17 Jul 2016

Quiz 15- 10 questions on moustache- Answers

The French military, the Prussian guard, and the Hussars sported the mustache in the early 19th century but in 1838 the king of Bavaria forbade the wearing of mustaches in his military.

1. What was  the coded-signal used by the French Resistance in WWII to mobilize their forces once the Allies had landed on the Normandy beaches. ?

Ans: "John has a long moustache"

2. In the so called good old days, in the district of Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka, only certain people were allowed to  grow a huge moustache called "galla meeshe" (A kind of handle bar moustache). If you had to were one what would you have to do?

Ans:Hunt down or kill a tiger.

3. There is a 1 in 4 chance that you will get this one right - In a pack of standard playing cards, which is the only king without a moustache?

Ans: King of Hearts.


4. What type of moustache are named after, A Mexican revolutionary hero who rose up against President Porfirio Díaz and enjoyed an enormous following because of his ideas regarding agrarian reform. He with  Pancho Villa, occupied Mexico City in 1914. and  was assassinated in 1919 by an agent of President Venustiano Carranza.?

Ans: Zapata ( a thick mustache that curves down around the edges of the mouth) Named for Emiliano Zapata , who wore such a mustache


Zapata in 1914.

5. Perhaps every Chinese villain in a Hollywood or a Bollywood movie has this moustache (or a stereotyped Oriental) . Many think that it is similar to the Horseshoe (Right one in the photograph) moustache, but it is not and is extremely difficult to grow one. Unlike the horseshoe, the hair is grown only from the upper lip and hangs down either side of the mouth—but the sides remain clean-shaven.  The stereotyping started  in a 1929 film starring Warner Oland and the moustache gets its name from the Villain in the movie who sported it. Either Name the move or the moustache.

Ans: Fu Manchu , from the movie 'The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu'.The 1965 Christoper Lee movie was  'The Face of Fu Manchu'

6.  " Moustache taken off , grown a beard " was one of the line in a message sent from the ship SS Montrose in 1910 and led to the arrest of Dr.Crippen while fleeing to Canada on board that ship. This is the first recorded case of an arrest because of what?

Ans: Wireless Telegraph. Wireless telegraphy was a new invention then and was being fitted on ships. The message was sent by the Captain of SS Montrose, who suspected that two of the passengers were murder suspects on the run. His suspicion turned out correct and led to the arrest of Dr. Crippen, who had killed his wife.

7. In which book does  Hercule Poirot the detective created by Agatha Christe shaves  off one of  his proudest possessions, his moustache in order to pretend as his brother Achille Poirot.?

Ans: The Big Four.

8. Think really hard and you should get this one- The word ' MOUSTACHE' originated in the  Late 16th century via French from Italian word 'mostaccio' which was ultimately derived from the Greek word ' mustax ' meaning “upper lip, moustache.” The Greek word had its origins in Indo-European base where its meaning was  “chew,”. Which English word meaning ' to chew' has a similar ancestor as Moustache ?

Ans: Masticate. ( Mid-17th century word . Via the past participle of Latin masticare from Greek mastikhan “to grind the teeth")

9. The only way to differentiate between these two twins is by their moustache. One  has a straight moustache while the others  is slightly twisted. which famous fictional twins?

Ans: Thompson and  Thomson of the Tintin comics fame ( Thompson has a straight moustache while Thomson's is slightly twisted)

There was a small error in this question. As Harman pointed out, Thompson and Thomson are not twins. They are unrelated to each other ! Apologies for the error , I have fired my proof reader and given points to all participants.


Thompson (left) and Thomson (right),

10. Identify the movie from its most memorable dialogue. 
"Munchhen hon to Natthulal jaisi, warna na hon" (Mostaches should be like Natthulal's or shouldn't be at all)

Ans: Sharaabi

1 comment:

  1. Scores in no particular order:
    Annie 23
    Harman Singh 10
    Rajiv 10
    Gouthami 4
    Anil Rodrigues 10
    Ancil 10
    Paul 5
    Raghunandan 4
    PM 3
    Ajey 7
    Anjali 7
    Sahil H R 5
    Balasubramanian 5

    ReplyDelete