Showdown Recap for 17 Apr 2018 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
By some miracle of science, the whole team, minus our investment banker, was at the BWW on Gibson Blvd in the ABQ in time for the Big Game. Unfortunately the house only has 14 working boxes now, so everyone was obligated to play a single machine only. This would not be a factor in our sub-par performance. That was due to some unaccountably bad calls by experienced players. <SIGH>
Worn-up Round
1. ‘Three Blind Mice’ was the theme song of the: THREE STOOGES. 2. Which of these body parts actually exists? SCHLEMM’S CANAL. 3. ‘Can’t beat the real thing’ is a 1990 ad slogan for: COCA-COLA. 4. What is a baby hare called? LEVERET. 5. The Psychlos are an alien race that rules the Earth in this Sci-Fi novel: BATTLEFIELD EARTH. 6. In the world of sports, Neymar is a soccer star from: BRAZIL. 7. Which city is connected to the Gulf of Mexico by a ship channel that is 50 miles long? HOUSTON. 8. To flabbergast someone is to ___ them. SURPRISE. 9. Richard L. Silver created this dance in 1976: ELECTRIC SLIDE. 10. Who was the first man to be the President of the Soviet Union? MIKHAIL GORBACHEV.
There was a 5-way split on #2 and a 2-way split on #4. The rest were “easy.”
Ground-down Round
1. The Dresden, Madrid, and Paris Codices make up the oldest surviving books of these people: MAYANS. {Ugh.} 2. What is chloral hydrate mainly used as? SEDATIVE. 3. A ___ person is one who lectures others too much. DIDACTIC. 4. The famed pagoda of Fagong Temple is a treasured artifact of: CHINA. 5. Born in 1904, Joseph Campbell is best known for his writings about: ANCIENT MYTHOLOGIES. 6. Ammerlander, Black Forest, and Westphalian are all varieties of German: HAM. 7. A student in economics 101 should know all about the Laffer: CURVE. 8. To see the South Shetland Islands you’ll need to sail to the: SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN. 9. ‘Mad about the Boy’ and ‘Twentieth Century Blues’ are songs by: NOEL COWARD. {MASSIVELY BRILLIANT call by CHILL.} 10. If someone gives you Syenite, you are in possession of a: ROCK. 11. You can read about the Philosopher’s Stone in the writings of the: ALCHEMISTS. 12. In property law, ___ refers to a bundle of rights. TITLE.
The screw-ups happened on #1 (5-way), #4 (5-way), and no others.
Scatology Round
S1. G-D-P-F-V Animal Genera v CURRENT MUSIC ‘God’s Plan’ is a big hit this year for this Toronto native. DRAKE {REAPER!}
S2. Poetry v SOUTH DAKOTA Which South Dakota city is nearest the geographical center of the state? PIERRE. {Early call by BRICK and HEBEGB was vindicated.}
S3. Railroad builders v WORLD CAPITALS The city of Beirut serves as the capital of: LEBANON. {Greek chorus}
S4. SOUTH DAKOTA v gawd-dammed-pink-fizzy-ARMORED animal genera It is one of two National Parks located in South Dakota: WIND CAVES. {BLZBUB}
S5. WORLD CAPITALS v poetry Which of these cities is the capital of its country? BUDAPEST. {DUFF was fastest, but this would have been a Greek Chorus answer anyway.}
S6. CURRENT MUSIC v railroad builders Bruno Mars and Cardi B team up on this popular 2018 song: FINESSE. {Third-clue save.}
You better believe we avoided the G-D-P-F-A-V Animule questions like the plague. Likewise for the poetry queries.
Frightening Round
1. Ethylene glycol is the chemical name for this common substance: ANTIFREEZE. 2. ‘The A Team’ was the debut solo single of ___ in 2011. ED SHEERAN. 3. An inscrutable person is one who is: MYSTERIOUS. 4. Sidney Prescott is the protagonist of which film series? SCREAM. 5. A common weapon in the Iraq War, ‘IED is short for ___ Explosive Device. IMPROVISED. 6. Which Stephen Sondheim musical features John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald? ASSASSINS {Seemed too obvious, but we got it right.} 7. Ragnar Lothbrok is a legendary ___ hero. VIKING. Other that for the missed chance on #2, the team was excellent on this round.
Py-Ram-It Round
P1. Lettuce was first cultivated by the ancient: Choices: Egyptians, Chinese, Celts, Mayans, Hittites A: EGYPTIANS. {The team went on a 2-way with the Chinese.}
P2. The Rougan-MacQuart family is at the center of this writer’s novels: Choices: Emile Zola; John Galsworthy, Jean Genet, Honore de Balzac, Francois Mauriac A: EMILE ZOLA. {We blew it; going for Balzac.}
P3. Which of these Australian cities is *not* a port city? Choices: Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Hobart, Canberra A: CANBERRA. {Greek chorus.}
P4. Which animals have a second set of extendable jaws? Choices: Armadillos, Lemurs, Moray Eels, Pigs, Wolverines A: MORAY EELS. {JAX took a bite out of this one.}
P5. Born in 1652, Lorenzo Corsini is better known in history as: Choices: Pope Clement XII; Miguel Cervantes; Frederick the Great; Casanova; Titian A: POPE CLEMENT XII. {KABLOOIE! A flat-out miss killed this round for us.}
{The team, for lack of a better phrase, SUCKED on this round. So, just one box finished the round with as much as 4 of 5 correct. Only two boxes scored 3 of 5 correct. Of course this means 11 boxes finished with a scant 2 of 5 correct.}
FINAL TRAGEDY Topic: SCIENTIFIC TERMS
Which scientific term was coined by Isaac Newton?
1. Centripetal Force 2. Recessive Trait 3. Black Hole 4. Carbohydrate 5. Parallax
The order of the eliminations was 2, 3, 4, and 5, leaving #1, CENTRIPETAL FORCE as the correct answer. Once the five choices were revealed, this was a nearly instantaneous call from 3 on the team. Suggestions that it might be “parallax” were spun away like kids on a Tilt-A-Whirl.
The top individual scores for the night were 50455, 48957, 46047, 45049, 44687, and 44038 points.
The team’s average score for this game was 46,572 points.
The Ragged Rascals’ systemwide ranking was SIXTEENTH Place.
The big winner for the night were The Grand Slammers, playing at the BWW Arlington, VA with a whopping-big 61,927 points. A heartbreaking second went to Houlihan’s of Westbury, NY with 58262 points. Non-wetware 3 and 4, went to two Borg collectives. Wetware-only Third thus went to BWW Montgomery, AL, followed by another Borg. Wetware-only Fourth went to Teaser’s of Chicago, IL at 50401 points. 5. CK’s Tavern of Phoenix, AZ at 50244, 6. Big Guys of Winnipeg, MB at 49559, and 7. The Fellowship at BWW Kent, OH at 49029 get congratulations from the Ragged Rascals for a good match.
_________________ }}}--( (x) (x) )---> Oh my gawd, they killed Ken Z. You bastards!
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