1. Enid Blyton based a story on a large handmade doll she gave to her daughter Gillian on her third birthday. What is the character’s name?
2. On this date 30 years ago, a military offensive was launched on the Harmandir Sahib complex in Amritsar to flush out armed men from the holy shrine. What was it called?
3. A vast peatland, containing billions of tonnes of partially decayed vegetation and covering an area the size of England has been discovered recently in Africa. Name it.
4. Name the Russian, considered the greatest female pole-vaulter of all time with many world records and two Olympic Golds, celebrating her birthday today.
5. In Gulliver’s Travels , what is the name of the land of the giants?
6. What is the capital of the country from which the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube hails?
7. Which elusive feline, going by one of its names, should weigh 28.3495 grams?
8. Barbers should not have Chaetophobia. Why?
9. Which team did India beat to assure itself of a bronze medal in the recently-concluded Uber Cup in New Delhi?
10. Which Lok Sabha constituency did Dr. Manmohan Singh represent while he was the Prime Minister?
11. In Greek mythology, which winged creature sprang from the blood of Medusa?
12. Which European artist painted “Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear”?
13. According to the book of Genesis, on which day did God create the sun, moon and stars?
14. Which pattern in a macaw is as unique as a fingerprint?
15. Which famous poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is also called “A Vision in A Dream”?
Next week: FIFA World Cup quiz
Answers: 1. Amelia Jane; 2. Operation Blue Star; 3. Remote part of Congo-Brazzaville; 4. Yelena Isinbayeva; 5. Brobdingnag; 6. Budapest. Prof. Erno Rubik is a Hungarian; 7. Snow leopard which is also called an ounce; 8. It is the fear of hair; 9. Indonesia; 10. He was a Rajya Sabha MP! 11. Pegasus; 12. Vincent van Gogh; 13. Fourth; 14. Facial feather pattern; 15. Kubla Khan.