(upbeat intro music) - Welcome to the 18th 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 one, three, or five thousand dollars.

Tonight's match features Mifflinburg versus Berwick.

And representing Mifflinburg are Ajaxx Gerhardt, Garrett Frank, Elliot Miller, and Alyson Houseneck.

Their advisor is Beth Fonts.

And representing Berwick are Jack Kendron, William Robinson Gilden, Emma Chakowski, and Thomas Dipatista.

Their alternates are Elizabeth Gunther and Josephine Morgan.

And their advisor is Todd Gunther.

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 toss-up question.

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

If that toss-up 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 toss-up points but will not receive a bonus question.

And we're gonna go ahead and get started with this toss-up.

Get ready, guys.

What ruler, who led the attacking army at the siege of Vienna, was a Sultan who expanded the Ottoman Empire and is known today as The Magnificent?

(buzzer beeping) Jack, Berwick.

- Suleiman?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question: What American doctor's name is given to the technique using abdominal thrusts to relieve airway obstruction (buzzer beeping) in choking?

- Wait, this was a bonus, right?

- Yep.

Go ahead.

- Heimlich.

- Heimlich.

- [Paul] Clock is ticking.

- Heimlich.

- Is correct.

Let's move to your next toss-up question: What author depicted a prodigy who dates 19 girls of the same name in "An Abundance of Katherines" and wrote the YA tear-jerker "The Fault In Our Stars"?

(buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick.

- John Green.

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And here's your bonus question: What woman married Menelaus and was kidnapped (buzzer beeping) before the Trojan War?

Emma, Berwick.

- Wait, sorry.

That was a bonus.

- Yeah, go ahead.

- Uh, Helen?

- Is correct.

And we'll move on to your next toss-up.

What movie in which the giant baby Boh escapes from Yubaba depicts Chihiro's adventures in a bathhouse for kami and was directed by Hayao Miyazaki?

(buzzer beeping) Elliot, Mifflinburg.

- "Spirited Away"?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And here's your bonus question: What Spanish artist's "The Charge of the Mamelukes" is sometimes titled for the day before the event depicted in his painting, The 3rd of May, 1808?

(buzzer beeping) - Pass.

- That's Francisco Goya.

Let's move on to your next toss-up question: What painter who used his wife Saskia as a model painted "Syndics of the Draper's Guild," and showed the men of Frans Banning Cocq in "The Night Watch"?

(buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick.

- Rembrandt?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And here's your bonus question: What president who signed the Helsinki Accords during the Cold War previously became Vice President under the 25th Amendment?

- Truman?

- Yeah, sure.

Go Truman.

- Truman?

- Is incorrect.

We were looking for Gerald Ford.

Here's your next toss-up question: What transition metal which is used in most white paints as well as (buzzer beeping) in hip replacements... Emma, Berwick.

- Titanium?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And here's your bonus question: According to the UN, as of August 1st, 2023, what country is the world's most populous?

- It's either India or China.

- It's India.

- I don't know, has India passed it yet?

I don't know.

- Oh no, I think it's China.

- It's China.

- Go China.

- China?

- [Paul] You have to buzz in please.

- Oh, sorry.

(buzzer beeping) - China?

- Nope, we were looking for India.

India.

Here's your next toss-up question: What general who was defeated at the Battle of Zama by Scipio Africanus at the end of the second Punic War used elephants to cross the Alps?

(buzzer beeping) William, Berwick.

- Um, pass.

- [Paul] Okay, rebound now to (beep) Mifflinburg.

- Hannibal Barca?

- Hannibal Barca is correct for your rebound points, Mifflinburg.

(electronic zapping) Great job.

Here's your next toss-up question, 30 seconds left in the quarter: What economic concept which has frictional, cyclical and structural types also denotes the status of people who are seeking but cannot find work?

(buzzer beeping) (buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick.

- Unemployment?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question now: In 2022, what video game developer behind Fortnite was fined 520... (buzzer beeping) Jack.

- Epic Games?

- Epic games is correct for your bonus points.

Very good.

(loud beep) And that sound that you heard signals the end of the first quarter and it's now time for the lightning round.

(electricity crackling) 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.

Berwick has won the coin toss and will pick first.

Your categories are: plastics or famous Romans.

- Sure.

- Okay.

Famous Romans.

- Famous Romans.

- Famous Romans it is.

And your time begins after I finish reading the first question.

Name these people from the Roman Republic or Empire: Ruler fatally stabbed on the Ides of March.

(buzzer beeping) Emma.

