The Wombat File Is Yours to Keep

Post Q.U.I.Z. I've been attempting to regather the resources and momentum to make this space worthwhile.

It's been a challenge. I've been slammed with endless work, the in-house comedy act demands their share of attention, the apartment's a wreck and partly frigid to boot (below part of our apartment is an unheated, open passageway, a fact we didn't really treat as significant when we purchased the place -- in the summer, of course). My desk is literally in the coldest corner, mid-60s with a draft, so the freezing-fingers effect is a real disincentive to blogging.

One member of the household is a current member of the mucusketeers, with another one paying her dues as we speak. I figure I'll be inducted later this week.

Bootsy will be doing the quiz on Friday. With luck, some diversion will occupy this space between now and then. But if you don't see much here in the coming days, it's not for lack of interest on my part.

p.s. I have prizes for all who played the Q.U.I.Z. stacked on my desk at work. I may well have your mailing address....but for some of you, a reminder would be quite helpful.

Posted by BT at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Before I say anything more about the past weeks of insanely prolonged trivitastical competition, let me extend my heartfelt thanks to all the participants. By continuing to indulge the Wombat in this monstrously inflated exercise in cortex-wastage, you have enabled me for the past month and a half to avoid actually writing about anything in this space. For this, you have my sincere gratitude.

Now, on to the victors and a few brief notes about our competition. The Whiskey Rebellion proved they were worthy of the illustrious name (which harks back to the early days), holding onto their lead against a dramatic last-round rally by the Factoids, who got more correct pre-clue answers in than any other team in the fourth set. Dedicated attention to the tactical advantages of the Lightning Round was also key to the Rebel strategy.

Lady and gentlemen, we bow before your undisputed Quizmastery. Let the word go out among the nations and the peoples thereof: thou hast conquered.

A few notes about the final round questions: Nobody got Question #1 until the clue was given: "Buccaneer," according to the OED, has the fascinatingly complex origin as described in the question.

And it was Shaw, not Wells, who was in on the LSE founding -- and the progressive group in question were the Fabian Society.

Fauchard's pioneering work in dentistry was hard, actually, to formulate into a brain-teaser; among other things he was in favor of was mouthwashing with urine -- but he was merely endorsing a sensible, ancient practice (the ammonia, y'see, is an effective anti-plaque agent!), so I couldn't say he'd invented the idea. He does seem to have given us metal fillings, the drill, various implements for extracting teeth, and many other dental standards. Mention him to your participating dentist and receive a free commemorative gum stimulator!

I didn't know that Bayer had tried to peddle heroin to kids until I was researching this question. On question five, everyone guessed Kennedy until they guessed Eisenhower. And nobody blinked an eye about Churchill as a "former" British P.M. -- even though I could have been sneaky and said he was a "future" prime minister, because actually he was, on account of the fact that he went back and served another term in the 50's. Hah. That'll show you. Won't it? It won't? Really? Well, all right then.

As for the final question...you either knew the "Love, American Style" connection to "Happy Days" -- which originated as one of LAS's mini-stories -- or you didn't. Wanted to get a "jump the shark" reference in there somewhere, but I didn't see how I could do it. Of course, many of you were itching to add "Joanie Loves Chachi" in there...but nobody mentioned the other Happy Days spinoffs, "Blansky's Beauties" and "Out of the Blue." I had no prior knowledge of the existence of these doomed programs, until I put this question together. The information has in no way improved my life.

Shortly, I'll give you all a preview of the prizes, which will be distributed to one and all (note: if I don't have your mailing address, send it post-haste. The Whiskey Rebels, of course, will get the pick of the litter. And we do mean litter.

Thanks again, everyone, for making this first team competition so much fun.

Posted by BT at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

No time for more just now, but final standings are as follows.

1. The Whiskey Rebellion: 925+382=1307
2. The Ipso Factoids: 758+482=1240
3. Bob Hope's Your Uncle: 640+382=1032
4. The Dependent Clauses: 533+407=940

More anon. Congrats to Jonathan, Boxjam, and the Formidable Fracture Family.

Posted by BT at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (33)

...is almost upon us. Hurry and get those round four answers in.

Posted by BT at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Merciful gods, can it really have gone on this long? The emails practically limp in...the fatigue is palpable.

I've taken this too far, haven't I?

But there's nothing to be done for it now. Nothing to be done but to SOLDIER ON. To inspire your last remaining energies I tried to write a parody of the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V but it came out worse than Kenneth Branagh in Celebrity. So I'll spare you.

Final answers are due Friday (January 19) at 12:01 AM E.S.T. -- that means Thursday night, in effect. All will be revealed, celebrated, and laid to rest on Friday. In advance of the date, please send mailing addresses as the actual, physical prizes are sitting on my desk at the office.

