[94]

In the 1800s, with Britain’s Industrial Revolution in full swing, English workers and craftsmen began to find themselves in increasingly tight competition with the advanced mechanization and factories that enabled mass production of goods, combined with underhanded labor practices implemented by the top bosses in control of those factories to squeeze out as much product as possible.

Naturally, some of them expressed their resentment by going on a violent rampage against the machines that were destroying their livelihoods. Most legendary of these was “X”, who as the tale would have it, smashed two knitting frames in “a fit of passion” — an action that would result in his name being used for the entire movement. The name is still used today to refer to individuals who find themselves particularly opposed to modern technology and its ubiquity.

Who is X?

Show Answer
"Ned Ludd", a mythical figure most likely based on a weaver called Edward Ludlam who probably did actually smash up some textile machinery.

Disaffected members of the 19th-century English working class banded together to protest unfair working conditions and rapid industrialization without labor protections (notably, they were not against industrialization itself), and the movement came to be known as the Luddites.

[93]

The restaurant chains Moti Mahal recently filed a lawsuit against Daryaganj for the use of their tagline.
What does the tagline say, which has become contentious?
dmm

Show Answer
The inventors of Butter Chicken & Dal Makhani.
Both parties claims that it was their predecessor who had invented the dish.
Read More.

[92]

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Santa Maria delle Grazie (“Holy Mary of Grace”) is a lovely, if initially unassuming, 15th-century terracotta-stone church and convent located in Milan, Italy. While every brick of the church is rightly regarded as an architectural and artistic jewel, there’s something special about the north wall in the dining hall that led to the building’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On the night of August 15, 1943, an Allied aerial strike partly destroyed the site — that north wall was one of the few left standing, having been protected since the start of World War II by sandbags and scaffolding.

Santa Maria delle Grazie Milan bombardamento del 1943

The north wall, protected by scaffolding
The wall in question after the bombing

Why is that wall so important?

Show Answer
The entire north wall of the refectory is home to the original fresco of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper.

[91]

In 2020, L&T bagged the construction contract for the project & given the significance decided to give its services for free. Tata Consulting Engineers was brought in for its project management services.
The overall project is estimated to cost Rs 1800 crore and is said to be built without the use of any steel or concrete.
Which project am I talking about?

Show Answer
Ram Mandir at Ayodhaya.
Here's an Article from ET behind the planning of the project.

[90]

X is:

-the name of author Ian Fleming’s Jamaican estate, now a major hotel and resort, located right next to the aptly named James Bond Beach,

-the name of the first James Bond film to not be based on any of Fleming’s James Bond novels, named after the estate,

-part of the name of the videogame based on the film, often regarded as one of the greatest videogames ever made.

Name X.

Show Answer
Goldeneye, which lent its name to 1995's GoldenEye, and 1997's GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64.

[89]

There is a trend of, technology reaching a larger audience faster. One way to measure this is to look at the time taken to reach 100 million users. Which service launched in 2023 broke all previous records & reached 100M users in just 5 days?

Rank Platform Launch Time to 100M Users
1 ? 2023 5 days
2 ChatGPT 2022 2 months
3 TikTok 2017 9 months
4 WeChat 2011 1 year, 2 months
5 Instagram 2010 2 years, 6 months

Show Answer
Threads. The app launched on the back of Instagram to complete with Twitter/X.
Here's a Cool Infographic on the journey of some of these technologies.

[88]

One of these is not like the others — which one, and why?

Record 22 and 20 inch Blackbuck Hunts - Once In A Lifetime Opportunity ...
Blackbuck
Arabian Oryx – 777 Ranch
Arabian oryx
R
Sitatunga
MG 5289
Mule deer
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Goitered gazelle
Wildebeest, Black – Taxidermy Quote
Wildebeest
Show Answer
The mule deer is the odd one out -- the others are all technically antelopes. While antelopes and deer are commonly confused with one another, they're actually very distant cousins. Antelopes also grow permanent horns, while deer grow and shed a new set of antlers each year.

[87]

X is a small town in Swiss Alps with a population of about 12,000 residents. The town is known for its skiing activities & great climate recommended by authors like RL Stevenson & Arthur Conan Doyle.
However, the town is more in the news for an annual event in which around 2700 people from various nations come & have discussions.
Identify the town.

Show Answer
Davos, the town where the World Economic Forum is organized.
Read more about The Event & Its History.

[86]

The Spanish city of Bilbao, on the Bay of Biscay, has two official languages – one is, quite obviously, Spanish. The other language, last of its kind, bears no relation whatsoever to Spanish or any other modern European language. What language is this?

