Sunday Quiz | Easy like Sunday morning — Feb. 14, 2021
A distant earth, as seen from the moon.
START THE QUIZ
1 / 10 |
Born on February 14, 1483, this ruler traced his lineage back to both Timur and Genghis Khan, and in 1526 defeated Ibrahim Lodi to establish the Mughal Empire in India. He is celebrated to this day in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, where his poems have become folk songs. Who was this history-making ruler?
2 / 10 |
On February 14, 1779, this English explorer was killed when he attempted to kidnap and ransom the King of Hawaii. Before meeting this unfortunate end, he had made three historically significant voyages that were among the first to go around the world. His expert map-making skills ensured that the maps he produced were used well into the 20th century. Who was this explorer who inspired NASA to name their space shuttles Discovery and Endeavour in his honour?
3 / 10 |
On February 14, 1876, Elisha Gray, an American inventor, applied for a caveat announcing his intention to file a claim for a patent. He had been using liquid transmitters in his experiments for more than two years, and he alleged that another engineer stole the idea from him. That engineer’s lawyers submitted a hastily rewritten application, and he eventually got the patent. This led to that engineer being credited with an invention that went on to change the world. Who was this other inventor and what invention was Elisha Gray technically responsible for?
4 / 10 |
Born on February 14, 1972, Jaan Tallinn is an Estonian computer programmer. After doing a thesis on travelling interstellar distances using warps in space-time, he founded Bluemoon, which eventually became the hit game Skyroads. He then worked on a P2P program that became Kazaa, which led to his role in another project. This was one of the first major video-chat/ voice call applications, and at one time had over 600 million users. What was this product that was bought by Microsoft in 2011?
5 / 10 |
On February 14, 1924, Thomas J. Watson renamed his company, which until then had been the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR). It dealt with employee time-keeping systems, punched cards and other equipment. Since then, it has become one of the most important technology companies in the world, and holds the record for the most U.S. patents generated by a business for 28 consecutive years. The new name is pretty much a description of what they deal with. What was CTR renamed as?
6 / 10 |
On February 14, 1929, this gentleman started to research common staphylococcal bacteria. He left an uncovered Petri dish near an open window and it became contaminated with mould. He realised the bacteria near the mould were dying, and isolated it. He found the mould to be effective against all Gram-positive pathogens. Who was he and what did he discover that made the world a safer place?
7 / 10 |
Born on February 14, 1933, as Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi, this actor had a career spanning two decades. She suffered from a cardiac issue since birth and succumbed to it aged 36. By then, she had appeared in 73 films and was known as the Marilyn Monroe (who also died at 36) of Bollywood. How better do we know this legendary actor?
8 / 10 |
On February 14, 1989, the first of 24 satellites responsible for a then revolutionary system was placed into orbit. Each one is placed in a specific orbit at a specific altitude to ensure that four or five satellites are always within range from any point on the planet. This allowed the technology to pick up signals and give the user extremely valuable information, especially for travellers at sea. What technology is this that is now available at the touch of a finger?
9 / 10 |
On February 14, 1990, this spacecraft completed its primary mission and was leaving the Solar System. The great astronomer Carl Sagan then requested NASA to turn the camera around and take a picture of our planet earth from six billion kilometres away. This picture of a tiny dot against the vastness of space became known as the ‘Pale Blue Dot’. Which craft gave us this picture that gives us goosebumps just thinking about it?
10 / 10 |
On February 14, 2005, this online platform was launched by a group of college students. It is now the second biggest search engine on the Internet, with people spending 2.9 billion hours per month on it. It is now the largest media sharing website in the world and a major source for viral content. What site is this that gave us cats dancing to polka music, Trump dancing to YMCA and a parrot singing Led Zeppelin?
