roles in 'Ben-Hur' (played by George Relph in his last starring role), 'Caligula' (played by Peter O'Toole), 'A.D.' (James Mason) and 'The Robe' (Ernest Thesiger). The 'T' in James T. Kirk stands for 'Tiberius'.
4. They are all comic book creators.
Top row, left to right: Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Frank Miller, Art Adams, Jim Lee, Dave Sim; second row: Art Spiegelman, Alan Moore, Mark Millar, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Neil Gaiman; third row: Jean “Moebius” Giraud, Milo Manara, Simone Bianchi, Francisco Solano Lopez, Stan Lee, Go Nagai; bottom row: Riyoko Ikeda, Kazuki Takahashi, Wendy Pini, Amruta Patil, Gail Simone and Valerie D’Orazio.
5. Saeed Mirza
6. The Three Wise Men / Three Kings / Three Magi – Kaspar, Melchior and Balthazar.
Casper the Friendly Ghost; a wine bottle that holds 18 litres is known as a 'melchior'; and Nicolas Cage played Balthazar Blake in 'The Sorceror's Apprentice'.
7. Tom Hanks
The eldest son of Hanks and his first wife, the late producer and actress Samantha Lewes, Colin Lewes Hanks is best known for his work as Jack Bailey in the series 'The Good Guys' and as Alex Whitman in 'Roswell'. 
8. Razia Sultan
These are all the rulers of the Slave Dynasty that reigned over the Delhi Sultanate from 1206 to 1290.
9. X: William Faulkner; Y: Ernest Hemingway.
10. They are all named after other famous people.
Taylor Swift after James Taylor, Sunil Narine after Sunil Gavaskar, F. Scott Fitzgerald after composer of 'Star-Spangled Banner' Francis Scott Key, Ranbir Kapoor after his grandfather Ranbirraj Kapoor, Martina Hingis after Martina Navratilova, Cassius Marcellus Clay after 19th-century abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay, Neil Nitin Mukesh after Neil Armstrong as well as his father and grandfather, and Sachin Tendulkar after Sachin Deb Burman.

8 comments:

  1. 1. They're all women
    2. Psmith, of Wodehouse fame
    3. Tiberius
    4. Comic book artists/graphic novelists
    5. ?
    6. ?
    7. Tom Hanks
    8. ?
    9. X - Fitzgerald Y - Hemingway
    10. Youngest people to...do something.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1. They were female
    3. Romulus
    4. Comic book writers
    6. Tom Hanks
    8. Razia Sultan
    9. y - Ernest Hemingway
    10. Advertised Cola (I would say Pepsi, but I think Taylor Swift did Diet Coke)
    - Kunal

    ReplyDelete
  3. 3-zeus?
    4-comic writers
    8-razia sultana

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1. They were all transvestites.
    2. Sir Ranjitsinghji. When he played for England he was nicknamed 'Smith' since they couldn't pronounce his name.
    3. Has to be Tiberius.
    4. Comics artists
    5. Saeed Mirza
    6. Caspar, Melchior & Balthazar?
    7. David Bowie?
    8. Mumtaz Mahal, for want of a better answer.
    9. X - Ernest Hemingway, Y- Mark Twain.
    10. They're all ambidextrous.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 1. long hair
    2. because he was actually a 'Smith' by profession
    3. Justinian
    4. Musicians
    5. Directors name (?)
    6.
    7.
    8.
    9. X = James H. Chase y=?
    10. They quit whatever they were famous for.

    ReplyDelete
  6. 4.authors
    6.Magi
    8.razia sultana

    Julian DCosta

    ReplyDelete
  7. 3. Nero
    6. 3 wise men
    9. Is one of these Salman Rushdie?
    10. BBC Foreign Sports Personality awards?
    Paul

    ReplyDelete
  8. 1. They were all Colour Blind
    3. Mark Antony
    4. Motivational Speakers or Actors/Writers turned Directors/Producers
    10. All lefties

    ReplyDelete