Jaldi Quizzing

Hi All,

Its answer time and this time once again, answers poured in from all corners.

Three people came out on tops beating most of the others buy a solitary point. It was Question 4 which proved to be the decider.

Aravind Ghosh Suri, Vaibhav Jain and Anshuman Das had the answer and therefore win the quiz with an all correct response.

Congratulations to them and hope the Jaldi quizzing tribe continues to grow.

As always, keep your suggestions, comments and responses flowing at aniruddhadutta@gmail.com.

Questions:

1. The author of the following books - "Every Second Counts" and "It's not About the Bike : My Journey Back to Life" was in the news recently. Name him.

Ans: Lance Armstrong.

2. Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam are well-known philanthropists who founded the Omidyar Network. They promote what has come to be called "venture philanthropy", in which foundations are expected to achieve quick results and financial independence. However, Pierre is famous for other reasons too. What is his claim to fame ?

Ans: He founded the auction site E-Bay.

3. In 1935, the then Governor of the US State of Kentucky,Ruby Laffoon made this gentleman born in Henryville, Indiana an honorary Colonel. The Colonel's exploits included not only at the battlefront but elsewhere too. Name him.

Ans: Colonel Harland Sanders of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).

4. Wipro, Infosys, Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto, Ranbaxy, German Remedies and Cadilla Health are among the 40 odd companies whose debt does not exceed 33 per cent of the company's market capitalisation and their receivables stay below 45 per cent of the company's total assets. How does this make them unique in the financial markets in terms of investments ?

Ans: They are companies who comply with the Islamic Investment Laws and have broken into the club of the Islamic Equity Fund. They have been considered Shariah compliant by the Islamic fund management company, Parsoli Corporation Ltd.

5. It has happened regularly since 1919 at the NM Rothschild offices at St.Swithin's Lane, London twice each weekday at 10:30am and at 3pm. What are we talking about?

Ans: The world gold and silver prices are determined at these times everyday.

For the Archives:

In less than 8 months, two places , which have played an important role in my little under than three decades of existence, have bore the brunt of nature's wrath. In both cases, among the people who bore the brunt were people I knew, grew up with, went to school or work.

After the killer Tsunami that rocked the Andamans, the place I spent 17 years of my early life, last week saw metropolis Mumbai, the place where I started earning my bread and butter ,coming under torrential downpour.

944 mm would soon find its way to the Record books but what wont be seen or taken into account is the courage and resilience that the people displayed.

In blogdom, be sure to check out CloudBurstMumbai which is as comprehensive a source for the situation back home in Mumbai. Also worth visiting is MumbaiHelp.

Elsewhere, Team India under Chappell and Dravid started season 2005-06 in Sri Lanka. The team may have a new coach and captain but the symptoms it developed last season do not seem to have healed.

On the personal front, with my team in Mumbai, still coping with the Monsoons, it was left to us here to double for them as well. 15-16 hours of workload throughout the week has left me with very little time to do anything else but take the much needed sleep over the weekend.

So its a dry quiz of 5 questions this time. Audio and Visuals would hopefully be back next week.

And before I wind up, the blog recorded its 10,000th visitor last week. Was reminded of Gavaskar taking his 10,000th run in Ahmedabad off Ejaz Fakih. A big Thank you to all who made it possible.

# posted by Jaldiquizzer @ 11:06 PM 3 comments

Hi All,

Time to come out with the answers. And this time, we have a four way tie for the top spot.

As we move on, we have new enthusiasts joining in. Hope to have all of you in the regulars list in the days to come.

Aditya Pethe, Amresh Kumar , Sampreeth Kumar and Shovon Chakraborty share the top honours for the round with an identical score of 8.

As always keep your responses and suggestions flowing at aniruddhadutta@gmail.com.

Questions:

1. Officially titled the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002, it was signed into law on July 30, 2002 . It was designed to review the dated legislative audit requirements, and is considered the most significant change to federal securities laws in the United States since the New Deal in the 1930s. How do we popularly know it as ?

Ans: Sarbanes Oxley Act.

2. Cushrow Russy was his first name. How did we better know him as ?

Ans: CR Irani of The Statesman who passed away recently.

3. What is the claim to fame of the company InfoEdge India Pvt. Limited ?

Ans: It runs the portal naukri.com.

4. It was first published in New York in the late 1970s by the specialist puzzle publisher Dell Magazines in its magazine Math Puzzles and Logic Problems, under the title Number Place.The puzzle was introduced in Japan by Nikoli in the paper Monthly Nikolist. Currently, the New York Post and USA Today also publish the puzzle. How do we better know this puzzle ?

