A Weekend in the Hamptons, A Theme Packet by Jon C. Pennington

In order to get the theme, it may be necessary to remove a few articles.

 

1. This musical work was inspired by a 1510 triptych by Hieronymus Bosch that depicts St. Joseph drying a baby's diapers.In this opera, a mother gets caught stealing gold from the title characters, while another title character gets miraculously healed after offering a crutch to Baby Jesus. FTP, name this opera by Giancarlo Mennotti that premiered on NBC-TV, Christmas Eve 1951.

 

Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

2. It precedes "The Foster-Mother's Tale" in a 1798 book co-written with a future poet laureate.Russ Reynolds of KFOX in San Jose compared Ricky Henderson to the title character of this poem, because of his liabilities as a left fielder.In a 1946 essay on the poem, Robert Penn Warren argued that the death of an animal represents original sin, while the narrator represents redemption through confession of sin.FTP, name this Samuel Taylor Colerdige work with an unlucky albatross.

 

the Rime of the Ancient Mariner[Note: Ricky Henderson was compared to the Ancient Mariner, because he only �stoppeth one of three.�]

 

3. Take two batches of bacteriophages: one labeled with phosphorus-32, the other with sulfur-35.Let phages infect cells, then pour into Waring model appliance.Agitate mixture, then separate cells from phages with centrifuge.Phosphorus-32 found in infected cells proves DNA transmits genetic info. Professor wins 1969 Nobel Prize; grad student gets nothing.FTP, this describes what "blender experiment" named after two American biologists?

 

the Hershey-Chase experiment(accept Hershey-Chase blender experiment, allow for reversal of Hershey-Chase, prompt on Hershey-Chase or "blender experiment.")

 

4. In London in 1749, two spectators died in the stampede that resulted when fireworks burned down a 100-foot wooden temple commemorating this event.It ceded Guatella and Parma to Don Philip of Spain, reaffirmed the Hanoverian dynasty, and awarded Silesia to Prussia.FTP, name this treaty upholding the Pragmatic Sanction, thereby ending the War of Austrian Succession.

 

the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (prompt on Treaty of Aachen, Peace of Aachen, or partial answers)

 

5. Although it is more effective than Wilson'sTheorem in determining primality, it is extremely slow to discover that Carmichael numbers are composite.This theorem, which was later extended by* Euler to all natural numbers, states that for all A not divisible by prime P, then A to the power of[Pminus one] is congruent to one modulo P.FTP, what is this diminutive theorem by a mathematician better known for his Last Theorem?

 

Fermat's Little Theorem (prompt on Fermat's Theorem, accept Fermat-Euler theorem until *)

 

6. At the request of filmmaker Robert Altman, U2 recorded a cover version of this song as the B-side to their single, "Last Night on Earth."One line was inspired by a man arrested at a Manchester soccer match for looking under women�s dresses, while "Mother Superior" refers to the lyricist's girlfriend.FTP, identify this song from the Beatles' White Album that could be a theme song for the National Rifle Association.

 

Happiness is a Warm Gun

 

7. Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched a no-hitter here 13 months after it replaced a stadium at the corner of Bouquet Street and Schenley Drive.A statue of Art Mooney was erected here at Gate D eighteen years after the Immaculate Reception clinched the AFC playoff for the home team.FTP, name this defunct Pittsburgh stadium at the juncture of the Allegheny, Monongohela, and Ohio.

 

Three Rivers Stadium


8. Groups adhering to this doctrine include Scriptures for America; the Confederate Hammerskins; and the World Church of the Creator.A modification of Anglo-Israelism, it inspired Eric Rudolph's abortion clinic bombing and Buford Furrow's attack on a Jewish community center.FTP, name this racist religious doctrine that views white Americans as the Chosen People and Jews as the spawn of Satan.

