rec.games.trivia - 26 new messages in 7 topics - digest

rec.games.trivia
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia?hl=en

rec.games.trivia@googlegroups.com

Today's topics:

* calvin's quiz #343 - Animals - 3 messages, 3 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/b84beee59fea96ce?hl=en
* swpKO: The Next Generation #1 RESULTS - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/86959a57c7e3512a?hl=en
* swpKO: The Next Generation #2 - 10 messages, 10 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/75a82e9f96c7b53c?hl=en
* QFTCIC Game 9, Rounds 4,6: JFK, constants - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/b3bde53996ec4e97?hl=en
* Rotating Quiz 132: Bordering on insanity - 8 messages, 4 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/f836d4f16979f728?hl=en
* *Results* of Rotating Quiz 131 - 2 messages, 2 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/d53b2867cdb4a63d?hl=en
* Rare Entries contest MSB78: first reminder - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/cd2c171f16901921?hl=en

==============================================================================
TOPIC: calvin's quiz #343 - Animals
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/b84beee59fea96ce?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 1:57 pm
From: "Rob Parker"


> 1 Capable of accelerating from rest to 100 km/h in three seconds, what is
> the world's fastest land animal?

cheetah

> 2 Reaching speeds of 300 km/h while in dive mode, what bird of prey is the
> fastest bird?

Peregrine Falcon

> 3 Weighing up to 20 tons, what is the largest living species of fish?

whaleshark

> 4 Which bird is known for making the longest annual migration, about
> 70,000 kilometres each year?

Arctic Tern

> 5 Weighing up to 180 tons, what is the heaviest animal ever known to have
> existed?

blue whale

> 6 Weighing just 2 grams, what is the world's smallest species of bird?

hummingbird

> 7 Weighing up to 100 kilograms, what is the world's largest living species
> of marsupial?

red kangaroo

> 8 Which species of jellyfish can weigh up to 150 kilograms and have
> tentacles reach 40 metres?
> 9 What fish can hold objects in its tail

seahorse

> 10 Foot and mouth disease is caught by animals with what type of hoofs?

cloven


Rob





== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 11:42 pm
From: Pete


calvin <334152@gmail.com> wrote in news:op.xbcm6p1i2wood3@homepc:

>
> 1 Capable of accelerating from rest to 100 km/h in three seconds,
> what is the world's fastest land animal?

Cheetah

> 2 Reaching speeds of 300 km/h while in dive mode, what bird of
> prey is the fastest bird?

Eagle

> 3 Weighing up to 20 tons, what is the largest living species of
> fish?
> 4 Which bird is known for making the longest annual
> migration, about 70,000 kilometres each year?
> 5 Weighing up to 180 tons, what is the heaviest animal ever known
> to have existed?

Blue Whale

> 6 Weighing just 2 grams, what is the world's smallest species of
> bird?

Hummingbird

> 7 Weighing up to 100 kilograms, what is the world's largest
> living species of marsupial?
> 8 Which species of jellyfish can weigh up to 150 kilograms and
> have tentacles reach 40 metres?

Portuguese Man of War

> 9 What fish can hold objects in its tail
> 10 Foot and mouth disease is caught by animals with what type of
> hoofs?

Cloven

>

Pete




== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Mon, Feb 17 2014 3:55 am
From: "David B"


> 1 Capable of accelerating from rest to 100 km/h in three seconds, what
> is the world's fastest land animal?

Cheetah.

> 2 Reaching speeds of 300 km/h while in dive mode, what bird of prey is
> the fastest bird?

Peregrine Falcon.

> 3 Weighing up to 20 tons, what is the largest living species of fish?

Whale Shark.

> 4 Which bird is known for making the longest annual migration, about
> 70,000 kilometres each year?

Arctic Turn.

> 5 Weighing up to 180 tons, what is the heaviest animal ever known to
> have existed?

Blue Whale.

> 6 Weighing just 2 grams, what is the world's smallest species of bird?

Bee Humming Bird.

> 7 Weighing up to 100 kilograms, what is the world's largest living
> species of marsupial?

Red Kangaroo.

> 8 Which species of jellyfish can weigh up to 150 kilograms and have
> tentacles reach 40 metres?

Lion's Mane Jellyfish?

> 9 What fish can hold objects in its tail

Sea Horse?

> 10 Foot and mouth disease is caught by animals with what type of hoofs?

Cloven.






