>> JOE HANSON: Coming up on High School Quiz Show, it's Littleton... (cheers and applause) ...taking on Acton-Boxborough.

(cheers and applause) That's next on High School Quiz Show.

(cheers and applause) ♪ ♪ Major funding for High School Quiz Show is provided by Safety Insurance.

>> Home renovations can increase the value of your home.

Safety Insurance offers a variety of home insurance products to cover your home's increased value.

You can ask an independent agent about Safety Insurance.

Safety Insurance: we'll help you manage life's storms.

>> HANSON: Additional funding is provided by the Museum of Science.

♪ ♪ (crowd cheering and applauding) ♪ ♪ (cheers and applause) >> HANSON: Hi, everybody, and welcome to High School Quiz Show.

I'm Joe Hanson, your host.

Last week, Mansfield High defeated Roxbury Latin to move on to the quarterfinals.

Today, we welcome Acton-Boxborough Regional High School and Littleton High School.

On the Acton-Boxborough team, we have: Ishaan, Wilson, Theresa, and Zayd, with alternate Sneha and coach Dana Homer.

(cheers and applause) Competing for Littleton High, we have: Sidney, Denis, Jiahuai, and Nadia, with coach Elizabeth Barry.

(cheers and applause) The competition has four rounds: toss-up, head-to-head, category, and the lightning round.

We start with the toss-up round.

All answers are worth ten points, there are no point deductions for wrong answers, and players, you may confer.

So teams, if you're ready, good luck.

Here we go.

Mandarin and Crimson Dynamo are enemies of what Marvel superhero played on screen by Robert Downey, Jr.?

Denis.

>> Iron Man.

>> HANSON: Yes, that's correct.

With its many canals, what capital city of Thailand is known as the "Venice of the East"?

Zayd.

>> Bangkok.

>> HANSON: That's correct.

In California, state universities were tuition-free for residents until 1970.

What California governor and future U.S. president implemented tuition while cutting state funding by 20%?

Ishaan.

>> Reagan.

>> HANSON: Ronald Reagan is correct.

In 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden, what American pop superstar kicked off her Renaissance World Tour, her first solo concert tour in seven years?

Zayd.

>> Beyoncé.

>> HANSON: Beyoncé is correct.

Take a look at your screens.

In 1927, what aviator, seen here, took off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on his historic solo flight to France?

Theresa.

>> Lindbergh.

>> HANSON: Charles Lindbergh is correct.

About the size of Western Europe, what island in the North Atlantic is the largest island in the world?

Ishaan.

>> Greenland.

>> HANSON: Correct.

In her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Japanese organizing expert Marie Kondo says to discard any object that does not spark what?

Sidney.

>> Joy.

>> HANSON: Correct.

What is the driest continent on Earth, with roughly two inches of precipitation a year?

Ishaan.

>> Antarctica.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Remembered for his famous sayings, such as "It ain't over 'til it's over," what Yankees catcher played in 75 World Series games and won ten championship rings, more than any other player in Major League Baseball history?

Jiahuai.

>> Yogi.

Yogi Berra.

>> HANSON: Yogi Berra is correct.

Take a look at your screens.

We have a question from a very special guest.

>> Hi, I'm Phoebe Ramler, production stylist for High School Quiz Show and a huge Celtics fan.

Here's my question: in 2023, what star forward for the Boston Celtics agreed to a five-year, $304 million supermax extension, the richest contract in NBA history?

>> HANSON: Jiahuai.

>> Jaylen Brown.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Who assumed the presidency when Warren G. Harding died unexpectedly at age 57 in 1923?

Denis.

>> Calvin Coolidge.

>> HANSON: Calvin Coolidge is correct.

With their powerful enzymes to digest and recycle materials, which of the following act like the garbage disposal unit of the cell: Golgi bodies, lysosomes, or ribosomes?

Jiahuai.

>> Lysosomes.

>> HANSON: Correct.

More than 50 ships and 20 airplanes are said to have mysteriously disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle, a region in which ocean?

Sidney.

>> The Atlantic Ocean.

>> HANSON: Correct.

