(bright music) - Welcome to High School Quiz Show Maine where there is one slot remaining for the quarterfinals.

Which of today's teams will have their chance at the $1,000 prize?

Will it be the Eagles of Windham High School, (triumphant music) or the Rams of Deering High School?

(triumphant music) Find out next on High School Quiz Show Maine.

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Thank you.

(triumphant music) - Welcome to High School Quiz Show Maine.

I'm your host, Todd Gutner.

Today we will fill the final slot in the corner finals on our way to the season eight championship and the $1,000 grand prize.

In our eighth and final qualifying match we have two veteran teams who are each looking for their first trip to the finals.

The Eagles of Windham have been with us each year since season five, as have the Rams of Deering high school in Portland, but so far neither has made it to the final.

Perhaps this will be the year for one of them.

Let's get things going by meeting the teams.

For Windham, we have Nick, Delia, Mason, And Chessie, with alternates, Emma and Sage, and they're coached by John Ziegel.

And for Deering we have Violet, we have Asa, Connor, and Eve with alternate DeLuca, and they're coached by Kyle Davenport.

The competition has four rounds.

The toss up round, the head-to-head round, the category round, and the fun lightning round.

We'll start with the toss up round.

All answers are worth 10 points, and this is the only round with no point deductions for wrong answers.

Players must wait for me to complete the question, and if one team answers incorrectly, the other team will be given a chance to answer.

Are you teams ready?

All right, let's get started.

Here's the first question.

After leaving the job in 2015 and taking a nine year break, who returned to hosting the Daily Show in 2024?

(bell dings) Mason.

- Stewart.

- That's right, John Stewart.

Name for the French scientist who developed it in the 1860s.

What process removes pathogens from milk, juice, and other foods by heating them?

(bell dings) Delia, Windham.

- Pasteur.

- We'll take it, yes.

The failed attempt by the United States in 1961 to invade Cuba and overthrow its government is known by what name that refers to the place where the invasion began?

(bell dings) Asa.

- Bay of Pigs.

- That is right.

I think I can, I think I can is the guiding principle of the main character in which 1930 children's book by Watty Piper?

(bell dings) Eve, Deering, - The Little Train That Could.

- [Todd] Ooh, that's not the right answer.

Windham, do you wanna try?

(bell dings) Go ahead, Chassie - The Little Engine That Could?

- That is the right answer.

So close, Eve, so close.

All right up next we have a picture question.

So take a look at the monitor over here.

Name this tribal chief of the Nez Perce who led more than 800 men and women on a 1,200 mile fighting retreat known as the Nez Perce War after being forcibly removed from their ancestral lands of the Pacific Northwest by the federal government in 1877.

(bell dings) Mason.

- Red Cloud?

- [Todd] That's not right.

Deering, you wanna give it a shot?

(bell dings) Go ahead, Connor.

- Raging Bull?

- The answer is Chief Joseph.

And here's our next question.

The 2024 Netflix movie Under Paris involves what dangerously blood thirsty creature living in the Seine River.

(bell dings) Connor.

- Crocodile?

- [Todd] Also incorrect.

Windham.

(bell dings) Delia?

- Shark.

- Yeah, you got it, shark.

That's the right answer too.

All right, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction summarizes what scientist's third law of motion?

(bell dings) Connor.

- Newton.

- Newton, right.

Crossing the St. John River, the Madawaska-Edmundston Bridge connects Madawaska, Maine to Edmundston in which Canadian province?

(bell dings) Violet?

- Quebec.

- [Todd] Incorrect, Windham?

(bell dings) Go ahead, Nick.

- New Brunswick.

- New Brunswick is correct.

The 2024 Tony Award for best musical went to a musical adaptation of what novel by S.E.

Hinton.

(bell dings) Chessie?

- The Outsiders.

- Yeah, great, great, great story and movie when I was growing up.

Next up we have a video question.

So once again, take a look at the monitor.

- I'm Aislinn Sarnacki, host of Borealis on Maine public.

And here's my question for you.

The desert of Maine in Freeport has been attracting tourists for about 100 years.

And while it's not technically a desert, it does feature about 20 acres of glacial sand.

It also features a statue of an animal that greets visitors.

What's that animal?

(bell dings) - [Todd] Mason?

- A moose.

- [Todd] That's incorrect.

