1. In Greek mythology, Zeus is the last-born child of the Titans Kronos and Rhea. However, he is considered to be the eldest of the Olympian gods, including his older siblings Hades, Poseidon, and Hera. Why?
2. The title of this movie prequel to an acclaimed television series gets its name from a literal translation of its main character’s last name. This character is the father of a main but non-titular character in the TV show. What is the title of the prequel?
3. The tale of three brothers trying to trick death is a key element in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. However, the story is itself borrowed from a source almost 800 years older, in which a pardoner narrates the story. Which work was it borrowed from?
4. One of the major works created in Emperor Akbar’s Maktab Khana, or translation house, is the Razmnama, or “Tale of War”. An illustration from the work is shown in the image (left). Which work was translated into Persian under this title?
5. In January 1253, King Henry III issued a charter to a Yorkshire town that gave it rights to earn revenue through an event held in the period between the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the Feast of St. Michael (August 15 to September 29). The event attracted traders from as far as the Baltic states and the Ottoman Empire. The event lost popularity through competition and taxation and eventually died in the late 14th century but has lived on in a famous song. What song/event is this?
6. Inspired by the unusual name of a stadium in Yale borrowed by one in California, and the extremely bouncy toy seen in the image (right), Lamar Hunt coined the term in 1966 to refer to what was until then just known as the “Championship Game”. However, it would only become the official name in 1969. What is this name, usually followed by a Roman numeral?
7. Thanks to panels featuring an epidemic, criticism from the WHO, calls for cancellation, and a catastrophic climax at a brand new Olympics stadium in Neo Tokyo, a hugely popular and critically acclaimed manga became unintentionally prophetic after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed by a year. Name the manga
8. Where would one have most recently come across Anthony James’ “Portal: Icosahedron”, a glass and steel sculpture illuminated with LEDs?
9. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, passed in India in 1972, declared Varanus bengalensis, the Bengal monitor lizard, an endangered species. Craftspeople who made a musical instrument using the skin of the lizard had to shift to goatskin, which performers claim stretches too easily and distorts sound, and synthetic options such as Skyndeep, which better mimics the original. What instrument is this, which has a frame made of jackfruit tree wood?
10. John James Audubon’s The Birds of America is a 19th century book of illustrations of over 400 birds found in the US, including now-extinct species such as the passenger pigeon and the Labrador duck. Despite life-like accuracy in depiction and detail, many of the birds are shown in distorted poses. Why?
Sumant Srivathsan has a day job as a digital marketer, but his true calling is disambiguating football and soccer on the Internet.
Answers:
- All but Zeus were eaten by Kronos and regurgitated, representing a rebirth
- The Many Saints of Newark, prequel to The Sopranos, is named for lead character Dickie Moltisanti
- The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
- The Mahabharata
- Scarborough Fair
- Super Bowl
- Akira
- In Miles Bron’s office in the movie Glass Onion
- The kanjira
- As the paintings were life-size, some birds were too big for the book
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