Mark Brader:
> These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2011-07-25,
> and should be interpreted accordingly... For further information...
> see my 2021-07-20 companion posting on "Reposted Questions from
> the Canadian Inquisition (RQFTCI*)".
> ** Final, Round 7 - Science
> * Breakthroughs
> 1. It had been called "dephlogisticated air" and its effect on
> combustion was well known. However, in 1778, Antoine Lavoisier
> corrected some important details and gave it the name we still
> use today. What is it?
Oxygen. 4 for Joshua, Dan Blum, and Dan Tilque.
> 2. In 1897, J.J. Thomson called them "corpuscles" -- negatively
> charged particles emitted by cathode-ray tubes and smaller
> than atoms. What do we call them?
Electrons. 4 for everyone -- Joshua, Erland, Dan Blum,
and Dan Tilque.
> 3. It was called "xylonite" by earlier experimenters. But John
> Wesley Hyatt and his brother Isaiah made a few changes and
> developed a material that they used to replace ivory in the
> manufacture of billiard balls. A little later, it was used to
> make photographic film. What do we call it today?
Celluloid. (Not cellulose, a natural substance.) 4 for Erland,
Dan Blum, and Dan Tilque.
This is why it's "was" used for film:
http://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/ce/19/ce190b18-5d2c-4a29-b86e-948a907f212f/vault_fire.jpg
> * Single-Malt Scotch
> 4. In a single-malt scotch, what is the only grain used for
> distilling?
Barley. 4 for Dan Blum and Dan Tilque.
> 5. The grain used to make Scotch is soaked in water for 2-3 days
> and then allowed to germinate to produce the necessary enzymes
> required to turn the starch into fermentable sugars. What is
> this process called?
Malting. 4 for Dan Tilque.
> 6. In most cases smoke is introduced to the kiln to add aroma
> and flavor to the whisky. Generally the smoke is produced by
> burning what?
Peat. 4 for Joshua and Dan Blum.
Cedar waxwing.
> 8.
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/gfr7/bird/8.jpg
Mourning dove. 4 for Dan Blum and Dan Tilque.
> 9.
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/gfr7/bird/9.jpg
Red-tailed hawk. 4 for Dan Blum.
> * Orbits
> 10. What is the name of the highest point in the orbit of an
> Earth-orbiting satellite: that is, the point where it is farthest
> from the Earth?
Apogee. 4 for Joshua, Dan Blum, and Dan Tilque.
> 11. An Earth-orbiting satellite that takes exactly one day to
> orbit the Earth, and appears to never move as seen from the
> Earth, is extremely useful for communications. What name is
> given to this type of orbit?
Geosynchronous or, more specifically, geostationary or Clarke orbit.
4 for everyone.
A geosynchronous orbit in general is any one with a period equal
to one sidereal day. If it isn't geostationary, then the satellite
appears to traverse a path in the sky that exactly repeats every day.
> 12. In the Sun-Jupiter system, there are two points in Jupiter's
> orbit where asteroids can stably remain without being disturbed
> by either the Sun or Jupiter. One point is well ahead of Jupiter
> on its orbital path, the other is well behind. They are named
> for two groups linked in myth, and they make good hiding places
> for spaceships in science fiction. What name refers to both
> of these points?
Trojan points or Greek points. 4 for Dan Blum and Dan Tilque.
There are five Lagrange points altogether, but only two meet the
description, namely the Trojan points, called L4 and L5. Asteroids
orbiting in these two areas of Jupiter's orbit are conventionally
given names relating to the Trojan war, Greeks at L4 and Trojans
at L5 (thus safely separated by 840,000,000 miles); the term "Trojan
point" is in turn derived from this naming convention.
Lagrange points L1, L2, and L3 all fall along a line drawn through
Jupiter and the Sun. L3 is exactly halfway around Jupiter's orbit,
and the other two, if I calculate correctly, are about 32,000,000
miles from Jupiter in each direction. All three are unstable: a
spacecraft could remain at one in the long term as long as it could
expend small amounts of fuel for stationkeeping from time to time
as needed, but an asteroid or any inert body would eventually be
perturbed away.
Other systems with a body in more or less circular orbit, such as
Earth-Moon and Sun-Earth, each have their own set of 5 Lagrange
points L1 through L5, with the same properties.
> * The Romantic Era
> 13. Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
> When a new planet swims into his ken.
> These lines from John Keats's 1816 poem "On First Looking into
> Chapman's Homer" allude to which 18th-century astronomical find?
Uranus. 4 for everyone.
