1. Among the frequently asked questions at its website are about its number of personnel and the size of its budget, and whether or not it engages in drug trafficking or assassinations. It explains that Executive Order 12333 prohibits it from using assassination and that it actively works to thwart drug supplies. It also explains that it cannot disclose its number of personnel and budget. FTP, name this US government agency currently headed by George Tenet, which for years battled the Soviet KGB.
ans: the CIA
2. In the fall of 1842 the remains of this general’s mummified, amputated leg were disinterred from his hacienda of Manga de Clavo and transported to Mexico City where a procession escorted the leg for reburial. Ftp, name this man, who served as Mexico’s president eleven times between 1833 and 1855, and is remembered for his defeat of the Texans at the Alamo.
ans: Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
3. According to legend it was founded in 814 BC as a result of a struggle between King Pygmalion and his sister Elissa for the throne of Tyre. After Elissa’s husband was murdered, she fled and built at a citadel along the Mediterranean in what is now Tunisia. Elissa is better remembered to fans of Virgil as Queen Dido. FTP, name this city, the long-time rival of Rome, which destroyed after the end of the Third Punic War.
ans: Carthage
4. In 1841, he sailed on the maiden voyage of the Acushnet from Fairhaven, Massachusetts before deserting in the Marquesas Islands and living among cannibals. Much of his fiction was based on his experiences in the South Seas, including his first two books, Typee and Omoo. FTP, name this author of White-Jacket, Redburn, Mardi, Billy Budd, and Moby Dick.
ans: Herman Melville
5. Originally an iron moulder, he graduated from Saratov Industrial Technical School and the Orenburg Aviation College and represented the Soviet ideal of a worker who rose through the ranks solely based on merit. His handsome appearance and boyish charm were not lost on Nikita Khrushchev, who foresaw his role on the world stage after his 108-minute flight aboard the Vostok I. FTP, name his first man in space.
ans: Yuri Gagarin
6. The trouble began when a group of businessmen concocted a way to energize the local economy, enlisting the help of a young teacher. The plan worked, as 200 journalists and 10,000 spectators poured into town for eight days in the summer of 1925 to catch the trial at the Rhea County Courthouse. Among the attractions were attorneys Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. FTP, name this trial held in Dayton, Tennessee in which the defendant was found guilty of teaching evolution.
Ans: the Scopes Monkey Trial
7. The intruders found seven prisoners, two madmen, four forgers and a nobleman convicted of incest. Despite their promises not to harm the jailers, the warden and the guards were butchered. FTP, name this prison which was stormed shortly after the dismissal of Jacques Necker by King Louis XVI. The storming took place on July 14, 1789.
Ans: the Bastille
8. He is currently ranked number two in the world by UCI behind only Laurent Jalabert of France. This is an amazing feat because he was diagnosed with cancer only two years ago. FTP, name this Texan who won this year’s Tour de France.
ans: Lance Armstrong
9. Directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Matt Doran is Mouse, Belinda Mcclory is Switch, Ray Anthony Parker is Dozer, Carrie-Anne Moss is Trinity, Laurence Fishburne is Morpheus. FTP, name this 1999 sci-fi movie starring Keanu Reeves as Thomas A. Anderson, aka Neo .
ans: The Matrix
10. His name is derived from the Sanskrit word for "warrior." While this character was created by George Lucas, the acting credits go to Frank Oz who is best known for his many Muppets. FTP, name this Jedi knight who lives in a swamp and who trained Luke Skywalker.
ans: Yoda
11. According to him, "the proper funding" of the Revolutionary War era debt would "render it a national blessing." This quote, part of his 1790 "Report Relative to a Provision for the Support of Public Credit," would haunt him for years. FTP, name this man, the architect of the American system of public finance as the first Secretary of the Treasury. His picture is on the ten dollar bill.
Ans: Alexander Hamilton
12. His father was jailed at Marshalsea, a debtors' prison. Emotional scars, such as this one, were the source of much of his fiction. FTP, name this English writer, who caused emotional scars for his own children when he abandoned his family in 1858, and began to shack up with a young actress. His works include The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Old Curiosity Shop. Hard Times, Bleak House, The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.
Ans; Charles Dickens
13. Among the features in this state are the Androscoggin, Penobscot, and St. John Rivers, Mt. Katahdin, its tallest peak and the end of the Appalachian Trail, and West Quoddy Head, the easternmost point in the continental U.S.. Ftp, name this state whose cities include Lewiston, Bangor, Augusta, and Portland.
