Fact

Ships & Boats
• The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth 2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
• The world's oldest surviving boat is a simple 10 feet long dugout dated to 7400 BC. It was discovered in
Pesse Holland in the Netherlands.
• Rock drawings from the Red Sea site of Wadi Hammamat, dated to around 4000 BC show that
Egyptian boats were made from papyrus and reeds.
• The world's earliest known plank-built ship, made from cedar and sycamore wood and dated to 2600
BC, was discovered next to the Great Pyramid in 1952.
• The Egyptians created the first organized navy in 2300 BC.
• Oar-powered ships were developed by the Sumerians in 3500 BC.
• Sails were first used by the Phoenicians around 2000 BC.
Silicon Chip
A chip of silicon a quarter-inch square has the capacity of the original 1949 ENIAC computer, which occupied
a city block.
Skyscraper
The term skyscraper was first used way back in 1888 to describe an 11-story building.
Sound
Sound travels 15 times faster through steel than through the air.
Telephones
There are more than 600 million telephone lines today, yet almost half the world's population has never made
a phone call.
Television
Scottish inventor John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television in 1926 in Soho, London.
Ten years later there were only 100 TV sets in the world.
Traffic Lights
Traffic lights were used before the advent of the motorcar. In 1868, a lantern with red and green signals was
used at a London intersection to control the flow of horse buggies and pedestrians.
Transistors
More than a billion transistors are manufactured... every second.
VCR's
The first VCR, made in 1956, was the size of a piano.

Windmill
The windmill originated in Iran in AD 644. It was used to grind grain.
World Trade Center
The World Trade Center towers were designed to collapse in a pancake-like fashion, instead of simply falling
over on their sides. This design feature saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives on Sept. 11, 2001, when
they were destroyed by terrorists.

Fact

E-Mail

The first e-mail was sent over the Internet in 1972.

Eye Glasses

The Chinese invented eyeglasses. Marco Polo reported seeing many pairs worn by the Chinese as early as

1275, 500 years before lens grinding became an art in the West.

Glass

If hot water is suddenly poured into a glass that glass is more apt to break if it is thick than if it is thin. This is

why test tubes are made of thin glass.

Hard Hats

Construction workers hard hats were first invented and used in the building of the Hoover Dam in 1933.

Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam was built to last 2,000 years. The concrete in it will not even be fully cured for another 500

years.

Limelight

Limelight was how we lit the stage before electricity was invented. Basically, illumination was produced by

heating blocks of lime until they glowed.

Mobile (Cellular) Phones

As much as 80% of microwaves from mobile phones are absorbed by your head.

Nuclear Power

Nuclear ships are basically steamships and driven by steam turbines. The reactor just develops heat to boil

the water.

Oil

The amount of oil that is used worldwide in one year is doubling every ten years. If that rate of increase

continues and if the world were nothing but oil, all the oil would be used up in 400 years.

Radio Waves

Radio waves travel so much faster than sound waves that a broadcast voice can be heard sooner 18,000 km

away than in the back of the room in which it originated.

Rickshaw

The rickshaw was invented by the Reverend Jonathan Scobie, an American Baptist minister living in

Yokohama, Japan, built the first model in 1869 in order to transport his invalid wife. Today it remains a

common mode of transportation in the Orient.

Fact

E-Mail
The first e-mail was sent over the Internet in 1972.
Eye Glasses
The Chinese invented eyeglasses. Marco Polo reported seeing many pairs worn by the Chinese as early as
1275, 500 years before lens grinding became an art in the West.
Glass
If hot water is suddenly poured into a glass that glass is more apt to break if it is thick than if it is thin. This is
why test tubes are made of thin glass.
Hard Hats
Construction workers hard hats were first invented and used in the building of the Hoover Dam in 1933.
Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam was built to last 2,000 years. The concrete in it will not even be fully cured for another 500
years.
Limelight
Limelight was how we lit the stage before electricity was invented. Basically, illumination was produced by
heating blocks of lime until they glowed.
Mobile (Cellular) Phones
As much as 80% of microwaves from mobile phones are absorbed by your head.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear ships are basically steamships and driven by steam turbines. The reactor just develops heat to boil
the water.
Oil
The amount of oil that is used worldwide in one year is doubling every ten years. If that rate of increase
continues and if the world were nothing but oil, all the oil would be used up in 400 years.
Radio Waves
Radio waves travel so much faster than sound waves that a broadcast voice can be heard sooner 18,000 km
away than in the back of the room in which it originated.
Rickshaw
The rickshaw was invented by the Reverend Jonathan Scobie, an American Baptist minister living in
Yokohama, Japan, built the first model in 1869 in order to transport his invalid wife. Today it remains a
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common mode of transportation in the Orient.