Show Answer
Basque, the last surviving descendant of any Paleo-European language, spoken in parts of northern Spain and southwestern France

[85]

Decode the clues and connect them to a common theme:
Sesame + Jaggery
Capricorn Festival
A dish whose name means ‘to boil over’

Show Answer
Winter Harvest festivals in India
Lohri - is the amalgamation of two Punjabi words - 'Til' meaning sesame and 'Rorahi' meaning jaggery - 'Tilohri' over the years became Lohri.
Makar Sakranti - “Makar” refers to Capricorn, and “Sankranti” denotes the movement of the sun into a new celestial orbit.
Pongal - Pongal is also the name of the dish made and eaten during this festival. It is a mixture of boiled sweet rice. It is derived from the Tamil word pongu, which means “to boil over”.

[84]

What is the common thread here?

When pop went Desi - Seniors TodayStream Nazia Hassan - Disco Deewane (Tribal Mix) DJ Vipul by Vipul Pawar | Listen online for free on SoundCloudundefined

Show Answer
All three were produced by British Indian producer and composer Biddu Appaiah, who also engineered Nazia Hassan's meteoric rise to fame with Aap Jaisa Koi.

Fun fact: Biddu's production style inspired two of his session musicians to found the new wave band The Buggles, whose greatest hit was Video Killed The Radio Star -- which in turn "inspired" Bappi Lahiri to knock out Koi Yahaan Naache Naache from 1982's Disco Dancer.

Full circle.

[83]

Which sport are these 4 trophies connected to? Can you name all of them?trophies

Show Answer
There are the 4 Grand Slam trophies of tennis.
From top left in clockwise direction these are
Australian Open: Held annually in Melbourne, Australia, typically in January. It is played on hard courts.
French Open (Roland Garros): Held annually in Paris, France, usually from late May to early June. It is played on clay courts.
Wimbledon: Held annually in London, United Kingdom, typically in late June and early July. It is played on grass courts.
US Open: Held annually in New York City, United States, usually from late August to early September. It is played on hard courts.

[82]

1879 turned out to be a damn good year for chocolate, when chocolatier Rodolphe Lindt supposedly (possibly accidentally) left a chocolate mixer running over a weekend and came back to realize he’d created a chocolate that tasted far smoother and richer than ever before, owing to the cocoa butter mixing evenly over granules of cocoa.

What is this process called (and why’s it called that)?

Show Answer
Conching, so called because the rollers in the mixer (known as a conche) were initially shaped like conch shells

[81]

This company was originally called Yadi Electronics, named after the Yadi Road in Guangdong, China where it was started. Later, the character ‘Bi’ was added so that it can get an alphabetical listing advantage at trade shows.
The company today is a world leader in a category, which is set to disrupt a 100+ year old industry.
Identify the company.

Show Answer
BYD the EV company which recently posted higher global sales than Tesla.
Originally called Yadi Electronics, then BiYadi, the company has also back formed a slogan 'Build Your Dreams'.
Here's More about the company.

[79]

The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act introduced in 1998 increased copyright duration for works of corporate authorship to 95 years from publication or 120 years after creation, whichever end is earlier.
The law was seen as targeted step to by a corporation from letting one of their biggest characters from entering into the public domain. So much so that the law is sometimes referred to as _____    _____ Protection Act – named after the character.
In 2024, this character has finally entered public domain.
Name the character & the corporation behind it.

Show Answer
Mickey Mouse. The law was derisively called Mickey Mouse Protection Act.
However, do note that this applies only to the SteamBoat Willie Mickey Mouse which came out in 1928. The current version of Mickey used by Disney is still under protection.
Here's a good explainer on what's going on .

[78]

Myth has it that this article of clothing made from cotton, silk, or satin is traditionally never to be washed. Time and use turn the initially white fabric yellow, then brown, and finally black with dirt and sweat. These colors would represent the level of proficiency of the wearer.

In reality, this color categorization system is a fairly modern invention, and tradition has nothing to do with it.

What are we talking about?

Show Answer
The "belt" worn in Japanese martial arts, formally known as an obi

Read more about the myth

[77]

Arjan Singh Nalva, was the fourth son of Hari Singh Nalva, the Commander-in-Chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army. After his father’s death, Arjan Singh continued the legacy and fought against the Britishers in the second Anglo-Sikh War.
The actions of Arjan were immortalized in a Punjabi folklore song & was entered into mainstream media through an Indian movie released in 2023.
Identify the song.

Show Answer
Arjan Vailly from Animal.
The folklore hero was known to take on multiple enemies with his battleaxe (much like the depiction in the movie)
Here's the Full Story

[75]

When people of Braj stopped worshipping Lord Indra, they earned his wrath in the form of non-stop rains. Krishna then went on to protect the people by lifting Govardhan mountain for 7 days until the rains subsided.
When people realised that Krishna had not eaten in 7 days they prepared a special meal for him. This meal is part of the Janmashtami offering even today.
Identify the meal.

Show Answer
Chappan Bhog or 56 meals
Krishna used to have 8 meals a day, so he was offered 8*7 meals
Here's a kickass Hindi Wiki on the meal