1In December 97, 25 year-old MIT graduate, Terri Duhon put together what she called the Broad Index Securitised Trust Offering (BISTRO). Terri now heads her own London-based consulting firm is thus credited with creating which financial weapon of mass destruction?
Answer - Credit Default Swaps
2. This image was originally used by Karl Popper while describing the notion of falsifiability in Science. The term was later picked up by a Lebanese scholar who applied it to large-impact, hard-to-predict things such as the rise of the Internet and the events of 9/11 in a book subtitled The Impact of the Highly Improbable. Name him and his book.
Answer - The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
3. What three-word phrase, eagerly awaited in 2008, was defined in a short story of the same name as follows: “A precise figure defining the comfort/ humanity/ fellow feeling required between any pair of people for love to survive. If the ____is 0, then love is dead.”
Answer - Quantum of Solace
4. Ajantha Mendis - Carrom Ball
5. 2009 year of astronomy - 400 years of Telescope and Astronomy
6. The architects were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, and it was completed by Englishman W. A. Chambers. It used the same variety of steel as the Eiffel Tower, and boasted India’s first steam elevator. During WWI, it served as a 600-bed hospital. In the 1950s, it was the rendezvous for the Goan Liberation Council. Which landmark, bloodied but unbowed, are we talking about?
Answer - Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai
7. Fill in the blanks: Omari Banks and Vaspert Drakes; ____ and ____; Brijesh Patel and Madan Lal; Don Bradman and Neil Harvey; ____ and _____.
8. Among software developers, what is the name for the menus, buttons and boxes that surround the main windows of a program or even showy features added to attract users? It first made its appearance in September 2008, and has already gained a significant following.
Answer - EOIN COLFER - Artemis fowl series
9. In December 1971, she asked him if he was ready for the fight. He replied with the gallantry, flirtatiousness and sheer cheek for which he was famous: “I am always ready, sweetie.” He said he could not bring himself to call her “Madame”, because it reminded him of a bawdy-house. Which famous figure who passed away in 2008 are we talking about?
Answer - Sam Manekshaw to Indira Gandhi 1971 war
10. Which movie (see pic) made from this book is already a cult hit, with its music is making waves having got a Golden Globe nomination?
Answer - The Slumdog Millionaire
11. Richard Branson’s first Virgin Galactic spacecraft, the ‘VSS Enterprise,’ is to take off in 2009. Branson is so keen to have a certain passenger on board that he offered this person a free ride, saving him some USD 200,000. Who is this?
Answer - William Shatner (Startrek ??)
12. Guardian of Go'hoole
13. Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines recently announced that they would be merging. If this happens, in terms of fleet size, which airline will this new entity displace from the #1 spot in 2009?
Answer - AMR AMERICAN AIRLINES (but it is not validated yet)
14. Charles Darwin 200th centenary at london
Answer of 7th and 15th - no clue