QUIZ - 81

Ten questions on matters of the Heart to mark WORLD HEART DAY

1. South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on 3rd December 1967. Name the Cape Town grocer who received the transplant.

2. She was the first woman to be named as the ‘Person of the year’ by Time Magazine in 1936. Her memoir is titled ‘The Heart has its Reasons’. Who is this controversial American lady to marry whom English King Edward VIII abdicated his throne in 1936?

3. Name the physician who invented the Heart Lung Machine in 1937

4. Named after the 19th Century Bohemian Physiologist, what are the specialised fibres of the cardiac muscle that conduct the electrical stimulus and enable the heart to contract in a coordinated fashion?

5. What term is used to describe the 2 sounds that are heard during each heart beat?

6. What term describes the medical condition in which the heart beats at a rate that is below the normal of 65 beats per minute?

7. For what invention did Willem Einthoven receive the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1924?

8. Stents are devices used to open up blocked coronary artery during an angioplasty. What alloy of Nickel and Titanium is usually used to make stents because of its ‘shape memory’ property?

9. If the tricuspid valve separates the right atrium and the right ventricle, what valve, named after its resemblance to a bishop’s hat, separates left atrium and left ventricle?

10. Who is the author of the 1948 novel ‘The Heart of the Matter’, which was once included by Time magazine in the 100 best English language novels?

Answers to Quiz - 80

1. What are Moai and where on earth would you find them?

Monolithic human figures on Easter Island

2. What internationally famous rule originally devised in 1927 and subsequently refined in 1992 and 2002 provides anonymity to speakers and encourages openness and sharing of information in meetings?

Chatham House Rule

3. In what field of human activity would the Palmer Method be used?

Handwriting

4. The September Issue is a documentary film about the September 2007 edition of a famous fashion magazine that at 5 pounds and 840 pages is the single largest issue of a magazine ever published. What is this magazine?

Vogue

5. Name the instrument that measures the amount of work done by a muscle or group of muscles during a workout?

Ergometer

6. With over 32 kilometres of tunnels spread over more than twelve square kilometres which city has the largest underground shopping complex in the world?

Montreal

7. What exceptional character in the entire animal kingdom is exhibited by the Syngnathidae family of fish, of which the seahorse is a typical example?

Male pregnancy

8. Spanning over 72 years and more than 15000 episodes, which is the longest running soap opera in the history of television?

Guiding Light. It came to an end on 18th Sept 2009.

9. Who popularised the economic concept of creative destruction?

Joseph Schumpeter

10. What doctrine or concept allows concentration of economic controls and planning in the hands of government often extending to government ownership of industry?

Statism

QUIZ - 80

1. What are Moai and where on earth would you find them?

2. What internationally famous rule originally devised in 1927 and subsequently refined in 1992 and 2002 provides anonymity to speakers and encourages openness and sharing of information in meetings?

3. In what field of human activity would the Palmer Method be used?

4. The September Issue is a documentary film about the September 2007 edition of a famous fashion magazine that at 5 pounds and 840 pages is the single largest issue of a magazine ever published. What is this magazine?

5. Name the instrument that measures the amount of work done by a muscle or group of muscles during a workout?

6. With over 32 kilometres of tunnels spread over more than twelve square kilometres which city has the largest underground shopping complex in the world?

7. What exceptional character in the entire animal kingdom is exhibited by the Syngnathidae family of fish, of which the seahorse is a typical example?

8. Spanning over 72 years and more than 15000 episodes, which is the longest running soap opera in the history of television?

9. Who popularised the economic concept of creative destruction?

10. What doctrine or concept allows concentration of economic controls and planning in the hands of government often extending to government ownership of industry?

Answers to Quiz - 79

1. Banana Republic is a derogatory term for small countries ruled by dictators. Originally used for countries of Central America, which famous short story writer coined this term?

