- Welcome to the studios of WCMU Public Media.

This time it's a first round game between Flushing and Mount Pleasant.

We have that for you next.

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(compelling music) - Hello, everyone, I'm David Nicholas, and I'm pleased to welcome you to the 20th season of "Quiz Central."

This time, students from Flushing are taking on the team from Mount Pleasant, the first game of our tournament, featuring 16 teams in a single elimination format.

At the end of the season, four lucky "Quiz Central" seniors will receive a book scholarship provided by the CMU Bookstore.

Plus top teams from "Quiz Central" will qualify for the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament.

And now let's get to our game.

Our first round is the Maroon and Gold Rush.

Teams will have two minutes to answer as many toss-up questions as they can.

If a team misses a toss-up question, the opposing team has the opportunity to answer that question.

Teams may not consult during this round.

Throughout our game, correct answers are worth 10 points a piece, and there is no deduction for incorrect answers.

All ready, players?

Have your buzzers ready.

Here comes your first question.

What TV show, which is based on the British series, "The Thick of It," centers on Selina Meyer, an- (buzzer dings) - "Veep."

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Wilderness scout, Natty Bumppo, rescues a kidnapped woman named Alice Munro in what 1826 Novel by James Fenamore Cooper?

(buzzer dings) - "Romeo and Juliet."

- [David] That's incorrect.

What event in which Kazuo Sakamaki was captured after leaving a tiny submarine caused the USS Arizona to sink and was a surprise attack in Hawaii?

(buzzer dings) - Pearl Harbor.

- [David] That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) There are coastal and atoll forms of what type of shallow body of water, which is separated from a larger body of water by a narrow piece of land?

(buzzer dings) - Strait.

- [David] That is incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) What viral illness whose eradication was supported by the March of Dimes can cause paralysis and was targeted- (buzzer dings) - Polio.

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) In what Southern city were five police officers charged with second degree murder over the January, 2023 death of black motorist Tyre Nichols?

(buzzer dings) - Atlanta.

- [David] That's incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) Okay, and we'll finish that question again at second degree murder over the January, 2023 death of black motorist Tyre Nichols.

Mount Pleasant to steal?

(buzzer dings) - Nashville.

- [David] That is incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) Next toss-up for both teams.

What company made the vehicle on which Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore launched in June, 2024?

(buzzer dings) - Boeing.

- [David] That is correct.

(scoreboard pings) Sorry.

(scoreboard chimes) What circuit devices can consist of two concentric cylindrical plates (bell dings) and the bell gets us not to quite the end of that question, but a good start for both teams.

And we have Flushing ahead right now, 30 to 10.

Let's go back over the incorrect answers.

The Wilderness scout, Natty Bumppo, was "The Last of the Mohicans."

And the coastal and atoll bodies of water, that was a lagoon.

And Memphis was the city in Tennessee that we were looking for.

Flushing grabs an early 20 point lead as we take a break to meet both of our teams today, starting with the players from Flushing.

- I'm Colt Martin.

I'm a senior at Flushing High School.

I do theater and I study politics.

- Hi, I'm Hana.

I go to Flushing High School.

I play tennis, and I'm a part of Rotary.

- Hi, I am Kaiden.

I am a senior at Flushing High School, and I'm the vice president of the senior class and the secretary of NHS.

- Hi, I'm Liz.

I'm a senior at Flushing High School.

I'm in the marching band and I'm a Rho Kappa officer.

- Thank you, Flushing, good to have you here.

Now let's meet our team from Mount Pleasant.

- I'm Damian Marcinek.

I am a junior at Mount Pleasant High School, and I'm on the Robotics team.

- Hi, I'm Maame Esi Amissah, and I am our community outreach coordinator for the Health and Sciences Club at Mount Pleasant High School.

- Hi, I am Earl Davey.

I am a sophomore at Mount Pleasant High School.

I run the Dungeons and Dragons Club.

- Hi, I'm Ivan, and I'm in the D and D Club and the Video Game Club.

- Thanks to all of our students.

