New Scaratings

15 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly from 4 to 20 seconds after appearance of 5 Choices, and with 3 Clues:

1. Which bodily tissue carries substances like blood and lymph to various body regions?_____________________
[Choices: Muscle, Connective, Nervous, Epithelial, Vascular ]

2. The state of Maryland is named after England's Queen:_______________.
[Choices: Mary Stuart, Mary II, Henrietta Maria, Mary I, Marie Antoinette ]

3. This naval officer is remembered for his role at the Battle of Mobile Bay:__________________.
[Choices: John Paul Jones, Chester Nimitz, Hyman Rickover, Oliver Hazard Perry, David Farragut ]

4. Which shark can swim between fresh and salt water?___________________
[Choices: Hammerhead shark, Tiger shark, Great white shark, Bull shark, Mako shark ]

5. The Audi is made by a ________________ car manufacturer.
[Choices: Dutch, British, Swiss, Italian, German ]

6. Radicchio is also called Italian:_________________.
[Choices: Parsley, Cabbage, Chicory, Dandelion, Iceplant ]

7. Raphael Trujillo is a major name in the history and government of:___________________.
[Choices: Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela ]

8. Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana are the major branches of:__________________.
[Choices: Buddhism, Islam, Shinto, Judaism, Hinduism ]

9. A gastroscope is designed to explore your:_________________.
[Choices: Spine, Sinus cavity, Eyes, Uterus, Stomach ]

10. Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and:__________________.
[Choices: Sorghum, Sunflower, Maize, Millet, Rye ]

11. In the Bible, Abaddon is the angel who presides over:___________________.
[Choices: Jacob's ladder, The gates of Heaven, The walls of Jericho, The Garden of Eden, A bottomless pit ]

12. Which opera tells the tale of a ballad singer in 17th-century Venice?___________________
[Choices: Don Carlos, La Gioconda, Madame Butterfly, Parsifal, Rigoletto ]

13. Which U.S. writer wrote the classic story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"?_________________
[Choices: Woody Allen, Mark Twain, James Thurber, Art Buchwald, Robert Benchley ]

14. Its scientific name is Helianthus annuus:___________________.
[Choices: Lotus, Sunflower, Starfish, Hyena, Daisy ]

15. Which country developed the semi-opera, a mixture of spoken word, singing and dancing?___________________
[Choices: Russia, Germany, Argentina, France, England ]





Answers:

1. Vascular [I (REACH) called this one for the team-of-5 at Buster's Bar, Ottawa ON; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vascular_tissue ]

2. Henrietta Maria [I called this one; see the section "History - 17th century - Maryland's first colonial settlers" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland ]

3. David Farragut [Dave (YELDOR, TULADI) called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mobile_Bay ]

4. Bull shark [I called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_shark ]

5. German [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi ]

6. Chicory [Jean (LESTER) guessed right for 1000 Points; the rest of us needed the 3rd clue & got fewer than 200 Points. I was looking for a root vegetable, but Dandelion was not ruled out in the first 2 Clues; see the section "Names" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory ]

7. Dominican Republic [I pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Trujillo ]

8. Buddhism [I wrongly pre-called "Hinduism" from the 3 South Asian names, forgetting that the Buddha was a prince from northern India. We needed the 3rd Clue, so got less than 60 Points. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism ]

9. Stomach [I pre-called this one; see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gastroscope ]

10. Rye [Chris (CEEZED, KAYZED) called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triticale ]

11. Bottomless pit [I guessed this for 858 Points; others got much less. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abaddon . See also the section "Book of Revelation, as interpreted by Manson" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helter_Skelter_(scenario) .]

12. La Gioconda [We got less than 90 Points on this one, as the only bit about this opera I knew is Alan Sherman's "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh". See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Gioconda_(opera) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_of_the_Hours , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_Mud ... _from_Camp) . For YouTube clips of "Dance of the Hours" and "Hello Muddah", see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ_MftTCo7I and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3_xiUYMnXA .]

13. James Thurber [I pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secre ... lter_Mitty ]

14. Sunflower [I pre-called this one, from "Helios", the God of the Sun; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus ]

15. England [We missed most of the Points on this one, as it is a matter of definition of "Semi-opera"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-opera from England 1670-1712.

The description of singing, talking and dancing could apply to the German Singspiel , for example in Mozart's "Der Schauspieldirektor" (The Impresario) and "Die Zauberflote" (The Magic Flute); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Schauspieldirektor and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Zauberflote . See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singspiel . In 1786, the Italian opera was pitted head-to-head against the German Singspiel at Vienna's Schonbrunn Palace, with Salieri's "Prima la musica e poi le parole" vs. Mozart's "Der Schauspieldirektor".

Salieri's opera was judged superior, possibly because Mozart's work was mostly talk, with the music consisting only of an Overture and 4 singing numbers. Why not judge this for yourself? For sopranos both declaring they are #1, see "Ich bin die erste Sangerin" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uBWVwAEwos and the Finale, see https://youtube.com/watch?v=r1cgz3U9t8A . The sentiments could apply to any competitive enterprise, like art, science, business, ntn trivia, etc.

For Salieri's full opera (44 minutes), see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWUDvmkI1go and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prima_la_ ... _le_parole . The 1984 movie "Amadeus" gave Salieri a bum rap.

As for dancing in the Singspiel, "The Magic Flute" includes animals dancing to the sound of the flute, and there is a dance featuring Monostasos and slaves.]