 

Christian Identity or Christian Identity movement

 

9. Warning: two names required.They lived in the same house in ancient Babylon, but their parents prevented them from seeing each other's faces.According to Ovid, their deaths explain why mulberries are red.In A Midsummer Night's Dream, they appear in a mini-play with Lion, Moonshine, and Wall.FTP, name these doomed lovers of mythology who inspired the play Romeo & Juliet.

 

Pyramus and Thisbe(or Thisbe and Pyramus)

 

10.In 1996, the National Institute of Science and Technology illustrated the principle behind it by oscillating a beryllium ion with laser pulses that caused the ion to form separate wave packets with different electronic states.In other cases, the paradox is usually resolved by noting the difficulty of a macroscopic animal maintaining quantum coherence.FTP, name this thought experiment involving the feline of a German physicist known for his wave equation.

 

Schrodinger's cat

 

11. This document was not made public until 1956, when Gerhard Ritter wrote a book arguing that Helmuth von Moltke the Younger could not be blamed for the failures that resulted from it.Influenced by the Battle of Cannae during the Punic Wars, it encouraged the encirclement of the French Army, but its creator underestimated the effectiveness of Belgian resistance and the British Expeditionary Force.FTP, what is this World War I military plan named for the Chief of the German General Staff?

 

the Schlieffen Plan

 

12. It begins, �TRUE! nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why WILL you say that I am mad?�The narrator states that he killed his victim, not for his money, but because he had a pale blue eye that reminded him of a vulture.FTP, name this Edgar Allan Poe short story about a man who confesses to murder afterhearing a throbbing noise under his floorboards.

 

the Tell-Tale Heart

 

13. The subtitle of this book is The Collapse and Revival of American Community.It includes many charts about TV watching, church attendance, and blood donations that underscore the theme that a decline in �social capital� due to nonparticipation in voluntary organizations is fraying the fabric of American life.FTP, name this recent bestseller by political scientist Robert Putnam whose title refers to the game of tenpins.

 

Bowling Alone

 

14. It was first introduced in 1969 by Julius Samann, the same chemist who invented pine-tree-shaped air fresheners for cars.Also used as the �ammunition� in the Spider-Man Web Blaster, it is a liquid solvent that solidifies on contact with air, typically after being sprayed from a 3-ounce can.FTP, name this wacky aerosol product that not only comes in different colors, but can ignite burning candles on a birthday cake.

 

Silly String

 

15. Kelly Weaverling, mayor of Cordova, Alaska from 1991 to 1993.Terri Williams, mayor of Webster Grove, Missouri from 1994 to 1997.A current majority of the city council of Sebastopol, California.California Assemblywoman Audie Bock in 1999, but not 2000.FTP, these are all members of what political group thatincludes Jello Biafra, Winona La Duke, and presidential candidate Ralph Nader?

 

the Green Party

 

16. It was named after a failed venture to connect Lake Ontario and Lake Erie without going through Niagara Falls.In 1953, Hooker Chemical Company sold it for one dollar to the Niagara Falls Board of Education as a site to build a new school, but the school would be closed permanently in 1978 for health reasons and 239 families would relocate permanently shortly therafter.FTP, name this toxic waste site of the 1970s with an ironic name that became a symbol for working-class environmentalists.

 

Love Canal

 

17. The protagonist of this short story is a ninth-class clerk with pockmarks and red hair.After the protagonist dies, his ghost haunts the vicinity of Kalinkin bridge in order to avenge the robbery of an item he received from his tailor Petrovich.FTP, name this story about an article of clothing owned by Akaky Akakeyevich, written by Nikolas Gogol.

 

the Overcoat

 

18. In Jean Giraudoux�s version of the story, she is a princess who opposes her father�s plans to marry her off to the palace gardener.She is also the title character of a leftist play critiquing Catholicism by Benito Perez Galdos and the subject of the first libretto written by Hugo Hoffmansthal.Sylvia Plath found her gravestone in a cemetery on Azalea Path, while Eugene O�Neill based the character of Lavinia Mannon on her.FTP name this sister of Orestes and the female analogue of Oedipus in Freudian psychology.

