B7. This is a screen grab from the Website of a London-based casual wear company, which launched this range of clothing called the Warhol Collection in 2007. Name the brand.

A. Pepe Jeans

E2. The streets of a certain Swiss city are punctuated by fountains and statues depicting these mythical creatures, perhaps because the names of the city and the creature share the same root (the Greek word for 'king'). In the creature's case, the name is given because of the 'crown'-like appendage on its head. Name the creature.

A. Basilisk, in Basel, both originating from the Greek 'basil', meaning 'king'.

This one, I thought was quite workoutable, given the limited number of Swiss cities, and the not-so-many mythical creatures in European folklore. Sadly, not many got it right.

C5. In 2002, psychologist Richard Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, finished a year-long experiment, concluding that of all animals, these evoke the most humour and silliness. In his report, Wiseman said, "If you're going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a ____." One of the well-known jokes involving one such creature is set in a chemist's shop, and features chapstick and a condom. Fill in the blank.

A. Duck

Here's the joke: 

Duck walks into a chemist's shop, asks for chapstick. Chemist says, "Cash or charge?" Duck replies: "Just put it on my bill."

Couple of days later, the duck's back (hey, there's a pun there as well). This time he asks for a condom. Chemist says, "I suppose you want me to put it on your bill?" Duck draws up to his full height and replies, outraged: "What kind of duck do you take me for?!"

B6. Which novel, whose title has become a phrase in the English language, follows the wartime exploits of members of the fictional 256th Bomber Squadron, based on the island of Pianosa, in the Mediterranean Sea west of Italy?

A. Catch-22

F5. This character from Marvel Comics is based on which ancient Egyptian deity associated with healing and preservation (her name may have meant "she of the ointment jar"?

A. Bastet (not, as far as I know, prefixed by the Egyptians with a "bleddy..."), also known as Bast or Ubasti.

Tough one this time -- garnered only a couple of correct answers, and some very wild guesses!

A3. For a long time, our very own Bhagwat Chandrashekhar was the holder of a unique record which was a staple of sports quizzes -- the only player to have taken more wickets in Test cricket than the runs he scored (167 runs versus 242 wickets in a 58-Test career). The chap in the picture has joined him -- though he's still playing, the likelihood that he will leave this august company of two is very low. In 65 Tests so far, he has scored 112 runs and taken 218 wickets. He also holds the record for the highest number of pairs in Test cricket history, with 6 (Chandra, poor fellow, had only 4). Name him.

A. Chris Martin of New Zealand

G4. In 2009, this Website took over as official sponsor of NASCAR driver Bobby Labonte's No. 96 car, seen in the picture (I have blanked out the site name, obviously, wherever it appears on the car). It later also became the official search engine of NASCAR. Rated the No 4 search engine behind Google, Yahoo and Bing, the site uses a natural-language question-and-answer format for its queries. It is owned by InterActive Corp, which also runs the sites Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, and Reference.com. Name it.

A. ask.com

C4. Though the drinking of tea is often parodied as a typically British pursuit (in 'Asterix in Britain', for example, the Britons call off the battle at five every evening in order to indulge in this 'national pastime'), it was introduced into British high-society in the 17th century by the Queen of King Charles II -- the lady shown in this statue in Lisbon, Portugal. Name her.

A. Catherine of Braganza

B5. The name for what kind of professional comes from the Latin word for 'lead', because in the Roman era when the name came about, the material such people worked with was often made of or coated with lead?

A. Plumber (from the Latin 'plumbum', which gives the metal its elemental symbol 'Pb')

F4. This still from 'Gone with the Wind' shows a female character who is the sister of Ashley Wilkes and a rival of Scarlett O'Hara. The given name of the character was reasonably popular among daughters of aristocratic families in England during the heyday of the British Empire. Which British colony were these girls named after?


A. India