==============================================================================
TOPIC: swpKO: The Next Generation #1 RESULTS
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/86959a57c7e3512a?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 2:34 pm
From: swp


On Thursday, February 13, 2014 6:38:52 PM UTC-5, swp wrote:
> This contest is open to anyone who wishes to enter. However, after the first
>
> round the contest will be closed to new entrants and only those who have survived
>
> past the previous round will be allowed to continue.
>
>
>
> For the first round, I will accept answers for a period of 7 days or until there are no new entrants for a period of at least 24 hours.
>
>
>
> The answers to all questions are either discrete numbers or dates.
>
>
>
> When giving a date as an answer, please use the format YYYY-MM-DD.
>
>
>
> I will convert all answers to a common, previously announced unit of measure
>
> before scoring.
>
>
>
> The list of questions is currently set, and has been randomized and sanitized
>
> for your protection. I did not use wikipedia as the source for any of my
>
> answers or questions.
>
>
>
> OK, enough babbling. I'm tired and sore from all that snow removal. Let's
>
> get this started...
>
>
>
> ***
>
> #1. What date did hostilities begin in the American Civil War?
>
> ***
>
>
>
> Good Luck!
>
>
>
> swp

OK, the long wait is over. It's been about 24 hours since the last entry, so
the contest is now closed to new entrants.

First up, the answers as given:
1860-07-04 Gareth Owen (wrong format)
1861-02-15 Joshua Kreitzer
1861-02-20 Mark Brader
1861-03-28 Erland Sommarskog
1861-04-06 Dan Tilque
1861-04-11 Pete
1861-04-12 Russ
1861-04-12 *** Correct Answer *** Fort Sumter first fired upon
1861-04-12 Marc Dashevsky
1861-04-15 Calvin
1861-04-20 John Adams
1861-05-20 Dan Blum
1861-07-01 Rob Parker
1861-07-01 Peter Smyth

Gareth Owen is eliminated.

Round #2 will be posted shortly. This contest is now open to Peter Smyth, Rob Parker, Dan Blum, John Adams, Calvin, Marc Dashevsky, Russ, Pete, Dan Tilque, Erland Sommarskog, Mark Brader, and Joshua Kreitzer.

swp





==============================================================================
TOPIC: swpKO: The Next Generation #2
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/75a82e9f96c7b53c?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 10 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 2:38 pm
From: swp


This contest is now open to Peter Smyth, Rob Parker, Dan Blum, John Adams, Calvin, Marc Dashevsky, Russ, Pete, Dan Tilque, Erland Sommarskog, Mark Brader, and Joshua Kreitzer.

You have 72 hours from the time of this posting to make your entry, I will post
the results no later than 5:45pm on February 19th.

***
#2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales occurred when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's governorship were read out. What was the date?
***

swp




== 2 of 10 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 2:56 pm
From: tool@panix.com (Dan Blum)


swp <Stephen.W.Perry@gmail.com> wrote:
> This contest is now open to Peter Smyth, Rob Parker, Dan Blum, John Adams, Calvin, Marc Dashevsky, Russ, Pete, Dan Tilque, Erland Sommarskog, Mark Brader, and Joshua Kreitzer.

> You have 72 hours from the time of this posting to make your entry, I will post
> the results no later than 5:45pm on February 19th.

> ***
> #2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales occurred when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's governorship were read out. What was the date?
> ***

1737-06-30

--
_______________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum tool@panix.com
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."




== 3 of 10 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 3:36 pm
From: Russ


On Sun, 16 Feb 2014 14:38:19 -0800 (PST), swp
<Stephen.W.Perry@gmail.com> wrote:

>This contest is now open to Peter Smyth, Rob Parker, Dan Blum, John Adams, Calvin, Marc Dashevsky, Russ, Pete, Dan Tilque, Erland Sommarskog, Mark Brader, and Joshua Kreitzer.
>
>You have 72 hours from the time of this posting to make your entry, I will post
>the results no later than 5:45pm on February 19th.
>
>***
> #2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales occurred when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's governorship were read out. What was the date?
>***
>
>swp

1788-02-01

Russ





== 4 of 10 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 9:13 pm
From: Joshua Kreitzer


swp <Stephen.W.Perry@gmail.com> wrote in
news:49d65af6-f025-4f5f-b10d-767311761ef6@googlegroups.com:

> This contest is now open to Peter Smyth, Rob Parker, Dan Blum, John
> Adams, Calvin, Marc Dashevsky, Russ, Pete, Dan Tilque, Erland
> Sommarskog, Mark Brader, and Joshua Kreitzer.
>
> You have 72 hours from the time of this posting to make your entry, I
> will post the results no later than 5:45pm on February 19th.
>
> ***
> #2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales
> occurred when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur
> Phillip's governorship were read out. What was the date?
> ***
>

1822-01-01

--
Joshua Kreitzer
gromit82@hotmail.com




== 5 of 10 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 9:22 pm
From: Dan Tilque


swp wrote:
> ***
> #2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales occurred when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's governorship were read out. What was the date?
> ***

1788-02-14


--
Dan Tilque




== 6 of 10 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 10:04 pm
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)


Stephen Perry:
> #2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales occurred
> when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's
> governorship were read out. What was the date?

