SEMI-FINALS written by Swarthmore (Fred) edited by Chris Morse TOSSUP 1 Arriving in Paris in 1778, he announced that he had discovered a fluid which penetrated and surrounded all bodies. He held sessions for patients in which he "used" this fluid to put them into trances or epileptic-like fits. Today, his name is the origin of a verb meaning "to hypnotize, spellbind, or fascinate." For ten points, name this Austrian physician who proposed a theory of animal magnetism. Answer: Franz Anton _MESMER_ TOSSUP 2 His latest novel discusses a Japanese pop culture of the 21st century filled with chewing gum theme bars and weird cyber-cities, where an aging rock star wants to marry the title character, a computer program, or Idoru. This novel follows up on the earlier success of his Virtual Light and The Difference Engine. FTP, name this author of Neuromancer and Johnny Mnemonic. Answer: William _GIBSON_ TOSSUP 3 He was called "The Morning Star of the Reformation," because this reformer attacked Church doctrine long before it was chic. He condemned monasticism and denied transubstantiation. FTP, name this Englishman, who started the first English translation of the Bible, and whose followers were known as Lollards. Answer: John _WYCLIF_ TOSSUP 4 This Silicon Valley toy company was started by Donald Kingsborough, a former executive at Atari, and its stock shot up 50% on its first day of trading in 1986. Its first two products, introduced in 1985 and 1986, were the best-selling toys for each year. By 1987, the firm had declared bankruptcy; sales dropped as other toy companies' talking toys muscled in on its turf. For 10 points, name this company, the creator of Lazer Tag and Teddy Ruxpin. ANSWER: _WORLDS OF WONDER_ TOSSUP 5 Table Mountain towers over this city, which was its country's largest seaport until it was passed by Durban about 15 years ago. The Benguela current helps to keep the city's climate mild; the first white settlement on the spot was founded in 1652, and the Castle of Good Hope, built soon afterward by the Dutch, is the country's oldest monument. For ten points, name this city, one of the three capitals of South Africa. Answer: _CAPE TOWN_ TOSSUP 6 In Greek mythology, she was the mother of Clytemnestra, Helen, and the twins Castor and Pollux. She is best known, however, for the cygnine form Zeus took to seduce her. FTP, name this woman, the subject of paintings by Michelangelo and Veronese, who was swept away by a divine swan. Answer: _LEDA_ TOSSUP 7 A contemporary of Aristotle, he was known for his refusal to participate in Athenian politics. A prolific author, his work survives only in quotes from Diogenes and Lucretius. He held that one should live in such a way as to reduce pain and anxiety and to maximize psychic tranquillity and pleasure. FTP, name this philosopher, whose name is now given to gourmets and hedonists. Answer: _EPICURUS_ TOSSUP 8 This Indiana native pitched for eight different teams over his fourteen-year career, had a losing record of 81-91, and his ERA was a modest 3.78, but he managed to hit 14 home runs and had a career average of .242. For 10 points, name this pitcher, who set down 27 straight Dodgers on October 8, 1956, Game 5 of the '56 World Series. ANSWER: Don _LARSEN_ TOSSUP 9 After the Persians defeated the Greeks at Thermopylae, Themistocles persuaded the people of Athens to flee the city and come here. From this small island, the Athenians saw the Persians ravage the countryside; however, the Greeks soon tricked Xerxes' navy into the narrow channel separating the island from Attica, and decisively won the battle that, for ten points, shares its name with the island. Answer: _SALAMIS_ TOSSUP 10 First published in 1798, it has seven parts. The title character in this long poem grabs the narrator en route to a wedding feast and tells him how his crewmates were slain by a skeleton ship, because of his sin of killing an albatross. FTP, name this Samuel Taylor Coleridge work. Answer: The _RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER_ TOSSUP 11 It is a toroidal apparatus for containing plasma by means two magnetic fields; a strong magnetic field surrounding a vacuum chamber, and a weak magnetic field created