This week on Granite State Challenge the Tomahawks of Merrimack High School take on the Indians of Sanborn Regional High School.

Only one team will advance, Granite State Challenge starts now.

[music playing] 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, Jon Cannon.

Hello, everyone.

Thank you so much for joining us this week.

If you're tuning in for the first time this season, you're going to notice a few differences around here.

Number one, all of our players are wearing masks.

And we've got some dividers on the podiums, some changes to the set, and no audience here with us in the studio.

And these changes are to protect our players as well as our crew.

We've also made some changes in round three, and I'll talk about those when we get to round three.

But most importantly, you're here to watch these two teams face off against each other to see who's going to advance to the next round of the tournament.

Let's introduce them to you.

First up, we have the Tomahawks of Merrimack High School.

Hi, I'm Nick I'm a senior.

I've been a part of the Science Olympiad club for three years.

My name is Michael, I'm a senior, and every year I release a calendar of myself.

Hi, I'm Aidan, and as a kid I was in a Peter Mayer concert.

I'm Jack, I'm a sophomore, and I was seriously injured playing badminton.

All right.

The team alternates are Aris and Ali.

The team is coached by Sarah Campbell and Kyle Harvel, and they are the Tomahawks of Merrimack High School.

All right.

And ready to take them on are the Sanborn Regional High School Indians.

I'm Diana, I'm a senior and I like to sing.

Aiden, I'm a senior, and I'm interested in environmental science.

I'm Jared, I'm a junior, and I like monkeys.

Hey I'm Noah, I'm a junior and I'm an avid running enjoyer.

All right, excellent.

The team alternate is Megan and the team is coached by Brian Hurley.

They are the Indians of Sanborn Regional High School.

All right, and one more introduction this week and that is of course our judge, Ann Boulanger.

All right teams, introductions are out of the way, let's get ready to play Granite State Challenge.

In round one we do 10 point toss up questions.

Each question is worth 10 points, grab those signaling devices.

Merrimack, Sanborn, good luck.

Here we go.

In a nursery rhyme, this character put his thumb in a Christmas pie and pulled out a plum.

[timer bell] Sorry, Michael, not quite in time.

That was little Jack Horner.

Teams, how many vertebrae are there in the human neck?

[player buzzer] Michael of Merrimack?

Eight.

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

Sanborn want to give it a shot?

[player buzzer] Noah?

10.

Sorry-- [error buzzer] --it's seven.

In 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.

20 years later in 1983, this astronaut became the first American woman in space.

[player buzzer] Jared of Sanborn.

Sally Ride?

Yes.

[ding] In a few billion years, it is predicted that the Milky Way galaxy will collide with this nearby galaxy and form a large elliptical galaxy which has been dubbed Milkomeda.

[player buzzer] Michael of Merrimack.

Andromeda.

Yes.

[ding] 85 to 99% of the metal alloy pewter is this silvery metal with an atomic number of 50.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack?

Lead.

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

[player buzzer] Noah of Sanborn.

Nickel?

Nope.

[error buzzer] It is tin.

Viktor Orbán, who became the prime minister of this Central European country in 2010, was also the prime minister from 1998 to 2002.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

Czech Republic?

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

[timer bell] Sorry Jared, not in time.

It is Hungary.

This governor of Alaska was chosen by John McCain as his vice presidential running mate in his 2008 presidential campaign.

[player buzzer] Aiden of-- Sarah Palin.

--Merrimack.

Say it again?

[ding] Sarah Palin Yes.

While sometimes identified as a jellyfish, this marine invertebrate named for a type of ship is a siphonophore, or colonial organism.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

Portuguese manowar?

[ding] Yes.

The United Kingdom is made up of Great Britain and this region.

[player buzzer] Michael of Merrimack.

Wales.

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

Noah of Sanborn?

Northern Ireland.

Yes.

[ding] Kevin, Joe, and Nick make up this band that first gained popularity on the Disney Channel.

[player buzzer] Michael of Merrimack?

The Jonas Brothers.

[ding] Yes.

The 1836 serial publication of the Pickwick Papers launched this Victorian writer's prolific career.

[player buzzer] Aiden of Merrimack.

Charles Dickens.

Say it again?

Charles Dickens.

[ding] Yes.

This country shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

Haiti?

Yes.

[ding] This 17 foot statue by Michelangelo portrays a giant-slaying biblical figure.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

David?

[ding] Correct.

All right teams, in case you need pen and pad you have it there.