I have the feeling that it's either about 1770 or about 1845.
Don't know where those dates came from or if either is correct,
but I'll go with the earlier one:

1771-01-18.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "[That] statement is so full of hubris
msb@vex.net | you can hear the wax melting." -- Steve Summit

My text in this article is in the public domain.




== 7 of 10 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 11:13 pm
From: Marc Dashevsky


In article <49d65af6-f025-4f5f-b10d-767311761ef6@googlegroups.com>, Stephen.W.Perry@gmail.com says...
>
> This contest is now open to Peter Smyth, Rob Parker, Dan Blum, John Adams, Calvin, Marc Dashevsky, Russ, Pete, Dan Tilque, Erland Sommarskog, Mark Brader, and Joshua Kreitzer.
>
> You have 72 hours from the time of this posting to make your entry, I will post
> the results no later than 5:45pm on February 19th.
>
> ***
> #2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales occurred when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's governorship were read out. What was the date?
> ***

1906-04-01









== 8 of 10 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 11:43 pm
From: Pete


swp <Stephen.W.Perry@gmail.com> wrote in
news:49d65af6-f025-4f5f-b10d-767311761ef6@googlegroups.com:

> This contest is now open to Peter Smyth, Rob Parker, Dan Blum, John
> Adams, Calvin, Marc Dashevsky, Russ, Pete, Dan Tilque, Erland
> Sommarskog, Mark Brader, and Joshua Kreitzer.
>
> You have 72 hours from the time of this posting to make your entry, I
> will post the results no later than 5:45pm on February 19th.
>
> ***
> #2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales
> occurred when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur
> Phillip's governorship were read out. What was the date?
> ***
>
> swp
>

1830-05-01

Pete




== 9 of 10 ==
Date: Mon, Feb 17 2014 12:13 am
From: Erland Sommarskog


swp (Stephen.W.Perry@gmail.com) writes:
> ***
> #2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales occurred
> when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's
> governorship were read out. What was the date?
> ***

1680-04-26


--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esquel@sommarskog.se




== 10 of 10 ==
Date: Mon, Feb 17 2014 2:40 am
From: "Rob Parker"


> #2. The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales occurred
> when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's
> governorship were read out. What was the date?

1788-01-26


Rob






==============================================================================
TOPIC: QFTCIC Game 9, Rounds 4,6: JFK, constants
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/b3bde53996ec4e97?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 6:40 pm
From: Jason Kreitzer