Ans: Maine
14. His brain is kept in the basement of Dr. Thomas Harvey's home in Titusville, NJ and is preserved in formaldehyde. If you have proper credentials, he'll send you a piece of its tissue on a microscope slide. Harvey gained possession of it on April 18, 1955 when he performed the autopsy in his Princeton laboratory after the death of the winner of the 1921 Physics Prize, a prize which was won for explaining the photoelectric effect. FTP, name this scientist who developed the Special and General Theories of Relativity.
Ans: Albert Einstein
15. This story includes an eccentric psalmodist, David Gamut, who carries his faith through song into the wilderness and tags along with Major Heyward and the Munro sisters in the early chapters. The action centers on Uncas, Chingachgook, and Natty Bumpo as they help escort the Munro sisters and defend Fort William Henry against an Indian attack. FTP, name this novel by James Fennimore Cooper.
Ans: Last of the Mohicans
16. His first book was The Theory of Moral Sentiments published in 1759. Seventeen years later he published his masterpiece in which he elucidated on the benefits of the division of labor—famously detailing the process of making pins. In this book he attacked the doctrine of mercantilism and coined the phrase "the invisible hand." FTP, name this author of The Wealth of Nations and father of the field of economics.
Answer: Adam Smith
17. FTP, solve this logical problem. Suppose there are is a garden with red, blue, and yellow flowers -- at least one of each color. No matter what three flowers you pick, at least one will be blue, and no matter what three flowers you pick, one will be red. How many flowers are there in the garden?
answer: three
18. One day as he was sitting near a well, seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian, came to draw water and fill the troughs for their father's sheep and goats. He went to their rescue when some shepherd drove them away. Later, Jethro gave him his daughter Zipporah in marriage and they had a son named Gershom. FTP, name this figure from the book of Exodus, whose siblings were Aaron and Miriam and whose name means, "I pulled him out of the water." He was recently brought to the big screen as "The Prince of Egypt."
Ans: Moses
19. He began his career as a hack writer turning out as many as two million words a year. In 1904, he was commissioned by the Socialist weekly Appeal to Reason to investigate labor conditions. With a subsidy of $500, he spent seven weeks living with workmen in Chicago. Doubleday, Page and Company agreed to publish the resulting book only after they would verify the truth of his observations. FTP, name this author who described life in the stockyards in The Jungle.
Ans: Upton Sinclair
20. He was the son of a noted railway engineer. Born in 1834 in the US, he lived abroad and was greatly influenced by Japanese prints from which he adapted the butterfly symbol that he used to sign his mature paintings. FTP, name this artist whose works often had abstract titles and forms such as Symphony in White, No. 1 and Harmony in Grey and Green. His most famous work, Arrangement in Grey and Black, hangs in the Louvre and pictures his elderly mother sitting in a wooden chair facing left.
ans: James Whistler
21. He attended the Milan Conservatory and studied under Amilcare Ponchielli. Around the turn of the century, his popularity rivaled that of Guiseppi Verdi and Giacchino Rossini. Ftp, name this composer whose operas include Manon Lescaut, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, and La Boheme.
ans: Giacomo Puccini
22. His oratorio The Dream of Gerontius made him the leading figure of his day in English music and in 1924 he was named Master of the King’s Musick. While many aren’t familiar with his Enigma Variations, his most popular piece is repeatedly played in May and June. FTP, name this composer of Pomp and Circumstances.
ans: Sir Edward Elgar
23. Ammonium cyanate’s formula is NH4CNO. Urea’s formula is CO(NH2)2. These are two examples of chemical compounds with the same molecular formulas but having different properties owing to a different arrangement of the atoms within the molecule. FTP, what name is given to such compounds?
ans: isomers
24. It consists of a nucleus surrounded by a cytoplasm from which thread-like fibers project. Impulses are received by numerous short fibers called dendrites and carried away from the cell by a single long fiber called an axon. Transfer of impulses from one to another takes place at junctions called synapses. FTP, what type of cell is this?
ans: nerve cells or neurons
Bonuses:
1. Identify these films which won their directors Academy Awards, for ten points each.
Directed by Milos Forman it was an adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel about an insane asylum.
ans: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The black-and-white epic about the Holocaust was directed by Steven Spielberg,
ans: Schindler’s List
This 1957 film directed by David Lean involves British POWs put to work by their Japanese captors during World War II and was based on a book by Pierre Boulle.
