New Scaratings

Warm-up Round (10 Questions, 500 Points each, 14 seconds to answer after posting of Question & 5 Choices; No clues):

After the entire BRAINBUSTER Game had been displayed on the giant screen at Buster's Bar, Ottawa ON, the SHOWDOWN Game did not appear (except on our tablets). Therefore the first three Questions are reconstructed from short written notes, without the 5 Choices, after which I managed to reorient the camcorder onto my tablet at a separate table from the other Players.

1. In 1985, Robert Ballard discovered the wreckage of which ship?_______________________

2. "Abstain" is a synonym for:____________________.

3. In 1959, which state [not Alaska] became part of the USA?___________________

4. Ben Franklin is usually credited with the invention of this kind of eyewear:_________________________.
[Choices: Monocle, Bifocals, Contact lens, Spyglass, Binoculars ]

5. Over one million people marched in London last month in protest of:___________________.
[Choices: Chunnel restrictions, Meghan Markle, Brexit, Welsh terrorists, Alcohol regulations ]

6. Zermatt is a town located at the foot of this famous mountain:____________________.
[Choices: Eiger, Etna, Matterhorn, Olympus, Denali ]

7. They are responsible for millions of human deaths annually:_____________________.
[Choices: Mosquitoes, King cobras, Great white sharks, Gila monsters, Piranhas ]

8. The first film to gross over one billion dollars this year was Disney's:____________________.
[Choices: Dumbo, What Men Want, Captain Marvel, The Highwaymen, Cold Pursuit ]

9. The highest temperature recorded in Death Valley was ________ degrees back in 1913.
[Choices: 134, 174, 154, 144, 164 ]

10. Whose recent induction into the Women's Hall of Fame is being deplored by some veterans groups?___________________
[Choices: Jane Fonda, Angela Davis, Michelle Obama, Bella Abzug, Roseanne Barr ]




Countdown Round (12 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly from 4to 16 seconds and with 3 Clues):

11. Which event is scheduled to take place next month?_____________________
[Choices: G20 summit, Cannes Film Festival, Pan-American Games, Total Solar eclipse, NBA Finals ]

12. Greengage and Mirabelle are types of:____________________.
[Choices: Pears, Apricots, Plums, Oranges, Bananas ]

13. If you're going to Cuba, make sure to know that "La Bayamesa" is a Cuban:____________________.
[Choices: Rum factory, Cigar, Ballet company, Patriotic song, Mountain range ]

14. Which country renamed its capital city last month?______________________
[Choices: South Sudan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Zambia, Myanmar ]

15. "Bless Your Beautiful Hide" is sung by _________________ in the movie "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers".
[Choices: Abraham, Antonio, Alejandro, Apu, Adam ]

16. The Pearl Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge, is located here:_______________________.
[Choices: Argentina, Thailand, Denmark, Japan, India ]

17. In which sport is Nikita Kucherov a stellar performer?_______________________
[Choices: Hockey, Basketball, Mixed martial arts, Track & Field, Gymnastics ]

18. Lusitania was an ancient ___________________ province.
[Choices: French, Roman, Russian, Japanese, Greek ]

19. "Hotel du Lac" is an award-winning 1984 novel by this English writer:______________________.
[Choices: Daphne du Maurier, Anita Brookner, Nikki Haley, Nora Roberts, Cindy Sherman ]

20. What is an "auberge" in France?_____________________
[Choices: Hat, Apple, Dinner table, Inn, Automobile ]

21. Kingda Ka, the world's tallest roller coaster at 456 feet, is in what country?____________________
[Choices: Argentina, China, India, United States, Great Britain ]

22. Which state covers an area of 77,347 square miles?____________________
[Choices: Nebraska, Montana, Indiana, North Carolina, Delaware ]




Category Round (6 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease from 4 to 20 seconds & with 3 Clues; Category chosen by majority vote at each Site):