Deering?

(bell dings) - A deer?

- Connor, deer is also incorrect.

It's a camel, a camel.

The Titanic was built at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in which city that is the capital of Northern Ireland?

(bell dings) Mason.

- Belfast.

- Belfast, right.

In May, 2024, which US political party nominated Chase Oliver as its candidate for the office of President of the United States?

(bell dings) Violet?

- Libertarian.

- Libertarian, nice.

A passage in the Bible warns against false prophets who are like what ferocious animal disguised in sheep's clothing?

(bell dings) Delia?

- Wolf.

- Wolf, right.

Math question, the first one of the round.

Here it is.

There are 24 cookies in a package, and each cookie weighs two ounces.

What is the weight of the package in pounds?

(bell dings) Asa?

- Three.

- Nailed it, Asa.

Nice job.

In French, it's Noel.

In Spanish, it's Navidad.

What's the English name for this holiday?

(bell dings) Violet?

- Christmas.

- Well done.

From Latin words that mean to speak from the belly, what is the term for a performer like puppeteer Jeff Dunham, who has the ability to speak without moving his lips?

(bell dings) Mason?

- Ventriloquist.

- Yes.

Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 war movie Apocalypse Now was inspired by the 1899 novella "Heart of Darkness" by what author?

(bell dings) Violet.

- Joseph Conrad.

- You got it.

The first number in an ordered pair of coordinates is called the abscissa.

What is the second number called?

(bell dings) Chessie.

- The ordinate.

- You got that.

Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has served six consecutive terms as president of which nation that lies on the northern border of Ukraine?

(bell dings) Mason.

- Belarus.

- Nice job.

Belarus is right.

The root of the verb ossify, meaning to harden, comes from the Latin word for which of these things?

Bone, rock or wood?

(bell dings) Violet.

- Bone.

- Bone, nice.

Started in 2019 by the UK based organization, Plant Life, what environmental movement aims to help pollinators by encouraging people to let weeds grow freely in their yards for a month in Spring?

(bell dings) Chessie.

- No Mow May.

- That's the right answer.

The first book written and published by an enslaved woman in America with poems on various subjects, religious and moral, by what woman who was born in Africa around 1753 and brought to Boston in 1761.

(bell dings) Eve.

- Phyllis Wheatley?

- That is the right answer.

(alarm ringing) And that's the end of our first round.

And we've got a tight one, Windham 120 and Deering 80.

Looks like the match is gonna be a good one.

Don't go anywhere.

We'll meet the players when we get back.

(triumphant music) Before we get to the head-to-head round, we like to pause and get to know our players with a slightly silly question.

And it is, which animal would you say you resemble the most?

We'll begin with Windham and Nick.

- I think the animal I resemble the most besides a human would be like a baby bear or something because like I'm not tall or anything, but I'm sort of just like, you know.

- Are you kind of cuddly too?

- I wish I could say I was, but I don't know.

(Todd laughs) - I think you would be.

Delia, what do you think?

- Probably some sort of bird.

- [Todd] Bird.

- Maybe a hawk.

- A hawk, how come?

- I like to watch things.

More of like a figurative resemblance.

- I see, right.

Like they're hanging above us just watching around like waiting to prey on something.

Yep, okay, Mason?

- Right now a puffer fish because I'm very stressed out and on edge.

- Oh, because of the match at hand?

- [Mason] Yes.

- All right, well if you win, what would it be do you think?

- Get back to me in five minutes.

(Todd laughs) - I'll come, yeah.

I didn't mean to put you on the spot, Mason, but thanks for giving it a shot.

Chessie, this is your favorite time of the match.

What do you think for the animal?

- My friends have in the past resembled me to a gopher.

- Wow.

Is that a compliment or are you not sure?

- It's got some inside jokes and layering in on it.

- [Todd] Yeah.

- But it's 'cause I peek over stuff sometimes.

- Okay, all right.

Looking for anything or everything?

- The lightboard monitors at our school.

- Oh, all right.

- [Chessie] Peeking up to see the stage.

- I gotcha, I gotcha.

All right, let's head over to Deering.

Violet, what do you think?

- I think I'd be a fox.

- A fox?

- Yeah, 'cause I'm a ginger.

(Todd laughs) - I mean, I'm seeing the resemblance there with the hair.

I like that.

