Sumanth Patlolla

IIFT

MBA(IB), 2013-15

Written round

20 questions, +1 for each answer

Star marked questions will resolve tie-breaks

No negatives, so take your best guess!

ELIMS FORMAT

________ was initially included to make users familiar with graphical user interfaces and it proved useful in familiarizing them with the use of a mouse and basic techniques such as the drag-and-drop

It has raised concerns of lost business productivity and in 2006, a New York City worker was fired after Mayor Michael Bloomberg saw him using it on his office computer

What?

01

Solitaire

This is a photo of AxelleDespiegelaere, a Belgian who was offered a modeling contract by L'Oreal after being spotted at a certain place.

However, her contract was later cancelled after images of her posing with a hunting rifle and a dead animal were found on her Facebook feed.

So where was Axelle spotted by L'Oreal, leading to her short-lived celebrity status?

02

At the 2014 Football World Cup

From a blog post titled “All our ________ are belong to you” on a certain company’s website

“Yesterday, there was a wall of ________ in the lobby of our Palo Alto headquarters. That is no longer the case. They have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement”

Name the company which has made this move, which seems to be a mix of good business sense and altruism.

Also mention what they have done.

03

Tesla Motors

They have made their patents for electric car design open for the public to use

What does this graph show? 04

Most deadly actors, in terms of on-screen kills

Where would you most probably be if on the morning of the 7th of July, you wake up early, dress in whites with a red waistband and neckerchief, enter through the gate of the Town Hall and wait for the rocket that sets off at 8 AM?

05*

Pamplona

The August 31, 1946 edition of the New Yorker was somewhat deceptive with the cover showing a summer picnic in a park.

Inside, the entire edition was dedicated to a single story around the events that happened on a particular day in the lives of six people.

This was done because most people in the US were unaware about the details of the event.

So what event was the story around?

06*

The atomic bomb dropped at Hiroshima

According to legend, when the voting was taking place for the first Academy Awards, the most votes for Best Actor went to X who starred in various movies including Hills of Kentucky, Tracked by the Police, Jaws of Steel and A Race for Life.

However, it was later felt that this would result in the awards not being taken seriously and the award ultimately went to Emil Jannings.

Who is X?

07

Rin Tin Tin

Events in August 2012 led to some unwittingly hilarious posts, tweets etc. by people who were probably confused.

Subsequently, there were many images making fun of this. One such image is shown here.

Simply name all three people being referenced.

(Full names needed)

08

Neil Armstrong; Louis Armstrong; Lance Armstrong

In the early hours of Sunday, 22nd February 2009, a savage virus called ‘CSV’ began to infect millions of websites worldwide.

Originating from an unknown source in the UK at around 2am it started corrupting the CSS files of websites through a server loophole.

So what exactly did the virus do?

(Images on the next slide)

09

Changed the text to Comic Sans

The Pillars of Hercules was a phrase used for two peaks which were supposed to mark the end of the known world.

Traditionally, they bore the warning "Non plus ultra", (nothing further beyond) to warn sailors to go no further.

However, after the discovery of the Americas, Charles V incorporated the pillars into his coat of arms with the phrase "Plus Ultra", indicating a desire to see the Pillars as an entrance to the rest of the world.

While the identity of one of the two peaks is disputed between either Monte Hacho in Ceuta and Jebel Musa, the other one is quite clear.

So which is the other peak?

10*

Rock of Gibraltar

When the app Yo was launched, it was dismissed by a lot of people .

However Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen felt it was a useful instance of "one-bit communication" — like a Police siren, a flashing stop light or an "Open" sign.

He also compared it to a major one bit communication technique, common in South East Asia and Africa.

Industry estimates of loss of revenue due to this technique are around 20–30%.

What technique, which has been used by many companies and even by the AAP in India?

11

Missed Calls

2014 marked the 20th anniversary of the opening of a certain modern marvel whose cross section is shown below.

Identify this engineering wonder.

12

Channel Tunnel

What is this a list of?

1. "Harry Potter" series, J.K. Rowling (21.08%)

2. "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper Lee (14.48%)

3. "The Lord of the Rings," J.R.R. Tolkien (13.86%)

4. "The Hobbit," J.R.R. Tolkien (7.48%)

5. "Pride and Prejudice," Jane Austen (7.28%)

6. "The Holy Bible" (7.21%)

7. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Douglas Adams (5.97%)

8. "The Hunger Games" trilogy, Suzanne Collins (5.82%)

9. "The Catcher in the Rye," J.D. Salinger (5.7%)

10. "The Chronicles of Narnia," C.S. Lewis (5.63%)

13

Top 10 books ranked by how often they were named in Facebook statuses mentioning “10 books that have stayed with me”

Originally called the Ediety Knot, this knot gained fame when it was seen in the film ‘X’ donned by the posh villain ‘Y’ and ended up being called as the ‘Y' knot.

ID 'Y' and hence, 'X'

14*

The Merovingian from The Matrix Reloaded

Walk Again Project is a consortium made up of hundreds of people from universities and research institutes worldwide under the direction of neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis who coordinates scientists and experts of 25 nationalities from every continent.

The purpose of the project is to develop a brain-to-machine interface technology that allows people with restricted mobility to walk again using their minds to control a device outside of the body.

How did this project become famous recently?

15

This was the project that enabled a paraplegic to kick off the FIFA 2014 World Cup

Oshiya are workers at metro stations in Japan.They were first brought in at Shinjuku Metro Station and were largely made up of students working part-time.

What is the primary objective of their work?

16

Stuffing passengers into crowded coaches.

'X' Pass, Literally meaning "Pile of Corpses" in Bhoti, named so due to people dying in bad weather trying to cross the pass, is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas.

Several episodes of the History Channel's Ice Road Truckers series as well as the spinoff IRT Deadliest Roads feature this pass.

ID 'X'

17*

Rohtang Pass

If the Rudra Veena is named after Lord Shiva and the Saraswati Veena is named after Goddess Saraswati, why is the Ekantha Veena named so?

18

During his lifetime, Rabindranath Tagore appeared in a print ad for a product of a famous brand.

Which product and which brand?

19

Whose statue? Where? 20

Nikola Tesla

Niagara falls (where he set up the first major hydroelectric power plant in the world)