This week on "Granite State Challenge," the team from Kingswood Regional High School takes on the team from Merrimack High School.

Only one team will advance.

"Granite State Challenge" starts now.

Major funding for the production of "Granite State Challenge" is provided by Unitil.

Additional funding provided by NEA New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, New Hampshire Lottery, DF Richard Energy, HRCU, Cognia, and viewers like you.

Thank you.

[music playing] Get ready.

It's time for New Hampshire high schools to match wits in a high stakes scholastic showdown.

It's time for "Granite State Challenge."

Here's your host, John Cannon.

Hello, everyone.

And thank you so much for joining us for another exciting season of "Granite State Challenge."

This is our 40th season of "Granite State Challenge."

So we've got a lot of fun 40th anniversary stuff coming up in each episode.

So look out for that.

We're also excited to invite 16 teams to compete in this year's tournament.

We've got two here today.

And we'll introduce them to you in just a second.

But I also want to mention that we're also keeping in place a lot of the safety protocols that we implemented last year.

Including this year are three strikes and you're out round, which will be our third round.

And we've got a new twist to that, which I'll explain when we get there.

But without further ado, let's introduce the teams to you.

First up, we have the team from Kingswood Regional High School.

They are led by Captain Aubrey, a senior.

Joining Aubrey is senior Juliet, junior Tyler, and senior Braden.

The team alternates are Preston, a junior, and Emma, a senior.

And the team is coached by Jon Strubel.

Waiting to take them on are the defending champions from Merrimack High School.

Playing for Merrimack are Captain Jack, a junior.

Joining Jack is senior Connor, junior Aris, and junior Allie.

The alternates are Rainier, a junior, and Keyshawn, a sophomore.

The team is coached by Sara Campbell and Liz Dume.

And one more introduction for you.

And that is, of course, our judge joining us again for our 40th season is Ann Belanger.

All right teams.

Introductions are out of the way.

Let's play the game.

As you know, "Granite State Challenge" is played in four rounds.

And in round one, we play 10 point toss up questions.

So Kingswood, Merrimack, good luck.

Here we go.

Fetus tried to make Achilles immortal by dipping him in this river.

Jack of Merrimack.

The river Styx.

Correct.

What NFL team is named for a group of marauding Norsemen?

Jack of Merrimack.

The Minnesota Vikings.

They are the ones.

Astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell observed the first one of these rotating neutron stars that generate regular pulses of radiation at its spin rate in 1967 while she was a graduate student.

Braden of Kingswood.

Quasars?

Sorry.

No.

Jack of Merrimack.

A black hole?

No.

We were looking for pulsar.

Pulsar.

All right, teams.

Mary Shelley included the name of this titan who steals fire from the gods and gives it to humans in the subtitle of her novel "Frankenstein."

Jack of Merrimack.

Prometheus.

Yes.

Ode to Aphrodite is the only complete work of this Greek poet known as the 10th muse and the poetess that has survived.

Aris of Merrimack.

Sappho.

Yes.

This New Hampshire Revolutionary War general was known as the hero of Bennington.

Jack of Merrimack.

Stark.

Yes.

John Stark.

Teams, in what comic will you find the characters Marcy, Lucy, Sally, Woodstock, and Linus?

Aris of Merrimack.

Charlie Brown.

We'll take that.

Sorry.

Juliet of Kingswood.

The Peanuts.

Peanuts is what we were looking for.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Maori people settled in what is now this country sometime between 1320 and 1350.

Braden of Kingswood.

New Zealand.

Yes.

General Motors was founded in this city in 1908.

And it was a major auto manufacturing center for much of the 20th century.

Jack of Merrimack.

Detroit.

Sorry.

No.

Kingswood.

Braden.

Chicago.

Sorry.

No.

It was Flint, Michigan.

Teams, what do we call the elementary particles that form hadrons and that cannot be found in isolation?

Braden of Kingswood.

Bosons.

Sorry.

nope.

We're looking for quarks.

At 7,242 feet, Black Elk Peak is the tallest mountain in the Black Hills, a small mountain range that stresses-- stretches, excuse me, across two states.

Name either one of those states.

Aris of Merrimack.

North Dakota.

Sorry.

No.

Kingswood.

Aubrey.

Montana.

Close.

South Dakota and Wyoming are those two states.

The novel "Wuthering Heights" was published in 1847 under the pen name Ellis Bell.

Who was Ellis Bell?

Aris of Merrimack.

Emily Bronte.

Correct.

In Greek mythology, this winged horse is identified as being the offspring of Poseidon.

Aubrey of Kingswood.

Pegasus.

Yes.

