FUNDAMENTALS
North Korea — much discussed, little known. Take this quiz on a country that makes news for its knack of brinkmanship. 1. The South Korean football team is called the Taeguk Warriors — after the blue and red Korean symbol of Yin and Yang. The North Korean football team is named after a mythical horse in Korean mythology. What? 2. In the Pyongyang leg of the 2008 Olympic torch relay, a gymnastic instructor named Pak Doo-Ik was the first to carry the torch. What is his claim to fame? 3. The world’s largest unoccupied building is a pyramid shaped 105 storeyed structure that still is incomplete after 30 years. What is the name of this building in Pyongyang? 4. The day of the Sun held every year on 15th April is the most important national holiday of North Korea. What does the day commemorate? 5. Mount Kumgang in North Korea was a bustling tourist attraction till 2008, after which it became a ghost town. Which unlikely organisation spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to build this tourist attraction? 6. The main governing ideology of North Korea is ‘Juche’. This principle guides all policies and way of governance in the country. What does Juche mean? 7. The North Korean town of Kijong-dong visible from across the border is a picture-perfect town with brightly painted houses, schools, daycare, hospital. What dubious distinction does this town suffer from?
ANYTHING GOES
1. This former Test cricketer, a fine opening batsman, represented his country in 32 Test matches. He also amassed 2,159 runs in Tests, including 4 centuries and 12 fifties. He also captained his country in Tests. He however died in tragic circumstances in 1989 at the age of 68 years. Who are we talking about? (B.K. Harinath, Mysuru) 2. Zorbing is the sport of rolling downhill inside an orb, generally made of transparent plastic. Why is the activity called zorbing? (Cdr G.R. Balakrishnan (Retd), Chennai) 3. Rhotacism is the inability to pronounce or find difficulty in pronouncing what? (Partha Sarkar, Kolkata) 4. Bruce Lee died during the making of a film in 1972. It was later finished in 1978 using two standins. Name the film. (Adithya Jeevan, Thiruvananthapuram) 5. What is the contribution of a New York tailor named Jesse E. Langsdorf to fashion? (P. Ramesh, Bengaluru) 6. Tactel is a soft yet durable nylon fibre which is extremely easy to wash and allows the skin to breathe and readily regains it shape. Which company’s trademark is Tactel? (Aditya Nath, Chennai) 7. What did Australian allrounder Simon O’Donnell reveal to his teammates and public after Australia won the 1987 World Cup final by seven runs? (Ramesh Balachander, Bengaluru) 8. result Whichof the company1910 mergerwas a of Internationalthree companies Time — Recording Computing Company, Scale Company Tabulating of America Machine and Company?