Finals - History and Geography Quiz - Around the World in 80 Questions - IITK

A History and Geography Quiz
Around the World in 80
Questions

Thanks
1) Alums of QC IITK - Siddhartha Srivastava (Repi), Pradunma Choudhury, Ishaan
Bansal, Abhay Dayal Mathur, Varun Muralidharan and Ashutosh Muduly for
contributing to the organisation of Alfaaz financially, without which none of this
would be happening.
2) QC IITK Team - the secretaries, coordinators and ex-coordinators for making
Alfaaz a reality.
3) Ira for making this amazing poster.
4) Pradunma, Prakhar, Abhay, Varun, Gokul, Ashutosh, Niranjana and Anish for GP-
ing this set and contributing questions.
5) Steven Spielberg and then God

Rules
1) 2 Rounds - Pounce & Bounce Clockwise, Pounce & Bounce Anti Clockwise
2) Questions follow a geographical trail, meaning each question is on a particular
country and each question (barring the first one, naturally) will be on a country
neighbouring the one in the previous question
3) No country is featured more than once and in case the country in question is
ambiguous, I will tell the country to focus on for the next question
4) Do not ask for or block hints, I have already decided where I give hints, how I give
hints, if I give hints
5) Caution - Questions are succinctly worded because every question carries the
additional clue of the country in the previous question.

Round 1 - Pounce and Bounce
+10/-5 on the pounce, +10/0 on the bounce

Q1
The United Kingdom keeps only 3 military bases on Quick Reaction Alert status in
the entire world. 2 of them are on the UK mainland as part of their NATO
obligations, where is the third one? (5)
This is the flag of the province Tierra del Fuego. The orange represents the fire in
the name of the province, the blue represents the surrounding sea and the stars
represent the province's territorial claims in the region. The white part in the
middle represents something from the world of fauna, that has a superlative
claim to its name and is found in the region. What does the white part represent?
(5)

Falklands Islands/Islas Malvinas

Q2
This is the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the largest salt flat in the world, at nearly
11,000 sq km. A vast region covered with pristine white salt and located at an
altitude of 3,650m the flat is useful for purposes of astronomical importance.
It provides stable emissivity, minimal radio interference and an elevation
variation of less than 1m relative to Earth’s circumference as a whole. This
makes it 5 times more suitable for the purpose as compared to the open
ocean. What purpose?

It is used to calibrate satellites

Q3
The Nazca Lines in Peru are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil, in the
Nazca Desert. A 170 square mile area containing the most famous of the
Nazca Lines was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 and are
hence protected. But, there are other Lines outside this area as well, that
aren’t well protected.
Activists say that in 2013, a sporting event held in the region caused
significant damage to a few of these Lines lying outside the protected zone.
What event?

Extra Question
Commentating during a Round of 16 World Cup match between Argentina
and Romania, pundit Alan Hansen said "the Argentine defender warrants
shooting for a mistake like that". An egregious comment normally too, it
garnered more controversy because of something that had happened just a
day before the match. What had happened that warranted such a reaction?

Q4
The RMS Queen Mary, built in 1934 to serve North Atlantic routes exclusively
is the first post -_______ (7) ship to be built in the world. FITB with a term used
to show that this ship’s size exceeds a certain highest capacity.

Q5
Costa Rica was going through intense political polarization between 1940 and
1948, with Jose Ferrer overthrowing the Christian democratic President Rafael
Calderon. On becoming President, one of the first tasks carried out by Ferrer
was a decision that ensured increased budgets for social programs,
education and healthcare while at the same time eliminating one of the
biggest potential threat to his presidency, as well as future presidencies.
What decision did he take, that is now enshrined in the country’s
constitution?

Q6
In yet another case of colonialists misunderstanding native language, the
more popular name of this region spanning Nicaragua and Honduras is not
derived from the small air borne parasites but a native word that sounds
similar. On first look it would make sense that this region would be called by
this name because of the dense forests near the region, which are home to
many kinds of the eponymous parasite.

