October 10, 2011 1. Which fictional dog has two sisters Belle and Molly? 2.

Name the scientist whose death was unknown to the Nobel Prize authorities when they made the announcement for the medicine category. 3. On a normal computer keyboard with which number does * share a key? 4. Which golfing great has dropped out of the top 50 in the world ranking for the first time in nearly 15 years? 5. Which word meaning to become smaller' is also used for a psychiatrist? 6. In the context of Apple iPhones, what is Siri? 7. What was the nationality of the great writer George Bernard Shaw? 8. In the context of space science, how did Tiangong 1 make news? 9. On what material is the Mona Lisa painted? 10. Which major Spanish city staged its final bullfight recently? 11. What type of an animal is a Samoyed? 12. Name the high-profile Man City player who was punished for not agreeing to come on as a sub in a Champions League match? 13. Where in the human body is the occiput? 14. Which place's leader recently made news by publicly unveiling a bowl said to have been used by Prophet Muhammad? 15. Which State sends the most number of MPs to the Rajya Sabha? Answers: 1. Snoopy in Peanuts'; 2. Dr. Ralph M. Steinman; 3. Eight; 4. Tiger Woods; 5. Shrink; 6. Introduced in the new iPhone 4S, it is a talking personal assistant, which combines voice activation and artificial intelligence; 7. He was Irish; 8. Launched on September 290, it is China's first inhabitable space laboratory module; 9. Poplar wood; 10. Barcelona; 11. Dog; 12. Carlos Tevez; 13. Head; 14. Chechnya's Ramzan Kadyrov; 15. Uttar Pradesh. October 17, 2011 1. Which marine adventure classic was first published on this date in 1851 under the title The Whale? 2. Name the progeny of Abdulfattah Jandali and Joanne Carole Schieble who made headline news recently. 3. Which Disney character made his debut as a bloodhound in the Mickey Mouse cartoon The Chain Gang in 1930? 4. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakel Karman have won which Nobel Prize?

5. According to the saying, all roads lead to which European capital? 6. American heiress Nancy Shevell recently married which Beatle? 7. ALMA, the world's most powerful astronomical device, has begun operating in a South American country. Name the country. 8. Who has become the youngest Formula One driver to win the Drivers' Championship twice? 9. Meaning tail, which four-lettered word describes closing measures of a piece of music? 10. Which island country witnessed its worst environmental disaster because of an oil spill from MV Rena off the coast of Tauranga? 11. Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea and Thebe are the inner moons of which planet? 12. Jetsun Pema has become the Queen of which Asian kingdom following her marriage on October 13? 13. How many tentacles would five normal squids have between them? 14. Shanti Tigga scored another first for Indian women by becoming the first? 15. How many voyages is Sindbad said to have made? Answers: 1. Moby Dick' by Herman Melville; 2. Steve Jobs; 3. Pluto; 4. Peace; 5. Rome; 6. Paul McCartney; 7. Chile; 8. Sebastian Vettel; 9. Coda; 10. New Zealand; 11. Jupiter; 12. Bhutan; 13. 50; 14. Army jawan; 15. Seven. October 24, 2011 1. The largest landlocked country in the world, with Astana as its Capital, observes its Republic Day on this date. Name it. 2. Who launched the Droid RAZR', the world's thinnest smartphone, last week? 3. Which European emperor rode the Marengo? 4. Name the maverick British billionaire who dedicated his and the world's first commercial spaceport in a New Mexico desert recently. 5. In which sport do we have the Ryder Cup? 6. What is the term being used for demonstrations initiated by a Canadian activist group Adbusters at a public place in NY recently? 7. In which century was the Marylebone Cricket Club founded? 8. 100-year-old British Indian Fauja Singh has been certified by Guinness World Records for what sporting record? 9. How many light years to a parsec? 10. Which cyber-giant recently completed its acquisition of Internet phone company Skype for $8.5 billion?

