2. •On a Tuesday in April
1973, Dr Joel S Engel, the
head of Bell Labs
received a call at work.
He thus became the
world’s first recipient of
what?
Q
3. •World’s 1st Cell Phone
call.
•The caller was Dr.
Martin Cooper of
Motorola
A
4. •In Oct 2016, Air India made some changes to its
Delhi – San Francisco flight which helped it
•Reduce flying time by 2 hours (14h30m)
•Save 13 tons of fuel
•This also led to it creating a couple of ‘world
records’.
•What was the change effected? What record(s)
was broken / set?
Q
5. •Polar route – 13959 km –
16h 44m
•Pacific route – 15142 km
– 14h 30m
• Longest was 16,421 km on
one of the days.
•Return – Polar – 12395
km – 14h 59m
•Emirates to Auckland –
14200 km – 17h 15m
•Singapore Airlines (2004-
2013) – to Newark –
16600 km – 18h 50m
• It switched from the Polar /
Atlantic route to the Trans-
Pacific.
• i.e. Flew east instead of north-
west.
• Was able to utilize the tailwinds
from jetstreams to fly faster.
• Broke the world record for
longest non-stop flight by
covering a distance of 15140
km.
• Previously held by Emirates on
the Dubai – Auckland route.
• Other record is fastest round-
the-world commercial flight.
A
6. •NaOCl + H2O2 => NaCl + H2O + O2
•The above was offered as the final
official explanation for what minor
goof-up of 2016?
Q
7. A
Why the water in the Rio diving pool turned green.
Hydrogen Peroxide neutralized the Sodium Hypochlorite (Bleach).
8. •Casey Martin suffered from an ailment that made it
painful to walk. His request for movement support was
denied citing rules.
• This led him to sue, and the U.S. Supreme court eventually
ruled in his favour 7-2 on grounds that walking is not an
essential aspect of this activity, it happened on ‘public
accommodations’, and that it did not give him an advantage.
•One of the 2 dissenters was the late judge Antonin
Scalia, whose essay ‘What is ______?’ is often cited as
a classic by conservatives.
•Who did Martin sue? Or What was the title of Justice
Scalia’s dissent note?
Q
9. •What is Golf?
•Martin had sued the PGA to allow him to use a golf cart
to move from hole to hole.
• under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires
"public accommodations" to make "reasonable
modifications" in order to allow disabled customers to use
them—unless such modifications "would fundamentally alter
the nature of such...accommodations.“
•Scalia’s dissent quoted Mark Twain (Golf is a good walk
spoilt), Kafka, Alice in Wonderland (made-up rules),
and concluded with Kurt Vonnegut (Harrison Bergeron
- The year was 2001, and everyone was equal).
A
10. •According to mathematical research, and later a book,
by Thomas Fink & Yong Mao of Cambridge University,
there are 85 ways to do this.
• In the book, the authors demonstrate that the steps in the
activity are equivalent to persistent random walks on a
triangular lattice, with some constraints on how the walks
begin and end.
•If you impose conditions of symmetry and balance, the
85 comes down to 13 aesthetic options.
• Many of these varieties are named after people who
popularized them. A common version that is not named in
such fashion is the four-in-hand.
•What?
Q
11. Name Self-releasing Symmetric
Small knot No Yes
Four-in-hand Yes No
Kelvin No Yes
Nicky (self-
releasing Pratt)
Yes No
Victoria Yes No
Half-Windsor No Yes
St Andrew Yes No
Plattsburgh No Yes
Cavendish No Yes
Windsor Yes Yes
Grantchester Yes No
Hanover No Yes
Balthus Yes No
A
14. •Rotavirus (discovered in 1973) is the most
common cause of diarrhoeal disease
among infants, and was once estimated to
kill more than ½ a million children under
the age of 5, annually.
•A newspaper article on this, sometime in
the mid-90s, led to the inception of what,
that is now the largest of its kind in the
world?
Q
15. •The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• The largest philanthropic organization in the world ~
$44B.