This 1981 movie starring Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda as Ethel and Norman Thayer and Jane Fonda as their daughter Chelsea was filmed on Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire.

Allie of Merrimack.

"On Golden Pond."

That's it.

The fourth part of this piece by Gioachino Rossini was used as the theme music for the TV show "The Lone Ranger."

Sorry, Jack.

Not in time.

That's the William Tell Overture.

Teams, what unit of measurement is used to measure the height of a horse?

Jack of Merrimack.

Hands.

Hands is right.

What is the resistance that one object experiences when it moves over another object called?

Connor of Merrimack.

Friction.

You got it.

Allotropes tropes of this element include graphite and diamonds.

Allie of Merrimack.

Carbon.

Carbon's right.

Teams, the longest serving chief justice on the Supreme Court served for 34 years, five months, and 11 days from 1801 to 1835.

He was also secretary of state under John Adams.

Who was he?

Jack of Merrimack.

Marshall.

John Marshall is right.

This network of roads stretches 19,000 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Argentina.

It has a break called the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia.

You may have heard of it.

It's the Pan-American Highway.

Actor Martin Sheen played Robert E. Lee in the 1993 miniseries "Gettysburg" and New Hampshire native and President of the United States Jed Bartlett in this series.

Jack of Merrimack.

"The West Wing."

Yes.

All right, teams.

Our next question is a picture question.

So go ahead and take a look at the monitors in front of you.

This artist known for works like "Arrangement in Gray" and "Black Number One" and "Symphony in White Number One, the White Girl" signed his paintings with a stylized version of his initials J, M, and W. Jack of Merrimack.

Whistler?

Yes.

All right, teams.

This Trojan priestess always made true prophecies but was never believed.

Aris of Merrimack.

Cassandra.

Yes.

The children's novel "Misty of Chincoteague" by Margaret Henry tells the story of the Beebe family's efforts to raise a wild pony on the island town of Chincoteague.

In what state is Chincoteague located?

Jack of Merrimack.

New Hampshire?

Sorry.

No.

When in doubt, that's always a great guess.

But we were looking for Virginia.

All right, teams.

The 1945 movie "Rhapsody in Blue" starred Robert Alda and told the story of this composer.

Aris of Merrimack.

Gershwin.

Yes.

The state bird of this New England state is a red feathered chicken.

Connor of Merrimack.

Rhode Island.

Yes.

Teams, in Roman mythology, these two brothers fought over which of seven hills to build the city of Rome on?

Jack of Merrimack.

Romulus and Remus.

Yes.

All right, teams.

You have pencil and paper there in case you need it.

What is the next number in this sequence?

Zero, one, one.

We are not going to get to the end of that one.

But it was 55 in case you were playing along at home.

And at the end of the first round, Merrimack out to a lead by a score of 170 to 30.

All right.

Great job, teams.

We're going to move right on into round two.

And in round two, we continue with the toss up questions.

We're going to double the point value though.

So we're playing for 20 point toss up questions.

Kingswood and Merrimack, good luck.

Here we go.

What scientist is known for special relativity and general relativity?

Aubrey of Kingswood.

Einstein.

Yes.

In this 1993 movie "Weatherman," Phil Conners played by Bill Murray, lives the same day over and over again and wakes up every day to the Sonny and Cher song, "I've Got You, Babe."

Tyler of Kingswood.

Groundhog Day.

Yes.

One of my favorites.

In this proverb, familiarity breeds this.

It breeds contempt.

All right, teams.

In 1972, China gave a pair of these to the United States as part of its diplomacy efforts with western countries.

Connor of Merrimack.

Pandas.

Yes.

All right, teams.

Our next question is our Unitil Power Question.

It is worth double the points and it comes to you on your monitors.

Take a look.

In 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival, this musician shocked his fans by going electric.

It was Bob Dylan who shocked his fans going electric.

All right, teams.

Here we go.

Who was the author of the fairy tales "The Little Mermaid," "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Princess and the Pea"?

Jack of Merrimack.

Hans Christian Andersen.

Yes.

In the first line in the 1977 movie "Star Wars A New Hope," this character is fretting about a main reactor being shut down.

Jack of Merrimack.

C-3P0.

Yes.

This 73 mile wall in northern England was built to protect the Roman province of Britannia from Caledonia to the north.

Jack of Merrimack.

Hadrian's Wall.

Yes.

This desert, which covers parts of northern Mexico and parts of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico is the largest hot desert in North America.

Tyler of Kingswood.

Mojave.

Sorry.

No.

We were looking for the Chihuahuan Desert.

French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi originally intended that what is now the Statue of Liberty stand at the northern entrance to this canal.

Braden of Kingswood.

