Quiz-A-Day: An Ensemble of Fun-Filled & General Knowledge Questions, One for Each Day of the Year!

By Jayendra Bisnik

The idea of this book came to me one year back, when I was going through the material of the quizzes I had hosted in the past 12 years. As a passionate student of the art of quizzing, I wanted to share some of the questions that I was proud of and I wanted to share them with the world. This quizbook is meant to be opened on a relaxing weekend; or on a journey; or to be read with loved-ones on a beautiful spring day. Most of the topics that I have included are also the topics I am really interested in.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Mar 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543702286

Jayendra Bisnik

Jayendra Bisnik is a techie who is fascinated by the art of quizzing since childhood. He has been conducting quizzes in corporate and community circles since 2005. Apart from quizzing, he is passionate about scrabble, running, innovations and social causes.

Book preview

Quiz 1

1. This gentleman was a multi-faceted personality - an astronomer, an astrologer, and an alchemist (shown in Pic 1) all rolled into one. He wrote his most famous book De nova stella in 1573. In this book, he wrote about his astronomical theories, which indicated that the ‘new stars’ or supernovae lacked the parallax that was expected in sub-lunar phenomena. There was even mystery surrounding his death - his body was exhumed twice - once in 1901 and another time in 2010 - in order to examine the events leading to his demise. As was believed earlier, the result of the investigations confirmed that he had died because of a bladder burst. On the other hand, it was proven beyond doubt that his artificial nose was made of brass, rather than that of silver or of gold - that was commonly believed during his time. Who are we talking about?

2. He was chosen as the first Person of the Year by TIME magazine in 1927. According to the details mentioned in TIME’s January 1928 edition, he had a really large feet. It was also mentioned that when he arrived in the American Embassy in France there were no shoes of his size available. Furthermore, the article outlined some of his other personal traits - like he never gambled, smoked or drank.

Who are we talking about?

3. It was a major breakthrough in medical research when Louise Brown of Britain became the first one in July 1978. After a few months, in October 1978, an Indian Kanupriya Agarwal (famously known as Durga) became the second one. What are we talking about?

4. The birth-name of this actress was Jeanette Helen Morrison. In one of her famous movies, she had a scene involving a shower. It is a part of legend that she was so traumatized by this scene that she avoided showers for the rest of her life. Who?

5. Who gave us the below famous quotation:

The best way to predict your future is to create it?

6. This chemical company started in 1802 as a mill producing gunpowder. The name given to this company was based on its founder. It became a pioneer in developing lot of new polymers in the 1900s, like Neoprene, Nylon, Vespel, Corian, Teflon, Mylar, Kevlar, Zemdrain, M5 fiber, Nomex, Tyvek, Sorona and Lycra. Their most famous hour came when they invented Freon, which became synonymous with the refrigerant industry, and continued to be so for a long time. When the environmental concerns related with Freon surfaced, this company came up with more environment-friendly refrigerants. This company is also attributed with the creation of many well-known synthetic pigments and paints (like ChromaFlair). Which company are we talking about?

7. Founded as The Primettes, in Detroit in 1959, this American all-ladies group is one of the most successful ones in the history with twelve #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. It is widely believed that the 2006 movie Dreamgirls was based on the life and times of this group and its members. Some of the glaring similarities were - this group’s album covers were strikingly similar to those of Dreamgirls’ covers; also, the Dreamgirls themselves hailed from Detroit in the movie. Which group?

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Pic 1

Quiz 2

1. This word is said to have its origins in the West Country dialect of English language. In that dialect, it is roughly translated to Anything thick and squat. This word is also a name for a popular sport. On 1st April 1979, this sport was made really famous by David Kirke and Simon Keeling, two members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club. Both enthusiasts of this sport were arrested after their first act. Without being perturbed, they continued the exhibition of this sport in the USA to crowds of curious onlookers - both at the Golden Gate Bridge and at the Royal Gorge Bridge. Their demonstration at the Royal Gorge Bridge was famously promoted by the American television program That’s Incredible. It is widely believed that this sponsorship helped in spreading the concept of this sport worldwide. Which word or sport?

2. According to most of the trainers, sportswriters, and fellow boxers of his time, this boxer ranked as one of the greatest of all times. The phrase pound for pound was created by sports journalists for him, in order to compare boxers regardless of weight or category. Being the first African American to establish himself outside sports, he was one of the most famous socialites on the New York party circuit in 1940s and 1950s. He had a fancy restaurant that claims to have hosted stars, such as Frank Sinatra and Jackie Gleason, among others. Who is he?

3. He is considered to be the greatest Bollywood actor in the history. Known for his deep baritone voice, he dominated the movie scene in 1970s and 1980s. His influence on the Indian movies is so huge that the French director François Truffaut once called him a one-man industry. With the movie The Great Gatsby, he made his Hollywood debut in 2013 - he played the role of Meyer Wolfsheim. He lent his signature voice to the documentary March of the Penguins, directed by Luc Jacquet, that won an Oscar too. Who?

4. Which organization is represented by this flag (shown in Pic 2)?

5. After having lost all of their North American colonies, the British set up their first settlements on this island in the South-east part of Asia. It is documented that Captain Francis Light, a British trader and an adventurist, first landed on this island on 11th August 1786. Initially, Francis named this island as Fort Cornwallis and proceeded to take formal ownership. After some time, due to some other reasons, he renamed the island as Prince of Wales Island as a respect to the heir apparent of the British throne. Which island are we talking about?

6. This gymnast was the most successful athlete at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games at Barcelona. He won 6 gold medals in the 8 events he participated in - team, all-around, pommel horse (tie), rings, vault, and parallel bars. He is considered to be the most successful gymnast of all time - the only one till now to have won World Championship in all the 8 gymnastic events, between 1991 and 1995. Who is this champion?

7. A real-life couple Joy and George Adamson adopted and raised an orphaned lion cub. They named the cub as Elsa and they released her in the Kenyan wilderness, once she reached adulthood. This story is immortalized in this 1966 British motion picture. The main theme of this movie is touched upon many times in the popular American drama series Dexter. Which movie?

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Pic 2

Quiz 3

1. This word has Greek roots and means to appear in English language. However, in the classical version of Greek, it can mean appearance of one of the following:

a. a deity revealing himself/herself to a believer

b. rising of the sun

c. a foe during the times of a war

As per the New Testament, this word can be used to either indicate the Christ’s birth or to Christ’s resurrection. What word?

2. The origins of this garment, mostly worn by ladies, date back to the Indus Valley Civilization. It is not surprising that the first appearance of this garment is recorded in the artifacts that are believed to be around 5000 years old. The word of this attire comes from a Sanskrit word that means ‘strip of cloth’. What are we talking about?

3. Which Chinese philosophical system, which was suppressed in mainland China during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, literally translates as wind-water in English?

4. The first recorded visit to these islands happened by accident. It was in 1535 that a clergy from Panama was in Peru to mediate in a dispute between the two Spanish conquistadors Diego de Almagro and Francisco Pizarro. The clergy went a little off-route and reached this island. He later described in detail the overall conditions on the island and the vegetation and animals there. These islands can also be found on the Atlas published by Abraham Ortelius (the famous Flemish cartographer and geographer) in 1570. The first rough map of these islands was developed by a sea robber Ambrose Cowley, who named