ans: Bridge on the River Kwai
2. Answer these questions from Greek mythology for ten points each:
Name the king of Athens who killed Procrustes, Sciron, Sinus, and the Minotaur.
ans: Theseus
Name the architect and inventor who built the labyrinth as a prison for the Minotaur.
ans: Daedalus
Theseus abducted Hippolyta, who bore him a son, Hippolyta. Of what warrior tribe was Hippolyta the queeen?
ans: the Amazons
3. Identify these scientific terms which all begin with the letter B.
It is the rapid oscillatory movement of small particles when suspended in water or other liquids.
ans: Brownian movement or motion
It is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit and equals 0.252 kilocalories.
ans: BTU or British Thermal Unit
It is the amount of heat produced by the body to maintain life when the body is in a state of physical, emotional and digestive rest.
ans: BMR or Basal metabolic rate or Basal metabolism rate
4. Answer these questions about the Bolshevik Revolution for ten points each.
In April 1918, local Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg executed the former Czar and his family and dumped their bodies down a well. Name this last czar of Russia.
ans: Nicholas II
Bolshevik comes from a Russian word meaning "majority." They vied with another faction, led by Yuly Martov, whose name came from the Russian word for "minority". Name this group which was initially much larger than the Bolsheviks.
ans: Mensheviks
Lenin was convinced that a speedy exit from World War I was needed and signed a treaty with the Germans which relinquished Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic lands. Identify this treaty named for a hyphenated city in Belarus.
ans: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (now called Brest)
5. Answer these related historical questions for ten points each.
It was first sighted off the English coast on July 29, 1588 and was intercepted near Plymouth. Ten days later in the Battle of Gravelines it was decisively defeated. FTP, what is the popular name of this flotilla of ships?
ans: the Spanish Armada
Who was monarch of England at the time of the attempted invasion by the Spanish Armada?
ans: Elizabeth I
Who was the monarch of Spain, who launched the attack?
ans: Philip II
6. Answer these questions about muscles for ten points each.
What class of muscle is found in the skin, internal organs, reproductive system, major blood vessels and excretory system?
ans: smooth muscles
Which wide muscle covers the back of the hip joint and comprises the buttocks?
ans: gluteus me\aximus
Amyothrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a fatal disease of the cells that control the skeletal muscles of the body. It recently claimed Jim "Catfish" Hunter. What is the more common name for this disease.
ans: Lou Gehrig’s Disease
7. This question combines your knowledge of the periodic table and spelling. Given the atomic symbol, spell the name of the element, for ten points each.
F
ans: Flourine
Mo
ans: Molybdenum
Pm
ans: Promethium
8. You've just run an OLS regression in your stat class and the print out is sitting in front of you. Answer these questions for 10 points each.
a. OLS is the most common type of linear regression. What does OLS stand for?
Ans: Ordinary least squares
b. Which statistic in the print out tells you the goodness of fit to the regression?
Ans: r-squared or adjusted-r-squared.
c. Suppose that the statistic printed below your coefficient estimate is 1.96, which tells you that you are 95 percent confident that the coefficient is not equal to zero. What statistic am I describing?
ans: t-statistic or student’s t
9. For five points each, identify the amendment to the Constitution responsible for each of the following.
Free exercise of religion is guaranteed ans; 1st
Freedom of speech and the press shall not be abridged ans: 1st
Right to bear arms ans: 2nd
Prohibition of alcohol manufacture and sales ans: 18th
The repeal of prohibition ans: 21st
Emancipation of slaves ans: 13th
10. For ten points each, name the decade in which each of these events took place.
The Chicago fire, the invention of the telephone, Colorado’s admission to the union, and Custer’s defeat at Little Bighorn.
ans: 1870s
The Federal Reserve is established, the Panama Canal opens, and Arizona and New Mexico become states.
ans: 1910s
The Erie Canal opens, the Monroe Doctrine is issued, and the Missouri Compromise is passed.
ans: 1820s
11. For ten points each, identify the presidents under which each of these vice presidents served.
Walter Mondale
ans: Jimmy Carter
John Calhoun
ans: Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams (give either)
Calvin Coolidge
ans: Warren Harding
12. Identify these impressionist artists from their works for ten points each. (Pick three of the four.)
His works include "Impression: Sunrise" which gave the movement its name.
ans: Claude Monet
He painted many scenes of the ballet including "Dancer Lacing Her Shoe" and "Prima Ballerina" and "Fin d’Arabesque."
ans: Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas
This American women, who painted in France, was famous for her scenes of mothers and children, such as "Mother and Child at the Boating Party."
ans: Mary Cassatt
He caused a storm of protest when he presented the Luncheon on the Grass at the Salon des Rufuses. Other noted works include Bar at the Folie-Bergere and Olympia.
ans: Edouard Manet
13. Silence might be golden, but earn ten points a piece by identifying these authors of golden works of literature. (Pick three of the four.)
