Warm-up Round (10 Questions, 500 Points each, 14 seconds to answer after posting of Question & 5 Choices; No Clues):1. The United Kingdom's election last month was a huge victory for the _____________________ Party.
[Choices: Green, Socialist, Labour, Anti-Brexit, Conservative ]
2. Which word means "observable" or "in the open"?________________________
[Choices: Introit, Exigent, Overt, Craniate, Specious ]
3. Which classification of animal is a Horseshoe Crab?_________________________
[Choices: Coral, Annelid, Lizard, Arthropod, Mammal ]
4. Each of the following U.S. states is designated as a Commonwealth except:__________________________.
[Choices: New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky ]
5. The AK-47 was developed in the 1940's in this country:__________________________.
[Choices: Germany, Israel, Soviet Union, China, United States ]
6. The game of bridge is based on this other earlier card game:_________________________.
[Choices: Wrack, Whist, Wench, Wolly, Wirth ]
7. According to the Bible, "Blessed are the ________________, for they shall inherit the earth."
[Choices: Wicked, Meek, Believers, Saintly, Few ]
8. Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a villain who appears in several ____________________ movies.
[Choices: Die Hard, Halloween, Pink Panther, Friday the 13th, James Bond ]
9. It was fitting that the ______________________ won last month's Alamo Bowl.
[Choices: Arizona State Sun Devils, Texas Longhorns, Syracuse Orange, Georgetown Hoyas, Virginia Cavaliers ]
10. "Ulster" is often synonymously with:_________________________.
[Choices: Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, The Netherlands, Wales ]
Countdown Round (12 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly from 4 to 16 seconds, and with 3 Clues): 11. The original Iroquois Confederacy of North American history was made up of __________ tribes.
[Choices: Ten, Five, Eight, Fifteen, Twelve ]
12. A theodolite is a measuring instrument used in this activity:_____________________.
[Choices: Surveying, Pest control, Forestry, Dancing, Photography ]
13. Philip Wylie's 1930 novel "Gladiator" is believed by many to be an inspiration for:_______________________.
[Choices: The Cisco Kid, Batman, Superman, Paul Bunyan, Sherlock Holmes ]
14. The Elgin Marbles are ancient sculptures also known as The _________________________ Marbles.
[Choices: Alexandrian, Colosseum, Delphi, Constantine, Parthenon ]
15. What city is hosting this week's NHL All-Star activities?_____________________
[Choices: Toronto, Seattle, Calgary, St. Louis, Nashville ]
16. Which sushi delicacy is called "Uni"?__________________________
[Choices: Quail egg, Squid, Smoked eel, Sea urchin, Flying fish roe ]
17. Pierre de Fermat made his name in the 17th Century as a:________________________.
[Choices: Cartographer, Mathematician, Poet, Composer, Politician ]
18. What was the most visited U.S. amusement park in 2018?__________________________
[Choices: Lotte World, Seaworld Orlando, Rocky Point, Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios ]
19. The Barrick ________________ Corporation is a large Canadian company.
[Choices: Insurance, Trucking, Technology, Energy, Gold ]
20. The Ituri conflict in ________________________ was at its worst from 1999 to 2003.
[Choices: India, Guatemala, Central Africa, The Philippines, The Amazon Rainforest ]
21. Which video game was released in 1985?___________________________
[Choices: Animal crossing, Halo, Super Mario Bros., Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty ]
22. Ketamine is an:____________________________.
[Choices: Anesthetic, Aluminum ore, Igneous rock, Isotope, Austrian dialect ]
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) LANGUAGES v Mythology: In this language, "Ikigai" refers to the thing you live for:________________________.
[Choices: Japanese, Pali, Sanskrit, Mandarin, Korean ]
24.(a) EXPLORERS v Country music: From where did Italian explorer and merchant Amerigo Vespucci hail?_______________________
[Choices: Castile, Genoa, Florence, Naples, Aragon ]
25.(a) ANIMAL KINGDOM v Berlin, Germany: Red and Sambar are two of the largest species of:________________________.
[Choices: Rabbit, Deer, Weasel, Bear, Wolf ]
26.(a) Country music v LANGUAGES: Mozambique, Angola and Guinea-Bissau are nations with _____________________ as an official language.
[Choices: Portuguese, German, Spanish, French, English ]
27.(a) Berlin, Germany v EXPLORERS: Who was the first European known to sail up the St. Lawrence River?__________________________
[Choices: Henry Hudson, Jacques Cartier, John Cabot, Louis Riel, Samuel Champlain ]
28.(a) MYTHOLOGY v Animal kingdom: Fafnir is a figure in ____________________ mythology.
[Choices: Slavic, Celtic, Egyptian, Babylonian, Norse ]
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. This region of Italy borders Switzerland and France:__________________________.
[Choices: Tuscany, Catalonia, Liguria, Piedmont, Alsace ]
30. Oceanographer Robert Ballard led a team that discovered the wreckage of the ____________________ in 1998.
[Choices: Andrea Doria, Edmund Fitzgerald, Yorktown, Marie Celeste, Victoria ]
31. Who wrote the 1977 fantasy novel "The Sword of Shannara"?________________________
[Choices: Martin Amis Jr., Guy Lafleur, Roger Zelazny, Terry Brooks, Thomas O'Neill ]
32. Which U.S. coin is 2.5 percent copper?___________________________
[Choices: Jefferson nickel, Washington quarter, Eisenhower dollar, Roosevelt dime, Lincoln penny ]
33. Merv Griffin created such TV shows as "Wheel of Fortune" and:_____________________.
[Choices: The View, Let's Make a Deal, The Price is Right, Family Feud, Jeopardy! ]
34. It is a type of magic spell:_________________________.
[Choices: Credenza, Cachucha, Cabochon, Conjuration, Cassimere ]
35. Healthy individuals at sea level usually have oxygen saturation levels of ____________ percent.
[Choices: 95-100, 55-60, 65-70, 75-80, 85-90 ]
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. Which country would most likely have a higher amount of earthworms?____________________________
[Choices: Guyana, Kenya, Jamaica, France, Fiji ]
37. The Valley of the Golden Mummies was discovered in this country in 1996:_________________________.
[Choices: Albania, China, Peru, Egypt, Pakistan ]
38. "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" is a 1900 fictional work by:_________________________.
[Choices: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Willa Cather, Mark Twain, Sinclair Lewis, Laura Ingalls Wilder ]
39. Which of these Latin terms would one most likely use for an epitaph?_________________________________
[Choices: Felix culpa, Brutum fulnem, Hic jacet, Vox nihili, Cui bono ]
40. What did Canada and the United States agree to on October 4, 1987?____________________________
[Choices: Free Trade Agreement, Constitution patriation, Charlottetown Accord, Goods & Services Tax, War Measures Act ]
Final Agreement Question on PAINTINGS (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. It is a famous 1561 painting by Tintoretto:_______________________________.
[Choices: The Birth of Venus, The School of Athens, Assumption of the Virgin, The Night Watch, Marriage at Cana ]
Answers:1. Conservative [Chorus of calls at Whispers Pub in Ottawa, ON; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Unit ... l_election ]
2. Overt [Pre-call by Andrew C (GRYFON); see
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/overt , or consider the French "ouvert"="open" ]
3. Arthropod [called by me (REACH); see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_crab and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod .]
4. New Jersey [Paul (WLDCAT) at the other table may have been the one who called this first, once the Choices appeared; see
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-a ... nd-a-state . Sue (SWIFT) asked why 4 states are called Commonwealths, perhaps because the present British Commonwealth of Nations includes Canada. I said, as a guess, Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War named the Commonwealth of England (when you behead a King, you have to justify it with some Republican-type name); see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_England (1649-1660). When the USA became independent of Britain, it was no longer under a monarch, so a Commonwealth would be a good name for a former colony. ]
5. Soviet Union [I pre-called "Russia", and Andrew more accurately pre-called "Soviet Union"; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-47 ]
6. Whist [Pre-called by Dai (BLADOR); see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whist ]
7. Meek [My pre-call; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_5:5 ]
8. James Bond [My pre-call; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Stavro_Blofeld ]
9. Texas Longhorns [Myfanwy (SPRAJO) deduced this from "Alamo"; see
https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas ... o-11-utah/ ]
10. Northern Ireland [My pre-call; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster ]
11. Five [Dai, Andrew and I pre-called this; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquois . I had explained in my pre-call that the Tuscarora joined later to make the Six Nations Confederacy ("Tuscarora" was misspelled in the factoid on the screen). ]
12. Surveying [Dai and I pre-called this; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodolite . When I taught a Grade 9 Science class in 1972-73, I had a brilliant student who, when asked in Grade 5 how to measure the width of a road without crossing it, explained how "using a theodolite, trigonometry, and a slide rule". He later placed first in a Canada-wide physics contest. ]
13. Superman [Paul (WLDCAT) at the other table in the room called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladiator_(novel) ]
14. Parthenon [I first pre-called "Stolen", and then "Parthenon" when the Choices appeared; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Marbles ]
15. St. Louis [Patrick (MRRED) or Richard (ACE) pre-called this one; see
https://www.nhl.com/fans/all-star ]
16. Sea urchin [I pre-called this one; see
https://www.sushifaq.com/sushi-sashimi- ... ea-urchin/ . We had a few laughs discussing "Prairie oysters"; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_oysters ]
17. Mathematician [My pre-call; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Fermat ]
18. Magic Kingdom [Myfanwy called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Kingdom ]
19. Gold [My pre-call; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrick_Gold ]
20. Central Africa [See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ituri_conflict . I called this one, since the Ituri Forest was the home of the Mbuti ("Pygmies", which someone politically corrected me to "short people"); see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbuti_people (I remember when the Mbuti were also known as the BaMbuti , and laughing during one Rocky & Bullwinkle episode which referred to the "BaMbashooti" tribe in Africa). In 1961, Colin Turnbull described the peaceful, communal, sharing Mbuti living in harmony with each other and Nature, confirming the ideal "natural state of humans" described by Margaret Mead in "Coming of Age in Samoa"; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forest_People . Turnbull was shattered when he later studied the Ik (pronounced "Eek") who had been reduced to Hobbes' "natural state of man" in the absence of government: a life "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short"; see the section "The Mountain People" (1972) at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ik_people .