23.(a) WORLD CAPITALS v Current movies: This is the capital city of Mali:___________________.
[Choices: Bamako, Lubljana, Harare, Porto-Novo, Conakry ]

24.(a) DISEASES v Historians: Astrocytoma and glioblastoma are cancers of the:__________________.
[Choices: Throat, Intestine, Stomach, Brain, Lungs ]

25.(a) ETHNIC FOOD v Literature: In which cuisine are sweet potatoes and Goya major staples?______________________
[Choices: Okinawan, Haitian, Mongolian, Filipino, Danish ]

26.(a) Historians v CURRENT MOVIES: "Amazing Grace" is a documentary about:____________________.
[Choices: Martin Luther King Jr., Aretha Franklin, Audrey Hepburn, Princess Grace, Margaret Thatcher ]

27.(a) Literature v DISEASES: Variola major and Variola minor caused this disease:_____________________.
[Choices: Scarlet fever, Yellow fever, Mumps, Smallpox, Tuberculosis ]

28.(a) WORLD CAPITALS v Ethnic food: The capital city of Monrovia is a port on the:______________________.
[Choices: Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Bay of Bengal ]




Lightning Round (7 Questions: 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 Points, but time to read & answer decreases from 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5 to 4 seconds):

29. In which Canadian province will you find the Bruce peninsula?_________________________
[Choices: Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, British Columbia ]

30. Which novelist just published a controversial book of essays titled "White"?____________________________
[Choices: John Grisham, Toni Morrison, Bret Easton Ellis, Joan Didion, Alice Walker ]

31. In Greek mythology, Triton is the son of:______________________.
[Choices: Atlas, Apollo, Poseidon, Zeus, Heracles ]

32. Between 1978 and 1987, Steve Perry was the lead singer of this band:_______________________.
[Choices: Journey, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Boston, Styx ]

33. The Grand Canyon was designated a National Park ____________ years ago.
[Choices: Two hundred, One hundred, Seventy-five, Twenty-five, Fifty ]

34. A French chef would know that Mornay sauce is made with:________________________.
[Choices: Avocado skins, Gruyere cheese, Bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, Clotted cream ]

35. Which verb means "to protest strongly"?_____________________
[Choices: Ensorcell, Inveigh, Contuse, Slake, Levitate ]




Dreaded Pyramid Round (5 Questions: 12000, 7000, 4000, 2000, 1000 Points for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Right out of 5; Time from post of Question & Choices = 16 seconds; No clues):

36. Tony Last is a character who appears in this Evelyn Waugh novel:_________________________.
[Choices: Tobacco Road, The Wasteland, Brideshead Revisited, Howard's End, A Handful of Dust ]

37. Neroli oil is derived from the blossom of the Bitter _______________ Tree.
[Choices: Fig, Melon, Pecan, Orange, Jujube ]

38. With a population of about 38 million, it ranks 37th in the world:_____________________.
[Choices: Ecuador, Poland, Vietnam, Egypt, Guatemala ]

39. Which statement about the raccoon is false?_____________________
[Choices: Dexterous front paws, Herbivorous, Dense underfur, Ringed tail, Procyonid family ]

40. William Shakespeare was born the year that this famous person died:______________________.
[Choices: Vitus Bering, Evangelista Torricelli, Michaelangelo, Amerigo Vespucci, Captain Kidd ]




Final Jeopardy Question on INVENTIONS (50% Bonus if Right Immediately; Points decrease rapidly from 4 to 20 seconds, and with 3 Clues; 50% Deduction if Final Choice is Wrong):

41. The first gas-engined motorcycle was co-invented in 1885 by:_______________________.
[Choices: Michael Faraday, Karl Benz, Rudolf Diesel, Willis Carrier, Gottlieb Daimler ]






Answers:

1. Titanic [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ballard ]

2. Refrain [see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/refrain ]

3. Hawaii [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska (both joined in 1959, Alaska first) ]

4. Bifocals [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bifocals ]

5. Brexit [see https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47678763 ]

6. Matterhorn [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zermatt ]

7. Mosquitoes [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito-borne_disease ]

8. Captain Marvel [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_(film) ]

9. 134 [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley ]

