New Scaratings

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

1. What author wrote 1894's "The Jungle Book"?_____________________
[Choices: Charles Dickens, Alfred Lord Tennyson, James Barrie, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling ]

2. A sweltering temperature of 114 degrees was recorded last month in this country:____________________.
[Choices: Fiji, Bolivia, Madagascar, France, Kiribati ]

3. Water that contains a larger than normal amount of deuterium is called _________________ water.
[Choices: Sparkling, Mineral, Tap, Swamp, Heavy ]

4. Which feature does The Gambia have in common with Haiti and Ireland?_____________________
[Choices: No taxation system, Three official languages, Never fought a war, Two capital cities, Borders only one nation ]

5. "Mettlesome" best describes a person who is:__________________________.
[Choices: Optimistic, Nitpicky, Disloyal, Courageous, Clever ]

6. Which of these would be found in a book?_______________________
[Choices: Diastole, Mantelet, Frontispiece, Calumet, Balaklava ]

7. The Johnny Mercer Award is given by the _____________________ Hall of Fame.
[Choices: Film Directors, College Football, Songwriters, Inventors, Golf ]

8. Which U.S. President needed a wheelchair to get around?_______________________
[Choices: George Washington, Harry Truman, James K. Polk, Jimmy Carter, Franklin D. Roosevelt ]

9. Exactly how many countries make up the United Kingdom?__________________
[Choices: Four, Seven, Five, Eight, Six ]

10. "American Colossus" is a 2018 biography of this tennis icon:_______________________.
[Choices: Rod Laver, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Bobby Jones, Bill Tilden ]




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

11. Scott Morrison has been the Prime Minister of ________________________ since 2018.
[Choices: Australia, Iceland, Jamaica, Belize, Wales ]

12. Crazy Lace, Cyclops and Coldwater are types of:________________________.
[Choices: Agates, Ambers, Topazes, Sandstone, Opals ]

13. Tabbouleh is a salad that is quite common in this area:_______________________.
[Choices: Australia, Scandinavia, Middle East, Himalayas, Central America ]

14. "Gravid" is a word most likely used by a:________________________.
[Choices: Mathematician, Zoologist, Psychiatrist, Chemist, Philosopher ]

15. The oldest professional school of dance in the United States is the ___________________ School.
[Choices: Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan, Edit Piaf ]

16. In "MOCA", which assesses cognitive ability, the "MO" stands for:__________________________.
[Choices: Montana, Mobile, Montreal, Monochrome, Moderate ]

17. Edmund Allenby, born in 1861, became a famous:________________________.
[Choices: British army officer, Brazilian dissident, South African writer, Canadian explorer, Australian politician ]

18. On which famous U.S. island will you find Edgartown?_________________________
[Choices: South Padre Island, Long Island, Key West, Martha's Vineyard, Block Island ]

19. Where would one most likely find a "tuille"?_____________________
[Choices: Under a rock, Suit of armor, Ocean floor, Upholstered sofa, Car engine ]

20. Otis Criblecoblis and Mahatma Kane Jeeves are pen names used by this comedian:________________________.
[Choices: Bob Hope, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Robin Williams, W.C. Fields ]

21. "Guano" refers to the excrement of both seabirds and:____________________.
[Choices: Horses, Reptiles, Bats, Rodents, Armadillos ]

22. Klondike, Accordion and Golf are all variations of this card game:____________________.
[Choices: Rummy, Solitaire, Pinochle, Poker, Fan Tan ]




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

23.(a) Up a lazy river v 1960's MUSIC: This Bob Dylan song was the title track of a 1965 album by Cher:____________________________.
[Choices: Mr. Tambourine Man, Sukiyaki, Like a Rolling Stone, All I Really Want to Do, My Back Pages ]

24.(a) State flags v TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY: To reach the western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway you need to drive to:_____________________.
[Choices: Dawson Creek, Prince George, Edmonton, Halifax, Victoria ]

25.(a) Current literature v YOU ASKED FOR IT! The Coup of 18 Brumaire brought __________________________ to power.
[Choices: Kaiser Wilhelm, Henri IV, Charles de Gaulle, Henri Petain, Napoleon I ]