O Henry

2. Which is the world’s leading banana producing country in the world?

India

3. What are bananas that needs to be cooked prior to eating called?

Plantains

4. What is the banana problem?

Not knowing where or when to bring a production or operation to a close. This phrase comes from the story of the little girl who said, "I know how to spell 'banana,' I just don't know when to stop."

5. Which famous cartoonist created the mascot for Chiquita, the world’s leading brand of banana?

Dik Browne, who created Hagar the Horrible

6. Name the personal physician to Roman emperor Octavius Augustus who is credited with having popularised the cultivation of banana.

Antonius Musa

7. What term coined by the French geographer Roger Brunet describes the corridor of urbanisation in Western Europe extending from England to Italy?

The Blue Banana

8. Bananas grow in bunches containing 10 to 25 fruits. What is the term used for this bunch

Hands

9. Out of the more than 1000 varieties of bananas, which is the most widely cultivated?

The Cavendish

10. Which American city celebrates an annual festival every June to mark the invention of the famous sundae Banana Split?

Wilmington in Ohio

QUIZ - 79

1. Banana Republic is a derogatory term for small countries ruled by dictators. Originally used for countries of Central America, which famous short story writer coined this term?

2. Which is the world’s leading banana producing country in the world?

3. What are bananas that needs to be cooked prior to eating called?

4. What is the Banana Problem?

5. Which famous cartoonist created the mascot for Chiquita, the world’s leading brand of banana?

6. Name the personal physician to Roman emperor Octavius Augustus who is credited with having popularised the cultivation of banana.

7. What term coined by the French geographer Roger Brunet describes the corridor of urbanisation in Western Europe extending from England to Italy?

8. Bananas grow in bunches containing 10 to 25 fruits. What is the term used for this bunch?

9. Out of the more than 1000 varieties of bananas, which is the most widely cultivated?

10. Which American city celebrates an annual festival every June to mark the invention of the famous sundae Banana Split?

Answers to Quiz - 78

1. What method for determination of accurate costs was introduced in 1987 by 2 Harvard Business School professors, Robert Kaplan and William Bruns?

Activity Based Costing

2. Which organization first practiced the concept of Benchmarking in 1979 and who introduced it to them?

Xerox, Robert Camp

3. Who coined the term core competence in a 1990 article?

C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel

4. What model developed by Michael Porter explains why particular industries become competitive in particular locations?

Diamond Model

5. Which company developed and pioneered the concept of Economic Value Added (EVA), widely held today as the holy grail of corporate performance measure?

Stern Stewart

6. Who developed the principle of Force Field Analysis, which provides a framework for looking at factors that influence a situation?

Kurt Lewin

7. What theory of decision making was postulated by Irving Janis in 1970’s to explain how decisions are taken by groups more interested in maintaining their cohesiveness than evaluating facts realistically?

Groupthink

8. Name the 1954 book in which Abraham Maslow expounded his famous Hierarchy of Needs model?

Motivation and Personality

9. Who introduced the principle of ‘management by objectives’ in the 1954 book, The Practice of Management?

Peter Drucker

10. Name the management consultant who is widely credited with having devised the tool of SWOT Analysis?

Albert Humphrey

QUIZ -78

1. What method for determination of accurate costs was introduced in 1987 by 2 Harvard Business School professors, Robert Kaplan and William Bruns?

2. Which organization first practiced the concept of Benchmarking in 1979 and who introduced it to them?

3. Who coined the term core competence in a 1990 article?

4. What model developed by Michael Porter explains why particular industries become competitive in particular locations?

5. Which company developed and pioneered the concept of Economic Value Added (EVA), widely held today as the holy grail of corporate performance measure?

6. Who developed the principle of Force Field Analysis, which provides a framework for looking at factors that influence a situation?

7. What theory of decision making was postulated by Irving Janis in 1970’s to explain how decisions are taken by groups more interested in maintaining their cohesiveness than evaluating facts realistically?