Fact

Aircraft Carrier
An aircraft carrier gets about 6 inches per gallon of fuel.
Airplanes
• The first United States coast to coast airplane flight occurred in 1911 and took 49 days.
• A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother's first flight (120ft).
Aluminum
The Chinese were using aluminum to make things as early as 300 AD Western civilization didn't rediscover
aluminum until 1827.
Automobile
George Seldon received a patent in 1895 - for the automobile. Four years later, George sold the rights for
$200,000.
Coin Operated Machine
The first coin operated machine ever designed was a holy-water dispenser that required a five-drachma piece
to operate. It was the brainchild of the Greek scientist Hero in the first century AD.
Compact Discs
Compact discs read from the inside to the outside edge, the reverse of how a record works.
Computers
• ENIAC, the first electronic computer, appeared 50 years ago. The original ENIAC was about 80 feet
long, weighed 30 tons, had 17,000 tubes. By comparison, a desktop computer today can store a million
times more information than an ENIAC, and 50,000 times faster.
• From the smallest microprocessor to the biggest mainframe, the average American depends on over
264 computers per day.
• The first "modern" computer (i.e., general-purpose and program-controlled) was built in 1941 by Konrad
Zuse. Since there was a war going on, he applied to the German government for funding to build his
machines for military use, but was turned down because the Germans did not expect the war to last
beyond Christmas.
• The computer was launched in 1943, more than 100 years after Charles Babbage designed the first
programmable device. Babbage dropped his idea after he couldn't raise capital for it. In 1998, the
Science Museum in London, UK, built a working replica of the Babbage machine, using the materials
and work methods available at Babbage's time. It worked just as Babbage had intended.

Google

Google Facts - Interesting Facts about Google
Here are some amazing facts and figures about Google. Check out this collection of amazing facts about
Google. You are most welcome to share your thoughts or any other facts about Google in the comments
section below.
1. The name "Google" was an accident. It was a typo (spelling mistake) on the first check that they
received from investors who thought they were going for "Googol". So, instead of returning the check,
they decided to change the name from Googol to Google.
2. Google.com domain went online in September, 1997. Google has become the most powerful tool on
internet with its Search Engine and extremely successful Enterprise Services.
3. Eric Schmidt was appointed as Google CEO.
4. In just one year, 30 million pages were indexed by Google. The indexed page count crossed 1 billion in
July 2000.
5. In Feb 2003, Google acquired Blogger (One of the most popular Blogging Platform) and in Mar 2003
Google had launched its AdSense Program.
6. In Apr 2004, Google introduced its mailing service called Gmail to compete with MSN, Hotmail,
Yahoo!, Rediff, Indiatimes and others services available at that time.
7. In Aug 2004, Google released its first Initial Public Offering (IPO). By Nov 2004, 8 billion pages were
indexed by Google.
8. In the year 2006, Google acquired YouTube in the month of Oct by paying $1.65 billion USD.
9. In Nov 2007, Google announces its acquisition to the revolutionary Android Operating System.
10. By July 2008, 1 trillion pages were indexed by Google.
11. Last but not the least, in September 2008, Google brings a robust Browser called Chrome.
12. Standford University holds the Page Rank Patent for which Google offer its shares to the University.
In 2005, the University sold the Google shares for $336 million USD