- Julius Caesar.

- [Paul] Yes.

Namesake of the first of two walls on the Scottish border.

(buzzer beeping) - Hadrian?

- [Paul] Yes.

The first emperor.

(buzzer beeping) - Julius Caesar?

- [Paul] No.

Augustus Caesar.

The legendary first king of Rome.

(buzzer beeping) - Nero?

- [Paul] Romulus.

The author of the epic Aeneid.

(buzzer beeping) - Nevermind.

I thought I had it.

Pass.

- Okay.

Looking for Virgil.

The insane third emperor who almost made his horse a consul.

(buzzer beeping) - Caligula?

- [Paul] Yes.

The last Julio-Claudian who sang during the Great Fire of Rome.

(buzzer beeping) - Emma.

- [Emma] Nero?

- [Paul] Is correct.

A stoic philosopher and last of the "Five Good Emperors".

(buzzer beeping) - Marcus Aurelius?

- [Paul] Yes.

The gladiator who led a massive slave revolt in 73 BC.

(buzzer beeping) - Emma.

- Spartacus?

- Yes.

The creator of the Tetrarchy who ordered the last great Christian prosecution, (long beep) And that was Diocletian.

Berwick, you did a great job in the lightning round.

Mifflinburg, we're gonna come over to you and your remaining category will be plastics.

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

Answer the following about plastics: Compounds made from monomers that include most plastics.

(buzzer beeping) - Alyson.

- Polymers?

- [Paul] Yes.

Underground resource used to make most plastics.

(buzzer beeping) - Oil?

- [Paul] Yes.

Process of melting down plastics for reuse.

(buzzer beeping) - Recycling?

- [Paul] Yes.

Property held by plastics that can break down naturally.

(buzzer beeping) - Decomposition?

- Biodegradable.

Plastic abbreviated PS used in foam cups.

(buzzer beeping) - Styrofoam?

- [Paul] Polystyrene.

Machines that deposit layers of melted plastic based on a computer model.

(buzzer beeping) - Garrett.

- 3D printers?

- [Paul] Yes.

Durable plastic used in namesake white plumbing pipes.

(buzzer beeping) - PVC?

- [Paul] Yes.

Process that makes soda fizzy requiring thicker plastic bottles.

(buzzer beeping) - Garrett.

- Carbonation?

- Yes.

Plastic used in shopping bags abbreviated PE.

(long beep) That was polyethylene.

Polyethylene.

And at the conclusion of the first lightning round we currently have Berwick in the lead over Mifflinberg, 95 to 50.

And now we're going to move on to the second quarter with this toss-up question: What scientist wrote the 2022 book, "Starry Messenger", presented the 2020 series Cosmos: Possible Worlds" (buzzer beeping) - Jack, Berwick.

- Pass.

- Okay, I'll finish the question and rebound to Mifflinburg, and has written popular books on astrophysics?

(buzzer beeping) Elliott.

- Neil DeGrasse Tyson?

- Is correct for your rebound points.

(electronic zapping) Great job Mifflinburg.

Here's your next toss-up: Which man who captained Queen Anne's Revenge and may have had the real name (buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick.

- Blackbeard?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question: What leader whose father served as the first prime minister of her country declared a period known as the Emergency when she held absolute power?

- [Emma] (indistinct) (loud beep) - Ran out of time, we were looking for Indira Gandhi.

Indira Gandhi.

- [Emma] That's what I was trying to say.

- Let's move on now to your next toss-up question: What type of object which includes one created in 1840 known as the Penny Black is collected by philatelists and is used to pay... (buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick.

- Stamps?

- [Paul] Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And here's your bonus question: In 1952, David Tudor sat at a piano and closed its lid while premiering what John Cage piece?

- Oh, it's the one that's four minutes long and it's nothing but silence.

- "Four minutes thirty-thee seconds".

- Yes.

- Yeah.

- "Four minutes thirty-thee seconds"?

- Is correct for your bonus points, Berwick.

And don't forget to buzz in.

Here's your next toss-up question: What event whose leader was appointed on Mount Horeb by a burning bush occurs after... (buzzer beeping) Thomas, Berwick.

- Moses?

- Is incorrect.

I will finish the question and rebound to Mifflinburg, occurs after plagues enabled the Israelites under Moses to leave Egypt?

(long beep) That event was the Exodus.

The Exodus.

Here's your next toss-up question: What Habsburg monarch who was the subject of Charles the Sixth's 1713 Pragmatic Sanction waged The War of the Austrian Succession to secure her rule?