26.(a) TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY v Up a lazy river: Which city does the Trans-Canada Highway *NOT* pass through?______________________.
[Choices: Thunder Bay, Sydney, Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver ]

27.(a) YOU ASKED FOR IT! v State flags: "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" is a:________________________.
[Choices: Slave narrative, Picaresque novel, Roman a clef, Children's story, Almanack ]

28.(a) 1960's MUSIC v Current literature: Teen idol Gene Pitney had several 1960's hits including "Twenty-four Hours from _____________________."
[Choices: Temecula, Tulsa, Tallahassee, Toledo, Tucson ]




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. What city recently hosted the first two Democratic Presidential debates?__________________________
[Choices: Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Miami, Memphis, Madison ]

30. The 1998 films "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact" both deal with mass destruction by:_____________________________.
[Choices: Rogue gases, Objects from space, Terrorists, Aliens, Massive flooding ]

31. Exactly how many stages are there in this year's Tour de France?_________________
[Choices: 30, 24, 21, 27, 33 ]

32. Allan Quatermain is the central character of this classic adventure novel:________________________.
[Choices: Green Hills of Africa, The Perfect Storm, King Solomon's Mines, The Call of the Wild, Heart of Darkness ]

33. The country of Mauritania gained its independence from ___________________ in 1960.
[Choices: Great Britain, Germany, Turkey, Japan, France ]

34. "You Need to Calm Down" is the latest single by:_________________________.
[Choices: Adele, The Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Nickelback ]

35. In the Book of Exodus, who destroys the Golden Calf?______________________
[Choices: Moses, David, Jacob, Isaac, God ]



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 & 5 Choices = 16 seconds; No Clues):

36. Triangles and semicircles are used on a weather map to depict:____________________________.
[Choices: Occluded fronts, Heavy rains, Heat waves, Snow flurries, Thick fog ]

37. Elsa, Elisabeth and Senta are heroines of the early operas of:______________________.
[Choices: Gluck, Wagner, Mozart, Rossini, Haydn ]

38. The Turpan Depression, one of the Earth's lowest points, is in:______________________.
[Choices: Brazil, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, China ]

39. Which historic figure was captured by and ransomed from pirates?________________________
[Choices: Attila, Saladin, Hannibal, King Saul, Julius Caesar ]

40. Which job does Holden Caulfield have in J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye"?_____________________
[Choices: Fry cook, Park ranger, Fencing team manager, Toll booth collector, Encyclopedia salesman ]




Final Jeopardy Question on MYTHOLOGY (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. "Frenzied women from whose lips the god speaks" refers to the mythical:______________________.
[Choices: Sibyls, Nymphs, Gorgons, Oreads, Furies ]






Answers:

1. Rudyard Kipling [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle_Book ]

2. France [I (REACH) pre-called this one; see https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/da ... -ever-june (July 5, 2019) and https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/07/02/ ... -tell-you/ (July 2, 2019). Scientific truth does not come from authority alone, but for background info on Dan Vergano, science reporter for Buzzfeed News, see https://linkin.com/in/dan-vergano-93908b4 and for Dr. Roy W. Spencer, who collects satellite temperature data for NASA, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Spencer_(scientist) ]

3. Heavy [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water ]

4. Borders only 1 nation [Myfanwy (SPRAJO) called this one; see the section "Geography" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gambia , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland ]

5. Courageous [see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/mettle and https://www.dictionary.com/browse/mettlesome ]

6. Frontispiece [Myfanwy pre-called this one!; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_frontispiece ]

7. Songwriters [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mercer ]

8. FDR [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralytic ... _Roosevelt ]

9. Four [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom ]

10. Bill Tilden [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Tilden ; the other Choices were not tennis players. ]




11. Australia [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Morrison ]

12. Agates [see the section "Types" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agate ; we at Buster's Bar, Ottawa ON lost valuable Points on a call for "Opals", made of tiny spheres of silica rather than the coloured bands of silica in Agates. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opal ]