Here are your clues for the Final Round:

1. This word (in the plural, following "The") served as the title of a novel of manners by a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, published unfinished in 1938 after the author's death. It was later adapted into a film for television by Masterpiece Theater and the BBC. Its use in the title is metaphorical. Also, for thirty years the word has been used by a U.S. professional sports team as the name of their franchise.

2. He wrote in a letter to an equally famous figure, “I, as a Socialist, have had to preach, as much as anyone, the enormous power of the environment. We can change it; we must change it; there is absolutely no other sense in life than the task of changing it. What is the use of ...writing anything, if there is not a will which finally moulds chaos itself into a race of gods.”

3. One of the devices he invented for his work used a strand of catgut twisted around a cylinder. He also was an early voice identifying one of the pernicious aspects of sugar.

4. In the first case, it was responsible for what after the American Civil War was known as "Soldier's Disease." In the second case, it was was marketed by Bayer from 1898-1910 as (among other things) a cough medicine suitable for children.

5. The year this happened, the first (the American), was 58 years old. The second was 74 years old.

6. Actors who appeared more than once on the original series include Rich Little, Bill Bixby, JoAnne Worley, Phyllis Diller, Bob Denver, John Astin, and Paul Lynde. On the (main) spin-off, a yet-to-be-famous Tom Hanks appeared, seeking revenge. In one of the two tertiary programs, the action moved from the midwest to the West Coast after five seasons.

Posted by BT at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The disgraceful delays which have plagued us now finally yield to fruition, or almost. I rush to get this out, as right at this moment the littlest wombat is attempting to steal away from the arms of Morpheus for an extended period. Let's hurry, shall we?

Rules are as in previous rounds -- I had a nasty new wrinkle planned for scoring the after-clue round, but as I was typing it out I could actually smell the coming disaster. So we're sticking with what we know.

The schedule for this one is as follows.

Given the delays, you'll need some time here, and Friday looms too damn close. So, pre-clue answers will be due via email by 12:01 A.M. Monday, January 15 -- that is, essentially the end of the day on this coming Sunday. I'll post clues on Monday, and final answers for Round Three will be due 12:01 AM Friday, January 19.

There may be some kinda Lightning Round on Friday. I leave that to the Fates. In the meantime, here are the last of these inanities I'll torment you with for a while. Be strong, Google not, and the answers will rise up like the nuggets of tapioca in the bubble tea of your mind.

1. In the 17th century, a South American word of indeterminate (probably Tipu) origin passed into the vernacular of French and Spanish colonists in Guyana and the Carribbean. The word denoted a wooden framework for smoking or drying meat, and with the appropriate suffix attached, the word was extended to refer to those who did such curing, particularly of wild pig meat, and thence to the colonial hunters of wild boar in that region. It came to be applied, in a modified form, not merely to those hunters, but to an occupation involving the pursuit of prey, which peaked in the late 17th and early 18th centuries in that region. What is the English version of this word? 100 points

2. The decision to create the London School of Economics was made by four members of a gradualist, progressive socialist organization, in 1894, using money left to the society by a wealthy patron. Beatrice and Sidney Webb, and Graham Wallas were three of the members engaged in the plan. Who was the fourth, more famous member? 50 points

3. In 1693, Pierre Fauchard joined the French Royal Navy at the age of 15. After training under Alexander Poteleret aboard ship. When he left the navy, he continued in a subspecialty of the profession he had learned under Poteleret. His numerous innovations in his field include the first comprehensive scientific treatise on his subject, and he invented devices and processes which came into common use for a long time thereafter, some of which are still, in a modernized form, today. The first post-collegiate institution dedicated to fully training members of his profession was founded in the U.S. in 1840. Of what field is Fauchard considered the modern "father"? 100 points

4. In 1804, Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Sertürner isolated a substance which comprised the "active" ingredient in a well-known chemical. He named the new compound after a supernatural figure from Greek mythology. In 1874, C.R. Alder Wright, experimenting further by combining Sertürner's discovery with various acids, came up with another refinement, and the substance he came up with as a result was marketed by the Bayer company as a medicine, under a trade name chosen to indicate its strength. What were the two names chosen by Sertürner and Bayer? 50 points each

5. In one year in the twentieth century, a future American president and a former British Prime Minister both placed books on Publishers Weekly's list of Top 10 nonfiction books for the year. Who were the two men? 50 points each.

6. Running on American network television for five years, from 1969-1974, this program is notable for having "spun off" a hit program, from a one-time sequence on the original show. The spin-off lasted for twice as long, and itself spun off five live-action series, two of which were very successful in their own right. Name the original series (75 pts), the spin-off (25 pts), and the two biggest hits of the second-generation spin-offs (25 pts each).