by an intense electric current through the plasma. It is often used in nuclear fusion. FTP, give this 7-letter word, an amalgam of the Russian for "toroidal magnetic chamber". Answer: _TOKAMAK_ TOSSUP 12 After being asked why twenty-seven appeared often in his songs, this artist replied that "Twenty-seven is a pretty funny number." For Ten Points, name the artist whose albums include Polka Party, Off the Deep End, and Even Worse. ANSWER: "Weird Al" _YANKOVIC_ TOSSUP 13 Led by the Aga Khan in the past, members of this group were abducted when children, then taken to the mountain of Alamut, where they were provided with beautiful women and powerful drugs, and told they were in heaven. In order to return to "heaven", all they had to do was kill a few people. FTP, name this fanatical group, whose name comes from the drug they used, hashish. Answer: _ASSASSINS_ TOSSUP 14 This play has Jorge de Montemayor's "Diana" as its principal source. Silvia, Julia, the Duke of Milan, and the Duke of Thurio, are various characters in this Shakespearean comedy styled after early Italian comedies. FTP, name this play where the main protagonists are the rivals Valentine and Proteus. Answer: _TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA_ TOSSUP 15 A nasty trial took another unpleasant turn recently, when this convicted murderer accused Marc Klaas, the father of his victim, of molesting his daughter. For ten points, name this convicted perpetrator of the Polly Klaas kidnapping, who was recently sentenced to death. Answer: Richard Martin _DAVIS_ TOSSUP 16 Most of Angola is contiguous, but one small region is separated from the rest of the country. For 10 points, name this oil-rich region, separated from the rest of the country by Zaire. Answer: _CABINDA_ or _KABINDA_ TOSSUP 17 By plotting a star's brightness against its surface temperature, it aids greatly in the classification of stars. FTP, name this astronomical chart, named for its two creators. Answer: _HERTZSPRUNG-RUSSELL_ diagram (or H-R diagram) TOSSUP 18 Despite the awful failure of Space: Above and Beyond, television moguls hope that the X-Files' Chris Carter will strike gold again. His new show will feature Lance Henriksen as a telepathic investigator in a creepy Northwestern town. FTP, name this upcoming series, which seems to be 4 years ahead of its time. Answer: _MILENNIUM_ TOSSUP 19 She has gained critical acclaim for her collection of short stories, The Storyteller, some of which were retellings of her own Laguna tribal tales. Her first novel, Ceremony, tells of the tribulations of a Laguna youth traumatized by World War II. FTP, name this author of "Almanac of the Dead." Answer: Leslie Marmon _SILKO_ TOSSUP 20 It began in 1873 by requiring supervision of all Catholic schools by the German government, mandating state marriage of all Catholics, and imposing prison sentences on opponents of the program. Seen by some historians as an attempt by Bismarck to unify the new German state by scapegoating one particular group, it only strengthened the Catholic church. For ten points, name this "struggle for culture." Answer: _KULTURKAMPF_ TOSSUP 21 Because of unbalanced molecular cohesive forces near the top of liquid bodies, they appears to be covered by a thin elastic membrane. FTP, name this property of liquids that allows one to skip rocks, or allows water striders to stride across lakes. Answer: _SURFACE TENSION_ TOSSUP 22 Denying the reality of thoughts and cognition, its principles were based on Pavlov's studies of dogs. Holding that all actions could be explained in terms of punishments and rewards, practitioners of this school of psychology looked to pigeons and rats as models of human thought. FTP, name this school, whose best-known proponent was B. F. Skinner. Answer: _BEHAVIORISM_ TOSSUP 23 WARNING: TWO ANSWERS REQUIRED. A hotly -contested senate race pits a liberal Democrat and 2-term senator (known for his work on the BCCI scandal and his support of the crime bill) against a popular incumbent governor, a pro-choice and fiscally conservative Republican. For ten points, name the two spoiled-brat major-party senate candidates in Massachusetts. Answer: John Forbes _KERRY_, William Floyd _WELD_