Asa.

- I was gonna say human, but now I feel really lame, so.

(Todd laughs) I'll say penguin because you know, in the cold- - [Todd] Yeah.

- I don't get that, I don't get that cold, I guess.

- You don't get affected by like Maine's worst cold?

- I mean, I do, but maybe to a slightly lesser extent.

- Yeah, you're kind of hardy.

You're tough.

All right, thanks, Asa.

Connor?

- I'd say like baby deer just 'cause I'm not exactly great at running or like using my legs.

- Okay.

Oh, and they're kind of, like as soon as they're born they kinda like sometimes.

- [Conner] Just like bowlegged.

- Yeah, exactly.

Very awkward, right?

Thanks for being really honest with us, Connor.

- [Conner] Yeah, yeah.

- And you know, that was tough probably.

Eve.

- I think maybe a bear because I value my sleep.

(player laughs) - If you could hibernate, would you?

- Definitely.

- Definitely.

Sounding like a true teenager.

Head-to-head round is next, but let's see how well you do with our viewer question of the week.

(triumphant music) - Hi, I'm Jake Cody from Bangor Savings Bank, and this is your viewer question of the week.

Maine has 16 counties with York being the oldest and Knox the youngest.

But how many counties did Maine have when it became a state in 1820?

Keep track of your answers and tune into the semifinals for part two of the viewer question challenge.

(triumphant music) - It's time for the head-to-head round.

Players alternate facing off one-on-one right here at the desk.

Correct answers are worth 10 points.

Incorrect answers will cost you 10 points.

There are 90 seconds on the clock.

Players ready?

Here we go.

The major party candidates in the 2,000 US presidential election were George W. Bush, and what then- (bell dings) - Al Gore.

- Al Gore, yes.

Carbon and the other elements in group 14 on the periodic table each have how many valence electrons?

(bell dings) - Four.

- Four, nice.

From which country does sriracha sauce gets its name?

(bell dings) - Mexico?

- Incorrect, Thailand.

It takes a little more than how many minutes for light to travel from the sun to the earth?

(bell dings) - Eight.

- Eight, yes.

In Penobscot tradition, First Mother is associated with what important food crop that she produces to keep people from starving?

(bell dings) - Corn.

- Corn, right.

At the top of the big Kill Devil Hill in North Carolina is a monument to- (bell dings) - The Wright brothers?

- The Wright brothers, yes.

In Mexico, Luca Libre involves massed competitors engaged in what- (bell dings) - Wrestling.

- Wrestling, right.

A fortnight is a unit of time.

(bell dings) - Two weeks?

- That is correct.

Venus has a very dense atmosphere made up of almost entirely- What's that?

Greenhouse gas.

(bell dings) Go ahead.

- Carbon dioxide.

- CO2, yes.

What four letter word refers to a cylindrical tent traditionally used by Mongolian nomads?

(bell dings) - Teepee?

- Incorrect, yurt.

All of Shakespeare's plays are divided into how many acts.

(buzzer buzzes) Five.

What South American country gets its name from the- (alarm rings) And that's the end of our head-to-head round.

Let's check the score.

Still very close.

Windham 150, Deering 110.

The category round is next.

Don't go away.

(triumphant music) - [Announcer] Production support for High School Quiz Show Maine is provided by- - Educators want our students to succeed.

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Proud to sponsor High School Quiz Show Maine and thanking Maine's educators and schools for preparing the workforce of tomorrow.

- [Announcer] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(triumphant music) - Next up is the category round with the following choices.

A Mystery Category, The Opposite of Good, Beyond Borders, What A Great Idea, It Happened in New England, and Photo Finish.

Each team will alternate control of two categories.

Questions have increasing point values.

With each question they can choose to answer and either gain or lose points, they can skip and neither gain nor lose points, or once per category, they can toss and force the other team to answer.

Players will have about five seconds to confer with each other and decide what to do.

Now Deering, you guys trail by just a little bit.

Connor, you wanna choose your first category for us?

- [Conner] We will do beyond borders.

- Beyond Borders.

These will be questions about territories and possessions.

Here's the first question.

San Juan is the capital of which US island territory.

- Puerto Rico.

- [Todd] That lies between North, the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

- Puerto Rico?

- Puerto Rico, yes.

Beyond Borders, 15.

