It's Quiztime, folks...

It's that time of the year. BEQ is about a month away. So start brushing up. Answers? In about a week's time? Unless you answer first

QUESTIONS
Janet Jackson, Hurrican Katrina, Tsunami, Xbox 360, Bradd Pitt, Michael Jackson, American Idol, Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, Harry Potter: What is being described?

The 60 year old Indian IT industry honcho is all ready to put a luncheon date with himself up on auction on eBay as part of a fund raising campaign that this gentleman has got his firm to do for the Society for Rehabilitation of Crippled Children. Identify the gentleman.

Connect Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, Crown Casino and World Series Cricket to a gentleman who was in the news for his demise.

Which Indian politician has been invited by UK’s Warwick Manufacturing Group to come on board as a professor to apparently teach international affairs because of his vast experience in the matter.

The famous statement "... is idiots price our devices...” was among the many that were seen on the Internet when this company launched a product nearly four years ago. Which product are we referring to?

A piston fires.
The next piston fires at 315 degrees.
There is a 405-degree gap.
A piston fires.
The next piston fires at 315 degrees.
There is a 405-degree gap.
And the cycle continues. What is being described here?

In 1935, the then Governor of the US State of Kentucky, Ruby Laffoon made this gentleman born in Henryville, Indiana an honorary Colonel. The Colonel's exploits included not only at the battlefront but elsewhere too. Name him.

One of the oldest trademarks, this was introduced in 1898. It takes its name from the slogan meaning "Now is the time to Drink". It is also used to describe the appearance of someone obese or wearing comically bulky clothing. Who am I talking about?

Where in India (specific location) is the TJ Brand of Confectioneries (including Potato Chips/Wafers) manufactured?

Every member of which business group is encouraged to practice the Vedic Principles of work: ‘Service with devotion’ and ‘Willingness to see fulfillment of one’s self interest in the active promotion of the interest of the collective’?

He graduated with degrees in Economics and Sociology from Bombay University before going on to Oxford to complete his post graduation. He played for the Oxford cricket team alongside Michael Atherton and averaged 27.75 from 7 matches. Who?

Antoine Lavoisier was given charge of producing gunpowder for the revolting Americans in 1776 by the King of France. Irenee-de-Nemours, one of the apprentices at the factory, later migrated to Wilmington, Delaware, where he set up a gunpowder unit of his own. He felt deeply grateful to Lavoisier and wanted to name the unit after the scientist. His family eventually persuaded him to give the company a truncated version of his own name. Which company originated thus?

This is from the memoirs of someone’s wife. When he went to meet his would-be-wife's father, he was wearing a bright red shirt. He told him that he wanted to become a politician with Communist party and wanted to open an orphanage (though his salary was not enough to support his family). He proposed to his wife saying "I am only 5'4" tall. I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life & I can never give you any riches." Nonetheless, she married him and rest is history. Who is this person?

Which logo or emblem has been chosen by the most number of people in the world to be tattooed on their body?

Guarantee Trust is the first and so far only non-South African insurance company to do what?

When this project was launched as a public- private venture- with the Kerala government, non-resident Indians, financial institutions and airport service providers joining hands- many people thought it would not take off. It was a first of its kind in the country, yet 10,000 NRIs from 30 countries became its shareholders or ‘donors’. The venture is now a dividend paying company. Just name this venture which proved every skeptic in the country wrong.

This 1975 Ford Escort has no radio, hub caps or air conditioning and still contains carved rosary beads, a box of matches and a tin of sweets and a dashboard medallion of a saint. Its new owner is millionaire John O’ Quinn who plans to put the car in a private museum. Now the question: who was the car’s earlier owner?

Graduated from IIM in 1971. He is the publisher of ‘India Abroad’, a weekly newspaper in New York. He won the DataQuest Pathbreaker of the Year award in 2000. He co-founded Rediffusion in 1972.

An apt question in this time of a Sensex boom. A Raipur boy, was rusticated from school. He started as an employee of New India Assurance Company which he later quit. He propounded the ‘Replacement Value Assets Theory’. Whom are we talking about?

Named after the first mate in Herman Melville’s book, Moby Dick, this company was founded in 1971 in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. From its humble beginnings, the chain now owns coffee houses in North America, Europe, West Asia, Latin America and the Pacific Rim.
The chains success is credited to Howard Schultz who first joined the company in the early 1980s. He turned the company from a local roaster and retailer of whole bean and ground coffee to an international chain that served liquid beverages. The chain through its company-owned and franchisee outlets-9671 at last count- now employees 90,000 people. Identify brand/company.

X's death is officially determined by Y by gently tapping his head thrice with a golden hammer and calling his name. Y then retrieves X's Ring that he usually wears in his right hand and cuts the ring in two, and X's seals are defaced so that they can be never used again, and his personal apartment is sealed. Who are X and Y?

This legendary figure, who died sometime back, had made a will stipulating that Jack Nicholson and Michael Jackson must preside over his funeral service. He also wished his body to be ‘fried to a crisp’ and scattered over the palm trees on an unidentified island in Tahiti. Who?

One of the first questions Nelson Mandela asked on being released from prison in 1990 was, “Is Sir ________ still alive?” Who?