 

Electra

 

19. Charles Eliot was an art history professor who translated Dante into English.Mary was the author of Bedknobs and Broomsticks.Joshua Abraham was a 19th-century eccentric who declared himself emperor of the United States.William Warder was a publisher known for his anthologies of English literature.Eleanor Holmes is a nonvoting delegate for the District of Columbia.FTP, what surname do these people share with Edward who starred with Richard Gere in Primal Fear and with Brad Pitt in Fight Club?

 

Norton

 

20. Herecaptured the empire that his father Humayun lost to the Afghan Sher Khan, then defeated the mutiny of the Rajputs.His son was Jahangir, but his grandson is better known for building a mausoleum in Agra.FTP, name this Mogul emperor of India who shares his name with the fez-wearing partner of Jeff in a Matt Groening cartoon.

 

Akbar

 

21.It became independent after ejecting the Portugese in 1650 and it is currently ruled by Qaboos bin Said al Said who ousted his father in 1970.It controls land at thetip of the Musandam peninsula separated from the rest of the country, although its border with the United Arab Emirates has not been bilaterally defined.FTP, name this sultanate bordering Yemen and Saudi Arabia with a capital at Muscat.

 

Oman

 

22. When it is cooled below 13.2 degrees Centigrade, it changes slowly from a tetragonal crystal structure to a cubic structure, which also causes a slight change in color.It is typically isolated by burning coal to reduce its dioxide, which is most commonly found in cassiterite.FTP, name this element with atomic number 50 and symbol Sn.

 

tin

 

23. It rises in the Alps, then winds past Pavia and Ferrara to enter the Adriatic Sea.Hydroelectric power is produced on its tributaries, including the Tanara, Adda, andOglio, while its river valley is the most fertile agricultural region in Italy.FTP, name this Italian river with a brief name.

 

the Po

 

24. At the climax of this film, the protagonist must defend himself at a trial, but the trial has no force of law, because it is conducted by criminals who resent him for causing a citywide crackdown on crime.Based on a series of murders in Dusseldorf, the film�s title refers to a chalk mark placed on the murderer�s coat to identify him to the criminals who want to capture him ahead of the police.FTP, name this 1931 Fritz Lang film, starring Peter Lorre.

 

M

Bonuses

1. Answer the following questions about the biology of gigantism FTPE:

(10) This condition, which results from overactive insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, is often a side effect of gigantism.

hyperglycemia

(10) Hyperglycemia results from an excess of what substance in the bloodstream?

glucose

(10) This term refers to a form of gigantism caused by excessive secretion of the pituitary gland after a person has reached adult size.Derived from the Greek words for �large extremities,� it makes the bones thicker and enlarges the cheeks and jaw.

acromegaly

 

2.Answer the following questions about the fictional French giant, Gargantua FTPE.

(10) This was Gargantua's mother, who gave birth to him after eating a large quantity of tripe.Her name is a homonym of a male cartoon character.

Gargamelle

(10) Hired by Gargantua's father Grangousier, this tutor and sophist showed Gargantua how to recite the alphabet backwards.This tutor shares his name with the pedantic schoolmaster who encouraged Ferdinand of Navarre to abstain from women in Shakespeare's Love's Labours Lost.

Master Tubal Holophernes (also accept Tubal or Master Tubal)

(10) She was Gargantua's wife who died shortly after giving birth to Pantagruel.

Badebec

 

3. Answer the following questions about jumbo jet crashes FTPE:

(10) The largest loss of life from a jumbo jet crash occurred when two jumbo jets collided over this city in the Canary Islands in 1977.

Tenerife

(10) In September 1999, this airline experienced its first crash when a jumbo jet skidded on the runway of Bangkok�s Don Muang airport, crashing into an antenna tower.Fortunately, due to the quick reflexes of the pilots, no one was injured and the airline can still boast that it has never had a passenger fatality.

