FUNDAMENTALS
You know what an acronym is, but do you know how it is different from an initialism? Let me explain — an initialism is a type of acronym that cannot be pronounced as a word — CBI is an initialism while NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority) is an acronym. Take this quiz on acronyms and initialism to find out more about these unique popular terms Write in with your suggestions, questions (with answers) to senjam@gmail.com ACRONYMS AND INITIALISM 1. CVS stores are pretty ubiquitous across United States. What does CVS in CVS pharmacy stand for? 2. A company named Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha is a world leader in a particular product and makes over 7 billion of it every year. How do you better know it as? 3. M&M, the colourful button-shaped candies, gets its name from Mars & Murrie. Who is Mars and Murrie? 4. The current Modi government has a penchant for naming schemes using acronyms. Deabbreviate the following schemes — UDAY and SEHAT? 5. The 1911 science fiction novel Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle inspired the naming of a real life gun. Which one? 6. MAC, the cosmetics brand, was created with the goal of creating cosmetics that photographed well. The name is actually an acronym. What does MAC stand for? 7. What company in the logistics industry was founded by Larry Hillblom, Robert Lynn and Adrian Dalsey? 8. If you are hooked to the internet, you are likely to come across the completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart. What is this test popular known as? 9. In BASE jumping, you can jump from only four kind of fixtures. Which are those fixtures?
ANYTHING GOES
1. What small but important role was played by Meyrick Edward Clifton James during the second World War for the Allied forces? (Vasudev Prakash, received over email) 2. Who is the only cricketer (male or female) to play in hundred T20 international matches? (Arnab Ghosal, Secunderabad) 3. A ‘Poronkusema’ is an old measurement of distance in Finland. It is approximately 7.5 km. How did the Finns arrive at this measure? (Partha Sarkar, Kolkata) 4. On 23 March 2018, Dean Elgar carried his bat through a completed Test innings against Australia for a third time in his career. Only one other batsman has achieved this in the 140 years of Test cricket. Identify him. (B.K. Harinath, Mysuru) 5. All the four sections of this book begins with the line — ‘What’s it going to be then, eh?’ Which book are we talking about? (Rajeev Lochan, Kolkata) 6. The oldest cake in the world is said to be Linzer torte from Austria. From which Austrian city does it get its name? (Rajeev G. Pillai, Kochi) 7. In Test cricket, there have been a few instances of siblings playing together in a Test match, prominent among them being the Chappell brothers Ian and Greg, and the Waughs Steve and Mark. However, these two brothers appeared together only in one Test for their country in 1957-58. While the older brother made his farewell Test appearance, the younger sibling made his debut in the same Test. Identify the two brothers and the Test match in which this occurred. (B.K. Harinath, Mysuru)