New Scaratings

15 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly with time and 3 Clues:

1. Black-backed, Golden and Side-striped are the three types of this mammal:__________________.
[Choices: Jackal, Tortoise, Skunk, Rabbit, Field mouse]

2. Jorge Luis Borges was a famous 20th Century writer who was born in:________________.
[Choices: Portugal, Mexico, Denmark, Indonesia, Argentina]

3. Famous for its pungent odor, Limburger cheese is from:__________________.
[Choices: Moldova, Hungary, Denmark, Belgium, Austria]

4. Which play is set in the Mississippi delta and deals with the Pollitt family?__________________
[Choices: A View from a Bridge, Look Back in Anger, A Doll's House, Come Back Little Sheba, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]

5. In the famous 12 Labors of Hercules, he killed all but the:___________________.
[Choices: Nemean lion, Stymphalian birds, Monster Geryon, Hydra, Erymanthian boar]

6. The city of Bangui serves as this nation's capital:_______________.
[Choices: Malawi, Guyana, Chad, Central African Republic, Indonesia]

7. Discovered by an astronomer in 1951, Ananke is a:__________________.
[Choices: Black hole, Jovian moon, Dwarf planet, Giant comet, Radiation belt]

8. Which statement about Casanova, the legendary Romantic, is true?_________________
[Choices: Fought for Belgium, Was fictional, Composed symphonies, Owned a brothel, Was a librarian]

9. Matthew Flinders helped give this continent its name:___________________.
[Choices: Antarctica, Asia, South America, Australia, Africa]

10. Nina Simone's "The King of Love is Dead" commemorates the death of:________________.
[Choices: Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley]

11. Which politically charged term means "students" in Persian?_________________
[Choices: Hamas, Taliban, Boko Haram, Al-Queda, Al-Shabab]

12. The first lasting European settlement on the American mainland was located in:______________.
[Choices: Virginia, Brazil, Alaska, Panama, California]

13. This country's President from 1978 to 2008 was Maumoon Abdul Gayoom:______________.
[Choices: Mexico, Moldova, Mauritania, Maldives, Mali]

14. It is a starlike figure produced by certain crystals:_________________.
[Choices: Merino, Mesomorph, Hologram, Factotum, Asterism]

15. "My heart aches and a drowsy numbness pains my sense," is the first line of:_________________.
[Choices: Dante's Inferno, The Wasteland, A Long Walk Spoiled, Ode to a Nightingale, The Raven]



Answers:
1. Jackal [Richard (ACE2) called this one at Buster's Bar, Ottawa ON; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackal ]

2. Argentina [I (REACH, LESTER) called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges ]

3. Belgium [Sue (SWIFT) got 1000 Points on this one, others got less; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limburger ]

4. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof [I called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_on_a_Hot_Tin_Roof ]

5. Erymanthian boar [We needed Clues on this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labours_of_Hercules ]

6. Central African Republic [I blew it by calling for Malawi instead of a split; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangui ]

7. Jovian moon [I called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananke_(moon) ]

8. Was a librarian [I wrongly called for "Composed symphonies" because Casanova was a violinist (see the section "Early career in Italy and abroad" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacomo_Casanova ). For his stint as a librarian, see the section "Final years in Bohemia".]

9. Australia [I pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Flinders ]

10. Martin Luther King Jr [We needed Clues on this one; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uy8oyVWU2A and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/'Nuff_Said! I was really slow on this one because I confused Nina Simone with Nina van Pallandt; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Simone and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_van_Pallandt .]

11. Taliban [I split my votes on this one, getting 761 Points as LESTER; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban ]

12. Panama [I split my votes on this one, getting 482 Points as LESTER; see the section "Spanish colonial period - Santa Maria la Antigua del Darien" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Panama ]

13. Maldives [We totally guessed wrong on this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maumoon_Abdul_Gayoom ]

14. Asterism [I pre-called this one ("aster"="star"); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_(gemology) ]

15. Ode to a Nightingale [Split guesses on this one, Sue getting it right; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_a_Nightingale ]

Try this link in the Answer for Q10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uy8cyVWU2A .

MERKIN and I were debating the merits of Brainbuster, and we had independently concluded that Brainbuster is equal or superior to Showdown.

The scoring in Brainbuster isn't weighted, and the questions tend to be less topical than in Showdown - where if you miss a news cycle, you might be leveled in the Warm-Up or Lightning Round.

All trivia is historical. Brainbuster, which isn't trivia per se, but rather a general knowledge quiz, enjoys this additional merit - you'll not punch a saving 529, nor a 198, if you can't parse the allusion.

Much to my chagrin, MICE are 8th and LI ZHU 20th in the Brainbuster rankings. Feel free to dismiss this comparison between Showdown and Brainbuster as the input of an amateur. For confirmation, you might flip to my Showdown averages, in which the Mice rank 57th and Li Zhu ranks 35th.

The Mice prefer Brainbuster. Li Zhu prefers Showdown. Each of those idiot accounts are embodied in the same player.

BB is a better indicator of team superiority than SD because the borgs are unable to use their references.