11. Which musician is nicknamed the Boss'? 12. Which high-profile English footballer has been slapped a three-match ban by UEFA that could rule him out of the entire group stage of Euro 2012? 13. How many Triple Word squares are there in Scrabble? 14. According to a WHO report, the deaths from which global killer have fallen by over 20 per cent since 2001? 15. What is the standout feature of a Gull Wing' car? Answers: 1. Kazakshtan; 2. Motorola; 3. Napoleon; 4. Richard Branson; 5. Golf; 6. Occupy Wall Street'; 7. 18th Century; 8. As being the oldest person ever to complete a full marathon; 9. 3.26 light-years; 10. Microsoft; 11. Bruce Springsteen; 12. Wayne Rooney; 13. Eight; 14. Malaria; 15. Doors open upwards. October 31, 2011 1. On this date in 1956, Andhra State was merged with which region of Hyderabad State to form Andhra Pradesh? 2. Simple one. How is the character Shekhar Subramanium better known? 3. What are the two options for searching on the Google homepage? 4. Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who passed away recently, was the Crown Prince of which oil-rich country? 5. Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria were which explorer's ships? 6. Which Eurasian country was devastated by an earthquake recently? 7. In Harry Potter, who was Merope's famous progeny? 8. According to a recent statement by the Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, India is close to wiping out which highly infectious disease? 9. Pablo Picasso is synonymous with which art movement? 10. Name the headlines-making whistleblowing website that has suspended its publishing operations to fight a financial blockade. 11. Which very popular Sergei Prokofiev musical composition has a member of the canidae family in its title? 12. Which ambitious aircraft made its maiden flight between Tokyo and Hong Kong on October 26? 13. What is a Myrmecologist's field of interest? 14. How is the New Zealand rugby team, that won the World Cup recently, commonly referred to? 15. Which evergreen number starts thus: On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair?Answers: 1. Telangana region; 2. G.One; 3. Google Search and I'm feeling lucky; 4. Saudi Arabia; 5. Christopher

Columbus; 6. Turkey; 7. Lord Voldemort; 8. Polio; 9. Cubism; 10. WikiLeaks; 11. Peter and the Wolf; 12. Boeing 787 Dreamliner'; 13. Ants; 14. All Blacks; 15. Hotel California' by The Eagles. November 22, 2011 1. Which global leader fell to Lee Harvey Oswald's bullets on this date in 1963? 2. Name the owner of AC Milan and the longest-serving post war Prime Minister of Italy who resigned recently. 3. Which English Premier League side's home ground has been re-christened as Sports Direct Arena? 4. Sebastian Loeb recently won the world championship in his sport for a record eighth consecutive year. In which event? 5. Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt is considered (by experts) as the inventor of which tracking device'? 6. Fill in the blank: Recently Andreas Gursky's Rhein II sold for $4.3 million to become the world's most expensive ______? 7. How erythrocytes are commonly referred to? 8. Name a much read and respected cricket writer (and a columnist forThe Hindu) who committed suicide recently. 9. Who sculpted the giant 17-foot David statue that stands in Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence? 10. In a disturbing development, the Diceros bicornis longipes' was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. How is the herbivore better known? 11. Who wrote the semi-autobiographical Tom Brown's Schooldays'? 12. Name the two champions named as the World Athletes of the Year' by the International Association of Athletics Federations. 13. Pietr-le-Leton' (The Case of Peter the Lett) saw the introduction of which detective? 14. The 2018 Commonwealth Games are to be held in? 15. Which recurring Star Wars character came from Kashyyyk? Answers: 1. The U.S. President John F. Kennedy; 2. Silvio Berlusconi; 3. Newcastle United's St.

James' Park; 4. World Rally Cham pionship; 5. Radar; 6. Photograph; 7. Red Blood Cells; 8. Peter Roebuck; 9. Michelangelo; 10. Western Black Rhinoceros; 11. Thomas Hughes; 12. Usain Bolt of Jamaica and Sally Pearson of Australia; 13. Inspector Maigret; 14. Gold Coast in Australia; 15. Chewbacca November 28, 2011 AFP Team Australia: A new coach takes over. 1. Which invention of his did Thomas Alva Edison demonstrate for the first time on this date in 1877? 2. Name the former coach of the South African cricket team who is to be in-charge of Australia now? 3. What are the main components of the French delicacy macaroons? 4. In which traditional sport did India win the World Cup in both men and women's event held in Punjab? 5. If it is bald for the U.S., white-tailed for Poland and the golden variety for Mexico, what is one talking about? 6. What record does Metallic microlattice', announced by scientists recently, hold? 7. Suricata suricatta is the scientific name of which cuddly-looking member of the mongoose family? 8. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was arrested over charges of electoral fraud, is the former President of which Asian country? 9. Which celebrated Victorian author had the middle names John Huffam?

