Warm-up Round (10 Questions, 500 Points each, 14 seconds to answer after posting of Question & 5 Choices; No Clues):1. Turkish tribes founded the _____________________ Empire circa 1299.
[Choices: Manchurian, Ottoman, Hittite, Cimmerian, Sumerian ]
2. Blackthorn is another name for this plant whose fruit is used to make gin:_______________________.
[Choices: Senecio, Skimmia, Salix, Snowmound, Sloe ]
3. Which word is closest in meaning to "tousle"?__________________________
[Choices: Wuss, Muss, Buss, Cuss, Fuss ]
4. This disease results in a softening of the bones:_______________________.
[Choices: Osteoporosis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Kyphosis, Hyperlordosis, Spondylosis ]
5. Which country has a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean?_________________________
[Choices: El Salvador, Chad, Mozambique, Uruguay, Peru ]
6. "A Sloppy Joe" usually contains which food ingredient?______________________
[Choices: Celery, Pepperoni, Radishes, Smoked salmon, Ground beef ]
7. The Scarecrow in the movie "The Wizard of Oz" is made of:________________________.
[Choices: Paper, Straw, Fur, Rubies, Steel ]
8. Which famous street is located in New Orleans, Louisiana?_______________________
[Choices: Wall Street, Melrose Avenue, Broadway, Basin Street, Sunset Boulevard ]
9. "Clipping" is a serious penalty in this sport:______________________.
[Choices: Basketball, Golf, Table tennis, Football, Boxing ]
10. What can Dr. Doolittle do?__________________________
[Choices: Fly among the clouds, Travel through time, Make patients immortal, Turn straw into gold, Talk to the animals ]
Countdown Round (12 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly from 4 to 16 seconds, and with 3 Clues): 11. An average-sized man has about __________ pints of blood in his body.
[Choices: Zero, Three, Twenty, Twelve, Eight ]
12. Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major is called the _____________________ Symphony.
[Choices: Surround, Sophocles, Surprise, Simplistic, String ]
13. In what year was Mexican painter Diego Rivera born?______________________
[Choices: 1921, 1886, 1902, 1949, 1864 ]
14. The highest clouds in the Earth's atmosphere are ___________________ clouds.
[Choices: Cirrus, Stratus, Altocumulus, Noctilucent, Sundriceous ]
15. There are exactly 60 minims in one fluid:________________________.
[Choices: Quart, Gram, Milliliter, Dram, Jigger ]
16. Which musical group broke up earlier this year?_________________________
[Choices: Counting Crowes, Clutch, The Clash, The Cranberries, Coldplay ]
17. What is the official language of Iran?________________________
[Choices: Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Urdu, English ]
18. Joseph Muscat recently announced he would be resigning his job as:________________________.
[Choices: PGA Commissioner, Mayor of Montreal, CEO of Macy's, Prime Minister of Malta, European Union President ]
19. Which is *NOT* one of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?_________________________
[Choices: Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello ]
20. NORML is an organization devoted to this ongoing cause:_________________________.
[Choices: Workplace inequality, Legalization of pot, Illegal immigration, Child abuse, Sentencing inequity ]
21. Sophrology is a ________________________ technique.
[Choices: Martial arts, Relaxation, Speed reading, Language acquisition, Combat ]
22. Which city was hit by record floods last month?______________________
[Choices: Brasilia, Venice, Perth, Nagoya, Winnipeg ]
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) CURRENT EVENTS v World geography: What U.S. Senator dropped out of the Presidential race earlier this month?_________________________
[Choices: Michael Bloomberg, Elizabeth Warren, Tom Steyer, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris ]
24.(a) Video games v CANINES: The Bichon Frise breed of dog is known for its:___________________________.
[Choices: Large size, Purple eyes, White hair, Mean disposition, Hunting ability ]
25.(a) RELIGION v Olympic stars: The sky burial is a tradition in Tibetan:_________________________.
[Choices: Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam ]
26.(a) CANINES v Current events: The Chow Chow and the ____________________________ are dogs with blue-black tongues.
