>> JOE HANSON: Coming up on High School Quiz Show, it's the Massachusetts State Championship, with Lexington... (cheers and applause) ...taking on Buckingham Browne & Nichols.

(cheers and applause) That's next on High School Quiz Show.

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(cheers and applause) >> HANSON: Hi, everybody, and welcome to High School Quiz Show.

I'm your host, Joe Hanson.

Last week, Lexington defeated Acton-Boxborough to earn a spot in today's final.

(cheers and applause) So this is it: Buckingham Browne & Nichols and Lexington High School competing for the State Championship and the chance to take home this beautiful trophy.

Let's meet the teams.

On the BB&N team, we have: Bradford, Henry, Ana Chrysa, and Aaron.

With mascot Bucky, alternates Andreas and Leo, and coaches Chip Rollinson and Sam Crihfield.

(cheers and applause) And competing for Lexington, we have: Atreya, Owen, Elias, and Aditya.

With alternates Andrew and Alan and coaches Andrew Baker and Josh Olivier-Mason.

(cheers and applause) Before we get to the competition, we have a message from a very special guest.

>> I'm Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey.

Congratulations to all the teams that participated in High School Quiz Show this season and over the past 15 years.

I'm inspired by your dedication, your commitment, your passion for academic excellence.

And thank you to all the coaches, and schools, and communities who supported all our students on their journey.

I'm so proud of you, and proud to be from Massachusetts.

>> HANSON: How about that?

The governor of Massachusetts, huh?

(cheers and applause) All right.

The competition has four rounds: toss-up, head-to-head, category, and a lightning round.

We start with the toss-up round.

All answers are worth ten points, there are no point deductions for incorrect answers, and players may confer before buzzing in.

So if you're ready, good luck, here we go.

In 2008, after years of being identified on screen as legendary archaeologist Indiana Jones, what actor was elected to the Board of Directors of the Archaeological Institute of America?

Aditya.

>> Harrison Ford.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Before becoming president, Barack Obama was the junior U.S. senator from what state?

Ana Chrysa.

>> Illinois.

>> HANSON: Correct.

What activist and lead singer of the Irish rock band U2 is the author of a new memoir titled Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story?

Elias.

>> Bono.

>> HANSON: Bono is correct.

In a landmark decision in 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively ended the use of affirmative action in college admissions in a case against Harvard and what other university?

Owen.

>> Penn State.

>> HANSON: No.

BB&N, opportunity for you.

Bradford.

>> University of California Berkeley.

>> HANSON: No, the University of North Carolina.

Take a look at your screens for our next question.

Made from the oak timbers of a British Arctic exploration ship, what famous Oval Office desk, seen here, was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes?

Henry.

>> The Resolute desk.

>> HANSON: Correct.

What Motown act fronted by Diana Ross was the first American group to have five consecutive number-one hits, beginning with "Where Did Our Love Go?"

Bradford.

>> The Temptations.

>> HANSON: No-- Lexington, opportunity for you.

Elias.

>> The Supremes.

>> HANSON: The Supremes is correct.

In 2021, the National Collegiate Athletic Association approved a new policy that allows all D1, D2, and D3 student-athletes to be compensated for their N.I.L., which stands for what?

Aditya.

>> Name, image, and likeness.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Formerly known as the Zaire River, what is the only major river to cross the Equator twice?

Elias.

>> Congo.

>> HANSON: The Congo River is correct.

Creator of some of the most popular shows of the 1970s, including All in the Family, Maude, and The Jeffersons, what trailblazing producer passed away in 2023 at age 101?

Atreya.

>> Norman Lear.

>> HANSON: Norman Lear is correct.

Take a look at your screens.

We have a question from a very special guest.

>> Hi!

I'm actress, writer, comedian, and Boston Latin School alum Ayo Edebiri, and I am so excited to be doing this, because I used to watch this show.

I want to say congrats to all the teams who competed this season on High School Quiz Show, and a big shout-out to Buckingham Browne & Nichols and Lexington High School for making it to the season 15 championship.

So, me aside, here is my question: a 1971 episode of The French Chef was the first U.S. show to be captioned for hearing-impaired viewers.

The show was produced by GBH and hosted by what celebrated chef and cookbook author?

Owen.

>> Julia John.

>> HANSON: No, BB&N, opportunity for you.

Bradford.

>> Child.

>> HANSON: Julia Child is correct.

In the 17th century, what country had the first major financial bubble and crash, called "Tulip Mania"?

