Does crime pay? Not sure, but quiz columns on crime pay. Get in touch with your dark side with this quiz:

1 For around four centuries the thuggees were one of the most dangerous criminal groups in Indian history, killing thousands every year. For what reason, grounded in mythology, did they almost always strangle their victims?

2 Till 1989, which cult film of the ’70s is believed to have ‘inspired’ 39 suicides? Further research has been actively discouraged so as not to create a cult around it.

3 Alphonse Capone was one of the most wanted gangsters in the US in the ’20s. Scarface Al committed almost every crime — murder, kidnapping, extortion, bootlegging, to mention just a few. But for what crime did the police finally manage to put him away for 11 years in 1931?

4 Which extremely famous ad line was inspired by a statement by condemned criminal Gary Gilmore, minutes before he was executed in 1977?

5 Which inventor was ironically also the greatest proponent of Alternating Current for use in electric chairs in the US at the turn of the 20{+t}{+h} century?

6 What was the police term for the scheme through which heroin was smuggled from Turkey to France and then to the US? The operation reached its peak in the late ’60s and early ’70s, when it provided the vast majority of the illicit heroin used in the US.

7 We all know what a 420 means in India. However, if you were doing a 420 in the US, what would you be doing?

8 The San Francisco Chronicle once published this television listing for which classic film: “transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again?”

9 ‘Are you in or out?’ is the tagline for which stylish 2001 crime caper featuring a stunning star cast?

10 According to Hussain Zaidi, chronicler of the Mumbai underworld, which term originated from a custom started by Bhim, the king of the Mahemi tribe, after whom the suburb of Mahim is named?

Answers

1 . They were devotees of Kali, and in her battle against the demon Raktabija, every drop of blood spilled by him created another demon. So the thuggees would try and kill without spilling blood. Interestingly, many of the thuggees captured by William Sleeman were Muslims.

2 . The Deer Hunter, which featured Robert De Niro

3 . Tax evasion; Capone had not paid taxes for many years.

4 . Nike’s ‘Just Do It’. Gilmore actually said, “Let’s do it”.

5 . Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of Direct Current, as he wanted people to believe Alternating Current was dangerous. Great inventor and a very devious man!

6 . The French Connection, from where the award-winning film got its name

7 . Smoking marijuana — nobody quite knows why. April 20 is celebrated as weed day in the US.

8 . The Wizard of Oz

9 . Ocean’s Eleven

10 . Supari. When Bhim wanted a difficult job done, he would invite his warriors for a feast, and a supari would be placed in the middle at the end of the meal. The warrior who picked up the supari would be entrusted with the job.

Joy Bhattacharjyais a quiz master, Director - Kolkata Knight Riders and author of Junior Premier League — The First XI

Follow Joy on Twitter >@joybhattacharj

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