Quiz on eponyms

It’s the 149th birth anniversary of Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori, an Italian educator after whom the philosophy of education and schools are named. This week’s quiz celebrates her and all those who became eponyms.

They who became a name

1 Which two-word phrase originates from a mythological character whose mother Thetis needed to hold him by a part of his body while dipping him in the waters of the Styx to make him invulnerable?

2 Which six-letter word for a type of player, usually in English county cricket, originated from a Slovak handball player with the first name Maroš. The man in question won a landmark case in the European Court of Justice.

3 Who coined the important organisational principle that “in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence”. This was subsequently named after him.

4 Which famous author coined three laws, the first of which read, “When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong”?

5 Which eponymous product named after a sportsperson was designed by Peter Moore, Tinker Hatfield and Bruce Kilgore for Nike? It was released in the US in 1984 and is believed to be the reason for countless assaults and robberies and at least one fatality.

6 Facundo _____ Massó, a Spanish wine merchant, emigrated to Cuba in 1830 and created a product after sugar prices crashed around the world. The product, bearing his middle name, is now sold around the world. The company is headquartered in Bermuda after the Cuban revolution. Name the product.

7 After which legendary baseball player is the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis named?

8 Which populous city in Uttar Pradesh is named after the youngest son of Prince Shah Jahan who was finally executed by his brother in the succession struggle?

9 Which cut and steak recipe was named after a French diplomat, whose chef Montmireil is believed to have invented it around the 1820s?

10 Which variety of tea known for its bergamot flavouring is named after a certain Charles, who was the prime minister of England in 1830-34?

Answers

1 Achilles’ heel, from Achilles, who was only vulnerable at the heel that his mother held while dipping him in the Styx

2 Kolpak player, a category of non-English players who can play county cricket. Most South Africans and West Indians play county under the Kolpak ruling

3 Laurence J Peter; the Peter Principle

4 Arthur C Clarke, the science fiction maestro. The last law is that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic

5 The Air Jordan line of sneakers

6 Bacardi rum

7 Lou Gehrig, A New York Yankees star who was one of the first celebrities to fall prey to the disease

8 Moradabad, named after Prince Murad

9 Chateaubriand steak

10 Earl Grey tea, named after Charles Grey

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster; Twitter: @joybhattacharj

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