Summer Mini-League 3, Question #5

A member of the classification Order Sirenia and now extinct, this animal and its fellow members of the order have often been mistaken by exhausted sailors to be mermaids. Sirenia, commonly sirenians, are also referred to by the common name sirens deriving from half bird, half woman creatures that tried to lure Odysseus of Greek mythology with sweet songs of love.

Later some authors confused Sirens with mermaids which eventually led to the scientific naming of Order Sirenia. These animals were imaged by the Early Europeans explorers as mermaids possibly due to their pectoral breasts, dexterous forelimbs and fish like tails. In 1493 when Columbus wrote of the mermaids he had seen in the Carribean, he commented they weren’t as lovely as he had expected.

Identify this now extinct animal.

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Summer Mini-League 3, Question #4

Sometime in 1982, a seemingly innocuous conversation occurred in the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Computer Science Department. Programmers logging long hours in the labs were frustrated by their long walks to the Coke machine, only to find it empty or, much worse, filled with warm soda.

You see, around the halls of CMU, caffeine wasn’t just a substance, it was a driving force. Something needed to be done about these errant trips to the machine.

Soon, conversation spun into action. The solution was the IP address: 128.2.209.43. Apparently, frustrated CMU programmers in search for cold soda created a concept and industry which is was valued at USD 384.70 billion in 2021.

What am I specifically talking about?

Summer Mini-League 3, Question #3

Sam Patch, a daredevil of times long gone made his name by jumping off a cliff near Niagara Falls in 1829. Having lived as a child mill worker, he would get an adrenaline rush by leaping off mill dams, a talent he later spun into public stunt shows. After gaining national fame for the Niagara leap, he made a jump off the Genesee Falls on one fated day : outrageously his final leap.

The unfortunate incident built on to legend and the day was remembered as one to be wary of. Many incidents have occurred on this day following the Patch incident but one notable tradition is in Ontario, Canada where a group of motorcyclists gather every time this day occurs for a rally dating back to 1881. They even made an attempt in 2008 to surpass the previous Guinness world record for the largest motorcycle parade which failed due to a technicality.

Identify the parlance for this fateful day.

Send your responses as comments to this question. Check the comments after 12 hours to see if you got it right!

The faster you answer, the more points you get! The next question of this mini-league goes up at 12 PM.

P.S. Make sure you have a WordPress account for commenting the answers.

Summer Mini-League 3, Question #2

This band consisted of a vocalist, drummer, guitarist and bassist, forming the perfect anatomy of a rock band. Their debut album received a negative review by the critics but was commercially a success.

The lead vocalist eventually started losing interest in the band and began considering opportunities to work with other musicians. The band was unravelling at an alarming rate and their album failed to reach top 50 in the US. While they were rehearsing for their next album, the lead vocalist decided to abruptly quit the band, mentioning that the last few albums were really depressing for him and he did those only for the sake of money and to get the records out.

He then set out to perform a solo project, but had a change of heart and rejoined the band in less than a year. The band had lost its chemistry and all the members started getting really drugged out, oftentimes stopping rehearsals because they were “too stoned” and unsynchronised. Their live performances were referred to as ‘tired and uninspired’. The entire band were abusing alcohol and various drugs, however their vocalist who had quit and rejoined, was “a totally different level altogether”. He lost interest and refused to sing, leading to him being fired by the guitarist.

The guitarist and vocalist, both reunited recently and released a single, 43 years after the vocalist was fired.

Identify the band. Brownie points for identifying the guitarist and vocalist.

Send your responses as comments to this question. Check the comments after 6 hours to see if you got it right!

The faster you answer, the more points you get! The next question of this mini-league goes up at 12 AM today!

P.S. Make sure you have a WordPress account for commenting the answers.

Summer Mini-League 3, Question #1

X is an American mathematician who made fundamental contribution to economics. As a student in Princeton, he refused to attend classes and derive from the work of others. He sought the recognition of coming up with his own original idea, and was of the opinion that attending classes that taught others’ works would only dull his mind.

Desperate to find an idea, X would trace the actions of pigeons fighting for bread and a bunch of other peculiar things. He wanted to come up with an equation such that, in a game, there could be a way such that both parties win.

X was working on proving a problem when, in 1956, he faced severe disappointment. He learnt that a proof had already been published just months before he could figure it out. It was speculated that if only one had solved the problem, he would have been given the Fields Medal for the proof.

In this situation, X found a solution he is known for till date. Who is X?

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And with this, we kickstart the Third and final Summer Mini-League! The league will consist of 5 questions over the weekend, which will follow the same schedule and marking scheme as the previous leagues. Your progress will be tracked on a leaderboard, and the winner will be rewarded with a prized Nutella jar!

The next question of the league, and the answer to this question will go up at 6 PM today, so answer quick!

Make a WordPress account and comment your answers on the question to participate in the league!

P.S. You can join this group to be notified whenever a new question is uploaded!

https://tinyurl.com/DonQuizoteSummerSeason