Cardinal Classic Questions by BYU
Written by Dave Sims, Earl Cahill and Ken Jennings
Tossups
1. It lies on the alluvial plain of the Arno, west of Florence, and,
as a seaport it became a valuable ally of Genoa until the 15th
century. The birthplace of Galileo, it is best known for a bell-tower
begun there in 1173 on famously marshy ground. FTP, name this city,
home to a famous "leaning tower."
ANSWER: Pisa
2. This man used a hat surveillance camera to capture incriminating
footage at the Laramie cigarette plant. Unfortunately, Channel 6
received pressure from Laramie and pulled the spot, just as Fox
pulled the episode, giving into pressure of their own. FTP, name this
host of "Eye on Springfield," the lead news anchor on The Simpsons.
ANSWER: Kent Brockman (prompt on "Kenny Brockelstein")
3. A mystery was solved last year when a French fisherman reeled in a
silver bracelet inscribed "Consuelo." Consuelo's husband was a
French author who was presumed dead in a 1944 plane crash. This man
wrote "The Wisdom of the Sands" and "The Flight to Arras," but is best
known for describing life on Asteroid B-612. FTP, name this author of
"The Little Prince."
ANSWER: Antoine de Saint-Exupery
4. The Galileo fly-bys revealed that it is the only body in the solar
system to glow -- the glow is due to electrified atmospheric sodium.
Other features include an Arizona-sized dark spot called the Pillan
Patera and the volcano Pele, which releases plumes 300 km high. FTP,
name this Jovian moon, the most volcanic object in the solar system.
ANSWER: Io
5. Except for a silent h, the name's the same. One's Philly rookie
card goes for $8, the other's first producer credit was "Rags to
Riches." The first overcame booze and coke in Philly and the second
wrote for "The BRAT patrol" and "Millennium." FTP, give the shared
name, one a wide receiver for the Vikings, the other the creator of
"The X-Files."
ANSWER: C(h)ris Carter
6. The name comes from a French word for "baggage-laden pony," a name
said to have originated during the Crusades, from knights who noticed
their resemblance to small horses. Napoleon helped to popularize
them, even leaving his to the King of Rome upon his death. FTP, name
the low basin currently found in less than half of all Gallic
bathrooms.
ANSWER: bidet
7. He returned from his political exile in the wake of the South Seas
bubble scandal and proceeded to put the country on a sound financial
footing. He cut land taxes by 75% and created unprecedented domestic
prosperity, but the death of his ally Queen Caroline in 1737 and the
War of Jenkins' Ear led to his downfall. FTP, bame the man commonly
styled the first Prime Minister.
ANSWER: Robert Walpole
8. Published in 1920, this work is subtitled "A Novel of Ironic
Nostalgia." In rather ironic fashion, Newland Archer doesn't shoot
for the "new lands" of the Countess Olenska, but instead convinces her
to not divorce her husband, and he rather ironically settles for Mae
Welland. FTP, name this work about classes in nineteenth-century New
York, written by Edith Wharton.
ANSWER: "The Age of Innocence"
9. It is caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, and causes
flu-like symptoms that can end in respiratory failure and death. It
made headlines in 1980, when the new synthetic "Rely" brand from
Procter & Gamble caused 1,000 new cases and killed 30 women. FTP,
name this deadly syndrome, a women's health risk associated with
tampons.
ANSWER: toxic shock syndrome (prompt on "tss")
10. Oscar Wilde described him as "an Irishman commanding an English
army, that might be a match for an Italian commanding the French
army." And he was. Though he only faced Napoleon once, he bested the
French Marshals at Fuentes de Onoro, Salamanca and Vittoria. FTP,
name the British general who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
ANSWER: Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (accept Wellesley, accept Wesley)
11. Venus gave her beauty, Mercury gave her persuasion, Apollo gave
her music, and Epimetheus gave her his hand in marriage. FAQTP, name
this first lady who found a jar in her husband's house and, against
his wishes, opened it.
