- And welcome again everybody to the studios of WCMU Public Media.

This time a first-round matchup between Roscommon and White Cloud.

We'll have that for you next.

(dramatic orchestral music) Hello again, I'm David Nicholas, and welcome to Quiz Central.

This time students from Roscommon are taking on a team from White Cloud (upbeat percussive music) in this, our 16-team single-elimination tournament.

Top teams from Quiz Central will qualify for the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament.

All right, let's get to our game for today.

Our first round is the Maroon and Gold Rush.

Teams will have two minutes to answer as many toss-up questions as they can.

If a team answers incorrectly, the opposing school has the opportunity to answer that question.

Teams may not consult during this round.

Remember that this year, players do receive a one-second penalty if they ring in before a tossup question has been read completely.

And that'll be indicated by an orange light just above their name.

Answers are worth 10 points, and there is no deduction for incorrect answers.

All right, players from both teams, if you are ready, here comes your first question.

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

(buzzer beeps) - Vienna.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Incorrect.

Do we have a guess for Roscommon?

(buzzer beeps) - Budapest.

- [David] And Budapest is correct.

What romantic poet who died at age 25 wrote that a thing of beauty is a joy forever in his 1818 poem "Endymion"?

(upbeat jazz music) (buzzer beeps) - Whitman.

- [David] That is incorrect.

Guess for White Cloud.

- Coleridge?

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Also incorrect.

Back to one for both teams.

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

(buzzer beeps) - Hobbes.

- [David] That is incorrect, White Cloud?

(buzzer beeps) - Smith.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Wien's displacement law describes the radiation emitted by what idealized physical body which absorbs all light that falls on it?

(buzzer beeps) - Black hole?

(buzzer beeps) - [David] That is incorrect.

White Cloud, can you take a shot?

- Black bodies?

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

In April 2025, Susan Crawford defeated Brad Schimel to maintain the liberal majority on what Midwestern state's Supreme Court?

(buzzer beeps) - Minnesota.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Incorrect.

White Cloud, take a shot.

(buzzer beeps) - Michigan.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Also incorrect.

What retired National Guard sergeant major responded to George Floyd's murder as governor of Minnesota and was Kamala Harris's running mate?

(buzzer beeps) - Walz.

- That is correct.

(bell dings) Get to the end of that round.

Let's take a look back at the questions that were missed by both teams.

The romantic poet that we were looking for was John Keats.

And Susan Crawford defeated Brad Schimel, and that was to keep the State Supreme Court majority in Wisconsin.

Before we get to our next round, let's learn more about our competing students today.

First, let's meet the team from Roscommon.

- Hi, my name is Faith.

I am a senior in high school, and I am on the cheer team and in musical.

- Hi, I'm Gavin.

I'm a senior at Roscommon High School, and I'm on Quiz Bowl.

- Hi, I'm Tanner.

I'm a junior at Roscommon High School.

I'm first chair alto in our jazz band, and I'm also in the musical program.

- Hi, I'm Logan.

I'm a senior at Roscommon High School, and I am in the choir and on the quiz bowl varsity team.

- Thanks Roscommon, good to have you here.

Let's take a moment to say hello to the students from White Cloud.

- Hi, I'm Mason.

I'm a sophomore at White Cloud High School, and I do football, basketball, track and quiz bowl.

- Hi, my name is Liam.

I'm a senior at White Cloud High School, and I do football, track, weightlifting and quiz bowl.

- Hi, I am Charlotte.

I'm a senior.

I run cross and track, and I was the drum major for the marching band season.

- My name is Brian Loveless.

I go to White Cloud High School.

I participate in band and chess club.

- Thanks to all of our students competing today.

Great to have you here.

Now the next round on Quiz Central, that is the Kickoff round, (upbeat percussive music) a round that includes a combination of tossup and bonus questions.

The team that correctly answers the tossup will get the opportunity to answer a single bonus question, no stealing on those bonuses.

After a bonus question we'll go back to a tossup for both teams.

Players do receive that one-second penalty if they ring in before a tossup question has been read completely.