[Choices: Shar-Pei, Boxer, Border Collie, Chihauhua, Pomeranian ]
27.(a) OLYMPIC STARS v Video games: In 1984, he set an Olympic record in the decathlon:_________________________.
[Choices: Christian Schenk, Mike Conley, Daley Thompson, Carl Lewis, Dan O'Brien ]
28.(a) World geography v RELIGION: Fordicidia was a major tie in ancient ____________________ religion.
[Choices: Bedouin, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Irish ]
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. In what decade did Edward Heath serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?_____________________
[Choices: 1930's, 1970's, 1950's, 1910's, 1990's ]
30. Who plays Beauty in the 2017 movie "Beauty and the Beast"?__________________________
[Choices: Emma Stone, Emma Pankhurst, Emma Watson, Emma Roberts, Emma Thompson ]
31. If you are related to someone, you are said to be:__________________________.
[Choices: Quintessential, Exterpated, Intervocalic, Monovalent, Consanguineous ]
32. Exactly how old is American tennis sensation Coco Gauff?_____________
[Choices: 16 years, 17 years, 14 years, 15 years, 18 years ]
33. The __________________________ Shrike is bird found throughout most of North America.
[Choices: Loggerhead, Lochinvar, Lollygag, Lorikeet, Loblolly ]
34. What city is home to the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty?________________________
[Choices: Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Stockholm, St. Petersburg ]
35. The Mountain Bluebird is the state bird of:_________________________.
[Choices: Minnesota, Alabama, Oregon, Massachusetts, Nevada ]
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. Find the painting effect among the musical terms:___________________________.
[Choices: Gaudioso, Sfumato, Maggiore, Rondo, Bisbigliando ]
37. Which of these noted 20th Century writers is still alive?_____________________________
[Choices: Herman Wouk, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, J.D. Salinger, Norman Mailer, Ken Kesey ]
38. The ______________________ River flows about 1,000 miles before emptying into the Amazon River.
[Choices: Amur, Pechora, Putumayo, Kolyma, Orange ]
39. George Washington led the winning troops at the Battle of _____________________ in 1777.
[Choices: Cornell, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth ]
40. What literary character loses a battle with the Knight of the White Moon?_______________________
[Choices: Robin Hood, Draco Malfoy, Hiawatha, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, Don Quixote ]
Final Jeopardy Question on ANCIENT SCIENTISTS (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. Which work is by the ancient astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy?________________________
[Choices: Meditations, Almagest, Argonautica, Mathematical Principles, Philippics ]
Answers:1. Ottoman [Jean (LESTER) pre-called this first at Whispers Pub, Ottawa ON; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire ]
2. Sloe [Andrew C (GRYFON) pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloe_gin ]
3. Muss [after a pre-call for "ruffle" failed to appear, there was a chorus for "Muss"; see
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/tousle and
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/muss ]
4. Osteoporosis [Myfanwy (SPRAJO) pre-called this one, but some of us questioned "softening" as a descriptor, since bones become brittle in osteoporosis. So when I read down to Choice #5, "Spondylosis", I called and switched my Answer, as did Dai (BLADOR), Andrew C, Deb (GRZLDA). Wrong!!! At least 13 others stuck with Osteoporosis for 500 Points. See
https://osteoporosis.ca/ and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondylosis . ]
5. Uruguay [Dai (BLADOR) called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay ]
6. Ground beef [I (REACH) pre-called "hamburger meat"; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloppy_joe ]
7. Straw [a chorus of pre-calls; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow_(Oz) ]
8. Basin Street [a chorus of pre-calls for "Bourbon Street" did not work out; Myfanwy called "Basin Street" when the Choices appeared; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basin_Street ]
9. Football [a chorus of pre-calls; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_ ... n_football) ]
10. Talk to the animals [a chorus of pre-calls; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Do ... (1967_film) ]
11. Twelve [a wrong pre-call for Eight threw us, so we lost most of our Points; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exsanguination (although the value for adult females is Nine) ]
12. Surprise [my pre-call; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._94_(Haydn) , and for a lecture illustrated with sample selections from the Surprise Symphony, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zaLaqt-y80 . For a complete performance of the Surprise Symphony, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3EQxl3cB-Q ]
13. 1886 [my original call, because Diego Rivera did murals during the Depression 1930's, but because of a pre-call for "early 20th Century", we switched to 1902. Wrong!!! See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Rivera .]