• Largest (Transparent) Private Foundation.
• Triggered by Bill Gates reading an article about this and
thinking,
• “That can’t be right. I read the news all the time. I read about plane
crashes and freak accidents. Where is the news about these half-million
kids dying?”
• Played a key role in setting up the GAVI (Global Alliance
for Vaccines & Immunization) alliance in 2000.
• Has been referred to as the biggest success story in Global Health.
A
16. • The Trivection Oven which
combines heat, convection and
microwave for customized cooking
was invented in consultation with
TV chef Alton Brown. According to
the inventors, GE, this cooks food 5
times faster than a traditional
oven.
• Which fictional character claimed
to have invented this, while at GE,
after years of market research, and
considered it his/her greatest
triumph?
Q
20. What connects the 3? FITB for the 1st name as well. Exhaustive list.
Captain Robert Byerley
1660 – 1714
Goldsborough Hall
MP of County Durham &
Knaresborough
Thomas Darley
1664 – 1730
Her Majesty’s Consul
Earl Francis ____
1678 – 1766
Aka Viscount Rialton
British politician
Q
21. •Ancestor of all modern
race thoroughbred
stallions
•Godolphin Arabian
• Foaled 1724 in Yemen – D 1753
• Seabiscuit, Man O’War, War
Admiral
•Darley Arabian
• Bought in 1704 in Aleppo
• 95% of all modern race-horses in UK
• Prince Bishop – Winner of Dubai
World Cup 2015
•Byerley Turk
• European racehorses
A
22. •The surroundings are usually maintained at
a temperature of around 15-20°C, which is
the ideal for the players. However a key
object in this sport performs optimally,
closer to 45°C. Hence it is heated prior to
use, at least up to 35°C or so.
•What sport / game? What object?
Q
23. • Squash. The ball needs to be warmed prior to the match.
A
24. •The Amish are generally averse to using any form of
technology, though the restrictions vary between the
sub-groups. What is the one item of technology that is
accepted for use by almost all the Amish (97%)?
• Though many still keep the control that it only be used on
Mondays.
• In 2009, the Vatican newspaper declared this to have
contributed the greatest to women’s liberation, more than
the pill or working outside home.
Q
25. Affiliation
Tractor
for
fieldwork
Roto-
tiller
Power
lawn
mower
Propane
gas
Bulk milk
tank
Mecha-
nical
milker
Mecha-
nical refri-
gerator
Pickup
balers
Inside
flush
toilet
Running
water
bath tub
Tractor
for belt
power
Pneumati
c tools
Chain
saw
Pres-
surized
lamps
Motorized
washing
machines
Percentage of use
by all Amish
6 20 25 30 35 35 40 50 70 70 70 70 75 90 97
Swartzentruber No No No No No No No No No No No Some No No Yes
Nebraska No No No No No No No Some No No No No Some No Yes
Swiss (Adams) No No Some No No No No No Some No No Some Some Some Some
Buchanan/Medfo
rd
No No No No No No No No No No No Some No Yes Yes
Milverton,
Ontario
No No No No No Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Dover, Delaware No No No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Andy
Weaver/Dan
No No No No* No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Geauga I No No No No No No No Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Aylmer No No Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Renno No No No No Some No Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Holmes Old
Order
No Some Some No* No No Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Elkhart-LaGrange No Some Some Some Some Some Some Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Lancaster No No Some Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nappanee,
Indiana
No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Arthur, Illinois No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
New Order Non-
electric
No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Somerset Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Kalona, Iowa Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
A
26. •The TV series, House, had a running gag where the
team of Doctors, when unable to diagnose an ailment,
would hypothesize that it could be ‘___’.
•And House’s usual reply to this would be, “It’s not
____” or “It’s never _____”
•This is an auto-immune disease that can affect any
part and organ of the body, in which the body’s
immune system attacks healthy tissue. It has no known
cure, and is very difficult to diagnose. It is also known
as one of the great imitators, as its symptoms often
mimic those of other illnesses. What disease?
