Quiz of the Day - 31 May 2012

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Another visual question from the field of business for the daily quiz.
From the picture on the right hand side, you can see the different stages of evolution of the logo of a world famous company. The logo evolved from International Time Recording Company in 1888 to Computing Scale Company in 1891 and to Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911. 
How do we know company nowadays?
Send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.
The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow. Cheers!
Answer: The company later on changed its name to International Business Machine and is now known as IBM.
Congratulations to Anindya Mozumdar, Biswajyoti Borah, Rupali De, R. Brahmapuram and Ranjit Bhagawati for cracking this question.

Quiz of the Day - 30 May 2012

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Instead of controversial ads, we focus on a famous ad campaign for today's daily quiz.

The photograph on the right hand side shows a very famous advertisement campaign, the "Young America" campaign by an equally famous company.

All you have to do is simply identify the company, which ran the the campaign in the United States of America.

Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer, along with the name of the persons with the correct answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: The answer is Harley-Davidson.
Although, Harley is synonymous with iconic cruisers and other much bigger bikes, in order to counter Honda's "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" campaign, they launched this range of bikes and the "Young America" campaign.
Congratulations to Anindya Mozumdar, Jahangir Alam, Ratan Dey & Saket Sain for cracking this. 

Quiz of the Day - 29 May 2012

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Another international controversial advertisement for the daily quiz.

The photograph on the right hand side shows the print advertisement for a well known alcoholic brand. The portions of the ad, which could lead to the identification of the brand, have been redacted.

Identify the brand.

Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer, along with the name of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: Only Shubham Vajpayee got the answer correct.
The answer is the famous tequila from Mexico, Gringo's Tequila, who have run similar themed ads for quite some time now.

Quiz of the Day - 28 May 2012

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This week's daily quiz will be on the theme of business, logo and famous advertisements.

The photograph on the right hand side captures a delicious treat from Baskin-Robbins.

From the photo, identify the significance of the logo.

Send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer, along with the name of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: In the Baskin-Robbins' logo, we can see the number 31, written in pink colors, out of the bold BR. It refers to the original 31 flavours that the company started with in 1945.
Congratulations to Soumyadeep Roy, Debabroto Mukherjee, Chirag and Indira for coming up with the right answer.
Let the show go on!

Bloody Sunday - Quiz of the Day - 27 May 2012

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Agree, this is a bloody silly question for the daily quiz, but with the uncomfortability index touching 69 degree Fahrenheits, a smile or two can definitely help cool our already heated gray matters!

You can see the promotional poster of a film starring Rituparna Sengupta & Chunky Pandey on the right hand side. This film, which set a new low in the nomenclature of Bengali films, had spawned similarly named flicks, mostly directed by Swapan Saha, and which became the butt of jokes for the urban moviegoer. Over the years, the film, or rather its name, has acquired a cult status. 

Identify the name of the film.

Please send in your answers to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer, along with the name of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!

P.S. All bongs, did the mention of Swapan Saha bring a smile on to your lips? ;)
Answer: This wasn't a serious question at all. In fact, I had intended to upload a full movie quiz for the Sunday special. Unfortunately, due to Tata photon+, could not do so.
Oh, by the way, the name of film is "Swami Keno Asaami"  (Bengali: স্বামী কেনো আসামী। Literally, Why my husband is a convict).

Quiz of the Day - 26 May 2012

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Continuing with our series on controversial advertisements for the daily quiz, we bring another visual question.

The collage of the photos on the right hand side has been taken from a TV ad aired by a South African company. Titled "The Last Dictator Standing", the ad features Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe reminiscing about the great times spent with his fellow dictators, who have all been dethroned. As you can see from the collage, it also features Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Idi Amin of Uganda.

All you have to do is identify the company behind the advertisement.

Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The Answer, along with the names of people with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: Unfortunately, not a single correct answer today!
The answer is the South African fast food chain Nando's.
Although, a rib tickling funny ad, it was later withdrawn following protests from Zimbabwe.

Quiz of the Day - 25 May 2012

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Continuing with our thread of controversial advertisements, we pick an international ad for today's daily quiz.

This Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss ad created a lot of controversy for its content, with many considering the ad to be in bad taste. Even the celebrity, whose name had been used in the ad, did not take too kindly to the concept and wrote a letter against the purported comparison being made through the ad. The company, however, persisted with the ad.

The whole ad-line was, 

"Move over ____

there's a new diva

in town"

All you have to do is fill the blanks.

Please mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer, along with the name of the person with the correct answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: The answer is "Naomi".
Congratulations to Biswajyoti Borah, Subodh Kumar and Mitali, who have got the answer right.
As an aside, this ad generated a lot of controversy because of its comparison between Naomi Campbell and Dairy Milk Bliss. Naomi herself wrote a letter expressing her disbelief and saying that she was deeply hurt by the way the ad tried to portray her as equivalent to a chocolate.

Quiz of the Day - 24 May 2012

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Continuing with our thread on controversial advertisements for the daily quiz.

The print ad displayed on the right hand side was created for a Swedish company and was intended for the Mexican market only. In order to endear itself to the Mexicans, the company's ad showed the territorial boundaries of Mexico prior to independence of Texas and annexation of the Southern States including New Mexico, by the United States of America. However, this advertisement created more controversy in the USA, especially in the southern part of the country. As a result, the company had to apologise to its USA stakeholders and withdraw the ad.

All you'll have to do is identify the company.
Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.
The answer, along with the names of the persons with the correct answer, will be published tomorrow.
Answer: Prasad Sawant, Parul Agarwal and Kaustabh provided the right answer.
It is ABSOLUT, one of the largest selling Vodkas in the world. The ad line originally read, "IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD", written across the map of Mexico. As the company was caught in the storm of protest from USA, they quickly withdrew the ad and came out with an apology in the USA for an ad, which was never shown and in fact, never intended to be shown, in that country.

Quiz of the Day - 23 May 2012

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On today's daily quiz, my tribute to this man.

Its a simple and straight forward question for most of the avid quizzers. Too famous a man and even more famous are his lines.

The gentleman caught on the photograph once famously remarked, 

"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest, I just squandered."

Identify the genius.

Please mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer, along with the names of the persons with the correct answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!

Answer: Both Anindya and Ratan Majumder are absolutely correct!

He is George Best, the Northern Ireland and Manchester United star, about whom the English fans would chant, "Maradona Good, Pele Better, George Best". Sadly, alcoholism and a fast life curtailed both his playing career, as well as lifespan. He was born on 22 May, 1946.

Quiz of the Day - 22 May 2012

A visual question from the field of football (or soccer) for today's daily quiz.

Identify the footballer shown in the image on the right side, who has played primarily in the CONCACAF region. This photo was taken in the year 1974, when he was a part of the Miami Toros in the North American Soccer League (NASL), in which, the likes of Pele also competed.
Answer: Sorry to say that nobody could come up with the correct answer.
The player in the picture is Rajinder Singh Virdee, better known as Roger Verdi. Born in Kenya, of Indian Sikh parents, he changed his name in order to escape racial bias prevalent in those days. In the North American Soccer League (NASL), Verdi competed against players of the calibre of Pele and Beckenbauer and appeared in over 100 games.

Quiz of the Day - 21 May 2012

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Here's a visual question for the Daily Quiz.

From the picture, you'll have to tell me the significance of the two photographs.

Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer, along with the name of the persons with the correct answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: Unfortunately, no one came up with the right answer.
The upper photo shows the signage for Å, literally meaning river, and the example of the shortest name for a place in the world. There are several villages in Norway, Sweden & Denmark that share the same name.

The lower snap shows the signage for a hill on North Island, New Zealand, which is the longest name of a place in the world. The shorter version of the name, which is in Māori language, consists of 57 letters and the full version is of 85 letters.

To speak the truth, I have failed in my attempts at pronouncing the names of the place!
line break by Shovon Chakraborty

Both the short version and the full version of the name are given below.
Shovon Chakraborty, is also known as Bapi.
Short Version of 57 letters:
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Hi
The full version of 85 letters:
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.
:)

Quiz of the Day - Bloody Sunday - 20 May 2012

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Image Courtesy: KoiMoi.com

From now on, the quizzes on Sundays will be published under Bloody Sunday tag. And, for the first question under this, I turn to the very happening Sujay Ghosh & Vidya Balan. Its again a visual question for the daily quiz.