13. Middle East [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabbouleh ]

14. Zoologist [Jean (LESTER) called this one; see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gravid ]

15. Martha Graham [see http://marthagraham.edu/ ]

16. Montreal [we missed most of the Points on this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_ ... Assessment ]

17. British army officer [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Al ... nt_Allenby ]

18. Martha's Vineyard [not everyone went with the pre-call (based on the English-looking, hence old, name "Edgartown") for this one, at first; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgartown,_Massachusetts ]

19. Suit of armor [there was a call for "sofa" which might have a skirt, but I cautioned "Watch out for Suit of armor"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Component ... val_armour ]

20. W.C. Fields [I (REACH) called this one, as a guess; see the section "Unusual names" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._C._Fields ]

21. Bats [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guano ]

22. Solitaire [Andrew C. (GRYFON) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_patience_games ]




23.(a) All I Really Want to Do [I called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_I_Rea ... _Do_(album) ]

24.(a) Victoria [I called this one; see the section "Western Canada, British Columbia" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Canada_Highway ]

25.(a) Napoleon I [Andrew C. pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_of_18_Brumaire ]

26.(a) Toronto [We mostly botched this one, losing almost all our Points. In Ontario, the Trans-Canada Highway's east-west route goes from Ottawa (us) to North Bay on Hwy 17, or to Peterborough on Hwy 7, and also Hwy 11 in Northern Ontario all the way to Manitoba. But see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_11 (part of the Trans-Canada Highway) which for old farts like us joined Yonge Street, Toronto's main north-south street which until 1999 was conflated with Ontario Highway 11; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonge_Street which at one time was considered one of the world's longest streets. Apparently, no longer. Oh well, we'll "always have Paris" (the 2019 NBA Championship). ]

27.(a) Slave narrative [we first went with "Picaresque novel" until "novel" was eliminated in Clue 2, at which point I went "D'oh! Never bet against African-American Choices!" See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inter ... ah_Equiano ]

28.(a) Tulsa [I pre-called this one; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zugy2rkSM7g . A lot of the Comments reflect horror and revulsion at the cheating involved (a staple in country music?). Note also the Comment by Caroline Burns, genius: "Tulsa backwards is A Slut...who knew!!!!!!" ]




29. Miami [We blew this one, guessing Minneapolis. See https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/202 ... 18391.html ]

30. Objects from space [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon_(1998_film) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_(film) ]

31. 21 [Andrew C. pre-called this one; see https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Tour_de_France ]

32. King Solomon's Mines [I think Dave (YELDOR, TULADI) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Solomon's_Mines and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Solo ... (1950_film) ]

33. France [Jean (LESTER) pre-called this one; see the section "Colonial history and present day" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania ]

34. Taylor Swift [see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkk9gvTmCXY ]

35. Moses [Andrew C. pre-called this one, suggesting that Moses' brother Aaron should have been another Choice to confound those who did not know that he participated in making the Golden Calf; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_calf ]




36. Occluded fronts [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occluded_front ]

37. Wagner [I pre-called this one, since Senta was the heroine in Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flyin ... man_(opera) . For Elsa and Elisabeth, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohengrin_(opera) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannhauser_(opera) ]

38. China [Chris (CEEZED, KAYZED) guessed this, but the rest of us guessed Australia because "Turpan" didn't look Chinese; but see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turpan and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turpan_Depression ]

39. Julius Caesar [I called this one, although not everyone went with me; see the section "Julius Caesar" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cilician_pirates ]

40. Fencing team manager [Chris deduced this because Holden Caulfield went to an elite private school which would have a fencing team, whereas the rest of us thought Holden was a slacker with no job, and so out of desperation went with our prejudiced view of "Fry cooks" who instead ought to be respected for doing useful work, unlike many of us "educated elites". Neither https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Caulfield nor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye dwell on Holden's job as fencing team manager, and none of our team want to read or reread books like "The Catcher in the Rye" or "The Great Gatsby" which feature such unlikeable main characters [Holden Caulfield seems to strike a chord with such maggots as Mark David Chapman (John Lennon's assassin), John Hinckley, Jr. (who shot President Reagan), or Robert John Bardo (who killed Rebecca Schaeffer) - see the section "Shootings" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catch ... ar_culture ]. You want tragedy with a likeable protagonist? Try Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tess_of_the_d'Urbervilles .]