14. Noctilucent [we pre-called "Cirrus", and relaxed, only to see it eliminated in the 2nd Clue. Jean then noticed "Noctilucent", the 4th Choice, but we could salvage only a few Points.
See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrus_cloud . Noctilucent clouds, not yet totally understood, are a relatively recent term, and old farts who learned only stratus-cumulus-cirrus-nimbus categories probably got sucked in like us. This was the 3rd of 4 Questions in this Round we screwed up, as we were now staggering from Question to Question.]
15. Dram [Myfanwy called this one, my Choice as well. See the section "Unit of volume" at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dram_(unit) and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minim_(unit) .
During chemical titrations using a buret, a drop is about 0.05 mL (approx. a minim) and volumes added can be measured to a fraction of a drop (e.g. 0.02 mL) by hanging a partial drop from the tip of the buret, touching the liquid to the inside of the titration flask, and rinsing the liquid down with a distilled water bottle. ]
16. The Cranberries [we lost almost all the Points because we knew that lead singer Dolores O'Riordan died in 2018, but did not consider that this would be the reason the musical group broke up. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cranberries . Still getting clobbered in this Round.]
17. Persian [Jean and Andrew C pre-called this first; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language ]
18. Prime Minister of Malta [Phil (BSLXPN) pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Muscat ]
19. Botticelli [chorus of calls; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_M ... ja_Turtles ]
20. Legalization of pot [Jean pre-called this first; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_ ... juana_Laws . Despite the experience of states like Colorado, the Progressive Conservative government of Ontario managed to screw up the legal sale of marijuana. For example, only companies that won a lottery would be legally able to open, so some wise guys bought hundreds of $50 application forms (entry tickets) to the lottery, statistically gaming the system and winning. You can't make this stuff up!!! As for NORML, Andrew C mentioned it is "not to be confused with NAMBLA"; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Ame ... ssociation .]
21. Relaxation [Myfanwy guessed right, but most of us did not; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophrology ]
22. Venice [my pre-call; see
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-sold ... rs-2019-12 . As for blaming it on climate change, see
https://dilbert.com/strip/2019-12-13 . I'm old enough to remember the flooding of Venice in 1966: see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_Venice_flood when CO2 levels were way lower than today.]
23.(a) Kamala Harris [my pre-call; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris ]
24.(a) White hair [Myfanwy called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bichon_Frise ]
25.(a) Buddhism [my pre-call; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial ]
26.(a) Shar Pei [pre-call by Dave (YELDOR)?; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shar_Pei ]
27.(a) Daley Thompson [pre-called by Kevin, our ace server; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daley_Thompson ]
28.(a) Roman [my call, from the Latin-looking "icidia" in the name; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordicidia ]
29. 1970's [pre-call by Jean; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Heath ]
30. Emma Watson [called by Andrew C, I think; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Watson ]
31. Consanguineous [a chorus of calls; see
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/consanguineous ]
32. 15 [I remembered that Coco was 15 when she played in the U.S. Open, but when there was a call for 16, I thought she might have had a birthday since then. Wrong!!! See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Gauff ]
33. Loggerhead [pre-called by Andrew C; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loggerhead_shrike ]
34. Seoul [From the sound of "Joseon", I pre-called "Korean". See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseon (more recognizable to some when written "Chosen") ]
35. Nevada [From "Mountain", I pre-called "Colorado or something", and from the Choices available, guessed Nevada. Others wrongly guessed Oregon (whose state bird is the Western meadowlark). See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_bluebird and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_meadowlark ]
36. Sfumato [my call, from Leonardo da Vinci's "Virgin of the Rocks"; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sfumato ]
37. Lawrence Ferlinghetti [I knew it was between Wouk and Ferlinghetti, but guessed Wouk, who died May 17 this year at age 103; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Wouk .