"One of our joys was to go into our workroom at night.

The glowing tubes looked like faint fairy lights."

What famous scientist wrote this about her discovery of radium?

Jiahuai.

>> Marie Curie.

>> HANSON: Correct.

In 1993, what Texas city was the site of a fatal 51-day standoff between federal agents and followers of David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians religious cult?

Jiahuai.

>> Alamo.

>> HANSON: No.

Acton-Boxborough?

Theresa?

>> Waco, Texas.

>> HANSON: That is correct, Waco, Texas.

In 1948, the centigrade temperature scale was officially renamed in honor of what Swedish astronomer who first described it in 1742?

Wilson.

>> Celsius.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Named after Anders Celsius.

A bestseller with an eye-catching title, what memoir by Jennette McCurdy details her experiences as a child star on Nickelodeon and her troubled relationship with her mother?

Jiahuai.

>> I'm Glad My Mom Died.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Which of the following is a genetic condition caused by the presence of an extra chromosome: Huntington's disease, Down syndrome, or sickle cell anemia?

Wilson.

>> Down syndrome.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Considered the heir to Rafael Nadal, what 19-year-old Spanish tennis star became the youngest-ever number-one men's player when he defeated Casper Ruud to win the U.S. Open in 2022?

Jiahuai.

>> Alcaraz.

>> HANSON: Correct, Carlos Alcaraz.

Regarded as both a war hero and an authoritarian dictator, who was inaugurated in 1948 as the first president of the Republic of China, also known as Taiwan?

Denis?

>> Chiang Kai-shek.

>> HANSON: Chiang Kai-shek is correct.

Zadie Smith's debut play, The Wife of Willesden, is a new take on the "Wife of Bath" from The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories by what medieval author?

Theresa.

>> Chaucer.

>> HANSON: Geoffrey Chaucer is correct.

What holiday song by Wham!

reached No.

1 in the U.K. singles chart for the first time in 2021, 36 years after it was originally released?

Denis.

>> "Last Christmas."

>> HANSON: "Last Christmas" is right.

In a press conference on April 7, 1954, President Eisenhower popularized what Cold War theory that if one country falls to Communism, others nearby will soon follow?

Sidney.

>> Domino Theory.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Which of the following is a synonym for paradigm: mystery, inflection, or archetype?

Ishaan.

>> Archetype.

>> HANSON: Correct.

The Senate's only Black Republican, in November 2023, what South Carolina politician abruptly ended his 2024 presidential bid, shocking even his campaign staff?

Zayd.

>> Scott.

>> HANSON: Tim Scott, correct.

In 2004, what British computer scientist was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for inventing the World Wide Web?

(buzzer sounds) Looking for Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

"She lives in a world of her own-- a world of little glass ornaments."

Tom Wingfield says this about his sister Laura in what classic play by Tennessee Williams?

Theresa.

>> The Glass Menagerie.

>> HANSON: Correct.

On March 18, 1940, Benito Mussolini met with Adolf Hitler and agreed to join Germany's war against France and Britain.

The two dictators met at what historic mountain pass on the border of Italy and Austria?

(buzzer sounds) We're looking for Brenner Pass.

To save its iconic kiwi bird and other species, what country has a bold plan to eradicate every invasive predator, including rats, possums, and feral cats, by 2050?

Sidney.

>> New Zealand.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Darwin's theory of natural selection was influenced by what English economist, who studied population growth and the struggle for food supply?

Denis.

>> Thomas Malthus.

>> HANSON: Correct.

(bell ringing) That is the end of the toss-up round.

The score is Acton-Boxborough: 130 points.

And Littleton: 150 points.

We've got a close one on our hands here.

Let's hear it for both teams.

(cheers and applause) The head-to-head round is next, but first, we're gonna take a few minutes to get to know our players, and we do that with a question.

Acton-Boxborough, we'll start with you.

Ishaan, what is the most valuable thing you own, and why?

>> My science teacher gave me a bowl of petrified wood.

And it's just a really cool and unique thing, and it means a lot to me.

>> HANSON: All right.

I like that.

Wilson.

>> It's probably my CD collection.