ANSWER: Pandora
12. U.S. policymakers are increasingly worried about the
Balkanization of this country, where the Marxist FARC guerrillas who
own the southern Caqueta province last month boycotted peace talks
with President Andres Pastrana Arango. FTP, these peace talks were
aimed at ending fighting in what coffee- and cocaine-producing South American
country?
ANSWER: Colombia
13. William Rosecrans, encouraged by the retreat of the confederates
from Chattanooga, spread his army along a sixty-mile front when the
Confederates under Bragg attacked him just across the Georgia border
at this site. FTP, Name this 18-19 September 1863 battle that saw the
confederates decimate the U.S. Army.
ANSWER: Chickamauga
14. If you use the Black-Scholes equation to find implied volatility
and then plot that against the historical volatility, there is a slight
variation. FTP, what is the name of this aberration, which shares its
name with what Allen Funt asked you to do, what Barry Manilow can't do
without you, and the most enduring feature of the Cheshire cat.
ANSWER: smile (accept "smirk" until "Funt" is read)
15. It ended in its 30th season, after over 10,910 episodes. The
streets of its fictional locale, such as Lancaster Plaza and Barrymore
Street, were all named after famous actors and directors. Its star
was the first American to be legally adopted by a corporation. FTP,
name this Christof-created TV program, the subject of a 1998 Jim
Carrey hit.
ANSWER: "The Truman Show"
16. Its largest islands are Grand Manas and Campobello, and it
extends 90 miles northward where it splits into Chignecto Bay and
Minas Basin. Its largest ports are Digby, Hantsport, and St. John,
the capital of New Brunswick. On the U.S. side lies Passamaquoddy
Bay. FTP, name this inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, famous for its
70-foot tides, the highest in the world.
ANSWER: Bay of Fundy
17. Debbie Keller and Melissa Jennings supposedly helped this school's
1998 team develop a quick chemistry. This program has won fifteen of the past
eighteen national championships, but several players are now suing for sexual harrassment on the part of Coach Anson Dorrance. FTP, what school's women's soccer program is facing this scandal?
ANSWER: The University of North Carolina
18. In this painting, the title character sits under a stone
overhang, behind which can be seen a river and a craggy landscape. On
her left is a winged female angel; on her right is a young John the
Baptist. FTP, name this famous portrait of the Virgin Mary, completed
in 1486 by Leonardo da Vinci.
ANSWER: Virgin of the Rocks
19. His film debut came in 1991's "Dying Young," and he has since
appeared in "Ellen's Energy Adventure," "Short Cuts," "Spy Hard" and
"White Men Can't Jump," where he got to witness Rosie Perez reel off a
few "Q" words on his show. FTP, name this Canadian host of
"The Wizard of Odds," "Classic Concentration," and "Jeopardy!"
ANSWER: Alex Trebek
20. This woman's name means "disbander of the armies" -- appropriate
since her actions end the Peloponnesian War. FTP, name this Athenian
woman who convinces her countrywomen to withhold sex from their
soldier husbands, the title character of an Aristophanes comedy.
ANSWER: Lysistrata
21. This term comes from a Portuguese word for "season" and, while
the most famous ones occur in Africa and Southeast Asia, they're also
found on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in Central Europe. Caused by
temperature differences between land and sea, they are defined as any
wind system reverses direction every 6 months. FTP, name these
weather systems, famous for bringing rainy summers to tropical
locales.
ANSWER: monsoons
22. Her love for film began when her parents took her to see "Patton"
at age seven. While at Brown she was forced to study film in the
semiotics department, which may have influenced "Swoon," "Safe," and
"Poison." FTP, name this independent film queen, author of "Shooting
to Kill," producer of "Stonewall," "Swoon," "The Velvet Goldmine," and
"Kids."
