Mark Brader:
> This is Rotating Quiz #287, titled "And Coming Last".
> In case of a tie, the first tiebreaker will be who scored on the
> hardest questions, the second tiebreaker will be correct spelling
> and capitalization, and and the third tiebreaker will be who
> posted first.
In fact there was a 3-way tie, as 3 entrants each scored 8 points
out of a maximum 14. And thanks to the lovely and talented Catherine
Zeta-Jones, who won the Best Supporting Actress award for "Chicago"
(2002), your winner on the first tiebreaker is DAN BLUM. Hearty
congratulations, Dan!
Unfortunately, I learn that, due to travel, Dan is unable to moderate
RQ 288 unless we wait until late April. It is therefore necessary
to know who finished second. And, after resolving a judgement issue
as explained below, it turns out that we need to use the *third*
tiebreaker to see that Erland Sommarskog finished second ahead of
Peter Smyth.
Erland, are you available?
> You have until Monday, April 9, 2018, to enter, by Toronto time
> (zone -5); that gives you 5 days and about almost hours from the
> time of posting.
My apologies for the stupid error; of course Toronto time currently
is zone -4. Nobody entered between midnight and midnight EST anyway,
so it didn't matter for contest purposes.
> What is the ALPHABETICALLY LAST:
> * Geography
> 1. Independent country now existing?
Zimbabwe. 1 for everyone -- Erland, John, Dan Blum, Marc, Peter,
Dan Tilque, and Jason.
> 2. State of the US?
Wyoming. 1 for everyone.
> * Entertainment
> 3. Movie to have won the Oscar for Best Picture?
"You Can't Take It with You" (1938).
> 4. Person to have won an Oscar for acting?
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Best Supporting Actress for "Chicago" (2002).
1 for Dan Blum.
> * History
> 5. Person to have been Secretary-General of the UN?
Kurt Waldheim (1972-81). 1 for Erland, Dan Blum, and Peter.
> 6. Person to have been President of the US?
Woodrow Wilson (1913-21). 1 for Erland, John, Dan Blum, Marc,
Peter, and Dan Tilque.
> * Science
> 7. Chemical element?
Zirconium. 1 for Erland, John, Peter, and Dan Tilque.
> 8. Bone in the human body?
Zygomatic bone (there are two, left and right).
> * Sports
> 9. Team to have played in the Premier League of British soccer?
Wolverhampton Wanderers (4 seasons between 2003 and 2012). Here's
where the judgement call comes in. I wrote in the detailed rules:
You must alphabetize on the following basis...
* For sports teams, use the usual name whether one or multiple words,
e.g. "Germany" or "Detroit Red Wings".
Well, Erland's answer was just "Wolverhampton". But what I said
was that you had to *alphabetize* on the full usual name, not
that you had to *give it as your answer*. There has only been one
Wolverhampton team in the major British soccer leagues during the
era of the Premier League; and therefore I judge that "Wolverhampton"
is a correct answer. So, finally, 1 for Erland, John, and Peter.
> 10. City to have hosted the Olympics?
Vancouver (2010). 1 for Erland, Dan Blum, and Dan Tilque.
> * Literature
> 11. Member of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Fellowship of the Ring"?
Peregrin (or "Pippin") Took. The surname was required. 1 for
Dan Blum, Peter, and Dan Tilque.
> 12. Tom Clancy novel featuring Jack Ryan (the original character,
> not his son Jack Jr.)?
"The Sum of All Fears".
> * Current Events (give or take a couple of years, if applicable)
> 13. Person fired from the US cabinet by Donald Trump?
Rex Tillerson (secretary of state; fired March 2018). 1 for Erland,
John, Dan Blum, and Peter.
> 14. Person fired from the UK cabinet by Theresa May?
John Whittingdale (culture, media, and sport; fired July 2016).
> * Canadiana
> Just kidding, we're done.
Scores, if there are no errors:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 TOTALS
Dan Blum 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 8
Erland Sommarskog 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 8
Peter Smyth 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 8
John Masters 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 6
Dan Tilque 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 6
Marc Dashevsky 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Jason Kreitzer 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
So it's over to Erland for RQ 288.
--
Mark Brader | The last 10% of the performance sought contributes
Toronto | one-third of the cost and two-thirds of the problems.
m...@vex.net | -- Norm Augustine