Buzzers at the ready.

Here we go.

Here comes your first 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 beeps) - Odysseus?

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Incorrect.

Do we have a shot over at Roscommon?

- Perseus?

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Incorrect also.

Back to a tossup for both teams.

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 beeps) - Nixon?

- [David] Incorrect.

Roscommon take a shot.

(buzzer beeps) - Eisenhower.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Also incorrect.

We'll go back to a tossup for both.

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 beeps) - Square root of two?

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Bonus question now for Roscommon.

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

- I think a goose.

That makes the most sense here for Canadian.

- Yeah, I can see goose.

- (indistinct), we good with that?

- Yeah.

- Okay, goose?

- [David] Incorrect on the bonus.

We'll go back to a tossup for both.

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

(buzzer beeps) - Qatar.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Bonus now for Roscommon.

Claude Monet made many late in life paintings of what aquatic flowers- - Water lilies.

(laughs) - [David] In his garden at Giverny.

- Water lilies.

(bell dings) - [David] Also correct.

Back to the tossup for both.

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

(buzzer beeps) - Hammurabi code?

(bell dings) - [David] Correct there and back to another bonus for Roscommon.

What Japanese warlord was betrayed and forced to commit suicide in the 1582 Honno-Ji Incident.

- Pretty sure this is seppuku thing.

Sorry.

- I don't know.

- I don't know.

- Can we guess?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- Okay.

Shogun.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Incorrect.

Tossup for both teams, what instrument whose virtuosos included Dietrich Buxtehude and Marcel Dupre is a keyboard instrument that makes sound by pushing air through pipes.

(buzzer beeps) - Organ.

- [David] That is correct.

Bonus question, the 1888 Convention of Constantinople regulated the use of what waterway, which was completed in 1869 under the direction of Ferdinand de Lesseps.

- Suez Canal, maybe?

- That's a good one.

- Is that 1800s?

We'll put that - It's- - We'll try that.

We'll go with the Suez canal.

(bell dings) - [David] Correct also.

Tossup for both teams.

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 beeps) - "Fahrenheit 451."

- [David] Correct for Roscommon there.

And the bonus question, what battle in which William Prescott defended the Charlestown Peninsula was won by the British near Boston and was actually fought on Breed's Hill?

- Bunker Hill would be misleading.

- [Gavin] It's probably something hill.

- Okay, Battle of Bunker Hill?

- [David] Correct on the bonus.

Tossup for both teams, what governing document was signed by men like William Bradford and Miles Standish in 1620 before they landed at Plymouth.

(buzzer beeps) - Articles of Confederation.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] That is incorrect.

A tossup now for both, excuse me.

White Cloud to to get the chance for the steal.

- The Mayflower Compact.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Apologies, go to the bonus now for you, 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?

- Aluminum.

- [David] Also correct there on the bonus.

Back to the tossup now.

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

(buzzer beeps) - Plato.

- [David] Incorrect, White Cloud?

(buzzer beeps) - Aristotle.

(bell dings) - [David] Correct.

And a bonus for you, what island whose eastern coast is indented by Scoresby Sund is governed from Nuuk and is a large island belonging to Denmark in the Arctic.

- Greenland.

- Greenland.

- [David] That is correct also.

Back to the tossup for both.

(bell dings) Oh, we come to the end of the round and didn't get to that last question.

Let's take a look back at the ones that were missed by both teams.

The hero who defeated the bandits in the underworld.

We were looking for Theseus.

The politician who secured that civil rights plank and then was the VP but lost in '68, Hubert Humphrey.

Canadian $1 bill features what kind of bird?

We were looking for the loony.

And what Japanese warlord was betrayed and forced to commit suicide?

We were looking there for Oda Nobunaga.

Our next round today is the Perfect 10, and in the Perfect 10 you'll have 60 seconds to answer questions (upbeat percussive music) from a choice of clues to three categories.

The opposing team will have 30 seconds to answer any unasked, incorrect or skipped questions.

You can consult throughout this entire round, and we'll take those answers from the captain.

The team that's trailing will get the first choice to pick a clue to a category today.