It's great to have you here today.

Now our next round on "Quiz Central" is the kickoff round.

The kickoff round is a combination of toss-up and bonus questions.

The team that correctly answers the toss-up will get the opportunity to answer a single bonus question.

Toss-up questions can be stolen, but there is no consulting on these questions.

A correct toss-up question answer allows for a single follow up bonus.

There is no stealing of bonus questions.

However, teams can confer, and we'll take those answers from the captain.

An incorrect bonus means we'll go back to a toss-up for both teams.

Buzzers ready?

All right, teams, here comes your first question.

What man set up blockades through the Berlin and Milan Decrees enforcing the continental system against Britain that he- (buzzer dings) - Napoleon.

- That is correct.

And your bonus question, in 1901, Andrew Carnegie sold his steel company to what banking mogul who helped drive industrial consolidation around the turn of the 20th century?

- JP Morgan.

- That is also correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Next toss-up for both teams, what German mathematician proposed the continuum hypothesis, proved there are multiple- (buzzer dings) - Einstein.

- That is incorrect.

Chance to steal from Mount Pleasant.

And we were looking for Georg Cantor.

Next toss-up for both teams, "Buckaroo Holiday" is a section of what Aaron Copland ballet, which shares its name with a shopping drive in Beverly Hills?

(buzzer dings) - "The Nutcracker."

- That is incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) Pleasant to steal?

We were looking for Rodeo.

Toss-up for both teams, what major key whose parallel minor has three flats in its key signature, can be played on the white keys of a piano as it has no sharps or flats?

(buzzer dings) - C. - No, that was right.

- C. - [David] C major, that is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) - It is?

- [David] All right, your bonus question, what Scottish scientist names four electromagnetic equations and proposed a namesake demon to try to disprove the second law of thermodynamics?

- Oh, I'm not sure.

- I feel like I should know this, but I really don't.

- No idea.

- Okay, no answer.

We were looking for James Clerk Maxwell.

Toss-up for both teams, what Native American people whose chief, John Ross, opposed the Treaty of New Echota and suffered the largest losses of any tribe on the Trail of Tears?

(buzzer dings) - Cherokee.

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Your bonus question, what man who with Fred Hartley named a 1947 law limiting the power of labor unions was a conservative Ohio senator and son of a former president?

- I don't remember this.

Do any of you?

- Do you happen to know this?

- [David] Dad was William Howard Taft and we were looking for Ralph Alfonso Taft.

In October, 2023, which country's voters rejected a proposal to create a new voice body in Parliament to represent Torres Strait and Aboriginal Peoples?

(buzzer dings) - Australia.

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) And your bonus question, what former mayor, who was identified as co-conspirator one in a 2023 indictment of Donald Trump, was found liable for defaming Georgia election workers.

- Rudy Giuliani.

- That is also correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Back to a toss-up for both teams.

What chemist who defined acids and bases and term- (buzzer dings) - Lewis?

- [David] That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) And your bonus question, a 2017 cookbook by Samin Nosrat and its Netflix documentary series are named for salt, fat, heat, and what fourth essential element of good cooking?

- Fat, heat, maybe sugar?

- No, that doesn't seem right.

- Salt, fat, and heat.

- Flavor maybe?

- Flavor.

- [David] That's incorrect.

We were looking for acid.

- Acid.

- [David] Toss-up for both teams once again.

What country was formerly known as British East Africa, is currently named after Africa's second tallest mountain, and is governed from Nairobi?

(buzzer dings) - Kenya.

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Bonus question for Flushing, what British queen, the last of the Stuart Dynasty, reigned from 1702 to 1714 and was the younger sister of Mary II?

- Catherine, I'm not sure.

- Catherine.

- [David] That is incorrect.

It was Anne of Great Britain.

What Russian language author described Major Kovalyov's attempts to recover the title body part in a short story titled "The Nose?"

(buzzer dings) - Tolstoy.

- Incorrect, Flushing?

(buzzer dings) - Dostoevsky.

- Also incorrect.

