New Scaratings

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

1. What exactly is a "Wunderkind"?_____________________
[Choices: Child prodigy, Ancient city, Hybrid fruit, Fabricated story, Brilliant gem ]

2. Which baseball player once hit in 56 consecutive games?_____________________
[Choices: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Joe DiMaggio, Rocky Colavito ]

3. "Shallow" is an award-winning song from this 2018 movie:________________________.
[Choices: Venom, Green Book, A Star is Born, Roma, Bohemian Rhapsody ]

4. What two-time third party candidate for President recently passed away?_________________________
[Choices: Strom Thurmond, Edward Kennedy, Ralph Nader, Hubert Humphrey, Ross Perot ]

5. Oganesson and Seaborgium are chemical elements named after:_________________________.
[Choices: Space probes, People, Places, Flora, Mythical figures ]

6. Warren Buffett is the CEO and Chairman of:_______________________.
[Choices: IBM, Amazon.com, CBS, Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft ]

7. Our Sun is best classified as a:________________________.
[Choices: Black hole, Supernova, Yellow dwarf, Quasar, Red giant ]

8. A Polish linguist, Dr. Ludwik Zamenhof, created this language:____________________.
[Choices: Klingon, Elvish, Esperanto, Norwegian, Icelandic ]

9. A Phillies Cigar sign can be seen in which famous painting?______________________
[Choices: Stag at Sharkey's, Nighthawks, Broadway Boogie Woogie, Christina's World, Cardsharps ]

10. Donald Trump recently became the first sitting President to visit:_______________________.
[Choices: Cuba, Iran, India, North Korea, Australia ]




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

11. The 1828 Tariff of Abominations was very unpopular in this part of the United States:_______________________.
[Choices: Plains states, New England, Deep South, Southwest, Pacific Northwest ]

12. "Never Really Over" is a hit single this year for:__________________________.
[Choices: Ed Sheeran, Kenny Chesney, Katy Perry, Naomi Campbell, Pink ]

13. A replica of England's Globe Theatre was built in this city in 2003:_____________________.
[Choices: Rotterdam, Rome, Raleigh, Richmond, Reno ]

14. "The Borrowers" is a 1952 children's fantasy novel by this English writer:______________________.
[Choices: Mary Norton, Gordon Brand, Phyllis Bentley, Albert Camus, Penelope Fitzgerald ]

15. By definition, a solivagant is a person who ___________________ alone.
[Choices: Drinks, Travels, Hunts, Eats, Sings ]

16. The Banh Mi is a __________________ style sandwich.
[Choices: Vietnamese, Brazilian, Korean, Mongolian, Chinese ]

17. Amanita phalloides, also called the Death Cap, is a poisonous:______________________.
[Choices: Moss, Plant, Lizard, Snake, Toadstool ]

18. Long a term in furniture and sports, "wingback" now also designates a make of:________________________.
[Choices: Bicycle, Car, Wallet, Phone, Running shoe ]

19. In the history of weaponry, the bombard was an early version of the:______________________.
[Choices: Pike, Galley, Crossbow, Iron Maiden, Cannon ]

20. In medicine, the Hamilton scale measure this condition:____________________.
[Choices: Exhibitionism, Depression, Schizoid tendencies, Rage, Criminal tendencies ]

21. What sort of creature is the White-throated Dipper?_____________________
[Choices: Squirrel, Lizard, Passerine bird, Game fish, Poisonous snake ]

22. Which of these is a "treble clef" instrument?________________________
[Choices: Bassoon, Cello, Timpani, Piccolo, Trombone ]




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) Let's go to Belgium v CURRENT MOVIES: He's one of the stars of the new "Men in Black" movie:_________________________.
[Choices: Chris Cooper, Chris Pine, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Chris Evans ]

24.(a) NFL training camps v NAME THE AUTHOR: Which historical figure had time to write a novel title "Savrola"?____________________
[Choices: Robert E. Lee, Winston Churchill, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Nixon, James Cook ]

25.(a) The planet Mars v THIS MEANS WAR!: It was called the First Iraq War, the Persian Gulf War or:______________________________.
[Choices: The War on Terror, Iraqi Freedom Initiative, Operation Desert Storm, Death to the Evil Empire, Enduring Freedom Ploy ]

26.(a) Name the author v LET'S GO TO BELGIUM: One of the biggest events in Belgium, the Fleche Wallonne, is an annual:_____________________.
[Choices: Bicycle race, Tulip festival, Costume parade, Winter arts festival, Regatta ]

27.(a) THIS MEANS WAR! v NFL training camp: In European history, the Hussite Wars of the 15th Century are also called the ________________ Wars.
[Choices: Gallician, Saxon, Prussian, Sicilian, Bohemian ]

28.(a) CURRENT MOVIES v The planet Mars: Which phrase best describes the 2019 movie "Stuber"?__________________
[Choices: Sci-fi fantasy, Action comedy, Folk horror, Animated musical, Romantic drama ]