Ans: Sudoku.

5. Also referred to as the "hathiwala cream", it is the flagship brand of GD Pharmaceuticals Ltd. On 15th August 1947, it was distributed free to anyone who asked for it during the day from two of its outlets. Name the product.

Ans: Boroline.

6. Visual Questions:

6.1 This was the company's logo prior to its merger in 1998. Identify the company.

Ans: Price WaterHouse prior to its merger withLybrands and Coopers.

6.2 This person's invention is credited for bringing in the era of skyscrapers. Identify him.

Ans: Elisha Graves Otis.

6.3 With which brand would you associate this company.

Ans: They manufacture the Aamar PC / Apna PC / Aamchi PC / Namma PC brand of computers.

7. Audio Questions:

7.1 Identify the singer (Clue: she is however famous for other reasons.)

Ans: Satyajit Ray (from the documentary : Tagore).

For the Archives:

Another round of blasts and this time Egypt bore the brunt. With terror creeping in, closer home, the New York Penn Station was evacuated earlier in the day on account of a bomb scare.
But we all live to tell our tales. However, for 27 year old Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian born electrician, that was not to be. Five shots in the back of the head and he was a man wrongly gunned down. All that his near and dear ones got were words of regret.

On the technical front, Windows' Longhorn will now be known as "Vista". For trivia sake, XP was earlier codenamed "Whistler".

In other happenings, blogdom till a few weeks back was up in arms against Parnab Mukherjee. And guess who rose in defence !! Someone who has borrowed all but the first letter of his name. The Great Bong, who has got me addicted to his blog for sure, defends all accusations in a way, only he can. Read it here. If you always believed that Laughter was the Best Medicine, this is where you should head to.

# posted by Jaldiquizzer @ 9:04 PM 1 comments

Hi All,

Its time to give out the answers yet again. Lots of new faces this time. Not to take away any credit from the enthusiasm of the regulars which has shown no signs of dying down.

We have a new winner. Amresh Kumar recorded a perfect 10 closely followed by Kiran Kumar Bakka.

Regulars Anukriti Pandey and Sanjeev Mittal were not far behind.

As always keep your responses and suggestions flowing at aniruddhadutta@gmail.com

Answers follow the question yet again. Let me know if you guys require a change in the format in which the answers are given out.

Now the Answers:

1. This annual event was started as a publicity event for the newspaper L'Auto (presently known as the L'Equipe) by its editor and co-founder, Henri Desgrange alongwith jouranlist Géo Lefèvre to rival another event sponsored by a rival journal. The event proved a great success for the newspaper and circulation leapt from 25,000 before to 65,000 after it. The event continues even today and is organised by the Amaury Organisation (ASO), which is a part of the media group that owns l'Équipe. Which event is being talked about ?

Ans: Tour De' France.

2. As a part of a US $100 million agreement, German company Lufthansa Technik is installing a product called Rockwell Collins’ Tailwind 560 on board Qatar Airways' fleet of 15 A330s. What would this result in for the passengers flying Qatar Airways ?

Ans: Lufthansa Technik will install Rockwell Collins’ Tailwind 560 product for onboard live satellite television on the airline’s fleet of 15 A330s. Passengers will be able to watch live TV from selected networks, further enhancing their inflight entertainment options.

3. Why were Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company Ltd. of England in the news recently in India ?

Ans: They were the ones involved in the construction of the Howrah Bridge. The Bridge was in the news recently when it suffered damages recently after being hit by a barge.

4. The current top of the line models for this sports gear is the Firebolt. Other models include Nimbus 2001, Cleansweep 7s and Nimbus 2000. Which sport are we talking about ?

Ans: They are brands of Brooms. The Game: Quidditch.

5. It was originally a call used in British Army camps to signal the end of the day. Its name derives from the practice of inspecting all the sentry posts around such a camp at the end of the day, and playing a bugle call at each of them. This custom dates from at least the 17th century, and originated with British troops stationed in the Netherlands where it drew on an older Dutch custom, called 'Taptoe'. How do we better know this custom today ?

Ans: The Last Post.

6. Visual Questions:

6.1 This European Bank was set up as a federation of local credit unions primarily for farmers. It also is involved in sponsoring major sports events and even sponsors a professional road cycling team. It also has a presence in India. Identify the bank from its logo.

Ans: Rabobank.

6.2 Identify this logo of a publishing company which is in the news.

Ans: Bloomsbury , publishers of Harry Potter in the UK.

6.3 This South African is in the news more in India than in his native country. Identify him.

Ans: Albie Sachs who will hear Sourav Ganguly's appeal against the ban.