(long beep) That was Maria Theresa.

Let's move on to your next toss-up question: What simple machine used once in an Atwood machine and multiple times in a block and tackle consists of a rope wrapped around a wheel on an axle?

(buzzer beeping) Jack, Berwick.

- A pulley?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question: What former Canadian prime minister who served nearly continuously from 1968 to 1984 was born in Outremont, Quebec?

- What's the one prime minister's dad was also prime minister.

So if we answer with his last name, it might be right.

- Trudeau?

- Yes.

Buzz in.

(buzzer beeping) - Trudeau?

- Trudeau is correct for your bonus points, Berwick.

Great job.

And your next toss-up questions and less than 30 seconds left in the round: What animals, some of whom host the Pevensies when they enter Narnia... (buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick.

- Beaver?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question: What religious denomination, founded by Mary Baker Eddy, operates reading rooms and a namesake newspaper whose title ends in Monitor?

(buzzer beeping) - Thomas, Berwick.

- Christian Science.

- Is correct for your bonus points.

Here's your next toss-up: What play in which Mitch plays poker in the (loud beep) French Quarter with Stanley Kowalski and briefly dates Blanche DuBois is by Tennessee Williams?

(buzzer beeps) - Jack, Berwick.

- "Streetcar Named Desire".

- That's right.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question: Aunt March bequeaths her estate to what character who runs a school with her German husband Friedrich Bhaer in the novel "Little Men"?

- What were the names of the sisters in "Little Women"?

- Oh, who, what little...

Same for a second.

Do we know?

(buzzer beeping) - Pass.

- Okay, that was Jo March.

Jo March.

- [Contestant] Was one of the girls (indistinct) - And that's basically the end of the first half.

And we have a pretty tight game here.

We have Berwick in control over Mifflinburg 160 to 60, 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.

So we'll start with the students from Mifflinburg (sprightly background music) and Ajaxx, I'll come to you first.

If you could have any superpower whatsoever, what would it be and why?

- Ultimate knowledge.

I think that speaks for itself.

- [Paul] Absolutely.

That's a great answer.

Garrett?

- I'm gonna go with flight.

I'd like to travel places without, you know, paying for a ticket.

- [Paul] Paying the toll on the turnpike, right?

Excellent.

Elliot, how about you?

- Jumping higher.

- Jumping (laughing) Me too!

Alyson?

- Um, probably telepathy.

That way I just know what to say in most circumstances.

- Really cool.

Well it was very nice to meet all of you again and good luck the rest of the way.

Berwick, we're gonna come over to you and Jack, if you could have a superpower of any type, what would it be?

- Well Paul, I would like to shoot money out of my wrists like Spider-Man.

Um, like, oh, what was his name?

The first actor who played Spider-Man who actually shot webs out of his wrists.

Not like Tom Holland with the machines.

- [Paul] Toby McGuire.

- Yeah, Toby McGuire.

- [Paul] Yeah.

Alright, excellent.

I like that.

William?

- Um, teleportation.

Just gets there quicker.

- [Paul] Absolutely it does.

Emma?

- Uh.

I blanked on this last year and I'm blanking again.

- [Paul] How about super strength?

Would you do something with that?

- Mm, I don't know.

- Okay.

All right, well that's, it's a tough question.

So we'll come back.

Thomas, how about you?

- Well Paul, I'd like to have the ability to get to places very fast all over the world.

- [Paul] So teleportation?

- Yeah.

- Okay, excellent.

Well that is very handy to have because you don't have to pay tolls or travel fees or check in bags or anything like that.

So that's a really good power to have.

Berwick, good luck the rest of the way.

It was great to meet all of you again and we'll now begin the second half with this question: What structures surrounded by guard cells and found mostly on leaves allow gas exchange in plants and are named after the Greek... (buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick - Stomata?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And here's your bonus question: What British explorer who died on the quest while en route to Antarctica captained The Endurance in 1915 and had earlier... (buzzer beeping) - Shackleton?

- Ernest Shackleton is correct for your bonus points.

Berwick, let's move on to your next toss-up question: What country which embraced democracy in the Carnation Revolution after the Estado Novo regime of Antonio Salazar was the colonizer of Brazil?

(buzzer beeping) - Thomas, Berwick.

- Portugal?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question now: What particle which imparts mass via its namesake mechanism was discovered in 2012 at CERN and is sometimes nicknamed the "God particle"?

- I was gonna say the God particle so I have no clue.

- It's Higgs boson.

- Higgs boson?

Higgs boson.

Buzz in.