We were looking for Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol.

Toss-up for both teams, in what state where Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist met in "Brokeback Mountain" was gay college student Matthew Shepherd attacked in- (buzzer dings) - Ohio.

- [David] That's incorrect, Mount Pleasant?

- Can you finish the question?

- Where Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist meet in "Brokeback Mountain" was gay college student Matthew Shepherd attacked in 1998 near Laramie?

(buzzer dings) - Oh, shoot.

Oh, sorry, no answer.

- The state we were looking for was Wyoming.

And the bell signals that end of the round.

Flushing is out in front by 40 points as we enter the Perfect Ten.

Teams will have 60 seconds to answer questions from a choice of clues to three categories.

The opposing team will have 30 seconds to answer any unasked, incorrect, or skipped answers.

You can consult throughout the entire round, and we'll take answers from the captain.

Mount Pleasant is our team that's trailing currently, and so you'll get the first choice to pick a clue to a category.

Here are your categories today.

Science class, storied sites, and C-ing double.

- Storied sites.

- Storied sites, all right.

The clue you chose is storied sites.

The category players this time is cities in history.

What city was the location or namesake of... Again, that's cities in history.

We're looking for a city.

It was a location or the namesake of the following from the questions.

We'll put 60 seconds on the clock for you, Mount Pleasant, starting your Perfect Ten with this first question.

Treaty ending the American Revolution.

- Paris.

- Paris.

- [David] That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) 1960s second council modernizing the Catholic church.

- Oh, Trent?

Trent.

- That is incorrect.

First Summer Olympics in 1896.

- Don't know this one.

(team confers) Skip.

- Okay, you can pass if you want.

- Yeah, pass, skip.

- [David] Okay, we'll pass on that.

Long Nazi siege of the former Imperial Russian capital.

- Skip.

- [David] 2013 terrorist bombing of a marathon.

- Skip.

- [David] 1884 conference that set rules for the scramble for Africa.

- It's like...

It's something.

I think it's like one of the Germans or something.

(bell rings) - [David] The bell signals the end of that round.

You did pick up a correct answer there.

And now, Flushing, you have a chance to take a crack at this.

We'll put 30 seconds back up on the clock, and we'll go back through the ones that were incorrect and see how many of those we can move on through the round with.

If players are ready, 30 seconds on the clock.

Once again, storied sites, cities and history.

What city was the location or namesake?

1960 second council modernizing the Catholic church.

- Rome - Vatican.

- [David] Incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) First summer Olympics of 1896.

- Athens.

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Long Nazi siege of the former Imperial Russian capital.

- [Colt] It's either St. Petersburg or Leningrad.

- St. Petersburg.

- [David] That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) 2013 Terrorist bombing - Boston.

- Of America- - Boston.

- [David] Correct.

(scoreboard chimes) 1884 conference that set rules for this- - Vienna.

- Vienna.

- That is incorrect.

Largest man- (bell rings) And bell, we didn't get to that.

The 1960 second council modernizing the Catholic church was in Vatican City, and the 1884 conference that set the rules, the city we were looking for was Berlin.

We have a science class and storied, or, excuse me, C-ing double.

And, Flushing, you have your choice of those two clues Science class or C-ing double?

- C-ing double.

- C-ing double.

Double C, ive these people, places, or things whose names contain a double letter C. 60 seconds for you, Flushing, as we start off your category here in the Perfect Ten.

Coffee drink of espresso, steamed milk, and foam.

- Macchiato.

- [David] That is incorrect.

Oh, excuse me, that was correct.

That was correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Modern pagan religion conflated with witchcraft.

- Pass.

- [David] Capital of Ghana.

- Pass.

- [David] Flat Italian bread brushed with olive oil.

- Mocci.

- Incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) Italian anarchist convicted alongside a Bartolomeo Vanzetti.

- Sacco.

- Sacco.

- [David] That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) (Colt chatters) Bone at the base of the spine known as the tailbone.

- Pass.

- [David] Book of the Bible stating to everything there is a season.

