Holiday Homework?

Hey all.I hope you all are having a nice time.
I was just skimming through last year's Mastermind Non comp..and there were some questions I didnt know the answer to.So I thought its a nice oppurtunity to publish a long overdue post.

1)The film 'west side story; tell the story of west side of what?

2)Heres a funny one,if your guesses matches the work of most Indian archaelogists,then you might just get points for answering where the earliest earthquake in the Indian subcontinent took place?
a.Mohenjodaro b.Lothal c. Dholavira d. Kalibangan
(Directly quoted from the quiz)

3)In the early 18th century in Meena Bazaar, Lahore a dwarf was assigned the responsibility of opening all the shops in the market. What practice originates from this convention?

4) What takes its name from a ridge (meaning 'the ridge of white waters' in Afrikaans) upon which Johannesburg is built- also the source of 40% of gold ever mined?

5)Which was the first Hindi serial to be made in South India?


6)It is a common misconception in America that when X ran for Vice-President,he got only 110 votes.However,he actually got 110 delegates(who were about 360 in number at that time),which is quiet good considering that he had been an unknown Illinois Senator before the elections.X went on to become President in the next elections.

7)X and his father were helpless when the powerful clan Y asked his sister's hand in marriage for their eldest son. They couldn't refuse.X vowed vengeance on the clan.On his father's death,he fashioned his "weapon" out of his father's thighs.He then used this "weapon",which supposedly would do as he bid, to fashion the destruction of Y.Give X and his "weapon".

8)Which famous building was built during WWII to save structural steel?

9)Connect :

a) The _____________ is an international award for study at the University of Oxford and was the first large scale programme of International scholarships.Winners may study any full time post-grad courses offered by the University-whether a taught master's programme,research degree or a second undergrad degree(Senior status)

b) Debeers


P.S: Please mention whether you're taking a guess or whether you're pretty sure of the answer.