I think I've spent at least $400 on it over the years.

>> HANSON: And vintage these days, too, so well done.

Theresa.

>> I guess I'd have to say my dog, because she never fails to put a smile on my face.

>> HANSON: Mine, too.

Zayd.

>> Probably my Legos, 'cause my childhood would be incomplete without them.

>> HANSON: That's the one that hits me.

Fellow Lego maniac right here.

Sidney.

>> My great-grandmother gave me a necklace when I was born, 'cause I was her first great-grandchild.

>> HANSON: That is so sweet.

Take good care of that.

Denis?

>> I have a signed David Ortiz jersey, and I just love the Red Sox, so... >> HANSON: Amazing.

Maybe frame that-- take good care of that one.

Jiahuai.

>> I have a signed David Ortiz glove, and I also love the Red Sox.

>> HANSON: You guys have half of a player there already, all right.

Nadia.

>> My book collection, 'cause I love to read, and it's all my favorite books over the years.

>> HANSON: I'm with you.

That's good.

All right, teams, it's time to go head-to-head.

(cheers and applause) In this round, correct answers add ten points to the team total, and wrong answers result in a ten-point deduction.

The clock is set at 90 seconds.

Let's shake hands.

Here we go.

What U.S. state is nicknamed the Garden State?

>> New Jersey.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What "stands alone" at the end of the traditional nursery rhyme "The Farmer in the Dell"?

(buzzer sounds) The cheese.

Who is remembered as the founder of the Eastern Roman Empire and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity?

>> Constantine.

>> HANSON: Yes.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus escapes from Calypso's island with the help of what Greek messenger god?

>> Hermes.

>> HANSON: Yes.

By a wide margin, what is the largest city in Texas by population?

>> Austin.

>> HANSON: No, it's Houston.

What body of water that's home to more than 200... >> Mediterranean Sea.

>> HANSON: No, Lake Winnipesaukee.

In 1804, what first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte was... >> Joséphine.

>> HANSON: Yes.

In 1961, who became a Hero of the Soviet Union for becoming the first person to travel into space?

(buzzer sounds, button clicks) Did he make it?

No, Yuri Gagarin.

The Arabic word hadith refers to a verified statement or saying of what prophet of Islam?

>> Muhammad.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, what Asian country invented paper made from wood... >> China.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Who was the first U.S. president to have a poet read at his inauguration ceremony?

>> Joe Biden.

>> HANSON: No, John F. Kennedy.

What country in Southern Africa is almost completely occupied by the Kalahari Desert?

(buzzer sounds) Botswana.

On the Come Up is the second novel from what author of The Hate U Give?

>> Angie Thomas.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What Roman numeral represents the number ten?

>> X.

>> HANSON: Yes.

"Cut me, Mick!"

and "Yo, Adrian!"

are quotes from what... >> Rocky.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What does... (bell ringing) (audience exclaiming) That's the end of the round.

Let's take a look at the score.

Acton-Boxborough has 170 points.

And Littleton is tied, with 170 points.

Let's have a round of applause for both teams.

(cheers and applause) Next up, the category round, with the following categories: Story Time, Land of Enchantment, Tick, Tick, Tick, Oscar Buzz, Accept All Cookies, and Below Deck.

All categories have five questions with increasing point value.

Teams will choose two five-question categories each, and have the option to toss one question per category to the other team that the other team must answer.

Players are able to confer.

Acton-Boxborough, who's your spokesperson?

Theresa?

>> Yup.

>> HANSON: Littleton, how about you?

Jiahuai.

Now, since the score is tied, the first team to choose a category was determined by a coin toss, which Littleton won.

What's it gonna be?

>> We'll choose Oscar Buzz.

>> HANSON: Oscar Buzz.

In this category, these are questions about famous Oscars.

For ten points: what green furry monster who lives in a trash can on Sesame Street was inspired by a rude waiter at a New York restaurant frequented by Muppets creator Jim Henson?

>> Oscar the Grouch.

>> HANSON: That's correct.

For 15 points: Oklahoma!

was the first musical produced by the songwriting team of composer Richard Rodgers and what lyricist?

