Have been conducting a fair amount of quizzes recently, mostly within my Company. A sampling of some recent questions that I asked. Answers in comments or through mail are welcome. Will post answers soon.
1. This phrase means to attempt to extend the current limits of performance phrase came into general use following the publication of Tom Wolfe's book about the space programme - The Right Stuff, 1979. In aviation, it is the description of the upper and lower limits of the various factors that it is safe to fly at, i.e. speed, engine power, maneuverability, wind speed, altitude etc. What phrase?
2. The Latin root of this word means "bright, shining, glistening white." The ancient Roman people who wanted to run for high office would wear bright white togas. This was seemingly to demonstrate their purity of thought and actions. Which two English words came from this Latin root?
3. The "Preferred Address in _______". It is centrally located in the heart of the business district, and is 17 Storeys high. Among international celebrities who have been here include Pope John Paul II, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Winnie Mandela, Steven Segal. The blank is the name of a city. What are we talking about?
4. Douglas McGregor (1906 - 1964) earned a B.A. from Wayne State University in 1932, then earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University in 1933 and 1935 respectively. He was a Management professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His 1960 book "The Human Side of Enterprise" had a profound influence on management practices. What theory of people management did he popularize?
5. Only three films have won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay, a feat which is known as winning the "Big Five" or the Oscar "Grand Slam." Name them
6. The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival in the United States, and ranks as one of the most prestigious in the world. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S. Held annually in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, Utah as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is the premier showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. Who named it and why?
7. From the early 1980s until the early 1990s, American Express was known for cutting its merchant fees to restaurants if they only accepted Amex and no other credit or charge cards. However, in 1991, several restaurants in Boston started accepting and encouraging the use of Visa and MasterCard due to their far lower fees as compared to American Express' fees at the time. A few even stopped accepting American Express credit cards. The revolt, quickly spread nationwide to over 250 restaurants across the US, including restaurants in other cities such as New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. What was this revolt called? (Funny answer!)
8. This phrase/definition was first used by the Reverend Theodore Parker at the Boston anti-slavery convention in 1850. Needless to say, few in the crowd paid attention to the definition then. The phrase was made very famous by an American president in the 19th century. It is now quoted as a standard definition for this word. Which word and phrase?
9.It is an information and technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The company was founded in 1979 by the eponymous Gideon ___. Originally a private company, the group was launched publicly in the 1980s, then acquired by Saatchi & Saatchi, the London-based advertising agency, and then acquired in 1990 by some of its executives, with funding from Bain Capital and Dun & Bradstreet. In 2001 the name was simplified to ______. In the course of its growth, it has acquired numerous companies providing related services. Their symbol at NYSE is IT. Name the company
10. Connect the movies Adaptation, Cider House Rules, A Fish called Wanda, Jerry Mcguire and Syrianna.
11. In European club football, the waving of white handkerchiefs by the fans is the traditional sign that they want ___________. What?
12. Ronald Gerald Wayne is the often forgotten "other founder" of this company. He illustrated the first logo and wrote the instruction manual. While there, he also wrote their partnership agreement. Wayne worked with one of the founders at Atari before co-founding this company on April 1, 1976. He was given a 10% stake, but relinquished his stock for $800 only two weeks later because legally all members of a partnership are personally responsible for any debts incurred by any of the other partners. Which company?
13. An 13 October, 2006 article in The Boston Globe, states that this reawakening of an interest in Gandhi through the concept of Gandhigiri has had a positive impact in India and suggests, "What America needs is a film that encourages people to take up Gandhigiri, ____, or ____. If it worked for Bollywood, it could work for Hollywood". Which are the other two 'giri's, named for two famous Americans?
14. It was first sold in North America in October of 1968, but were not rolled out nationally until the mid-1970s. According to the patent, it was invented by Alexander Liepa of Montgomery, Ohio for the U.S. Army. The company chose the brand name from a Cincinnati telephone book, selecting ____ Avenue in Finneytown, Ohio for its pleasing sound. The brand is advertised in the United States with the slogan "Once you pop, the fun don't stop", and in the UK with "Once you pop, you just can't stop". Which one?
15. The title of the movie comes from the work of Dr. Duncan MacDougall, who in the early 1900s sought to measure the weight purportedly lost by a human body when the soul departed the body upon death. MacDougall weighed dying patients in an attempt to prove that the soul was material, tangible and thus measurable. These experiments are widely considered to have had little if any scientific merit, and although MacDougall's results varied considerably from ____, for some people this figure has become synonymous with the measure of a soul's mass. Which one?
Enjoy!
Answers below:1. Push the Envelope2. candidus, which led to candidate and candid3. The blank is Kingston and the answer is Hotel Jamaica Pegasus4. X Theory and Y Theory5. It Happened One Night, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and Silence of the Lambs6. Robert Redford; after his role as Sundance Kid in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid7. Boston Fee Party!8. Democracy - a government by the people, of the people, for the people9. Gartner10. Oscars for Best Supporting Actor11. Manager should be sacked12. Apple Corporation13. Kinggiri and Kennedygiri14. Pringles15. 21 Grams
