Aug 31, 2013

Q.1066

Kaplan, Inc. is an American corporation that works primarily in education and testing services. It is perhaps best known for its collection of preparation materials for tests such as the GRE, SAT, GMAT etc.

Around the last quarter of 2013, its parent company is expected to undergo a change in name. Why?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.701

Aug 30, 2013

Q.1065

"Machete Kills" is the third in the "Machete" series by Roberto Rodriguez, and will release in 2013. In the film, Danny Trejo, the eponymous action hero is recruited by the US President (no less) for a mission.

The US President is being played by Carlos Estevez, who is being 'introduced' in the film. However, we have already been introduced to this actor. How?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.700

Aug 29, 2013

Q.1064

This was added to the sport of amateur boxing in 1984, but has been withdrawn from 2013 by its governing body, the AIBA (only for the men's version). Each decision was accompanied by medical evidence, which can often be contradictory.

What is this about?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.699

Aug 28, 2013

Q.1063

"The Bone Season" is a 2013 book by Samantha Shannon which has come in for critical acclaim. Given its themes, there have been several comparisons with "The Hunger Games" series as well as the "Harry Potter" series.

A second reason for the Potter comparison is because this will also be a seven book series. Finally, Shannon's UK publisher also published the Harry Potter series. Who is this publisher?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.698

Aug 27, 2013

Q.1062

In the 2013 Hollywood film "Lee Daniels' The Butler", Forest Whitaker plays the eponymous butler who is a witness to much of American history in the 20th century.


What is common to the roles played in this film by Robin Williams, John Cusack, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber, Alan Rickman, and Eric Street? (If fictional versions in 2013 can be included, add Jamie Foxx and Aaron Eckhart to this list.)

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.697

Aug 26, 2013

Q.1061

On this expensive piece of advertising space, their predecessors were UNICEF and the Qatar Foundation. In 2013, commercially, they have gone where no brand has gone before, much to the disenchantment of many who feel they own a piece of that advertising space.

Who and where are they advertising?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.696

Aug 25, 2013

Q.1060

In August 2013, art historian and researcher Silvano Vincenti and his team opened a tomb at the Santissima Annunziata basilica which is in Florence, Italy. They plan to match DNA from skeletal remains in the tomb (said to be that of the Gherardini family), and match it with remains from another tomb in Italy.


Vincenti is doing this in a quest to find the true identity behind which famous figure in art?


[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.693

Aug 24, 2013

Q.1059

Najam Sethi is a well-known and well-respected media personality in Pakistan, editing a major daily and hosting a TV show. For a couple of months in 2013, he was appointed the caretaker Chief Minister of the Punjab province, as a neutral during the General Elections in the country.


In June 2013, the new government of Pakistan also appointed him the caretaker head of another organisation, which has usually been a high-profile and somewhat thankless job.


Which organisation?


[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.693

Aug 23, 2013

Q.1058

"Orange is the New Black" was written by Piper Kerman and published in 2010. However, the book finds itself on the New York Times Best Sellers list in 2013, thanks to a popular TV series of the same name that began airing on Netflix in July 2013.


In this book, Kerman speaks of her experiences of being in which situation?


[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.693

Aug 22, 2013

Q.1057

Which 2013 American honour connects the following distinguished people:

  • Oprah Winfrey, media person
  • Bill Clinton, politician
  • Daniel Kahneman, scientist
  • Sally Ride, astronaut
  • Gloria Steinem, activist
  • Ernie "Mr.Cub" Banks


[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.692

Aug 21, 2013

Q.1056

As is customary, the awarding of some of India's top prizes in sports for 2013 (in particular, the Arjuna and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards) was mired in controversy. The Khel Ratna was initially awarded to shooter Ronjan Sodhi, but there were protests by discus thrower Krishna Poonia and Paralympian H.N. Girisha.


This has led to suggestions that the award be shared by Sodhi and Poonia, though the Indian Sports Ministry has a policy of not making the award to more than one sportsperson, except in certain cases. One such deviation occurred in 2003, when the athlete K.M.Beenamol was given the award, but later another shooter was added to the list.