41. Sibyls [Jean called this first; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil . See the 3rd Fig. in this article, which features Michelangelo's "Delphic Sybil" in the Sistine Chapel. ]

26.(b): Up A Lazy River: Where in the world would you find the Shebelle River? EASTERN AFRICA (rather than South Asia, South America, Europe, or Australia).

Internet sources say The Catcher in the Rye has sold some 65 million copies since its publication in 1951. It seems likely that if you chose at random 65 million readers of a book that meets your high standards (The Bible? Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm?) that you would find at least three murderers among them. As an author myself, I consider the idea that books compel their readers to do bad things is a dangerous notion, because it leads to censorship and banned books.
XTRAIN

May I inquire as to the genre and subject?

If I'm ever caught in the midst of a spree (I don't know what makes me do those things), I'm instructing my lawyer to construct a "Rebecca" defense. A "Holden Caulfield" defense wouldn't elicit much sympathy from the Court.

I got my English AP for an essay on "The Great Gatsby" and several years earlier had read "Catcher in the Rye" as a cautionary tale. "This is exactly where I won't permit myself to be in two years," I declared, comparing HC's youthful cynicism to my own adolescent travails. Based on what I remember of the books, neither of them justified being reread by the mature GONE D. Which I think was REACH's point. Does an unexpurgated "Huckleberry Finn" belong in the public library? Absolutely! In a junior high school classroom? Possibly not, although the teacher of this book would have plenty to teach, and should not be shamed from the attempt.


Being the manager of a national fencing team is a job; in a prep school, it's an extracurricular activity. Pointing out this distinction? Just another free service provided by the Department of Sour Grapes.

Rod Laver is indeed a tennis player, but he is Australian.

My wife (DAR) and I won an Edgar for IN DARKNESS, DEATH, our YA mystery set in 18th-century Japan; we wrote six other novels with the same characters. We have written many nonfiction books for children, young adults, and adults. Our best nonfiction books for adults were THE CRIMES OF PARIS and THE MONSTERS: MARY SHELLEY AND THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH: JAMESTOWN AND THE BIRTH OF THE AMERICAN DREAM, in which we solved the mystery of the Lost Colonists. Among our other books was a ten-book series for Oxford University Press, each one about a different American ethnic or racial group. The series is known collectively as THE AMERICAN FAMILY ALBUMS. Our best historical works for young adults were VIETNAM: WHY WE FOUGHT and AN ALBUM OF WORLD WAR I, which was cited by the Library of Congress as one of the four best books about WWI.

Reach and us at Teasers picked the exact same categories. What was the lit and the state flags?

_________________
Merkin

First state flag Q was what state has 19 stars surrounding some figure. We got Indiana correctly.
Second state flag Q was what animal is on the flag of Vermont. We failed to answer "cow."

I am an unrepentant admirer of Dexter Morgan.
And you just made the list buddy!

What do you mean, SHAKES? You've been after me since you were six and I was only four, and Mom would send us out on our bikes so she and the mailman could enjoy a cold one. And what's this, with "Gone R"? Remember, I'm two years younger than you. Back then, you could run faster and jump higher. Nowadays you'd be exposing yourself to a cardiac event.

Maybe all we can agree on is that XTRAIN puts forth his outstanding credentials as an author with humility and restraint.

Even prior. I rue the morning 17 days hence the Ides of March a misshapen changeling darkened our doorstep.
Your rheumy eyes have finally apprehended my puerile jibe.
In that case, come my dear GONE D, I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts.
We can.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not actually SHAKES's kid brother. That said, and in light of his performance on the quiz to which this thread is devoted, Showdown, I must kindly invite SHAKES, who has taken it upon himself to troll my posts, to run off and pick on someone his own size.

One would hope that REACH's thread is devoted to textual debate, rather than to ad hominem argument.