>> (whispering): Hammerstein... >> (whispering): What?

>> (whispering) >> (whispering): I don't know.

(aloud): I don't know.

>> (whispering): Say it.

>> Hammerstein.

>> HANSON: Oscar Hammerstein is correct.

For 20 points: what Irish playwright became immensely popular with the production of his first play, an 1892 comedy called Lady Windermere's Fan?

>> Oscar Wilde.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 25 points in Oscar Buzz: what Guatemalan American actor is one of the first Latinos to star in the Star Wars franchise, as fighter pilot Poe Dameron in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker?

>> (whispering): Oscar Isaac.

>> Oscar Isaac.

(laughs) >> HANSON: Correct.

For 30 points: nicknamed "the Golden Boy" for winning a gold medal at age 19 at the 1992 Olympics, what American boxer won ten world titles in six different weight classes?

>> Oscar de la Hoya.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

Acton-Boxborough, your first category.

>> We're gonna go with Story Time.

>> HANSON: Story Time.

In this category, the questions are about children's picture books.

For ten points: what Dr. Seuss book begins, "The sun did not shine.

"It was too wet to play.

So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day."

>> Our answer is The Cat in the Hat.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 15 points: known for her role as Nakia in the film Black Panther, what actress is the author of Sulwe, the story of a little girl who takes a magical journey into the night sky?

>> (whispering): Lupita Nyong'o?

>> (whispering): Yeah.

>> Our answer is Lupita Nyong'o.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 20 points: what 1922 children's book by Margery Williams chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit's desire to become real through the love of a little boy?

>> Our answer is The Velveteen Rabbit.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 25 points in Story Time: author and illustrator Ian Falconer passed away in 2023 at age 63.

He's most well-known for what bestselling book series about a rambunctious piglet named after his niece?

>> (whispering): Do we want to toss this?

(others whispering) >> We're gonna pass.

>> HANSON: Gonna pass?

The answer is Olivia.

For 30 points: first published in 1968, what classic book by Don Freeman is about a teddy bear in a department store who searches for the lost button from his overalls?

>> Our answer is Corduroy.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Littleton, your next category.

(team whispering) >> We'll take Land of Enchantment.

>> HANSON: Land of Enchantment.

Questions in this category about the State of New Mexico, nicknamed the Land of Enchantment.

For ten points: the Spanish were in New Mexico long before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth.

What capital city of New Mexico was established in 1610?

>> (whispering): Santa Fe?

Santa Fe.

>> Santa Fe.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 15 points: Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul were both filmed in what New Mexico city known as "Hollywood in the High Desert"?

>> Albuquerque.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 20 points: the alleged site of a flying saucer crash in 1947, what New Mexico city draws thousands of visitors to its annual U.F.O.

Festival?

>> (whispering): Do you know, Sidney?

>> (whispering): I don't know.

>> (whispering): Pass?

(aloud): We'll pass.

>> HANSON: Roswell, New Mexico.

For 25 points in Land of Enchantment: what national laboratory in New Mexico began in 1943 with a single purpose, to design and build an atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project?

>> (whispering): I know it.

The one in Oppenheimer.

>> (whispering): I know.

I know.

>> (aloud): We'll pass.

>> HANSON: You'll pass?

The answer is Los Alamos.

For 30 points: known as the "Mother of American Modernism," what artist is famous for her dramatic paintings of New Mexico's desert landscapes and flowers?

>> (whispering): O'Keeffe.

>> O'Keeffe.

>> HANSON: Georgia O'Keeffe is correct.

Acton-Boxborough, our final category.

>> We're gonna go with Below Deck.

>> HANSON: Below Deck.

Questions in this category are about ships.

For ten points: what British ocean liner was sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915, an act that contributed indirectly to the entry of the United States into World War I?

>> Our answer is Lusitania.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 15 points: originally a French ship that Blackbeard captured and modified, what notorious pirate ship carried over 40 cannons?

>> (whispering): Should remember that.

Jolly Roger... >> Our answer is the Jolly Roger.

>> HANSON: No, Queen Anne's Revenge.