Incidentally, this shooter was now part of the jury for the 2013 awards. Who?


[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.691

Aug 20, 2013

Q.1055

The story of the 2013 film "John Carter" is told mostly in flashback, and concerns John Carter, the uncle of a character. This character also happens to be, in real life, the writer of the story "A Princess of Mars" which is the basis for the film.


Which character/author?


[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.690

Aug 19, 2013

Q.1054

Some of the meanings of the French word "mignon" are "darling", or "dainty", or "pleasing" (you may have heard of the steak cut "filet mignon"). The word, set to have Celtic or German origins, itself gives rise to an English word for a certain type of people, who are never really very important by themselves.

The word was made famous by a now-successful animation franchise, one film of which appeared in 2013. Which word?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.689

Aug 18, 2013

Q.1053

What is the sporting connection to this ordered list of businesses/brands?

  • Canon
  • Today
  • Barclays
  • Endsleigh
  • Nationwide
  • Coca-Cola
  • npower
  • Sky Bet

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.688

Aug 17, 2013

Q.1052

Image: Fight Club

This Bengali film is titled "Satyanveshi" ("The Truth Seeker") and releases in the end of August 2013. Whose last directorial venture is this? Who is playing the lead role? Who does the title refer to?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.687

Aug 16, 2013

Q.1051

Though this person's last name means 'spiritual' (which he assumed at some point in his life), he ascended to the highest temporal post in his country in 2013. A man with a doctorate on the topic of the Sharia, who is this?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.686

Aug 15, 2013

Q.1050

Held as usual on the 2nd Saturday of the month of August, the 2013 edition of which trophy was won by the Sree Ganesh Chundan team from Harippad captained by Arun Kumar?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.685

Aug 14, 2013

Q.1049

Image: The National Gallery

"____ and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure" is a 2013 exhibition at the National Gallery in London. The exhibition explores the use of musical themes in Dutch painting in the 17th century, particularly seen in the paintings of one Dutch artist (the blank is his name). Many of his thirty-odd paintings featured a musical connection.

So who is this artist?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.684

Aug 13, 2013

Q.1048

To commemorate its fiftieth anniversary, BBC Wildlife magazine ran a poll in its June 2013 issue to choose a "national species" that could serve as a "wildlife icon" for Britain.


If the badger came second, and the oak tree came third (other losers being the likes of the lady bird, the otter, and the robin), which literally not-so-cuddly species won?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.683



* It's Mark Antony week here at IZ. Give us a blurb or a like!
* You can now contribute questions
* Give us your feedback

Aug 12, 2013

Infinite Zounds 2012 - A compilation of sports questions

Presenting 25 selected sports questions published on Infinite Zounds in 2012 (Slideshare link for a better view or for download is this):

(and there are more IZ compilations here)


Q.1047

Amelia is making a documentary about her grandfather Carlos who passed away recently. Carlos was a writer and storyteller, and Amelia too considers herself one. This documentary lets her pay homage to him, to make sense of his life, and to hone her own creative skills. On her blog, Amelia is publishing information about Carlos and his relationship with an organisation that nurtured his story-telling dream.

Now, this 2013 website turns out to be a fictionalised account because it's part of a reality game by the same organisation, in particular by its Imagineering R&D group. The game is called "The Optimist".

Which company?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.682



* It's Mark Antony week here at IZ. Give us a blurb or a like!
* You can now contribute questions
* Give us your feedback

Aug 11, 2013

Q.1046

The 2013 edition of the FINA World Championships for World Acquatics were held in Barcelona in July to August 2013 and saw several record-breaking feats in 6 different disciplines. In which discipline (containing both men's and women's events) did China win an astonishing 9 gold medals out of the 10 on offer?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.681



* It's Mark Antony week here at IZ. Give us a blurb or a like!
* You can now contribute questions
* Give us your feedback

Aug 10, 2013

Q.1045

This anecdote was made famous by the Greek writer Plutarch, in his biography of one of the legendary heroes of Athens. The story is about something that was used to make possible the journey from Crete to Athens, or in particular, whether that thing was indeed the same thing as before.