Qantas

(10) Pan Am Flight 103 crashed into this Scottish village in 1988 after a terrorist bomb exploded on the plane.The Four Tops were originally scheduled to be on this deadly flight, but missed the plane because of a TV taping session that ran overtime.

Lockerbie

 

4. Answer the following questions about the biggest-selling books by living sociologists, according to the journal Contemporary Sociology FTPE:

(10) This book by David Reisman co-written with Nathan Glazer and Reuel Denney is the only book written by a living professor of sociology to sell more than 1 million copies.The book argued that postwar American society was forcing citizens to move from �inner-directed� individualism to �other-directed� conformism.

The Lonely Crowd:A Study of the Changing American Character

(10) After co-writing the Lonely Crowd with David Reisman, Nathan Glazer co-wrote Beyond the Melting Pot, the #10 book on the list, with this New York academic who would later become a Senator.

Daniel Patrick �Pat� Moynihan

(10) This Berkeley professor wrote the Second Shift, the #24 book on the list, about gender imbalances in housework.Her husband Adam is the founder of Mother Jones magazine and the author of King Leopold�s Ghost, a history of colonialism in the Congo.

Arlie Hochschild

 

5. Identify the following mythological giants FTPE:

(10) In Norse mythology, this is the primordial giant created from the ice of Niflheim who became the progenitor of the frost giants.

Ymir

(10) This was the race of giants that resulted when the sons of God, presumably fallen angels, mated with the daughters of men in Genesis Chapter 6, Verse 4.Their name means �fallen ones� in Hebrew.

The Nephilim

(10) This giant cyclops, whose name means �round eye,� kept Odysseus and his crew trapped in a cave until Odysseus blinded him with a pointed stick.

Polyphemus

 


6. Answer the following questions about the dead gangsta rapper, the Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls FTPE:

(10) Featuring the song �Big Poppa,� this was the Notorious B.I.G.�s prophetically titled debut album.

Ready to Die

(10) She was the widow of Biggie Smalls who provided vocals for Puff Daddy�s tribute, �I�ll Be Missing You.�

Faith Evans

(10) This is the Notorious B.I.G. rap with the lyrical boast �I made the change from a common thief/

To up close and personal with Robin Leach.�

Juicy

 

7. Identify the following works of American literature with �Big� titles FTPE:

(10) The plot of this mystery novel was so complex that neither the author nor William Faulkner, who wrote a screenplay based on it, could completely keep track of who did what to whom.

The Big Sleep

(10) James Russell Lowell used this series of dialect poems to satirize the Mexican-American War, which he opposed because it would expand slavery.

The Biglow Papers

(10) Edna Ferber won a Pulitzer Prize in 1924 for this novel about the unconventional widow Selina DeJong and her son Dirk.

So Big

 

8. Answer the following questions about Louisiana populist, Huey Long FTPE:

(10) Huey Long was known by this nickname, shared by a character on the Amos �n� Andy radio show.

Kingfish

(10) This physician from New Orleans assassinated Huey Long in 1935.

Carl Austin Weiss

(5+5) Huey was not the only member of the Long family involved in Louisiana politics.His brother won two non-consecutive terms as governor, while his son represented Louisiana in the U.S. Senate from 1948 to 1986.Provide the first names of Huey�s brother and son for 5 points each:

Earl K. Long [the brother] and Russell B. Long [the son]

 

9. Answer the following questions about heavy isotopes FTPE:

(10) The most common form of heavy water is an oxide of this hydrogen isotope with a single neutron and a proton in its nucleus.

deuterium

(10) In 1935, he won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for isolating deuterium.He later isolated heavy isotopes of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur.

Harold Clayton Urey

(10) The heavy water in a �swimming pool� nuclear reactor has a blue glow, because the electrons emitted by a heavy isotope of radium travel faster than the speed of light in water.The glowing water is an example of what phenomenon?

