Sunday, December 4, 2011

05th Dec 2011


File:Joseph Stalin with daughter Svetlana, 1935.jpg 
1. The girl you see in the photograph was the youngest child and the only daughter of the Joseph Stalin
. As an adult she was well known for her criticism towards the communist regime in Russia and her father. In 1966 she walked into the US embassy in India denounced communism by burning her passport. She was offered political asylum of USA for this cause. She passed away on 22nd of November at the age of 85 in Wisconsin. What was her name?

 File:Bertillon selfportrait.jpg
2. Anthropometry was an identification system based on the physical measurements of humans which was used for criminal identification before fingerprinting. The method was developed by a French police officer who devised another system of criminal identification known as 'mugshot'. Mugshot is the photographic portrait taken after one is arrested. Sherlock Holmes fans might recall that in the " Hound of Baskervilles" Holmes' client referring to him as the second highest expert in Europe the first being a Frenchman. In " The Naval Treaty" Holmes himself admires this man. Who was he? 

3. Just two and a half months before Soviet Union sent Gagarin into space USA managed to sent a Chimpanzee to outer space in a Mercury rocket. The chimp returned to Earth safely and became a media sensation of the time. The chimp was not only a passenger but he was assigned tasks to manoeuver the rocket. This proved that humans could perform the necessary actions while traveling in a rocket. What was the name of the chimp?

 File:1869 Frederic Leighton - Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon.jpg
4. Sigmund Freud proposed  the Oedipus Complex about a boys unconscious desire to posses his mother by killing his father. The term was derived from the Greek mythological character Oedipus who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother.  However Carl Gustav Jung proposed another complex which is conversely competition between mother and daughter to posses father. This term too was coined after a Greek mythological character. What is the name of this other complex?

5. Catherine Hepburn holds the record for the highest number of Oscar awards for acting. She won 4 academy awards for best actress. Two actors share the record for the highest no. of oscars won by a male actor. One is Walter Brennan. Who is the other? He starred in the 1975 movie One flew over the cuckoo's nest and wont the best actor academy award for it?


6.Who was the Sri Lankan journalist and author who wrote "Among those present" which was a book about the leading political figures of the island?

File:Black Sabbath 1999-12-16 Stuttgart.jpg 
7. This English heavy metal band formed in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Lommi, Geezer Butler, Bill ward was considered one of the greatest metal bands of all the time. On 11th November this year the original members of the band announced that they will reunite for the release of a new album and a world tour in 2012. What is the name of this band?


File:Naim Suleymanoglu.jpg 
8. Nicknamed ' Pocket Hercules' this Bulgarian weightlifter was only 4.8 ft tall. Turkey paid $1000000 to Bulgaria for allowing him to compete for Turkey. He won gold medals at 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Who was he?

9. Which Catholic order was founded by Mother Theresa in 1950 to give " wholehearted and free service to poorest of the poor". The organization now consists of over 4500 sisters and active in 133 countries. The name came into limelight when National Child Protection Authority raided a children home in Rawathawattha run by this organization?

File:Iguazu falls.jpg
10. Can you identify this panoramic waterfall which is situated in the border of Brazil and Argentina. Its name means 'Big Water' in Guarani. The first European to discover the falls was Alvar Nunez in 1541.?

11. This Brazilian footballer captained his country in 1982 FIFA world cup and appeared in 1986 worldcup too. He was known for his great through passes and his vision on the field. This great sports star passed away on 4th Dec. at the age of 57. Who was he?

File:Sanzio 01.jpg
12. Can you identify famous painting by Rafael which is found in Vatican?

13. World AIDS day falls on December 01st every year. First AIDS victim was recorded in 1981, 30 years ago in USA. In which year was first AIDS victim identified in Sri Lanka?

14. Who was the founder of  Asiatic society inaugurated in 1784 in Culcutta with the aim to enhance and further the cause of oriental research?

15. Who was the German scientist who developed the 'Nernst equation'. He is also known for developing the 'Third law of Thermodynamics' for which he won the 1920 Nobel prize in chemistry?

Answers of Last Week

1. Curiosity
2. Margaret Bourke White
3. Norway
4. Basil D'Oliveira
5. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
6. Orson Welles
7. China Harbour Engineering Company
8. Elie Wiesel
9. Surface to air missiles
10. Europa
11. The persistence of Memory
12. Facemash
13. Canada
14. Lynn Margulis
15. Sirhan Sirhan

5 comments:

  1. 5.Jach Nicholson
    8.Naim Sumanonglueley
    12.The School of Athens

    ReplyDelete
  2. 4. Electra complex
    5. Jack Nicholson
    7. Black Sabbath
    9. Missionaries of Charity
    10. Inguazu falls
    11. Socrates. ( saw him wearing බෝතල් අඩි කණ්ණාඩි.)
    12. School of Athens
    13. 1986

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well I missed one last week Sirhan Bishara Sirhan isn't it? Damn.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We all miss some things in life and later worry.
    Don't we?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Socates dan meeter wune.............:((((

    ReplyDelete