Others guessed Lawrence Ferlinghetti because it was the longest Answer, and they were right (he is now 100; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Ferlinghetti ) ]
38. Putumayo [Dai and I suggested this because it looked like a South American name; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putumayo_River ]
39. Princeton [some suggested Saratoga from the year 1777, but Washington wasn't actually present; luckily Saratoga was not one of the Choices. Dai suggested Princeton, which was the right answer; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Princeton .]
40. Don Quixote [I actually started to read a translated version of Don Quixote 55 years ago, but was appalled by the foolishness of the character, and quit reading. I did not realize that Cervantes started the novel as a satire, but gradually made the character more admirable, though deluded.
This was dramatized in the hit 1965 musical "Man of La Mancha" with the hit song "The Impossible Dream". In "The Dubbing", Cervantes-playing-Don Quixote is dubbed "Knight of the Woeful Countenance", which resembled in my mind "Knight of the White Moon", so I called this Answer.
From the liner notes of The Original Cast Recording of "Man of La Mancha" on LP (a primitive recording device on polyvinyl chloride):
"(Now appears "The Enchanter", fantastically costumed as The Knight of the Mirrors. He challenges Quixote to combat, forcing him to look into the mirror of reality where Quixote see reflected a fool and a madman. Quixote is defeated...but Aldonza, a witness to his destruction, feels a deep sense of loss. The Knight of the Mirrors reveals himself as Dr. Carrasco.)
At home again, the old man who once called himself Don Quixote is dying. His faithful manservant, who has been his Sancho, attempts to cheer him up with "A LITTLE GOSSIP". Aldonza, having followed, forces her way into the room, pleads with him to become Don Quixote once more and restore the vision of glory she held so briefly. Poignantly, she urges him to remember that he once called her by another name, "DULCINEA". As she helps him recall the words of "THE QUEST", Quixote, stirred to the old fire, rises from his bed, calling for his armor and sword so that he, Sancho, and Aldonza may once more set out upon their mission. But in the moment of reaffirmation, during a reprise of "MAN OF LA MANCHA", he collapses, dying. While the Padre, who has been at Quixote's bedside, sings "THE PSALM" over the lifeless body, Aldonza, having seen the vision once more, refuses to acknowledge Quixote's death. "A man died. He seemed a good man, but I did not know him", she contests, "Don Quixote is not dead." When Sancho questions her, she replies, "My name is Dulcinea". Quixote, having considered her throughout an individual of unique worth and value, has literally transformed her.
Back in Cervantes' dungeon [in the musical], the prisoners, dregs of humanity though they are, have been deeply affected by his story and restore to him his precious manuscript, and as he leaves to face his real trial, they unite to sing the words of Cervantes-Quixote's "THE QUEST". "
For a video of Richard Kiley singing "The Impossible Dream", see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHVGOp5Usv4 .
Now compare this with
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/ ... lxvlxxii-1 .]
41. Almagest [Jean called this first; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almagest . In the first part of this amazing book, Ptolemy recaps the Euclidean geometry he will need later in his calculations. During my high school days, Grade 11 had three compulsory courses (in addition to English): Physics, ancient History, and Euclidean Geometry. If you failed even one course, you failed Grade 11, and unless you repeated the year until you passed, you left school to get a job. I was pretty good at Geometry, so the Department Head of Mathematics gave me a challenge: using only straight edge and compasses, construct a regular pentagon. I couldn't do it. This is necessary in order to understand Euclid's last major theorem: how to construct a regular dodecahedron. The properties of a regular pentagon and other amazing theorems were used by Ptolemy in order to calculate his Table of Chords (basically, a table of sines) using only Euclidean Geometry. One problem is that it is impossible in Euclidean geometry to trisect an angle, so exact values in his Table were not possible for all angles.
Still, I can see why Ptolemy's Earth-centered cosmology was believed in for so long, even though it is wrong. And why the book was called "The Greatest", "the most majestic"="Al magest".]
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I will not be playing ntn Trivia for the next two weeks (Tue. Dec. 24, and Tue. Dec. 31), so anyone else is welcome to post SHOWDOWN, BRAINBUSTER, and GLORY DAZE Questions and Answers on this website. I won't take offense. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
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