- Defer to Liz.

- Maccabees.

- [David] It's incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) Rearmost lobe of the brain.

- Hippocampus.

- Incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) Italian- (bell rings) Ah, the bell.

Got eight out of the 10 in there.

And now Mount Pleasant, you get your crack at C-ing double.

Again, we are looking for double C people, places or things whose names contain a double letter C. We'll put 30 seconds back up on the clock and begin with this for you.

Modern pagan religion - Wicca.

- [David] Conflated with witchcraft.

- Wicca.

- That is correct.

Capital of Ghana - Accra.

- [David] That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Flat Italian bread brushed with olive oil.

- Focaccia.

- Correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Bone at the base of the spine known as the tailbone.

- The coccyx.

- Correct.

Book of the Bible stating to everything there is a season.

- Ecclesiastes.

- Correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Rearmost lobe of the brain.

(bell rings) - Occipital.

- And the bell as the answer was coming in.

I'm sorry, we can't accept that they're telling me, but a good comeback there for Mount Pleasant in that round.

The incorrect answers.

Basically it was that last question.

The rear most lobe of the brain we were looking for was the occipital.

And at the close of the Perfect Ten, we have a score of Flushing, 130, and Mount Pleasant, 100.

A good game as we're getting further in to this edition of "Quiz Central."

Good job, players.

And now the next round is the Home Stretch.

The Home Stretch round is a combination of toss-up and bonus questions.

The team that correctly answers the toss-up question will get the opportunity to answer a single bonus question.

Toss-up questions can be stolen, but there's no stealing during bonus.

There's no consulting during toss-up questions, but teams can consult on bonus questions.

We'll take bonus question answers from the captain.

An incorrect bonus answer means that we'll ask a toss-up question again to both teams.

Players, ready?

Here comes your first question.

What prime minister who was targeted in the Brighton Hotel bombing by the IRA led- (buzzer dings) - Thatcher, Margaret Thatcher.

- [David] That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Your bonus question, what artist, who feuded with Theo Doesburg over diagonal lines in "De Stij," artworks used primary colors in such works as "Broadway Boogie Woogie?"

- Van Gogh?

- Incorrect.

The answer we were looking for was Piet Mondrian.

All right, back to a toss-up.

What play which depicts pompous actor Nick Bottom getting his head- (buzzer dings) - "Something Rotten."

- That is incorrect.

(scoreboard chimes) The getting his head turned into a donkey's by the fairy Puck in this comedy by William Shakespeare.

- And we were looking for "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Back to a toss-up for both teams.

What type of allele for a gene is capable of having its phenotype expressed when only one copy is present?

(buzzer dings) - Dominant.

- That is correct.

And your bonus question, (scoreboard chimes) the Banff Springs and many other Canadian grand hotels and Toronto's CN Tower were built by companies in what industry known as Canadian Pacific?

- Railroad?

- Railroad.

- [David] That is also correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Back to a toss-up for both teams.

Which leader who won the Battle of Yemen to finish his conquest of the Song Dynasty before the Yuan Dynasty was a grandson of Genghis Khan?

(buzzer dings) - Chaka Khan.

- [David] Incorrect, Mount Pleasant?

And we were looking for Kublai Khan.

What city in which John Kennedy Toole's novel, "A Confederacy of Dunces" is home to Bourbon Street and was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

(buzzer dings) - Baton Rouge.

- [David] Incorrect.

Mount Pleasant?

(scoreboard pings) (buzzer dings) - New Orleans.

- [David] That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) - Yes!

- And your bonus question now, what conductor who organized young people's concerts with the New York Philharmonic was also a composer who wrote the operetta, Candide?

(team confers) - No answer.

- No answer.

- [David] And that was Leonard Bernstein.

Toss-up for both teams, what author wrote about aliens called Vermicious Knids, which attacks a great glass elevator in his sequel to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?"

(buzzer dings) - Roald Dahl.

- That is correct.