Cerenkov radiation (also accept Cerenkov effect or Cerenkov light)

 

10. Identify the book 30-20-10-5:

(30) The book's introduction reprints a letter by the author's father to President Woodrow Wilson complaining that he received a telegram that inaccurately informed him that his son drowned in a submarine.

(20) The title refers to the temporary residence that the narrator shared with Emile the Bum and One-Eyed Dah-veed.

(10) The book is an account of the author's experiences as an ambulance driver forced into a French detention camp during World War I.

(5) Published in the U.S. in 1922, it is the first novel by E.E. Cummings.

the Enormous Room

 

11. Answer the following questions about the longest works of classical music in different genres FTPE:

(10) His Third Symphony, which requires at least 90 minutes to perform, is the longest symphony in the standard repertory, with six movements instead of the usual four.His Symphony of a Thousand holds the record for requiring the most performers.

Gustav Mahler

(10) The longest piano composition ever performed is Vexations by this composer.It consists of a 180-note motif that must be played 840 times in succession. In 1963, John Cage staged an 18-hourperformance of this composition with 10 piano players working in shifts.

Erik Satie

(10) The longest classical opera still in the standard repertory is this 5-hour Richard Wagner work that features �The Dance of the Apprentices� and the rivalry of Walther and Beckmesser for the affections of Eva.

Die Meistersinger or Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg or the Mastersingers of Nuremburg

 

12. Answer the following questions about the long-ago, 3rd century Greek pastoral poet, Longus FTPE:

(10) The most famous work by Longus features this legendary hero of the shepherds of Sicily who fell in love with the nymph Chloe when they were both children.

Daphnis (do not accept Daphne)

(10) Daphnis and Chloe is considered the first pastoral prose romance, which may also be referred to by this term that derives from the Greek word for cowherd.It is distinguished from an eclogue in that it is not limited to the dramatic dialogue or soliloquy form.

bucolic or bucolics

(10) Daphnis and Chloe was the inspiration for this 1590 romantic play by Thomas Lodge that Shakespeare borrowed as the source for As You Like It.

Rosalynde

 

13. Answer the following questions about the Big Bang FTPE:

(10) In 1948, he was the first to predict the existence of cosmic microwave background radiation as byproduct of the Big Bang.Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson won a Nobel Prize in 1978 for confirming this prediction at Bell Labs.

George Gamow

(10) The temperature of the cosmic background radiation unleashed by the Big Bang is extremely close to absolute zero.Give the temperature of the cosmic background radiation within one degree Kelvin.

2.725 Kelvin, (accept anything between 1.725 and 3.725 Kelvin)

(10) Identify the heaviest element produced from the nucleosynthesis during the early stages of the Big Bang.All atoms heavier than this element were produced in stellar reactions, not the Big Bang.

lithium

 

14. Identify the following oversized mathematical concepts FSNOP:

(5) This is the nickname given by Edward Kasner to the number equivalent to 10 raised to the power of the quantity 10 raised to the 100th power.

googolplex (do not prompt or accept googol)

(10) According to this law, if you engage in repeated, independent trials with a probability P of success, the difference between P and the actual percentage of successes converges to zero as the number of trials approaches infinity.

The Law of Large Numbers

(15) This is the nickname given in abstract algebra to the largest sporadic group, also known as the Fischer-Greiss group.Berkeley math professor Richard Borcherds won a Fields medal for proving that the group was related to modular functions.

The Monster group (also accept Friendly Giant group)

 

15. Answer the following questions about the role of the Long Parliament in British history FTPE:

(10) Created by Henry VII in 1487, this secretive judicial body was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641.

The Star Chamber

(10) This is the term given to the removal of Royalists and Presbyterians from the House of Commons who were suspected of negotiating with Charles I so that he could avoid a trial.

Pride�s Purge

(10) After Pride�s Purge was completed, the Long Parliament was given this nickname.