Which trading house started as a collaboration between Tata Sons and Volkart Brothers in 1894? It is now a leading manufacturer of air-conditioners and refrigeration equipment.

Which company was incorporated in 1968 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Blow Plast Limited by the name of Aristoplast Limited? This brand is now the market leader in the luggage industry in India and is the largest moulded luggage manufacturer in Asia.

This breed of dog was known as the 'Firehouse Dog' as it was the mascot of American fire stations for a long time. Their popularity surged after a Hollywood film of 1996 and lead to a widespread demand from households for the particular breed to be taken as pet. Which is the breed in question?

The Nobel Peace Prize for the year 1948 was not awarded to anyone. On November 18, 1948 a statement was made about the award not being given because “there was no suitable living candidate”. Why?

The award for bravery in journalism instituted in 2001 by the Los Angeles Press Club is named after whom?

Sticking with awards. The inventor of artificial testicles for dogs, Nigerian internet scammers and a team that calculated the pressures created when penguins poop have won these awards. Believed to be spoof prizes, these are awarded by science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research. Name the awards.

He recently resigned as the managing director of a BPO company that deals with payroll and HR functions, owing to differences with the board of directors. He was also the president of the US offshoring services of the group. He’s also been associated with films. Name him.

Based on a bamboo exercise toy that the founders of the company. Wham O saw on a trip to Australia, this toy notched worldwide sales of more than 100 million within 6 months of its launch in 1958. The Japanese banned its use in public because of impropriety. Which toy?

Was recruited to perform as a backup singer for Michael Jackson on his Bad tour, where she was forced to change her name to Shirley, and asked not to make eye contact with MJ except when onstage. In 1999, also made her acting debut as ill-fated drifter Laurie Bloom in the suspense drama The Minus Man. Who?

He came up with his most famous invention while covalescing in a military hospital around 1941. When asked what he felt about his name becoming an almost household name on account of the invention, he said “I wish I had invented the lawn-mower”. Who?

Vinton Cerf, who was instrumental in co-authoring the paper that gave the world TCP and IP has recently been appointed by Google for internet innovations. The post accepted by Cerf is very creative. Just name the post.

Mercedes Benz withdrew all ads for about a month in September 1997.For what reason?

Corriere Della Sera, the country’s leading newspaper, consigned the impending war with Iraq, Page 1 news elsewhere, to page 20 on Jan 25th 2003. The first 19 pages were devoted to coverage of this giant’s death. Who? (Name the company he used to head, if its simpler)

This was an offshot of Monkey Brand scouring soap .Takes its name from an English colloquialism meaning ‘force’ or ‘vigor. Marketed by Unilever. What?

1909: $950, 1912:$780, 1913: $600, 1916: $440. 1917: $360, 1926:$290. What?

The product sold for only around $3.00. The real money was made off the accessories. Individual items cost between $1..-5.00 and the entire collection used to be sold for $136.00 in 1963. Identify product.

Richard DeVos and Jay Van Aandel, sales reps for Nutrilite, quit in 1948 to start a soap selling venture that now employs 3 million reps worldwide and sells more than just soap. The company’s name was apparently chosen to appeal to patriotic interests. Identify.

Connect the movies – The three musketeers(1973), Superman(1977), King Solomon’s Mines(1985), Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Ring(2001) and Kill Bill(2003).Please note this may not be an exhaustive list.

This Hollywood star of the 1990s died of pneumonia at the age of 27 in December 2003 at the Taknes Fjord, near the Halsa Municipality in Norway. Who? (Clue: He’s a different kind of a hero)

San Francisco based Maurice Kanbar the inventor of Skyy Vodka, the vodka without a hangover has applied for a license from the California state authorities to introduce something that would be exported by the Bajaj Group. What?

This high-profile lady from the corporate world became India’s first brew-master, after specializing in malting and brewing technology from the Ballarat College, Melbourne. She is also the author of a book called ‘Ale Arty’. Who is it?

Founded by David H.McConnell in 1886 as California Perfume Company (CPC) in New York. In September, 1939, the name was changed to its present name. Traditionally a direct-selling company, the company’s fastest growing markets today are in China and Russia. Currently, the company is headed up by Andrea Jung, the company's chairman and CEO, who was promoted to the position in 1999. Which company?

This company was founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi, whose family business previously made tabi, a form of traditional footwear. He derived the company’s name by reversing his own surname, Ishibashi. What was the name of the company he founded?

In 1978, sports announcer William Rasmussen set up this channel in order to broadcast New England Whalers hockey games and University of Connecticut sports events. Which company did Mr. Rasmussen thus set up?

When the inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic Airways was about to take off, the cabin cinema screen began showing what was supposed to be a view of the cockpit as the aircraft actually took off. The passengers looked on in surprise as three men in the flight deck seemed extremely casual about flying the aircraft. They later turned out to be two famous cricketers, Ian Botham and Viv Richards, along with ________. It was actually a video clip that had been recorded the day before, in a flight simulator. Just tell me who the third person was? It’s very workable.

He was apparently considered for the Nobel Peace Prize five times during the first half of the 20th century. The prize was never given to him on account of Norway’s close ties with Great Britain. Who?