The traditional home of the Dalai Lama, what former independent country was occupied by China in 1950 and is now referred to as an autonomous region of China?

- Tibet.

- Tibet, nice.

Corvo and Pico are two of the nine islands in which Portuguese Island group in the North Atlantic?

(group whispering) - Or Azores?

- Azores.

- Azores is rights.

Beyond Borders, 25 now.

Greenland and Faroe Islands are autonomous regions of which Scandinavian country?

- Denmark?

- Denmark, yes.

And the last question in Beyond Borders.

The European Space Agency launches many of its missions from the Spaceport in which overseas region of France located in South America?

- Guiana.

Guiana in South America.

- French Guiana.

- That is correct.

Nice job, you swept the category.

Alright, we're gonna head over to Windham now.

And Delia, you get to choose your category now, your first one.

- [Delia] I think we're gonna choose It Happened in New England.

- Okay, these will be questions about events in New England.

Following a tradition that started in 1920, the first presidential primary election of 2024 took place in which New England state?

- It's either Vermont or New Hampshire, but I don't remember which one.

- I think New Hampshire.

- I think New Hampshire.

- New Hampshire.

- New Hampshire is right.

It Happened in New England, 15.

In 1791, which New England state officially separated itself from New York and became the 14th state of the United States of America.

- Vermont.

- Vermont is also right.

It Happened in New England, 20.

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was physically attacked for attempting to participate in what annual event that takes place on Patriots Day in Massachusetts.

- Boston Marathon.

- Oh, Boston Marathon maybe?

- Sure.

- Boston Marathon.

- That is the right answer too.

It Happened in New England, 25.

The first permanent British colony in New England, which was, was which colony Established in Massachusetts in 1620 by people who arrived in North America on the Mayflower, - Massachusetts, Plymouth or Massachusetts.

- Plymouth.

- Plymouth final.

- [Todd] One more time, Delia.

- Plymouth.

- Plymouth is correct.

Nice job.

It Happened in New England, 30.

In 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut, Thomas Gallaudet opened the first permanent school in the United States for students with what disability.

A university in Washington DC for students with this disability is named for him.

- I think it's deafness.

Deafness.

- That is right, nice job.

Deafness hearing impairment.

And you guys swept the category.

Alright, you held serve.

We're back over to Deering for your second choice.

Connor, go for it.

- [Conner] We will do What A Great Idea.

- What A Great Idea, these will be questions about inventions and discoveries.

Here's the first one.

Adapting techniques he learned from Inuit people in Canada, American biologists, Clarence Birdseye, invented a commercial method to do what to fresh fish, meat and vegetables in order to preserve them?

- Smoke probably.

- Smoke?

- That's incorrect.

It's flash freeze.

What A Great Idea for 15.

Which 19th century German chemist was a pioneer in the field of spectrum analysis, found an antidote for arsenic poisoning, and invented the commonly used laboratory burner that bears his name?

- Bunsen.

- Bunsen is correct.

What A Great Idea, 20.

In the 1960s chemist Stephanie Kwolek invented what stronger than steel fiber that is commonly used to make bulletproof vests and other types of body armor?

- Kevlar.

- Kevlar, right.

What A Great Idea, 25.

Ophthalmologist Patricia Bath invented the Laserphaco probe, a minimally invasive surgical instrument used to remove what cloudy areas that form on the lens of the eye?

(group whispering) - Cataracts?

- Cataracts, right.

What A Great Idea for 30.

What computer scientists who earned the rank of Admiral in the US Navy led the team that invented the COBOL computer programming language and the FLOW-MATIC compiler, which translates computer code from one programming language to another?

(group whispering) - We will toss it.

- You wanna toss it over to Windham.

I'll read it one more time.

What computer scientists who earned the rank of Admiral in the US Navy led the team that invented the COBAL computer programming language and the FLOW-MATIC compiler, which translates computer code from one programming language to another?

- It's either Touring or Lovelace.

- I don't think it's Touring because he's British.

- It's Lovelace.

- Lovelace?

- I think it's Lovelace.

- Lovelace.

- Lovelace is incorrect.

It's Admiral Grace Hopper.

That's the name.

That wraps up the category for Deering.

We'll head back to Windham.

Delia, your second category will be?

- [Delia] The Opposite of Good.

- The Opposite of Good.

