Helen Keller was born on this day 135 years ago. This quiz is about overcoming odds.

1 Bruce Willis, Marilyn Monroe, Emily Blunt, James Stewart, Julia Roberts, Samuel L Jackson and Rowan Atkinson are celebrities who overcame this affliction. What was the affliction?

2 The 20th of 22 siblings, she contracted infantile polio and wore braces till she was nine. Eleven years later, she became the first woman to win three athletics gold medals in a single Olympics. Name this sportswoman.

3 Karoly Takacs was a well-known Hungarian shooter before World War II. He came into his own in the 1948 London Olympics winning two medals for rapid-fire pistol shooting. Why is his achievement considered unique?

4 On May 7, 1824, what did contralto Caroline Unger do at a premiere at the Theater am Karntnertor, Vienna, that made musical history?

5 This Hindi film is in the Guinness Book of World Records for taking the longest time to make. Two heroes and the director passed away before an incomplete version came out in 1986, 23 years after production began. Name the film and the director.

6 On September 12, 1897, 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikh regiment defended an army post against 10,000 hostile tribesmen before being overwhelmed. All 21 died, but their stand allowed reinforcements to reach the next fort, which held out. Name the battle or the modern-day country in which this stand took place.

7 In an ESPN documentary released in 2010, Alcides Ghiggia made this statement, “The ___________ has been silenced by three people, the Pope, Frank Sinatra and me.” Fill in the blank and tell us Ghiggia’s claim to fame.

8 At the US Open 1992, a 39-year-old former champion came back from two sets down, 3-0 and 0-40 down in the third to beat a player 100 ranks above him. Name the player who came back to win the match and also the opponent.

9 Published in 1974, this book is an American classic and has sold over five million copies. But it is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being rejected by 121 publishers before being printed by William Morrow & Co. Name the book.

10 Which billion dollar corporation was formed on the basis of a paper submitted in Yale in the late 1960s which the examiner found too impractical and gave a ‘C’?

Answers

1. They all stuttered

2. Wilma Rudolph, nicknamed ‘The Black Gazelle’ by Italians and ‘The Black Pearl’ by the French. She won the 100, 200 and 4x100 metres relay in the 1960 Rome Olympics

3. He was a right-handed shooter before the war. After his right hand was seriously injured in a grenade accident in 1938, he switched hands and won both medals as a left-handed shooter

4. She turned Beethoven so he could see the audience cheer and applaud. The ‘Ninth Symphony’ was being premiered and Beethoven was completely deaf at this point

5. Love and God, originally directed by K Asif. Guru Dutt and Sanjeev Kumar passed away and the film was released on the request of Asif’s widow, Akhtar

6. The Battle of Saragarhi, which is in Pakistan

7. Maracana, the stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where Uruguay shocked Brazil to win the World Cup in 1950. Ghiggia scored the winning goal

8. Jimmy Connors against Patrick McEnroe

9. Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

10. Fred Smith’s Federal Express

Joy Bhattacharjyais a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup

Follow Joy on Twitter @joybhattacharj

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW