It was not the kind of response you'd expect for a business quiz, especially, on a Sunday. But, a buzz of excitement filled the GRD Auditorium of PSG CAS, as 180 teams and an eager audience awaited the action.
Biz Trac '11, organised by the Department of Corporate Secretaryship, PSG College of Arts and Science, saw teams coming in from as far away as Chennai. And, what a cracker of a quiz it was, with gems culled out of news from the corporate world.
After a 30-question preliminary round, eight teams went into the finals. Five rounds, 50 questions. That's all it took to decide the winners.
Great start
The questions were eclectic, as expected of quizmaster M. Rangarajan. The very first one drew a chuckle — When industrialist Kirloskar signed in at a hotel in Egypt, why did the receptionist smile and ask him if that was really his name? Kirloskar pumps were so famous in Egypt, that the term ‘Kirloskar' was synonymous with the word pump!
The quiz then went along all the thoroughfares leading to business, from the world's first mechanical pencil (Sharp, 1915) and the first industrial bailout in American history (Chrysler, 1979), to the first car made for women (the heavily-accessorised Dodge La Femme) and NANA Technology used to make the lives of senior citizens more comfortable.
Then, there were nation- and state-specific questions. What is the McDonald's mascot called in Japan? Donald McDonald, instead of Ronald, because of the lack of a clear ‘R' sound in Japanese. What car is called Bhata Ghadi in Chattarpur? The Wagon R. Wagon became Baigan (brinjal), and Bhata is the local name for brinjal!
Then it was the turn of technology. Asked to identify a logo, one of the teams got it right — “Tiger Text”. It is used to send messages without leaving a footprint. Urban legend has it that it was named after Tiger Woods. And, what did a Japanese priest start an online ceremony in 1997 for? For obsolete software, failed business projects and lost information.
The best question was probably the one relating to the theme round. So, what brought together hotels, aircraft, hospital, money, and power generation…? No one got it right, and the quizmaster had the last laugh. They were the subjects for Arthur Hailey's novels!
At the end of an hour of intensive quizzing, Jayakanthan and Prashanth from Chennai, who called themselves ‘Kongu Kingu', came toppers with 140 points. Ashok Pai and Yogesh Pai of Chennai Silks, the ‘Tirupur Tughlaks', stood second with 65 points, while Shailendra Bansali and Sujith, the ‘Biz Crack', stood third with 45 points.
All the winners got dinner vouchers from Le Meridien and a cash prize of Rs. 10,000, Rs. 7,500 and Rs. 5,000, respectively. The best faculty team was Balaji from Sri Krishna Institute of Technology and Joseph Francis from Karunya Institute of Technology; the best school team was Atitya Ragul and D. Abijith of SBOA Matriculation HSS, the best family team was Ashwin Murali and Arjun Murali and the best girls' team was Shiva Pradha and Olive Synthia. A cute touch was getting the students who put the show together to distribute the prizes.
QUIZ TIME
Which family do all these people belong to? Poppie Fresh, Grand Popper, Biscuit (cat), Popper (son), Bun-Bun (baby daughter) and Rollie (uncle)? Answer: Pillsbury doughboy!
What feature on its home page costs Google 110 million dollars a year? “I'm feeling Lucky”, because it does not feature advertisements
What's the link between Dan Brown and Walt Disney? Dan's leading man Robert Langdon sports a Mickey Mouse watch
Who is a ‘director of first impressions'? A receptionist