7. Audio Questions:

7.1 This Kannada song set to music by Ilayaraja is said to be the inspiration for a very well known Ad jingle. Identify the Advertisement.

Ans: Fauja Singh. The grand old man of Marathons.

Audio Courtesy: www.historytalking.com , www.itwofs.com

For the Archives:

The week gone by has been quite an eventful one. While it opened up new challenges at the work front (leading to extra long hours on some days) to something quite refreshing and encouraging on the blog front as well.

The blog reported 100 plus hits on three consecutive days during the week. The number of people linking up to the blog grew and offers to post quizzes elsewhere also came by.

Technorati reports of this blog finding a mention in the Mumbai edition of The Times Of India (Mousetrap section) on the 17th of July,2005. Yours truly searched up the e-Paper but could not locate it. Here is the link that Technorati has fetched for me. If someone among you could officially verify it, that would be good.

The list of quiz blogs and the enlightening on a certain individual also drew people to narrate their personal experiences.

Its time to move on and for the first time this week, the quiz features "Audio" questions in addition to the Visual ones.

Well this week saw HT entering the doorsteps of Mumbaikars with juicy news from Bollywood. I guess some producer must be on his way to registering the title "Maine Phone Kyun Kiya".
Potter Mania overshowed the gloom that had engulfed 7/7 and kids flocked round the world to grab the latest offering from Ms. Rowling.

Ownership of the Taj Mahal and Leadership of the BJP were other issues to hog headlines in India.

Much as we engross ourselves in Politics and Potter, read along the achievements of 9 year old Arfa Karim Randhawa from Pakistan here.

# posted by Jaldiquizzer @ 8:36 PM 6 comments

Hi All,

Its time to come out with the answers. Once again, responses flew in from far and near.

And once again, it was the enthusiasm to which I bow. All I can write is to keep up the interest and I would try to bring in my trivial pursuits to your screens (computer screens as of now) periodically.

High fliers with a score of 7 were Chandra Sekhar Sasrula and Rakesh Taklikar.

Seasoned quizzer from Hyderabad Aravind Ghosh Suri wasn't far behind.

So here go the answers.

Answers:

1. In London, they are referred to as "one-unders". In New York, they are known as "track pizzas". Who are we talking about ?

Ans: People who commit suicide by coming under the underground trains.

2. This Arabic word means 'guaranteeing each other' or joint guarantee. LIC's new international joint venture company - Indo-Saudi Insurance Company will be the first to introduce it in India. It can also be described as cooperative insurance where policyholders contribute a certain amount of money to a common pool. Each member pays his subscription (premium) to help those that need assistance. What are we talking about ?

Ans: Takaful.

3. Easy one. 7th July, 2005 in Headingley - Umpire Rudi Koertzen makes a "T" signal. What follows ?

Ans: The first super substitution in One Day Cricket. Vikram Solanki walking in for Simon Jones.

4. C-Sam Inc. offers a suite of secure web-based services that enables users to execute transactions in the real as well virtual worlds using mobile phones and PCs. Which famous Indian is associated with this venture ?

Ans: Sam Pitroda.

5. David Bonderman, James G. Coulter and William S. Price, III founded this firm in 1993 with offices in San Francisco, Washington, New York, Fort Worth, and London. It has significant investments in many important brand-name companies including Burger King, Seagate, J.Crew, Bally, and Ducati. This company hogged the headlines last week on account of an Indian partner. Name the company and the Indian partner.

Ans: The Texas Pacific Group / Vivek Paul who recently quit Wipro.

Visual Questions:

6.1 Dont ask me the names of these ladies. But tell me the name of their Indian counterpart ?

Ans: Malaika Arora. The ladies can be found on the Yahoo Mail home pages.

6.2 An alumnus of the London International College of Business and Technology, has been in the news for his "exploits" elsewhere. Who is he ?

Ans: Junaid Miandad who is set to marry Mahrukh - Dawood Ibrahim's daughter.

6.3 From the world of sports, identify this once world beater in the news again.

Ans: British long distance legend Sebastian Coe.

For the Archives:

Well, the responses to the last weeks quiz was stupendous. Responses flew in from all corners of India and a few from closer New York as well.

Most of the responses I receive are from students mostly pursuing their Engineering or their Masters and sometimes responses come in from 15 and 16 year olds too.

When I was that old , how much did I know !!

But times surely have changed. Was going through blogdom and chanced upon this article on Today's kids.

Also, have been hunting for Blogs that feature quizzes or have posts related to quizzing on a periodic basis. Visitors and fellow Jaldi Quizzers may help me with more.

