FUNDAMENTALS
Many animals have been stars of the human world. Take this quiz to find out some of the biggest denizens of the animal kingdom.
Write in with your suggestions, questions (with answers) to senjam@gmail.com.
FAMOUS ANIMALS
1. Three dogs were trained for a particular mission for several months. Albina and Mushka did not finally make it. Who was the special one who was finally chosen for this mission? 2. What was special about the book Millie’s Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush? 3. Which Olympic mascot was modelled on a real dog, a long-haired Dachshund named Cherie von Birkenhof ? 4. How did a black and white spotted cocker spaniel named Checkers save the career of Richard Nixon in 1952 when he was campaigning to be Vice President of the United States? 5. The Balich village in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan has a shrine that was declared a monument of national importance by the Archeaological Survey of India. What does this memorial commemorate? 6. The 1923 film Where the
North Begins is credited to have saved Warner Brothers from bankruptcy. The key protagonist of this movie went on star in 24 more movies, each one of them making a profit for Warner Brothers. Name the star. 7. Jacqueline Kennedy had a horse named Sardar. Sardar was also the riderless horse in JFK’s funeral procession. What is the origin of its name? 8. The Duke of Wellington famously rode on his horse Copenhagen, at the Battle of Waterloo. Why was the horse named Copenhagen?
ANYTHING GOES
1. Which was the only Hollywood movie to feature Rajinikanth? (Commander G.R. Balakrishnan (Retd), Chennai) 2. This hand-made metal object, made in a small town in Kerala by a small community of craftsmen, is depicted in a Khajuraho temple carving. Identify this metal object that also has GI status. (Daniel Murad, Kochi) 3. If you were to visit the Madanmohan temple and also three tanks named Lalbandh, Krishnabandh and Pokabandh, which historic place would you be visiting? (L.V. Sebastian, Delhi) 4. Which Israeli physicist’s inventions include microdots, the kinamo movie camera and the contax 35 mm camera? (Aadisht Grover, Kolkata) 5. The extreme heat conditions in some southern states of India in the summer of 2016 had caused lot of worries to the railway authorities, particularly the maintenance people. The extreme heat caused bending of rails which may cause accidents to fast moving trains. What is the name given to this bending of rails due to summer heat by the railway people? (U.N. Murthy, Secunderabad) 6. Justin Hammer, the arch adversary of Ironman, has an ‘Uncle Gazpacho’, also called ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’. What exactly is Uncle Gazpacho? (Rajeev G. Pillai) 7. Which American entertainer recently made news for organising a Lakshmi Puja at her home complete with
diyas, fruit offerings and
a pundit? (Nirmal K., Bengaluru)