ANSWER: Christine Vachon
23. This Harvard law grad spent 5 years in Nixon's Consumer Affairs
department, then served on the Federal Trade Commission until 1979.
Of course, she's better-known as Reagan's Secretary of Transportation
and Bush's Secretary of Labor. FTP, name this former head of the
American Red Cross, whose husband is encouraging her in to run for
President in 2000.
ANSWER: Elizabeth Dole (accept "Liddy Dole" accept "Elizabeth Hanford")
24. Some prefer salty, compressed "patusnaya" for its stronger
flavor; even cheaper varieties add borax and cuttlefish ink to improve
appearance. The Shah of Iran preferred the Caspian Sea sterlet, now
almost completely extinct. The ritzier "mallasol" varieties include
the osietra, sevruga, and beluga. FTP, name this gourmet food item,
processed from sturgeon eggs.
ANSWER: caviar
25. It began in the 11th century, derived from a similar art using
cloth. It eventually gained Western prominence -- it was even taught
at the Bauhaus. There are two types: the ceremonial "noshi" gifts,
and the more familiar animal shapes. FTP, name this art form which
forbids cutting or gluing and, the Japanese name for paper-folding.
ANSWER: origami
26. This man anonymously donated his inheritance to Austrian poets,
including Trakl and Rilke. William Strathern writes that the reason
this man was so troubled at the death of his friend David Pinsent was
because he had had a little more than Platonic love for Pinsent. FTP,
name this philosopher, author of "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus."
ANSWER: Ludwig Wittgenstein
27. His friend, Nicholas Cop, was forced to flee from his position as
rector of the University of Paris for delivering a Protestant-sounding
sermon. Since this man helped write the sermon, he fled Paris for
Geneva. There, he created an authoritarian theocracy as an example to
the world. FTP, name this famous reformation Protestant, author of
"The Institutes on the Christian Religion."
ANSWER: John Calvin (accept "Jean Cauvin")
28. UHF and VHF detectors cannot measure this region accurately, and
so the jet streams that move in it have to be monitored by aircraft.
Located between 10 and 13 kilometers from the earth's surface,
temperatures fall to about negative 60 degrees Celsius. For 10 points, what is
this boundary layer between the troposphere and the stratosphere?
ANSWER: The Tropopause
29. It began in 1912 as Maiastra [may-A-stra], a miraculous bird in
Romanian popular legends, and was made of marble. It was followed by
28 other versions, but after 1919 the artist switched media and titles. During the
1920s, it became a cause celebre when U.S. customs refused to admit this
bronze work duty-free as art. For 10 points, name this abstract avian sculpture
by Constantin Brancusi.
ANSWER: Bird In Space
30. At their site you can type in your ZIP code to get movie listings
in your town, get historical data for stock prices and dividends, or
search for whatever you like. FTP, name this web site, which recently
reported themselves again as the top site on the web.
ANSWER: Yahoo!
Bonuses
1. Identify the following novels about spies FTPE. You will receive
five points if you need the author.
(10) Subtitled "An Entertainment," it tells the story of
vacuum-cleaner salesman Wormold, who becomes a British spy in the
Caribbean for the money.
(5) Graham Greene
ANSWER: "Our Man in Havana"
(10) This is the life story of Howard Campbell, Nazi radio propaganda
star who was an actually an American double agent.
(5) Kurt Vonnegut
ANSWER: "Mother Night"
(10) The title character is Mr. Verloc, an anarchist with plans to
blow up Greenwich Observatory.
(5) Joseph Conrad
ANSWER: "The _Secret Agent_"
2. Identify the man 30-20-10.
(30) As a United States Attorney, he convinced President Carter to
release Patty Hearst from prison. He also prosecuted a Jim Jones
associate in the Guyana massacre.
(20) He played defensive back for the Redskins and Dolphins and as an
attorney for 28 years he has represented San Francisco Mayor Willie
Brown, the rapper Hammer, and Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders.
