This is a quiz that I conducted with an overally gennish outlook on mostly business fundae. Please reach out if you like the questions. Would love to hear from you.
2. Rules
1. There will be three rounds, and 29 questions in total.
2. We’ll have two dry rounds and one written round.
3. There is infinite pounce and bounce, so take all the risk you want.
4. Scoring on a direct or a pass gives a +10, with the pounce restrictions
being +10/-5.
5. For the written round, each correct answer will give you a plus 10, with
the bonus for getting all correct being +20.
6. There is an absolute necessity to applaud all the good questions which is
something I’ll be holding you to.
7. QM’s decision is final and binding
5. 1.
Merle Robbins was a Cincinnati barber who mainly operated in the 2nd half of
the 20th Century.
One day, he supposedly got into an argument with his son over a game which
he used to play with his family.
What did this disagreement lead him to invent, something which is known to
break friendships?
8. 2.
In November 2019, Dilip Mandal of The Print wrote an article about how he decided to
dump a certain feature, claiming that he was the first Indian to do so.
He labelled this feature as “unequal, unethical and arbitrary in nature”, also going to the
extent of claiming that it created an Aparthied in conversations. After this article, there
were a lot of people claiming that it created caste bigotry and suppressed minorities like
Dalits.
It also triggered a viral trend, #cancelallXinIndia.
What feature am I talking about, considered by many as a badge of honour?
11. 3.
X boxes are a form of online advertising that uses a grid of thumbnails and
captions to drive traffic to other sites and webpages. It is used to bait the users
into clicking on it.
The word X also originates from a similar meaning. X is used to refer to bait
consisting of fish parts, bone and blood, which attract fish, particularly sharks
owing to their keen sense of smell.
The word X also refers to a close friend.
What word am I looking for here?
15. 4.
In the movie Raging Bull, there was a lot of fighting, and subsequently, a lot of
blood. For such scenes, there usually is a lot of fake blood available.
But as this movie was being shot in black and white, normal fake blood did not
look good on film.
Therefore, they had to use an iconic product from a multinational brand as a
replacement, as it was darker and thus looked better on film.
Which product and which brand am I looking for here?
18. 5.
When the original mp3 devices were made,
they wanted it to be modelled after something
existing in the real life.
Whatever they were modelled after needed to
fit into the pockets properly, and be something
whose size was familiar to majority of a
population, preferably being something that
they use on a regular basis.
Therefore, what did they model their mp3
player after?
21. 6.
Although we may not know it yet, there was a first version to this product as
well.
The first version of the consumable item was released in 1981, but it had one
drawback: it could only be stored inside a refrigerator owing to its original
butter content.
However, they managed to released a shelf stable second version of the same
product three years later, with which we all are familiar today.
Which consumable product am I talking about here?
24. 7.
The X hamburger contained seven stacked beef patties and measured 5 in in
height and weighed almost 1 kg, and had more than 1,000 kcal. It was
originally planned to be made available for only seven days starting on 22
October 2009.
Due to its success in selling 6,000 sandwiches within the first four days, Y
decided to extend the promotion period an extra nine days, ending on 6
November.
Give me the name of the burger and the restaurant that sold it as part of the
promotion of another company Z’s (then) latest offering. Give me X, Y and Z.
28. 8.
The X smile, also known as the "Botox smile", is the name
given to a fake smile, in which only the zygomatic major
muscle is voluntarily contracted to show politeness.
It is named as the X smile as the employees of X were asked
to keep smiling at all times regardless of the situation or
sincerity, as they believed that it was important for the
image of the company.
Which company, which has been defunct for about 3
decades now, am I talking about here?
31. 9.
This typeface was created by the design company Uno, in response to a
certain solo event which took place in 2018.
Tal Shub, who designed the typeface, when asked about the reason behind
the font, said that he was inspired by the bold design and clarity of the
message. Infact, to create the typeface, they had to google up images of the
person’s “writing”.
Who is the original inspiration behind this font?
35. 10.
"X neck" is a persistent pain in the neck and upper shoulders caused by
slouching or bending into extreme positions while using a particular kind of
devices.
It is usually associated with sitting without back support, such as on a bench or
on the ground, or slumping over the device while it rests in the user's lap. It is
more prevalent among young adults and women.
Give me X.
38. 11.
While this company has had many logos in the past, the most famous one being the dot-
matrix logo, it has retained aspects of the dots in the future logos as well.
However, now the logo is a roundel, made to resemble the shape of an abstract globe so
as to show the worldwide nature of the business of the company. It also helped the
company gain prominence and eye-balls on TV and Computer screens.
However, in the current logo, the use of white color symbolizes purity, charm and
integrity of the company, whereas the orange color represents pride, energy and
activity.
Which huge company, established in the UK by a German-born, am I talking about here?
41. 12.
Many have claimed to be the founder of this iconic fashion statement, ranging
from Andre Couregges to John Bates.
However, the most reputed one of those claims seems to be that of Mary
Quant, a major fashion designer in the UK during the mid-20th century.
