General Knowledge Pt. XVIII

Written by admin on May 20th, 2011

marvel.

What is a jungle gym?

A jungle gym, also known as monkey bars or climbing frame, is a piece of playground equipment made of many pieces of thin material, such as metal pipes or, in more current playgrounds, rope, on which children can climb, hang, and sit. It was traditionally constructed as a frame of metal bars and was introduced in 1920 by lawyer Sebastian Hinton in Chicago.

What is a vacation bank?

A vacation banker leave bank is what an employer allots to a staffer every year. A Vacation Deprivation study found that many employees failed to use their leave completely, adding many man-days to production. An employee dips into the bank to lengthen weekends, and sprinkles them over the year. ‘Vacation bank’ has gained a more current meaning — the creation of a bank of unused vacation hours by staffers. Instead of letting leave lapse, an employee can transfer the days to the company’s ‘vacation time bank’ — these can be used by any employee in a crisis.

What is Blue Ocean strategy?

It is a business strategy for creating uncontested, virgin market space. The metaphor of red and blue oceans describes the market: blue oceans denote the industries not in existence today where demand is created rather than fought over. Red oceans are industries existing today — boundaries are defined and competitive rules are known. Cut-throat competition turns the ocean bloody, which gives it the term ‘red oceans’. It is explained in the book “Blue Ocean Strategy” by W Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.

What do sugar-free products contain?

Sugar-free products contain sugar substitutes, some natural and some synthetic. Artificial sweeteners are saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium, and stevia. Artificial sweeteners are cornpounds with sweetness 300-500 times that of sucrose (table sugar). As a result, less sweetener is required, energy contribution is often negligible and blood glucose levels are not effected.

What is emission trading?

It is an advanced method to control pollution by providing economic incentives. A government authority sets a limit or cap on the amount of pollutant that can be emitted in an open environment. Manufacturers are issued emission permits and allotted an equivalent number of allowances (or credits) to emit a specific amount of pollutants. Companies that need to increase their emission allowance must buy credits from companies which pollute less — this is referred to as emissions trade.

What are crop circles?

Crop circles are mystery circles which farmers in southern England have observed, especially in 1980. Large sections of their fields were trampled into circles overnight. Sometimes, the crops were flattened into strange designs. Though it was made to look like machines were used,the crops were not damaged.

What is Area 51?

Area 51 is a term used in CIA dbcupients for a military base 90 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada, in grid number 51 of the Nevada Test Site. It is a block of land six by 10 miles, on which is a large secret air base, at the shore of Groom Lake. The base was created in 1954 to test the secret U-2 spy plane, besides research on UFOs and extra-terrestrial bodies.

What is a Tea Party protest?

A Tea Party protest is part of a series of anti-government protests being organized all over the US since early 2009 to express anger and frustration over government policy, which supposedly promotes wasteful expenditure by the government and leads to high taxes. The term is based on the historic Boston Tea Party of 1773, which opposed tea taxation imposed by the

British government.

What is cloud music?

Cloud music is a new service which has done away with the need to download music. Music lovers now have music at their fingertips simply by subscribing to companies logging on to this new business. Subscription is dirt-cheap and the song/album is played instantly over a mobile device that links to the internet via the cellphone network. The royalties from cloud music subscription go back to music companies.

What is a Parthian shot?

The Parthian shot was a famous military combat tactic practised by the Parthians, the ancient Iranian people hailing from the north-eastern region of Iran called Parthia. The theme ‘Parthian tactic’ was to surprise the enemy with the hit-and-run action using light horses, dividing their own forces by pretending retreat and then turning unexpectedly back and showering the enemy with deadly arrows, surrounding and destroying them.

How is the market price of a share established during trading ?

The price at which buying and selling transactions take place is determined by market forces, that is, demand and supply for a particular stock. If a company enjoys high investor confidence and its stock price is expected to rise, many people would want to buy it (high demand) and very few will sell it at the current market price (less supply). Buyers have to bid higher to match the asking price from the seller, thus increasing stock price. If there are more sellers than buyers, the stock price falls.

What is cross-branding? How does it work?

Cross-branding is a market approach to enhance two brands by associating them with each other. Amazon, corn is well-known for applying the concept, working with such brands such as Toysrus, Office Depot and Weight Watchers. Another example is of Grasim taking over L&T Cement and using the brand.

What are rubber rooms?

The ‘rubber room’ is where hundreds of New York City school teachers sit and do nothing, but are paid their full salary Each year, hundreds of school teachers are suspended. Their teaching privileges are temporarily, but indefinitely, revoked. Accused of varying degrees of misconduct, these teachers are no longer allowed in the classroom. While awaiting a lengthy adjudication process, they report to an off-campus location called the ‘rubber room’.

What is the resonant frequency of an object?

Every object has its a natural frequency at which it achieves maximum amplitude during vibrations, if left to vibrate free after applying external force. This frequency is known as resonant frequency. The resonant frequency of an object depends on factors such as shape, mass and density of material. Even a house or bridge has its own unique resonant frequency A bridge vibrating at resonant frequency may collapse.

What is Jujutsu?

Jujutsu or Jiu-jitsu literally meaning the “art of softness” or “way of yielding” is a collective name for Japanese martial art styles, including unarmed and armed techniques. Jujutsu evolved among the samurai of feudal Japan as a method to defeat an armed and armoured opponent without weapons. Due to the ineffectiveness of striking against an armoured opponent, the method to neutralize an enemy is using an attacker’s energy against him, rather than oppose it. ;

What is a rehook?

A rehook is a film which is so powerful and appealing that cinema goers go back for repeat viewings. These blockbuster shows keep the box office coffers full. Good examples are classics like “Gone with the Wind”, “Titanic”, even the Bond series. New hit “Inception” is another rehook, with many people returning for repeat shows, but more because the plot is so complex that viewers want to make sense of it. This is the power of the rehook. ‘

How did ‘Hello’ come to be used as a greeting over the phone?

The first word used to answer the phone was the nautical greeting ‘ahoy’ because the first regular phone system was in the maritime state of Connecticut. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor, answered with the Gaelic ‘hoy’. But it was Thomas Edison’s greeting of ‘hello’, an exclamation of surprise dating back to the Middle Ages, that caught on, and so we answer the telephone today with, ‘Hello?’ Another theory is that after inventing the telephone, he rang his girlfriend whose name was ‘Hello’, thus the first word said by him on telephone became a greeting. Before ‘Hello’ became popular, telephone operators started conversations with, “Are you there?”

What is La-La-Land?

Originally coined in 1981 by San Francisco native Bill (William) D Froelich, the term was first used in the Cal Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe. Froelich was explaining to his fellow workers that he was about to visit his girlfriend’s parents in La La Land, otherwise known as Los Angeles. The term was quite indicative of Froelich’s view towards the city at the time. There are bold parallels between the term la-la (unconsciousness; an elevated mind state) and Froelich’s regard for Los Angeles. After 29 years, Bill Froelich now lives in San Diego with his wife and son. His in-laws still live in La La Land.

Why is Winston Churchill’s speech known as the ‘Iron Curtain Speech’?

Winston Churchill made a speech at Fulton, Missourie in March 1946, at the onset of the Cold War. He said, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” He was the first to coin the term in order to define Stalin’s aggressive drive to control all areas east of Russia and west of Germany Thereafter, the term became popular to describe the Communists’ stronghold over East Europe.

What is the Hubbert Peak Theory?

The theory is named after American geophysicist M King Hubbert. The theory posits that for any given geographical area, from an individual oilproducing region to the planet

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