When we started..…Twitter was just a sound birds made…a guy in Turtleneck was still figuring out how to build iPhones and iPads…the countries of South Sudan and Montenegro did not exist…the senator from Illinois was beginningto dream about becoming the US president…Arab Spring was the hopeful name givento a season…IPL meant Intellectual Property Law

The only thing that has been constant is..

TCS Maitree Kolkata Quiz Club

Thursday ThrillersCelebrating…

350th Week of unbroken Quizzing and Fun!!!

Be a part of the celebrations !!!

19th April, 20122:00 – 3:00 pm

Delta Park Lords, Conference Room 2

350 weeks is a very long time indeed. And for a voluntary, weekly event -- any event -- to have survived that long is a great achievement - more so for an event for which participants have to skip lunch and make time out of their busy office schedules; and one which offers no other reward but a quenching for the thirst for knowledge.

Today, on the occasion of the 350th weekly quiz by the TCS Maitree Quiz Club Kolkata, on behalf of the Quiz Club, I would like to extend the heartiest congratulations and gratitude for all of our members who have continued to support our endeavor through the years. A testimony to our success would be the fabulous results achieved by our members in Corporate and Open quizzing circuits. Our members have also gone onto model similar clubs in other companies when they have moved on from TCS—thereby spreading and enriching the our common passion for Quizzing….

In keeping with our tradition of teamwork, the 350th Thursday Thriller will be an event jointly hosted by as many as 14 people who have been instrumental in giving shape to the Quiz Club over the years. There have been numerous quizzers who have made our quizzing experience more enjoyable. For paucity of space we would only be able to feature questions from a small fraction of them in this special edition of Thursday Thriller. Hope you enjoy it. And above all, we hope to continue receiving your support for all our endeavours as we move towards our 500th and 1000th Thursday Thrillers…

“No Quizzing No Fun. Know Quizzing Know Fun.”

In 2010, these were his distinctions.

A> The Brand ambassador of a German Supermarket store called REWE

B>The honorary citizen of the Spanish town of Caballino.

C> Accessed as western propaganda by Ahmadinejad to introduce superstition.

Who?

Abhishek Das

1.

What does a Deltiologist collect?

Abhishek Das

2.

George Embiricos in 2011 sold a certain something to the Royal family of Qatar at an astronomical value of $250 Millions (which is a record in itself, and bettered the previous record by more than $100 million).

What was the object of this expensive sale ?

And whose record did it break ?

Arnab Pal…

3.

Only two novels of Charles Dickens was set on a historical backdrop.

Name the novels and the real life incident (No Part Marks).

Arnab Pal…

4.

Who is this person who recently - in Feb 2012 (lost his job due to something he did last year) ?

Bhaskar Datta

5.

According to urban legend, this dish derives its name from secret ingredients that were used in the original recipes—for making it tastier and healthier.

However, the name actually derives from the liberal dousing of egg that was used to “finish” the dish.

What popular dish am I talking about?

Bhaskar Datta

6.

X was made by largely customizing Y; the cost of which was close to US$ 100,000. The additions included extremely durable shell and frame, controlled by a computer with artificial intelligence. The chief engineering was managed by Dr. Bonnie Barstow and his assistant Devon.

Along with partner Michael, X was brought in during situations where "direct action might provide the only feasible solution".

Y came from the house of GM as a specialty package in the third generation of Y’s (its own) avatar and was seen until 1992.

Bhavin Zaveri

7.

This is a painting by Raja Ravi Verma.

Q is Who is this boy , the subject of this painting and why should we remember / know him ??

Bhavin Zaveri

8.

Joseph Gurney Cannon (May 7, 1836 – November 12, 1926) was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1911, and is considered to be the most dominant Speaker in United States history, with such control over the House that he could often control debate.

In what significant way is he “a first” in the world ?

Deepanjan Deb

9.