Ana Chrysa.

>> The Netherlands.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

The U.S. Constitution specifies what number of Supreme Court justices?

A, at least five, B, always nine, or C, no specific number?

Aaron.

>> C, no specific number.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

In 2023, what British star of Killing Eve won a Tony Award for her one-woman show Prima Facie?

Bradford.

>> Um... Michelle Yeoh.

>> HANSON: No.

Lexington, opportunity for you.

(players whispering) (buzzer sounds) Jodie Comer is the answer.

Soon after ascending the throne in 1558, what queen restored the Protestant religion as the official faith of England?

Aditya.

>> Elizabeth I.

>> HANSON: Queen Elizabeth I is correct.

Emma Watson plays a misfit teenager in a film version of what coming-of-age novel by Stephen Chbosky?

Bradford.

>> The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

>> HANSON: Correct.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Sweden and what neighboring country dropped their longstanding military neutrality and took steps to join NATO?

Owen.

>> Finland.

>> HANSON: Finland is correct.

In the Tour de France, the yellow jersey is worn by the rider leading the general classification.

What color jersey is worn by the rider leading the points classification?

Owen.

>> White.

>> HANSON: No-- BB&N, opportunity.

Henry.

>> Green.

>> HANSON: Green is correct.

In 2023, an international team of astronomers detected a low hum of gravitational waves echoing across the universe.

What is thought to be the source of the waves?

A, supermassive black holes, B, the multiverse, or C, pulsars?

Elias.

>> A.

>> HANSON: Supermassive black holes is correct.

In the Old English poem Beowulf, the hero kills what man-eating monster who lives in a swamp with his mother?

Henry.

>> Grendel.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

In a DNA molecule, adenine bonds with thymine.

But in an RNA molecule, adenine bonds with what?

Atreya.

>> Uracil.

>> HANSON: Uracil is correct.

A star on the field and in social justice activism, who retired in September 2023 at age 38 after 17 years with the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team?

Atreya.

>> Megan Rapinoe.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

Once known as "Florence on the Elbe," what German city has been rebuilt since it was firebombed by the Allies in 1945?

Bradford.

>> Dresden.

>> HANSON: Dresden is correct.

The first rapper to score Grammys for Song and Record of the Year, what actor is known in the music world as Childish Gambino?

Henry.

>> Donald Glover.

>> HANSON: Donald Glover is correct.

The law of conservation of mass was first proposed by what French chemist who was guillotined during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror?

A, Louis Pasteur, B, Antoine Lavoisier, or C, Claude Bernard?

Bradford.

>> B, Lavoisier.

>> HANSON: Lavoisier is correct.

What 1958 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe was the first book about colonialism written from an African point of view?

Henry.

>> Things Fall Apart.

>> HANSON: Correct.

The first democratically elected female leader of a Muslim country, in the 1990s, Benazir Bhutto served two stints as prime minister of what country?

Aditya.

>> Pakistan.

>> HANSON: Pakistan is correct.

In 2016, NASA received a radio signal from a solar-powered spacecraft, confirming it was in orbit around Jupiter after a trip of nearly five years and 1.8 billion miles.

The spacecraft is named after what wife of the Roman god Jupiter?

Owen.

>> Juno.

>> HANSON: Juno is correct.

According to a famous quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the "arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward" what?

Aditya.

>> "Progress."

>> HANSON: No-- BB&N, opportunity for you.

Aaron.

>> "Justice."

>> HANSON: "Justice" is correct.

In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby dropped out of what college in Minnesota because he was humiliated by having to work as a janitor to pay for his tuition?

Aaron.

>> St. Olaf.

>> HANSON: St. Olaf is correct.

What Massachusetts native has won multiple awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe, for her role as Tanya McQuoid in the television series The White Lotus?

Henry.

>> Jennifer Coolidge.

>> HANSON: Jennifer Coolidge is correct.

(bell ringing) And that's the end of the toss-up round.

And the score is BB&N: 150 points.

And Lexington: 130 points.

It's a close one.

Let's hear it for both teams.

(cheers and applause) The head-to-head round is next.

But first, we're gonna take a few minutes to get to know our players.

And as always, we do that with a question.

BB&N, we'll start with you.

If you had a theme song that played every time you entered a room, what would it be and why?

Bradford?

>> I'd have to go with "Scotland the Brave," which is a traditional bagpipe song.

I'm not Scottish, but you know, I just really like the bagpipes.