For 20 points in Below Deck: the United States declared war on Spain after an explosion destroyed what American battleship in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898?

>> Our answer is the U.S.S.

Maine.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 25 points: discovered in 2022, nearly 107 years after it sank in the Weddell Sea, what lost ship of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was shown to be intact and remarkably well-preserved?

(team whispering) >> Our answer is the Endeavour.

>> HANSON: No, it is the Endurance.

For 30 points: in 2017, what former Arizona congresswoman, who survived an assassination attempt, became the first living woman since Martha Washington to be the namesake of a U.S. naval warship?

>> (whispering): Let's toss this.

>> (whispering): I think we should toss this.

>> (aloud): We're gonna toss this.

>> HANSON: All right-- Littleton, over to you.

>> Can you repeat the question?

>> HANSON: Yes, we'll repeat the question.

In 2017, what former Arizona congresswoman, who survived an assassination attempt, became the first living woman since Martha Washington to be the namesake of a U.S. naval warship?

>> (whispering): Smith.

(all chuckling) >> Smith.

>> HANSON: No, it is Gabby Giffords.

(bell ringing) That is the end of the category round.

Our scores are Acton-Boxborough: 235 points.

Littleton has 295 points.

Still a lot of game to play.

Let's hear it for both teams.

(cheers and applause) Okay, we are heading into the final round of play, the lightning round.

Correct answers add 20 points to the team total, and there is a 20-point deduction for incorrect answers.

The clock is set.

Here we go.

Led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, what team... Jiahuai.

>> The Kansas City Chiefs.

>> HANSON: Correct.

On the periodic table of elements, what is the chemical symbol for gold?

Ishaan.

>> Au.

>> HANSON: Yes.

In the fictional DC Universe, what is the first name of Batman's loyal... Jiahuai.

>> Alfred.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Who was president of the United States during the Mexican-American War?

Theresa.

>> Polk.

>> HANSON: Polk is correct.

Slightly longer than the Mississippi, what is the longest river... Theresa.

>> Missouri.

>> HANSON: Yes.

During his sophomore year at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, who wrote the Tony-winning musical In the Heights?

Theresa.

>> Lin-Manuel Miranda.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What tiny principality along the Mediterranean Sea is the most densely populated country in the world?

Denis.

>> Monaco.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Who became the first Norman king of England after defeating Anglo-Saxon forces at the... Theresa.

>> William the Conqueror.

>> HANSON: Correct.

In taxonomy, frogs belong to what class... Ishaan.

>> Amphibians.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What work by Charles Dickens ends with the famous phrase "God bless Us, Every One"?

Theresa.

>> A Christmas Carol.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Originally founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, what is the most populous city in the province of Quebec?

Denis.

>> Montreal.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What butterfly-shaped gland in the neck secretes hormones... Wilson.

>> Thyroid.

>> HANSON: Thyroid, correct.

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17 of what year?

Denis.

>> 1775.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What is the chemical formula for methane?

Ishaan.

>> CH4.

>> HANSON: Yes.

The Vltava River runs through the capital... (bell ringing) Ooh-- we were looking for Prague on that.

(chuckling): The winning team this week is Acton-Boxborough with 415 points.

Littleton finishes with 395 points.

Congratulations to both teams for a great game.

Acton-Boxborough moves on to play the winner of next week's match between BC High and Weston.

So we'll see you next week, right here, on High School Quiz Show.

(cheers and applause) ♪ ♪ Major funding for High School Quiz Show is provided by Safety Insurance.

>> Boston traffic is the worst.

Safety Insurance offers auto insurance policies designed to help for when the worst happens.

You can ask an independent agent about Safety Insurance.

Safety Insurance: we'll help you manage life's storms.

>> HANSON: Additional funding is provided by UMass Amherst.

>> At the University of Massachusetts Amherst... >> ...a revolutionary spirit runs through our veins.

>> As pioneers... >> Builders... >> Unconventional doers... >> We dream bigger... >> ...reach higher... >> ...and commit ourselves to the relentless pursuit of progress.

(cheers and applause) ♪ ♪