Now White Cloud, you're trailing currently.

You get the first choice from one of these following three categories, sightseeing, island time, or the Golden State.

- Golden State could be California.

- Golden State would probably be California.

- [Brian] With a ton of landmarks.

- Huh?

- With the first one.

- Landmarks.

- So what do you wanna do?

- I think we should do the first one.

- All right.

We'll do the first one.

- [David] Sightseeing is your choice.

We're looking for places to C. Identify these places whose English language names begin with a letter C. Again, places to C. Identify these places whose English language names begin with the letter C, and we will start your Perfect 10 with this.

City home to the Willis Tower in Wrigley Field.

- Chicago.

(bell dings) - [David] State home to Yale University.

- Connecticut?

- Connecticut.

(bell dings) - [David] South America's southernmost country.

- Chile.

- Chile.

(bell dings) - [David] Country whose cities include Split and Zagreb.

- Zagreb.

- Zagreb?

- Czech Republic.

- Czech Republic.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] State capital of Ohio.

- Columbus.

- Columbus.

(bell dings) - [David] The world's largest inland sea.

- Caspian.

- Caspian.

(bell dings) - [David] Island country whose capital of Nicosia is divided by the Green Line.

- The?

- Pass.

- Pass.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Lake on the New York-Vermont border.

- Champlain.

- Champlain.

(bell dings) - [David] River that forms part of the Alabama-Georgia border.

- Is that Colorado?

- Colorado.

(buzzer beeps) - Mountain range whose tallest peak is Mount Elbrus.

- No, Cascades?

- Cascades?

- [David] Nope, we ran out of time before we could get to that answer, but we'll shift it over to Roscommon now.

30 seconds on the clock for you to pick up what was missed there.

And again the category is sightseeing, places to C. Identify these places whose English language names begin with the letter C. Country whose cities include Split and Zagreb.

- Defer to Gavin - Croatia.

(bell dings) - [David] Island country whose capital of Nicosia is divided by the Green Line.

- Defer to Gavin.

- Cyprus.

(bell dings) - [David] River that forms part of the Alabama-Georgia border.

- I dunno this one.

Do we wanna try Columbus or Columbia, maybe?

- Columbus River?

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Mountain range whose tallest peak is Mount Elbrus?

- C, so it could be the name of a country.

(indistinct) - Time- - Caucasian.

- [David] We didn't get quite to check that answer.

Let's check those that were missed then by both teams.

The river that forms in Alabama-Georgia, we were looking for the Chattahoochee River.

The mountain range whose tallest peak is Mount Elbrus?

We were looking for the Greater Caucuses Mountains.

Okay, we come over to Roscommon now for your choice here in the Perfect 10.

And you have your choice of one of these two categories remaining, island time or the Golden State.

- [Gavin] California or islands, probably.

- They're both gonna be like very vague, probably not obvious.

- I think islands might be easier 'cause there's more of them.

California's gonna be more specific.

- And what's your choice?

- I think I would- - We'll go with the first of the two.

- [David] Island time is your choice.

The clue here is island fiction.

Name the authors of these fictional works that depict islands.

We put 60 seconds on the clock, and your Perfect 10 begins with this, "Robinson Crusoe."

- Defoe.

- Defoe.

(bell dings) - [David] "The Mysterious Island," a sequel to "20,000 Leagues under the Sea.

- Verne.

- Sorry.

- What'd you, defer to Gavin.

- Verne.

(bell dings) - [David] "Treasure Island."

- I don't think I know that one either.

We'll just go, Twain.

- No.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] The 1516 book "Utopia."

- Who made "Utopia"?

- Sinclair.

- Sinclair.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] "Lord of the Flies."

- Golding.

- Golding.

(bell dings) - [David] "The Island of Dr.

Moreau."

- I dunno.

- Mill?

- Stein.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] "Island," a companion novel to "Brave New World."

- Huxley.

(bell dings) - [David] "Anne of Green Gables," set on Prince Edward Island.

- Montgomery.

- Montgomery.

(bell dings) - [David] "A Wizard of Earthsea."