>> HANSON: I guess that means you'd have to find a bagpipe player to come with you.

>> Exactly, yeah.

>> HANSON: Henry?

>> Keeping with the theme of ambient music from the earlier episode, Joe, I'd have to go with "HNSCC" by The 1975.

>> HANSON: I like that.

You're a chill guy.

>> Yeah.

>> HANSON: Ana Chrysa.

>> Because my family is Greek, I'd have to go with a Greek song called "Agape."

Because it's, though oxymoronic, it's the perfect mellow hype-up song.

>> HANSON: Mellow hype-up.

I'd like to hear that sometime.

(audience chuckling) Aaron.

>> You know what, Joe?

Anytime I walk into a room, I can't think of anything better than the Be Smart YouTube channel, and any of its great episodes playing.

>> HANSON: The theme song is pretty good, I gotta say.

Atreya, how about you?

>> I would choose "Sweet Caroline," just 'cause it's so iconic.

>> HANSON: Bum-bum-bum.

Owen.

>> I would choose the theme song from the Kurzgesagt YouTube channel.

If you want, I can sing it for you.

>> HANSON: Maybe later.

We'll-- let's see me after.

(laughter) Elias.

>> I'm also Greek, so I'd choose the "Zeibekiko of Evdokia."

Greek song.

>> HANSON: That sounds fun.

You guys got to play these for me later.

Great music from Greece.

Aditya.

>> I would choose Bach's Third Brandenburg Concerto, because I just love how strong the beat is.

>> HANSON: I think that is a sentence no one's ever said.

I love it.

(laughter) All right, teams, it's time to go head-to-head.

(cheers and applause) In this round, correct answers add ten points to the team total, and incorrect answers result in a ten-point deduction.

The clock is set at 90 seconds.

Shake hands.

Okay, here we go.

Heartburn occurs when stomach acid backs up into what... >> Esophagus.

>> HANSON: Yes.

In the metric system, what is the base unit of mass?

>> Kilogram.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Released on October 21, 2022, what is the title of Taylor Swift's much-anticipated tenth studio album?

(buzzer sounds) Midnights.

Who wrote the 1831 French gothic novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame?

>> Gousteau.

>> HANSON: No, Victor Hugo.

What 1765 act required colonial... >> Stamp Act.

>> HANSON: No, the Quartering Act.

Strategically located on the Horn of Africa, what country was once known... >> South Africa.

>> HANSON: No, Ethiopia.

In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was discovered by French troops in what country?

>> Egypt.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What U.S. state is the only place in the world where you can find both alligators and crocodiles... >> Florida.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Who was the first African American to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, for the horror film Get Out?

>> Peele.

>> HANSON: Jordan Peele's correct.

Which class of rocks is formed from the solidification of molten... >> Igneous.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Most of the city of Rome is located on the eastern bank of what river?

(buzzer sounds) The Tiber River.

What country makes up more than half the western coastline of South America?

>> Uh, Chile.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What signature French-Canadian dish consists... >> Poutine.

>> HANSON: Yes.

The Mayflower dropped anchor in Plymouth Harbor... >> Uh...

Seven... 16... 40.

>> HANSON: 1620.

According to Hesiod, what Greek woman opened a jar or box that released all the evils... >> Pandora.

>> HANSON: Yes.

On July 4... (bell ringing) That is the end of the round.

Let's take a look at our score.

BB&N has 150 points and Lexington has 180 points.

As we expected, it's shaping up to be a close one.

Let's have a round of applause for both teams.

(cheers and applause) Next up, the category round, with the following categories: Send in the Clones, I Came, I Saw, I Conga'd, Do the Twist, Simply the Best, You Had Me at Guten Tag, and Get Carter.

All categories have five questions with increasing point value.

Teams will choose two five-question categories each, and have the option to toss one question per category to the other team that the other team must answer.

Players are able to confer.

BB&N, who's your spokesperson?

Bradford.

Lexington, how about you?

Owen.

All right, BB&N, you've got a little bit of ground to make up.

The first category goes to you.

>> We should go Guten Tag.

>> Yeah, it's German, yeah?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We'll take You Had Me at Guten Tag, please.

>> HANSON: You Had Me at Guten Tag.

Questions in this category are about foreign words and phrases.

For ten points: French for "new rich," what two-word phrase is often used as a derogatory term to describe people with newly acquired wealth, as opposed to inherited wealth?

>> Nouveau riche.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

For 15 points: roughly translated as "malicious joy," what German word refers to the pleasure people get from the misfortune of others?

