FLQ - The Frontline Quiz

1. Commonly made out of polypropylene or polystyrene (also paper and other materials), this object is characterised by an angle-adjustable bellows segment. It relies on a particular muscular action and atmospheric pressure to function effectively. What am I talking about?

2. Contrary to popular belief, they were not made out of wood. Throughout his life, George Washington employed human, cow, horse, and possibly elephant variants of what?

3. An example of a non-Newtonian fluid, it falls under the pseudoplastic subcategory, characterised by “apparent viscosity which decreases with increased stress”. In simpler words, the more you shake it, the more “liquid” it gets. What is it?

A specimen sheet of typefaces and languages by William Caslon I, dated 1734. | Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

4. According to an ancient ritual, when Greek children, especially girls, came of age, it was customary to perform a particular “sacrifice”. The ritual usually took place on the eve of the girl’s wedding day. What did it entail?

5. This American poet (also painter, essayist, author, and playwright) used distinct line breaks, lower case lettering, and parentheses to create a distinct image for the poems. Name the poet.

6. Confusion between the words “typeface” and “font” (the latter meaning various styles of a single typeface) occurred in 1984 when X mislabelled typefaces as fonts. This error has been perpetuated throughout the computer industry, leading to a common misuse of the term. Name X.

7. What do these various interpretations apply to?

• Copenhagen interpretation

• Many-worlds interpretation and consistent histories

• Ensemble interpretation

• Transactional interpretation

• Relational interpretation

8. Traditionally called the Planter’s Chair, the Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable describes it “as an Anglo-Indian term meaning a wicker chair with an extended footrest that’s long enough to facilitate sexual intercourse”. What is the alternative term this type of chair is now generally known by?

Kittens. | Photo Credit: MANJUNATH H.S.

9. When asked for an example of a popular use of his invention that he would never have predicted, his answer was “kittens”. Who am I talking about and what did he invent?

The stamp featuring Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Indian merchant and philathropist. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

10. A philatelist collects stamps. What does a phillumenist collect?

11. What town was Leonardo da Vinci from?

12. Anil Seth, a professor of cognitive and computational neuroscience, said: “Science and art have long realised that experience depends on the involvement of the experiencer. In art history this is Gombrich’s ‘________’s share’, and in science this traces to Helmholtz’s concept of perception as inference. The shared idea is that our perceptual experience—whether of the world, of ourselves, or of an artwork—depends on the active interpretation of sensory input.” Fill in the blank.