Q
27. •Lupus or Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
•Gaining a lot of publicity now, after Selena Gomez
announced that she was battling this.
A
28. •The 1st men to achieve this feat were 18 men listed
below. However another person who never completed
the task is normally credited as the 1st to do so. Who
and what accomplishment?
Q
Juan Sebastián Elcano, from Getaria, Spain Antonio Hernández Colmenero, from Huelva
Francisco Albo, from Rodas (in Tui, Galicia) Francisco Rodrigues, from Seville
Miguel de Rodas (in Tui, Galicia) Juan Rodríguez, from Huelva
Juan de Acurio, from Bermeo Diego Carmena, from Baiona (Galicia)
Antonio Lombardo (Pigafetta), from Vicenza Hans of Aachen
Martín de Judicibus, from Genoa Juan de Arratia, from Bilbao
Hernándo de Bustamante, from Alcántara Vasco Gómez Gallego, from Baiona (Galicia)
Nicholas the Greek Juan de Santandrés, from Cueto (Cantabria)
Miguel Sánchez, from Rodas (in Tui, Galicia) Juan de Zubileta, from Barakaldo
30. •There have been a
total of 8 of these so
far.
•1 destroyed in
earthquake. 7
remaining.
•8th under
construction in Chile.
•Common features
• Single room / hall
• 9 sided structure –
Nonagons
•What are these?
Q
Kampala, Uganda
Wilmette, Illinois, US
Santiago, Chile – under constr
Samoa
Langenhein, Germany
Panama
Sydney Australia
31. • Bahai Houses of Worship
A
Asghabat, Turkmenistan – destroyed in Earthquake
32. •The retail industry in the U.S. is estimated to lose
around $10b each year due to this practice(s),
including $3.7b in the holiday season alone. Most of
the activities within this are illegal.
•However Wardrobing is a curious practice, which, while
clearly unethical, is vague when it comes to legality. 3
out of every 4 retailers (across all commodities)
surveyed claim to have experienced losses due to
wardrobing.
•What is Wardrobing? What is the wider practice this
is part of?
Q
33. •Wardrobing – A form of Return Fraud
• Purchasing an item, using it, then returning it for refund.
• Eg: Clothing for a party
• Camera for a graduation ceremony
• Large Screen TV for Superbowl
A
34. •In an 1853 ship sinking incident of the California –
Mexico coast, he was credited with saving 90 lives,
including 26 single-handedly when he swam and rowed
the 100 yards to shore multiple times bringing in the
victims. This made him a local hero.
•His friendship with the author began in a bath-house
in San Francisco in 1863, who was riveted with his
heroism, and other tales from youth.
•Some years later when the writer came out with this
semi-biographical best-seller, he took the name of this
friend for the protagonist. Who were the duo?
Q
36. •In 2011, the Teen apparel
retailer Abercrombie & Fitch,
noticed something on the
MTV reality show ‘Jersey
Shore’. Following this it made
an offer to Michael “The
Situation” Sorentino.
•What did it want him to do?
Q
37. •To not wear A&F as it did not
want to be associated with him.
Would pay him to wear any
alternate brand.
A
38. Q
•What change was brought about, just a
few days before the end of an exhibition
at the Museum of Modern Art, as a
result to a letter to the New York Times
sent by Genevieve Hartbert, a stock-
broker in the city?
•The change remains in effect to-date
•Saw some increased footfall in the last few
days of the exhibition.
39. A
She discovered that Henri Matisse’s Le
Bateau was hung upside down, and
wrote to the New York Times
40. •Jeff Sutherland borrowed this name, for a software
development process in 1993, from a sporting analogy
put forth by Takeuchi & Nonaka in an HBR article in
1986, to differentiate from the traditional linear
approach to product development.
•The term was chosen as the system involves self-
organizing cross-functional teams, with built-in
instability, that huddles together which was compared
to _____ formation in _____<sport>.
•Today we have a global _____ alliance that certifies
roles such as _____ master, which is common in the IT
industry.