Q7
X worked as a lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell in the 1930s, which had the United Fruit
Company as its client. This association came in handy for the company in the early
1950s when their business in a certain nation was threatened because of a popular
progressive leader. It was of course helpful that X’s brother had by then become the
Director of the CIA, who launched one of their infamous campaigns to overthrow
the progressive leader. Which leader and what surname do the brothers share? (4+3)
The CIA replaced this leader with Castillo Armas in 1954, who helped them a few
years later by allowing them to train and launch an ultimately unsuccessful
endeavour from his country. What endeavour? (3)

Arbenz and Dulles (Allen and John Foster)

Q8
___ __ ___ _______ is a pre-Colombian tradition where you celebrate your ____ loved
ones by creating altars and decorating them with things they liked, and involves
friends and family gathering to pay their respects and is generally a private affair.
(2)
For a 2010s project though, it was decided that the celebrations will be shown as
a spectacular parade with craftsmanship and artwork, even though this wasn’t
how it was originally done. Since then, every year the city has hosted a parade on
this day as it has become associated with the celebrations worldwide due to the
project. WAITA? (8)

Q9
This endeavour required comprehensive preparations, with the concerned
individuals carrying many items necessary for it. They were classified in the
following groups - Mathematical Instruments, Arms & Accoutrements,
Ammunition, Clothing, Camp Equipage, Provisions & Means of Subsistence,
Indian Presents, Means of Transportation, Medicine and Materials for Making
Up Various Articles into portable Packs. The following image contains

Lewis and Clark’s Expedition

Q10
1) A “rebound effect” from the melting of a massive ancient ice sheet
causing the land underneath to rise up.
2) Convection currents altering the distribution of mass within the Earth’s
mantle.
These are the reasons for which geographical and scientific anomaly?

Lower gravity in Hudson Bay, Canada

Q11*
A discovery was made in 1991 that had the potential of closing a nearly 7
decade old case. The then Prince Philip’s DNA was required and hence a vial
of his blood was extracted and analysed, confirming the theory. WAITA?

To identify the bodies of the Romanovs

Q12
Essentially the same attraction as one found in southern India, the Finnish
version also has both a mythological and scientific explanation to it. The
scientific version being that glaciers washed it up there and left it in its place
when they receded 8,000 years ago and the mythological version being that
giants placed it there, much simpler compared to the story we have about
the one at home.

Q13
Paul Henri Spaak became the first President of a certain organisation.
Proposed candidates for another position were Lester Pearson and Stanoye
Simic, but both of these were unacceptable due to one being a Canadian and
the other a Yugoslav. In addition to this, the presence of the following
building in New York, meant the USSR was unwilling to relent. What
compromise was thus agreed upon?

Trygve Lie becoming the 1st Secretary General of the UN

Q14
This is the tiny artificial island of Peberholm, built so as to not interfere with
the no obstacle zone of the airport on one side of the strait and to not
prevent heavy shipping in the region. Look at the image and tell me what
specific purpose was this island built to serve?

To act as a transition between the Oresund bridge and tunnel

Q15
The island was named Peberholm because it went along nicely with the name
of a natural Danish island just to its North. What island?

Q16
The New _________ ______ was established in 2018 by the finance ministers from Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden. They saw clubbing together as a way
of to make up for the economic loss caused by Brexit and took their name from an organisation built
for similar purposes, that used to be headquartered in the town of Lubeck in northern Germany. (5)
While Whatsapp forwards may have you believe that this German company that is going through
turbulent times right now gets its name from Sanskrit, it actually gets its name from the above
organisation. Which company? (3)
A subset of fiscally conservative nations from the above organisation, Austria, Denmark, the
Netherlands and Sweden, have informally banded together, giving them the name ______ ____. FITB. (2)

Q17
The term __________ of ______ can be used to refer to both, the three
consecutive acts of dividing and annexing ______ as well as the constituent
parts that were created in the aftermath of the former. (4)
The following image shows an allegory of the action mentioned above.
Identify any 2 people in the image. (3+3)

Partitions of Poland - Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great and Joseph II

Q18
The following is a statue at the Vilnius train station. It was put there in 2009,
but originally stood in front of the Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Film
Museum to represent the single family who headed the institution for years.
Reasons why this character specifically was chosen was because of the
show’s immense popularity in Lithuania, credited to the dubbing artists who
introduced iconic slang that is still in use today. Which character?

Q19
The title “_______ __ ____” was originally attributed to Herbert Cukurs due to his
actions in the country from 1941-44 and the fact that he was born in the
country as well. It was only after a certain work was released in 1972 – by
someone who died earlier this year – that depicted the fictional story of a
detective capturing and killing Eduard Roschmann that the title then
transferred to him. What title and what work?

The Butcher of Riga and The Odessa File

Q20
The ______ Line was the proposed demarcation line between the Second
Polish Republic and the USSR, specifically the Byelorussian Republic, after
WW1. The line became a point of contention in WW2 after the USSR invaded
Poland and the line to this day represents the border between Belarus and
Poland.
FITB with the name of the British Foreign Secretary who proposed this
demarcation, about a decade and a half after he left India, doing something
similar during his time here. What did he do in India?

