FLQ: The Frontline Quiz

Time to put your thinking cap on.

1. Frustrated with this individual’s constant interventions during the production of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson used his likeness to create the look of the Uruk-hai commander Gothmog. Who was this, a far more unpleasant person to work with as everyone later learned?

2. In 1975, Primo Levi published a collection of short autobiographical stories about his life in Fascist Italy, living through the Second World War and internment in Auschwitz, and his post-war life as an industrial chemist. What is the title of this book, which the Royal Institution of Great Britain named in 2006 as the “best science book ever”?

3. Despite Vincent van Gogh’s fame as a painter, there is often great confusion around how his name is pronounced (the Dutch say “Khokh”). This is not a recent phenomenon as he himself experienced this while travelling around Europe. What is the enduring legacy of this confusion?

4. This is the rear view (picture above) of which famous Indian landmark?

5. The Boots theory in economics is an example of how poverty is expensive for the poor: they can only afford cheap boots that wear out fast and require replacement unlike sturdier, more expensive ones. The theory is attributed to Sam Vimes, a fictional policeman. In which fantasy series would you encounter him?

6. The original version of this essay was published by Lala Lajpat Rai in the publication People in September 1931, six months after the writer’s death. What is the title of the essay, which was written in response to Ghadar party member Randhir Singh telling him: “You are giddy with fame and have developed an ego which is standing like a black curtain between you and the God”?

7. The Woman King is a 2022 film about the Agojie, an all-woman military unit in the Kingdom of Dahomey in West Africa in the 18-19th century. According to the filmmakers, funding for this movie was made feasible by a 2018 blockbuster film that featured a similar military unit. Which fictional all-woman army is this?

8. In Greek mythology, Poseidon attempted to claim the city of Athens by thrusting his trident into the Acropolis and bringing forth a saltwater spring. However, Athena offered the city something that was deemed superior to Poseidon’s spring, and thus the city was named after her. Today, this stands as a symbol of peace and reconciliation. What is it?

9. What staple of Italian cuisine is named for the fact that its primary ingredient originally (before being locally cultivated) came to Italy via sailors travelling from America?

10. To celebrate an iconic album’s 50th anniversary, this British band’s Twitter account posted the image shown here, which promptly attracted accusations of “wokeness” and “pandering to liberals”, when all that was happening was a call-out to the original design of white light refracting into a rainbow through a prism. Which album is this?

Sumant Srivathsan has a day job as a digital marketer, but his true calling is a disambiguating football and soccer on the Internet.

Answers:

1. Harvey Weinstein
2. The Periodic Table, each story is titled with the name of an element
3. All of van Gogh’s paintings are signed with his first name, Vincent, for ease of pronunciation
4. Hawa Mahal in Jaipur
5. The Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett
6. “Why I Am an Atheist” by Bhagat Singh
7. The Dora Milaje, seen in Black Panther
8. An olive tree, which is why an olive branch is symbolic of a peace offering
9. Marinara sauce: it is made from tomatoes, which came to Europe from America
10. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd