New Scaratings

SHOWDOWN Date: Mar 01, 2011

WARMUP
1. John W. Gardner founded this nonprofit lobby and advocacy group in 1970:
COMMON CAUSE (3)
2. Pianist and singer Michael Feinstein is categorized as a:
CABARET PERFORMER (1)
3. The late Betty Shabazz was the widow of:
MALCOLM X (5)
4. Which marsupial is a carnivore the size of a small dog?
TASMANIAN DEVIL (4)
5. Cholent, kugel and kasha varnishkas are traditional foods in ____ cuisine.
JEWISH (2)
6. ____ is the capacity of words and concepts to have multiple meanings.
POLYSEMY (4)
7. Alan Paton and Nadine Gordimer are both ____ writers.
SOUTH AFRICAN (5)
8. Which venomous snake is native to the United States?
COPPERHEAD (3)
9. In 1818 Great Britain ceded territory that is now part of ____ to the U.S.
NORTH DAKOTA (4)
10. The legend of the Flying Dutchman concerns a:
GHOST SHIP (3)

COUNTDOWN
1. 'Black Tie' is the latest play by ____ known for his dramas about Anglo=Americans.
A.R. GURNEY (2)
2. This Indian Ocean island was uninhabited when the Dutch landed there in 1638;
MAURITIUS (4)
3. Charenton was a famous French:
INSANE ASYLUM (1)
4. Ali Abdullah Saleh is the current president of:
YEMEN (5)
5. The late Brian Jacques was responsible for the popular ____ series of books.
REDWALL (2)
6. The Miller Platform was a 19th century innovation for this mode of transportation:
RAILROAD (3)
7. Red berry-like fruits distinguish ____ from other conifers.
YEWS (4)
8. Which woman is a former president of Ireland?
MARY ROBINSON (1)
9. In 'Faust', the drama by Johann von Goethe, the title character is a/an:
JADED SCHOLAR (3)
10. Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly are great ____ composers of the 20th century.
HUNGARIAN (4)
11. Alize, harmattan and bora are names of:
WINDS (2)
12. 'Known and Unknown' is a new book from this member of the George W. Bush administration:
DONALD RUMSFELD (5)

CATEGORY
1. NORSE MYTHOLOGY over LANGUAGE
What is the name of the Norse goddess of the underworld?
HEL (4)
2. GEOGRAPHY over USSR BREAKUP
Which portion of the Pacific Ocean is farthest north?
YELLOW SEA (5)
3. THE SUN over SPANISH LITERATURE
What percentage of the Solar System's mass is contained in the Sun"
99.86 (5)
4. USSR BREAKUP over LANGUAGE
Which former U.S.S.R. territory is now one of the three Baltic republics?
ESTONIA (1)
5. GEOGRAPHY over SPANISH LITERATURE
Which Mexican city is on the Bay of Campeche?
VERACRUZ (4)
6. THE SUN over NORSE MYTHOLOGY
The visible aspect of the Sun is divided into the protosphere, the chromosphere and the:
CORONA (3)

LIGHTNING
1. A standardized test, the ACT is roughly the equivalent of the:
SAT (4)
2. 'Queen Bees and Wannabees' by Rosalind Wiseman deals with:
HIGH SCHOOL CLIQUES (1)
3. A J.D. degree is a degree in:
LAW (5)
4. Ag is the chemical symbol for:
SILVER (2)
5. Holland, Lincoln and Detroit-Windsor are famous North American:
VEHICULAR TUNNELS (4)
6. Odontalgia is a fancy word for:
TOOTHACHE (1)
7. ____ Square was the site of the recent Cairo demonstrations against Mubarak.
TAHRIR (3)

PYRAMID
1. Occitania is the informal name for a region of:
SOUTHERN EUROPE (3)
2. Author Eric Arthur Blaine is known to the public by this pseudonym:
GEORGE ORWELL (5)
3. In Greek mythology, the giant Antaeus was a ____ famously defeated by Heracles in a match.
WRESTLER (4)
4. Ceuta and Melilla are ____ enclaves on the coast of Morocco.
SPANISH (1)
5. From 1915 to 1923, genocidal acts were perpetrated against Armenians by the:
OTTOMAN TURKS (4)

FINAL SHOWDOWN
Category: BIRDBRAINED
Q: The Rook and the Jackdaw are Old World members of the ____ family.
1. SPARROW
2. SWALLOW
3. THRUSH
4. ORIOLE
5. CROW

Wipeout Order: 2, 1, 4, 3


BLUMAX

Did anyone take any of the Spanish Lit. questions in the Category Round? One of our number was really lobbying hard for them and would like to know what they were.

_________________
Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

The 4th Category Round question was one where I wanted USSR Breakup but got Language instead. The question was similar to this: "Saying 'blushing crow' instead of 'crushing blow' is an example of a _____." The answer was "spoonerism."

I'm curious what the first USSR Breakup question was.

I blew the final question. Immediately pressed "swallow" and it was the last item eliminated. So it appears that the wipeout order varies by site, although I think I've read this before.

-- RWM

(Edited to correct typo)

_________________
"...It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED...."

On BadBart, KRZeringue said it was

"2. geography v USSR BREAKUP
In 1991, the Muslim Republics of Ingushetia and ___ declared independence:
CHECHNYA"

The first "Language" question asked what word best described litotes (we precalled "irony," but soon landed on the correct answer of "understatement").

Also, we actually take the first Spanish Lit. question, which asked something like "What kind of literature did Benito Perez Galdos write?" The answer was "realist novel."

_________________
Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

The only question we had other than those mentioned was #6, Norse myth - something like "Loki was known as a (trickster) god".

_________________
Wayne Neily
Tremont, Kings Co., N. S.

"What mighty contests rise from trivial things!" - Alexander Pope, 1712.

"Beauty is truth, and truth beauty", John Keats, 1820.