On Friday, February 14, 2014 7:59:22 PM UTC-5, Mark Brader wrote:
> These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2013-11-25,
>
> and should be interpreted accordingly.
>
>
>
> On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
>
> both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
>
> Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
>
> based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
>
> the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
>
> the correct answers in about 3 days.
>
>
>
> All questions were written by members of Clueless, and are used
>
> here by permission, but have been reformatted and may have been
>
> retyped and/or edited by me. For further information see my
>
> 2013-09-15 companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian
>
> Inquisition (QFTCI*)".
>
>
>
>
>
> * Game 9, Round 4 - History - JFK
>
>
>
> Last week was the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's
>
> assassination. Here are 10 questions about JFK.
>
>
>
> 1. The John F. Kennedy School of Government can be found at
>
> this university that JFK attended. It offers graduate degrees
>
> in Public Policy, Public Administration and International
>
> Development. What university?
Harvard University
>
>
> 2. Which Republican candidate did JFK defeat to win the presidency,
>
> in one of the closest 20th-century presidential elections?
Richard M. Nixon
>
>
> 3. On 1961-04-17, Kennedy ordered the military invasion of
>
> Cuba by a CIA-sponsored counter-revolutionary group of Cubans,
>
> with the intention of overthrowing the revolutionary left-wing
>
> government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was unsuccessful and
>
> 1,189 invading exiles were captured. The event is named after
>
> the invasion site: where?
The Bay of Pigs
>
> 4. JFK supported racial integration and civil rights. On 1963-06-11
>
> he intervened when Governor George Wallace blocked the entrance
>
> of this university to stop two African American students
>
> from attending. That evening, Kennedy gave his famous civil
>
> rights address, launching his initiative for legislation to
>
> provide equal access to public schools and greater protection
>
> of voting rights. What university?
>
>
>
> 5. Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Who is the
>
> only other US president to be buried there?
>
>
>
> 6. As a young single man and ensign in the Navy in the 1940s, JFK
>
> began a love affair with a married Danish journalist, who
>
> was also noted for being Hitler's companion during the 1936
>
> Summer Olympics. At the time, she was followed by the FBI on
>
> suspicions of being a German spy. Name her.
>
>
>
> 7. In May 1962 Marilyn Monroe memorably sang "Happy Birthday,
>
> Mr. President" to JFK at his 45th birthday party -- held in
>
> what venue?
>
>
>
> 8. It was revealed after Kennedy's death that he had two endocrine
>
> diseases. One was hypothyroidism. The other, diagnosed at
>
> age 30, is a rare endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands
>
> do not produce sufficient steroid hormones. Name that disease.
>
>
>
> 9. As one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy asked Congress
>
> to create what volunteer program? The goals of the program
>
> are providing technical assistance, helping people outside the
>
> US to understand American culture, and helping Americans to
>
> understand the cultures of other countries.
>
>
>
> 10. During his term in the Senate, Kennedy published this book about
>
> US senators who risked their careers for their personal beliefs.
>
> It won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957. Name the book.
"Profiles in Courage"
>
>
> * Game 9, Round 6 - Science - Constants
>
>
>
> 10 questions on scientific or mathematical constants.
>
>
>
> 1. What is the name of the constant given by the unitless value
>
> of 6.02 × 10^23 (i.e. 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)? Named
>
> after a 19th-century Italian scientist, it is a key component
>
> in the study of chemistry.
>
>
>
> 2. What is the constant represented by the small letter "c",
>
> with the approximate value 3.0 × 10^8 m/s (300,000,000 meters
>
> per second)?
>
>
>
> 3. What is the constant represented by the small letter "g", with
>
> the approximate the value 9.8 m/s² (9.8 meters per second
>
> squared)?
>
>
>
> 4. Please decode the rot13 to see questions #4-5 only after you
>
> have finished with #1-3. Gur tenivgngvbany pbafgnag, be
>
> havirefny tenivgngvbany pbafgnag, vf ercerfragrq ol n pncvgny
>
> T naq nccrnef va gur ynj bs havirefny tenivgngvba. Jub vf
>
> perqvgrq sbe vgf qvfpbirel?
>
>
>
> 5. Nabgure pbafgnag vf gur zntavghqr bs ryrpgevp punetr cre zbyr bs
>
> ryrpgebaf. Vg rdhnyf gur punetr ba fvatyr ryrpgeba zhygvcyvrq
>
> ol Nibtnqeb'f ahzore. Vg vf anzrq nsgre n crefba: jub?
>
>
>
> 6. Another constant is the quantum of action in quantum mechanics.
>
> It is named after its discoverer, the father of quantum
>
> mechanics: who?
>
>
>
> 7. What is the name of the constant in the Ideal Gas Law, PV=nRT?
>
>
>
> In the last 3 questions, if you want to show off and give additional
>
> digits beyond the number asked for, please make it worthwhile by
>
> giving at least 10 significant digits.
>
>
>
> 8. What is the approximate value of pi, the ratio of a circle's
>
> circumference to its diameter? Your answer must be correct to
>
> 3 significant digits.

3.17

>
>
> 9. What is the approximate value of e, or Euler's number? e is
>
> the limit of (1+1/n)^n as n approaches infinity. We need 2
>
> significant digits here.
>
>
>
> 10. The golden ratio turns up frequently in geometry, and in Dan
>
> Brown novels. What is the value of the golden ratio? Give the
>
> approximate value to 2 significant digits, or the exact value
>
> as a closed-form mathematical expression (in ASCII).
>
>
>
> --
>
> Mark Brader, Toronto | "One thing that surprises you about this business
>
> msb@vex.net | is the surprises." -- Tim Baker
>
>
>
> My text in this article is in the public domain.






==============================================================================
TOPIC: Rotating Quiz 132: Bordering on insanity
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/f836d4f16979f728?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 8 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 8:51 pm
From: Dan Tilque


Welcome to Rotating Quiz 132. This quiz will run 4 days from now until
Thursday 20-Feb-2014 at 7 p.m. (UTC-8) or whatever time I get around to
scoring it (which will be no earlier than 7). The usual rules apply.

This is a three part quiz (plus a tiebreaker) and it involves geography.
For each of the three parts you are to list as many countries that you
can think of that have the characteristics described. The total number
of valid answers for each part is indicated; if you give more answers
than that, the excess will be ignored.

1. Name countries that have a land border with a single other country.
16 total; 1 point each.

2. Name countries that are completely surrounded by two other countries.
7 total; 2 points each.

3. Name countries that are surrounded by three other countries, each of
which borders on the other two. 4 total; 4 points each.


Tiebreaker: There's an area in Africa where four countries have land[1]
close to each other. At one time it was thought that the four may meet
at a quadripoint, but now it appears that two have a short (about 150
meters) border that separates the other two. Name the four countries.