The image on the right side was the very first poster released for the movie Kahaani starring Vidya Balan. The picture shows a seven months pregnant Vidya as the Goddess Durga and was inspired by a painting by a famous Indian from the early twentieth century.

All you have to do is identify the painter (and if possible, the painting too) who had created the original.

Please send in your answers to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer, along with the names of persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: Unfortunately, nobody has come up with the right answer.

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This particular poster was inspired by the painting Pratima Visharjan by Gaganendranath Tagore, who was one of the painters behind the style commonly known as The Bengal School of Art. It was painted in the year 1915 and captures the hues and ambience of Kolkata during Vijaya Dashami, which is more commonly known as Dussera and is the last day of the festivities associated with Durga Puja, the most important festival in Kolkata. On this day, the idols of Devi Durga are immersed in to the river with the common belief being that the Goddess, along with her family, goes back to her home after spending four days and nights at her parents' place.

Quiz of the Day - 19 May 2012

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Back to the basics (instinct!), as they say, for the daily quiz!

A visual question from the world of business - advertisement, to be specific.

The picture on the right hand side was run as a part of a series of advertisement for an airline. You've simply tell me the name of the advertiser, i.e. the airline, for which it was created.

Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: It's our own Air India!
Surprisingly, the ad, which many found tasteless, was a part of a series of print ads for Air India, the flag carrier of India. This particular ad was for the daily flight between New Delhi and New York. 
Congratulations to Rajeev, Malini & Apurba for providing the correct answer.
Cheers!

Quiz of the Day - 18 May 2012

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Visual business question for the daily quiz today!

On the right hand side, you can see the snapshot from a series of advertisement run by a jeans brand, which created a lot of controversy.

This, coupled with a few other ads, resulted in such a situation, that the matter of "obscene advertisement" was even discussed in the parliament of India.

All you have to do is identify the "brand".

Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.
Answer: Yes, Anindya, absolutely right. Good answer.
This ad is one of the series that has been designed for promoting Flying Machine jeans and created quite a controversy for the purported way in which women are depicted in the series.

Quiz of the Day - 17 May 2012

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A straight visual question for today's daily quiz.

From the photograph on the right hand side, all you have to do is simply identify what's been captured in the frame.
The answer will amaze you for sure!

Please send in your answer to shovon76 [at]gmail[dot]com.

Answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: Amit from WBUT and Nagesh Kumar, both of you are correct.
These are the Red Herrings.

Quiz of the Day - 16 May 2012

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Back to a visual question for the daily quiz.

The question has two parts.

First, you'll have to identify the place from the photograph.

Once you do that, you'll have to tell us the significance of this particular photograph, taken in 2006.

Please send your answers to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!

Answer: The place is St. Peter's Square at Vatican City. The stone tablet, towards the bottom of the photo, marks the exact location where Mehmet Ali Ağca tried to assassinate Pope Jon Paul II on 13 May 1981. The Pope was struck 4 times and suffered severe blood loss.

Quiz of the Day - 15 May 2012

A direct question for the daily quiz.

If I am talking about The Russian Knight and The Great Baltic, what am I referring to?

Please send your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.

And, please, do not Google!
Shovon Chakraborty Quiz
Answer: Unfortunately, no correct answer this time.
Sikorsky Russky Vityaz i.e. The Russian Knight and previously known as the Bolshoi Baltisky i.e. The Great Baltic was the very first multi-engine/four engine aircraft in the world, designed by Igor Sikorsky and built at the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works in Saint Petersberg in early 1913. .

Quiz of the Day - 14 May 2012

A visual question for the daily quiz.

This picture was taken in the year 1895 and it depicts two historical figures from the wild west.

All you have to do is to identify both the men and tell us about their contribution.

You can send your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot[com].

The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.