>> Schadenfreude, right?

>> Yeah... (mumbles) >> Schadenfreude.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

For 20 points: heavily influenced by European debutante balls, what Spanish term refers to a girl's 15th-birthday celebration in Latin American communities?

>> Quinceañera.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

For 25 points in You Had Me at Guten Tag: originally referring to an assassin in feudal Japan, what five-letter Japanese word meaning "one skilled in stealth" is used in English to describe someone who's an expert at a particular activity?

>> (whispering): Let's not answer that.

>> Do we pass?

>> Pass?

>> HANSON: We'll need an answer.

>> We're gonna pass this.

>> HANSON: It's ninja.

>> (exhales) >> HANSON: For 30 points: named after a famous Russian ballerina, what dessert has a meringue base topped with whipped cream and fruit?

>> (whispering): They may know it.

Pass.

>> We should pass.

>> I think we'll pass this one.

>> HANSON: You have an answer?

>> (aloud): We're gonna pass on this one.

>> HANSON: Pavlova.

Lexington, your category.

(players whispering) >> (aloud): Get Carter.

>> HANSON: Get Carter.

Question in this category are about President Jimmy Carter.

For ten points: Jimmy Carter was elected president in what year that America celebrated its bicentennial?

>> (whispering): 1976.

>> '76.

>> 1977.

>> (aloud): 1976.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

For 15 points: when his father died in 1953, Carter gave up being an officer on a U.S. nuclear sub and returned to what Southern state to become a peanut farmer?

>> (whispering): Georgia.

>> Are we sure?

>> Georgia.

>> (aloud): Georgia.

>> HANSON: Georgia is correct.

For 20 points: Carter asked Americans to cut down on their energy use.

He led by example, curtailing the use of limousines, selling the presidential yacht, and installing what on the White House roof?

>> (whispering): Solar panels.

It's solar panels.

Solar panels for sure.

>> (aloud): Solar panels.

>> HANSON: Solar panels is correct.

For 25 points in Get Carter: Carter was the first president to face the challenge of militant Islam.

On November 4, 1979, Islamic revolutionaries took 66 Americans hostage in what Middle Eastern city?

>> (whispering): Iran-- oh, no, no.

>> City, city.

>> Tehran.

>> Are you sure?

>> They said, they said country, right?

>> He said city.

>> City, city.

>> Tehran.

>> Yeah.

>> (aloud): Tehran.

>> HANSON: Tehran is correct.

For 30 points: named for the presidential retreat where they were signed, what historic peace accords between Israel and Egypt were mediated by President Carter in 1978?

>> The Camp David Accords.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

BB&N, next category to you.

>> Can we have Simply the Best, please?

>> HANSON: Simply the Best.

Questions in this category are about the late great Tina Turner.

For ten points: music icon Tina Turner was just as famous for her dancing as she was for her singing.

She even took credit for teaching what lead singer of the Rolling Stones how to dance?

>> Mick Jagger.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

For 15 points: Turner was among the first celebrities to speak candidly about domestic violence.

In her memoir I, Tina, she describes how she finally found the courage in 1976 to leave what abusive husband and music partner?

>> (whispering): Toss it?

>> Toss.

>> I don't-- I think we should pass this.

>> I think we should toss it.

>> Okay.

>> (aloud): We're gonna toss this question.

>> HANSON: Lexington, to you.

>> (whispering, chuckling): Norman Mc... Lear?

>> HANSON: I need an answer, Lexington.

>> (aloud): Um... Norma McLear?

(chuckling) >> HANSON: Ike Turner.

BB&N, for 20 points in Simply the Best: before she played Queen Ramonda in the Black Panther films, who received her first Oscar nomination for playing Tina Turner in the 1993 biographical film What's Love Got to Do With It?

>> (chuckles): It's okay.

>> Pass-- pass.

>> HANSON: Angela Bassett is the actress.

For 25 points in Simply the Best: in her first movie role, Turner played a character called the Acid Queen in what 1975 rock musical by The Who?

>> Tommy.

>> HANSON: Tommy is correct.

For 30 points: in 1984, Turner launched one of the greatest comebacks in music history with what multi-platinum album that included the hit songs "What's Love Got to Do With It?"

and "Better Be Good to Me"?

>> (whispers): No idea.

>> (softly): No idea.

>> (whispers): Pass.

>> (aloud): Pass.

>> HANSON: Private Dancer.

Lexington, final category.

>> Send in the Clones.