The Partition of Bengal in 1905

Q21
The following is the logo of football club FC Stroitel Slavutych, where they
ended up after moving from their previous home. Where had they moved
from?

Vasile Maluțan died in 1995, while flying a helicopter conducting crop-dusting
operations, after his helicopter’s tail got entangled in high-tension wires. His
death was suspicious because it came just days after he testified before a
parliamentary commission about events on a day nearly five and a half years
ago, when a deception by him led to the demise of people who trusted him.
WAITA?
Q22

Q23
During Ottoman rule, Serbia experienced Islamisation. Under the devsirme
system, young boys from Balkan Christian families were forcibly converted to
Islam and forced to join the Ottoman Army. Thus, devsirme in Turkish means
_____ levy. FITB. (3)
This was how the elite corps of the Ottoman Army were made, known for
their focus and loyalty to the Sultan when they began. Eventually, they
refused to modernize causing the decline of the Ottoman Army compared to
other European armies. What was this elite corps called? (7)

Blood/Child Levy and Janissaries

Q24
Identify the artist singing the song “Peace in the Valley” on The Ed Sullivan
Show, against the wishes of the show’s producers because “he felt keenly”
about a certain crisis and wished for them to receive as much aid as possible
in the aftermath of the violence. Why did he sing this song? (2+3)
The day after the show, the world read the stories of Janos Feher, Ferenc
Kocsis, Peter Szanto and Lazlo Szabo that chronicled the courage shown by
thousands and led to a lot of aid being provided to their cause from the world
over. Why had their stories been chronicled? (5)

Elvis Presley - Hungarian Revolution of 1956

Q25
______ _______ is the name given to the partition of Slovakia and the Czech
Republic in 1993, having been derived from the bloodless revolution that
preceded it in 1989, showing it wasn’t a violent partition but one mutually
agreed upon by both parties.

Q26
After a tragic event in 1980, an unknown artist drew a mural on this wall as a tribute and
eventually as more people contributed to it, it became a place for free expression and
imagination in Czechoslovakia. The police saw it as Western influence and painted over the
murals but they were repainted each time. What tragic event? (3)
The wall has inspired many similar walls across the globe. One of the more notable ones is
found around 9,000 kms South East, where people stuck tens of thousands of Post-Its to a
wall with messages advocating for freedom and democracy. Where is it found? (4)
The protests in the region in 2014 were called the ________ Movement, named after an
everyday object that they could use as a shield against tear gas and pepper spray used by the
police. FITB. (3)

Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong

Q27
Many scholars choose to refer to it by using the term Woman instead of _____,
rejecting the more popular nomenclature since the figurine predates the
mythological figure by thousands of years. It is theorized that these were
created as idols for fertility while others believe they were carved as self
portraits. WAITA.

Q28
On the following slide is a painting of Dante, that is currently situated in the Florence
Cathedral. Dante stands in the foreground holding his most famous work. In the
background, on the left are scenes from his work, while on the right is his beloved city. His
journey from hell (bottom left-hand corner) through Purgatory (the long winding road up
the mountain) culminates in Paradise (right at the top in the Garden of Eden).
The culmination of his journey explains which puzzling element of the work (at least to
English speakers)? (4)
The placement of Dante in the painting highlights which sad aspect of the poet’s life? (4)
What is the most prominent anachronism depicted in the painting? (2)

Why the Divine Comedy is called a ‘Comedy’

Dante was exiled from Florence and never returned

The Dome of Florence Cathedral was built after Dante died

Q29
A funicular is a type of cable system that connects points along a railway
track laid on a steep slope. Following are the images of the ___________
Funicular, that gives aerial views of a certain location that became famous in
a morbid, fictional context at the end of the 19th century.

What important event from the 14th century connects the following men -
Raymond Bertrand de Got, Jacques Duèze, Jacques Fournier, Pierre Roger,
Étienne Aubert, Guillaume de Grimoard, Pierre Roger de Beaufort.
The event has often been compared to the __________ _________ from nearly
1900 years ago, that is a pivotal event in Jewish history, because a group of
people was forced to move from their original residence.
Q30

Q31
The image on the following slide shows a mountain pass. It is said to have
been the place where someone bid their final adieu to a city. The moment
has been captured in many paintings, with the person leaving the city and
turning back to get a last look and doing something wistfully before turning
and leaving for good.
What is the name of the pass?