- I'm not sure.

- I dunno, Homer.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] The short story, "The Most Dangerous Game."

- Oh, shoot.

I don't remember this - Time.

Didn't get a chance for an answer there, but we come over to White Cloud.

Now you get the chance to pick up on those that were missed in that first part of the Perfect 10.

Again the category is island time and the clue here is island fiction.

Name the authors of these fictional works that depict islands.

And your 30 seconds to pick up on those begins with this, "Treasure Island."

- Stevenson.

- Stevenson.

(bell dings) - [David] The 1516 book "Utopia."

- More.

- More.

(bell dings) - [David] "The Island of Dr.

Moreau."

- Pass.

- Pass.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] "A Wizard of Earthsea."

- Pass.

- Pass.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] The short story, "The Most Dangerous Game."

- I don't know.

- I don't know.

- Pass.

- Pass.

(buzzer beeps) (bell dings) - And we wind up now with 170 to 140 at the close of the Perfect 10.

Let's check back on the ones that were missed by both teams.

"The Island of Dr.

Moreau" is HG Wells, was the author we were looking for there.

And Ursula Le Guin is the author of "A Wizard of Earthsea."

The short story "The Most Dangerous Game," that one was written by Richard Connell.

And again at the close of the Perfect 10, we've got a good, close game.

It's not the most dangerous game, but it is a close game.

Roscommon is at 170, White Cloud is at 140.

As we enter the home stretch round today, I'll ask a combination (upbeat percussive music) of tossup and bonus questions.

The team that correctly answers the tossup will get the opportunity to answer a single bonus question.

No stealing on those bonuses.

And after a bonus question we'll go back to a tossup for both teams.

Players do receive a one-second penalty if they ring in before a tossup question has been read completely.

If the buzzers are ready and the players are ready, here comes your first question.

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

- Thailand.

(buzzer beeps) (bell dings) - [David] That is correct, bonus for Roscommon.

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

- We'll go defer to Logan.

- Perfect game.

- That is correct there on the bonus as well.

Tossup for both teams.

What French author of "The Persian Letters" articulated the idea of separation of powers in "The Spirit of the Laws" which inspired the founding fathers?

- Robespierre.

(buzzer beeps) (buzzer beeps) - [David] That is incorrect.

White Cloud, you wanna take a shot?

- Locke?

- [David] That is also incorrect.

We'll go to a tossup again for both.

What YA series by Veronica Roth centers on Tris Prior who lives in a post-apocalyptic Chicago divided into factions such as Candor and Dauntless?

(buzzer beeps) - Divergent.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Bonus question now for White Cloud, what organ whose stratum corneum is composed of dead keratin-rich cells is the human body's largest and has an outer layer called the epidermis?

- The skin.

The skin.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Active bonus for both.

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

- Sudan.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Incorrect, White Cloud with a guess.

- Morocco.

(buzzer beeps) (bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Bonus now for White Cloud.

What event attended by Frederick Douglas and arranged by Quakers like Lucretia Mott- - Seneca Falls.

- [David] Produced the Declaration of Sentiments endorsing women's rights.

- Seneca Falls.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Back to the tossup for both.

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

- Winnipeg.

(buzzer beeps) (bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Roscommon now with a bonus.

What title object that is created by Basil Hallward gradually becomes repulsive but keeps its owner magically youthful in a novel by Oscar Wilde?

- Defer to Faith.

- Painting, portrait.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] That is incorrect, sorry.

We go back to a tossup for both.

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

(buzzer beeps) - Queue.

(buzzer beeps) - That is incorrect.

White Cloud?

- Bubble sort.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Bonus now for White Cloud.

What poker hand can be referred to as a boat, ranks directly above a flush in Texas hold 'em and requires three cards of one rank and two of another?

- Full house.

- Full house.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Tossup for both teams.

What author whose novels "A World of Strangers" and "Burger's Daughter" were banned during South Africa's apartheid wrote "July's People."

- Gordimer.

(buzzer beeps) (bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

White Cloud with a bonus, GN 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?