The root cause of the present polarization in Western societies IMO comes from taking sides as to which of these two extremes is the "natural state of humankind". IMO an answer may come from an analogy in quantum physics: light has a wave nature (as shown by diffraction and interference), but also a particle nature (as shown by the photoelectric effect). The two aspects are not contradictory, but are complementary. Reality requires us to accept BOTH aspects; one cannot deny or disprove either. Depending on the experiment/circumstances, one or the other aspect of wave/particle duality becomes manifest. Similarly, both political liberals and political conservatives base their convictions/identities on either the caring, empathetic, cooperative "mammalian" brain or the "lizard" brain driven by fear, greed, lust, anger and spite. The rational, logical, understanding brain is used to justify one or the other of these "emotional" brains, but in general does not accept the validity or power of the other. Hence, unnecessary and ignorant polarization and contempt for the other side. ]
21. Super Mario Bros. [Myfanwy called this as a correct guess. see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros. ]
22. Anesthetic [Chris (CEEZED) pre-called "tranquilizer", and I called "anesthetic" when the Choices appeared; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketamine .]
23.(a) Japanese [Myfanwy and I pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai ]
24.(a) Florence [We went with a pre-call for "Genoa" and lost most of the Points on this Question; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerigo_Vespucci ]
25.(a) Deer [Dave (YELDOR) called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambar_deer and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_deer ]
26.(a) Portuguese [Dai pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambique ,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola , and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissau ]
27.(a) Jacques Cartier [Pre-call by Paul? We Canadians probably had an advantage on this Question (and also Q19 & Q40); see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cartier ]
28.(a) Norse [Pre-call by Paul? (I find it hard to distinguish voices from far away) See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fafnir . I mentioned that Fafner is a giant transformed to a dragon in Wagner's "Ring" cycle; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_(opera) .]
29. Piedmont [Andrew called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedmont ]
30. Yorktown [We all struck out on this one; see the section "Other wrecks, USS Yorktown" at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ballard . For images, Google "Robert Ballard 1998 Yorktown". ]
31. Terry Brooks [Dai pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Shannara ]
32. Lincoln penny [Pre-called by Myfanwy; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_penny (from 1909-1942 & 1944-1982, the penny was 95% copper; from 1982-present, it has been 97.5% zinc & 2.5% copper).]
33. Jeopardy! [Pre-called by Myfanwy (who actually played Jeopardy! on TV with Alex Trebek); see the section "Game show creator" at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merv_Griffin ]
34. Conjuration [Dai called this one; see
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/conjuration ]
35. 95-100 [Dave called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_sa ... _(medicine) ]
36. France [Dai suggested we go with France (large area, temperature climate with lots of rain); see
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/10 ... em-and-why ]
37. Egypt [Myfanwy & 4 others went with the obvious (and correct) Choice; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of ... en_Mummies (on the Western bank of the Nile in the Greco-Roman period). Dai and I went with China (in my case, because I thought incorrectly that Tutankhamun was the last gilded mummy saved from Egyptian grave robbers, and because there were mummies in Xinjiang, China; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarim_mummies ).]
38. Mark Twain [I pre-called this one; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_T ... Hadleyburg ]
39. Hic jacet [Dai called this one; see
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hic-jacet ]
40. Free Trade Agreement [Called first by Paul at the other table? See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada-Un ... _Agreement (in 1994 with the addition of Mexico, the FTA was superseded by NAFTA).]
41. Marriage at Cana [The Quizmaster made this a challenging Question, hard for Borg sites to Google quickly (a good thing), and for regular sites to earn full Points. See
http://www.artin-app.com/the-wedding-at ... intoretto/ . Note also
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wedding_at_Cana by (Paolo) Veronese (1563), perhaps the more famous version of the topic. It took me time to eliminate the other Choices: "The Birth of Venus" is by Botticelli, "The School of Athens" is by Raphael, and "The Night Watch" is by Rembrandt. But versions of "Assumption of the Virgin" are by Titian, Murillo, Correggio, and El Greco.]
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