New Scaratings

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

1. This popular 2015 musical was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda:_________________________.
[Choices: Jackson, Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, Washington ]

2. The city of Ridgecrest, ______________________, was hit by strong earthquakes earlier this month.
[Choices: California, Alaska, Colorado, Missouri, Louisiana ]

3. A marsupial, it is native to Southeast Australia, including the island of Tasmania:_____________________.
[Choices: Wombat, Anteater, Lemur, Armadillo, Mongoose ]

4. In what year was the Berlin Wall built?_________________
[Choices: 1945, 1969, 1976, 1952, 1961 ]

5. The top quarter of a flag next to the staff is called the:___________________.
[Choices: Canton, Ruffle, Element, Badge, Insignia ]

6. Isle Royale, Mackinac Island and Manitoulin Island are located in the:_____________________.
[Choices: Sargasso Sea, Bay of Biscay, Aleutian Islands, Great Lakes, Arctic Circle ]

7. The _________________ 5810 is a product that made its debut in March 2002.
[Choices: Blackberry, Raspberry, Boysenberry, Strawberry, Cranberry ]

8. If something is bicephalous, it must have two:___________________.
[Choices: Leaves, Stomachs, Hearts, Heads, Tails ]

9. In politics, a bundler is someone who:________________________.
[Choices: Posts fake news, Sells his vote, Spies on campaigns, Collects contributions, Silences influencers ]

10. Which phrase is associated with Gollum, a character in "The Lord of the Rings?________________________
[Choices: Make it so, My precious, Must run faster, Unleash Hell, Release the Kraken ]




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

11. This country's Jodrell Bank Observatory is home to several radio telescopes:_____________________.
[Choices: China, United Kingdom, France, Costa Rica, Canada ]

12. What President signed the Embargo Act of 1807 into law?_______________________
[Choices: Benjamin Harrison, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Alexander Hamilton ]

13. Although it can mean "pompous", the primary meaning of "orotund" has to do with this sense:_______________________.
[Choices: Hearing, Vision, Smell, Taste, Touch ]

14. In days of old, a carrack was a large:___________________.
[Choices: Wine barrel, Merchant ship, Wooden dwelling, Working horse, Sword ]

15. The ischium is a major bone that is part of the:_____________________.
[Choices: Neck, Shin, Ribcage, Pelvis, Foot ]

16. To visit the Ionian Islands, you need to book passage to:______________________.
[Choices: Yemen, Greece, Portugal, Finland, Indonesia ]

17. Who did the U.S. Women's Soccer team beat to win the FIFA Women's World Cup this year?_________________________
[Choices: Netherlands, Japan, Italy, Ukraine, Austria ]

18. The Australian black widow spider is also known as the ____________________ spider.
[Choices: Whiteneck, Blueleg, Yellowhead, Green-throated, Redback ]

19. Brazil's Joao Gilberto, pioneer of ___________________, passed away this month at the age of 88.
[Choices: Morna, Tejano, Mariachi, Bossa nova, Cante jondo ]

20. Which country's flag has a green star on a red background?_____________________
[Choices: Chile, Estonia, Morocco, Botswana, Azerbaijan ]

21. Guinness draught is the world's best-selling ___________________ beer.
[Choices: Lager, Craft, Lite, Ginger, Stout ]

22. Which U.S. writer wrote "The Devil's Dictionary"?_______________________
[Choices: Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry D. Thoreau, Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain ]




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) THE LETTER C v It happened in 2014: Calcium ________________________ is a colorless, crystalline chemical compound.
[Choices: Chloride, Carbonate, Crystamine, Cobalt, Cyanamide ]

24.(a) Current music v WEATHER REPORT: Hurricane ______________________ paid a visit to the state of Louisiana this month.
[Choices: Garry, Perry, Terry, Larry, Barry ]

25.(a) NAME THAT CITY v Synonyms: What city serves as the capital of Equatorial Guinea?_______________________
[Choices: Windhoek, Malabo, Cayenne, Porto-Novo, Adamstown ]

26.(a) Weather report v THE LETTER C: The "_____________________ Caper" is a corny Johnny Carson comedy skit.
[Choices: Cold Cream, Coupon Clipper, Caped Crusader, Chipper Chopper, Copper Clapper ]

27.(a) SYNONYMS v Current music: If you "flout" something, you are ____________________ it.
[Choices: Eating, Sharing, Addressing, Disregarding, Building ]

28.(a) IT HAPPENED IN 2014 v Name that city: What country hosted the FIFA World Cup of Soccer in 2014?____________________
[Choices: Brazil, Canada, South Africa, Russia, Italy ]




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. Which country owns more gold reserves than any other?_______________________________
[Choices: Colombia, North Korea, United States, Russia, South Africa ]