Q32
The Bou Craa mine is one of the largest phosphate mines in Morocco, sitting on
top of around 70% of the phosphate in the world. It is around a 100km from the
nearest city and so when the mine was built, transporting materials from the mine
to the city was a big challenge. The biggest challenge was that the distance was
either too short or too long for other means of transportation. This led to the
implementation of what technology, that now holds a superlative achievement?
What method of transportation is used in a country to the south of Morocco to
transport a certain mineral, that couldn’t be used in Bou Craa because the
distance was too short?

World’s Largest Conveyor Belt

Q33
_____ is a water brand that draws water from various sources near the
eponymous commune in France, on the southern shore of Lake Geneva. (3)
The commune was the site of an agreement in 1962, that features as the
motive for an attempted murder in a work of fiction released around a
decade later. What agreement and what work of fiction? (4+3)

Evian Accords for Algerian Independence

Q34
The original American Constitution did not actually contain the ideas of
‘separation of Church and State’ or that ‘America is not a Christian nation’,
ideas that have until recently been central to the American spirit. While the
former was first mentioned by President X, in a letter he wrote in 1802, the
latter is largely derived from an earlier agreement signed by John Adams.
Critics argue that the wording was done necessarily to appease certain
leaders in a different part of the globe to stop some losses America was
facing at the time. Gimme X (3) and what agreement (7)?

Q35
The Triangle of Halaib is an area of land measuring 20,580 sq kms created
due to the differences in the political and administrative boundaries draw by
the British in 1899 and 1902 respectively. It is a politically valuable region on
the coast of the Red Sea and thus has competing territorial claims over it.
What geographical anomaly has this situation given rise to?

Q36
The world’s brightest continuous manmade light is found at the top of a
certain building in Las Vegas. Visible from nearly 275 miles away it is used by
aircrafts to navigate at night. What building is this?
Who spent his last few days in this building in the last decade of the previous
century, before being gunned down about 4 miles from the building?

Q37
The ______ ___ Hotel is a boutique hotel in Bethlehem. Opened in 2017, the
name is a play on the name of a luxury hotel chain started by Hilton in 2006
after acquiring the original hotel in 1972, by considering the structure this
hotel sits behind. The name of the hotel also describes the state of the
people of the region and was designed by X, someone who has famously left
his mark on the structure in front of the hotel. FITB (7) and X (3).

The Walled Off Hotel by Banksy

Q38
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh & Enkidu travel to a
location said to be 6 days walk from Uruk. While their primary intention is to
procure a particular wood from this area, they end up slaying the guardian of
this region. Famously, King Solomon is also said to have visited the same area
to source wood to build his temple. The tree has become to symbolize the
region in several ways. Which tree and what region?

Q39
The structure on the next slide is a church in Syria built as a memorial for a
group of people. The specific location was chosen as it was the final
destination for the group of people but many never reached, perishing to the
torturous journey. The church built in 1990, was destroyed in 2014 by the ISIL
in an ironic display of religious intolerance towards a structure built as a
memorial to martyrs of religious intolerance nearly a century prior. Who was
the church a memorial for?

Armenian Genocide Memorial Church - Deir ez Zor

Q40
What animal, known for their lustrous fibre, is found on the following coins
that were in circulation between 1938 and 1952?

Amytis was the daughter of King Cyaxeres of Media. Having lived her entire
life in Media, she had always been surrounded by green hills and valleys,
something that was missing in the place she had lived since she got married
in 610 BCE. So, her husband did something to cheer her up and remind her
of her home. What did he do?
Q41

Nebuchadnezzar II built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Q42
This is the Marmar Palace in ______, Iran. A relatively modest palace, built over
just 600 sqm of land, it has been a museum since 2000. Who was the last
private owner of this place?
The city came into prominence in 1971 when a major world convention was
signed here to protect a certain kind of ecosystem. The first two such sites in
India were in Odisha and Rajasthan. What city? What ecosystem does this
convention protect?

Ramsar Convention for the Protection of Wetlands

Q43
X was created as a result of the rivalry between the British and Russian
Empires often titled the Great Game. X is situated at the end of Y, named
after an individual who lends his name to another famous sporting event
held in a country and who was partly responsible for X. ID X and Y.

Wakhan Corridor and Durand Line

Q44
The following images are from the tourist developments in which place?

Q45
A medieval Marathi legend describes the construction of the great temple X. The earliest
known text mentioning it is Katha-Kalpataru by Krishna Yajnavalki. In the story, a local
king becomes seriously ill. His queen prays to the god Ghrishneshwar at Y for his
recovery. She vows to build a temple if he is cured. She also promises to fast until she can
see the temple’s shikhara. After the king recovers, she asks him to begin construction
quickly. Architects warn that it will take many months to complete a full temple with a
shikhara. However, an architect named Kokasa offers a bold solution. He begins carving
the structure from the top of a ____ and finishes the shikhara within a week, allowing the
queen to end her fast.
ID Y.