General Awareness Questions for Competitive Exams - Part 2
This is the second part of the series of 40 general awareness questions and answers. Please feel free to
share your suggestions about this General Awareness Quiz in the form of comments.
41. When was the generic domain name (Top Level Domain - TLD) .com introduced?
(a) 1989
(b) 1985
(c) 1994
(d) 1991
Answer: (b)
42. Who is the prime minister of Israel?
(a) Benajamin Netanyahu
(b) Ariel Sharon
(c) Shaul Mofaz
(d) Goldamyer
Answer: (b)
43. What was the significant about the purchase of a kilo of lychees on the French island of Reunion, located
in the Indian Ocean?
(a) They were the first lot of lychees exported from India.
(b) It was the first official purchase using the new currency Euro.
(c) It was done by to commemorate the release of the new France with Princess Diana's image on it.
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)
44. Which brand had the highest number of Web searches in 2001?
(a) Google
(b) Marlboro
(c) Intel
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(d) Play Station
Answer: (d)
45. What is common to all of the following names - Eduardo Camano, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, Ramon Puerta
and Fernando de la Rua?
(a) They were all former Presidents of Argentina.
(b) They are the dreaded drug lords of South America
(c) They own together 70% of the world's Silver mines.
(d) None of these
Answer: (a)
46. The video game system 'Xbox' is a product of
(a) Sega
(b) Sony
(c) Intel
(d) Microsoft
Answer: (d)
47. It was acknowledged as the second-most dangerous computer virus in history, after the Love Bug virus.
What is the name this virus that struck in 2001?
(a) Melissa
(b) Code Red
(c) C-Brain
(d) Major Domo
Answer: (b)
48. What does the letters XP stand for in the product Microsoft XP?
(a) Extended product
(b) Extra Pampering
(c) Experience
(d) Entry level product
Answer: (c)
49. Which business and media tycoon won the elections to become 'Head of State' in Italy amidst widespread
clouds of scandal?
(a) Guillani Giovanni
(b) Joe Pacci
(c) Antonio Machiaveli
(d) Silvio Berusconi
Answer: (d)
50. Which city is hosting the 14th Asian Games in 2004?
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(a) Manila
(b) Busan
(c) Beijing
(d) Bangkok
Answer: (b)
51. Under what name is MTNL marketing its GSM based mobile telephony?
(a) Swarna
(b) Dolphin
(c) Speed
(d) Vayu
Answer: (b)
52. What is the name of the branded petrol with cleansing additives that is being marketed by HPCL?
(a) Power
(b) Premium
(c) Speed
(d) Clean X
Answer: (a)
53. Under what name is MTNL marketing its CDMA based WiLL service in Mumbai and Delhi?
(a) Dolphin
(b) Swarna
(c) Garuda
(d) Seema
Answer: (c)
54. To which business group did the Ambanis (Reliance Group) sell their holding in L&T (Larsen and
Toubro)?
(a) RP Goenkas
(b) A V Birla
(c) Kanorias
(d) Mittals
Answer: (b)
55. Name the brand that was launched and promoted by a famous father-son duo.
(a) ICICI Credit cards
(b) Parket Beta
(c) Maruti Versa
(d) All of these.
Answer: (c)
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56. What is the sub brand of the new car that Toyota is launching in India?
(a) Accord
(b) Jupiter
(c) C Planet
(d) Camry
Answer: (d)
57. With which brand would you identify the famous advertising slogan 'Think Different'?
(a) Apple
(b) IBM
(c) Wipro
(d) None of these
Answer: (a)
58. Which country is the company Nestle head quartered?
(a) Sweden
(b) Switzerland
(c) The Netherlands
(d) Luxemburg
Answer: (b)
59. What is the brand name of the range of shoes and apparel for children under the age of five, that Reebok
plans to introduce shortly?
(a) Weebok
(b) Kids
(c) Kidsport
(d) Tyke
Answer: (a)
60. Which multinational packaged food company has an equity stake in Britannia?
(a) Danone
(b) Heinz