The Gold Bug, a story about buried treasure in South Carolina
ans: Edgar Allan Poe
The Golden Bough, a 12 volume work on comparative religion and mythology
Sir James Frazer
The Golden Bowl, yet another America-meets-Europe novel by the author of The Wings of the Dove, the Bostonians, and Washington Square.
ans: Henry James
The Golden Ass, which is also known as the Metamorphosis, and tells the story of Lucius, who is turned into an ass.
ans: Lucius Apuleius
14. Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred
For ten points, give the name of the poem from which this stanza comes.
ans: Charge of the Light Brigade
For ten more points, what poet laureate of England and author of the Idylls of the King, wrote Charge of the Light Brigade?
ans: Alfred Tennyson.
Finally, for ten points, the charge occurred during the battle of Balaclava fought in 1854. In what war fought in Russia did the battle take place?
ans: Crimean War
15. You probably remember that the last of the ten plagues of Egypt was the death of the first-born sons. For five points each, name any six of the other plagues.
Ans: darkness, the Nile turnings to blood, frogs, gnats, boils, death of animals (horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats), boils, hail, locusts
16. Answer these questions about geysers, for ten points each.
The namesake of all geysers, "The Geysir" is located in Haukadular in what island nation located in the middle of the Atlantic?
Ans: Iceland
The second largest geyser field in the U.S. is at Umnak Island, in which Alaskan island chain?
Ans: Aleutians
The second largest geyser field in the world is located on the Kamchatka Peninsula which juts out into the Pacific’s Ring of Fire. In what country is this peninsula?
ans: Russia
17. Name these African-American authors from works on a 10-5 basis:
10: Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Die and Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well
5: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
ans: Maya Angelou
10: Disappearing Acts and Breaking Ice
5: Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Terry McMillan
10: Song of Solomon and Sula
5: Tar Baby and The Bluest Eye
ans: Toni Morrison
18. Answer these questions about the distopian novel Animal Farm, for 10 points each.
Who wrote the novel?
ans: George Orwell (aka Eric Blair)
Name the ruthless pig who sends the dogs after his rival Snowball and obtains complete control on the farm. (He bears the name of a famous human military hero.)
Ans: Napoleon
Who was the drunken, incompetent farmer (modeled on Czar Nicholas II) who is chased off Manor Farm before it becomes Animal Farm.
Ans: Farmer Jones
19. I'll name a player who was an MVP in the Men's NCAA College Basketball tournament and you tell me the school for which he played, for five points each.
Ed O'Bannon
ans: UCLA
Bobby Hurley
ans: Duke
Glen Rice
ans: Michigan
Patrick Ewing
ans: Georgetown
Akeem Olajuwon
ans: Houston
Earvin "Magic" Johnson
ans: Michigan State
20. Identify these states by their flags, for ten points each.
This flag is not rectangular, but a modified pennant
Ans: Ohio
It includes an anchor and the word "Hope"
Ans: Rhode Island
It includes the portrait of a president
Ans: Washington
Here’s an extra one in my favorite field—use it if you think it isn’t too hard:
21. Identify these economists for ten points each.
He wrote "Principles of Political Economy" (1817). Developed the labor theory of value and the principle of comparative advantage and mutual gains from trade.
ans: David Ricardo
He wrote "Principles of Economics" (1890) which codified much of microeconomics- bringing together the forces of supply and demand. Developed the ideas of consumer surplus, fixed cost, and variable cost.
ans: Alfred Marshall
He wrote "The Theory of the Leisure Class" (1899) in which he developed the ideas of pecuniary emulation and conspicuous consumption
ans: Thorstein Veblen
He wrote "The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money," (1936) (aka "The General Theory") in which he argued that changes in aggregate demand were to the key to economic fluctuations and urged government spending to end the Great Depression. Also noted for his prophecies that the Treaty of Versailles would cause economic havoc.
ans: John Maynard Keynes