VETO 2010, FARSIDE team tossups


TOSSUP 1
As a student at Fletcher's Field High School, he holds a grudge against his history teacher, Mr. MacPherson, for telling him his father is "not fit to bring up a boy", and gets revenge by making a prank phone call to his teacher's bedridden wife, resulting in her death. After high school, he gets a job as a waiter in Sainte-Agathe, where he meets Yvette, who becomes his lover and shows him the pristine Lac Saint-Pierre, where he is determined to build a resort. Raising money by means such as film production and heroin trafficking, for 10 points, who is this Jewish Montrealer whose "apprenticeship" is described in a novel by Mordecai Richler?

Answer:  DUDDY KRAVITZ


TOSSUP 2
A 1946 paper by Arthur Burks, Herman Goldstine, and John von Neumann ["NOY-man"] argued that this system is unnecessary, because it can always be replaced by manually introducing suitable scaling factors. In 1941, Konrad Zuse ["TSOO-zuh"] designed a version of this system for the Z3 that allowed for plus or minus infinity and "undefined" to be passed through operations. Today's computers use I-triple-E standard 754, which specifies arithmetic operations and rounding algorithms as well as data formats. For 10 points, name this system for representing real numbers with fixed numbers of bits for mantissa and exponent.

Answer:  FLOATING POINT representation


TOSSUP 3
It became legal in the state of Texas on March 31, 2010, with a ruling by Judge Scott Jenkins in the case of Naylor v. Daly. Texas Attorney-General Greg Abbott attempted to intervene in the case, suggesting that the parties should instead pursue "voidance" in order to end an "invalid" relationship contracted six years earlier in Massachusetts. In 2004, Justice Ruth Mesbur of the Ontario Superior Court granted the world's first of these to "M.M." and "J.H.", two women known only by initials for privacy reasons. For 10 points, what is this type of legal termination of a relationship?

Answer:  SAME-SEX DIVORCE (accept synonyms)
(do not accept same-sex marriage; prompt on "DIVORCE")


TOSSUP 4
Sigfrid Karg-Elert used this word for his seven organ pieces "from the Lake of Constance". In visual art, it refers to a method introduced by Jean Perr�al to Leonardo da Vinci, who used it in his portrait of Isabella d'Este to highlight the neckline of her gown in yellow. In the early 1700s, Rosalba Carriera popularized this medium for portraits. Among the Impressionists, it was most used by Edgar Degas, for such works as "woman combing her hair" and "les choristes". For 10 points, what is this art medium made from powdered pigment and a binder and formed into sticks?

Answer:  PASTELs


TOSSUP 5
In the United States, this political position lost its last holdout in 1833 with the passage of the eleventh amendment to the Massachusetts constitution. The word itself was coined in 1838 by William Gladstone, who, upon becoming prime minister thirty years later, maintained this doctrine for England, but rejected it for Ireland with a law in 1869. Its strongest advocate in Upper Canada was John Strachan, but it was defeated in 1854 with the secularization of the clergy reserves. This political position opposing separation of church from state is, for 10 points, what famous twenty-eight-letter word?

Answer:  ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM


TOSSUP 6
This substance is the main component of the fountain solution used in the process of lithography. About seventy per cent of its worldwide production is consumed in soft drinks and confectionery products, where it distributes lipid components evenly and prevents sucrose from crystallizing. Because of Americans' sweet teeth, it's the one item specifically exempted from U.S. trade sanctions on Sudan, the world's largest producer of this commodity. For 10 points, what is this hardened sap of the acacia tree?

Answer:  GUM ARABIC


TOSSUP 7 has two versions, one for Vancouver and the other for Ontario.

TOSSUP 7 - VANCOUVER ONLY
Established in 1908 by provincial letters patent, it elected Samuel Howe as its first reeve. A year later, construction began on its municipal hall, at 5815 West Boulevard. In 1914, the CPR's attempt to separate its eastern neighbourhood of Shaughnessy was rejected by the B.C. government. Fifteen years later, it ceased to exist as a separate entity, when it was amalgamated into the city of Vancouver. Stretching between Cambie Street and the University Endowment Lands, for 10 points, what was this former municipality named after the piece of land jutting into the strait of Georgia?

Answer:  POINT GREY


TOSSUP 7 - ONTARIO ONLY
It was incorporated as a village in 1923, with Laurence Baldwin as its first reeve. Holding its council meetings at the public school on Dunloe Road, in 1931 it decided to eliminate all industry and limit development to single-family homes designed by an architect. In 1962 it completed its Municipal Building and Library at 666 Eglinton Avenue West, but five years later it ceased to exist as a separate entity when it was amalgamated into the city of Toronto. Located between Bathurst Street and Upper Canada College, this former village is now, for 10 points, what rich neighbourhood with a shopping area centred at Lonsdale and Spadina?

