Quiz, Trivia, Interesting Facts, not a newspaper from Dublin

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Answers - Through the Quizzing Glass

Answer to the third set of questions.

The title of all the quizzes on this blog including the name of the blog have some direct or oblique reference to the origin of quizzing as a word and a pastime. Have fun figuring these allusions.

The quizzing news in 2007 is upbeat. Apart from the comeback of KBC (which does its venal bit to boost quizzing in general), there is also the comeback of Navin Jayakumar as Quizmaster. The news is that he will be conducting both the Chennai and Bangalore Landmark quizzes in 2007. Pune can derive some satisfaction from the arrival of the Landmark quiz in the city - however it is a masala version of the original product (like a Hollywood remake of Solaris, Insomnia or Rashomon). Let us hope, Pune, Bombay and Calcutta can enjoy the original quiz with Navin, soon. Corporates have been taking up internal Quizzing to either improve employee morale (e.g. WIPRO in Feb'07) or to improve their brand image in B-Schools (UTI in Jan'07).

1) This domestic appliance was the first one to use plastic in its construction because of its use primarily by women and also because it had to be continuously lifted for use. What equipment?

A] Hair Dryer

2) Which chemical is named after the Latin for "island" because of its production in the endocrine cells of the pancreas which are distributed the way islands are distributed in a sea? See illustration.
A] Insulin produced in the Islet of Langerhans.

3) This place is Asia’s largest wholesale market. Built by a king for his favorite daughter in 1650 AD so that she could shop all she wanted to, this market place derives its name from the canals filled with water that sparkled like silver in the moonlight. What place in contemporary Asia is this?

A] CHANDNI CHOWK - built by Shah Jahan for Jahan Ara.

4) During the late 1960's, Boeing had proposed the building of a Concorde-style airplane. It never got built, but the name lives on today – how?

A] In the name of the team - Seattle Supersonics.

5) The idea originated through an American businessman named William Willett who wanted it primarily because he wanted to play golf in the evenings. It was briefly instituted during World War I as a way to conserve energy supplies but such was the antagonism to the idea that it was dumped and not revived till 1966. Now it is standard in much of Europe as well.

A] Daylight Saving or Summer Time. Incidentally, this year DST in USA is happening a few weeks earlier (to save energy) - leading to chaos across global IT systems.

6) The French thought that this bird came from India and called it the Chicken of India. The German, Dutch and the Swedes thought that these specifically originated from Calicut and called it Kalkoen/Kalkon. When the bird was introduced in England, where were they thought to have come from?

A] Turkey. Incidentally in Turkey they are called American Bird which is quite correct because they originated from North America.

7) This brand name was a synonym for Icebox since the 1820s. In 1918, a small company (owned byGeneral Motors from 1919 to 1979 and now by Electrolux) seized upon the idea of building cold storage device for consumers and became the largest producer of this equipment and a by-word for this category. Which company?

A] Frigidaire

8) This military term which was in news in India in late 2006 comes from the technical term for a hand grenade. What term?

A] The grenade is technically a fragmentation device. This was commonly used to kill other officers. Thus "to frag" is to kill a fellow officer.

9) The name of this oilseed was changed so that it does not offend any delicate sensibilities. In America it is now called Canola. What is it called in India?

A] Rape-Seed (from "rapa," latin for "turnip").

10) The legends of ancient Zoroastrians worshipping pillars of fire and nomads in Rajasthan creating fire for cooking with virtually nothing, is now explained by science as what phenomenon?

A] Natural Gas escaping through fissures in the rock.

2 comments:

wannabewodehouse said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Here are the answers (that I know and can readily offer) to some of the questions:

(1) Buckets???? (Just guessing)
(2) Insulin
(5) Daylight Saving Time
(6) Turkey
(7) Frigidaire
(9) Rapeseed
(10) Pyromancy????

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