8. Name the 1954 book in which Abraham Maslow expounded his famous Hierarchy of Needs model?

9. Who introduced the principle of ‘management by objectives’ in the 1954 book, The Practice of Management?

10. Name the management consultant who is widely credited with having devised the tool of SWOT Analysis?

Answers to Quiz - 77

1. What objects constitute a Hickson Compact Group?

Galaxies

2. What is 51 Pegasi b?

The first exoplanet to be discovered. Exoplanets are planets that orbit a star other than the Sun

3. Where is the Headquarters of the International Astronomical Union?

Paris

4. Who discovered the planet Pluto?

Clyde Tombaugh

5. What new category of astronomical objects did the International Astronomical Union create in 2008 following the redefinition of the word planet in 2006?

Plutoid

6. What is the name given to celestial objects between Jupiter and Neptune that act like both asteroids and comets?

Centaurs

7. What astronomical term describes the centre of mass of two bodies that orbit around each other, for example the earth and the moon?

Barycentre

8. What are the 3 satellites of Pluto?

Charon, Nix and Hydra

9. On 21st October 2003, an object bigger than Pluto was discovered and it eventually led to Pluto being stripped of its planetary status. Initially named 2003 UB313, by what name do we know it today?

Eris

10. Name the 19th Century astronomer who posed one of the most interesting problems of astrophysics – ‘why is the sky dark at night?’

Heinrich Olbers (Olbers Paradox)

QUIZ - 77

Ten questions for The International Year of Astronomy 2009

1. What objects constitute a Hickson Compact Group?

2. What is 51 Pegasi b?

3. Where is the Headquarters of the International Astronomical Union?

4. Who discovered the planet Pluto?

5. What new category of astronomical objects did the International Astronomical Union create in 2008 following the redefinition of the word planet in 2006?

6. What is the name given to celestial objects between Jupiter and Neptune that act like both asteroids and comets?

7. What astronomical term describes the centre of mass of two bodies that orbit around each other, for example the earth and the moon?

8. What are the 3 satellites of Pluto?

9. On 21st October 2003, an object bigger than Pluto was discovered and it eventually led to Pluto being stripped of its planetary status. Initially named 2003 UB313, by what name do we know it today?

10. Name the 19th Century astronomer who posed one of the most interesting problems of astrophysics – ‘why is the sky dark at night?’

Answers to Quiz - 76

1. What is an orphan drug?

A drug developed specifically to treat a rare medical condition, a disorder affecting fewer than 200,000 people in USA as per The Orphan Drug Act

2. What term describes a coral island surrounded by a lagoon?

Atoll

3. In which country would you hear the Dhivehi language?

Maldives

4. What is the name of the infamous award given by Greenpeace International for the worst act of deforestation?

Golden Chainsaw Award

5. Deriving its name from a literary society founded in England in the mid 18th Century, what derisive term is applied to a woman who affects literary interests?

Bluestocking

6. What landmark event n 1688 led to the overthrow of King James – II of England and paved the way for establishment of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy?

The Glorious Revolution

7. Name the largest of the 7 Canary Islands

Tenerife

8. What term borrowed from TV and film industry refers to formal financial approval to go ahead with a project?

Greenlighting

9. Under Megan’s Law in United States of America what details are required to be made available to the public?

Information about sex offenders

10. First stated by a French Mathematician Louis Bachelier in 1900 and later developed in 1960’s by Prof. Eugene Fama at University of Chicago, what theory states that the price at which an asset s traded in the market reflects all known information and instantly change to reflect new information?

Efficient Market Hypothesis

QUIZ - 76

1. What is an orphan drug?

2. What term describes a coral island surrounded by a lagoon?

3. In which country would you hear the Dhivehi language?

4. What is the name of the infamous award given by Greenpeace International for the worst act of deforestation?

5. Deriving its name from a literary society founded in England in the mid 18th Century, what derisive term is applied to a woman who affects literary interests?

6. What landmark event in 1688 led to the overthrow of King James – II of England and paved the way for establishment of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy?