All of your answers will contain the word bad.

- [Delia] Okay.

- Here's the first.

The first song by Billy Eilish to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 was which single from 2019.

- Bad Guy?

- Bad Guy, right.

The Opposite of Good for 15.

In a 2015 single that features Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift sings "It used to be mad love, now we got what thing?

- Bad blood.

- Bad blood is right.

The Opposite of Good 20.

The title character wakes up with chewing gum in his hair and things only get worse after that.

In what 1972 kid's book by Judith Viorst that was adapted for a 2014 movie?

- Alexander and the No Good, Very Bad Day.

- Alexander and the No Good, Very Bad Day.

- That's close, but it's not it.

- It's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

So sorry.

The Opposite of Good for 25.

A 1933 Disney animated film of the Three Little Pigs story includes what song that the pigs sing about the villain?

- Any ideas?

- Something big bad wolf.

- Skip.

- Wanna skip it?

- It's Who's Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf?

Here's the last one in the category, The Opposite of Good.

An animated series in the Star Wars franchise focuses on Cloned Force 99 who are also known by what name mentioned in the show's title?

- Bad Batch.

- Bad Batch is right.

And that wraps up our category round.

Let's check the score.

This one is super tight, folks.

Windham 255, Deering 260.

Everything can change and probably will in the lightning round.

So sit tight.

We'll be right back.

(triumphant music) Okay, we're heading into the final 90 seconds of gameplay, the lightning round.

This one should be fun.

Players you do not have to wait for me to finish the question.

You can buzz in at any time, but do not answer until I call your name.

You get 20 points for each correct answer.

Incorrect answers will cost you 20, and the other team does not get the chance to answer.

Our clock is set.

Good luck, here we go.

How many stars are on the current flag of the United States?

(bell dings) Asa.

- 50.

- [Todd] Yes.

The upper chambers of the heart are the atria.

What are the lower chambers called?

(bell dings) Connor.

- Ventricles.

- [Todd] Yes.

Salan is the former name of what South Asian Island- (bell dings) Mason.

- Sri Lanka.

- [Todd] Correct.

What device does a meteorologist use to measure atmospheric pressure?

(bell dings) Chessie.

- A Doppler radar.

- Barometer.

In Jack London's novel, "The Call of the Wild," what kind of animal is- (bell dings) Go ahead, Chessie.

- Wolf.

- That's incorrect.

It's St. Bernard or Scott Shepherd.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is based in what Ohio- (bell dings) Mason.

- Cleveland.

- [Todd] Cleveland, right.

What Zodiac sign for late December and early January is known as the- (bell dings) Violet.

- Capricorn.

- [Todd] Got it.

Military strategist Sun Tzu is best known for writing- (bell dings) Conner.

- The Art of War.

- [Todd] That is correct.

What European principality has the highest population density of any country in the- (bell dings) Violet.

- Vatican city.

- Incorrect, Monaco.

What two word Latin phrase means buyer beware?

(buzzer buzzes) Caveat emptor.

The PGA Masters Tournament is held annually- (bell dings) Asa.

- Golf.

- Augusta National.

What dictator led the government of Spain from 1939- (bell dings) Go ahead, Mason.

- Francisco Franco.

- [Todd] Correct.

Girl With a Pearl Earring was painted by what Dutch- (bell dings) Nick.

- Vermeer.

- You got it, Vermeer.

(alarm rings) And that is the end of our lightning round.

And this one is super tight.

Our winning team is Deering with 300 points.

They'll be moving on to the quarterfinals in a few weeks.

Windham, you guys were great.

You had 295 points.

It was a five point difference.

What a match.

Congratulations to both of you.

Be sure to tune in next time for the first quarterfinal match.

Gould takes on Westbrook.

Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time on High School Quiz Show Maine.

(triumphant music) - [Announcer] Production support for High School Quiz Show Maine is provided by: Energy is about more than just keeping the lights on.

It's about living life as parents, friends, and teammates.

Unitil is proud to support High School Quiz Show Maine.

Unitil, more than a utility, part of your community.

- [Announcer 2] 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 storms.

- [Announcer 3] Since 1852, Bangor Savings Bank has been dedicated to keeping New Englanders at the heart of what they do.

That means investing in communities they serve and supporting families and businesses.

You matter more.

- [Announcer] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(triumphant music)