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This is Binghamton University.

(lively music) - Welcome to this season of "WVIA Scholastic Scrimmage."

I'm your host, Paul Lazar.

"'Scholastic Scrimmage' is a question-and-answer competition featuring high school students from across the WVIA viewing area.

In each program, two schools will compete in a single elimination tournament for a chance to win $1,000, $3,000 or $5,000."

Tonight's match features Mid Valley versus North Pocono.

representing Mid Valley are Giada Vagni, Jonah Harrington, Ruby Lennon, and Molly Bonnick.

Their alternate is Delaney Kanes, and their advisor is Stan Janowski.

Representing North Pocono are Julia Kennedy, Gabe Decipio, Kaitlin Gallagher, and Gideon Clawson.

Their advisor is Christopher Wilbur.

Scholastic scrimmage is a game of rapid recall of factual information, so let's take a moment and review the rules.

"The first team to buzz in will have an opportunity to answer a tossup question.

Correct answers to these questions are awarded 10 points, and that team will then receive a five-point bonus question.

If that tossup answer is incorrect, no points will be deducted, but the question will then rebound to the other team.

If the other team answers correctly, they'll be given the tossup points, but will not receive a bonus question."

Well, let's go ahead and get started with this tossup question.

"What city, whose Andrassy Avenue contains the House of Terror, is home to the Szechenyi Chain Bridge on the Danube River and the Hungarian Parliament?"

(buzzer dings) That is Budapest.

All right, here's our next toss up.

"What author of the 'Theory of Moral Sentiments' discussed that division of labor of a pin factory in his foundational book 'The Wealth of Nations'?"

(buzzer dings) That author was Adam Smith.

Okay, here's your next toss up, and get your pencils and papers ready.

"How many students can be accommodated in a classroom with six square tables, if each side of each table can fit two students?"

(buzzer dings) Jonah, Mid Valley.

- 24.

- [Paul] Is incorrect.

Rebound to North Pocono.

(buzzer dings) Kaitlin.

- 48.

- 48 is correct for your rebound points, North Pocono, as we turn to this tossup question.

"What retired National Guard Sergeant Major responded to George Floyd's murder as governor of Minnesota, and was Kamala Harris's running mate?"

(buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley?

- Tim Waltz.

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus question.

"Musical works in what genre include a Joan Tower work for the 'Uncommon Woman,' and an Aaron Copeland work for the 'Common Man'?"

(buzzer dings) - Choral music.

- No, we were looking for "Fanfare."

All right, here's our next tossup question.

"What hero who defeated bandits guarding six entrances to the underworld used a ball of thread to navigate the labyrinth and slay the Minotaur?"

(buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley.

- Theseus.

- Is correct, and your bonus now.

"What politician who secured a civil rights plank in the 1948 Democratic platform was Lyndon Johnson's vice president, and lost the election of 1968?"

(buzzer dings) Ruby.

- Eisenhower.

- No, that was Hubert Humphrey.

All right, let's move on to this tossup.

"What irrational number is one less than the silver ratio, is approximated by the decimal 1.414, and is the square root of the smallest even number?"

(buzzer dings) Jonah, Mid Valley?

- The square root of two.

- Is correct.

And here's your bonus question.

"The Canadian $1 coin features what kind of bird, which is sometimes called a 'diver'?"

(buzzer dings) Ruby.

- Falcon.

- No, that bird is the loon.

All right, let's go to this tossup.

"What country, whose ruling Al Thani dynasty has funded its news network, Al Jazeera, is a nation on the Persian Gulf that is governed from Doha?

(buzzer dings) Ruby, Mid Valley.

- Iraq.

- Is incorrect, rebound to North Pocono.

(buzzer dings) That country is Qatar.

All right, let's go to this tossup.

"What document, which was recovered in 1901 on a diorite steely in Susa, expresses the principle of an eye for an eye, and was a law code from Babylon?"

(buzzer dings) Gabe, North Pocono.

- Hammurabi's code.

- Is correct.

And here comes your bonus question.

"What Japanese warlord was betrayed and forced to commit suicide in the 1582 Honno-ji incident?"

(buzzer dings) That was Oda Nobunaga.

Well, that sound that you heard signals the end of the first quarter, and it's now time for the lightning round.

(star bursting) (rays discharging) In this segment, each team will have an opportunity to answer as many of the 10 rapid-fire questions as they can in one minute.

North Pocono has won the coin toss, and will pick first.