So, Cheers for the Monday blues!
Answer: These gentlemen are Lakota Indian chief Sitting Bull on the left of the picture and Buffalo Bill.
Sitting Bull led his group of Indians to famous victories over General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and over the 7th Cavalry subsequently. Buffalo Bill, born William Frederick Cody, is regarded as the creator of the Wild West Show, which ran very successfully during the late 19th century United States of America.

Quiz of the Day - 11 May 2012

Another from the business world for today's daily quiz.

This company's foray in to the USA market led to a 12 year long promotional campaign, the idea for which was bought by the ad agency retained by the company from a UCLA undergraduate student, who had created the concept for a class assignment. 

That particular campaign changed the market dynamics totally and has been considered by some strategic management gurus as probably the best known and most debated case in business strategy. This particular campaign is also credited with having invented the concept of "lifestyle marketing".

What campaign for which company and product am I talking about?
ষভন ছাক্রাবরত্য।
Answer: Not a single correct answer? That's sad, considering that I was referring to an iconic campaign that changed the market dynamics - the erosion of market share for USA & British motorcycles and paving the way for Japanese dominance.
Yes, the answer is the "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" campaign created by Grey Advertising, after they had bought the idea from a UCLA undergraduate student, who had created the concept for a class assignment. The campaign had started in June 1963 in US media and ran for 12 years. With this campaign, HONDA launched their iconic (I know, too much use of the term in this post, but can't help!) Super Cub, the different models of which has sold over 60 million units all over the world.

Quiz of the Day - 10 May 2012

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Another visual question for today's daily quiz, which, for a change, is on business.

The picture shows two IMFL brands - Bagpiper and Officer's Choice Whiskeys. Recently, these two brands were in the news for some reason. I would like you to tell me the significance of the news story, because of which these were the talk of the town.

Please mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

Answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers! (Although, not with any of these)
Answer: Anindya gets it right!
Probably "the worst whiskeys ever made", these two, in fact, are also the largest selling ones! For Vijay Mallya, the times are really bad, as Kishore Chhabria owned Officer's Choice overtook his Bagpiper brand as the largest selling whiskey in India.

Quiz of the Day - 9 May 2012

Back to the visual format and football/soccer for the daily quiz.

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On the right hand side, you can see the photos of two footballers - a Wales international and an Icelandic international.

This due holds an unenviable record and till date, they are the only members of an exclusive "achiever's" club.

I would want you to tell me the names of both the players, as well as their unique achievement.

Send in your answers to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answers will be published tomorrow.

Till then, Ciao!
Answer: Hats off to Amit Pathak for cracking this!
The person on the left is Nathan Alexander Blake, a former international professional footballer from Wales.
The person on the right side is Hermann Hreiðarsson, an Icelandic international footballer, who currently plays as a Defender for Coventry City.
Blake and Hermann share the dubious distinction of having been relegated from the Premier League the most number of times - five apiece.  Blake's teams were relegated in 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004, while Hermann was part of the Crystal Palace squad for the 1997–98 season, Wimbledon in the 1999–2000 season, Ipswich Town in the 2001–02 season, Charlton Athletic in the 2006–07 season and Portsmouth in the 2009–10 season, all of which were relegated at the end of the respective seasons.

Quiz of the Day - 8 May 2012

Deviating from the visual questions and posting a straight one.

Connect the following persons - 

1. Ranty Martins
2. Yakubu Yusif
3. Odafa Okolie
4. Jose Ramirez Barreto

Mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

Answer to be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: I would actually like to ask a question to Ms./Mr. Anonymous, "Are you the same anonymous who's answering all the questions?" :)
The connection among the four players - they are the only ones to have scored more than 100 goals in I-League & National Football League (NFL), i.e. the top tier of the Indian football pyramid.

Quiz of the Day - 5 May 2012

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An old photograph of an historical person for today's daily quiz.

A simple question, going by the track record!

Identify the person in the photograph and tell us about his claim to fame.

Mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: Apologies for the delay in publishing the answer.
Indeed, he is Charles Ponzi, after whom, the word Ponzi Scheme was invented. Ironically, he died almost penniless.
Congratulations Shray Gupta and Anonymous for cracking this.