Answer:  FOREST HILL


TOSSUP 8
The first person to have this job was Bilal ibn Rabah, a freed Ethiopian slave, who initially performed this duty while walking the streets. Later tradition stipulated that the person should begin by facing each of the four compass directions in turn. Most often given to a blind man in order to maintain the privacy of inner courts and roof terraces, for 10 points, what is this job of reciting the adhan ["a-THAN"] five times a day while standing atop a minaret to call Muslims to prayer?

Answer:  MUEZZIN (or MU'ADDIN)


TOSSUP 9
The first winner of this competition was Reg Thomas of Pembroke Dock, Wales, who won it in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1930. The only Canadian winner was North Vancouver's Bill Parnell, who won the fourth one in 1950 in Auckland, New Zealand. The most anticipated one was the fifth one in 1954 in Vancouver, where Australian John Landy lost by four fifths of a second to Englishman Roger Bannister, who finished in three minutes and fifty-eight point eight seconds in, for 10 points, what foot race in what multinational sporting event?

Answer:  the MILE race in the
British EMPIRE GAMES (or British COMMONWEALTH GAMES, or British EMPIRE AND COMMONWEALTH GAMES)


TOSSUP 10
A medieval German legend about this person says that he was the son of a miller's daughter and an astrologer-king named Ata. In Bulgakov's Master and Margarita, he has a tendency to suffer migraines, one of which is diagnosed and cured by Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Friedrich Nietzsche ["NEE-chuh"] said of him that he's the only figure who commands respect in the whole New Testament, as the person who asks, "What is truth?" For 10 points, name this hand-washer and governor of Judaea who ordered Jesus's crucifixion.

Answer:  PONTIUS PILATE


TOSSUP 11
From 1970 to 2009, the world's biggest one of these was the one measuring three point eight metres high and nine point six metres in circumference, that is located on the main plaza of the city of Ulan-Ude ["OO-lan OO-day"] in Siberia. In December 2009, the Gao brothers of Beijing built a twelve-metre-high one, surmounted by "Miss Mao trying to poise herself at the top" of it, in Richmond, B.C. For 10 points, what body part of what leader actually measured twenty-four centimetres from goatee to bald pate, and can be viewed in a mausoleum next to the Kremlin in Moscow?

Answer:  the HEAD (prompt on "statue" or "bust")
of Vladimir Ilich LENIN


TOSSUP 12
This object inspires poetry such as the Augural Canto, which begins, "Mine eyes, as did the Greek's, have known men's towns and fame." The poet-librarian Daneri tells the narrator that it must be observed in the cellar's total darkness by focusing on the stairway's nineteenth step. When the object comes into view, the narrator sees in one instant "millions of acts both delightful and awful". A "small iridescent sphere of almost unbearable brilliance", for 10 points, what is this title object of a story by Jorge Luis Borges that shares its name with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet?

Answer:  the ALEPH


TOSSUP 13
The original version of this device consisted of two semi-circular plates of diameter 11 centimetres, with a gap between them, in a uniform magnetic field such that the time to traverse a semi-circular path within the plates is half the period of oscillations of an applied electric field. In 1930, it was used to accelerate protons to eighty thousand electron volts. Today, the world's largest one accelerates ions to five hundred million electron volts in a device eighteen metres in diameter, at TRIUMF in Vancouver. Invented in Berkeley by Ernest Lawrence, for 10 points, name this kind of particle accelerator.

Answer:  CYCLOTRON


TOSSUP 14
Ali Kemal Bey, great-grandfather of London mayor Boris Johnson, had this cabinet position in the Ottoman Empire until his assassination. Count Nikolay Ignatieff, Michael's great-grandfather, had this same job in Russia under Tsar Alexander the Third when he issued the anti-Jewish "May Laws" of 1882. In the Canadian government, this position existed until 1936, and when not held by the prime minister himself, the longest and best-known holder was Clifford Sifton, under Wilfrid Laurier. For 10 points, what is this cabinet post in many countries with responsibility for immigration and security?

Answer:  minister of the INTERIOR


TOSSUP 15
When it gets on your clothes, it's ayak. When it's hard, it's sillik, and when it's very soft, it's milik. When mixed with water, it's massak. When it's like sugar, it's pukak, and when it's like salt, it's pokaktok. When drifting, it's perksertok, and when melting, it's auksalak. You can use it to build a kind of house, called iglu. For 10 points, name both the indigenous people and the very common material in their environment to which these terms refer.