Your categories are Places to See or Island Fiction - Places to See.

- Places to See it is, and your time begins after I finish reading the first question.

"Identify these places whose English language names begin with the letter C. City home to the Willis Tower and Wrigley Field."

(buzzer dings) - Chicago.

- Yes.

"State home to Yale University."

(buzzer dings) - Connecticut.

- Yes.

"South America's southern most country."

(buzzer dings) - Chile.

- Yes.

"Country whose cities include Split and Zagreb."

Don't know, you can pass.

- Pass.

- [Paul] That's Croatia.

"State capital of Ohio."

(buzzer dings) - Columbus.

- Yes.

"The world's largest inland sea."

- Pass.

- That's the Caspian Sea.

"Island country whose capital of Nicosia is divided by the green line."

(buzzer dings) - Tropic of Cancer.

- [Paul] That's Cyprus.

"Lake on the New York-Vermont Border."

- Pass.

- [Paul] That's Lake Champlain.

"River that forms part of the Alabama-Georgia border."

- Pass.

- That's Chattahoochee.

"Mountain range-" (buzzer dings) Well, we're not gonna get to that one unfortunately, but North Pocono, good job.

In the lightning round.

Mid Valley, we're coming over to you, and your remaining category will be Island Fiction.

And once again, your time begins when I finish reading the first question.

"Name the authors of these fictional works that depict islands."

"Robinson Crusoe."

(buzzer dings) - Charles Darwin.

- [Paul] Defoe.

"The Mysterious Island," a sequel to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."

(buzzer dings) - Jules Verne.

- Yes.

"Treasure Island."

(buzzer dings) - Robert Lewis Stevenson.

- [Paul] Yes.

The 1516 book "Utopia."

(buzzer dings) - Skip.

- [Paul] That's Thomas Moore.

"Lord of the Flies."

(buzzer dings) - William Golding.

- [Paul] Yes.

"The Island of Dr.

Moreau."

(buzzer dings) - Skip.

- [Paul] H. G. Wells.

"Island," a companion novel to "Brave New World."

(buzzer dings) - Aldous Huxley.

- Yes.

"Ann of Green Gables," set on Prince Edward Island.

(buzzer dings) - Montgomery.

- [Paul] Yes.

"A Wizard of Earthsea."

(buzzer dings) - Skip.

- Le Guin.

The short story "The Most Dangerous Game."

(buzzer dings) - Skip.

- And that was Richard Connell.

All right, and that's going to do it for the lightning round.

And after that, we currently have Mid Valley in the lead over North Pocono, 55 to 40.

And now we're going to go ahead and move into the second quarter with this tossup question.

"What instrument whose virtuosos included Dietrich Buxtehude and Marcel Dupre is a keyboard instrument that makes sound by pushing air through pipes?"

(buzzer dings) Ruby, Mid Valley.

- Oh my God.

(sighs) - [Paul] I need an answer.

- I know it, I forget what it's called.

- [Paul] All right, rebound to North Pocono.

- Organ.

- Organ is correct for your rebound points, North Pocono, as we go to our next tossup question, "What novel in which Clarice McClellan disappears begins, 'It was a pleasure to burn,' and is a novel about Guy Montag written by Ray Bradbury.

(buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley.

- Fahrenheit 451.

- That's correct, and here's your bonus question, and get out your pencils and papers.

"If K must be an integer, what is the smallest possible value of K for which 4K minus 67 is a positive number?"

(meditative music) (buzzer dings) Molly.

- 17.

- Is correct for your bonus points, Mid Valley, as we turn to this tossup question.

"What battle in which William Prescott defended the Charlestown Peninsula was won by the British near Boston, and was actually fought on Breeds Hill?"

(buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley.

- The Battle of Bunker Hill.

- Is correct, and your bonus now.

"What governing document was signed by men like William Bradford and Miles Standish in 1620 before they landed at Plymouth?"

(buzzer dings) - The Mayflower Compact.

- Is correct for your bonus points, Mid Valley, as we turn now to another tossup question.

"What element whose oxide is produced in the Bayer process is obtained from bauxite in the Hall-Heroult process, and has the atomic symbol Al?"

(buzzer dings) Gabe, North Pocono.

- Aluminum.

- Is correct.

And here's your bonus.

"What ancient Greek thinker argued that the plot of literary work is more important than characterization, in his treatise 'Poetics.'"

(buzzer dings) - Aristotle.