10. Which country recently test-fired a new weapon which can travel at five times the speed of sound i.e. at hypersonic speed? 11. In which African country are the famous Kimberley diamond mines? 12. How did Hyderabad cricketer Ibrahim Khaleel make news recently? 13. Which literary feline has a title Son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea'? 14. Which State has passed a resolution to appoint Sam Pitroda, National Innovation Council Chairman, as its Chief Mentor for development? 15. What is the commonly used name for the pancreatic hormone used to treat diabetes? Answers:1. The Phonograph; 2. Mickey Arthur; 3. Egg whites and almonds; 4. Kabaddi; 5. The type of eagle that is represented in the national symbol; 6. It is being touted as the lightest structural material ever; 7. Meerkat; 8. The Philippines; 9. Charles Dickens; 10. USA; 11. South Africa; 12. The wicket-keeper set the world record for most dismissals in a match by accounting for 11 catches and 3 stumpings; 13. Aslan in the Narnia stories; 14. Kerala; 15. Insulin. December 5, 2011 1. Which Nordic country became independent of Russia on this date in 1917? 2. Name the most capable machine ever built to land on Mars that was launched by NASA on November 26. 3. Name the social reformer and architect of the Constitution of India who passed away on this date in 1956. 4. A 149-day lockout in which popular sporting franchise was ended recently with the decision to begin the current season on Christmas Day? 5. Name the only planet that has a day longer than its year. 6. What is special about the orchid Bulbophyllum nocturnum discovered by scientists in Papua New Guinea recently? 7. Which U.S. State is called the Grand Canyon State? 8. What is the nationality of Server Djeparov who was named Asian Footballer of the Year for the second time? 9. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which country won the Quidditch World Cup? 10. What did Roman Catholics throughout the English-speaking world do on November 27? 11. Which Greek letter is used to indicate wavelength? 12. Which two champions' record of five titles did Roger Federer overhaul by winning the ATP World Tour Finals for the sixth time recently? 13. Which explosive device was first tested at Alamogordo, New Mexico in 1945?

14. In which neighbouring country were 26 soldiers killed after a NATO helicopter opened fire on a checkpoint, sparking outrage from the government. 15. What is the present name of Cape of Storms? Answers: 1. Finland; 2. Curiosity; 3. B.R. Ambedkar; 4. NBA; 5. Venus; 6. It is the first orchid known to flower at night; 7. Arizona; 8. Uzbek; 9. Ireland; 10. Tried out a new translation of the Mass that more faithfully tracks the original Latin; 11. Lambda; 12. Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras; 13. Atomic bomb; 14. Pakistan; 15. Cape of Good Hope. December 12, 2011 1. Name the lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescenc celebrating her birthday on this date. 2. Name the iconic Indian screen thespian, considered an eternal romantic' who passed in London recently. 3. George De Mestral invented which type of fastener based on a system of hooks and loops? 4. Which former Indian captain was honoured with the Col C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Trophy last Saturday? 5. Which acid is produced using the Ostwald process? 6. According to the latest edition of the Diabetes Atlas, which Asian neighbour has overtaken India as the Diabetes Capital' of the world? 7. In children's stories, whose master is the Marquis of Carabas'? 8. Which African country played host to the COP17 climate summit till the past week? 9. Who created (and initially voiced) Kermit the Frog? 10. According to a major new study, which catastrophe of 1912 could have been averted if the action taken had been 30 seconds earlier than actually done? 11. Name the chief deity of the Assyrians, who stood behind the king and brought victory in war. 12. Which city recently became the first in the country to begin screening for the silent killer' Hepatitis C: New Delhi, Kolkata or Chennai? 13. Atahualpa was the last sovereign emperor of which famous empire? 14. Name the capital of the country that won its fifth Davis Cup, the symbol of team tennis supremacy, recently at home? 15. What major tragic incident took place in New Delhi on this date 10 years back? Answers: 1. Amy Lee; 2. Dev Anand; 3. Velcro; 4. Ajit Wadekar; 5. Nitric acid; 6. China; 7. Puss in Boots; 8.South Africa; 9. Jim Henson; 10. The Titanic disaster; 11. AshurDecember 19, December 19,2011 1. Whose record did Queen Elizabeth II better on this date in 2007 to become the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom?