This story has inspired something that has made waves in Indian cinema in 2013. What?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.680



* It's Mark Antony week here at IZ. Give us a blurb or a like!
* You can now contribute questions
* Give us your feedback

Aug 9, 2013

Q.1044

This Priyanka Chopra film releases in August 2013, and has her character "Ishani" flying over the Taj Mahal along with "Dusty". The background music plays "Tere Bina" (composed by A.R.Rahman) from the film "Guru".

Which film?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.679



* It's Mark Antony week here at IZ. Give us a blurb or a like!
* You can now contribute questions
* Give us your feedback

Aug 8, 2013

Inviting Your Questions for Infinite Zounds


(Have you participated in our Mark Antony week? If not, please see this.)


We are now inviting your contributions to Infinite Zounds (to be published from September 2013). Here's how to contribute:


  • Use this form to submit your question. The form will make life very easy for use, so no submissions via email or other platforms unless this form is inadequate for your submission.
  • Your question must be related to topics in the news. Having said that, you can still be creative with the actual timeline of your question (past or future), as long there is a strong connection to a recent event or announcement. Wherever necessary, we will use our judgement to rule on this.
  • We may edit your submission (question/answer) to make it more concise /interesting/relevant. Unless the edits are very minor (typos, grammar etc.) we will not publish the revised question without your permission.
  • We do not promise to publish every submission that we receive. If we aren't publishing your question, we will try to inform you of that, but please take it easy until then.
  • Very important: no lifts from other sources, no copy-pastes from Wikipedia. It's hard to do a plagiarism check on every submission, so if we become aware of plagiarism in the future, we not only take your question down, but also vow never to do business with you again.
  • If you use images or any other media in your submission, please include a link to the original source.
  • We promise never to use your question (published or otherwise) elsewhere. If we have to use it in future compilations, you will be asked for permission.
  • We encourage creativity in framing without compromising good judgement in the use of language!

Any unanswered questions? Write in at infinitezounds[[at]]gmail

Q.1043

For 2013, in the end, Peter Sagan took home the green, Nairo Quintana the polka dotted and the white, and Christophe Riblon the red.

Which brave man was yellow at the finish?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.678

Aug 7, 2013

The 2013 Mark Antony Week



It's 2013, and this blog is past a thousand days and thus a thousand questions. Mark Antony, an Times Old Roman of our acquaintance and self-confessed publicity hound, asked us: why not ask readers to give us some free footage?


And we thought it was a good idea.


So here's Mark Antony(*why him? see below) week. Where we ask you, O dedicated reader, to put in some coins in the donation box of social media, and help spread the IZ-virus far and beyond your six degrees of separation.


If you've liked what Infinite Zounds has been up to for the last almost-three years and think it's worth a few pats on the back, here's what you can do to show us your appreciation (one or more of the following):


1. "Like" us on Facebook:




(Studies show that every Facebook 'like' increases the life expectancy of the 'liker' by 0.42%, so this is a win-win situation for all of us.)


2. Give us a blurb. Use this form, and we'll post them all on our appreciation page next week (after filtering out all the hate messages, of course.)

3. Mention us on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest or Quora or Path or LinkedIn or any of your preferred social media sites. Tell them about us in 140/280/420 characters. Use this link - this will tell them all about IZ in less than a minute,

4. If you are really that committed or old-fashioned, send an email to your friends recommending us and why you like us and why you think they should follow the blog. Copy us as well. That would be something.

5. Use your imagination. Surprise us.


If you are too lazy to do any of the above, well, what can we do? Just think of us before you go to bed, and we'll take that. Sweet dreams.




Thanks again for all your encouragement and contributions. Look out for the rest of Mark Antony week. And why Mark Antony? Surely you remember this oration from Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'?

Q.1042

His autobiography, titled "A Brief History", will be published in September 2013. He needed no co-authoring on this book, but some upgrades from Intel made the process easier. This comes about twenty-five years after his first major publishing success.

Who?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.677

Aug 6, 2013

The 2012 Infinite Zounds Survey results

Last year, I ran a survey on this blog to get some feedback from IZ readers. Two hundred of you were kind enough to put in some time and thought into this. Here are some of the results, some comments on your comments, and some answers to frequently asked questions.

