Trains of Thought

 

1) In 1974, this 28-year-old politically left-leaning engineer was on his way home to India from France. During his journey on a train, he struck up a conversation with one of the passengers "about the travails of living in an Iron Curtain country." He was interrupted by some policemen as they thought that he was criticising the communist regime and dragged out of the train and left in a small room without food or water for 72 hours, then thrown back on another departing train and released in Istanbul. His treatment purged him of any affinity he had for the left and would ultimately help make him one of India's and the world's most successful capitalists. Who is He?

2)______ ______ first popped into her head during a long, boring train trip. What if, she wondered, a child rode a train that took him away from the confines of the boring adult world, to a place where he had power, both literally and metaphorically? By the time the train arrived at her destination, she had outlined several of ____ ______ adventures. Fill in the blanks.

3)This station comes on way to Pretoria from Durban in South Africa. A very famous or rather infamous incident changed the course of history. What incident or what station?

 

     
     4) He popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and me were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner." When he was in the train, he started drawing different sized circles until it became the form of a mouse. "Let's try Mortimer”, he asked his wife. She said, "How about _______?" And thus, _____  ______ was born!

 

    

   
  5)Which train going from Paris to Constantinople did the Compaigne Internationale des Wagons-Lits et Grands Express Europeens, run by the Belgian entrepreneur Georges Nagelmackers, operate in Europe in the early part of the twentieth century?  

      

                                   

     And a funny train complaint letter for you all which led to the provision of toilets in Indian Railways (P.S It's an actual letter) !

 

 

     
  

What’s in a name?

1) His parents saw Japanese beef on a restaurant menu and decided it would be a good thing to name their son. He is the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points and has won 5 NBA Championships. Who is he?

2) The attack and invasion of Iraq was originally called Operation Iraqi Liberation but later on it was changed to Operation Iraqi Freedom after media reports and online outbursts. What was the reason?

3) "One day we were over at Phil's house...He had a big dictionary. I opened it and there was ____  _______, those words juxtaposed. It was one of those moments, you know, like everything else went blank, diffuse, just sort of oozed away, and there was ______ ___--- in big, black letters edged all around in gold, man, blasting out at me, such a stunning combination. So I said, 'How about _____  _______?' And that was it."

This is how the famous band got its name. Which band?

4) Which very famous comic strip is believed to be named after John, a 16th-century French Reformation theologian, and Thomas, a 17th-century English political philosopher?

5) Shivaji Rao Gaikwad is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He has won six State Film Awards—four Best Actor Awards and two Special Awards for Best Actor. He was bestowed the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour in 2000. Other than acting, he has also worked as a producer and screenwriter. By which name do we know him better?

6) A bonus question in fact an easy one- What does wiki mean in the name WIKIPEDIA?

Quiz of the Day

 

1)  X is characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social behaviour, and carries the implication that such behaviour is compensatory for the subjects' stature. In psychology, X is regarded as a derogatory social stereotype. The conventional wisdom on the person on whom X is named has been found false by historians who claim the person was above average in stature. Who is X?

 

2) This famous cricketer is in the elite club of Don Bradman, Brian Lara, W G Grace, Michael Hussey and two others for having scored 3 or more triple centuries in first -class cricket.In fact he is the only Indian in this exclusive club. Also known as the “Rock star”. Who is he?

 

3) It was created and developed in 1893 and introduced as Brad's Drink by Caleb Bradham, who made it at his drugstore. "A bully drink...refreshing, invigorating, a fine bracer before a race” and the advertising theme "Delicious and Healthful" was used for it at first. Its name was later kept on a digestive enzyme. What is it?

 

 

 

      4) What is the meaning or logic behind the logo VAIO?

 

 

 

5) He was born in Santa Fe Province, to a factory steel worker, and a part-time cleaner. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. Despite that he showed great skills in a sport. Local powerhouse River Plate showed interest in his progress, but were not willing to pay for treatment for his condition, which cost $900 a month. Carles Rexach, a big sports director from Spain offered him a contract written on a paper napkin. Rexach offered to pay for his medical bills if he was willing to move to Spain. Who is He ?

Answers for the Quiz on 3-May-2013

 

1) Ivy League

 The eight institutions are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth   College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.

2)The domain name Gmail.com

 Before its acquisition by Google, the gmail.com domain name was used by a free e-mail service offered by Garfield.com, online home of the comic strip Garfield. After moving to a different domain, that service has since been discontinued.

3)The spear & shield of Mars and the hand-mirror of Venus have inspired the male and female gender symbols.

4) The man is said to have been deported for being too handsome!

Omar Borkan Al Gala may be deported from of Saudi Arabia to prevent women from interacting with him following the country's Islamic norms.

5)This is an ad for KIT-KAT.