140 years ago Mumbai was largely an uninhabited cluster of islands. To fulfil the water supply needs of the city a reservoir was built, in the famous Malabar Hills. Not only did the reservoir sustain the needs of Mumbai for the next 100 years, it also witnessed the growth of Mumbai as the Commercial Capital of India.

The reservoir was built by a company called Littlewood ___________ & Co., which today is __________ ___________Co. & Ltd

Deepanjan Deb

10.

Eric Clapton used to frequent this American diner in London. When he asked the proprietors to keep his regular table, one of them suggested to keep his guitar there as indicator of reserved table.

What started with this and culminated as The London Vault?

Niraj Chaudhary

11.

Complete these lines by Ghalib to get the name of a legend's directorial debut –

"Hui muddat kay Ghalib mar gaya par yaad aata hai, Woh har aik baat pe kehna ke: ________________".

Niraj Chaudhary

12.

In the 1880’s, the Indian Railways in the Punjab and Sindh region faced a peculiar problem. In order to solve the problem, they started doing something which soon became a good revenue generator for them. The solution that the Indian Railways came up with, is practiced even today.

What am I talking of?

Rajeev Bhattacharjee

13.

Genelia D Souza acted in a movie called Force before she married Reteish Deshmukh. This, according to Bollywood insiders like Bharathi Pradhan, caused an unforeseen hindrance to her marriage.

What was the issue and how was it solved?

Rajeev Bhattacharjee

14.

On 30th August 1998 X and Y found an ingenious technique to let their users worldwide know that they'll be out of office to attend the Burning Man event in Nevada.

The technique was so well received by users that it soon became a cult worldwide and is now used to celebrate numerous occasions throughout the year.

Identify the technique.

Reshma Mitra

15.

Product X was ranked No. 1 in the Household Care segment of the Most Trusted Brands in India for 2007-08 by Brand Equity and overall has been ranked the 20th Most Trusted Brand. One of the main reasons for X's popularity is the creative marketing strategy, including successful advertising campaigns which appeal to everybody. One noticeable thing in most (if not all) ads is the rural setting/backdrop.

Reshma Mitra

The Indian rusticity is what stands out, and they have a generous dose of intelligent humour to support it! While corporates around were changing their adverts as often they changed their shirts, the pitch for X remained unaltered for years, except for small tweaks here and there. The picture above is of one of it's print ads. What is being talked about? 16.

He is a trained pilot and also a trained sitar player. He also applied to train as an actor at the Film Institute, Pune, but didn't follow it up as he then believed it not to be a serious job. He was also drawn towards a picture of Swami Vivekananda in an advertisement by the Ramkrishna Mission, and decided to be a monk, but did not do so due to strong advice by his family and a Swami in Chicago.  He shot into prominence when he asked the Supreme Court to make the Vohra report on the criminalization of politics in India public. This petition gave a push to the Right to Information movement.

He might not be some things anymore but he is still the Chairman of the Indo-European Union Parliamentary Forum.

Who is he?

Saswata Chakraborty

17.

Guiodo D’ Arezzo, who was born in the end of the 10th century, deduced the names of something from an ancient Latin Hymn to St John .

Ut queant laxis resonāre fibrisMira gestorum famuli tuorum,Solve polluti labii reatum,Sancte Iohannes.

While one of the names has been changed and one added, the others remain constant and are now used almost all over the world.

So what did he deduce?

Saswata Chakraborty

18.

A young shayar, struggling to find his feet in the Mumbai film industry, went to another more famous and well established shayar looking not for money but for a job. The latter, who used to call the former Naujawan, persuaded him to accept Rs. 200 – a princely sum in the 60’s – to help him tide over the immediate crises.

Over time, the younger shayar also made a name for himself, but the debt remained unpaid – even becoming a matter of lighthearted banter between the two of them, with the younger man jokingly telling the older that he would never repay – until the death of the senior shayar, when the younger one ended up paying the gravedigger Rs. 200 for his services.