Answer:  INUIT (or INUKTITUT or ESKIMO)
words for SNOW


TOSSUP 16
The beginning of this era coincides with the accession of Ji Ren, known as King Yuan, after the death of his father Ji Gai, and also the military victory by Gou Jian of Yue over the Wu kingdom. During its two and a half centuries lived the philosophers Mencius and Shang Yang. Occurring during the Eastern Zhou ["jo"] dynasty after the Spring and Autumn period, for 10 points, name this period that ended in 221 BC with Ch'in Shih-huang's unifying China under his own rule by defeating six rival kingdoms.

Answer:  WARRING STATES period (or ZH�NGU� SH�D�I)


TOSSUP 17
On June 27, 2010, voters in this country approved a new constitution, adopting a parliamentary form of government. Campaigners against the new constitution included acting Defence Minister Ismail Isakov, who argued that it was against the national "mentality and spirit", but voters went for a reduction in presidential powers after the abuses of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was driven into exile in April. Though over fifty per cent, voter turnout was the lowest in Osh, the scene of deadly attacks against the ethnic Uzbek minority. For 10 points, name this country bordering Uzbekistan, China, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

Answer:  Republic of KYRGYZSTAN


TOSSUP 18
The largest lake on this island is Fagnano ["fan-YA-no"] Lake, which drains into the Azopardo River, ending at the Almirantazgo Fjord, which cuts through the western side of this island. South and west of the fjord lies the island's glacier-covered Darwin mountain range. Most of the island's people live in two cities, Rio Grande on the east coast, and Ushuaia ["oosh-WYE-a"] on the south coast's Beagle Channel. Separated from the mainland by the Magellan Strait, for 10 points, what is this island split between Argentina and Chile off the tip of South America?

Answer:  Isla Grande de TIERRA DEL FUEGO


TOSSUP 19
It was invented in 1932, in a hayloft on the the outskirts of Chicago, by Charles Ellingsworth. It was manufactured by a division of Centis Consumer Products until 2003, when it was bought by Esselte ["ess-ell-tay"], which decided to discontinue this brand name. The name itself comes from the Latin word for the number two, hyphenated with an Old Norse word for a sharp metal object fastened to a handle. Familiar to generations of Canadian schoolchildren, for 10 points, what is this type of folder for looseleaf paper?

Answer:  DUO-TANG


TOSSUP 20
It's the only letter of the alphabet that has not yet appeared in the text of any tossup or bonus or answer in this packet. In 2009, Sweden's highest court overruled the civil service and decided that a couple could name their son with this letter. Mondays through Fridays at ten a.m., CBC Radio One airs a program with this name, hosted by Jian Gomeshi. Marketing Evaluations Inc. uses surveys to calculate this popularity score for celebrities and brands. For 10 points, give the shared name of the head of research in James Bond's MI6 and an all-powerful extra-dimensional entity from Star Trek.

Answer:  Q


TOSSUP 21
Book Three of this work includes a hymn to creation based on Plato's Timaeus, and a poem about Orpheus and Eurydice, asking, "Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law." In Book Two, the author writes, "in adverse fortune the worst sting of misery is to have been happy" and "As for rank and power, these have often fallen to the worst of men, and then did ever an Etna work such mischief?" In the form of a dialogue between the author and an allegorical female figure, it was written in prison while its author awaited execution. For 10 points name this sixth-century work by Bo�thius.

Answer:  The CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY
(or DE CONSOLATIONE PHILOSOPHIAE)


TOSSUP 22
As measured by the Wolf Number, incidences of these were rarer than usual during the Dalton Minimum from the 1790s to the 1830s, but not as rare as during the Maunder Minimum from the 1640s to the 1710s, when almost none were observed. According to Sp�rer's Law, they drift from higher latitudes to lower latitudes over their eleven-year cycle. Though noted by Chinese astronomers over two thousand years ago, for 10 points, what dark features did pre-telescope Europeans mistake as transits of Mercury in front of the sun?

Answer:  SUNSPOTs


TOSSUP 23
They had an assembly called the pankus which was given authority over even the king, according to rules laid out in the Edict of Telipinus, making theirs the first known constitutional monarchy. Their king Hattusilis the Third signed the world's earliest known peace treaty, with Ramses the Second of Egypt, after fighting over Syrian territory in the thirteenth century BC. Eventually displaced by the Sea Peoples, for 10 points, name these Bronze Age people of Anatolia.

Answer:  HITTITEs


TOSSUP 24
Its most noted practitioners were the Confidenti, the Accessi, who performed for the marriage of Henry the Fourth and Maria de Medici, and above all, the Gelosi. The old Doctor and Pantalone, the adventurous Captain, the servant Zanni, and the hunchback Punchinello were stock characters, though the best actors were always assigned to lazzi, stage tricks that were interruptions to the play. For 10 points, what was this dramatic genre popular in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italy?

Answer:  COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE


Vancouver Estival Trivia Open, 2010, FARSIDE team