2. Which great Indian's previously unknown notebook containing poems and other works fetched $170,500 at a Sotheby's auction on December 14? 3. Which meteorological phenomenon do the Aussies call Willy-Willies'? 4. Name the video game that has become the fastest selling entertainment product of all time by touching $1bn in sales in just 16 days. 5. What type of creature is a Xoloitzcuintle' and what is its distinguishing feature? 6. Which tennis stars have been named ITF World Champions for 2011? 7. What do the letters WAP on a railway locomotive stand for? 8. Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2011 is? 9. Graceland' was the residence of which legendary crooner? 10. Name the artiste behind 21', which with 13 million copies worldwide has become the top selling record in the world this year. 11. Mycology is the study of? 12. The Taj Mahal' diamond was sold recently for $8,818,500 at a Christie's auction last week. Which actress had owned it? 13. In which city is the TV series Grey's Anatomy' set? 14. According to a recent WWF report, in which part of Asia have 208 species of living beings been discovered? 15.In which modern day country is the pastry Apfelstrudel' (apple strudel) said to have been concocted first? Answers: 1. Queen Victoria; 2. Rabindranath Tagore; 3. Cyclones/hurricanes; 4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'; 5. It's a rare, hairless dog; 6. Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova; 7. Wide AC Passenger; 8. The Protester'; 9. Elvis Presley; 10. Adele; 11. Fungi; 12. Elizabeth Taylor; 13. Seattle; 14. Greater Mekong region; 15. Austria. ; 12. New Delhi; 13. Inca; 14. Madrid (Spain);15. The Parliament was attacked by terrorists. December 26, 2011 1. Name the scientist, known for his laws of planetary motion, born on this date in 1571. 2. Which celebrated scientist's notebooks, on which much classical science is based, has been put online by Cambridge University? 3. In A Christmas Carol, what does the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come show Scrooge to make him mend his ways? 4. Name the co-founder of a cyber-major who has decided to build the biggest plane ever that is capable of launching rockets in space.

5. Which well-known piano waltz was written in 1877 by Euphemia Allen? 6. Kim Jong-il, who died recently, was the mercurial leader of which reclusive Asian country? 7. What is the English name of the spice which Sachin Tendulkar would refer to as Velchil' in his mother tongue? 8. Which team has won the latest FIFA Club World Cup? 9. Who would wear a JIM suit? 10. The 50th anniversary of culmination of Operation Vijay' was observed on December 18 -19. What did it lead to? 11. Of which larger body is the World Health Organisation an agency? 12. How was December 15 historic in the chronicles of the Iraq War? 13. To whom is the code of medical ethical', which bears his name, attributed? 14. Name the Czech Republic's first president (after the Velvet Revolution) who passed away recently. 15. What does the figure in the Oscar statuette hold? Answers: .1 Johannes Kepler; 2. Sir Isaac Newton; 3. His own grave; 4. Paul Allen of Microsoft; 5. Chopsticks'; 6. North Korea; 7. Cardamom; 8. Barcelona FC; 9. Divers; 10. The liberation of Goa; 11. The United Nations; 12. The US flag was lowered to mark the end of the country's military operations there after nearly nine years; 13. Hippocrates; 14. Vaclav Havel; 15. A sword. January 2, 2012 1. Which large State, with Juneau as the capital, was admitted as the 49th U.S. State on this date in 1959? 2. On December 29, which South Pacific island that was 21 hours behind Sydney became three hours ahead? 3. Which recently deceased Asian leader was referred to as Dear Leader', Supreme Leader' or Our Father'? 4. Which South American country recently surpassed the UK to become the world's sixth-largest economy? 5. W3C is the informal name for the main international standards organisation for the web. Expand W3C. 6. On December 24, which African nation celebrated its independence for the first time in 42 years? 7. Which country's flag is the only national flag that is taller than it is wide? 8. Which relic of the Buddha is enshrined in the newly consecrated Buddha Memorial Center in Kaohsiung in Taiwan? 9. What is the Indian equivalent of Pakistan's Nishan-e-Haider'?