Sorry.

It's OK. Merrimack.

Jack.

The Erie Canal.

Sorry, it's the Suez Canal.

Learn something every episode.

The Broadway musical "West Side Story" is based on this work by William Shakespeare.

Aris of Merrimack.

"Romeo and Juliet."

You got it.

All right, teams.

We have reached the 40th question in our list of questions.

And this is to celebrate our 40th anniversary.

So this is a 40 point question.

Here we go.

Throwback from season 30.

Name the Wyoming born abstract expressionist painter known for creating his works by dripping paint from cans and hurling it onto large canvases on the floor.

Jack of Merrimack.

Jackson Pollock.

Yes.

All right, teams.

You have pencil and paper there just in case you need it.

How would you write the year 2022 in Roman numerals?

It is MMXXXII.

All right.

Here we go.

Queen Elizabeth II's official title is Elizabeth II by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territory's queen, head of the Commonwealth, defender of the faith, with the style of majesty.

What is her surname?

Jack of Merrimack.

Windsor.

Yes.

This novelist and journalist, Jack London, used his personal experiences during the Klondike gold rush in his novels, "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang."

In what Canadian territory was the Klondike gold rush?

Jack of Merrimack.

Yukon.

Yes.

This Hall of Fame catcher for the Yankees is known for his malapropisms and witty sayings known as Yogi-isms.

We will not get to the end of that wonderful, wonderful question.

But after two rounds, Merrimack hanging on to that lead by a score of 350 to 70.

All right.

Great job, teams.

We are going to go into round three of our game, which is our three strikes and you're out round.

In this round, each team will choose a category and we'll get 10 questions in that category.

And we will go down the line.

So we will start with the first player, second player, third player, and on down the line that we go until you get three incorrect responses.

And you are out.

The new wrinkle this year is each team is given three passes.

So if you don't know the answer, you can pass to the person next to you.

Once your three passes are up, your three passes are up.

But we continue on with the round.

Make sense, teams?

All right.

Kingswood, as the team trailing, you get to choose the categories.

And Aubrey, as team captain, you are the one who gets to choose.

You can choose from the categories, oh what a place, in the pink, and hip cats.

Hip cats.

Hip cats it is.

The answers to the following will all be famous felines.

All right.

Aubrey, this orange tabby cartoon cat loves lasagna.

Garfield.

Correct.

Juliet, this lion cub ran away after his uncle killed his father.

Pass.

Tyler.

Simba.

Simba is correct.

Braden, this friend of Winnie the Pooh has a springy tail.

Tigger.

Correct.

Aubrey, this cat has a Pop Tart body and leaves a rainbow trail as it flies through the sky.

Pass.

Juliet.

Nyan Cat.

Correct.

Tyler.

This swashbuckling cat was voiced by Antonio Banderas in a 2011 movie.

Pass.

Braden.

Puss in boots.

Correct.

You are out of passes, Kingswood.

Aubrey, Alice meets this enigmatic and disappearing cat in Wonderland.

The Cheshire Cat.

Correct.

Juliet, this cat is the companion of Sabrina the Witch.

Salem.

Correct.

Tyler.

This cat was an internet sensation because of his displeased face.

Grumpy Cat.

Correct.

Braden.

This is Dr.

Evil's hairless pet cat in the "Austin Powers" movies.

[music playing] I don't know.

It is Mr. Bigglesworth.

And Aubrey, 10th question.

This cat is paired with the mouse Jerry in a series of cartoons.

Tom.

Tom is correct.

Nine out of 10 on your three strikes round.

Great job, Kingswood.

All right, Merrimack.

We move on to you.

And Captain Jack, you get to select from, oh what a place, or in the pink.

Pink, please.

Pink it is.

The answers to the following will all include the word pink.

All right, Jack.

This series of movies features Inspector Clouseau.

Pink Panther.

Correct.

Connor.

This English band's eighth studio album was "Dark Side of the Moon."

Pink Floyd.

Correct.

Aris.

This 1986 coming of age movie starred Molly Ringwald as Angie Marsh and Jon Cryer as Duckie.

Pink Ice Cream.

Sorry.

No, it is "Pretty in Pink."

Allie.

This cartoon featured two genetically engineered laboratory mice, one was very smart and one was not.

Pass.

Pass.

Jack.

Same question.

Princess Pink.

Sorry.

It is "Pinky and the Brain."

Connor, this group at Rydell High in the movie "Grease" was led by Rizzo.

Pass.

Aris, same question.

Pass.

Allie.

Pink Ladies.

Is that too many passes?

No, that was good.

OK, you're out of passes.

And the Pink Ladies is correct.

Jack.