[1] The borders are actually in the middle of a river, so it's not
technically land.

--
Dan Tilque




== 2 of 8 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 9:22 pm
From: Joshua Kreitzer


Dan Tilque <dtilque@frontier.com> wrote in news:lds4nd$r4f$1@dont-email.me:

> 1. Name countries that have a land border with a single other country.
> 16 total; 1 point each.

Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Gambia, Haiti, Ireland,
Lesotho, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Qatar, San Marino, South Korea, Timor-
Leste, United Kingdom, Vatican City

> 2. Name countries that are completely surrounded by two other countries.
> 7 total; 2 points each.

Andorra, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Mongolia

> 3. Name countries that are surrounded by three other countries, each of
> which borders on the other two. 4 total; 4 points each.

Burundi, Luxembourg, Rwanda, Uganda

> Tiebreaker: There's an area in Africa where four countries have land[1]
> close to each other. At one time it was thought that the four may meet
> at a quadripoint, but now it appears that two have a short (about 150
> meters) border that separates the other two. Name the four countries.
>
> [1] The borders are actually in the middle of a river, so it's not
> technically land.

Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia

--
Joshua Kreitzer
gromit82@hotmail.com





== 3 of 8 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 10:32 pm
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)


Dan Tilque:
> 1. Name countries that have a land border with a single other country.
> 16 total; 1 point each.

Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Rep., East Timor, Gambia, Haiti,
Ireland, Lesotho, Monaco, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, San Marino,
South Korea, UK, Vatican City.

Some would disallow the UK because of the underwater border with France.
Some would add Bahrain, Singapore; Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales;
and/or Cyprus and Northern Cyprus.

> 2. Name countries that are completely surrounded by two other countries.
> 7 total; 2 points each.

Andorra, Bhutan, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Swaziland.

> 3. Name countries that are surrounded by three other countries, each of
> which borders on the other two. 4 total; 4 points each.

Luxembourg, Paraguay, and I think Burundi and Rwanda.

> Tiebreaker: There's an area in Africa where four countries have land[1]
> close to each other. At one time it was thought that the four may meet
> at a quadripoint, but now it appears that two have a short (about 150
> meters) border that separates the other two. Name the four countries.

Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "I said to myself, 'You're crazier than I am
msb@vex.net | if you believe that.'" --overheard

My text in this article is in the public domain.




== 4 of 8 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 10:46 pm
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)


Dan Tilque:
>> 1. Name countries that have a land border with a single other country.
>> 16 total; 1 point each.

Mark Brader:
> Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Rep., East Timor, Gambia, Haiti,
> Ireland, Lesotho, Monaco, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, San Marino,
> South Korea, UK, Vatican City.

Hmm. According to Google Maps, Qatar is a 17th answer. I stopped
looking when I had 16. I know the borders in that area have been shown
differently in different sources and I think some sources show or used
to show a Qatar/UAE border. Which one were you not expecting?

> Some would disallow the UK because of the underwater border with France.

And similarly for Denmark and Sweden. Anyway, I don't think bridges or
tunnels should be taken into account on this sort of question.
--
Mark Brader | "On our campus the UNIX system has proved to be not
Toronto | only an effective software tool, but an agent of
msb@vex.net | technical and social change within the University."
| -- John Lions, 1979
My text in this article is in the public domain.




== 5 of 8 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 11:21 pm
From: Marc Dashevsky


In article <lds4nd$r4f$1@dont-email.me>, dtilque@frontier.com says...
>
> Welcome to Rotating Quiz 132. This quiz will run 4 days from now until
> Thursday 20-Feb-2014 at 7 p.m. (UTC-8) or whatever time I get around to
> scoring it (which will be no earlier than 7). The usual rules apply.
>
> This is a three part quiz (plus a tiebreaker) and it involves geography.
> For each of the three parts you are to list as many countries that you
> can think of that have the characteristics described. The total number
> of valid answers for each part is indicated; if you give more answers
> than that, the excess will be ignored.
>
> 1. Name countries that have a land border with a single other country.
> 16 total; 1 point each.
Monaco, San Marino, Portugal Singapore, Lesotho, Vatican City, Denmark,
Haiti, Dominican Republic, South Korea, Ireland, Canada

> 2. Name countries that are completely surrounded by two other countries.
> 7 total; 2 points each.
Andorra, Mongolia

> 3. Name countries that are surrounded by three other countries, each of
> which borders on the other two. 4 total; 4 points each.
>
>
> Tiebreaker: There's an area in Africa where four countries have land[1]
> close to each other. At one time it was thought that the four may meet
> at a quadripoint, but now it appears that two have a short (about 150
> meters) border that separates the other two. Name the four countries.
>
>
> [1] The borders are actually in the middle of a river, so it's not
> technically land.






