QC - 8

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Trivia
Q. The origin of X lies in the piece of cloth that labourers and farmers have worn since time immemorial to absorb perspiration and keep off the sun. This cloth gradually evolved into a decorative piece, called a cravat, which was worn around and knotted in the front by the Croatian mercenaries who served in the Army of King Louis XIV of France. Attracted by the dashing look that the Y gave to the wearers, the French aristocrats adopted the same. The industrial revolution created a need for a X that was easy to put on, comfortable and would last an entire working day. That is how the modern X was born. Name X.
A. Necktie(s).

Questions
1. Identify the person whose face has been greyed out. (Refer pic1)
A. Richard Branson

2. Name the brand of computers launched by AMD.
A. Business Class

3. What is the significance or rather, the newly discovered non-significance of this clipping? (Refer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2uIlRMj2T4)
A. These were the 1st words spoken by Thomas Alva Edison in the original phonograph. Recently, researchers have discovered that the oldest known recording was not that of Edison's, but that by a French inventor named Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville. The recording dates back to almost 17 years prior to Edison patenting the phonograph. To listen to the clipping, check this link - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89148959. Surely takes one to a different era!

4. Pepsico recently announced an acquisition in UK to compete with Coca-Cola's acquisition of Glaceau Vitamin Water. Which company/brand did Pepsico acquire?
A. V Water

5. Google MentalPlex, Google Gulp, Google Romance, Google TiSP, etc. We all know what these are. But there was one among the many which was the odd one out. What was it and what was different about it?
A. Google announced the launch of GMail on Apr 1, 2004, which was actually a genuine announcement and not an April Fool's joke as many thought.

6. Google : Orkut :: AOL : ?
A. Bebe. AOL recently purchased this social networking site.

7. Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. What is peculiar about the 5 words? No part points for giving the obvious fact.
A. Obvious fact - These are the names of the 5 mascots, which are Fuwa dolls, of the Beijing Olympics.
Peculiarity - When the first 5 syllables of each word are said together, the resulting phrase translates to 'Welcome to Beijing'.

8. William Wrigley Co. has been bought over by which company with the help from Warren Buffet?
A. Mars

9. Connect the 3 ‘laws’ –
a. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
b. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
c. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
A. Arthur C. Clarke. These are the 3 laws of prediction as formulated by him.

10. To end on a ‘lighter’ note, name the world’s largest privately-held spirits company.
A. Bacardi

Bonus Question
Q. This word was introduced in 1923 by a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport, London. It is derived from the French venez m’aider and seemed appropriate at that time, since much of the air traffic was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris. What is the word?
A. Mayday. 'Venez M'aider' means 'come to my aid'.

QC - 7

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Trivia

Q. The word X is derived from the Arabic word al-kuhl. 'kuhl' is the name given to the very fine powder produced by the sublimation of the natural mineral stibnite to form antimony sulfide which was used as an antiseptic and eyeliner. X was introduced to European terminology in the 12th century and over the years the word came to refer to any fluid obtained by distillation. X was restricted to mean 'spirit of wine' in the 18th century. X?

A. Alcohol. The ‘kuhl’ or ‘kohl’, as the eyeliner is known in English, thus becomes a root for ‘Alcohol’.

Questions

1. X has rolled out its maiden retail venture 'newu', which is its wholly owned subsidiary. It plans to add 30 'newu' stores by 2008-09. Name X.

A. Dabur India

2. ‘We’re Greenpeace, and we want a fresh green _________. Right now, poison ________ full of chemicals (like toxic flame retardants, and polyvinyl chloride) are being sold worldwide. When they’re tossed, they usually end up at the fingertips of children in China, India and other developing-world countries. They dismantle them for parts, and are exposed to a dangerous toxic cocktail that threatens their health and the environment.’ Fill up the blank. (Both blanks are same)

A. Apple(s). This was a campaign launched by Greenpeace to force Apple to go the green-way. Greenpeace ranked Apple last out of 10 electronic companies in dealing with toxic substances in their products, mostly due to lack of relevant documentation and timelines. In reply, Steve Jobs released an open letter named 'A Greener Apple', responding to some of the allegations. The MacBook Pro product line was updated in June 2007 and Greenpeace has stated that the greener MacBook Air is a step in the right direction.

3. Identify the logo. (Refer pic1)

A. One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

4. X is the lingerie brand from Sri Lanka-based MAS Holdings. MAS Holdings is the first Sri Lankan company to enter the Indian lingerie retail sector with its own brand name. X means lover in Italian. What is X?

A. Amante

5. This bank has launched 'Hello Money' — a service that enables some banking transactions using the mobile phone. Which bank?

A. Barclays Bank

6. Connect the 3 pics – (Refer pic2, pic3, pic4)

A. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

- 1st pic - This is the cover of the charity album 'No One's Gonna Change Our World' in which the song 'Across the Universe' was released. This song was beamed into space on the day the Maharishi passed away.

- 2nd pic - He was featured on the Oct 1975 issue of the Time Magazine.

- 3rd pic - This is the logo of the Art Of Living Foundation which was founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who was a former student of the Maharishi.

7. X provides satirically themed articles as a parody to Y. Its logo, a hollowed potato named Sophia, is a spoof of Y’s logo. X’s stated goal is ‘to provide the world’s misinformation in the least redeeming and most searingly sarcastic and humourous way possible, through satire”. It has developed two rules for users to base their writings on: ‘Be funny and not just stupid’ and ‘Don’t be a d***’. Y’s system of reviewing, called ‘Peer Review’, is parodied in X and is called the ‘Pee Review’. In Jan 2008, the Malaysian Internal Security Ministry issued a directive alerting newspaper editors not to trust X. Name X and Y.

A. X - Uncyclopaedia, Y - Wikipedia (Logo shown above)

8. A appeared as herself in B’s maiden directorial venture. She is the sister of a certain Vasanth Kumar Shivshankar Padukone, who was later renamed to C. A’s daughter, D, is a reputed film director and is known for her woman-oriented films. C had got a job of a telephone operator at a Lever Brothers factory in Kolkata but soon he left it and moved to Mumbai. If he had not done so, the Indian film industry would have lost a brilliant film-maker. Name A, B, C and D.

A. A - Lalita Lajmi, B - Aamir Khan, C - Guru Dutt, D - Kalpana Lajmi

9. Easy Connect – Environmental Pollution, Genetic manipulation, Accumulating excessive wealth, Inflicting poverty, Drug trafficking and consumption, Morally debatable experiments, Violation of Fundamental Rights of human nature.

A. These are the new 7 deadly sins as announced by the Vatican

10. X Group launched a new consumer PC brand 'Idea', which includes IdeaPad notebooks and IdeaCentre Desktops. The Company plans to roll-out its marketing campaign called 'Ideas Everywhere', featuring its brand ambassadors Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan, in April this year. Which group?

A. Lenovo

Bonus Question

Q. In an Organoleptic Test, a solution of X extract is diluted with sugar water until the Y is no longer detectable. The solution is tasted by a panel of tasters and the degree of dilution gives it measure on the Scoville scale. The Bhut Jolokia from North-East India has recorded the highest value of about 1 million on this scale. The Y is now measured by a process called the High Performance Liquid Chromatography. What are X and Y?

A. X - pepper/chilli, Y - heat/hotness. The degree of heat of any pepper/chilli is measured in Scoville Heat Unit, named after that scientist Wilbur Scoville.