Answers to last week's quiz (#373)

1. The head of state of this tiny nation has brought in KPMG to implement uniform internationally accepted accounting practices in his country, Ernst & Young to scrutinise the management of its utilities and municipal services, Deloitte & Touche to audit its bank, McKinsey along with Chris Patten (former head of BBC and Governor of Hong Kong) to restructure its media operations and Spencer Stuart to recruit top management talent from around the globe. Name the country and its head of state.
   Pope Francis of the Vatican.
    
2. The tagline of a department in this global company reads "We like epic shit" and this division chooses to make the future and make what they believe in. Name the company and its department.
   The advanced technology and Projects group at Google. It is being headed Regina Dugan, who an expert in counter terrorism and had a stint at DARPA, the US Defense departments tech research organisation.
    
3. Name the brand that has introduced a compression t-shirt that measures heart rate and breath for an ongoing major sporting event in the US.
   Ralph Lauren Polo for the US open. The polo tech shirt's fabric is woven with conductive threads that allow it to sense heart rate. A lightweight black box, meanwhile, contains the battery and Bluetooth to transmit data to an app as well as an accelerometer and gyroscope for tracking steps.
    
4. What is common to the first microprocessor brought out by Intel Corporation, Apple's first personal computer and the first recombinant genetically engineered hormone somatostatin?
   All of these were launched by the agency run by Regis McKenna, the famous marketing guru.
    
5. Which brand is now running an ad campaign in Africa called "Made of Black" and Black is not a color?
   Guinness Beer. The company says that this campaign is not about colour but individuals who aren't afraid to express themselves .
    
6. A coffee house that existed in New York City in the 1790s got its name from the term used for an Investment plan that was invented by a Neapolitan banker Lorenzo de Tonti, in France in 1653. To what is this coffee house considered a precursor? Also name the coffee house.
   The Tontine coffee house established in NYC in 1793. Situated on Wall Street, it was used for trading stocks by brokers as per buttonwood agreement. Later, the trading shifted to the New York Stock exchange building on Wall St.
    
7. Known for one of the biggest corporate scandals in the US, this company's name is now used as a buzzword that means undermining the future of employees and companies. Name it.
   Enron. This verb came into existence courtesy Senator Tom Daschle, who said "I don't want to Enron American people"
    
8. "Liberty doesn't have a price" is the English translation of the base line used by a European telecom company. Name it.
   French telecom firm "Free".
    
9. Which billionaire's father is purported to have said this: I cheat my boys every chance I get. Want to make 'em sharp. I trade with the boys and skin 'em and I just beat 'em every time I can. I want to make 'em sharp"?
   William Rockefeller, father of John D Rockefeller, dubbed the snake oil salesman.
    
10. Name the brand and the product from the logo.
    The compressed hydrogen-powered Honda FCX car runs so clean that its exhaust contains only water which is drinkable. To celebrate this, Honda Australia and Leo Burnett Melbourne created a new bottled-water brand, H2O. The copy on the bottle read "Delicious, fresh H2O from a pristine mineral spring, cool mountain glacier or … the exhaust pipe of Honda FCX.

 

There were 15 correct entries for quiz No. 373. S.Govindarajan from Purasawalkam, Chennai wins Rs 2,000. The winner is chosen on the basis of the first correct entry received.