If Kathy earns $10 an hour and gets time and a half for every hour over 40 hours, how much will she earn in a 60 hour week?

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack?

700.

[ding] That's it.

In 1993, Czechoslovakia separated into the Czech Republic and this country.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

Clovenia?

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

Noah of Sanborn.

Bosnia?

[error buzzer] Sorry, no, it's Slovakia.

This singer-songwriter wrote and recorded the country classic hits Move It On Over, Your Cheatin' Heart, Hey Good Looking, and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.

[player buzzer] Michael of Merrimack.

Whitney Houston?

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

[player buzzer] Noah of Sanborn.

Johnny Cash?

[error buzzer] Nope, good guesses.

Hank Williams was the correct response.

All right teams, you will find both Dartmouth College and Plymouth State University In this county named for a British Duke and Prime Minister.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack.

Rockingham?

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

Noah of Sanborn.

Carroll?

[error buzzer] Nope, it's Grafton county, named for Augustus Fitzroy, the third Duke of Grafton.

Who knew?

Before he became president of the United States, Ronald Reagan was the governor of this state.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack.

California?

[ding] Yes.

John Richard Baldwin, who founded the band Led Zeppelin with Jimmy Page, is better known by this stage name that he shares with a Revolutionary War Naval commander.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

John Paul Jones.

[ding] Yes.

This Boston University biochemistry professor also wrote iRobot and the Galactic Empire series.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

Isaac Asimov.

[ding] Yes, he's the one.

Start One, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, was signed by these two leaders in 1991.

[player buzzer] Noah of Sanborn.

George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev.

I need you to be more specific on the-- George H.W.

Correct.

[ding] Thank you.

All right teams, the next question is our Unitil Power question.

It's going to come to you on your monitor, so take a look.

It's worth double the points.

20 point toss up question.

Take a look.

What are the two numbers found in the binary system of numbers?

[player buzzer] Aiden of Merrimack?

0 and 1.

[ding] That's the two.

All right teams, this Quaker abolitionist and women's rights activist who was excluded from the World Anti-slavery convention held in London in 1840 because of her gender, was one of the organizers and a featured speaker at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

Sigourney Truth?

Sorry, no.

[error buzzer] [timer bell] That was a good shot, it was Lucretia Mott.

Teams, you'll find the Bonneville Salt Flats, the site of the US Flight Archery Championships and the Bonneville Speedway in this state.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack.

Utah?

[ding] Correct.

These French brothers were paper makers and hot air balloon inventors.

[timer bell] Correct response, the Montgolfier brothers.

All right teams, this Strafford New Hampshire city is home to the New Hampshire Children's Museum and the Woodman-- [sirens] Didn't quite get to the end of that question, it was the Woodman Institute in Dover, New Hampshire.

And after one round, by a lead of 140 to 30, Merrimack is in the lead.

All right, nice job Merrimack, good job Sanborn.

We're going to roll right into round two.

And in round two we're going to continue with the toss up questions, but we're going to double the point value.

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

Here we go teams, good luck.

Give the sum total of the years in a decade and a century.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

110 years.

[ding] Correct.

The Los Alamos National laboratory, which was used to design nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project, is located in this state.

[player buzzer] Jared Of Sanborn.

New Mexico?

[ding] Yes.

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer and Dave Grohl was the drummer of this grunge band.

[player buzzer] Michael of Merrimack.

Nirvana.

[ding] Yes.

Black merchant Joshua Jenkins Roberts became the first president of this country after it claimed its independence in 1847.

He also was the country's seventh president.

[player buzzer] Jared of Sanborn.

80.

Sorry.

[error buzzer] Nope.

Nick of Merrimack?

Liberia?

Liberia's correct.

[ding] In the 1951 educational film, Bert the turtle encourage students to do this in the case of a nuclear explosion.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack?

Duck and cover.

[ding] Duck and cover, yes.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi serves as a congressional representative from this state.

[player buzzer] Diana of Sanborn.

California?

[ding] Correct.

All right team, for this next question go ahead and take a look at your monitors.

Only two small populations of this four to seven inch small turtle, which is sometimes confused with the Blanding's turtle, are known in New Hampshire, and the species is endangered in the stae.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

Snapping turtle?

Sorry, Nope.

[error buzzer] [timer bell] That little guy is called the eastern box turtle.

All right teams, this fictional British Secret Service agent was created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.

[player buzzer] Aiden of Merrimack.

James Bond.

Yes.

