Free Business trivia questions
Business trivia questions about Montgomery Ward, Blue Chip Stocks, Kodak, the Stock Exchange, Bubble gum and more.
What was the only product ever promoted by Elvis Presley in a
television commercial?
A: Donuts--the commercial, for Southern Made Donuts, was aired in
1954.
How did secure, relatively high-yielding stocks get to be called
blue chips?
A: The term was taken from the game of poker, where blue hips are
more valuable than white or red chips.
What century-old product was originally promoted with the
advertising slogan "You press the button--we do the rest"?
A: The Kodak camera. The slogan was first used in 1888.
What company is both the oldest corporate enterprise still in
existence and the largest corporate landowner in history?
A: The Hudson Bay Company. Founded in 1670, its realm once
covered nearly 3 million square miles. The company now operates
Canada's largest department store chain.
What product was first introduced in 1906 as Blibber Blubber?
A: Bubblegum. Developed and marketed by the Frank H.
Fleer Corporation, it was soon abandoned because it was too sticky
and brittle. In the 1920'a the company came up with a winning
formula, which it marketed under the name "Dubble Bubble."
Joan Collins, Elizabeth Taylor, and Cher all have marketed
perfumes. Can you name their scents?
A: Collins, "Spectacular"; Taylor, "Passion"; and Cher,
"Uninhibited."
What is the maximum number of individual memberships--or
seats--permitted on the New York Stock Exchange?
A: 1,366. The number is set in the exchange's constitution.
In 1985 officials of a New York supermarket chain advertised for
"part-time career associate scanning professionals." What job
position were they trying to fell?
A: Checkout Clerk.
In 1985 a Denver hotel published an ad offering guest a "Free
Hotel Room" in large type. What was the catch in the fine print
below?
A: "Parking $55.00 / night (Parking is mandatory)."
How many miles per gallon did the 22-horsepower, 4-cylinder Model
T Ford get when it was introduced in 1908?
A: It got between 25 and 30 miles per gallon.
What was the dowry of Consuelo Vanderbilt, daughter of
multimillionaire William Henry Vanderbilt, when she married the Duke
of Marlborough in 1895?
A: The duke received $2.5 million in railroad stock.
To celebrate its one-hundredth anniversary in 1860, what did the
Lorillard Company put at random in packages of it Century brand of
tobacco?
A: $100 bills.
In what year was the first American car sold for export--and
where was it shipped?
A: In 1893. An Olds gasoline steam carriage was shipped to Bombay,
India, for use by the branch office of a British patent medicine
company. It's price: $400.
What famous Christmas legend did a Montgomery Ward advertising
man create as part of his job?
A: Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Adman Robert May first wrote of
the now famous reindeer in a pamphlet distributed to children by
store Santas in 1939.
In 1933, how much did a night's stay in a double room cost at the
famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City?
A: In 1933, a double cost $9.00; a single, $6; a suite, $20.00.
What was the first consumer product purchased on the installment
plan?
A: A Singer sewing machine, in 1856. It was purchased by Margaret
Hellmuth of New York for $50 down, with the remaining $100 paid in
six monthly installments. Later customers were able to buy machines
for $5 down and payments of $3 a month.