7. Name the largest of the 7 Canary Islands

8. What term borrowed from TV and film industry refers to formal financial approval to go ahead with a project?

9. Under Megan’s Law in United States of America what details are required to be made available to the public?

10. First stated by a French Mathematician Louis Bachelier in 1900 and later developed in 1960’s by Prof. Eugene Fama at University of Chicago, what theory states that the price at which an asset s traded in the market reflects all known information and instantly change to reflect new information?

Answers to Quiz - 75

1. Name the 3 Lehman brothers

Henry, Emmanuel and Mayer

2. Which Italian painter is widely referred to as the Rembrandt of Italy?

Caravaggio

3. What is the largest bay on Earth measured by shoreline length?

Hudson Bay

4. What fruit comes in varieties of Burgundy, Duncan and Marsh?

Grapefruit

5. Who was the first American woman to be commemorated on a postage stamp?

Martha Washington, wife of George Washington

6. The Argentines call this place Malvinas. By what name does rest of the world know this place?

Falkland Islands

7. What is the term used for courts that can review and overrule previous judgments given by a lower court?

Courts of Cassation

8. What food was deeply revered by the Incas and referred to as the mother of all grains?

Quinoa

9. What term coined by psychologist Dorothy Tennov describes an obsessive kind of romantic love?

Limerence

10. What psychological term describes the tendency of people to form friendships or romantic relationships with those whom they encounter often

Propinquity Effect

QUIZ - 75

1. Name the 3 Lehman brothers

2. Which Italian painter is widely referred to as the Rembrandt of Italy?

3. What is the largest bay on Earth measured by shoreline length?

4. What fruit comes in varieties of Burgundy, Duncan and Marsh?

5. Who was the first American woman to be commemorated on a postage stamp?

6. The Argentines call this place Malvinas. By what name does rest of the world know this place?

7. What is the term used for courts that can review and overrule previous judgments given by a lower court?

8. What food was deeply revered by the Incas and referred to as the mother of all grains?

9. What term coined by psychologist Dorothy Tennov describes an obsessive kind of romantic love?

10. What psychological term describes the tendency of people to form friendships or romantic relationships with those whom they encounter often

Answers to Quiz - 74

1. What international convention seeks to protect biodiversity against the potential risk of being contaminated by genetically modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology?

Cartagena Protocol

2. Who in 1896 developed the Swiss Army Knife and went on to name his company Victoria in memory of his mother?

Karl Elsener

3. Name the American company that introduced the Reclining Chair in 1928 and whose name is today synonymous with that product.

La-z-boy

4. What communication medium did Jack Dorsey create in 2006?

Twitter

5. With students such as Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, who popularized the Method School of acting?

Lee Strasberg

6. What game uses terms like Flop, Fish and Fold?

Poker

7. Which is world’s most active volcano?

Kilauea volcano on Hawaii

8. What is the only country in the world with a solid, single-coloured flag?

Libya. Green colour

9. What are drumlins and eskers formed by?

Glaciers

10. What are the followers of the Unification Church called?

Moonies

QUIZ - 74

1. What international convention seeks to protect biodiversity against the potential risk of being contaminated by genetically modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology?

2. Who in 1896 developed the Swiss Army Knife and went on to name his company Victoria in memory of his mother?

3. Name the American company that introduced the Reclining Chair in 1928 and whose name is today synonymous with that product.

4. What communication medium did Jack Dorsey create in 2006?

5. With students such as Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, who popularized the Method School of acting?