(10) Most recently he has battled against David Stern while serving as
the National Basketball Players Association president.
ANSWER: Billy Hunter
3. Answer the following questions about everyone's favourite
subatomic particle, the neutrino!
1. First, FFPE, name the three types of neutrinos in the Standard
Model of particle physics.
ANSWER: electron neutrino, mu neutrino (accept muon),
tau neutrino (accept tauon)
2. Next, for five points, name the scientist who coined the term neutrino and used the particle to construct a uniform theory of particle decay.
ANSWER: Enrico Fermi
3. Finally, for ten points, name the neutrino detector, located in a
Japan, that claimed in 1998 to have detected a fourth type of
neutrino.
ANSWER: Super Kamiokande
4. Answer the following questions about official chess rules FTPE.
1. This move is the capture of a pawn as it makes a first move of two
squares. It can only be performed by an enemy pawn in a position to
threaten the first of these squares.
ANSWER: capturing en passant (pronounced AHN pah-SAHN; prompt on
"in passing")
2. "zero-hyphen-zero-hyphen-zero" is standard chess notation for this.
ANSWER: castling queenside (prompt on "castling" or "long castling")
3. To force a draw, how many moves must elapse without a capture or a
pawn move?
ANSWER: 50
5. Name the film from the AFI's recent top 100 films given a line,
5-10-15.
(5) "Come back! I need...uh...we need you!"
ANSWER: "Shane"
(10) "I'm ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille."
ANSWER: "Sunset Boulevard"
(15) "If I kiss you, will you kiss me back?"
ANSWER: "Rocky"
6. Name the figure from early 20th century British politics FTPE,
1. Foreign secretary from 1919-1922, famous for a line of demarcation
in Eastern Europe and causing riots in India.
ANSWER: Lord Curzon
2. Secretary of War 1914-1916, and the architect of Britain's World
War I army, he died when his ship sank on a mine. He is more famous
for a campaign he fought in the Sudan.
ANSWER: Lord Kitchener
3. Liberal Prime Minister from 1908-1916, he was a quiet man. The
same could not be said for wife Margot or daughter Violet. He tried
to avoid WWI, but was just not the man for the job of fighting it.
ANSWER: Herbert Asquith
7. Answer these questions about weird bits of novelty casting FTPE.
1. This TV star won an Oscar playing Helen Keller in 1962, so she was
a natural choice to play Annie Sullivan in a 1979 remake.
ANSWER: Patty Duke (accept Patty Astin)
2. Jean Simmons played Estella in David Lean's classic 1946 Great
Expectations, and was re-cast in what part for the 1989 mini-series?
ANSWER: Miss Havisham
3. If Sony ever gets out of their legal battle to win the rights to
re-remake Thunderball, Sean Connery has been approached to play what
role?
ANSWER: Ernst Stavro Blofeld
8. Answer the following questions about the Netherlands War for
Independence, 1566-1609.
1. FFPE, what country and king did they revolt against?
ANSWER: Spain, Philip II
2. FTP, name the Stadtholder of Holland who arranged the Union of
Utrecht and was the chief architect of the Dutch nation.
ANSWER: William of Nassau (accept William of Orange)
3. FTP, name the statesman and general who regained the loyalty of the
southern Netherlands to hold for spain the region of present day
Belgium.
ANSWER: Alexander Farnese (accept Duke of Parma)
9. Identify the following members of the American Constitutional
convention FTPE.
1. This tall, distinguished Governor of Virginia introduced the
Virginia Plan, but later refused to sign the finished document citing
matters of conscience.
ANSWER: Edmund Randolph
2. This man, "Mr. M," kept the most detailed notes of the Convention
from which most of our modern record comes. He later became President
of the U.S.
ANSWER: James Madison
3. This "little lion" was at odds with his New York colleagues, but
managed to offend all parties in a day long speech about the New
Jersey plan. He was later a cabinet member.
