It's All White! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aravind Adiga

'The White Tiger' was the debut novel authored by the Indian-Australian writer Aravind Adiga. It depicts the journey of the protagonist Balram Halwai, who is born into a poor family in rural India, and his struggles as he becomes an entrepreneur. The novel is set in the Indian cities of Delhi and Bangalore.

The contrast between the conditions of the upper class and the lower class in India is a key theme of the novel.

Answer: White Knight

A white knight investor may acquire a company mostly in two kinds of situations. Firstly, when another investor attempts a hostile takeover of the corporation, the board of directors can approach a white knight investor to launch a counterbid. Secondly, when a corporation is deep in debt, the white knight investor may acquire the corporation to turn it around and make it profitable.

The second type is more commonly executed, and an example of this second kind is JPMorgan acquiring Bear Stearns in 2008.

Answer: Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

The beluga whale is also sometimes referred to as the white whale. The beluga whale and the narwhal are the two members of the family Monodontidae. The beluga whale is found in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, and notably does not possess a dorsal fin. It uses biologically produced sonar radiations to find breathing holes in the ice above. Beluga whale calves are greyish in colour, turn dark grey or bluish grey at a month old, and gradually lose all their pigmentation as they progress.

Answer: Finland

The Finnish Civil War in 1918 was fought between the 'Whites' led by Pehr Evind Svinhufvund, and the 'Reds', who planned to found the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic. The Reds were backed by the Soviet Union, while the Whites were backed by the German Imperial Army. Svinhufvund was the chairman of the Senate of the Grand Duchy of Finland, composed of non-socialist parties.

The military under Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, gradually conquered the entire Finnish territory, and the Republic of Finland was founded as per the Finnish constitution drafted in 1919.

Answer: Cistercians

The Cistercians, officially Ordo Cisterciensis, or the Order of Cistercians, branched off from the Benedictines, who are known as the Black Monks, due to their black religious habits (clothing). Thus, the Cistercians also follow the book of precepts 'Rule of Saint Benedict', written by Benedict of Nursia.

The term 'Cistercian' comes from 'Cistercium', the Latin word for the village of Cīteaux in France. The Cistercians followed the 'Rule of Saint Benedict' more literally, with self-sufficiency and manual labour, especially agricultural labour, being key aspects of their lives.

Answer: Cricket

Cricket has three major formats - Test cricket, which is played over five days, ODI (One-day International), where each of the two teams faces 300 deliveries (50 overs) and is played over a day, and T20, where each of the two teams faces 120 deliveries (20 overs).

The test cricket format is the oldest in existence, and the kit consists of white (or creamy) trousers, shirt and a jumper. The 1992 ODI Cricket World Cup was the first ODI World Cup where players wore uniforms, even ODI used to have all-white uniforms before.

Answer: Meringue

There are different kinds of meringue, depending on method of preparation. French meringue is made by beating fine white sugar into beaten egg whites. Italian meringue uses boiling sugar syrup instead of fine white sugar. Swiss meringue is dense and glossy due to whisking the eggs to warm and cool the egg whites before. Sometimes, salt, flour or gelatin is added to the egg whites as a binding agent. Meringues are often flavoured using vanilla.

While preparing meringue, cooks try to denature the protein ovalbumin by beating the whites, to give good taste.

Answer: Sodium sulphide

Sodium chloride is the main constituent of common table salt. Sodium bicarbonate is the main constituent of baking powder. Sodium carbonate is the main constituent of washing powder. Sodium is in the leftmost column of the periodic table (alkali metals), and most of its salts are white.

However, sodium sulphide is an exception and is yellowish in colour, as the sulphur atoms themselves form bonds and form polysulphides. The colour exists because of this cluster of sulphur atoms. Sulphur itself is yellow in colour.

When in presence of any water or even moisture in air, sodium sulphide forms hydrogen sulphide gas, which has a pungent smell of rotten eggs.

Answer: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is affiliated to the Malikite branch of Sunni Islam. It was constructed from 1996 to 2007, and the total expenditure was over 500 million dollars. The mosque is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, erstwhile President of the UAE, under whom the project was launched.

The mosque covers an area of more than 12 hectares. The main axis of the mosque is aligned 11 degrees south of true west, so that it points in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The northeast minaret of the mosque hosts a library of Islamic texts on various topics.

Answer: candidate

Latin used to have two different words referring to white. Plain white was called 'albus', whence the word 'albino', referring to the medical condition, is derived from. The word 'candidus' referred to a bright dazzling white colour. In the Roman Ages, the colour white was a symbol of purity and chasteness. People who stood for elections in ancient Rome, by custom and tradition, used to wear bleached white togas (which themselves indicated citizenship) further brightened by chalk.

This was etymology of the Latin noun 'candidatus', whence the word 'candidate' came.

The verb 'candere' meant 'to glow'. The English words 'candid', 'candela', and 'candle' are all similarly related etymologically.