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. Three actresses play the title character in the jukebox musical "The ______________________ Show".
[Choices: Marilyn Manson, Michael Jackson, Prince, Cher, Whitney Houston ]

30. Which city lies about 35 miles south of Cleveland, Ohio?___________________________
[Choices: Ann Arbor, Allegheny, Cuyahoga Falls, Topeka, Erie ]

31. Who was named Most Valuable Player of this year's NBA Finals?____________________________
[Choices: Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Marc Gasol, Demarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry ]

32. An emollient is a substance that is:________________________.
[Choices: Poisonous, Irritating, Boiling, Shiny, Soothing ]

33. Nayib Bukele became the ______________________ this year.
[Choices: President of El Salvador, U.N. Secretary-General, CEO of Instagram, Commissioner of OPEC, Prime Minister of Syria ]

34. Which network was founded in Connecticut in 1979?________________________
[Choices: Showtime, HBO, FOX, Nickelodeon, ESPN ]

35. The Big Four capitals of the fashion world are London, New York, Paris and:____________________.
[Choices: Brussels, Berlin, Geneva, Milan, Kuala Lumpur ]




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. Silvio, Canio and Nedda make up a love triangle in this opera:______________________.
[Choices: The Betrothed, Pagliacci, The Phantom of the Opera, Light in the Piazza, Cavaleria Rusticana ]

37. Which of these countries does *NOT* border Slovakia?_____________________
[Choices: Austria, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia ]

38. Published in 1956, this acclaimed novel is set in New Orleans:__________________________.
[Choices: Up the Down Staircase, God's Little Acre, On the Waterfront, Death Be Not Proud, A Walk on the Wild Side ]

39. Opuntia, a member of the cactus family, is more commonly called:_________________________.
[Choices: Saguaro, Prickly pear, Mango, Gooseberry, Boysenberry ]

40. French philosopher Pierre-Jean Proudhon was the first to call himself by this name:______________________.
[Choices: Atheist, Anarchist, Monarchist, Republican, Freemason ]




Final Jeopardy Question on DISASTERS (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. In which region of the Soviet Union did the 1986 Chernobyl incident take place?_______________________
[Choices: Siberia, Moldova, Ukraine, Chechnya, Belarus ]






Answers:

1. Child prodigy [see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/wunderkind ; "Wunder"="wonder" and "Kind"="child" in German ]

2. Joe DiMaggio [see the section "1941 hitting streak" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_DiMaggio ]

3. A Star is Born [Our film expert Patrick (MRRED) pre-called this one at Buster's Bar in Ottawa ON (this was the final week at Buster's, which is closing due to sale of the shopping mall); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Star_Is_Born_(2018_film) ]

4. Ross Perot [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot ]

5. People [Jean (LESTER) pre-called this one; see the section "Naming" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oganesson and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaborgium ]

6. Berkshire Hathaway [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway ]

7. Yellow dwarf [Jean called this one; I (REACH) would not have called our Sun a dwarf star (it's part of the Main Sequence, whereas "dwarf" implies "abnormally small"; OTOH it's just a matter of definition, and if one pushy astronomer gets his way and calls Pluto a "dwarf planet" but not a "planet", then the Sun is not a star if it is a "dwarf star"), but the other Choices were way wrong; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun ]

8. Esperanto [I pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto ]

9. Nighthawks [I split my guesses, going with this as REACH, and with the others with "Cardsharps" as SPRAJO; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks_(painting) - the faint sign is at the top of the painting, which I did not previously know. I suppose the other call for "Cardsharps" came from a guess with "Dogs Playing Poker" by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogs_Playing_Poker and https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-edi ... -100-years . While typing this, I noted that "Cassius Marcellus" were also the first and middle names of Cassius Marcellus Clay before he changed his name to Muhammad Ali; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali .
The other Choices were obviously wrong; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stag_at_Sharkey's , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_Boogie_Woogie , and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina's_World for the paintings by George Bellows, Piet Mondrian, and Andrew Wyeth. ]

10. North Korea [see https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48821790 ]




11. Deep South [we correctly guessed this was an understandable grievance of the Deep South (the Canadian Prairie provinces see Ontario/Quebec the same way); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff_of_Abominations ]

12. Katy Perry [Sue (SWIFT) called this, but most of us did not hear her, but guessed it anyway; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEb5gNsmGJ8 ]

13. Rome [we mostly missed this one; see https://www.likealocalguide.com/rome/globe-theatre ]

14. Mary Norton [Sue called this one, and we listened this time; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borrowers ]

15. Travels [Chris (CEEZED, KAYZED) called this one; see https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solivagant ]