[ding] This former US representative from Arizona, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011 that killed six people, has become an advocate for anti-gun violence solutions.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack?

Gabby Giffords.

[ding] Yes, she's the one.

This American born writer, who became a British citizen in 1927, published one of his best known works, The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock, in 1915.

[player buzzer] Michael of Merrimack?

Kipling.

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

[timer bell] It was TS Eliot.

In this 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston set in Florida, middle age Janie Crawford recounts her life beginning in her teenage years.

[player buzzer] Michael of Merrimack.

Firefly Lane?

Sorry, no.

[error buzzer] [timer bell] That book was titled Their Eyes Were Watching God.

The Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of this man, were responsible for the deaths of as many as two million Cambodians from 1975 to 1979.

[player buzzer] Jared of Sanborn.

Pol Pot.

Correct.

[ding] In 1952, this future president and running mate of Dwight Eisenhower went on national TV and gave a speech later known as the Checkers Speech to address reporting on a questionable political fund.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack?

Richard Nixon?

[ding] He's the one.

In this novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is called to a manor on Dartmoor in Devon to solve the murder of a man found not far from huge canine footprints.

[player buzzer] Aiden of Merrimack?

The Hound of Baskerville.

[ding] We'll give that to you.

All right teams, just in case you need pen and paper there you have it.

What is the decimal equivalent rounded to three places of one ninth?

[timer bell] Almost there, Jack.

The division is tough.

It's 0.111.

All right teams, this could be an empire that lasted from the 14th to the early 20th century, or a large padded footstool.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack.

The Ottoman Empire.

[ding] Correct.

In 1913, this American psychologist published Psychology As The Behaviorist Views It, which is also known as the Behaviorist Manifesto.

[player buzzer] Noah of Sanborn.

Sigmund Freud?

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

[timer bell] Good guess-- [sirens] -- it was John B. Watson.

And that sound indicates the end of round two, and at the end of round two Merrimack has extended their lead by a score of 320 to 90.

[applause] All right teams, now we're going to move into round three.

And in round three, we are calling this our 60-- sorry-- our three strikes and you're out round.

So we're going to start with the team trailing, you're going to be given 10 questions in a category.

Diana, as the team captain you get to select that category, and you'll get the first question, Kayden will get the second question, and we'll go right down the line just like that.

Make sense?

All right.

Diana, you get to choose from these categories, lone consonant, for the birds, and sometimes y.

Can you repeat them?

Sure.

Lone consonant, for the birds, and sometimes y.

Sometimes y?

Sometimes why it is.

OK. All right Sanborn, in this category the answers to the following will include words where y is used as the only vowel.

Make sense?

All right Diana, we will start with you.

This medium-sized wild cat comes in Canada, Iberian, and Eurasian versions.

Lynx?

Correct.

Kayden.

You might sing one of these in church.

Hymn.

Hymn is correct.

Jared.

This is where you might keep the dead bodies.

[timer bell] You might keep them in a crypt.

[error buzzer] Noah.

You might ask this insect to shoo.

Mosquito?

No, it's a fly.

[error buzzer] Back to you, Diana.

This could be a genre of folklore or a fake story.

[timer bell] The answer we were looking for there was myth.

So that's three strikes and you're out, and by my count that is two on your three strikes and you're out round.

[applause] All right, we turn to Merrimack.

And Nick, as the team captain you get to choose from the categories lone consonant or for the birds.

For the birds.

For the birds, OK.

The answers to the following will be related to birds.

All right, Nick.

Here we go.

Poem by Edgar Allan Poe-- The Raven.

With a nevermore bird.

The Raven.

Correct.

Michael.

Bird that was a harbinger of doom in the rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.

Crow?

Sorry it's the albatross.

[error buzzer] Aiden.

She thought the sky was falling.

Chicken Little.

Correct.

Jack.

The tail of a duck that was really a swan.

The Ugly Duckling.

Correct.

Back to you, Nick.

Autobiographical story by Maya Angelou.

[timer bell] It is I Know Why the Caged Bird sings.

Michael.

Story of the Finch family by Harper Lee.

To Kill a Mockingbird.

Correct.

Aiden.

She is the fictional author of a collection of French fairy tales.

[timer bell] You may know her as Mother Goose.

And that is your third strike, and so after that four correct responses on your three strikes and you're out rounds.

[applause] All right, teams.

Merrimack hanging on to that lead but Sanborn don't fret, because in round four we're going to resume with the 20 point toss up questions but we will be deducting 20 points for any incorrect responses.

So a lot can change in round four.