== 6 of 8 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 11:50 pm
From: Dan Tilque


Mark Brader wrote:
> Dan Tilque:
>>> 1. Name countries that have a land border with a single other country.
>>> 16 total; 1 point each.
>
> Mark Brader:
>> Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Rep., East Timor, Gambia, Haiti,
>> Ireland, Lesotho, Monaco, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, San Marino,
>> South Korea, UK, Vatican City.
>
> Hmm. According to Google Maps, Qatar is a 17th answer. I stopped
> looking when I had 16. I know the borders in that area have been shown
> differently in different sources and I think some sources show or used
> to show a Qatar/UAE border. Which one were you not expecting?

Qatar was not on my list. I can't recall which map I was using, but I
distinctly remember seeing a border with UAE. I thought my source was my
Times World Atlas, but that shows only very vague borders in that area.

>
>> Some would disallow the UK because of the underwater border with France.
>
> And similarly for Denmark and Sweden. Anyway, I don't think bridges or
> tunnels should be taken into account on this sort of question.

I did say land borders, so bridges and tunnels do not count.


--
Dan Tilque

Helix, if everything goes according to plan, the plan has been
compromised. -- Sam Starfall in "Freefall"




== 7 of 8 ==
Date: Mon, Feb 17 2014 12:01 am
From: Dan Tilque


Dan Tilque wrote:

>
> 1. Name countries that have a land border with a single other country.
> 16 total; 1 point each.

It's been brought to my attention that there are actually 17 such
countries. Or at least most sources show this, but not the one I used.

So give any 16 of the correct answers for full credit on this one. You
can give all 17 if you want, but not for credit.

Also, bridges, causeways, and tunnels between countries do not count as
land borders.


--
Dan Tilque




== 8 of 8 ==
Date: Mon, Feb 17 2014 1:31 am
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)


Dan Tilque:
>>>> 1. Name countries that have a land border with a single other country.

Mark Brader:
>>> Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Rep., East Timor, Gambia, Haiti,
>>> Ireland, Lesotho, Monaco, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, San Marino,
>>> South Korea, UK, Vatican City.
>>
>> Hmm. According to Google Maps, Qatar is a 17th answer. I stopped
>> looking when I had 16. I know the borders in that area have been shown
>> differently in different sources and I think some sources show or used
>> to show a Qatar/UAE border. Which one were you not expecting?

Dan Tilque:
> Qatar was not on my list.

From time to time over the past few years I've thought about running
a Rare Entries contest containing nothing but corrected versions of
past questions where entrants had spotted loopholes in my wording
and I'd had to accept whole categories of answers that I'd never
intended. But whenever I started actually looking over the old
contests, it seemed like too much work.

But just *hours* before you posted your RQ 132, I was thinking that
if I ever changed my mind and resumed doing Rare Entries contests,
I could also try doing one with nothing but "good questions" selected
from old contests. Such as, I immediately realized, this one from
contest MSB1 in 1996:

2. Name a country which borders exactly one other country,
disregarding water borders.

So I was well primed to start thinking about your question!

This one actually did have one of those loopholes: I failed to specify
that "country" meant an independent country. These days I've just
made it a rule (rule 4.1.1) that it always does. But back then,
when Scotland and Wales were given as answers, I had to accept them.
But those were only two additions and didn't greatly change the range
of answers, so I still think of it as a good question.

I also failed to make it explicit that rivers as borders are land
borders, not water borders, but as far as I know no entrants tried
to take advantage of that (by naming Moldova, for example).

The answers I scored as correct in contest MSB1, in order from
most to least popular (worst- to best-scoring), were:

9 Portugal
5 Lesotho
5 San Marino
4 South Korea
3 Canada
3 Dominican Republic
3 Haiti
3 Papua New Guinea
2 Brunei
2 Denmark
2 Ireland
2 Vatican City
2 Wales
1 Gambia
1 Monaco
1 Scotland

East Timor was not yet independent in 1996, and nobody named the UK.
The answers I scored as wrong were:

2 Qatar
1 Botswana
1 Macau
1 Malaysia
1 Netherlands Antilles
1 San Remo
1 Singapore
1 Swaziland
1 Yemen

Three of these are not countries, four of them clearly border two
or more other countries each, Singapore has only a water border
(albeit bridged) -- and then there's Qatar. I haven't kept copies
of my correspondence or any newsgroup discussion after I said it was
wrong, but I do seem to remember the issue of conflicting sources
being raised. It's even possible that I changed the results to
accept Qatar but didn't permanently keep a record of it -- contest
MSB1 was a one-shot, and I didn't start doing them more regularly,
and keeping more detailed records, until 2000.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | Thus, "plain english" is the same as
msb@vex.net | "near-field spin". --Carl Ginnow

My text in this article is in the public domain.





