This week we look back at 2019. BL ink ’s year-end quiz!

The year gone by

1 In August, which 22-year-old Indian tennis player qualified for the main draw of the US Open and then took the first set off Roger Federer before going down in four sets?

2 Which Hindi fim released this year centres on a real-life personality who would sell papad in the evenings with his mother to supplement his income and became known after starting an entity in 1992 known as the Ramanujan School of Mathematics?

3 In December, Sanna Marin became the world’s youngest serving prime minister after being elected to lead the Social Democratic Party. Which country does she lead?

4 In September, Sahar Khodayari set herself on fire after being arrested for a specific reason. She passed away a week later, but her sacrifice made sure that a decades-old law was changed in Iran. What did she set herself on fire to protest?

5 In August, publication and sales of children’s books about the climate crisis reportedly doubled. Publishers attribute this to the ______ effect, named after a specific person. Name the person.

6 It was probably the most unforgettable World Cup cricket final ever. Which unfortunate New Zealand fielder’s throw ricocheted off Ben Stokes bat to the boundary probably changing the course of the match?

7The Testaments , released this year, is a novel which is a sequel to another story published in 1985. Name the original book and the author.

8 In March, India tested a specific weapon in an operation code named Mission Shakti. The successful test made India just the fourth country to have successfully tested such a weapon. What was Mission Shakti about?

9 In April, scientists working with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) stunned the world with the first specific image of something that was once regarded as a phenomenon that could never be captured. What was the image of?

10 Which two word phrase, originally used in a popular TikTok video, is the ‘word of the year’ in New Zealand and a rallying cry for fed up teenagers reacting to their parents? It is also a song produced by Jonathan Williams and a line of clothing.

Answers

1 Sumit Nagal

2 Super 30 , about Anand Kumar, the school from which more than 400 students have qualified the JEE. Kumar was played by Hrithik Roshan

3 Finland

4 Not allowing women in football stadiums. After a lot of international pressure, Iranian women are now allowed to attend football matches

5 The Greta Effect, after Greta Thunberg, the Scandinavian teenage climate change activist who is travelling around the world for her cause

6 Martin Guptil. The rule in question is now being reviewed

7The Handmaid’s Tale , Margaret Atwood

8 Testing an anti-satellite weapon. Only the US, Russia and China have successfully tested this technology

9 A Black Hole at the centre of the galaxy Messier 87

10 Ok Boomer, basically a reply by children to their Baby Boomer parents

BLINKJOY
 

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster;

Twitter: @ joybhattacharj

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