Identify both.

Shiladitya Ganguli

19.

A very famous actor, accustomed to adoration and adulation from one and all, was once surprised to see a fellow passenger on a flight barely acknowledge his presence before resuming to read his newspaper. Hoping to stir some interest in the man, he started a conversation, dropping subtle hints about his career and fame, but to no avail. Finally, he came straight out and introduced himself, asking if his co-passenger could recognize him now, to which the man replied that in his line of business he did not get much time to watch films.

Two stalwarts of India, both Bharat Ratna’s. Identify both.

Shiladitya Ganguli

20.

According to one theory , the phrase originated at fire departments or volunteer hose companies who gave exhibitions of their prowess at carnivals or similar events.

As per another theory, it refers to the reconnoitering by bootleggers of the route they plan to use before transporting their illicit goods along it.

Now commonly seen in engineering contexts, which phrase am I talking about?

Smitakshi Banerjee

21.

Highlighting the poor camerawork and editing of Doordarshan, a certain person said –

"After the game, when I saw the footage, I saw the camera going from one direction to the other and maybe there was some editing problem but it showed me in very bad light . . . as if I had left the goalpost and run away..No, they didn’t show me at the goalpost at all. People thought maybe I got scared and left my post".

Name the person and also identify the context.

Smitakshi Banerjee

22.

X in Y was probably the most famous temple in Greece in its day. Situated in the sacred grove of Y in the western Peloponnese, X was the central focus of the whole sanctuary of Y, where Z were held for over a millennium. Built by Libon in 470-456 BC, X was not huge by the standards of the Parthenon or the X in Athens, but was much bigger than the other temples of the sacred grove. All that remains now is the base (28m x 64m), though excavation has uncovered many of the marble carvings that adorned the temple and these are on display in the museum in Y.

Solve for X, Y and Z

Sreekanth G

23.

X is a fabulous art deco style building in the centre of London. It resembles a huge snooker table turned on it's back, the legs being the four huge original steam towers. It has to be said, that while being one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, it has to be one of the most unusually ugly and yet attractive buildings. Its charm lies in its size and in the way that it is totally, unrepentantly a functional monster.

X supplied power to London between 1937 and 1980. It was designed by the British architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. What is X and why did it hit pop culture headlines in the late 1970s?

Sreekanth G

24.

With no living male heirs, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, on 19 April 1713 issued the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to ensure that the House of Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne would be inherited by his daughter, Maria Theresa of Austria.

Apart from the fact that this was the first time a daughter inherited the throne of Austria, what was odd with the Pragmatic Sanction?

Sudip Kalyan Dey

25.

In the field of emerging technologies, what is Nootropics?

Sudip Kalyan Dey

26.

Hormel developed America's first canned ham (''Hormel Flavor-Sealed Ham'') in 1926, and eleven years later developed the first canned meat product that did not require refrigeration. It was a ''distinctive chopped pork shoulder and ham mixture'' developed by Jay C. Hormel, son of Hormel founder George A. Hormel, and marketed as ''Hormel Spiced Ham'' - not a terribly inspiring name for an innovative product fated to save lives, win wars, and balance diets of people world wide. Hormel Spiced Ham got off to a slightly rocky start. Other meatpackers began to introduce their own canned luncheon meats, and Hormel lost its controlling share of the market. Soon, however, they came up with a cunning plan to rectify this situation - they would give Hormel's luncheon meat a truly catchy name. Toward this end, they offered $100 for a suitable appellation. The winning name was, of course________________.

Subrata Dass

27.

Subrata Dass

28.

Carrying long-stemmed roses as a sign of peace, Mikheil Saakashvili and his supporters entered the parliament building and demanded the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze in the Rose Revolution of 2003 of which country?

Vivita Sequeira

29.

Which planet is principally made of iron, but shares its name with a different metal?

Vivita Sequeira

30.

THANK YOU…