Quiz of the Day - 4 May 2012

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It seems that I have been infected by a visual question virus! So, here comes another one for the daily quiz based on a picture.

As you can see, the picture on the right hand side is that of the coat of arms for some Royal or Noble family.

You have to identify the family, which is/was associated with the crest.

There's a second part too. You'll need to establish a connection between the crest and India.

Send in your answers to shovon76@gmail.com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.

And now, let me get catch some sleep. Cheers!
Answer: Both Anindya Mozumdar and our Friend without a name are correct.
This is the coat of arms of The Battenberg family, which was a morganatic branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, rulers of the Grand Duchy of Hesse in Germany. Most members of the family, residing in the United Kingdom, had renounced their German titles in 1917, due to rising anti-German sentiment among the British public during World War I, and changed their name to "Mountbatten", an anglicised version of Battenberg. The name Battenberg refers to the town Battenberg, Hesse.
Prince Louis of Battenberg (1900–1979), renounced his title in 1917 to become Lord Louis Mountbatten (later Earl Mountbatten of Burma). He was the last Viceroy of India (till 1947) and the first Governor-General of the independent Union of India (1947–48).

Quiz of the Day - 2 May 2012

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I am sticking to another visual clue for today's quiz, although, I must say that it should be much easier to crack.

This painting by Francis Hayman was done to capture an event which can truly be termed as the turning point in the Indian history. Which even am I talking about? Also, can you name the two main characters in the painting?

Mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: Anonymous is almost correct.
This painting by Francis Hayman depicts the scene after the Battle of Plassey, when Mir Jafar meets a victorious Robert Clive, ostensibly to congratulate each other on a conspiracy well executed. The battle took place in the year 1757 at Plassey, near Murshidabad, the then capital of the Bengal Sultanate. Although, the British East India Company's army were hopelessly outnumbered at 3000 against 35,000, due to a secret pact between the British and Siraj's lieutenants, led by Mir Jafar, Nawab's forces were routed and Siraj had to flee from the battlefield. Mir Jafar, then ascended the throne with support from Clive. For his treachery, even today, Mir Jafar is a reviled figure. In Bengali language, the moniker "Mir Jafar" is synonymous with a treacherous person.

Quiz of the Day - 1 May 2012

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Another visual question for the daily quiz.

A personal favourite. In the picture, which was taken in the North East India, you can see people gathering arrows from the ground apart from the bunch of arrows, which have evidently hit the target.

The archery is part of a particular event and is done on regular basis. What is the significance or purpose of this?

Mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: No one even tried answering this! That's puzzling!
The picture depicts a gambling game called "Teer" (literally meaning arrow), which is a legalized form of gambling in the state of Meghalaya.
In case any of you, having interest in legalized gambling has ever visited Shillong, Meghalaya, you would have seen the Teer counters all over the city. The Teer is a traditional form of gambling that sustains the age-old sport of archery and has been an integral part of the people in the state. For those with luck on their side, it offers maximum returns for as low a bet as Re. 1. And, it provides sustainable livelihood for archers in villages across the hill state.
The system is simple. A row of archers shoot at a circular target made of hay, like the one shown in the picture, round by round. After each round, the Teers or arrows, plucked out of the bull's eye are counted. The total number of arrows, which remain on the counting frame in the end, is the lucky number for the day. The number can only be a two-digit one between 00 and 99. There are, of course, jackpots, forecasts and other lucrative rounds too.
As far as I know, there are two different archery associations, one at Shillong and the other at Jowai, who are licensed to run Teer gambling. There are two different rounds played in a day - at 12 noon and at 5 pm in the evening. The returns, for a one rupee wager can be Rs. 8, if you get the last number correct; Rs. 80, if you get both the numbers correct, Rs. 8,000, if you hit a jackpot, i.e. you get both the two digit numbers for the 1st round as well as the 2nd round correct.
Shovon Chakraborty, Shovon
Here's a video of the archers shooting at the targets, which I found on the YouTube.
Shovon Chakraborty, B.Sc. with Physics Honors and MBA