>> HANSON: Send in the Clones.

Questions in this category are about genetics.

For ten points: what kind of animal was Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned using an adult somatic cell?

>> Sheep.

>> HANSON: Sheep is correct.

For 15 points: human DNA is located primarily in the nucleus of each cell, but small amounts can also be found in what organelle often called "the powerhouse of the cell"?

>> Mitochondrion.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

For 20 points in Send in the Clones: Down syndrome is a common genetic disorder in which a baby is born with an extra copy of which chromosome?

>> 21st.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 25 points: a genotype is an organism's unique sequence of DNA.

What term refers to an organism's observable physical traits, such as color and shape?

>> Phenotype.

>> HANSON: Phenotype is correct.

For 30 points: during cell replication, DNA is "unzipped" by what protein that causes the paired bases to separate?

>> (whispering): You guys want to pass it?

>> Pass, maybe-- no, don't toss it, um... >> No, pass.

>> Wait.

DNA is helicase?

>> Yeah, helicase.

>> HANSON: We need an answer, Lexington.

>> (aloud): Helicase.

>> HANSON: Helicase is correct.

>> (whispers): Yes!

(bell ringing) >> HANSON: And that is the end of the category round.

The score is BB&N: 230 points.

And Lexington: 365 points.

Anything can still happen.

Let's hear it for both teams.

(cheers and applause) Before we get started, a huge congratulations to both of our teams for making it this far in the tournament.

You have done an incredible job.

(cheers and applause) We're heading into the final round of play, the lightning round.

Correct answers add 20 points to the team total, and there is a 20-point deduction for incorrect answers.

The clock is set.

Here we go.

Before serving as vice president and then president, Joe Biden was a U.S.... Bradford.

>> Delaware.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Made with natural dyes from lichens, what type of paper is used to test whether a substance... Owen.

>> L... (buzzer sounds) >> HANSON: Litmus paper.

What Canadian province forms the northern border of Washington state?

Atreya.

>> British Columbia.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What J.R.R.

Tolkien novel is subtitled There and Back Again?

Bradford.

>> The Hobbit.

>> HANSON: Yes.

In 2022, Sheryl Lee Ralph won an Emmy for her role as Barbara Howard, an old-school kindergarten teacher in what sitcom?

Ana Chrysa.

>> Abbott Elementary.

>> HANSON: Yes.

The orchestral work Finlandia was premiered... Bradford.

>> Sibelius.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What Christopher Nolan film is a biopic about an American physicist... Aditya.

>> Oppenheimer.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Ordered by Robert E. Lee, Pickett's Charge was an infamous... Bradford.

>> Gettysburg.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Abbreviated H, what is the standard international unit of inductance?

Owen.

>> Henry.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What is the only South American national capital city that sits on the shores of the Pacific Ocean?

Bradford.

>> Quito.

>> HANSON: No, Lima.

In 2023, who had his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with his song "I'm Just Ken" from the Barbie... Bradford.

>> Gosling.

>> HANSON: Ryan Gosling, yes.

In the Harry Potter books, what Transfiguration professor is the head... Aditya.

>> Professor McGonagall.

>> HANSON: Professor McGonagall, yes.

Signed by Germany and the Allied Nations on June 28, 19... Bradford.

>> Um, Versailles.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Set in Imperial Russia, what Broadway musical tells the story... Bradford.

>> Fiddler on the Roof.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Archaeological evidence suggests that Stone Age hunters common... (bell ringing) Bradford-- answer?

>> Stone Age.

>> HANSON: We're looking for flint.

And the winning team and state champion is Lexington, with a final score of 425 points.

BB&N finishes with 350 points.

Congratulations to both teams for a great game and to all the teams for an unbelievable season.

We look forward to seeing you back here next year for season 16 of High School Quiz Show.

(cheers and applause) ♪ ♪ Major funding for High School Quiz Show is provided by Safety Insurance.

>> Boston traffic is the worst.

Safety Insurance offers auto insurance policies designed to help for when the worst happens.

You can ask an independent agent about Safety Insurance.

Safety Insurance: we'll help you manage life's storms.

>> HANSON: Additional funding is provided by UMass Amherst.

>> At the University of Massachusetts Amherst... >> ...a revolutionary spirit runs through our veins.

>> As pioneers... >> Builders... >> Unconventional doers... >> We dream bigger... >> ...reach higher... >> ...and commit ourselves to the relentless pursuit of progress.

(cheers and applause) ♪ ♪