ANSWER: Alexander Hamilton
10. Name these key players in the Senate impeachment trial of
President Clinton from clues FTPE.
1. This Connecticut Democrat, the Senate's only Orthodox Jew, joined
with Republican Slade Gorton in crafting a bipartisan trial procedure.
ANSWER: Joseph Lieberman
2. This former head cheerleader at Ole Miss joined Ted Kennedy in
pushing through an amended version of the Gorton-Lieberman proposal.
ANSWER: Trent Lott
3. This West Virginia Democrat and "Senate historian" lectured his
colleagues with quotes from Ben Franklin, Chaucer, and the Federalist
Papers in a speech before the procedural vote.
ANSWER: Robert Byrd
11. I will give you a formula for combining known distributions of
random variables; you will give the standard name of the assymptotic
distribution of the resulting statistic FTPE.
1. The sum of a finite number of normal distributions.
ANSWER: Normal (accept "Gaussian") distribution
2. A ratio of Chi-square distributions
ANSWER: Snedacor's F distribution
3. A normal divided by the square root of a chi-square
ANSWER: Student's T distribution (accept "Gosset's T distribution")
12. Answer these questions about two key human hormones are released
from the posterior pituitary, FTPE.
1. In what separate gland are these hormones actually produced?
ANSWER: hypothalamus
2. Name the posterior pituitary hormone that stimulates labor and
causes milk ejection.
ANSWER: oxytocin
3. Name the posterior pituitary hormone that both increases blood
pressure and causes the resorption of water into the kidneys (alcohol
inhibits its production -- that's why you whizz a lot when you drink).
ANSWER: antidiuretic hormone (accept ADH accept vasopressin)
13. Identify these economists, none of whom is Milton Friedman,
FTPE.
1. This Austrian-school economist won the Nobel Prize in 1974 and
wrote "The Road to Serfdom."
ANSWER: Friedrich Hayek
2. This Swede shared the 1974 prize with Hayek and criticized American
racial attitudes in "The American Dilemma."
ANSWER: Gunnar Myrdal
3. This Stanford Professor Emeritus shared the prize in 1972. He has
an "impossibility theorem" attributed to him.
ANSWER: Kenneth Arrow
14. Name the related pairs of people from the New Testament.
1. FFPE, name the two people to whom Jesus says in Luke 2, "Wist ye
not that I must be about my Father's business?"
ANSWER: Mary and Joseph
2. FFPE, name the parents of John the Baptist.
ANSWER: Zacharias and Elizabeth
3. FFPE, name the two old folks at the temple in Luke 2 who are
introduced to young Jesus and prophesy of him.
ANSWER: Simeon and Anna
15. Answer the following about a famous American geographical
feature, for the stated number of points.
(5) Identify the Appalachian pass named for a son of George II which
was a major artery for trans-Allegheny migration westward.
ANSWER: the Cumberland Gap
(15) FFPE, the Cumberland Gap sits at the point where which three
states meet?
ANSWER: Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky
(10) Name the trail blazed by Daniel Boone through the Gap in 1775,
paving the way for Kentucky's admission to the Union.
ANSWER: the Wilderness Road (accept "Wilderness Trail")
16. Identify the following dog breeds from clues, FTPE.
1. This dog was bred to enter burrows and attack badgers, which is
why its name is German for "badger dog."
ANSWER: dachshund
2. As indicated by its name, this breed probably originated in
Yugoslavia and was first used to guard horsedrawn carriages.
ANSWER: dalmatian
3. This popular Bavarian farm dog and ratter is named for the German
word for "muzzle."
ANSWER: schnauzer
17. Given a famous line of poetry, identify the author FFPE, and for
an additional 5 points, identify the poem's title bird.
1. "I caught this morning's minion, kingdom of daylight's dauphin,
dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon."
ANSWER: Gerard Manley Hopkins, The Windhover
2. "My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains / My sense."