> 14. He sailed with Captain Cook to the South Seas, won renown
> as a botanist, and served as President of the Royal Society for
> more than 40 years, presiding over an age of exploration and
> scientific discovery. The opium-addicted poet Samuel Coleridge
> also found him to be a reliable source of exotic and experimental
> drugs, such as Indian hemp and cannabis. Name him.
Sir Joseph Banks.
> 15. Coleridge also partook with keen interest in this chemist's
> early investigations into the bliss-inducing properties of
> nitrous oxide. Later, this chemist would discover sodium,
> and develop a celebrated safety helmet for miners. He was also
> one of the first people to work on iodine. Name the chemist.
Sir Humphry Davy. 4 for Joshua and Dan Tilque.
> ** Final, Round 8 - Arts & Literature
> * Margaret Atwood Book Covers
> In each case, identify the Margaret Atwood book whose title has
> been removed. They are not necessarily Canadian editions.
> 1.
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/gfr8/atw/1.jpg
"The Blind Assassin".
> 2.
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/gfr8/atw/2.jpg
"Surfacing".
> 3.
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/gfr8/atw/3.jpg
"The Edible Woman".
One entrant in 2012 guessed "The Handmaid's Tale" for two of the
questions on the grounds that it was the only other Margaret Atwood
novel he could think of. On a whim I decided to google up a book
cover for that one, and was surprised at how many *different* covers
I found. Just for fun, here they are (as found in 2012):
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/gfr8/atw/tale.jpg
And in 2021, one entrant guessed "Oryx & Crake" for all three questions,
so I did the same thing again:
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/gfr8/atw/oryx.jpg
Some of these are not actual book covers but are for audiobooks or
ebooks. On each search I also found some covers with the same art
but other variations (differently placed lettering, for example).
> * Jean-Paul Sartre
> 4. A character in Sartre's play "No Exit" ("Huis Clos") defines
> hell. Complete the aphorism, "Hell is..."
Other people. (Or "les autres".) 4 for Joshua, Dan Blum,
and Dan Tilque.
> 5. What honor did Sartre decline in 1964? Be specific for full
> points.
Nobel Prize for Literature. 4 for Joshua, Erland, and Dan Blum.
> 6. The seminal work of existentialism is Sartre's 1943 philosophical
> treatise. What is its title?
"Being and Nothingness" ("L'Être et le Néant"). 4 for Joshua
and Dan Tilque.
> * Chick Lit
> We name the author, as well as the date and stars of a movie that
> was based on her book. You name the book -- or the movie, because
> in each case, the two titles are the same.
> 7. The author was Emily Giffin. The 2011 movie starred Kate Hudson,
> Ginnifer Goodwin, and John Krasinski.
"Something Borrowed".
> 8. The author was Cecila Ahern. The 2007 movie starred Hilary
> Swank and Gerard Butler.
"P.S. I Love You".
> 9. The author was Jennifer Wiener. The 2005 movie starred Cameron
> Diaz, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine.
"In Her Shoes".
St. Francis (of Assisi). 4 for Dan Tilque.
> 11.
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/gfr8/st/11.jpg
St. James (Santiago).
> 12.
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/gfr8/st/12.jpg
St. Mark.
> * Humorists
> Name the literary figure from the description.
> 13. Grammy-Award-nominated American writer, known for his work on
> NPR's "This American Life". His semi-autobiographical works
> include "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and "When You Are Engulfed
> in Flames". His """most recent""" book is "Squirrel Seeks
> Chipmunk".
David Sedaris. (His most recent now is "A Carnival of Snackery").
4 for Joshua and Dan Blum.
> 14. This American political satirist, journalist and author
> """is""" a regular contributor to the "Atlantic Monthly" and
> the Weekly Standard. His books include "Give War a Chance"
> and "Eat the Rich". His """most recent""" work is "Don't Vote:
> It Just Encourages the Bastards".
P.J. O'Rourke. (Still true, except his most recent is now "A Cry
from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land".) 4 for Joshua
and Dan Blum.
> 15. Known for her acting career early on, she later became an
> author and humorist. Her works include "Surrender the Pink",
> "Postcards from the Edge", and her autobiography "Wishful
> Drinking".
Carrie Fisher. 4 for Joshua and Dan Blum.
FINAL ROUNDS-> 2 3 4 6 7 8 BEST
TOPICS-> Ent His Can Spo Sci A+L FOUR
Joshua Kreitzer 24 48 4 35 28 24 135
Dan Blum 28 36 2 20 44 20 128
Dan Tilque 8 46 -- -- 44 12 110
Erland Sommarskog 4 32 0 23 16 4 75
Pete Gayde 4 14 -- -- -- -- 18
--
Mark Brader "He'll spend at least part of his life
Toronto in prison, or parliament, or both."
m...@vex.net --Peter Moylan