16. Vietnamese [Sue correctly described the sandwich; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banh_Mi ]

17. Toadstool [I pre-called "Mushroom"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_phalloides ]

18. Wallet [We missed this one; see https://wingback.co.uk/collection/cash-wallet ]

19. Cannon [My pre-call; see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bombard ]

20. Depression [I split my two tablets between this and "Schizoid tendencies"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_ ... Depression , with depression resulting from my split]

21. Passerine bird [my pre-call; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-throated_dipper ]

22. Piccolo [Sue called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clef and https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Piccolo/Notation ]




23.(a) Chris Hemsworth [Patrick called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_in_Bl ... ernational ]

24.(a) Winston Churchill [we missed most of the Points on this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savrola ]

25.(a) Operation Desert Storm [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War ]

26.(a) Bicycle race [we missed most of the Points on this one, trying to decipher "Fleche"="Arrow" until I got this as SPRAJO for 347 Points; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Fleche_Wallonne ]

27.(a) Bohemian [I pre-called "[Jan] Hus was a Czech..."; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussite_Wars ]

28.(a) Action comedy [Patrick called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuber_(film) ]




29. Cher [most of the 6 of us went with this; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cher_Show_(musical) ]

30. Cuyahoga Falls [the ringers at Red Fox Sports Pub and Grille must have enjoyed this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_Falls,_Ohio and the map at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akron_metropolitan_area ]

31. Kawhi Leonard [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawhi_Leonard ]

32. Soothing [see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/emollient ]

33. El Salvador [we went with a wrong call for Syria (the name seemed Middle Eastern or North African); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayib_Bukele and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imad_Khamis (Prime Minister of Syria from July 2016) ]

34. ESPN [Patrick called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN ]

35. Milan [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_capital ; I forget who pre-called this one.]




36. Pagliacci [I called this one, so most of us got the Points; unfortunately, I read further down, and noticed Cavaleria Rusticana and stupidly switched my answers (the two short operas are often played back-to-back, and I couldn't remember which names fit which opera). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagliacci and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalleria_rusticana .]

37. Serbia [Sue called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia ]

38. A Walk on the Wild Side [Eliminating the other Choices, I split my answers between this one and "Death Be Not Proud"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_on_the_Wild_Side and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Be_Not_Proud_(book) ]

39. Prickly pear [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia ]

40. Anarchist [Sue got this one, but the others went with a wrong call for "Atheist"; see the section "History, Classical anarchism" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Joseph_Proudhon ]




41. Ukraine [Chris pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster ]

30. Cuyahoga Falls [the ringers at Red Fox Sports Pub and Grille must have enjoyed this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_Falls,_Ohio and the map at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akron_metropolitan_area ]

Oh, how we did.

Tripped up by Cavs 'n Pags? I feel for you, REACH.

The most flagrant example of second-guessing oneself, at least that I've witnessed, occurred in Final Showdown some years back. The finale was some hopelessly obscure biological datum, and KLUDGE made a confident conjecture that the answer was #1.

"Mmmm...you know," he said, hesitantly, "I think it might be #4. I'm switching to #4."

#4 was immediately wiped out. You can guess the rest. Every time he hit a button, that answer disappeared. He hit all five buttons and took a negative score. The other six players, having nothing to go on, stuck with his first conjecture. We all collected max points.

I didn't take notes but...

25.(b): THE PLANET MARS: A Martian day differs from an earth day by _____? 40 minutes. Beth pre-called half an hour. One hour was an option. So was five seconds.

26.(b): NAME THE AUTHOR: One of his best known works, published in 1925, is 'An American Tragedy": Theodore Dreiser.

28.(b): THE PLANET MARS: What percentage of the Martian atmosphere is carbon dioxide? 95%. (There might have been one other choice above 50%.)

I might be mistaken in placing Dreiser for Question 26.

To GONE D: "An American Tragedy"/Theodore Dreiser was Q10 in this week's BRAINBUSTER Game, which I have not yet typed up (I take brief notes during the game so I can Google the appropriate links, and play back my camcorder recordings only to get the exact wording of the Q&A on the screen). I usually take Wednesday off to recover from a near-allnighter in posting the Q&A for the SHOWDOWN Game that most players are interested in. Thanks for your Comments which I appreciate.

A city, by my reckoning, must consist of at least 50K residents and a visible skyline. ARBEZ might have troubled to identify which of the three comedies she found most amusing - the city's population, its skyline, or the nod from Buzztime?

Those who take interest in self-inflicted injury should view the post I'm about to place on the Brainbuster thread.

23. LET'S GO TO BELGIUM vs. current movies
GERMAN is one of three official languages of Belgium.

24. NFL TRAINING CAMPS vs. name the author
St. Thomas Sports Park is the training site for THE TENNESSEE TITANS.

--Rick Magnus
RickM, Blue Goose

26. name the author: "cinderella," "beauty and the beast," and "snow white and rose red" were crime novels by this author. ed mcbain

Thanks for the correction, IDJT. You need to tour the Mississippi Valley more often.

thanks. you guys were great to visit with. i'm hoping for a return trip.