- Is correct for your bonus points, North Pocono.

You got a good game going here.

Let's go on to this next tossup question.

What island whose eastern coast is indented by Scoresby Sound is governed from Nuuk, and is a large island belonging to Denmark in the Arctic?"

(buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley.

- Greenland.

- Is correct.

And here's your bonus question.

"An alternate name for a unit equal to 10-to-the-minus-15th meters comes from what Italian scientist, who names a class of particles with half-integer spins?

(buzzer dings) - Langstrom.

- No, that's Enrico Fermi.

All right, let's go to our next up question.

What present day country, the base of the Ayutthaya kingdom, has long been ruled by the Chakri dynasty from the Grand Palace in Bangkok?"

Ayutthaya Molly, Mid Valley.

- Thailand.

- Is correct.

And here's your bonus question.

"In a June, 2023 game against the A's, Yankees starter Domingo German became the 24th player in Major League baseball history to accomplish what feat?"

(buzzer dings) - A hundred home runs.

- No, we were looking for pitching a perfect game.

All right, let's go to this tossup question here.

"What French author of 'The Persian Letters' articulated the idea of separation of powers in the spirit of the laws, which inspired the-" (buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley - Montesquieu.

- Is correct, and here's your bonus question.

"What YA series by Veronica Roth centers on Tris Prior?"

(bell rings) (buzzer dings) - "Divergent."

"Divergent" is correct for your bonus points, Mid Valley.

And that sound that you heard signals the end of the first half, and we're now going to give our contestants a little bit of a break, and the opportunity for those of you at home to get to know them a little better.

And we'll start with the students from Mid Valley, and Giada, I'll come to you first.

Tell us about a hidden talent that you might have.

(upbeat music) - I'm not sure I have any hidden talents, I can't- - [Paul] Well, everybody has a talent.

- I'm very good at like science experiments.

- That's very good.

That's very good.

(Giada chuckles) Thanks, Giada.

Jonah?

- Well, not a lot of people know this about me, but I'm pretty good at math, I like that.

Except I did drop that bad answer.

- I think everyone knows that about you, Jonah.

(students chuckle) - [Paul] Ruby?

- I'm good at sleeping.

- Okay.

(chuckles) Molly?

- I make balloon animals.

- Okay, excellent.

Thanks for being here, Mid Valley, good luck the rest of the way.

North Pocono, coming over to you.

Julia, tell us about a talent that you have.

- I can crochet and knit.

- [Paul] Oh, excellent.

Gabe?

- I'm really into fishing and hunting.

- [Paul] Thanks, Gabe.

Kaitlin?

- I've done a lot of really cool singing stuff, like going to Carnegie Hall.

- That's really, really cool.

Gideon?

- I whittle.

- You whittle.

Okay, excellent, really, really good.

Thanks North Pocono, and good luck to you the rest of the way.

We're now going to begin the third quarter with this tossup question.

What organ whose, stratum corneum is composed of dead keratin-rich cells is the human body's largest, and has an outer layer-" (buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley.

- Skin.

- Is correct.

And here's your bonus.

"Since 1961, king Hassan II and Mohamed II have led what country, which maintains a disputed claim to the territory of Western Sahara?"

(buzzer dings) Ruby.

- Saudi Arabia.

- No, that's Morocco.

All right, let's go to another tossup.

What event, attended by Frederick Douglass and arranged by Quakers like Lucretia Mott produced-" (buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley.

- The Seneca Falls Convention.

- That is correct.

And here's your bonus question.

"What city, which is located where the Assiniboine River meets the Red River of the North is the most populous city in Manitoba?"

(buzzer dings) - Toronto.

- No, that is Winnipeg.

Winnipeg.

Here's our next toss up.

"What title object that is created by Basil Hallward gradually becomes repulsive-" (buzzer dings) - Molly, Mid Valley.

- "Dorian Gray."

- "The picture of Dorian Gray" is correct, and here's your bonus question.

"What relatively inefficient sorting algorithm repeatedly swaps adjacent elements to order a list?"

(buzzer dings) That is bubble sorting or sinking sorting.

Okay, here's our next tossup question.

G. N. Lewis proposed what rule that main group atoms tend to form enough bonds with other atoms to have a full shell of eight valence electrons?"

(buzzer dings) Gabe, North Pocono.

- Electron cloud configuration.

- Is incorrect, rebound to Mid Valley.

(buzzer dings) Jonah.