Q46
Tejbir Bura is Nepal’s first Olympic medal winner, winning a gold medal as
part of a larger team at the 1924 Olympics in Chamonix. The medal isn’t
registered as one for Nepal since it went to a mixed team of British and
Nepalese men. It is also one of the rare Olympic medals given for events that
didn’t take place in the duration of the competition.
Why was Tejbir Bura awarded an Olympic medal and in what category that
only saw medals being awarded in 1924, 1928 and 1936. (7+3)

He was a part of George Mallory’s expedition to the Everest - Alpinism

The following is an image of an art piece that lists the names of around 5000
students who died in a natural disaster in China in the late 2000s. The
government's lack of transparency in investigating the corruption that led to
these deaths prompted the artist to carry out a ""Citizen's Investigation"".
Which artist? What natural disaster? (4+4)
____ Buildings is a term that gained popularity after this disaster to describe
the poorly constructed buildings. FITB with what Indians consider an
alternative to paneer. (2)
Q47

Q48
What is also referred to as “The Road to Mandalay” because of an 1890 poem
of the same name by _______ _______ that talks about a soldier’s journey on the
same route.
Lyrics on the next slide.

Q49
EVCs are a group of stateless people who are ethnically Vietnamese but of
Khmer descent. Marginalized throughout history because of being a minority
in their country, they had to flee to Vietnam during the 1970s and found
themselves in a predicament upon returning. They had no citizenship, were
not allowed to have formal documents, couldn't get employment that
required education and most importantly, couldn't own land in the country.
What solution did these people come up with to temporarily solve their
problems, a solution that seems to have become permanent.

They live on floating villages in the Tonle Sap

Q50
Identify the place in the image on the next slide, that gives its name to a much
acclaimed project. (2)
The project was created by Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman, but they were
forced to work on the project in secret while living in exile in England. Why? (4)
The project ended up receiving many awards, including one for Foreman and
Wilson’s work, but it couldn’t be awarded to them. The award was thus
controversially given to a Frenchman who didn’t speak a word of English. Who
and why was he given the award? (4)

Pierre Boulle wrote the book that inspired the movie

Q51
It is believed that the the name for this Malaysian archipelago comes from
the Malay words eagle and a red stone used as a chalk, thus making it the
island of the reddish brown eagle. They have built a sculpture of an eagle as
well, making it a symbol of the region. What archipelago?
Similarities in the name have also led people to believe that a faraway land
from Indian mythology actually refers to this island and not the one we
commonly believe. What land from Indian mythology?

Q52
In 1920, Dutch-Indonesian nationalist Setiabudi had proposed the name
_________ for the independent country of what is now Indonesia. The word has
been taken from an oath taken by Gajah Mada, a military leader of the
Javanese empire, in 1336 and means “outer islands”. While _________ didn’t
end up becoming the name of the country it did become the name of a city
that will end up playing an important role in Indonesia’s future when a
process is completed. FITB and what important role will it play? (4+3)
_________ is a sister city of which city about 7000 kms North West? (3)

Nusantara - Indonesia’s next capital city

Q150 was the 2009 celebration of the 150th anniversary of Queensland
separating from New South Wales. The Queensland government announced
150 icons of Queensland, 15 each in 10 categories, including sportspersons,
natural attractions etc. Number 14 on the “Innovations and Inventions”
category was a simple solution to a problem faced by farmers and ranchers.
Initially meant to solve a similar but different problem, the innovation was
then modified to increase its capabilities. This has since saved the lives of
many sheep and cattle but regrettably in one case, not a child’s. What, that
has a superlative achievement to its name, am I talking about?
Q53

Q54
Alain Mafart-Renodier was a wildlife photographer featured in Greenpeace
USA's 2015 calendar. A few weeks after the release of the calendar,
Greenpeace were left red faced upon making a discovery about Alain's past.
Greenpeace had to issue apologies and order a recall of all the calendars,
because of an incident Alain was involved in, 4 decades ago. What incident?
This gaffe was quite ironic as was shown by the fact that Greenpeace New
Zealand had to issue a personal apology to the family of one Fernando
Pereira. Why was this ironic?

France bombing the Greenpeace yacht Rainbow Warrior

Alain was one of the intelligence officers who blew up the yacht and killed Fernando

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