10. How did Chi_b (3P) make news some days back? 11. Who plays Rajesh Koothrappali in The Big Bang Theory'? 12. Who are the new National basketball champions? 13. Which company makes the OTC paracetamol Crocin'? 14. According to recent announcement, whose birthday on December 22 will henceforth be celebrated as National Mathematics Day'? 15. Which of Jesus's apostle was also known as Thaddeus? Answers: 1. Alaska; 2. Samoa; 3. North Korea's Kim Jong-il; 4. Brazil; 5. World Wide Web Consortium; 6. Libya; 7. Nepal; 8. A tooth; 9. Param Vir Chakra; 10. It is the first new particle discovered by LHC since opening in 2009; 11. Kunal Nayyar; 12. Punjab (men) and Railways (women); 13. GlaxoSmithKline; 14. Srinivasa Ramanujan; 15. Jude (of James). January 9, 2012 1. Name the popular Hindi star, who made his debut as an adult actor in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai', celebrating his birthday today. 2. Name LEGO's new line of toys aimed at girls five years and older that is backed by a whopping $40m global marketing campaign. 3. If one was walking on the streets of Baku, which country would one be in? 4. Apart from Samoa, name the Non-Self-Governing Territory of New Zealand that also skipped December 30 because of the change in the time zone alignment? 5. Which famous king wielded the sword Joyeuse that is now in the Louvre? 6. Name the cyclone that created havoc in Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu recently. 7. The Surgeon's Photograph' taken in the mid 1910s helped popularise which Scottish legend? 8. Which India-born Nobel Laureate has been conferred a Knighthood recently? 9. Which popular comic book characters were created by John L. Goldwater and first drawn by Bob Montana? 10. How did Grail-A and Grail-B make news during the New Year weekend? 11. What would one buy as a sheet, quire, ream or bundle? 12. Which princely State is said to have invited Albert Einstein to be the VC for its new university, for a salary of Rs. 6000, way back in the 1930s? 13. In the Bible, with whom is the place Akeldama' associated? 14. Which of India's neighbours joined the UN Security Council as non-permanent members on January 1?

15. Which short word is used for the egg masses of fish that is sometime eaten as a delicacy? Answers: 1. Hrithik Roshan; 2. LEGO Friends; 3. Azerbaijan; 4. Tokelau; 5. Charlmagne; 6. Thane'; 7. Loch Ness monster; 8. Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan; 9. Archie and his friends; 10. These NASA spacecraft, as part of a mission to study lunar gravity, were fired into the moon's orbit; 11. Paper; 12. Travancore; 13. Judas Iscariot; 14. Pakistan; 15. Roe. January 16, 2012 1. On this date a hundred years ago, a famous adventurer and explorer reached the South Pole, a month after Roald Amundsen. Who was it? 2. Name the worm that has played havoc recently including stealing more than 45000 Facebook logins and passwords. 3. Name the horse in Steven Spielberg's new flick War Horse. 4. Which southern State became the first to have Special Tiger Protection Force' in place earlier this month? 5. Which Cold War structure' came down in 1989, 28 years after being erected? 6. Who is to be the next Bollywood star to join Madame Tussauds London? 7. Name the three countries in Africa that have four letters in their name? 8. Who won the title at the Aircel Chennai Open on January 8? 9. Who is the youngest of the four Presidents on Mt. Rushmore? 10. Name the famous German football side that played in New Delhi as part of Baichung Bhutia's testimonial. 11. Name the three numbers (when written in words) between 1 and 10 that are not Isograms. 12. Scott Thompson is to be the new CEO of which pioneering but struggling Internet major? 13. Which type of pasta's name literally means Little worms? 14. Music star Youssou N'Dour is to run for president in which country? 15. Alphabetically arranged, which would be the first of the Seven Deadly Sins'? Answers: 1. Robert Scott; 2. Ramnit; 3. Joey; 4. Karnataka; 5. Berlin Wall; 6. Madhuri Dixit; 7. Mali, Togo and Chad; 8. Milos Raonic.; 9. Theodore Roosevelt; 10. Bayern Munich; 11. Three, Seven and Nine; 12. Yahoo!; 13. Spaghetti; 14. Senegal; 15. Gluttony (with greed coming second). January 23, 2012 1. On this date in 1984, the first commercially successful PC to feature a mouse and a GUI was introduced. Name it. 2. At 7mm (0.27 inches) long, Paedophryne amauensis, discovered in Papua New Guinea, was recently described as the world's smallest vertebrate. What type of animal is it?

