History, mystery and angry birds

Participants at the annual Patton Argus Open Quiz at DI. (Bishwarup Dutta)

What: The Telegraph presents the 33rd Annual Patton Argus Open Quiz.

Where: Dalhousie Institute.

When: Saturday, November 19.

The participants: The best part of this 33-year-old quiz is that it’s open to all. On Saturday, school and college students matched wits with young professionals and young-at-heart grandpas, their teams sporting fun names like Hammer and Tongs, Last Action Heroes, Pataldanga Thundercloud and Perennial Peripherals.

The prelims: “Forty-five teams fought it out for the eight places in the finals,” explained Ram Mihir Sen, a founder-member of Argus, an association of “like-minded people” that has been organising the quiz since 1977. And even though Argus has a reputation for fielding questions favouring the “oldies”, the prelims packed in enough contemporary cool. For example: How would you know Jo Calderone’s alter ego better? Answer: Lady Gaga.

The finals: Right from the start, Hammer and Tongs took the lead with Pataldanga and Inmaniacs close on its heels. After a neck-and-neck fight, the eighth and final round saw Hammer and Tongs and Pataldanga on the same score, prompting a tie-breaker, which comprised three written questions. H&T beat Pataldanga 3-0.

The mood: It was a fun, relaxed quiz with sips of beer in between rounds. The smart questions and even smarter answers ensured many edge-of-the-seat moments, both among the quizzers and the audience.

The questions: Quizmaster Soumyadip Chowdhury covered everything from the Boer Wars to Angry Birds, Joss Stone to Eugene Delacroix.

In 1972 what brand was born after Roy Raymond was embarrassed while trying to buy a gift for his wife from a department store? Answer: Victoria’s Secret.

Why was Ian Fleming’s Vesper Lynd — played by Ursula Andress and Eva Green in the two versions of Casino Royale — named the way she was? Answer: Because it sounds like “West Berlin”.

What’s common to Parabeak, Kamikaze, Wood Breaker and Glass Jaw? Answer: Angry Birds.

Who was the first royal convert to Buddhism? This one had a few tricky close ones. The most obvious answer was “Ashoka” but one team threw up a googly — “Gautam Buddha”! Could Prince Siddhartha, who later became Buddha, be passed off as the first royal convert? The quizmaster decided differently. The correct answer? Ajatashatru.

Quizmaster’s voice: “It’s a quizmaster’s dream to hold a quiz that’s so close! I tried to keep a balance of questions so they didn’t lean too much towards us, old fogies,” smiled quizmaster Soumyadip.

Winner’s voice: “It was a good quiz. My favourite question was PD James’s Death Comes to Pemberley is a sequel to which literary classic?,” said Kinshuk Biswas, a member of winning team Hammer and Tongs.

Answer: Pride and Prejudice.

Sponsor speak: “Most people are moving away from mindsports. I think it’s important that we have more events like this so that everyone can challenge themselves mentally,” said Sanjay Budhia, MD, Patton Group.

Club speak: “DI has always been known as the home of quizzing and the Argus Quiz has been on for more than three decades! We’re happy to support it,” said Barry ’Brien, president, DI.

Malini Banerjee
If you were to ask one quiz question, what would it be? Tell t2@abp.in