(buzzer beeping) - Higgs boson?

- Higgs boson is correct for your bonus points Berwick.

Let's move on to your next toss-up question: What national capital on the Spree River has suburbs such as Potsdam, was once home to Checkpoint Charlie and contains... (buzzer beeping) Thomas, Berwick.

- Berlin?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question now: Nathaniel Hawthorne's story, "The Celestial Railroad," was based on what 1678 allegory by John Bunyan in which Christian journeys to the celestial city?

(buzzer beeping) - Pass.

- That was "The Pilgrim's Progress".

Let's move on now to another toss-up question: What former crime for which Connecticut exonerated 45 people in May, 2023 was most infamously the subject of 1692 trials in Salem, Massachusetts?

(buzzer beeping) - Jack, Berwick.

- Witchcraft.

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question now: What last name was shared by Edmund, the first attorney general, and Asa Philip, a civil rights leader who organized the March on Washington?

(buzzer beeping) - Pass.

- Okay, that was Randolph.

Randolph.

Here's your next toss-up question: What author of "Up From Slavery," who encouraged racial conciliation in his Atlanta Compromise, led Tuskegee University and rivaled W.E.B.

Du Bois?

(buzzer beeping) - Jack, Berwick.

- Frederick Douglass?

- Is incorrect, we'll rebound now to Mifflinburg.

(loud beep) Okay, that was Booker T. Washington.

Here's your next toss-up question: What opera, whose title character sings that love is a rebellious bird, features Escamillo the toreador and was written by Georges Bizet?

(buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick.

- "Carmen"?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And here's your bonus question now: Robert Herrick's poem, "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time," advises gathering what flowers, which are the focus of a repetitive quote by Gertrude Stein?

- Roses.

- Sure.

(buzzer beeping) - Roses?

- Is correct for your bonus points.

Very good Berwick.

Let's move on to another toss-up question: What substances whose electron density can be measured using a Langmuir probe are made up of ionized gas and are called the fourth... (buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick.

- Plasma?

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question: The cities of Kingston and Toronto are on the shores of what Great Lake (long beep) which receives the Niagara River?

- Erie.

(buzzer beeping) It's Erie.

- Erie?

- No, we were looking for Lake Ontario.

Lake Ontario.

And that sound that you heard signals the end of the third quarter and another lightning round.

(electricity crackling) This time Mifflinburg will pick first.

Your categories are homophones or T in initials.

- Sure.

(buzzer beeping) - We'll do homophones.

- Homophones it is.

And your time begins after I finish reading the first question.

Given two definitions, name these homophones meaning words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently: A flying vehicle or a two dimensional surface.

(buzzer beeping) - Elliot.

- Plane?

- Yes.

Lacking strength or seven days.

(buzzer beeping) Elliot.

- Weak.

- Yes.

Denim pants or hereditary material.

(buzzer beeping) - Jeans?

- Yes.

A center of operations or a low string instrument.

(buzzer beeping) - Axis?

- I'm sorry?

- Axis?

- Base.

To expire or to color.

(buzzer beeping) - Pass.

- To die.

Financial gains or a visionary.

(buzzer beeping) - Profit?

- [Paul] Yes.

A public gathering or the cost for travel.

(buzzer beeping) - Pass.

- [Paul] Fair.

Motionless or paper for writing.

(buzzer beeping) - Stationary?

- [Paul] Yes.

Grain used for food or something that occurs repeatedly.

(buzzer beeping) - Pass.

- [Paul] Cereal.

A key in geography or a small grommet.

(long beep) That was islet.

All right, Mifflinburg.

That's going to do it for your portion of the lightning round.

Berwick, we're coming over to you and your remaining category will be T in initials.

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

Give the word that the letter T stands for in these three letter initialisms: NYT, a newspaper.

(buzzer beeping) - Times.

- [Paul] Yes.

ATM, A machine that dispenses cash.

(buzzer beeping) Teller?

- [Paul] Yes.

TCU, A University in Fort Worth.

(buzzer beeping) - Technician?

- Is correct.

TLD, the final part of a website's domain name such as .com.

(buzzer beeping) Emma.

- Third?

- [Paul] Top.

TNG, a TV series in the Star Trek franchise.

(buzzer beeping) Emma.

- The.

- [Paul] Yes.

STI or STD, a category of disease.

(buzzer beeping) - Transmitted?

- [Paul] Yes.

TSA, an agency at the Department (buzzer beeping) of Homeland... Thomas.

- Transportation.

- [Paul] Yes.

CBT, a psychological treatment.

