New Scaratings

Questions (1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly with time and 3 Clues):
1. The city of New Orleans is often referred to as the ______________ City.
[Choices: Volunteer, Charm, Crescent, Mockingbird, Mile High]
2. Where do you find the radiative and convective zones?_______________.
[Choices: Pacific Ocean, Between Mars and Jupiter, Below the ozone layer, Interior of the Sun, North Korea]
3. Mswati III has been the King of ____________ since 1986.
[Choices: Swaziland, Bhutan, Tahiti, Tonga, Cape Verde]
4. Which British invasion band is mismatched with the city of its origins?______________.
[Choices: Beatles-Liverpool, Rolling Stones-London, Herman's Hermits-Leeds, Animals-Newcastle, Dave Clark 5-Tottenham]
5. Chuckwallas are large:______________.
[Choices: Squirrels, Antelopes, Lizards, Fish, Songbirds]
6. This operetta composer didn't really have a hit until he wrote "Babes in Toyland":________________.
[Choices: Stephen Sondheim, Victor Herbert, Leonard Bernstein, Sweeney Todd, Arthur S. Sullivan]
7. Which heavenly body was discovered by German astronomer Johann Galle?_________________.
[Choices: Venus, Pluto, Saturn, Callisto, Neptune]
8. Daniel Handler is best known for his books published under this pseudonym:______________.
[Choices: Shel Silverstein, J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Tim Burton, Lemony Snicket]
9. Opuntia is another name for this Southwest delicacy:______________.
[Choices: Tequila, Green chiles, Carne asada, Prickly pear, Cilantro]
10. "The Last Days of _____________" is a three-volume work by Englishman Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
[Choices: Pompeii, Victoria, London, Earth, Radio]
11. Charles Baskerville, who lived from 1896 to 1994, was a noted:_______________.
[Choices: Theater actor, Horse jockey, Poet, Painter, Industrialist]
12. The Battle of Austerlitz was this general's greatest triumph:________________.
[Choices: Erwin Rommel, Hannibal, George Patton, Julius Caesar, Napoleon]
13. Many experts regard Jan Swammerdam as the first scientist to discover:______________.
[Choices: Optic nerves, Platinum, The cause of malaria, The rings of Saturn, Red blood cells]
14. In Italy, a crostata is a:________________.
[Choices: Beach, Policewoman, Pie, Man's hat, Water fountain]
15. First published in 1985, this dystopian novel is set in the fictional Republic of Gilead:____________.
[Choices: A Clockwork Orange, The Handmaid's Tale, The Alchemist, Matilda, Kiss of the Spider Woman]


Answers:
1. Crescent [see https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure ... ambler.cfm ]
2. Interior of the Sun [see http://www.thesuntoday.org/solar-facts/ ... g-the-sun/ ]
3. Swaziland [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mswati_III ]
4. Herman's Hermits [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman's_Hermits (from Manchester, not Leeds). We at Buster's Bar, Ottawa ON originally chose Tottenham, which is a district of London, and the city of London had already been used for The Rolling Stones; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tottenham ]
5. Lizards [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuckwalla (from SW USA and New Mexico, although I as LESTER guessed it might be from Australia)]
6. Victor Herbert [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Herbert . For a performance of "March of the Toys" from "Babes in Toyland", see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFj4u-NJVYw ]
7. Neptune [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune ]
8. Lemony Snicket [we split guesses on this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemony_Snicket ]
9. Prickly pear [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia and https://mexicanfoodjournal.com/cactus-salad-recipe ]
10. Pompeii [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Days_of_Pompeii ]
11. Painter [we missed this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_B ... e_(painter) and for visuals, Google "charles baskerville paintings"]
12. Napoleon [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Austerlitz ]
13. Red blood cells [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Swammerdam ]
14. Pie [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crostata ]
15. The Handmaid's Tale [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid's_Tale ]

I went Leeds. I would never have accused Peter Noone of being Mancusian, despite that being one of my favorite demonyms.



Improving on REACH, I declared the Chuckwalla to be an Australian Bird.

Congratulations to SWIFT, who outpaced REACH and the other players around them. There were any number of players who topped SWIFT, and congratulations to them as well. (I wasn't one of them, obviously.)

This afternoon AUVA came into B-52 in the company of his son, Ryan, and Ryan's bride, Jill. They'd spent the last week at AUVA's lake home up by Bemidji.

The phrase 'up by,' in Minnesnowtan, a term I've never seen apart from BO's mention of it on these pages, but which is perfectly serviceable, means north of MSP. Ryan and Jill are based in BO's Dallas.

After introducing myself to Jill, I made mention to AUVA that I had called Hong Kong to confirm the heroin shipment. "A pleasure to meet you, Jill," I added in departure. "You've married into an interesting family."