Apparently, she named it after her favourite car, claiming that both of them
were “optimistic, exuberant, young, flirty, and complemented each other”
Which iconic fashion statement, and which brand of car am I talking about
here?.
45. 13.
Earlier, gifts were usually given after concealing them in a tissue paper. These papers
were usually in red, white or green.
However, one day when a particular family of brothers ran out of tissue paper for
concealing gifts, they decided to improvise on that. Rollie X decided to use the French
paper that he had got for lining envelopes instead.
Which family did the brothers belong to and what was invented thus, which has
blossomed into a $3.2 billion industry today?
46. 14.
Before Thomas Edison patented his light bulb, he invented one of the earliest
working dictation machines.
The first phonograph, which he built in 1877, contained a stylus that etched
grooves into a rotating, tinfoil-covered cylinder in response to the pressure
produced by sound vibration. The embossed record could then be used in
reverse to vibrate the stylus and turn those movements back into audible
sound.
While the official first is held by IBM, what was this phonograph considered
one of the very first instances of?
47. 15.
In 1981, there was an iconic ad by IBM where they used Charlie Chaplin’s iconic “Little
Tramp” character to promote their new line of PC’s. It wasn’t really Charlie Chaplin
though, but a likeness named Bill Scudder.
However, it was also during the time when Apple were having an all out war with IBM
on all fronts.
Therefore, they decided to come up with a new computer called X, formed by a
portmanteau of two words.
What was the name of this computer?
48. 16.
X was a brand of cigarettes which was established in 1930 in Hyderabad.
It was a brand heavily accused of promoting toxic cigarette masculinity by
attaching monumental significance to the assumption that a cigarette should
be an extension of your arm.
It grew to be very popular owing to the pictures of something on the cigarette
packets as well as getting popular actors like Jackie Shroff to endorse the
brand.
Which brand of cigarettes is this?
49. 17.
X is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed by Leena Yadav. It stars
Amitabh Bachchan, Ben Kingsley, Madhavan, Raima Sen, Shraddha Kapoor in
her film debut, and is produced by Ambika Hinduja under the banners of
Hinduja Ventures and Serendipity Films.
X is also an online game which founded by Saurabh Agarwal and had reached
10 million downloads back in 2016.
Which mobile game am I talking about here, something which is also known as
flush?
51. 13.
Earlier, gifts were usually given after concealing them in a tissue paper. These papers
were usually in red, white or green.
However, one day when a particular family of brothers ran out of tissue paper for
concealing gifts, they decided to improvise on that. Rollie X decided to use the French
paper that he had got for lining envelopes instead.
Which family did the brothers belong to and what was invented thus, which has
blossomed into a $3.2 billion industry today?
54. 14.
Before Thomas Edison patented his light bulb, he invented one of the earliest
working dictation machines.
The first phonograph, which he built in 1877, contained a stylus that etched
grooves into a rotating, tinfoil-covered cylinder in response to the pressure
produced by sound vibration. The embossed record could then be used in
reverse to vibrate the stylus and turn those movements back into audible
sound.
While the official first is held by IBM, what was this phonograph considered
one of the very first instances of?
57. 15.
In 1981, there was an iconic ad by IBM where they used Charlie Chaplin’s iconic “Little
Tramp” character to promote their new line of PC’s. It wasn’t really Charlie Chaplin
though, but a likeness named Bill Scudder.
However, it was also during the time when Apple were having an all out war with IBM
on all fronts.
Therefore, they decided to come up with a new computer called X, formed by a
portmanteau of two words.
What was the name of this computer?
60. 16.
X was a brand of cigarettes which was established in 1930 in Hyderabad.
It was a brand heavily accused of promoting toxic cigarette masculinity by
attaching monumental significance to the assumption that a cigarette should
be an extension of your arm.
It grew to be very popular owing to the pictures of something on the cigarette
packets as well as getting popular actors like Jackie Shroff to endorse the
brand.
Which brand of cigarettes is this?
63. 17.
X is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed by Leena Yadav. It stars
Amitabh Bachchan, Ben Kingsley, Madhavan, Raima Sen, Shraddha Kapoor in
her film debut, and is produced by Ambika Hinduja under the banners of
Hinduja Ventures and Serendipity Films.
X is also an online game which founded by Saurabh Agarwal and had reached
10 million downloads back in 2016.
Which mobile game am I talking about here, something which is also known as
flush?
67. 18.
The Magdeburg hemispheres are a pair of large copper hemispheres, with
mating rims. They were used to demonstrate the power of atmospheric
pressure.
When the rims were sealed with grease and the air was pumped out, the
sphere contained a vacuum and could not be pulled apart by teams of horses.
The hemispheres became popular in physics lectures as an illustration of the
strength of air pressure, and are still used in education
Where in the business world will you have seen the Magdeburg hemispheres?
71. 19.
X is the voting system of a popular social media site.
The higher your X, the more likely your post is going to feature on the front
page. While it doesn’t have any intrinsic value, having a high X across various
posts does make you appear a little more trustworthy. People often refer to it
as “Imaginary Internet Points”.
The word X originated in Sanskrit with the meaning action, work or deed. It
has various symbols like the endless knot shown in the next image.