(buzzer beeping) (laughter) - Torture?

- [Paul] Therapy.

VAT, a type of levy based on value added.

(long beep) We ran outta time there and that was taxes.

And I love the torture answer, William.

Great job.

And after that we currently have a score of Berwick over Mifflinburg 265 to 85.

And we're going to begin the last quarter of the game with this toss-up question that is not about torture.

William.

(contestants laughing) What language used to write the poem "The Drunken Boat" and the book "The Flowers of Evil," was spoken by poets Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire?

(buzzer beeping) - French?

- Garrett.

Yes.

Mifflinburg.

That's correct.

(electronic zapping) Here's your bonus question: Edwards syndrome is a fatal example of what type of genetic condition that occurs when an extra copy of a chromosome is present?

- What did you just say?

(contestants laughing) - Guess.

(buzzer beeping) - Autism?

- No, we were looking for trisomy.

Trisomy.

Here's your next toss-up question: What disease whose avian form caused the culling (buzzer beeping) of large... Thomas, Berwick.

- Flu.

Oh, Flu.

- [Paul] Be more specific.

- Bird flu?

(electronic zapping) - Yes.

And here's your bonus question: What surname is shared by a female bounty hunter in "One for the Money," Las Vegas Aces' superstar Kelsey, and a professor in the board game Clue?

- Plum.

- Professor Plum.

(buzzer beeping) - Oh, Plum.

- Plum is correct for your bonus points.

And here's your next toss-up: What desert contains the very large telescope in the Paranal Observatory (buzzer beeping) is...Emma, Berwick.

- Atacama?

- [Paul] Is correct.

(electronic zapping) The Atacama Desert.

And we'll move on to your bonus question now: What student of Franz Boas wrote about Japanese shame culture in "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword"?

- Polo?

Marco Polo?

I don't know.

- Anybody got anything?

- [Panel] No.

(buzzer beeping) - Pass.

- Okay, that's Ruth Benedict.

Ruth Benedict.

Let's move on to another toss-up: What effect which is negligible at the equator causes currents and winds to be (buzzer beeping) - Emma, Berwick.

- Coriolis Effect?

- Is correct.

And your bonus question now: The narrowest portion of the English channel is what straight, which is named after an English city known for its white cliffs?

(buzzer beeping) - [Mifflinburg Contestant] Straight of Dover?

- [Paul] This is their bonus question.

- [Mifflinburg Contestant] Oh.

Whoops.

Sorry.

- Dover.

- It's Dover.

(buzzer beeping) Dover.

- [Paul] Be more specific.

- Straight of Dover?

- That is correct for your bonus points.

And we'll move on now to another toss-up question: In what battle in which Redoubt Number 10 fell to Alexander Hamilton did US troops capture (buzzer beeping) Lord...William, Berwick.

- Yorktown.

Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And here's your bonus question: What musical, the longest running Broadway show of all time, played its final performance on April 16th, 2023?

- "The Phantom of the Opera".

- Yeah.

- Buzz in, Thomas.

- What'd you say?

- "The Phantom of the Opera".

(buzzer beeping) "Phantom of the Opera".

- Is correct for your bonus points.

Here's your next toss-up question: "The Orchard Keeper," is the first novel by what author who died in June, 2023, and who wrote about killer Anton Chigurh in "No Country For Old Men"?

(loud beep) That was Cormac McCarthy.

Cormac McCarthy.

Here's your next toss-up question, 40 seconds left: What composer of "Le Tombeau de Couperin" repeated a long snare drum ostinato while more and more instruments enter playing the main theme in "Bolero"?

(buzzer beeping) Thomas, Berwick - Shostakovitch.

- Is incorrect.

Rebound now to Mifflinburg.

(buzzer beeping) - Pass.

- Okay, that was Maurice Ravel.

Here's your next toss-up question: What man who ordered an attack on rival "Bugs" Moran's North Siders in the St. Valentine's Day massacre... (buzzer beeping) - Al Capone.

- [Paul] William, Berwick.

(loud beep) - Al Capone.

- Is correct.

(electronic zapping) And your bonus question: What economic agreement enacted in 1994 was criticized by Ross Perot who said it would create "a giant sucking sound" of jobs leaving the US?

- Uh, NATO.

(buzzer beeping) - NATO?

- Close, but we're looking for NAFTA.

NAFTA.

And that's the end of the game.

And our winner tonight is Berwick over Mifflinburg, 330 to 95.

Congratulations, Berwick, you are 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 thanks for watching.

(upbeat outro music)