This week, its a random set
This gigantic structure is the only living thing visible from outer space.
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1 / 10 |
MacGyver was an American television show starring Richard Dean Anderson which ran from 1985 to 1992. The eponymous protagonist has the amazing ability to make or repair anything. ‘MacGyver’ has now been included as a verb in the Oxford English Dictionary and it means to “make or repair (an object) in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand”. What popular Hindi word is used to describe the same ability in India?
2 / 10 |
In the late 1700s, this fruit was considered poisonous because many aristocrats would get sick and die after eating it. So much so it was called ‘poison apple’. In fact, the fruits weren’t poisonous, but they were eaten from pewter plates which contained lead and the acidic juices from the fleshy fruit would cause the lead to be leached out and cause lead poisoning when the fruit was consumed. Eventually, it became very popular thanks to the Italians and even came to be known as ‘love apple’. What fruit (or vegetable) is this?
3 / 10 |
This is a method to see if this food item is good or bad. When they get old, the gases inside them escape and they take in air over time through a semi-permeable membrane and form an air bubble. Fresh items will not have that air bubble as they are tightly packed. What is this test and what is the food item?
Answer : Check freshness of eggs by putting them in cold water. If they float to the surface, they’re no longer fresh.
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4 / 10 |
This response is usually thought to be a camouflage function based on this animal’s surroundings. However, various studies have shown that in reality, this characteristic change is driven by moods and emotions. What animal is this and what is the change associated with it?
5 / 10 |
“A powerful athletic body clutching a gleaming sword, with half of his head, that part which held the brains, completely sliced off.” This is a rather gory description by American screenwriter Frances Marion of a particular item. The story goes that a librarian Margaret Herrick thought the item resembled her uncle. Soon his name was picked up and used to refer to this item. What is this famous entity?
6 / 10 |
This Roman emperor supposedly ‘accidentally’ started a fire to clear an area where he built his palace later, killed his mother and stepbrother, used prisoners as candles by putting wax on them, crucified St. Peter upside down and wrote love songs to young boys. He used to send his slaves to collect snow and ice from mountains and ended up creating icecream. Who is this emperor whose name lives on in the IT world to refer to burning information on to discs?
7 / 10 |
Stretching across 2,300 kilometres and made by millions of individuals, this gigantic structure is visible from outer space and has been photographed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. What is this structure and where is it located?
Answer : The Great Barrier Reef, Australia (The Great Wall of China is not visible from space)
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8 / 10 |
The Irula tribe is an ancient tribe from the Nilgiris spanning Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They are experts at catching snakes, rats and collecting honey. A certain renowned centre of herpetology takes their help in extracting venom from snakes for making anti-venom. The women of the tribe help in documenting their vast herbal/ medicinal knowledge. The centre gets its name from another species of giant reptile it takes care of. What is this centre?
9 / 10 |
This is an enzyme taken from the firefly and is used in biotechnology for visualisation purposes. Unlike fluorescent proteins, this does not require an external light source but emits light on its own. It gets its name from the Latin word for ‘light-bringer’. It is also the name of an angel who was cursed to fall from heaven in the Bible. Who was this angel and what is the name of the self-lighting protein?
10 / 10 |
Marwari warhorses were bred by Rajput clans to be an intelligent, fearless and hardy breed that could withstand the crippling desert heat. They were used to fight enemies who had a particular powerful weapon. The Rajputs exploited its weakness and could get up close in battle by attaching long grey tubes to the mouths of their horses. What was the weapon and what were the horses made to do?
Answer : The attackers had elephants and the Rajputs made their horses look like baby elephants so they were not attacked by the adult ones
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