FLQ: The Frontline Quiz!

1. A consequence of climate change is these formations (picture above) in locations like Lake Baikal (Siberia) and Lake Abraham (Canada). They are formed when plants and trees fall due to melting permafrost and decompose in the water. What do these bubbles contain, a 25X more potent greenhouse threat than carbon dioxide?

2. Elvis Presley’s TCB Band of the 1960s and 70s was inspired by a song he heard on the radio, which he used as motivation for his comeback to showbiz. What does “TCB” stand for, something which is integral to modern-day “hustle” culture?

3. On 18 May 1855, Queen Victoria awarded military honours to 768 members of a recently-concluded campaign. John Tenniel, the famed illustrator of Punch magazine, was on hand to paint the event (picture on right). What campaign, for which every member received an honour?

4. Lal Kot, built by Anangpal Tomar in the 11th Century, is considered to be the first city of Delhi. The fort got a new name, Qila Rai Pithora, honouring the grandson of Anangpal Tomar III. Who was this ruler, famous across India in history and fiction?

5. Lt. Gen. Punita Arora is the first woman in the Indian Army to achieve 3-star rank. She is, incidentally, also the first woman in the Indian Navy to hold a 3-star rank (Vice-Admiral). How was this possible?

Cedric Gibbons.

6. Cedric Gibbons is the most nominated (39) and awarded (11) individual in Academy Awards history. However, his most enduring claim to fame is far more all-encompassing. What is this claim to fame?

7. Hurriedly published in June 1865, Sequel to Drum-Taps was an 18-poem pamphlet that expanded on the April 1865 collection of American Civil War poems, Drum-Taps. It contained two elegies, When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom’d and which other famous poem?

8. Found on the banks of a European river, it was found that the above-average sparkle of these quartz pebbles was due to high lead content. They were used to mimic diamonds, and due to demand, were eventually imitated themselves. What fake jewelry item is this, favoured by Liberace, Elvis and others?

9. In the ancient Roman calendar, the first day of the month coincided with the new moon, and was sacred to Juno. It was also the day on which accounts were settled and debts collected. It survives in the English language due to this latter context. What common word/object is this?

10. “The Forgotten Prisoners” was a landmark article by British lawyer and activist Peter Benenson protesting unlawful detention of political dissenters around the world, including Agostinho Neto, the future first president of Angola. Which organization claims this article as its starting point, though it was founded a year later in London? They were forced to suspend operations in India in 2020.