A Quiz About Me

Answer: Banking

They actually met when my father accidentally went into the wrong bathroom - they waited until the end of the Lebanese Civil War to get married.

The banking laws in Lebanon ensured absolute secrecy from any government inquiry until the year 2022, when reforms were introduced following a major financial crisis in 2019 that crippled the country's economy. Throughout my parents' 35-year run in the industry, the banking unions were strong and the secrecy laws were strict, allowing Lebanon to become a safe haven for investors throughout the post-war era.

Answer: 1991

Even though I had nothing to do with it, a couple of months after my birth in November 1991 (apparently, a rainy day like no other), the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, resigned his position. The following day, the Union dissolved into 15 independent states, effectively ending the Cold War.

Answer: Beirut

I lived the first 14 years of my life in Lebanon, and despite some political instability, had a fantastic childhood.

Beirut is one of the oldest cities of the world, etymologically linked to the Phoenician city state Barut or Baruta, which meant "wells". The city is by far the largest and most religiously diverse in Lebanon, with a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea.

Answer: France

My father's dream since he was young was to travel to America and discover the country. He was incredibly stressed all night, going over all possible scenarios - "what might they ask"- running through them step by step with my mother listening patiently. In reality (and I still remember this as a 9 year old - clear as day) when the agent (Robert) approached us and asked my dad two or three standard questions, he looked me dead in the eye and asked me "Why do you want to visit the United States?". I told him I wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, and he gave our entire family visas instantly.

Euro Disney, officially known as "Disneyland Paris" was the second Disney park to open outside the United States, following Tokyo Disney Resort in 1983. A second theme park opened in 2002, which we never got to see as a family. The Euro Disney bribe worked on my brother and me, and we barely complained while waiting for hours at the American Embassy in Paris.

Answer: Pokemon

I wrote my first quiz a few months after joining - exhausting Kyle, who must have sent it back at least five times, while displaying otherworldly patience with a kid trying to write his first quiz. Twenty years later, almost to the day, for my 80th quiz, the same editor would give me my second "Editor's Choice" Award.

Satoshi Tajiri was very interested in collecting bugs, and kept imagining trading his bugs through systems by use of a cable. These ideas led him to develop the idea for catching monsters, and "Pokemon" was born.

Answer: Montreal, Canada

Despite having fantastic jobs (and a rent-controlled apartment) my parents made the difficult decision to leave all family and country behind and emigrate to Canada with two young kids. We chose Montreal as my parents are francophone. The decision definitely paid off :)

Montreal is in the largest city in the province of Quebec, the one province in Canada to have French as the only official language. Montreal metro has over four million people, making it the second largest Canadian city (after Toronto) and the eighth largest city in North America.

Answer: Economics

I was drawn to economics since I was a young adult, with it being my favorite high school class. I completed my graduate thesis in 2016, specializing in political game theory.

Adam Smith was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a heavy proponent of capitalistic competition, believing that the most efficient market is the one that self regulates through an "Invisible Hand". John Maynard Keynes was a trained mathematician that became an influential macroeconomist when he published several works on proposed government intervention during times of low / high aggregate supply and demand. He is often referred to as "The Father of Macroeconomics".

Answer: Aerospace

Montreal is an aerospace hub, but I was nevertheless very lucky to land the job I was able to land straight out of school.

Cessna is an American aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, that specializes in smaller, general aviation aircraft, as well as business jets. Bombardier is a large Canadian aircraft and train manufacturer - it was first launched by Joseph-Armand Bombardier, who just wanted to market his snowmobiles :)

Answer: Arabic, English, and French

When Lebanon was mandated by the French following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War, French and Arabic were both official languages. However, after the French mandate was over and Lebanon gained its independence in 1943, Arabic became the only official language of the country, despite it retaining a French character and most Lebanese becoming francophone. Canada, in contrast, has had French and English as co-official languages at the federal level since its establishment.

Answer: Dimitri

I was named after my grandfather Mitri (Arabic for "Dimitri") who died when my father was only two years old.

Mendeleev was a talented chemist and professor who wrote "Principles of Chemistry" that became a leading textbook of the time. Classifying elements by their chemical properties allowed him to discover patterns that he would later arrange into elements. He claimed that he first saw the full periodic table of elements in a dream.