Time for the Questions to be revealed! Here's
another link to the Google Form for your responses, but feel free to submit answers via PM as well if that's what you would prefer.
“Groups of People!”
1) Celebrity Chefs
Would you rather be in a fistfight with Gordon Ramsey or Emeril Lagasse? Gordon’s got the temper, but Emeril has that BAM. He also has a line of incredibly popular pasta sauces. And while pasta is probably one of the best foods ever, there’s an even more popular dish with sauce: pizza. Consistently ranked as one of the most popular foods in North America, pizza is known worldwide for its varying flavors thanks to the multitude of toppings you can add to it.
For this question, I’d like you to
give me one of the ten most popular pizza toppings. The general consensus on which ten these are is almost 100% consistent across sources, though ranking within the top ten tends to differ, but is unimportant for this question. I’m looking for just one topping, not a combination of toppings that creates a speciality pizza or anything like that. That is to say, just “bananas” not “bananas and strawberries” (neither of which, thankfully, are on the list). Also, I’m not looking for sauces here; think anything that might be considered a topping if you ordered a pizza online from a chain (i.e. something that might cost extra).
2) Dog Lovers
Hailed as “man’s best friend” since the dawn of time and still so, so true.
The American Kennel Club puts out a yearly list of the most popular dog breeds in America, based on AKC registration stats. The list for
2015 came out back in February, and I would like you
to name one of the top fourteen breeds of dog on the list. The number one dog breed has been the reigning champ for the last 25 years! Consider dogs that you see often on television as well for hints towards what might be a popular breed. Please be as specific as possible, as there are breeds of dogs that share similar names but are differentiated on the list.
3) Literal Groups and Groups and Groups of People
Countries: some are big, some are small, some have many people and some have barely any at all. And there’s a lot of them, too! With over 7 billion people in the world, it’s a good thing that we all get a little space to stretch out.
But some places are more crowded than others. In fact, every country has a “that place” where people flock to live. For this question, I’d like you
to name the most populated city in any country in mainland North America. In the spoiler below will be a list of countries that meet the “mainland” criteria. I’m looking for highest raw number of people, not population density, and this counts urban and metropolitan parts of the city in question. There are
ten countries and cities to choose from. PLEASE include the name of the country in your response, such as “Sydney, Australia.”
List of countries to choose from: Canada, the United States, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá.
4) Broadway Successes
Okay, so musicals aren’t really people to be grouped, but lyricists count, right? Anyway, everyone knows the best parts of musicals are the songs. That may not actually true for everyone, but some musicals have some truly amazing songs that really stick with you. In the spoiler below is a list of songs that come from
eight different musicals; I want you
to give me the musical that they come from. Each musical will have two songs listed to help you out. PLEASE provide your letter of choice for this response!
a) “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” / “Younger Than Springtime”
b) “Popular” / “March of the Witch Hunters”
c) “A Summer In Ohio” / “The Schmuel Song”
d) “I’m the Greatest Star” / “Don’t Rain on My Parade”
e) “Oom-Pah-Pah” / “Food, Glorious Food”
f) “Master of the House” / “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”
g) “Santa Fe” / “That’s Rich”
h) “All I Ask of You” / “Down Once More”
5) Those Who Are… NOT Going to Disney World
Back in 1987, the Walt Disney Company launched the “What’s Next?” campaign, which featured famous athletes yelling “I’m going to Disney World / Disneyland!” after a big championship win. This has been especially prominent amongst Super Bowl Champions. Unfortunately, only one team wins the Super Bowl each year.
For this question, I’d like you
to give me the name of any team that LOST the Super Bowl between 2006 and 2016 (Super Bowls 40 - 50). There are
nine possible answers, as two teams lost twice during that span.
6) Authors (and a Playwright)
In the spoiler below is a list of
ten famous bits of literature and their year of publication or first performance, all of which have a general theme in common. I would like you
to give me the author of any of these books or plays. Just the last name is fine (but feel free to have a guess at the first name if you want, there will be no penalty and it’ll be fun). No need to provide your letter with your submission; I’ll be able to sort it out, but it would be helpful if you remember.
a) (1976) Christopher and His Kind
b) (2006) Fun Home
c) (1928) The Well of Loneliness
d) (1933) The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
e) (1948) The City and the Pillar
f) (1985) Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
g) (1971) The Wild Boys
h) (1928) Orlando: A Biography
i) (1994) Love! Valour! Compassion!
j) (1987) And the Band Played On
BONUS: All of the pieces above
have something in common with their genre or characters. Tell me what it is for one point off your score.
7) The World’s Leaders
The United Nations will currently be deliberating over potential candidates for who will be the new Secretary-General, as the current term is over at the end of 2016. To show that you know what’s-what (who’s-who?),
name any man who has served as Secretary-General of the United Nations. There are
nine possible answers (eight elected and one Acting S-G from the post’s inception).
8) Chemists and Other Scientists
Okay, I’ll be honest: science has never really been a strong suit for me. But throughout school I discovered that I have a gift for rote memorization, so one of the best parts of science for me was learning the periodic table. As of right now, there are 118 elements on the periodic table, but
only fourteen of them are represented by just one letter.
For this question, I’d like you
to give me any element on the periodic table that is symbolized by just one letter. PLEASE include both the letter used as a symbol AND the element’s full name!
9) Legends of Norse Myth
The Norse mythos is fairly complex but incredibly fascinating in its depictions of gods, creations, and existence. Of the most interesting concepts in the Norse legends are those of Ragnarök and Ragnarøkkr, the cyclical events that foretell of the ending and rebirth of the world. Because of the complex nature of Norse mythology, this question will have many options.
Give me
JUST ONE of the following ten options:
1) the name of: the
Allfather of the Norse Gods, the
Norse God of Thunder, or the
Norse patron Goddess of crops, birth, and the Springtime (3)
2) the name of: the
sea serpent,
giant, or
great wolf who kill at least one god during Ragnarok (3)
3) the name of: the
Norse homeworld of the gods, the
Norse homeworld of humans, the
mythical tree that connects the nine Norse homeworlds, or the
dragonwyrm that chews at this tree’s roots (4).
10) The Post-Soviets
When the USSR dissolved in 1991, it became fifteen different countries known as the Post-Soviet States. The most obvious one of these is Russia, which was considered the direct successor to the USSR.
For this question, I’d like you
to give me one of the fourteen other Post-Soviet States that emerged around the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
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TIEBREAKER: According to the World Resources Institute, the
coastline of Canada is roughly this length in km. Closer answers will take prevalence in the case of ties. Answers given in a measurement other than km will be begrudgingly converted, ya rascals.
You do not have to answer this question, but doing so relegates you to breaking a tie by time of submission (and you will automatically lose a tie to anyone who gives an answer).