(c) Frito Lays
(d) Schweppes
Answer: (a)
61. Who is the chairperson of Bharti Group?
(a) Raj Mittal
(b) Alok Mittal
(c) Sunil Mittal
(d) Raman Mittal
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Answer: (c)
62. Which billionaire businessman has been elected Mayor of New York, replacing the popular Rudy
Giuliani?
(a) William Clay Ford
(b) Larry Ellison
(c) James Walton
(d) Michael Bloomberg
Answer: (d)
63. Which insurance company, launched recently in India, will be using cartoon character 'Snoopy' in its
advertising?
(a) Aviva
(b) HDFC Standard
(c) MetLife
(d) Sun Life
Answer: (c)
64. Which is the home country of the famous design firm IKEA?
(a) Finland
(b) Sweden
(c) Switzerland
(d) Denmark
Answer: (b)
65. "One world. One family. One festival" is the slogan used in advertising of ______?
(a) Chinese New year
(b) Hong Kong's annual shopping festival
(c) Dubai's shopping festival
(d) None of these
Answer: (c)
66. Which companies' chips power more than 60% of the world's cell phones?
(a) Nokia
(b) Intel
(c) Motorola
(d) Texas Instruments
Answer: (d)
67. Who is the famous author of the book What they don't teach you at Harvard Business School?
(a) Stephen R Covey
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(b) Mack McCormak
(c) John Love
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)
68. Who is the RBI governor?
(a) Venkatraman
(b) Brijesh Mishra
(c) Ranjith Sau
(d) Bimal Jalan
Answer: (d)
69. Who is the Vice President of United States?
(a) Al Gore
(b) Rumsfeld
(c) Powell
(d) Cheney
Answer: (d)
70. Which is the leading international audit firm that is facing serious charges on account of lapse in
accounting practices?
(a) Ferguson
(b) PWH
(c) Arthur Andersen
(d) KPMG
Answer: (c)
71. Which family owns the Hero group of companies?
(a) Munjals
(b) Mansingh
(c) Firodias
(d) Hindujas
Answer: (a)
72. Who led the "Ocean to Sky" expedition that travelled along the Ganga (Ganges) river to its source?
(a) Sir Edmund Hillary
(b) Tenzing Norgay
(c) Chris Bonington
(d) Doug Scott
Answer: (a)
73. Hero Global is a venture promoted by the Munjal group for what purpose?
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(a) to market Hero Honda two wheelers in the overseas market.
(b) to sell Hero bicycles in the overseas market.
(c) to build a automobile design lab of international repute.
(d) to set up company owned dealer network in India.
Answer: (c)
74. J.D. Power is a name associated with ______
(a) an independent power producing company in New Delhi.
(b) a power plant equipment manufacturing company.
(c) a automotive battery manufacturing company.
(d) an automobile customer survey organization.
Answer: (d)
75. What does ICANN stand for?
(a) Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(b) International Center for Agro Nutrients and Nourishment
(c) Indian Council for Algorithm, Numbers and Notions.
(d) International council for Approved Names and Numbers.
Answer: (a)
76. "Connecting People," is the by line of which company
(a) Philips
(b) Motorola
(c) Ericsson
(d) Nokia
Answer: (d)
77. Which founding father pioneered the idea of a national bank?
(a) Hamilton
(b) Jefferson
(c) Washington
(d) Adams
Answer: (a)
78. Who was Karl Marx's main collaborator on his famous works?
(a) V I Lenin
(b) Max Weber
(c) Fredrick Engles
(d) Joseph Stalin
Answer: (c)
79. Which of the following foreign partner / collaborator pair is not Correct?
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(a) HTA; J.Walter Thomson
(b) Chaitra; Leo Burnett
(c) O and M; WPP Group
(d) Mudra; DMB&B
Answer: (d)
80. Hewlett Packard, the famous Computer company is named after
(a) Its promoters, Hewlett and Packard
(b) The city in which they commenced their operation initially
(c) The street in which their first office was located.
(d) None of these
Answer: (a)