30. A stubborn person is one who is:__________________________.
[Choices: Renitent, Inchoate, Boisterous, Effulgent, Fugacious ]

31. Which song was a huge hit for the Backstreet Boys in 1999?_____________________
[Choices: I Want It That Way, Truly Madly Deeply, Step by Step, Bye Bye Bye, Unbreak My Heart ]

32. Which state's name comes from Choctaw Indian words meaning "Red People"?___________________________
[Choices: Oklahoma, New Mexico, Connecticut, Nebraska, Hawaii ]

33. "Horror has a face and you must make a friend of horror" is a line from this 1979 film:_________________________.
[Choices: The Pianist, Apocalypse Now, Kramer vs. Kramer, The Exorcist, The Silence of the Lambs ]

34. Chewing gum is made from chicle, a produce of the _____________________ tree.
[Choices: Agave, Coconut palm, Sassafras, Sapodilla, Elm ]

35. In what year was Soviet leader Joseph Stalin born?_________________
[Choices: 1888, 1868, 1908, 1898, 1878 ]




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. The members of the Ekdal family are at the center of this 1884 Henrik Ibsen play:_______________________.
[Choices: The Wild Duck, Miss Julie, The Counterfeiters, Major Barbara, Lady Windermere's Fan ]

37. The Concordat of 1801 was signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and:_______________________.
[Choices: Pope Pius VII, Thomas Paine, Czar Nicholas, Benjamin Franklin, William Pitt ]

38. The tambura is a folk string instrument native to this part of the world:_____________________.
[Choices: Central Africa, North Africa, Spain, Balkans, Middle East ]

39. It was discovered when it was extracted from the uranium ore pitchblende:____________________.
[Choices: Polonium, Helium, Manganese, Bohrium, Thorium ]

40. Diego Garcia is the name of an atoll that is part of _____________________ territory.
[Choices: French, British, Russian, German, Cuban ]




Final Jeopardy Question on ART MOVEMENTS (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. Filippo Marinetti was a leader of this art movement that originated in Italy:________________________.
[Choices: Cubism, Dadaism, Futurism, Popism, (5th Choice was cut off at the bottom of the TV monitor; I'd appreciate being filled in on this one) ]






Answers:

1. Hamilton [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_(musical) ]

2. California [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Ridg ... arthquakes ]

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

4. 1961 [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall ]

5. Canton [Dai (SPRAJO) at Whispers in Ottawa ON pre-called this one among 6 Players formerly at Buster's Bar; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_(flag) ]

6. Great Lakes [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_Royale , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Island and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoulin_Island ]

7. Blackberry [see https://researchinmotion.fandom.com/wik ... Berry_5810 ]

8. Heads [see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bicephalous ]

9. Collects contributions [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_ ... s#Bundling ; we in Canada are used to calling them "bagmen" who infest Ottawa. ]

10. My precious [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gollum ]




11. United Kingdom [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodrell_Bank_Observatory ]

12. Thomas Jefferson [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embargo_Act_of_1807 .]

13. Hearing [see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/orotund ; after the answer came out, we recognized "oratorio", "oration",... which could have made for a faster response.]

14. Merchant ship [Dai pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrack ]

15. Pelvis [Jean (LESTER) called this as a good guess; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ischium ]

16. Greece [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionian_Islands ]

17. Netherlands [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_FIFA ... _World_Cup ]

18. Redback [Dai called this first; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider ]

19. Bossa nova [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joao_Gilberto ; for the 1964 hit "The Girl from Ipanema" sung by Joao's wife Astrud, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1uEy-n4IsU ]

20. Morocco [Dave (YELDOR) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco ]

21. Stout [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness ]

22. Ambrose Bierce [I (REACH) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil's_Dictionary . I mentioned his definitions of "Egotist" (given in the wikipedia article) and "Clairvoyant" (available at https://www.infoplease.com/devils-dictionary-140 ) .]




23.(a) Carbonate [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_carbonate . I mentioned that this was a bad Question, because calcium chloride is also a white crystalline solid (a white powder in crushed form); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_chloride . On typing this up, I noticed that calcium cyanamide is also a white crystalline solid (a white powder) when pure; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_cyanamide (potassium cyanide, KCN, is also white/colourless; the "cyan" part of the name does not mean that it is blue-green - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_cyanide).
The Quizmaster and others should note that alkali and alkaline earth inorganic compounds (compounds of Group IA and IIA metals) are all white crystalline solids (white powders) unless there is a transition metal in the compound. For example, potassium chromate, K2CrO4 (yellow), potassium dichromate, K2Cr2O7 (orange), potassium permanganate, KMnO4 (deep purple), etc., where transitions between energy levels of the 3d electrons of the transition metal atoms involve absorption of visible light. Although they contain carbon, the essential element in organic compounds, carbonates and carbides are considered inorganic compounds. Complex organic compounds can be coloured due to transitions between electronic energy levels in the molecules; for example, chlorophyll is coloured even though it contains magnesium, an alkaline earth metal; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll .]