- Molecular orbital theory.

- No, this was Lewis's octet rule.

All right, let's go to our next tossup.

"What author wrote about Reverend Stephen Kamalo traveling to Johannesburg to rescue his son Absalom in his novel "Cry the Beloved Country"?

(buzzer dings) Ruby, Mid Valley.

- Marco Polo.

- Is incorrect, rebound to North Pocono.

- Pass.

- Okay, that was Alan Peyton.

Here's our next toss up.

"What architect whose own home was called Taliesin designed a house along a Pennsylvania stream for the Kaufmann family called Falling Water?"

(buzzer dings) Gabe, North Pocono.

- Frank Lloyd Wright.

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus.

"What mathematician proved that the sum of the reciprocals of perfect squares equals pi squared over six, solving the Basel problem?"

(buzzer dings) - Archimedes.

- No, that was Leonhard Euler.

All right, here's your next toss up, and get those pencils and papers ready.

"What is the slope of a line that is perpendicular to the line defined by the equation Y equal 7X plus 2?"

(buzzer dings) Giada, Mid Valley.

- Negative one-seventh.

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus question.

"Arthur Conan Doyle's story 'The Final Problem' describes a confrontation at Reichenbach Falls in which Sherlock Holmes fights what nemesis of his?"

(buzzer dings) Jonah.

- Moriarty.

- Moriarty is correct for your bonus points, Mid Valley.

(bell rings) And that sound that you heard signals the end of the third quarter, and another lightning round.

This time, Mid Valley will pick first.

Your categories are Peanuts or California.

- Peanuts.

- Peanuts it is, and your time begins after I finish reading the first question.

"Answer the following about peanuts."

"Country that first began growing peanuts under the Ming Dynasty."

(buzzer dings) - China.

- [Paul] Yes.

"Jazz instrument played by Peanuts Holland and Miles Davis."

(buzzer dings) - Trumpet.

- Yes.

"'Peanuts' comic strip character who's Linus' sister."

(buzzer dings) - Lucy.

- [Paul] Yes.

"Black scientist who researched peanuts at the Tuskegee Institute."

(buzzer dings) - George Washington Carver.

- [Paul] That's right.

"US State where Peanut Island is in Palm Beach County."

(buzzer dings) - Georgia.

- Florida.

"Company whose mascot is Mr.

Peanut."

(buzzer dings) - Planters.

- That's right.

"Popular song urging, 'Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack.'"

(buzzer dings) ♪ Take me out to the ball game ♪ That is correct - [Paul] "Transformation of nitrogen into ammonia that happens in peanut roots."

(buzzer dings) - The nitrogen cycle.

- Is incorrect, nitrogen fixation.

"Fruit paired with peanut butter in an Elvis sandwich."

(buzzer dings) - Banana.

- [Paul] Yes.

"Candy bar solely consisting of peanuts and caramel."

(buzzer dings) - A Good Bar?

(bell rings) - Nope, that's Payday.

All right, that's going to do it for your portion of the lightning round, Mid Valley, great job.

North Pocono, we're coming over to you, and your remaining category will be California.

And once again, your time begins when I finish reading the first question.

"Name these things from the history of California.

"Event that 49ers joined to pan for metal."

(buzzer dings) - Gold Rush.

- [Paul] Yes.

"Tectonic disaster that struck San Francisco in 1906."

(buzzer dings) - Earthquake.

- Yes.

"Former actor and future president elected governor in 1966."

(buzzer dings) - John F. Kennedy.

- [Paul] Ronald Reagan.

"City near LA that is a metonym for the film industry."

(buzzer dings) - Hollywood.

- [Paul] Yes.

"Group of people denied public services by 1994's proposition 187."

- Pass.

- [Paul] Illegal immigrants.

"Motorist who's beating by police led to riots in 1992."

- Pass.

- Rodney King.

"Yorba Linda native who resigned as president after Watergate."

(buzzer dings) - Richard Nixon.

- [Paul] Is correct.

"University town where the free speech movement began."

(buzzer dings) - UCLA.

- [Paul] Berkeley.

"Actor elected governor in a 2003 recall election."

(buzzer dings) - Arnold Schwarzenegger.

- That's right.

"Animal whose flag named in 1846-" (bell rings) - Bear.

- Ran out of time, unfortunately we can't give it to you, but great job in the lightning round, North Pocono.

Well, that's going to do it for the lightning round.