6. What game uses terms like Flop, Fish and Fold?

7. Which is world’s most active volcano?

8. What is the only country in the world with a solid, single-coloured flag?

9. What are drumlins and eskers formed by?

10. What are the followers of the Unification Church called?

Answers to Quiz - 73

1. What word describes a person who only eats food grown or produced locally within a limited area?

Locavore

2. From what fruit is the liquor Kirsch derived?
Cherry

3. What was Professor Stephen Salter’s 1974 invention Edinburgh Duck used for?

Converting wave energy to electricity

4. In what unit is cloud cover of the sky usually reported?

Octa. It ranges from 0 to 8, 0 being clear blue sky and 8 fully overcast sky

5. What is the term used to describe sailors who have not crossed the equator?

Pollywog

6. What is the popular name of the trophy awarded to the winner of the British Open Golf Championships?

Claret Jug

7. What protein in banana is responsible for producing the neurotransmitter Serotonin?

Tryptophan

8. Name the alternative rock band that in 1988 produced the album Daydream Nation, widely regarded by critics as a milestone of the 1980s underground music.

Sonic Youth

9. What recently became the one millionth word of English language?

Web 2.0

10. What is Polysomnography used for?

To study sleep related disorders

QUIZ - 73

1. What word describes a person who only eats food grown or produced locally within a limited area?

2. From what fruit is the liquor Kirsch derived?

3. What was Professor Stephen Salter’s 1974 invention Edinburgh Duck used for?

4. In what unit is cloud cover of the sky usually reported?

5. What is the term used to describe sailors who have not crossed the equator?

6. What is the popular name of the trophy awarded to the winner of the British Open Golf Championships?

7. What protein in banana is responsible for producing the neurotransmitter Serotonin?

8. Name the alternative rock band that in 1988 produced the album Daydream Nation, widely regarded by critics as a milestone of the 1980s underground music.

9. What recently became the one millionth word of English language?

10. What is Polysomnography used for?

Answers to Quiz - 72

1. Who became the world’s first woman president in 1974?

Isabel Perón of Argentina

2. Who in 1960 became the world’s first elected woman Prime Minister?

Sirivamo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka

3. Who is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize?

Marie Curie in 1903

4. Name the first woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal

Charlotte Cooper in 1900

5. Who was the first woman to climb Mount Everest in 1975?

Junko Tabei

6. Who was the first woman to land on moon?

Till today no woman has landed on moon.

7. Who in 1889 became America’s first female corporate CEO?

Anna Bissell

8. Who was the first woman to win the Grand Slam in tennis?

Maureen Connolly in 1953

9. Who in 1762 became the first woman newspaper editor?

Ann Franklin

10. Who in 1976 became the first woman to receive an Oscar nomination for the Best Director?

Lina Wertmüller

QUIZ - 72

Ten questions to mark International Women’s Day

1. Who became the world’s first woman president in 1974?

2. Who in 1960 became the world’s first elected woman Prime Minister?

3. Who is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize?

4. Name the first woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal

5. Who was the first woman to climb Mount Everest in 1975?

6. Who was the first woman to land on moon?

7. Who in 1889 became America’s first female corporate CEO?

8. Who was the first woman to win the Grand Slam in tennis?

9. Who in 1762 became the first woman newspaper editor?

10. Who in 1976 became the first woman to receive an Oscar nomination for the Best Director?

Answers to Quiz - 71

1. Named after a Boston endocrinologist, what term describes the most common sex chromosome disorder in which the affected male has an extra X chromosome?

Klinefelter’s Syndrome

2. Only two chemical elements exist as liquids at normal room temperature. What are they?

Bromine and Mercury

3. Name the historical event that took place between May 25 and September 17 in 1787 that resulted in drafting of the constitution of United States of America.

The Philadelphia Convention

4. Which king once famously said ‘I am the State’?

Louis XIV

5. What is the term in economics to describe highly liquid assets that are not cash but can be easily converted into cash?

Near Money

6. What term that literally means ‘Mountain Fortress’ denotes the popular Chinese subculture of pirated brands and goods?

Shanzhai

7. In professional wrestling who are jobbers?

Wrestlers who are scripted to lose their match

8. What word borrowed from German describes the feeling of delight at the suffering of others?

Schadenfreude

9. What rare mineral named after a famous crystallographer has displaced diamond as the hardest substance?.

Lonsdaleite

10. What term describes sharing of office space between employees who are on different shifts or schedule?

Hot Desk