24.(a) Barry [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Barry_(2019) ]

25.(a) Malabo [we guessed this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malabo ]

26.(a) Copper Clapper [Jean called this one; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgYbogp1Ha0 . For the significance (then) of Sgt. Joe Friday's badge number, see https://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question17203.html ]

27.(a) Disregarding [see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/flout ]

28.(a) Brazil [a bad call for "South Africa" lost us some Points until Phil (BSLXPN) called this right; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup ]




29. United States [Dai and I guessed right, but others got sucked into "Russia" or "South Africa"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reserve ]

30. Renitent [Dai called this one (presumably by eliminating the other Choices); see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/renitent ]

31. I Want It That Way [Maddy (Phil's daughter, who joined us for the first time) called this one; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fndeDfaWCg ]

32. Oklahoma [Dai pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma ]

33. Apocalypse Now [Jean pre-called this one; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sodDYJRpQjY ]

34. Sapodilla [At the last second, I noticed "Sapodilla" as a Choice, and assumed it is related to a soapy, white lather via the word "Saponification", but didn't have time to relate this to others; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manilkara_zapota , https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sapodilla , and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saponification .]

35. 1878 [we were sucked in by 1888 or 1898, not realizing that Stalin made it to his 70's; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin and the section "Stalin's death" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria ]




36. The Wild Duck [this was the only Choice by Ibsen; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Duck ]

37. Pope Pius VII [Dai pre-called "the Vatican"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordat_of_1801 ]

38. Balkans [we all struck out except for Dai who dredged a connection from deep within his memory banks; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tambura_(instrument) . I had pre-called "South Asia", perhaps because of a deep memory of Tanpura; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanpura .]

39. Polonium [I pre-called Radium (which was also isolated by Marie Curie from pitchblende), but when the Choices appeared, Dai called Polonium (named after Poland, Marie Curie's country of origin) first. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium ]

40. British [Dai pre-called this one, knowing that the United States military makes use of the land; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Garcia ]




41. Futurism [Jean pre-called this one, and I concurred; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_Tommaso_Marinetti and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism . For an example of the sense of movement in Futurism, see Umberto Boccioni's "The City Rises" (1910) at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_Rises_(Boccioni) ]

The 5th Choice for Q29 was "South Africa". I may have inadvertently hit the "Submit" button partway through typing this summary, as I was tired from a long road trip the previous weekend.

26. WEATHER REPORT vs. the letter c.
A freak snowstorm in February, 2019, blanketed LAS VEGAS.


28. it happened in 2014 vs. NAME THAT CITY.
TEL AVIV is a Mediterranean port city in the Mideast.


--Rick Magnus
RickM, Blue Goose

25.(b): SYNONYMS: Someone who is 'RUTHFUL' could be described as: COMPASSIONATE. (The opposite of 'ruthless.')

Q29 should have read: Which country owns more gold reserves than any other?____________________
[Choices: Colombia, North Korea, United States, Russia, South Africa ]

In proofreading this after my first post, I found only the "Africa" was missing from the list of Choices.
I have no idea how the middle of the line ended up missing in the post now; then again, I got my first personal computer only in 2005, after I retired, and I went two years before a former student informed me that there is such a thing as a "Right Click" [where's the logic in that?].

Re Q29 (again). WTF??? The list of Choices was: Colombia, North Korea, United States, Russia, South Africa.

All those in favor of sending REACH to his bedroom for a 10-hour nap, please raise your hands.

I've stated elsewhere in these pages that the best way to detect a cheating site is to look for a significant discrepancy in its Brainbuster and Showdown scores: the material is thematically similar, only the manner of scoring is different. And having been rebuked by BO because this method won't catch all cheaters, I wish to add, that, while my analysis won't work for the true outlier who has the exceptional facility for mining data on the fly, it'll work often enough. And most criminals aren't that bright. It's a stressful way to live.

Of the fourteen players who recorded 60K or better on this quiz, nine of them were playing either at Zack's Place or at BWW-Middletown OH. The top score in Brainbuster which any of those nine players recorded was a 10,710, at Zack's. One player at BWW-Middletown OH had a 10.4. The other players at that site were all in four figures. NOMAD, who "won" Showdown with a 63,330, turned in a 7,418 Brainbuster.

Congratulations to BRIAN (Houlihan's Westbury), TRIVIAGIRL (West Park Station), and VULTUR (also at Houlihan's) for finishing 1-2-3 in the Wetware Division.