1. The first known use of this term was in the February 18, 1838, issue of Bell’s Life in London, and Sporting Chronicle, by an anonymous correspondent writing about the exploits of William Lewis. Lewis, in his turn, would later use the term to refer to André Danican Philidor. What term is this, which would not become official until 1950?
2. Known as Santa Muerte, this deity is a combination of Aztec and Spanish mythical figures and is revered across Mexico by those seeking love, vengeance, or spiritual cleansing. In 2009, however, the Mexican government declared Santa Muerte religious enemy number one and destroyed hundreds of roadside shrines all over northern Mexico. Why?
3. In 1804, the British painter J.M.W. Turner painted this location (shown in the image to the right) almost a whole century before another Briton made it a household name worldwide. Which location is this?
4. David Saltzberg, a professor of physics at the UCLA, was a consultant on The Big Bang Theory to help get physics and mathematics representations correct on the TV show. The show, however, did not need extra help on the biological side of the sciences. Why not?
5. Seen in the image below is an example of Quipu/Khipu, an ancient record-keeping system in Andean South America. It was primarily used to maintain numerical accounts of taxes, census, and military logistics using a system based on length, colour, size, and complexity. What does Khipu, also the fundamental unit of the system, mean?
6. Brown, Gold, Grey, and Silver were eliminated. White and Yellow were renamed. The bomb, syringe, shillelagh, and fireplace poker disappeared along with the cellar and the gun room though the axe and poison made returns in some versions. What went through these changes in its early years?
7. Sir William Perkin made his most famous scientific achievement as a teenager trying to synthesise quinine for British forces in India. What did he create that was commemorated in the Google doodle shown here?
8. Which 2016 film was released in Italy under the title Oceania because of a trademark conflict with one of the country’s most popular adult film stars?
9. Khusrau Khan is believed to have brought this instrument into India in order to accompany his brother Naimat Khan “Sadarang”, who invented the khayal form of Hindustani classical music. What instrument is this, whose name implies that an early variant had only three strings?
10. Rahul Bedi’s The Last Word is a collection of his pieces published in The Daily Telegraph between 1990 and 2008. The book focusses on “100 Indians who led unusual lives”. What is common to these pieces, among several others that Bedi has written over his career?
Sumant Srivathsan has a day job as a digital marketer, but his true calling is disambiguating football and soccer on the Internet.
Answers
- Grandmaster, which the International Chess Federation formally adopted as the top rank for chess players in 1950
- Santa Muerte is considered the patron saint of drug traffickers
- The Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, where Sherlock Holmes met his temporary demise
- Cast member Mayim Bialik has a PhD in neurosciences, just like her character Amy Farrah Fowler
- Knots
- CLUEDO, the murder mystery board game
- Mauve, the first synthetic dye
- Moana
- The sitar, whose name comes from Persian si (three) and tar (string)
- They are all obituaries
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