Merrimack, Sanborn, here we go.

Good luck.

This hip hop group's 1982 breakout hit The Message opens with a line, it's like a jungle sometimes, and goes on to describe the stress of living in the inner city.

[player buzzer] Noah of Sanborn.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five?

You got it.

[ding] All right teams, in case you need the pen and paper you know where to find them.

Calculate the area of a square whose perimeter is 5.6 feet.

[timer bell] That was a tough one.

It's 1.96 square feet.

All right teams, English record producer George Martin is often referred to as the fifth member of this group.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

The Beatles.

[ding] Yes.

This Massachusetts Democrat was speaker of the house from 1977 to 1987, and is famous for saying, all politics is local.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack.

O'Neill?

Tip O'Neill is correct.

[ding] This could be a Central American country or a 1984 song about a car by the band Van Halen.

[player buzzer] Jared of Sanborn.

Panama.

You got it.

[ding] Former President Barack Obama's father was from this country in Eastern Africa.

[player buzzer] Noah of Sanborn?

Kenya.

Yes.

[ding] Teams, in what Shakespearean play will you find the characters Goneril, Reagan, and Cordelia?

[player buzzer] Nick?

King Lear.

Yes.

[ding] That's the one.

Michael Stipe was the lead singer of this band known for the songs Losing My Religion, Shiny Happy People, and Everybody Hurts.

[player buzzer] Aiden of Merrimack.

REM.

[ding] Yes.

This company founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller and Henry Flagler was declared an illegal monopoly by the United States Supreme Court in 1911.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack.

Standard Oil.

Correct.

[ding] This play by Samuel Beckett features two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack.

Waiting for Godot.

[ding] That's it.

In the 1964 state of the Union address, President Lyndon Johnson declared a war on this.

[player buzzer] Michael of Merrimack.

Drugs?

Sorry, no.

[error buzzer] [player buzzer] Noah of Sanborn?

Racism?

[error buzzer] Nope, it was a war on poverty.

This German composer, often referred to as the Waltz King, composed works like the Blue Danube and the Emperor Waltz.

[timer bell] It was Johann Strauss.

All right teams, this city-state in Rome is home to the Catholic pope.

[player buzzer] Noah of Sanborn?

The Vatican.

Correct.

[ding] This politician was the first female governor of New Hampshire elected to the position.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack.

Jean Shaheen.

[ding] She's the one.

This musician was a lead singer, songwriter, and the rhythm guitarist for the Beatles.

[player buzzer] Aiden of Merrimack.

John Lennon.

[ding] He's the one, yes.

The Battle of Hastings between William the Duke of Normandy and Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson was fought on October 14 of this year.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

1066.

[ding] That's the year.

Future President Andrew Jackson led the American forces in this battle that occurred 18 days after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

Battle of New Orleans.

[ding] That's the right one.

Juan Domingo Peron was president of this country from 1946 to 1955.

[player buzzer] Noah of Sanborn.

Mexico?

[error buzzer] Sorry, no.

[timer bell] He was the president of Argentina.

All right teams, this state flower of Massachusetts is also the name of a famous ship.

[player buzzer] Jack of Merrimack.

Mayflower.

[ding] That's it.

This 1993 movie was about a group of baseball playing kids and a big slobbery dog.

[player buzzer] Jared of Sanborn.

Sandlot.

Yes.

[ding] This lead singer for the Doors, who died in Paris at age 27, is also known as The Lizard King.

[player buzzer] Jared of Sanborn.

Jim Morrison.

[ding] He's the right one.

This group of superheroes including Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and the Green Lantern is collectively known as this.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

The Justice League.

[ding] That's it.

Radio City Music Hall has been the home of this precision dance company since 1932.

[player buzzer] Nick of Merrimack.

The Rockettes.

[ding] Yes.

Actress Jane Wyman, who won a Best Actress Oscar for the 1948 film-- [sirens] --Johnny Belinda-- we will not finish that question.

At the end of the match by a score of 600 to 190, Merrimack will be moving on to the next round.

[applause] All right, congratulations Merrimack, good win.

Sanborn, we hope you did have fun.

We thank you so much for coming in, guys.

And we hope you had fun at home as well, and we hope you join us next week when the Plymouth Regional High School Bobcats take on the Exeter High School Blue Hawks.

That's going to do it for us this week at Granite State Challenge, I hope you had fun.

I learned a lot, and I hope you did too.

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, Kardinia, and viewers like you.

Thank you.

[music playing]