10. Jane Fonda [see https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/31/us/jane- ... index.html ]




11. Cannes Film Festival [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannes_Film_Festival ]

12. Plums [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum ]

13. Patriotic song [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Bayamesa ]

14. Kazakhstan [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astana (now Nur-Sultan) ]

15. Adam [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Bri ... n_Brothers ]

16. Japan [see "Other name(s)" in the summary box at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashi_Kaikyo_Bridge ]

17. Hockey [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Kucherov ]

18. Roman [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusitania ]

19. Anita Brookner [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Brookner ]

20. Inn [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auberge ]

21. USA [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingda_Ka ]

22. Nebraska [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska ]




23.(a) Bamako [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali ]

24.(a) Brain [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibrillary_astrocytoma and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioblastoma ]

25.(a) Okinawan [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_diet and https://www.hisgo.com/us/destination-ja ... /goya.html ]

26.(a) Aretha Franklin [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_G ... klin_album) ]

27.(a) Smallpox [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox ]

28.(a) Atlantic Ocean [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monrovia ]




29. Ontario [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Peninsula ]

30. Bret Easton Ellis [see https://www.amazon.com/White-Bret-Easto ... 0525656308 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bret_Easton_Ellis ]

31. Poseidon [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(mythology) ]

32. Journey [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Perry ]

33. One hundred [see the section "History" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Can ... ional_Park ]

34. Gruyere cheese [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mornay_sauce ]

35. Inveigh [see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/inveigh ]




36. A Handful of Dust [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Handful_of_Dust ]

37. Orange [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neroli ]

38. Poland [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... population ]

39. Herbivorous [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon (it's omnivorous) ]

40. Michaelangelo [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo (died Feb. 18, 1564), and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare (born April 1564) ]




41. Daimler [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottlieb_Daimler ; at our Site, the final two choices came down to Benz and Daimler, and half of us guessed wrong. ]

The first Current Movies, 23 (b), asked what film starred Zachary Levi. Answer, Shazam!

At Cameron's, we had the same game experience as you guys. Brainbuster worked fine, but a question or two into the first round of Showdown started, the TV screens froze. Just like you, our tablets continued to work and we got through the game without incident (other than that we sucked). Afterwards, the network scores came back, sort of. Got partial display of Top 50's on the tablets, and never got the report of our own placement.

Just as soon as Glory Haze started, the TV's popped back to life as if nothing had ever gone wrong in the first place.

Looked at BT's website this morning to find that we finished 53rd despite our miserable score. Also noticed that only 612 sites have reported.

I'm getting pretty fed up with BT and am considering quitting Showdown team play altogether. Hard to justify a 60-mile drive each way when it's a crapshoot regarding whether or not the game will play correctly.

There are sites closer to me, but not with Showdown teams except for Whitehorse, which has only ten older-generation tablets that barely work.

We took the two "Historians" questions. The first was something like
William Prescott wrote a history of ?? Answer was Mexico
The second gave us the names of three historians, which we found familiar, and asked what conflict they wrote about. Answer was the Civil War. My wife says everybody would have known that.

XT

I did send a notification to BT last week. The reply was from BT was: that they are working on the issue and it should be resolved this week. We'll see.

_________________
Middle age is when a broad mind and a slim waist exchange places.

Two of the three were Shelby Foote and (if memory serves) Mark Neely. DAR is undoubtedly right.

25. (b) LITERATURE: In which famous novel does the title character murder his wife and best friend? MCTEAGUE. I'm glad the quiz writer made a point of telling us that this novel remains famous. Is its author, Frank Norris, still part of the American canon? BETH knew the answer, but couldn't make a pre-call, it was one of those tip-of-the-tongue things. I've never paid any attention to Norris, and got there more or less simultaneously by stripping the other four options.