You get a bonus of 7 points just for staying with us this far. Good luck and thanks for indulging in this boondoggle.

Posted by BT at 12:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I'm too tired and in-the-midst of other work to be witty or entertaining about this, so I'll be unusually plainspoken: Round Four questions just aren't ready.

The reason is simple: work has been overwhelming and home (kids, viruses, cooking, shopping, laundry, kids, leaking diswasher, kids -- particularly not-completely toilet-trained kids -- viruses again) has been even more so. The blocks of anticipated time during which I had planned to give you all a well-set-up round four turned out to be mirages, oases of self-directed activity, dissolving as this caravan approached.

And as I finally sat down this rainy Sunday evening to feed this beast its final meal, I checked my email and discovered that, in the midst of all my past forty-eight hours of wiping noses, mopping floors, and playing the three-year-old version of Candy Land ("Daddy, you can draw two red. You can go on the Rainbow with Mommy and Imogen. I will go two green and go to the Candy Store. Oh no the Candy Store is closed! I have to go one orange and then I will watch a movie."), I really should have fit in about twelve hours of work on the paying job.

So, I'm sorry to report that Round Four will begin, at the earliest, tomorrow night. Deadlines will be extended as necessary.

As you hurl your verbal tomatoes my way in the comments below, you should know that I'm entirely aware I've got no business trying to run this thing anymore.

Posted by BT at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Factoring in points earned by the Whiskey Rebellion and Bob Hope's Your Uncle in yesterday's blistering "how fast can I enter the names of every country in Africa"-round.

1. The Whiskey Rebellion: 525+360+40=925
2. The Ipso Factoids: 538+220=758
3. Bob Hope's Your Uncle: 230+330+80=640
4. The Dependent Clauses: 443+90=533

Note that this also reflects the correction to my original posted score for the Rebels, which was 30 points too high.

Stay tuned for the preposterous details about the conclusive final round; including a devilish twist in the clue round that will make everyone really, really hate yours truly.

As if you didn't already.

Posted by BT at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's today's geography-themed lightning round, Q.U.I.Z.-lers. The team(s) which post the correct answers first in the comments picks up some bonus points -- a possible 120 in all.

As usual, no maps, atlases, gazetteers, travel guides, or consultations with the Ancient Mariner. No Googling, particularly no Google Earthing. And, just to be safe, no Earthing of any kind.

Ready?

The African Union embraces all of the countries on the continent of Africa with two exceptions; one renounced its membership in the AU's predecessor body (the Organization of African Unity) over a territorial dispute; the other was suspended after a coup d'etat. Both of them border a territory, now mostly controlled by the former, which is the largest on the United Nations list of "Non Self-Governing Territories" -- and which was the cause of the dispute leading to the first country's resignation from the Union. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which vies unsuccessfully with one of these two nations for control of the territory, is itself a member of the AU, though it is unable to govern the area it claims to represent.

What are the two nations (40 bonus points each)? What is the English name of the disputed territory? (40 more points)

Posted by BT at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (50)

With final answers for Round Three tallied....

1. The Whiskey Rebellion: 525+390360=885
2. The Ipso Factoids: 538+220=758
3. Bob Hope's Your Uncle: 230+330=560
4. The Dependent Clauses: 443+90=533

Well fought, everyone! A late-afternoon lightning-round followup will be posted at 3 PM. In the meantime, you can use the comments here to work out the answers you got, and those you missed. There were no universal stumpers, post-clue.

UPDATE: The ever-sporting boxjam called the Wombat on his lousy arithmetic, noting that I'd credited the WR with 30 more points than they earned. A careful recalculation of pre- and post-clue answers has yielded a corrected total of 360 for round three.

Posted by BT at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

So sorry to be so late with these clues to round three's questions. It's a long story and to tell it would be to extend the delay.

Due to the appalling delay, you have until Friday morning (January 5th) at 10 A.M. E.S.T. to submit final answers.

Without further ado:

1. The main answer for this question is very close to No. 5.

2. This country is not currently part of the European Union.

3. The smallest of these is only 26 square kilometers, has few natural resources, and has attempted to supplement the national income through a particular facet of the Internet economy. The two largest are landlocked nations.

4. The continent in question is not Africa.

5. The state in question is the 8th most populous in the U.S. and has more lighthouses than any other state.

6. One of the two countries that share jurisdiction over this territory is a rare "doubly landlocked" nation -- that is, landlocked itself, it is also surrounded by landlocked countries. The other country in question is the 9th-largest by area in the world. The fact that "Renaissance Island" is no longer an island is the direct result of human activity.

Posted by BT at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)