Warm-up Round (10 Questions, 500 Points each, No clues):1. Robert James Waller wrote the popular novel "The ____________ of Madison County".
[Choices: Lakes, Mountains, Highways, Bridges, Pines]
2. Although it is called a sea, it has no coastlines:_______________.
[Choices: Arctic Sea, Salton Sea, Caspian Sea, Sargasso Sea, Red Sea]
3. The Appian Way was a historically important road that connected __________ to Brindisi.
[Choices: Alexandria, Baghdad, Rome, Carthage, Nairobi]
4. If someone calls you a "biddy", you're most likely an:_______________.
[Choices: Annoying sibling, Uninvited guest, Elderly woman, Innocent bystander, Observant scientist]
5. What comedian was famously arrested for obscenity in San Francisco in 1961?_____________________.
[Choices: Richard Pryor, Alan King, Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Bill Cosby]
6. The Boring Company is a tunneling firm created by _______________ in 2016.
[Choices: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg, Warren Buffett]
7. Hobbiton is a popular tourist attraction in:_________________.
[Choices: Denmark, Pakistan, Jamaica, New Zealand, Norway ]
8. This poet, called the Voice of America, was closely associated with the city of Chicago:__________________.
[Choices: Emma Lazarus, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Adlai Stevenson, Ezra Pound]
9. The _________ Scouting Combine takes place every February at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indiana.
[Choices: NBA, PGA, NFL, MLB, NHL]
10. Alcatraz Island is located in this body of water:_________________.
[Choices: Hudson Bay, San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of California ]
Countdown Round (12 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly with time & 3 Clues):11. "Required carefulness" is the meaning of this phrase often used in business:_________________.
[Choices: Laissez-faire, Arbitrage, Gazundering, Collateral damage, Due diligence ]
12. Warheads is a brand of notably _____________ candy.
[Choices: Dark chocolatey, Piquant, Salty, Sour, Sweet ]
13. The 1939 Act to prevent pernicious political activities is known as the _____________ Act.
[Choices: Walton, Archer, Cain, Hatch, Berwanger]
14. "The Mexican" is a short story by ________________ that was first published in 1911.
[Choices: Jack London, Thomas Mann, Honus Wagner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hunter S. Thompson]
15. Who is the equivalent of Noah in Greek mythology?________________.
[Choices: Crius, Deucalion, Perseus, Neptune, Megatron ]
16. The world's longest sea bridge was opened this month in:________________.
[Choices: Bolivia, China, Sweden, Greece, New Zealand ]
17. A glyph added to a letter is called a ______________ mark.
[Choices: Duncial, Diffluent, Droll, Diacritic, Dactyloid ]
18. "Madonna in the Church" is a noted 15th Century painting by:_____________________.
[Choices: Jan van Eyck, Edward Hopper, John Constable, Albrecht Durer, Tintoretto ]
19. In addition to climbing Mt. Everest in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary ______________ in 1958.
[Choices: Visited the South Pole, Went over Niagara Falls, Flew solo across Asia, Swam the English Channel, Walked the Amazon ]
20. The Arctic Fox is the only land mammal native to:___________________.
[Choices: Siberia, Antarctica, Canada, Scotland, Iceland ]
21. Which crime is at the center of Jacqueline Mitchard's novel "The Deep End of the Ocean"?__________________.
[Choices: Bigamy, Murder, Molestation, Theft, Kidnapping ]
22. The TESS Space Telescope spotted "PI MEN C", a/an _______________, earlier this year.
[Choices: Dying star, Comet, Exoplanet, Asteroid, Black hole ]
Category Round (6 Questions, 1000 Points each, Category chosen by majority vote at each Site): 23.(a) WORLD GEOGRAPHY v Medicine: The Gulf of Riga is a bay of the _____________ Sea.
[Choices: Mediterranean, Caspian, Baltic, Black, North ]
24.(a) 20TH CENTURY HISTORY v Animal breeds: The Elysee Treaty between France and _______________ was signed in 1963.
[Choices: West Germany, Great Britain, Canada, Spain, Japan ]
25.(a) IT STARTS WITH Q v Websites: It's a mild form of malaria:__________________.
[Choices: Quintile, Quezon, Quartan, Quinine, Quoth ]
26.(a) Animal breeds v WORLD GEOGRAPHY: In what mountain range is Mt. Chimborazo?_________________.
[Choices: Sierra Madre, Appalachian Mountains, Mountains of the Moon, Atlas Mountains, Andes Mountains ]
27.(a) Websites v 20TH CENTURY HISTORY: He was the leader of Britain's Labour Party from 1935 to 1955:_______________.
[Choices: Everett Dirksen, Henry Cabot Lodge, Edward Heath, Clement Atlee, Mackenzie King ]
28.(a) Medicine v IT STARTS WITH Q: It is a type of ornamental design found in art and architecture:________________.