•What’s the name?
Q20
44. •These bonds were pioneered by investment
banker David Pullman in 1997. This is possibly
the 1st instance of securitization of IPR. They
had an average life-span of 10 years, and the 1st
issue paid an interest rate of 7.9%. They were
bought for $55m by Prudential. The original
bonds were liquidated in 2007 as planned.
•Popularly called after the 1st recipient, what are
these bonds normally referred to as?
Q
45. •Bowie Bonds a.k.a Celebrity Bonds
•Current and Future revenue of 287 songs / 25
albums that David Bowie recorded before 1990.
Rights reverted in 2007
A
46. Q
•A 17 year old from
Clapham, England, he
has chosen to follow
the footsteps of his
grandfather who was
an English star.
•What’s his claim to
fame? Why is his
journey so much in
the news?
48. •They once came in different colours,
predominantly white, purple & yellow. All
these were pushed out of the market by
the Dutch producers in the 17th century,
who favoured a new variant, in honour of
the founder of their ruling dynasty.
•What item and what change that is all
pervasive today?
Q
49. A
Carrots. The Orange version having an abundance of beta-
carotene was heavily favoured by the Dutch farmers in honour of
William of Orange
50. Q
Identify the book that this 2013 Pakistani serial
Talkhiyan (Bitterness) is based on
54. •Most know of only 2, some believe there to be half-a-
dozen. In reality there were at least 17. Some of them
were
•#2 – Middle East, Far East, Scandinavia, USA, USSR,
Latin America
•#3 – Eastern Europe & Baltics
•#4 – Maps
•#7 – Propaganda
•#16 – Scientific
•#19 – PoW
•What are these?
Q
55. •British Directorate of Military Intelligence
•#5 – Counterintelligence
•#6 – Secret Intelligence & Foreign Service
•#1 – Codes & Cyphers
•#8 – Signals interception
•#11 – Military Security
•#14 – Germany
A
56. •What innovation in competitive swimming,
was
•1st seen in London in 1844, when a couple of
Native Americans, performed in some
demonstration races,
•then introduced in 1873 by John Trudgen who
had picked it up from his time in Argentina
•and became established from 1902 on, when
the Aussie Dick Cavill became the 1st person to
swim 100 yards in under a minute?
Q
57. • The Front Crawl – commonly called ‘Freestyle’
• Competitive swimming took off in Europe in the early 1800s, with
England being the epicenter. Breaststroke was the common method.
Swimmers then, always kept their heads above water.
• When the crawl was 1st seen performed by the Native Americans, it was
1st dismissed as ungentlemanly / non-European.
• "[They] thrashed the water violently with their arms, like sails of a windmill, and
beat downward with their feet, blowing with force and performing grotesque
antics."
• The crawl is not an American invention though, and had been known to
many ancient civilizations.
• Trudgen later combined the crawl with a scissor kick, that caused less
splashing. He won a race using this in 1875. To date, his style is called the
Trudgen. However it was still not seen a great advantage. The same
month, Matthew Webb swam the English Channel using the breaststroke.
• Later on the Cavills brought back the flutter kicks, leading it to be called
the Australian Crawl.
A
58. •The various contenders for this ‘title’ were
•Kabir Durrani
•Amit Chatterji
•Haresh Khanna
•What ‘honour’? Who was finally chosen?
Q
60. •The various terms are all associated mainly with Chess,
and have a common objective. What would be the
purpose of all these?
• Bucholz (named after Bruno Bucholz) 1st seen in 1932
• Neustadtl (Hermann Neustadtl – 1882)
• Sonneborn-Berger (William S & Johann B ~ same as
Neustadtl) (invented by Oscar Gelbfuhs)
• Harkness (Kenneth Harkness – 1950s)
• Solkoff (Ephraim Solkoff – introduced to U.S.)
• Koya (P T Ummer Koya)
• Kashdan (Isaac Kashdan)
Q30
61. • Methods of tie-breaks in tournaments. Usually a combination of these
are applied.
A