==============================================================================
TOPIC: *Results* of Rotating Quiz 131
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/d53b2867cdb4a63d?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 11:39 pm
From: Pete



>
>> 26. Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York,
>> North Dakota, Vermont, Washington.
>
> The intended question was: "From which states is it possible to enter
> Canada without crossing water?" But of course Montana should have
> been listed. Sorry about that, folks. Because of this inexactitude
> I decided to also accept references to "Which states have a land
> border with Canada", although in that case Michigan would also have
> been listed. 1 for Joshua, Marc, and Pete.
>

I'm confused by this response. I agree that Montana should be included for
the intended question.

But why add Michigan if the question deals with "land borders"? Where does
Michigan have a land border with Canada?

Maybe I'm confused about your interpretation of the term "land border".

Pete




== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 11:41 pm
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)


Pete Gayde:
> Where does Michigan have a land border with Canada?

The St. Mary's River north of Lake Huron, and the St. Clair and
Detroit Rivers south of Lake Huron.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "... pure English is de rigueur"
msb@vex.net -- Guardian Weekly





==============================================================================
TOPIC: Rare Entries contest MSB78: first reminder
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/cd2c171f16901921?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 16 2014 11:44 pm
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)


This is the first reminder of the current, and probably my final,
Rare Entries contest. Everything below these two paragraphs is
the same as in the original contest posting.

As always, reply ONLY BY EMAIL to msb@vex.net; do not post to
any newsgroup. Entries must reach here by Tuesday, March 4, 2014
(by Toronto time, zone -5). I intend to post two more reminders
before then. See below the questions for a detailed explanation,
which is unchanged from last time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rules 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.3.2, and 4.4 are relevant to certain
questions.

0. Name a 4-letter English word that is the name of a type
of animal *and* whose basic score in Scrabble is at least
10 points. This scoring means to total the values indicated
for each letter in the word: any of AEILNORSTU = 1; DG = 2;
BCMP = 3; FHVWY = 4; K = 5; JX = 8; QZ = 10. For example,
the word DINGO scores 2+1+1+2+1 = 7.

1. Name a chemical element that forms triatomic molecules with
oxygen, consisting of 1 of its atoms and 2 oxygen atoms.

2. Name a city where the (summer or winter) Olympic games have
been held, or are now being held, during this century. This
means the main host city commonly referred to in connection
with each respective Olympics.

3. Name a city now existing in a country now existing, that was
the capital of that country for at least 8 years, but now
is not. In cases where there is/was an official capital
and a different de facto capital, the official capital is
what counts.

4. Give a single noun that may be used in English to indicate a
criminal action that damages property but does not necessarily
injure a person.

5. Name a country, still existing today, that has defeated, by
military combat, a serious attempt by part of itself to
secede.

Here "serious" means that the attempt (1) either had the
support of a large part of the population, or sufficient
military force that popular support was irrelevant; and
(2) the secessionists had de facto control of significant
territory for at least 5 days after military conflict began.
An "attempt to secede" must involve a declaration of
independence or actions clearly indicating such intent.
"Part of itself" does not include dependencies.

6. Name a person who has hosted "The Tonight Show" seen on
the American network NBC (as a regular host, not a temporary
substitute).

7. Name a commonwealth now existing. This means a country or
dependency, a state or province, or an organization of these,
that currently exists and has an official name that in its
English-language version refers to it as a "commonwealth".

8. Name a country now existing that is doubly landlocked.
That is, not only does it have no seacoast, but neither does
any country bordering it.

9. (The end.) Describe a visible or audible signal, other than
spoken words, that is or has been routinely used by the
appropriate official at a professional sporting competition
to indicate that play is complete.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* 1. The Game

As usual, for each of the questions above, your objective is to give
an answer that (1) is correct, and (2) will be duplicated by as FEW
other people as possible. Feel free to use any reference material
you like to RESEARCH your answers; but when you have found enough
possible answers for your liking, you are expected to choose on your
own which one to submit, WITHOUT mechanical or computer assistance:
this is meant to be a game of wits.


* 2. Scoring

The scores on the different questions are MULTIPLIED to produce a
final score for each entrant. Low score wins; a perfect score is 1.

If your answer on a category is correct, then your score is the number
of people who gave that answer, or an answer I consider equivalent.

A wrong answer, or a skipped question, gets a high score as a penalty.
This is the median of:
- the number of entrants
- the square root of that number, rounded up to an integer
- double the highest score that anyone would have on this
question if all answers were deemed correct

* 2.1 Scoring Example

Say I ask for a color on the current Canadian flag. There are
27 entrants -- 20 say "red", 4 say "blue", and 1 each say "gules",
"white", and "blue square". After looking up gules I decide it's
the same color as red and should be treated as a duplicate answer;
then the 21 people who said either "red" or "gules" get 21 points
each. The person who said "white" gets a perfect score of 1 point.