[Choices: Quatrefoil, Quorum, Quenelle, Quercetin, Quinque ]
Lightning Round (7 Questions: 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 Points, but time to read and answer decreases from 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5 to 4 seconds): 29. After the U.S., ______________ is the largest producer of almonds.
[Choices: Togo, Spain, New Zealand, Tunisia, Italy ]
30. Which U.S. President belonged to the short-lived Whig Party?_________________.
[Choices: James Madison, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, William Henry Harrison, Calvin Coolidge ]
31. For Hannibal Lecter's voice, Anthony Hopkins drew on the voices of Katharine Hepburn and:_______________.
[Choices: Groucho Marx, Ruth Gordon, Truman Capote, Mickey Mouse, Sophie Tucker ]
32. By definition, a debonair person is one who is:________________.
[Choices: Aloof, Confused, Inquisitive, Urbane, Pathetic ]
33. "Relapse" is a 2009 hit album by this rapper born in Missouri in 1972:__________________.
[Choices: Flo Rida, Rihanna, Eminem, Pink, Lil' Wayne ]
34. Which NFL team is celebrating its 100th season this year?_________________.
[Choices: San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Green Bay Packers ]
35. A gross refers to a group of _________ items.
[Choices: 200, 100, 50, 24, 144 ]
Dreaded Pyramid Round (5 Questions: 12000, 7000, 4000, 2000, 1000 Points for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Right out of 5; No clues): 36. He earned his place in history as an executioner in the Elizabethan era:__________________.
[Choices: Thomas Derrick, Evelyn Waugh, Oliver Goldsmith, John Bull, Alvin Karpis ]
37. It has an atomic number of 12 and is a shiny gray solid:_______________.
[Choices: Fluorine, Magnesium, Neon, Chlorine, Argon ]
38. The spelling of the science word "Quark" comes from this avant-guard [
sic] classic:________________.
[Choices: Nightwood, Howl, Finnegans Wake, The Making of Americans, Waiting for Godot ]
39. Which marine animal feeds by way of a filter?__________________
[Choices: Albatross, Great white shark, Manta ray, Sea turtle, Killer whale ]
40. Which opera's libretto is in English?___________________
[Choices: Samson and Delilah, Dido and Aeneas, Faust, Norma, Carmen ]
Final Jeopardy Question on NATIONAL ANTHEMS (50% Bonus if Right Immediately; Points decrease rapidly with time and 3 Clues; 50% Deduction if Final Choice is Wrong):41. A tune from this composer became the German national anthem in 1922:_______________.
[Choices: Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Mozart, Franz Haydn, Jean Sibelius, Gustav Mahler ]
Answers:1. Bridges [I (REACH, LESTER) pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridg ... son_County ]
2. Sargasso Sea [A wrong call for "Caspian Sea" sank us all, as we didn't read the rest of the Choices (some argued that "coast" is the outside of a land mass, whereas "shore" would be the boundary on the inside of a land mass containing a lake or sea); Dave (YELDOR, TULADI) argued for "Salton Sea" since the drying salt water varies in extent throughout the season. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_Sea for the right answer.]
3. Rome [see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appian_Way ]
4. Elderly woman [see the section "Word Origin and History for biddy" at
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/biddy ]
5. Lenny Bruce [Patrick (MRRED) and/or Myfanwy (SPRAJO) called this first; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Bruce ]
6. Elon Musk [see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boring_Company ]
7. New Zealand [Myfanwy called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbiton_Movie_Set ]
8. Carl Sandburg [I pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_(poem) and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sandburg ]
9. NFL [Dave called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_Scouting_Combine ]
10. San Francisco Bay [Myfanwy and I called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcatraz_Island ]
11. Due diligence [see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_diligence ]
12. Sour [see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warheads_(candy) and
https://warheads.com/ ]
13. Hatch [I split my votes, getting it right as REACH; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatch_Act_of_1939 ]
14. Jack London [I deduced this from the year, 1911, eliminating the other American Choices. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_Mexican_(short_story) ]
15. Deucalion [I called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deucalion ]
16. China [Myfanwy pre-called this one; see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqLncpuQRUU ]
17. Diacritic [see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacritic and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyph_(typography) ]
18. Jan van Eyck [I called this one, from the date (15th century); see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_in_the_Church ,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_van_Eyck (c.1390-1441) . Tintoretto (1518-1594) was from the 16th century; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintoretto ]
19. Visited South Pole [I called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary ]
20. Iceland [after some delay, we got this one; see
https://guidetoiceland.is/nature-info/the-arctic-fox . If the Arctic fox is indeed the only native land mammal of Iceland, then what did it eat besides birds and birds' eggs? It's doubtful that it fishes or catches seals. When did rodents arrive on Iceland? The Arctic fox couldn't have evolved, waiting for humans to bring rats and mice to Iceland. Something doesn't look right to me.... Maybe the word "predator" should be included.]
