Sorry, I'm a bit slow posting this.
Mark Brader:
> Nothing fancy here, just 10 questions, 2 each in 5 categories.
> 1 point each. In case of a tie...
No tiebreakers needed: DAN BLUM has won this contest outright.
Hearty congratulations!
> * Science
> 1. This is Rotating Quiz 256. List *all* the ways to express the
> number 256 as an integer raised to an integer power. (Please use
> the ^ notation, e.g. 81 is 3^4, meaning 3 to the 4th power.)
There are seven: (ą2)^8, (ą4)^4, (ą16)^2, 256^1. 1 for Dan Blum.
Confession: when I asked the question, I'd forgotten that answers
where the base of exponentiation is negative were possible. But you
all should have known it, too. Dan Blum was the only one to show
that he did.
> 2. Give the metric equivalent value of the "horsepower" unit
> traditionally used in English-speaking countries. Answers must
> be accurate to 3 significant digits.
745.6999 W. 1 for Dan Tilque.
> * Literature
> 3. According to a verse in "The Lord of the Rings", a part of
> which is concealed on the One Ring that the story focuses on,
> how many rings of power did Sauron create altogether?
See below. 1 for Dan Blum, Marc, Peter, Dan Tilque, and Gareth.
Worse confession: Posting in a hurry after my unexpected win on the
previous RQ, I wrote this question without bothering to go downstairs
and look at the verse in its original context in the book. The verse
*mentions* 20 rings (9 for "mortal men", 7 for "dwarf-lords", 3 for
"elven-kings", and one for himself). But as Dan Tilque was the first
to point out, it *does not say* who created them. And while Sauron
was *responsible* for their creation, the only one he created
personally was the one for himself. I have decided to accept either
the answer 20, or 1, or any answer indicating some knowledge of the
above facts of the story.
> 4. "The Power Broker" is a biography by Robert Caro, about which
> highly influential New Yorker?
Robert Moses. 1 for Dan Blum.
> * Government
> 5. The same sentence appears almost identically, varying only in
> the use of the word "the", in 6 places in the US Constitution
> -- as the last sentence of each of the 13th, 15th, 19th, 23rd,
> 24th, and 26th Amendments. What does it say? (Answers must
> be close, but not necessarily exact.)
(The) Congress shall have (the) power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation. 1 for Gareth (barely).
> 6. In British politics, what term is used for the transfer of
> powers from the UK government to lower level of government?
Devolution. 1 for Dan Blum, Peter, Calvin, and Dan Tilque.
> * Sports
> 7. Which Australian city (or other place) has a football team
> known as the Power?
Port Adelaide.
Yes, that's part of greater Adelaide, but that's why I said "or other
place". The team specifically identifies itself with Port Adelaide.
So no point for Adelaide.
> 8. During this man's NHL career from 1982 to 2006, he scored 274
> goals on power plays -- a record that still stands. He played
> with Buffalo for 10 seasons, then Toronto, then New Jersey and
> other teams. Name him.
Dave Andreychuk.
> * Movies
> 9. In "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery", Dr. Evil
> announces to his henchmen his plan to hijack a nuclear weapon
> and hold the world hostage for how much money? And then, when
> advised that a larger amount might be better, how much does he
> decide to change his demand to? Give both numbers.
$1,000,000; $100,000,000,000.
> 10. In which movie, based on a David Baldacci novel, does Clint
> Eastwood play Luther Whitney, a thief who witnesses the US
> president committing a crime?
"Absolute Power".
And of course the not-very-hidden theme, inspired by the contest
number, was "power".
Scores, if there are no errors:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TOTALS
Dan Blum 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 4
Dan Tilque 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
Gareth Owen 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
Peter Smyth 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
"Calvin" 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Marc Dashevsky 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1 1 5 1 1 4 0 0 0 0
Dan Blum, please start Rotating Quiz #257 at your earleist convenience.
--
Mark Brader | "Nothing is more sacrosanct than our professional ethics.
Toronto | Fortunately, I know a trick to get around them."
m...@vex.net | --Niles Crane, "Frasier" (Ranberg & Flett-Giordano)