1. What do people think of IZ?



(thanks! even to the person honest enough to admit s/he hated it!)

and are the questions interesting?



2. Would you recommend IZ to others?



(the 93% of you who emphatically said yes - I'll take you up on your offer soon. Watch out for Mark Antony week on the blog.)

3.50% of you showed interest in getting a weekly email digest. That's something we will offer soon.

4. About 60% of you also said you'd like to to contribute guest questions to the blog: watch out for an announcement on this later this week.

5. About 2/3rds of respondents would like a copy of the year's questions - that is also something we should be able to offer this year.


And now for some user questions:
  • Why are the questions only about current affairs? Um, this is a current affairs quiz blog, isn't it? Tautological answers aside, topics from recent times are a good lens to learn about the world, past-present-future, and even non-quizzers relate well to topical events. Hopefully, other forums, online and offline, can fulfill your need for topics from other timelines.

  • Is there a better way to post the questions on Twitter & Facebook? Yes, the daily automated postings on Facebook and Twitter are truncated and don't look very good. I'm working on a better way to deliver these snippets there. Ideas welcome too.

  • And the mobile version of the site sucks. Yes. Working on that too.

  • Can you do more than one question per day? Not for now. I think a question a day suits most people's information dietary needs for now! 

  • Can you not post the answer until the end of the day?/I'd like to attempt the question without having access to the answer: The blog has been deliberately designed this way because most people don't like having to come back another time for the answers. But perhaps some day, we will have a “Game” mode complementing the current design.

  • Why is there no “did not like it” option on the blog? We assume that if you were not moved to click the “like” option for a question, you either didn't like it or didn't find it remarkable. For us, that's all we want to know. So if you did find it remarkable, go ahead, click that option.

  • Do live quizzes. But I already do them, don't I? Unless you meant a live IZ quiz. Perhaps some day.

  • Do you know your questions are plagiarised by other people? Yes, despite the fact that the questions are anyway free to be used provided due credit is given to this blog (see this post). But content plagiarism is so prevalent on the web that it's taken for granted. So the only thing we do is to try and call it out whenever we see it. 

What next? I'm putting up a simplified version of the survey as a permanent feedback form (you can find it on the right sidebar of the blog). Use it to comment, observe, vent, praise, frown, reward, and much more.

And there's Mark Antony week coming up. Starting tomorrow.

Once again, thanks for all the time.

Ramanand

Q.1041

One of the traditional season openers for FC Barcelona, the football club, is the "Joan Gamper Trophy", in which they play an invited club side at Camp Nou (their home stadium). In the 2013 edition held in early August, Barca beat their hapless guests 8-0.


This was the second time this side has featured in the friendly competition, but this time they were invited as part of a deal earlier in the year that saw their best player transfer to FC Barcelona.


Which club?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.676

Aug 5, 2013

Q.1040

This is the flag of a political party established in 2001, whose raison d'etre now looks to be months away from being achieved. What does the shape in the middle represent?


Image: Wikipedia

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.675

Aug 4, 2013

Q.1039

The film "The Fifth Estate" will release towards the end of 2013, and will feature Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. It was once rumoured to have the title "The Man Who Sold the World", but that's just an empty leak.


So who is Cumberbatch playing?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.673

Aug 3, 2013

Q.1038

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, six Brazilian football legends were named as Ambassadors for the event, who will promote the event on various occasions. Five of these are Amarildo, Bebeto, Carlos Alberto Torres, Ronaldo, and Mario Zagallo.


The sixth is the only one among the lot to have never won a World Cup, but is considered one of the greatest in the sport. Who?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.672

Aug 2, 2013

Q.1037

A July 2013 decision hailed by British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne as showing "sense and sensibility", why will certain kinds of legal document in the United Kingdom have the line "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" from 2017?

[+ Show Answer]

This day last year: Q.671

Aug 1, 2013

Q.1036

From September 2013, Mamnoon Hussain will be the latest. Iskander Mirza was the very first, from 1956. What is this list, and who is the only one to have also been Prime Minister?

[+ Show Answer] This day last year: Q.670