21. Kidnapping [We split our guesses on this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deep_End_of_the_Ocean ]
22. Exoplanet [I split my votes on this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transitin ... _Satellite ,
http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/pi_men_c/ and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_Mensae . Because the Question was written in ALL CAPS, it was hard to see that "Tess" was really "TESS", an acronym in which the "E" stands for "Exoplanet". Similarly, "PI MEN C" is confusing to someone who would have recognized "pi Men c" as short form for an exoplanet ("c") orbiting the star labelled with the Greek letter pi in the Southern constellation Mensa (i.e. "pi Men").
23.(a) Baltic [Myfanwy and I called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Riga ]
24.(a) West Germany [We pre-called "Algeria" first, and when this was seen not to be a Choice, the call was made for "Spain". I split my votes between Spain and West Germany. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysee_Treaty ]
25.(a) Quartan [We botched this one, as wrong calls for "Quinine" had to be rejected, taking time. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmodium_malariae ]
26.(a) Andes Mountains [I pre-called this one, as the tip of Chimborazo is the farthest point of land from the center of the Earth (due to "centrifugal force", the Earth bulges outward at the Equator, so sea level is further out, with heights of mountains measured relative to sea level, and Ecuador is on the Equator); see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimborazo . I can't remember what episode of "Rocky & Bullwinkle" included an airplane flying over the "Amazon Andes" (with the "A" of "Amazon" pronounced by the narrator as a long vowel). ]
27.(a) Atlee [I think Phil (BSLXPN) called this one first; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_Atlee ]
28.(a) Quatrefoil [Chris (CEEZED, KAYZED) called this right away; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quatrefoil ]
29. Spain [Chris called this one; see
http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5337e/x5337e02.htm ]
30. William Henry Harrison [Phil called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William__Henry_Harrison ]
31. Truman Capote [see
https://www.imdb.com/news/ni0054776 and
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/trivia ; Patrick and/or Myfanwy may have called this one. ]
32. Urbane [see
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/debonair ]
33. Eminem [I called out that born in 1972 meant age 46 today, which meant an old rapper. Wrongly rejecting Eminem because I associated him with Michigan, I couldn't answer correctly in time. Only Richard (ACE) got the 1200 Points (times 1.5 = 1800 Points, or 1800/6 = 300 Points for our Site score) for this one. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem ]
34. Green Bay Packers [Dave called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay_Packers ]
35. 144 [I pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_(unit) ]
36. Thomas Derrick [I called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Derrick ]
37. Magnesium [I pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium . Dave noted that the other Choices were all gases, so this one was a gimme. I misremembered Dave's note in my comments for Q8 of the BRAINBUSTER Game which you can read in the BRAINBUSTER folder of this website.]
38. Finnegans Wake [I pre-called this one; see the section "Etymology" at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark ]
39. Manta ray [see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manta_ray and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_feeder ]
40. Dido and Aeneas [I called this one, because Purcell was an English composer; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_and_Aeneas . For the Overture and first number in English, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-a1d6xaPwQ (2:47). "Samson and Delilah" was by Camille Saint-Saens (in French); see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_and_Delilah_(opera) .
"Faust" by Gounod and "Carmen" by Bizet were also in French, and "Norma" by Bellini was in Italian.]
41. Franz Haydn [I pre-called "Haydn"; see the section "Opus 76, No. 3 ("Emperor") at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_Qu ... _76_(Haydn) . The second movement is a set of variations on "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" ("God Save Emperor Francis"). For the tune, Click on the 0:59 Musical Clip at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gott_erha ... den_Kaiser . The first part may have come from a Croatian Folk Song; Click on the 0:16 Clip at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vjut ... lkSong.ogg . There is some dispute over whether Haydn himself was of Croatian or German ethnicity; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn's_ethnicity.
The German national anthem and the original meaning of "Deutschland uber Alles" are explained at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutschlandlied ; you can Click on the 2:40 Audio sample for a tinny performance. For a higher audio quality, and words in both German and English, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIff7EB7pvc (3:00).
For Haydn's variations on the theme in the 2nd movement of Op. 76, No. 3, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBmCcSz6HWw (0:18-7:20). For a complete performance of the 4 movement String Quartet, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEfQqr1tNFg (the 2nd movement is from 8:16-15:06, the 3rd movement from 15:40-20:02, the 4th movement from 20:27-24:18). Haydn basically invented the String Quartet, and in his 104 numbered Symphonies, developed the Classical symphony.]
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