- The octet rule (bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Tossup for both teams.

"Life on Earth," "Planet Earth" and "The Blue Planet" series are some of the nature documentaries narrated and presented by what British natural historian?

(buzzer beeps) - David Attenborough.

(bell dings) - [David] Correct.

Bonus now for White Cloud.

What author wrote about Steven Kumalo traveling to Johannesburg to rescue Absalom in his novel "Cry the Beloved Country."

- Peyton.

- Oh, oh, Patton.

- Patton.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Tossup for both teams.

The landmark known as Big Ben is a bell inside a large clock tower at the north end of what palace in London?

(buzzer beeps) - Windsor, no.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] Incorrect.

Roscommon with the- - Buckingham.

- [David] And that is also incorrect.

We go back to a tossup for both.

What architect whose own home was called Taliesin designed a house along a Pennsylvania stream for the Kaufmann family called Fallingwater.

- Wright.

(buzzer beeps) (bell dings) - [David] Frank Lloyd Wright is correct.

A bonus now for White Cloud.

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

- Fibonacci.

Fibonacci.

(buzzer beeps) - Incorrect.

(bell dings) And we get to the end of that round.

Let's check back on those that were missed.

What French author of "The Persian Letters"?

We were looking for Montesquieu.

The title object created by Basil Harwood in that novel by Oscar Wilde, "The Picture of Dorian Gray."

We were close but didn't get the full answer.

The landmark known as Big Ben, that is in the Palace of Westminster.

And the mathematician who proved that the sum of the reciprocals, we were looking for Leonhard Paul Euler.

And at the close of that round, we now find ourselves White Cloud with a lead of 250 to 200 for Roscommons.

Still a very close game.

Players are doing excellent today.

Now we're set to enter the final countdown.

Teams will have two minutes (upbeat percussive music) to answer as many tossup questions as they can.

If a team answers incorrectly, the opposing school has the opportunity to answer that question.

Teams may not consult during this round.

Players do receive a one-second penalty if they ring in before a tossup question has been read completely.

That'll be indicated by the orange light above their name.

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 beeps) - Cromwell.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

What composer depicted Guglielmo and Ferrando duping their fiances Fiordiligi and Dorabella in his opera "Cosi fan tutte"?

(buzzer beeps) - Hayden.

(buzzer beeps) - [David] That is incorrect.

White Cloud, you have a guess.

(buzzer beeps) - Mozart.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Tossup for both teams.

What concept, which names the band that included "Something in the Way" on their album Nevermind is a state of liberation from suffering in Hinduism?

(buzzer beeps) - Nirvana?

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

John Pershing launched the punitive expedition in response to what Mexican revolutionary's raid on Columbus, New Mexico?

(buzzer beeps) - Pancho Villa.

(bell dings) - [David] Correct.

What process whose induced form is caused by absorption of a neutron occurs at the each stage of a chain reaction and is a splitting of a nucleus?

(buzzer beeps) - Fission?

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

What American chemist won Nobel Prizes in both Chemistry and Peace and names an electronegativity scale in which fluorine has a value of 4.0?

(buzzer beeps) - Pauling.

(bell dings) - [David] That is correct.

Next question, what explorer who died after trying to kidnap Chief Kalani'opu'u, excuse me, in Hawaii, led the HMS Endeavour on the first of his three expeditions of the Pacific?

(buzzer beeps) - Cook.

(bell dings) - Correct.

According to the title of a 2025 Tony-nominated play, (bell dings) and we get to the end of that round.

We'll check back on our missed questions here.

The 2025 Tony-nominated play, we were looking for John Proctor.

And at the close then of our round today and our game, White Cloud 310, Roscommon 210, an excellent game played by both teams.

Let's have a nice round of applause for all of our players today.

(audience applauding) And Roscommon, very well played.

Thank you for joining us here today.

Congratulations to White Cloud.

We will see you in an upcoming round of Quiz Central, and we hope to see all of you for the next time we get together here on WCMU.

For all of us at Quiz Central, I'm David Nicholas.

(upbeat rock music) Thanks.

Have a good night everybody.