3. In Finding Nemo, what type of an animal was the titular character? 4. Blue Ivy, born on January 7, has become the youngest person ever credited on the U.S. Billboard chart, when her cries and coos were featured in a single by her singer-father. Name him and her mother. 5. Who is said to be the sculptor of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia (one of the Wonders of the Ancient World)? 6. The English language version of which widely-used site went offline on January 18 to protest against proposed anti-piracy laws in the U.S.? 7. Name the chief architect of the Indian atomic energy programme who was killed in a plane crash at Mt. Blanc on this date in 1966? 8. Which sporting icon, known for his charities but now afflicted with Parkinson's disease, turned 70 on January 17? 9. What type of a dairy product is an asiago? 10. Russia's unmanned Fobos-Grunt spacecraft disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean on January 16 after a failed mission to which planet's satellite? 11. Which item of clothing could also mean go around the edge of? 12. Padma Vibhushan awardee Homai Vyarawalla, who passed away recently at the age of 98, is considered the first Indian woman to take up which profession? 13. A Liverpudlian is a resident of.? 14. Name the famous composer of Albumblatt, an undiscovered short piano piece since 1853, that had its world premiere last week. 15. In the story about Goldilocks and the bears, what edible item did she eat? Answers: 1. Apple Macintosh; 2. Frog; 3. Clownfish; 4. Jay-Z and Beyonce; 5. Phidias; 6. Wikipedia; 7. Dr. Homi J. Bhabha; 8. Muhammad Ali; 9. Cheese; 10. Mars' Phobos; 11. Skirt; 12. Photojournalist; 13. Liverpool; 14. Brahms; 15. Porridge January 31, 2012 1. Name the singer-actor, lead singer of the boy band 'N Sync, celebrating his birthday on this date. 2. From which country has India leased the now-renamed nuclear submarine INS Chakra II for 10 years? 3. What is the name used for the popular championship game of the National Football League in the US? 4.Which more than 130-year-old iconic company, synonymous with photography, has filed for bankruptcy protection? 5.Name the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh who passed away on this date in 1956.

6. Name the very popular file-sharing site which was shut down by authorities leading to online activists attacking sites like the FBI, Universal Music etc? 7.Which popular brand of toy cars has a logo containing flames? 8. Which neighbouring country's army recently revealed that it had foiled a coup attempt against its PM? 9. Fill in the blank in this full name of a very popular Colombian performing artiste: _____ Isabel Mebarak Ripoll. 10. The Chinese New Year that began on January 23 is the Year of the.? 11. What is the term used for speeds above Mach 5 and above? 12. According to Fortune magazine, which is the best company to work in the US? 13. The Jomo Kenyatta Airport serves which African Capital city? 14. According to the WWF, which type of Asian elephant faces extinction within 30 years as its numbers have halved since 1985? 15. Who gets the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup? Answers: 1. Justin Timberlake; 2. Russia; 3. Super Bowl; 4. Eastman Kodak; 5. A.A. Milne; 6. Megaupload; 7. Hot Wheels; 8. Bangladesh; 9. Shakira; 10. Dragon; 11. Hypersonic; 12. Google; 13. Nairobi; 14. Sumatran elephants; 15. The women's singles winner at the Australian Open.