This is another name for conjunctivitis.

Pink eye.

Correct.

Connor.

In this song, John Mellencamp sings about little ones of these for you and me.

Pink flowers.

Sorry.

It's little pink houses.

And that is, I believe, your third strike.

And-- Got four correct.

Four correct in your three strikes rounds.

All right, teams.

So Kingswood.

You gained a little bit on Merrimack in that.

And we are moving into our fourth round.

And in round four, we continue with 20 point toss up questions.

But we will be deducting 20 points for any incorrect responses.

So teams, play smart.

Here we go.

There are around 20 species of this nocturnal marsupial omnivore found in the Australia, New Guinea region.

Paleontologists named one extinct species after a video game character named Crash who was a member of the species.

Tyler of Kingswood.

Bats.

Sorry.

No.

Merrimack.

Crash is a bandicoot.

The emperor Shah Jahan built this monument when his wife, Mumtaz Mahal died.

Jack of Merrimack.

The Taj Mahal.

Yes.

This tennis player has won 23 grand slam singles titles and is second only to Margaret Court who won 24.

Juliet of Kingswood.

Serena Williams.

Yes.

Teams, what is the more common name for the patella?

Aris of Merrimack.

The kneecap.

That's it.

Two prominent female authors used the first name George as part of their pen names.

One was the French novelist George Sand.

The other was this English author who wrote the mill on the floss, Silas Marner and Middlemarch.

Aris of Merrimack.

George Eliot.

Yes.

Teams, what is the area of a rectangle with a width of 6 inches and a length of 8 inches?

Aris of Merrimack.

48.

Correct.

French Pirate Jean Lafitte and his fleet helps General Andrew Jackson protect New Orleans from the British in the Battle of New Orleans during this war.

Jack of Merrimack.

The War of 1812.

That's the one.

This body of water in Oregon was formed around 7,700 years ago when most of the volcano Mount Mazama collapsed.

Allie of Merrimack.

Crater Lake.

That's it.

The Lindy Hop was a swing style dance popular in the 1930s and 1940s.

It originated in Harlem and was named for this aviator, whose nickname was Lucky Lindy.

Aris of Merrimack.

Lindsberg.

Braden of Kingswood.

Charles Lindbergh.

Charles Lindbergh is correct.

I think you said Lindsberg.

The lyrics to this song were written on the back of an envelope during the bombing of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor in 1814.

Braden of Kingswood.

The national anthem.

We take that?

All right.

We'll take that.

"Star Spangled Banner" is the proper title.

In the Bible, Moses leads the Israelites across the Red Sea.

What Ocean is the Red Sea a part of?

Tyler of Kingswood.

Indian Ocean.

Indian Ocean is right.

All right teams complete this line from act three scene one of Shakespeare's play "Hamlet."

To be or not to be.

That is-- Jack of Merrimack.

The question.

The question.

This city in western New York bears the name of a large grazing mammal.

Connor of Merrimack.

Buffalo.

That's it.

This composer wrote a seven part orchestral suite, "The Planet's Opus 32."

Allie of Merrimack.

Holtz.

Correct.

The name for this North American mammal comes from the Powhatan term meaning animal that scratches with its hands.

And that's where we get the word raccoon.

This 117 mile long river begins in Franklin, New Hampshire, and flows through Concord, Manchester, and Nashua.

Allie of Merrimack.

The Merrimack River.

Got it.

Handkerchief can be used, or handkerchiefs, can be used to blow your nose or as a snazzy pocket square on a suit.

Spell handkerchief.

Aubrey of Kingswood.

H-A-N-K-E-R-C-H-I-E-F.

Sorry.

Incorrect.

Merrimack.

Not going to take a risk with the spelling question I guess.

It's H-A-N-D-K-E-R-C-H-I-E-F.

This artist sold only one painting, "The Red Vineyard" during his lifetime.

The correct answer to that one was Vincent van Gogh.

And at the end of the round, it looks like Merrimack will be moving on to the second round by a score of 570 to 200.

Great game, Merrimack.

We'll see you in a few months for round two.

Kingswood, thank you so much for playing.

Congratulations on winning your wild card game.

And thank you so much for coming down and playing with us today.

We hope you had fun.

And we hope you had fun as well watching from home.

And we do hope that you join us next week for another episode of "Granite State Challenge."

That's all from us here.

And we hope you enjoyed the game.

We hope you learned a lot.

I know I did as well.

We'll see you next time.

Major funding for the production of "Granite State Challenge" is provided by Unitil.

Additional funding provided by NEA, New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, New Hampshire Lottery, DF Richard Energy, HRCU, Cognia, and viewers like you.

Thank you.

[music playing]