A quiz about the stories of great brands and their fascinating founders. Quiz put together by Quizmaster Vikhyat Muthyala. Find more about these brands and their stories on the 'Talking Of Giants Podcast'. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/72FGPA9rxOHxGdTOKRYXe4?si=K4RUwF28SRmYreZ4GYFEJQ&dl_branch=1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/talking-of-giants/id1573437666 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy82MGI2NDE0OC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

2. 1.1. Robert Bacon was a Secretary of State of United States till 1909
and an Ambassador to France afterward. Although he was a friend of
Theodore Roosevelt from his days in Harvard, his entry into life as a
diplomat and statesman, was not his first choice. In fact the only
reason he found himself looking that way was because his previous
job was so stressful that his doctor implored him to let go of it. A
particular 'deal of a century' which was a milestone sent him into a
bad state in terms of mental health. Leaving his job later led to these
roles he is now remembered in history for. What job did Robert
Bacon hold right before his positions in govt.?

3. A partner at JP Morgan Co. He was
a lieutenant of JP Morgan himself.

4. 1.2. What juggernaut was he helping create at his
previous job (he helped create a few but give me the
biggest one in terms of financial reach and power)?

5. The formation of US Steel by JP
Morgan with greats like Andrew
Carnegie.

6. 1.3. What was the milestone in US Finance that this
entity achieved upon creation?

7. First Billion dollar company in the
United States.

8. 2.1. JP Morgan was very conscious of how he was
represented in the media. When his peer, Joseph Pulitzer
published material critiquing his business dealings, he wrote
back to Pulitzer to complain. However it was not the
business criticism that he was annoyed by, but an aspect of
the cartoons of him that Pulitzer published. What was this, a
personally sensitive aspect for Morgan, that the media made
legendary for the wrong reasons?

9. JP Morgan’s nose, disfigured by
disease.

10. 2.2. With an interest in creating a dominance over the sea as an
extension of his railway dominance, JP Morgan had a plan. He
wanted to put together the 'International Mercantile Marine' a
group that would be larger than the French Merchant Marine.
His purchase of a Belfast shipyard in this process would end up
an investment gone horribly wrong and almost fatal for him.
What was this particular investment concerning the shipyard?

11. The shipyard’s involvement with
the Titanic, which would later sink.

12. 2.3. How was it close to being fatal to him?

13. He was supposed to be onboard the
Titanic but could not make it.

14. 3.1. Mark Zuckerberg wanted to hire this man to
help him build the then budding 'Photos' feature of
Facebook due to his experience regarding the same.
But taking the word of his mentor that Facebook
was a fad, the man did not join. He instead chose to
study in Florence. Who was this man who later built
his own unicorn? What was the unicorn?

15. Kevin Systrom.
He founded Instagram.

16. 3.2. While studying in Florence, this person had to
take up photography. His instructor, to create an eye
for beauty in him, took away his expensive
equipment and handed him an old Holga camera.
The limitations of this particular equipment later
became a feature of the product that he built. What
limitation did his Holga have?

17. The Holga could only take square
black and white photos. Square
photo limitation of early Instagram
was inspired by this.

18. 3.3. Owing to his interest in American Whiskey, the
first name of the product built was given
accordingly. What was the name given?

19. Burbn (A play on Bourbon).

20. 4.1. Instagram followers are currency. People with
higher follower counts build entire businesses
based on them. Which extended family claims the
highest number of spots in the top 20 follower
counts on Instagram?

21. Kardashian/Jenner Family.

22. 4.2. Instagram wanted to showcase itself as a safer place and
build a feel-good image for the platform. But given that people did
not have to use their real names there was a lot of bullying in the
comments. The first real work to combat it started at the request
of a celebrity. Post the celebrity's break-up with a famous DJ the
celeb's comments were bombarded with a snake emoji referring to
the person's deceitful nature. Who was this celebrity that
personally approached Instagram and accelerated the work on
filtering out hate comments?

23. Taylor Swift.

24. 4.3. Chris Messina was user No. 19 on Instagram.
He created a system at Twitter that helped people
search for things based on interests. This feature
would later power the Instagram algorithm and
enter popular culture and vernacular too. What did
Chris Messina introduce?

25. Hashtag.