ANSWER: John Keats, Ode to a Nightingale
3. "Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
ANSWER: Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
18. FFPE and a bonus five for all correct, name the five NFL head
coaches that were fired on 28 December 1998.
ANSWER: Ray Rhodes, Dave Wannstedt, Dennis Erickson, Ted
Marchibroda, Dom Capers
19. Name the southern African river that forms the border between the
following pairs of countries, FTPE.
1. South Africa and Namibia
ANSWER: the Orange River
2. Zambia and Zimbabwe
ANSWER: the Zambezi River
3. South Africa and Zimbabwe
ANSWER: the Limpopo River
20. Answer the following about the history of Poland, FTPE.
1. Perhaps the most famous welder in the world this former Solidarity
leader is currently under investigation for evading taxes.
ANSWER: Lech Walesa
2. A long time before labor unions, Poland first came to prominence by
defeating the Teutonic Knights at this 1410 battle
ANSWER: Grunwald (accept "Tannenberg")
3. This last king of Poland reinvigorated the national culture and
tried to rebuild the army. He was not quick enough to stop the
partition of Poland among her neighbors, including his former lover
Catherine the Great.
ANSWER: Stanislaw Poniatowski
21. Concerning a new Fox series, a movie director said "I'm not
saying we're above being made fun of, but it is really hateful toward
black people, plain and simple." Answer the following, 5-10-15.
(5) What is the name of this new Fox animated series?
ANSWER: "The PJs"
(10) Which black director criticized the show?
ANSWER: Spike Lee
(15) What is the name of Lee's recent PBS six-hour salute to black
artists?
ANSWER: "I'll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts"
22. Answer the following about the upcoming elections in Israel, for
the stated number of points.
(5) Name the Israeli legislature for which the elections are being held/
ANSWER: The Knesset
(10) Name Prime Minister Netanyahu's Foreign Minister, the ex-general and war hero considering abandoning his boss and running against him.
ANSWER: Ariel Sharon
(15) Name the Labor Party leader, Israel's most decorated soldier, who
recently hired James Carville to manage his campaign.
ANSWER: Ehud Barak
23. Identify the following characters from Jules Verne's "Around the
World in 80 Days," 5-10-15.
(5) This is the sedentary London gentleman who bets the Reform Club
that he can circumnavigate the earth in under 80 days.
ANSWER: Phileas Fogg
(10) He is Phileas Fogg's French valet and traveling companion.
ANSWER: Passepartout
(15) This detective pursues Fogg, believing him to be a bank
robber.
ANSWER: Mr. Fix
24. Identify the following historical facts about the State of the
Union address.
1. A State of the Union speech has only been delayed once in U.S.
history, when Reagan delayed one because of this.
ANSWER: The Space Shuttle Challenger explosion (accept equivalents)
2. This 20th century president revived the practice, discontinued by
Jefferson, of reading the State of the Union as a public address.
ANSWER: Thomas Woodrow Wilson
3. These cornerstones of high school civics classes were first
formulated by FDR in his 1941 State of the Union address.
ANSWER: the Four Freedoms
25. Sedimentary, my dear Watson. Identify the following types of
rock, FTPE.
1. This is the general name for large, angular fragments of rock in a
matrix of finer particles. Types include volcanic, fault, and impact.
ANSWER: breccia
2. Flint is the black variety of this sedimentary rock composed of
microcrystalline quartz.
ANSWER: chert
3. This carbonate rock similar to the calcites shares its name with a
blaxploitation character played by Rudy Ray Moore in a series of
films.
ANSWER: dolomite
26. Identify these terms from Hinduism for 10 points each:
1. A sacred law of society denoting moral order and the performance of duty.
ANSWER: Dharma
B. A term describing a legitimate end of man which includes all types of
physical pleasure, not just sexual gratification.
ANSWER: Kama
C. Another term describing a legitimate end of man, and referring to material
possessions and political power.
ANSWER: Artha