And after that, we have Mid Valley in the lead over North Pocono 210 to 100.

And now we're going to go ahead and begin the last segment of the game with this tossup question.

"What man received the Humble Petition and Advice, led the New Model Army during the English Civil War, and in 1653 became Lord Protector of England?"

(buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley.

- Oliver Cromwell.

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus question.

What composer depicted Guglielmo and Ferrando duping their fiance's Fiordigli and Dorabella in his opera 'Cosi fan tutte'?

(buzzer dings) - Puccini?

- No, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the composer.

Let's go to this tossup question.

"What concept which names the band that included 'Something in the Way' on their album 'Nevermind-' (buzzer dings) Gideon, north Pocono, - The Beatles.

- Is incorrect, I'll finish the question and rebound to Mid Valley.

"Is the state of liberation from suffering in Hinduism?"

(buzzer dings) - Nirvana.

- Is correct for your rebound points, Mid Valley, as we turn to this tossup question.

"What process whose induced form is caused by absorption of a neutron occurs at each stage of a chain reaction, and is the splitting of-" (buzzer dings) Gabe, North Pocono.

- Fusion.

- Fusion is incorrect, I'll finish the question and rebound to Mid Valley.

"And is the splitting of a nucleus?"

(buzzer dings) - Nuclear fission.

- Nuclear fission is what we are looking for, that's correct, Mid Valley, as we turn now to your next tossup.

"What explorer, who died after trying to kidnap Chief Kalaniopuu in Hawaii led the HMS Endeavor on the first of his three expeditions of the Pacific?"

(buzzer dings) Ruby, Mid Valley.

- Marco Polo.

- Is incorrect.

Rebound to North Pocono.

- Pass.

- Okay, that's Captain James Cook, although Kalaniopuu is very fun to say.

All right, let's go on to another toss up.

"What man goes to every Middlesex village after seeing lights in the North Church Tower in a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem about his-" (buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley.

- Paul Revere.

- Is correct, and here's your bonus question.

"George Mallory proclaimed, "Because it's there," when asked why he wished to climb what landmark, successfully summited for the first time in 1953?"

(buzzer dings) - Mount Everest.

- Is correct for your bonus points, Mid Valley, as we go to this tossup.

"What object which stands on an island, once known as Bedloe's Island, is a sculpture designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi in New York Harbor?"

(buzzer dings) Gabe, North Pocono.

- Statue of Liberty.

- Is correct, and your bonus now.

"What enslaved man and preacher claimed that an eclipse inspired his 1831 Rebellion in Virginia, which led to mass reprisals against Black people?"

- Pass.

- That is Nat Turner.

All right, here's our next tossup.

What organ has an outer pinna, inner semi-circular-" (buzzer dings) Gabe, North Pocono.

- It is ear.

- Is correct, and here's your bonus.

"What former prime minister of Portugal is the current Secretary General of the United Nations?"

- Pass.

- That's Antonio Guterres.

All right, here comes your next tossup.

"What actor who portrayed a replicant named K in 'Blade Runner 2049' claimed that his character was 'kenough while playing Ken' in the 2023-" (buzzer dings) Molly, Mid Valley.

- Ryan Gosling.

- That's right, and here comes your bonus.

"An introductory poem titled 'The Hill' opens what author's 'Spoon River' anthology, which is a collection of poems narrated by dead people?"

(bell rings) (buzzer dings) - Walt Whitman.

- No, great answer, we're looking for Edgar Lee Masters.

And that's the end of the game, and our winner tonight is Mid Valley over North Pocono, 265 to 120.

(lively music) Congratulations, Mid Valley, you're going to be moving on.

And we'll see you next time, with another round of "Scholastic Scrimmage."

I'm your host, Paul Lazar, and thank you for watching.

(lively music subsides) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] "WVIA Scholastic Scrimmage" was made possible in part by- (bright orchestral music) - I am building my future, literally, at Luzerne County Community College.

(bright orchestral music) - We don't just talk about it, we build it.

- Your blueprints start here at Luzerne County Community College.

Are you a high school senior or college student trying to further your education?

The Luzerne Foundation can help.

The Luzerne Foundation is a northeastern Pennsylvania-based community nonprofit that provides over 70 scholarships a year to students.

The Lucerne Foundation, we are here for good.

- [Narrator] This is the place where living and learning go hand in hand, where more than 7,000 students reside in six residential communities, offering student centers for dining and recreation.

This is Binghamton University.