World Knowledge

World Knowledge
1) Which of the following Saint known as Mahboob-ae-Dilli
Ans. Nizammuddin Aulia
2) The Coin Rupia was first issued by
Ans. Akbar
3) How many Central universities are there in India
Ans. 17
4)who was the first European to translate the Bhagwat Gita into English
Ans. Charles Wilkins
5) Tuzuk-i-baburi was a autabiography written by babur in which language
Ans. Turkish
6) Which mughal emperor was also known as Qalandar
Ans. Babur
7) In 2003, Indian Railways Has completed
Ans. 150 Years.
8) Which Indian Bank has the highest branches abroad
Ans. SBI
9) The first Premature dissolution at the lok sabha took place in the year
Ans. 1970
10) Tasleema's Nasreen's Autobiography
Ans. Dwekhandita
11) The Office of District collector was created by
Ans. Warren Hastings
12) What is the national sport of Greece
Ans. Soccer
13) Which indian hockey player has a road named after him in germany
Ans. Roop singh
14) In which year was men's hockey included in the Olympics
Ans. 1924
15) Who gave Kapil Dev the nickname Harayana Hurricane
Ans. Guinness Book of World Records.
16) Which cricketer, after his retirement from the game, served as India's High Commissioner in Australia
Ans. K. S. Duleepsinghji
17) Who was the only cricketer to feature on a currency note of his country
Ans. Sir Frank Worrell
18) In the history of Indian Cricket what 'first' does Faroukh Engineer have to his credit
Ans. He was the first Indian to play County cricket ( for Lancashire in 1968)
19) Who was the only player dismissed for duck in the 1983 World Cup cricket final
Ans. Kirti Azad (India)
20) Who was the first Hindu to play for the Pakistan national cricket team
Ans. Anil Dalpat (wicket-keeper)
21) Which Australian cricketer, is nicknamed Herby
Ans. Allan Border.
22) Who scored 99, 98 and 97 in three successive Test innings
Ans. Clem Hill (Australia), 1902,
23) What is the importance of 14 Dec 1960 in Sports
Ans. For the first time in cricket history a Test match was tied.
24) Who was the first victim of Kapil Dev in One day Internationals
Ans. Imran Khan of Pakistan (Quetta October 1, 1978 his first match)
25) Who claimed the first wicket in Test cricket
Ans. Allen Hill of England
26) She was initially named Jeevan by her father, but later changed the name. By what name is this singer better known now
Ans. Norah Jones
27) Which former Miss India created history by deciding not to take part in the Miss Universe competition
Ans. Nalini Vishwanathan
28) Which is the youngest and oldest of the new world religions
Ans. Sikhism and Hinduism
29) In the 1980 film Kalyug which modern day actress played the role of Rekha's son
Ans. Urmila Matondkar
30) Which is the national animal of Nepal
Ans. Cow
31) In which Indian state would you find the largest church of Asia
Ans. Goa
32) The country Suriname is in which continent
Ans. South America
33) Where was the Durand Cup football tournament first played
Ans. Shimla
34) JPY is the currency code of which country
Ans. Japan
35) Who was the captain of India in Sachin Tendulkar's debut Test
Ans. Krishnamachari Srikkanth
36) Which planet was discovered by William Herschel in 1781
Ans. Uranus
37) Which country is the world's largest producer of wheat
Ans. China
38) How do we better know a pugilist
Ans. Boxer
39) Who wrote the poem 'Venus and Adonis'
Ans. William Shakespeare
40) How is Sampooran Singh better known
Ans. Gulzar
41) A.S Dilip Kumar is the original name of which famous music director
Ans. A.R Rahman
42) Which company was founded in 1924 by a former cash register salesman Thomas Watson
Ans. IBM
43) Which Indian politician wrote 'Flight to Parliament'
Ans. Rajesh Pilot
44) Who among these was the first to climb Mt. Everest without oxygen
Ans. Phu Dorjee
45) In computers, which term is used to refer to a collection of databases
Ans. Databank
46) What type of a creature is a mamba
Ans. A snake
47) In which of these lakes are the Honeymoon Island and the Breakfast Island situated
Ans. Chilka Lake
48) Which Indian President received the Templeton Prize in 1975
Ans. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
49) Which was the first Indian film to be nominated for the Oscar
Ans. Mother India
50) Holi is celebrated in the month of ________ .
Ans. Phalguna