1. Notes and Stones - From and for the Quizzing fraternity in Pune.

2. IT Mavens - Dig into the archives and you would find some good IT quizzes.

3. Audit Trails of Self - Aaman Lamba's blog features some very good quizzes.

4. Quiz Chakra - from Shovon Chakraborty (again dig into Archives).

5. Bhrigu's Question - No quizzes but Interesting posts from the Quizman.

6. Gautam Ghosh's Quizzes - Not a Blog but Weekly Quizzes nevertheless.

Roaming through the corridors of Blogdom led me to these posts on Quizmaster Parnab Mukherjee. Read this and this and also go through this.

Held high regards for the man before going through the above !!

Anyway, the world over it was 7/7 which hogged the headlines. The London attacks have become another pointer to the world that we live in.

# posted by Jaldiquizzer @ 7:00 PM 4 comments

Hi All,

When I had replied with the scores for Round 18, this person who missed maxing the quiz by a point, wrote back saying:

"Damn! Couldn't max it again this time! Ok never mind. Round 19 may be."

And now, Anukriti Pandey from Delhi can offer herself a small jig. She indeed has maxed Round 19.

Its such enthusiasm that comes around in most of the replies that I receive and it really is a humbling experience.

Congratulations are also due to Aishwarya Varma, Himanshu Gandhi and Jaldi quiz veteran Rakesh Taklikar.

Its answer time and here they are:

Answers:

1. The new World Trade Center (WTC) design was unveiled last week. "The Freedom Tower", designed by architects David Childs and Daniel Libeskind, will retain the height of the earlier towers - 1776 feet symbolising the year of America's independence. The construction should get over by 2009.

The Question however is - What is the name of the memorial that is going to be built to honour the victims of 9/11 ?

Ans: Reflecting Absence.

2. How do we better know " Lateral epicondylitis" ?

Ans: Tennis Elbow.

3. Other than Mahesh Bhupathi, there was another person of Indian origin - Jayant Mistry who won a title at the Wimbledon this year. Incidentally he is a leading player in his category. Which event did he win ?

Ans: Wheelchair Tennis.

4. Which political leader jailed during the Emergency chose to name his daughter after the Maintenance of Internal Security Act that he was booked under ?

Ans: Laloo Prasad Yadav (The daughter's name: Misa)

5. What 2943 square-yard plot formerly occupied by Air Force Stables in South Mumbai was leased to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for 999 years at a nominal annual rent of Rs 1 ?

Ans: Metro Cinema.

Do you know -

In Sport, what is "Ban Qiu" in Chinese ?

Ans: Cricket.

6. Visual Questions:

6.1 Identify this gentleman, a pioneer in his field, who died recently.

Ans: Jack Kilby, the Nobel laureate who gave us microchips and the calculator.

6.2 Identify this logo of an organisation always in the news.



Ans: OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries).

6.3 Easy One. Two Car Brands.Identify them.



Ans: Infiniti and Acura. (Rakesh Taklikar adds - Infiniti is the luxury brand of Nissan and Acura is the luxury brand of Honda).

For the Archives:

Its Independence Day weekend here and in a few hours of writing this post, it would be fireworks time in New York.

Macys has been bringing the spectacular fireworks display for over a quarter of a century and yours truly has had the good fortune of viewing it on a couple of occassions.

In other places round the world, after Pistol Pete, its Federer who has made Wimbledon a part of his own backyard. Venus Williams, when all thought that the Russian Revolution had eclipsed the Williams Rule, laid her hands on the trophy that bears her name.

Also noteworthy is Salil Oberoi's performance. The 21-year-old Rhodes scholar who has played first-class cricket for Delhi, broke a 74-year-old record when he made 247 for Oxford University against Cambridge at Fenner's.

In the process he surpassed the Nawab of Pataudi Snr's 238 not out in 1931, the previous-highest in a Varsity match. Read about his exploits here.

On the silver screen, when War of the Worlds rages in Hollywood, its RGV with (AB) sqaured who Sarkar the territory in Bolly land.

On a sad note, Gujarat again bears the brunt - After the earthquake and the Godhra mayhem, it is the fury of the floods.

In trivial news, our most "loved" quizmaster, Derek O Brien missed out on the Rajya Sabha ticket Mamata Banerjee wanted to give him. The party has now nominated "Mohun Bagan" and "Sambad Pratidin" 's Swapan Sadhan (Tutu) Bose. O'Brien would have to be content handling Didi's mouthpiece - Jaago Bangla.

# posted by Jaldiquizzer @ 3:47 PM 1 comments