New Scaratings

15 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly with time and 3 Clues:
1. In which African country will you find the source of the Niger River?________________
[Choices: Angola, Guinea, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia]
2. In what novel do we learn about people called liquefactionists?_______________
[Choices: Clockwork Orange, Dune, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Fountainhead, Naked Lunch]
3. His first novel, "The Joker", is about a student whose joke earns him a prison sentence:_______________.
[Choices: Milan Kundera, Franz Kafka, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Gabriel Garcia Marquez]
4. William Eggleston was one of the first to win recognition for ____________ in the art world.
[Choices: Black painters, Color photography, Abstraction, Landscape, Nudity]
5. In which country did the Piast dynasty rule?________________.
[Choices: Poland, Scotland, Italy, France, Vietnam]
6. Yes, it's true! There is such a creature as a:_________________.
[Choices: Leaping hyena, Smiling toad, Fainting goat, Shaking raccoon, Disturbed vireo]
7. His first play, "Awake and Sing", is regarded by many as this writer's finest effort:_________________.
[Choices: Arthur Miller, Samuel Beckett, William Butler Yeats, Clifford Odets, Eugene Ionesco]
8. Pico de Aneto is the highest point in the _____________ Mountains.
[Choices: Appalachian, Andes, Ural, Balkan, Pyrenees]
9. Franz Boas was the most influential figure in the development of American:_____________.
[Choices: Banking, Catholicism, Anthropologist, Urban planning, Business law]
10. The ciliary muscle is part of the:________________.
[Choices: Arm, Stomach, Inner ear, Eye, Calf]
11. The wealthy ancient trade city of Palmyra was located in what is now:______________.
[Choices: Libya, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Syria, Somalia]
12. In the world of business, Domenico and Stefano are the first names of this duo:__________________.
[Choices: Baldini & Castaldi, Barnes & Noble, Dolce & Gabbana, Harley & Davidson, Martini & Rossi]
13. Willis Carrier is credited with inventing modern:__________________.
[Choices: Wireless communication, Animal husbandry, Translation technology, Air conditioning, Cosmetology]
14. Which culture believed in the "Spirit of the Life Force" called Kachina?__________________.
[Choices: Ancient Egyptian, Pueblo Indians, Ancient Japanese, Eskimos, Aztecs]
15. Solanum tuberosum is the scientific name for this common plant:_____________.
[Choices: Rice, Soybean, Grape, Lemon, Potato]

Answers:
1. Guinea [It was between Guinea and Angola, and Dave (YELDOR, TULADI) pointed out that Angola was too far south. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger_River .]
2. Naked Lunch [Chris (CEEZED, KAYZED) called this one, remembering his misspent youth. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Lunch ]
3. Milan Kundera [We at Buster's Bar, Ottawa ON totally missed this one, out of ignorance of Kundera (although from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Kundera , I remembered his 1984 "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". Kundera's first novel, from 1967, was "The Joke" (and not "The Joker" as stated in the Question).]
4. Color photography [I (REACH, LESTER) called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Eggleston .]
5. Poland [Chris Zwierzchowski (CEEZED) pre-called this one for some reason; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piast_dynasty ]
6. Fainting goat [Myfanwy (SPRAJO, DICKIE) called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piast_dynasty ]
7. Clifford Odets [We mostly missed this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Odets ]
8. Pyrenees [We wasted a lot of Points on "Andes", not remembering that Aconcagua is the highest point in the Andes (and at 22,837 ft. the highest in both the Southern and Western hemispheres; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconcagua ). After losing more than 600 Points, I came to my senses and chose the other Spanish name, the Pyrenees; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneto ].
9. Anthropology [I pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Boas ]
10. Eye [I pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciliary_muscle ]
11. Syria [I pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmyra ]
12. Dolce & Gabbana [I guessed this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolce_&_Gabbana ]
13. Air conditioning [Patrick (MRRED) pre-called this one, since Carrier makes air conditioners; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Carrier ]
14. Pueblo Indians [Chris pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachina ]
15. Potato [I pre-called this one, from "tuberosum", since it is a tuber; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato ]

The link for Answer 6 should have read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_goat .

I knew vaguely that the Niger was shaped like two badly drawn sides of an equilateral triangle, but I had it flowing from the east rather than the west. When Guinea and Angola showed up as the only possibly options, I didn't know whether to shit or go blind. And when we couldn't do anything with Naked Lunch on Question 2, poor DOTCOM, sitting opposite me, went into the third question with a grand total of 83 points. She ended up with an 11.5, on a quiz where we all felt grateful to get to five figures.