51) Which city is the headquarters of the SAARC
Ans. Kathmandu
52) Which U.S president won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906
Ans. Theodore Roosevelt
53) Which animal is given or lent to other countries by the Chinese government as a mark of friendship
Ans. Panda
54) What is the more popular name of the Alsatian breed of dogs
Ans. German Shepherd
55) Which is used to refer to data transfer rates in modem
Ans. Cps
56) On which island were the extinct bird dodo found
Ans. Mauritius
57) Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Pravin Amre what have in common
Ans. Century on Test debut
58) In the English translation of Rabindranath Tagore's 'Gitanjali', which famous poet wrote the introduction
Ans. W.B. Yeats
59) 'Tarkash' is a collection of Urdu poetry by which famous lyricist
Ans. Javed Akhtar
60) Which former US president devised the name 'United Nations'
Ans. Franklin D. Roosevelt
61) Which Indian won a Grammy award in the 2002 Grammy Awards
Ans. Pandit Ravi Shankar
62) Aristotle was the teacher of which famous emperor
Ans. Alexander the Great
63) In 1980, the Indian government issued a stamp to honour which hockey legend
Ans. Dhyan Chand
64) Which of these actors played a negative role in Steven Spielberg's 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'
Ans. Amrish Puri
65) Who is the only cricketer to have played Test cricket for both England and India
Ans. Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi
66) How is Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi better known Ans. Johnny Walker
67) Which of these games is also called 'Ping-Pong'
Ans. Table tennis
68) Who has won the Nobel Prize twice
Ans. Marie Curie
69) Who played the role of the young Raj Kapoor in the film 'Awara'
Ans. Shashi Kapoor
70) Which of these computer languages was developed from an earlier language BCPL
Ans. C
71) Which country was ruled by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Ans. Turkey
72) By what name is the software program Multiplan now known
Ans. MS Excel
73) By what name is actor R.K. Tuli better known
Ans. Rajendra Kumar
74) In 1640, which city was founded by Francis Day
Ans. Madras
75) In computers, what is the full form of OMR
Ans. Optical Mark Reading
76) Which famous director is the nephew of Dev Anand
Ans. Shekhar Kapur
77) In computers, which of these terms is used to refer to a temporary memory for data
Ans. Buffer
78) Who used the screen name 'Baby Rani' as a child actress
Ans. Nargis
79) Who was the last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate
Ans. Ibrahim Lodi
80) Who was the first Asian to swim across the English Channel
Ans. Mihir Sen
81) Who was the first Indian to participate in the Wimbledon tennis tournament
Ans. Sardar Nihal Singh
82) Which is the most used metal in the world
Ans. Iron
83) Who was the first Roman Catholic president of USA
Ans. John F. Kennedy
84) Name the first artificial satellite launched by man.
Ans. Sputnik 1
85) In Germany, who among these was known as Kaiser
Ans. Emperor
86) Which of these cities is both in Europe and Asia
Istanbul
87) Which is the longest river in Asia
Yangtze
88) Which Indian actresses acted in the film 'City of Joy'
Ans. Shabana Azmi
89) Which game was once known as battledore
Ans. Badminton
90) In which continent is the Gibson Desert
Ans. Australia
91) Which is the hardest naturally occurring substance known to man
Ans. Diamond
92) What was the name of the first personal computer
Ans. Altair
93) Which planet was discovered by the American astronomer Clyde W.Tombaugh
Ans. Pluto
94) Which of these elements was discovered by Pierre Curie, Marie Curie and G. Bemont
Ans. Radium
95) What do we call a device for connecting computer network that has the facilities of both a bridge and a router
Ans. Brouter
96) After which Prime Minister was Connaught Place renamed
Ans. Rajiv Gandhi
97) Which hill station of India became an autonomous state in 1970
Ans. Meghalaya
98) Which city became the capital of Punjab immediately after Independence
Ans. Shimla
99) Who was given the title of 'Kavi Priya' by Akbar
Ans. Birbal
100) Which term is used to describe a computer having the characteristics of both digital and analog computers
Ans. Hybrid computer
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