(scoreboard pings) And your bonus question, what king is shown on the Catalan Atlas holding a gold nugget, reflecting his lavish spending during Hajj to Mecca from Mali in the 14th century?

(team confers) - No answer.

- [David] You're looking for Mansa Musa.

Toss-up for both teams, what man who coined the name Bay of Arrows landed on San Salvador while captaining the Santa Maria on a Spain-sponsored voyage?

(buzzer dings) - Christopher Columbus.

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) And your bonus question, a young reporter named George Willard is the central character of what short story collection by Sherwood Anderson set in a Midwestern town?

- I don't know this one.

- I also don't know this one.

Do any of you?

- That town is Winesburg, Ohio.

Back to a toss-up for both teams.

What founder of The Boring Company and Neutral Inc.- (buzzer dings) - Elon Musk.

- You are correct.

(scoreboard chimes) All right, bonus question for Flushing, what MLB team, which starred NL MVP Andrew McCutchen in 2013 and drafted pitcher Paul Skeens in 2023, plays at PNC Park in Western Pennsylvania?

- Pittsburgh Pirates.

- Also correct.

(scoreboard chimes) Back to a toss-up.

What man dies at a grove sacred to the Furies in a play set in- (buzzer dings) - "Macbeth" - [David] that is incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) Mount Pleasant?

- Can you finish the question?

- [David] Yes, the play set in Colonus, and in a tragedy by Sophocles, blinds himself after the death of Jocasta.

(bell dings) - Oedipus Rex.

- That is correct.

Bonus now for Mount Pleasant.

What river which flows past Turin before emptying into the Adriatic Sea is the longest river in Italy?

- Italy.

- The same?

No.

- No, that's France - Answer, please.

- We don't know.

- We were looking for the Po River.

Now to the toss-up.

(bell rings) And the bell signals the end of the round.

Now we're to the end of our fourth round.

Flushing with a 40 point lead as we begin the final round of the day, and that is the Final Countdown.

Our teams will have two minutes to answer as many toss-up questions as they can.

If a team misses a question, the opposing team has the opportunity to answer.

Teams may not consult during this round.

All set, players?

Here we go with a Final Countdown and your first question.

What god owns a pair of iron gloves called the Jarngreipr is fated to kill and killed by the serpent Jormungandr and wields the hammer Mjollnir?

- Thor.

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) What structure in which the namesake coat or testa covers a storage tissue called the endosperm and are the reproductive units of flowering plants?

(buzzer dings) - Seeds?

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) What third Roman emperor whose nickname meant Little Boot was assassinated by conspiracy in AD 41 and succeeded by Claudius?

(buzzer dings) - Miro.

- Incorrect.

(scoreboard pings) - Pleasant?

No guess, all right.

Toss-up for both, what state whose Jemez Mountains have been home to several Pueblo tribes is home- (buzzer dings) - New Mexico.

- [David] That is correct.

What author described Dick Hickock and Perry Smith's murder of the Clutter family in his true crime novel, "In Cold Blood?"

Next toss-up question, what painter of many landscapes showing (speaks French) was a French post impressionist who created a series of canvases depicting card players?

(buzzer dings) - Monet.

- Incorrect, Flushing?

(buzzer dings) - Da Vinci.

- Also incorrect.

What microscopic openings in the epidermis of plant leaves allow exchange of- (buzzer dings) - Stomata.

- That is correct.

(scoreboard chimes) The ZANU-PF won disputed 2013 elections in what country with an opposition led by- (bell rings) And the bell signals the end of the round.

Back over the answers that were missed.

And the Roman emperor that we were looking for was Caligula.

The author of "In Cold Blood" was Truman Capote, and the French impressionist painter was Paul Cezanne.

And that final question that we just barely got into, the answer there was Zimbabwe.

As we close our game today, congratulations to both teams.

Mount Pleasant, thank you for joining us today.

And, Flushing, we will see you back here for a second round game.

We want to thank you for joining us for "Quiz Central."

We will see you right back here for another game of "Quiz Central."

That's next week.

Have a good night, everybody.

(upbeat music)