ID the word X.
75. 20.
The Petroleum Production Company X Brothers, Limited was an oil company set up by
Ludvig X and Baron Peter von Bilderling, mainly in Baku, Azerbaijan but also in Cheleken,
Turkmenistan.
Originally established by Robert X (who contributed 25,000 rubles) and the investments
of barons Peter von Bilderling (300,000 rubles) and Standertskjöld (150,000 rubles) as a
distillery in 1876, it became, during the late 19th century, one of the largest oil
companies in the world.
One of the reasons for their success might have been the fame of their father, someone
who different people remember for different reasons.
ID the father of Robert and Ludvig.
79. 21.
Dream with your eyes wide open is a book written by X where he documents
his extensive Entrepreneurial Journey until the point when he became the
media mogul of today.
Other than his piece de resistance, he has founded plenty of other successful
ventures with the likes of Ed-Tech company Upgrad and the sports company U
Sports, the most famous team of which is probably U Mumba of the Pro
Kabaddi League.
Who is this hugely successful entrepreneur, someone we might often
associate with the profession of a mechanic owing to his name?
82. 22.
The Fast food industry has been around for a long time, with the word entering the Merriam-Webster
dictionary in 1951.
However, the business was supposedly started 3 decades ago, in 1921, when the iconic chain X started
operating.
X was founded in Wichita by Walter Anderson, who was running fast food chains from 1916. X specialises in a
particular type of fast food, which is sometimes referred to as sliders. Their product was called the most
influential in its category of all time, by Time magazine in 2014.
Which chain did Walter Anderson start, which might be known to us through a 2004 venture?
85. 23.
X refers to a 1985 Japanese urban legend regarding a reputed curse placed on the Japanese Kansai-based
Hanshin Tigers baseball team by the ghost of deceased Y founder.
The curse was said to be placed on the team because of the Colonel's anger over treatment of one of his
store-front statues, which was thrown into the Dōtonbori River by celebrating Hanshin fans following their
team's victory in the 1985 Japan Championship Series. As you can imagine, the X was used to explain the
team's subsequent 18-year losing streak. Some fans believed the team would never win another Japan Series
until the statue had been recovered.
The curse has been compared to another similar one associated with the Boston Red Sox.
What is the name of this curse?
88. 24.
GMS is the world's largest buyer of ships and floating offshore assets for
recycling. With exclusive representatives in all of the major ship recycling
markets around the world, GMS has successfully negotiated about 3,500 ships
for recycling since inception.
Their subsidiaries, regardless of the nature, do usually have have something in
their representations to indicate towards the main business of the parent
company, the ship recycling business.
How has GMS become relevant to us in the past few months?
91. 25.
When the first outlet of X opened in 2006 in Mumbai, Prosenjit Roy Choudhury was one
of the main driving forces behind it. He started it when he was upset when people
complained that his “delicacies” weren’t being well-received by his customers.
Ever since, X has gone from strength to strength, experiencing massive growth across
multiple cities in India.
However, Choudhury has now gone on to head Y, a supposedly rival chain in exactly the
same market.
Which massively popular chains am I talking about here, which arguably have
performances of their own as well?
94. 26.
X is the world's largest toilet manufacturer. It was founded in 1917, and is known for
developing the Washlet and derivative products. The company is based in Kitakyushu,
Japan, and owns production facilities in nine countries. The name "X" is an abbreviation
of the two Japanese words forming its full name, which means Oriental Ceramics.
X is also an American band formed in 1977 which deals with a musical style that
combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B, blues, and
jazz. They rose to fame through their hit song in 1981.
ID X, something that you might have seen in quizzes and memes since forever.
97. 27.
Through a partnership with Big 92.7 FM, this company has set up a phone number which lets anyone call
and set up messages for their loved ones.
When asked about it, the makers of the campaign said, “Repetition is an age-old memory trick we've all
used in school while growing up. Through X, we wanted to apply it to simple everyday reminders and make
them stick in people's minds. So, we turned an old medium like Radio into a fun platform that anyone can
use to reach their loved ones in a more effective way."
According to the company, later in the evening, RJ Abhilash Thapliyal, will turn it into a 'X', wherein he will
call the recipient live on air, and play the message on a long, continuous loop.
ID the name of this campaign, which is a play on the words of the brand.
100. 28.
John Knoll is an American visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer (CCO) at
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). He has worked as visual effects supervisor on the Star
Wars prequels and the 1997 special editions of the original trilogy.
Along with Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall, Knoll and the trio's work on Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest earned them the Academy Award for Best Visual
Effects. He has even invented a lens-flare generating software called Knoll Light Factory.
However, what ubiquitous software(to a certain group of people) did he invent along
with his brother, which found its first application on a beach in Bora Bora?
103. 29.
The X curse (also known as "The curse of the X" or sometimes the "X jinx")
refers to the fact that no first-time snooker world champion has retained the
title the following year since the tournament moved to the X Theatre,
Sheffield in 1977.
Among other meanings, X also means a situation of severe trial, or in which
different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new.
However, we know X in a completely different context.
ID the word X, an appropriate way to sign off the biz quiz.