The Rump Parliament

 

16. Identify the following record-breaking Giants FTPE:

(10) This veteran of the San Francisco Giants holds the record for the most career home runs by a left-handed hitter in the National League.

Barry Bonds

(10) This quarterback from the New York Giants broke an NFL record after completing 22 out of 25 passes in a Super Bowl game.

Phil Simms

(10) He is not only an owner of the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League, but he also holds an NHL record for the greatest number of appearances in postseason All-Star Games.

Gordie Howe

 

17. Identify the following geographical features that include a foreign word for �big� in their names FTPE:

(10) Derived from the Seminole Indian words for �big water,� it is the largest lake in the southern United States and the second largest freshwater lake in the contiguous United States.

Lake Okeechobee

(10) It is an arid lowland plain of approximately 250,000 square miles that stretches over Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia.Its name combines the Spanish word for �big� with the Quechua word for hunting land.

The Gran Chaco

(10) Derived from the French words for �big field,� it is a small village in Nova Scotia that borders the Bay of Fundy.The expulsion of Acadians from this settlement in 1755 inspired the poem, Evangeline.

Grand Pr� (pronounced �gran pray,� but be charitable with pronunciation)

 

18. Answer the following questions about the role of the Long March in modern Chinese history FSNOP:

(10) He was commander of the First Army Group of the Red Army during the Long March of 1934 and 1935.He was designated the successor of Mao Zedong in 1969, but his fortunes declined during the Cultural Revolution.He died in 1971 when his escape plane crashed in Outer Mongolia.

Lin Biao

(5) He fought in the Long March and founded the Seventh and Eighth Army Groups.The death of this premier in 1997 represented the end of Chinese leadership with experience in the Long March.

Deng Xiaoping

(15) This city in northern China became the home base of the Red Army after the Long March was completed.

Yenan orY�anan(pronounced yuh-NON)

 

19. Given the title of a Beatles song, name the album upon which the song first appeared in the United States FTPE:

(10) Long Long Long

The Beatles (also accept the White Album)

(10) It Won�t Be Long

Meet the Beatles

(10) the Long and Winding Road

Let It Be

 

20. Identify the following rulers who stayed on the throne for a really long time FTPE:

(10) He ruled France for 72 years, making him the longest-reigning monarch in modern European history.

Louis XIV (prompt on Louis)

(10) This pharaoh of the 4th dynasty ruled Egypt for 90 years, according to a list of kings discovered by an Italian traveler in 1822.He is not only the longest-reigning pharaoh of Egypt, but the longest-reigning ruler of any country.

Pepi II (prompt on Pepi)

(10) The longest currently reigning monarch in Europe, he has ruled Monaco since 1949.

Prince Rainier III

 

21. Identify the following directors who have made movies over 8 hours long FTPE:

(10) In 1967, he broke a world�s record by releasing �Four Stars,� an avant-garde film that was 25 hours long.He also released the film Empire, which consists of 8 hours of footage of the Empire State Building.

Andy Warhol (or Andrew Warhola)

(10) The original director�s cut for his film Greed, an adaptation of Frank Norris�s McTeague, lasted ten hours.Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer literally kidnapped his footage and chopped it up to reduce it to two hours.

Erich von Stroheim

(10) His documentary of the Holocaust, Shoah, has a running time of 9 � hours without using a single frame of archival footage from World War II.

Claude Lanzmann


22. Identify the largest member of the following groups in the animal kingdom FTPE:

(10) insects

the Goliath beetle (prompt on beetle)

(10) rodents

the capybara

(10) amphibians

the giant salamander (prompt on salamander)

 

23. F5PE, name the six longest books of the Bible as measured by the number of chapters in each book.Hint: the list includes three prophetic books and two books of the Pentateuch.

Psalms,Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Genesis, Isaiah, Exodus

 

24. Identify the longest river that flows through the following countries.

(10) Pakistan

the Indus

(10) Canada

the Mackenzie

(10) Australia

the Murray-Darling (prompt on Murray or Darling)