"Blue square" is not a color and blue is not a color on the flag;
the 5 people who gave either of these answers each get the same
penalty score, which is the median of:
- number of entrants = 27
- sqrt(27) = 5.196+, rounded up = 6
- double the highest score = 21 x 2 = 42
or in this case, 27.

* 2.2 More Specific Variants

On some questions it's possible that one entrant will give an answer
that's a more specific variant of an answer given by someone else.
In that case the more specific variant will usually be scored as if
the two answers are different, but the other, less specific variant
will be scored as if they are the same.

In the above example, if I had decided (wrongly) to score gules as
a more specific variant of red, then "red" would still score 21,
but "gules" would now score 1.

If a wrong answer is clearly associated with a specific right
answer, I will score the right answer as if the wrong answer was a
more specific variant of it. In the above example, if there were
3 additional entrants who said "white square", then "white square"
would be scored as wrong, but the score for "white" would be 4, not 1.

"More specific" scoring will NOT apply if the question asks for an
answer "in general terms"; a more specific answer will then at best be
treated the same as the more general one, and may be considered wrong.


* 3. Entries

Entries must be emailed to the address given above. Please do not
quote the questions back to me, and do send only plain text in ASCII
or ISO 8859-1: no HTML, attachments, Micros--t character sets, etc.,
and no Unicode, please. (Entrants who fail to comply will be publicly
chastised in the results posting.)

Your message should preferably consist of just your 10 answers,
numbered from 0 to 9, along with any explanations required. Your
name should be in it somewhere -- a From: line or signature is fine.
(If I don't see both a first and a last name, or an explicit request
for a particular form of your name to be used, then your email address
will be posted in the results).

You can expect an acknowledgement when I read your entry. If this
bounces, it won't be sent again.

* 3.1 Where Leeway is Allowed

In general there is no penalty for errors of spelling, capitalization,
English usage, or other such matters of form, nor for accidentally
sending email in an unfinished state, so long as it's clear enough
what you intended. Sometimes a specific question may imply stricter
rules, though. And if you give an answer that properly refers to a
different thing related to the one you intended, I will normally take
it as written.

Once you intentionally submit an answer, no changes will be allowed,
unless I decide there was a problem with the question. Similarly,
alternate answers within an entry will not be accepted. Only the
first answer that you intentionally submit counts.

* 3.2 Clarifications

Questions are not intended to be hard to understand, but I may fail
in this intent. (For one thing, in many cases clarity could only be
provided by an example which would suggest one or another specific
answer, and I mustn't do that.)

In order to be fair to all entrants, I must insist that requests for
clarification must be emailed to me, NOT POSTED in any newsgroup.
But if you do ask for clarification, I'll probably say that the
question is clear enough as posted. If I do decide to clarify or
change a question, all entrants will be informed.

* 3.3 Supporting Information

It is your option whether or not to provide supporting information
to justify your answers. If you don't, I'll email you to ask for
it if I need to. If you supply it in the form of a URL, if at all
possible it should be a "deep link" to the specific relevant page.
There is no need to supply URLs for obvious, well-known reference
web sites, and there is no point in supplying URLs for pages that
don't actually support your answer.

If you provide any explanatory remarks along with your answers, you
are responsible for making it sufficiently clear that they are not
part of the answers. The particular format doesn't matter as long
as you're clear. In the scoring example above, "white square" was
wrong; "white (in the central square)" would have been taken as a
correct answer with an explanation.


* 4. Interpretation of questions

These are general rules that apply unless a question specifically
states otherwise.

* 4.1 Geography
* 4.1.1 Countries

"Country" means an independent country. Whether or not a place is
considered an independent country is determined by how it is listed
in reference sources.

For purposes of these contests, the Earth is considered to be divid-
ed into disjoint areas each of which is either (1) a country, (2) a
dependency, or (3) without national government. Their boundaries
are interpreted on a de facto basis. Any place with representatives
in a country's legislature is considered a part of that country rather
than a dependency of it.

The European Union is considered as an association of countries, not
a country itself.

Claims that are not enforced, or not generally recognized, don't count.
Places currently fighting a war of secession don't count. Embassies
don't count as special; they may have extraterritorial rights, but
they're still part of the host country (and city).

Countries existing at different historical times are normally
considered the same country if they have the same capital city.

* 4.1.2 States or provinces

Many countries or dependencies are divided into subsidiary political
entities, typically with their own subsidiary governments. At the
first level of division, these entities are most commonly called
states or provinces, but various other names are used; sometimes
varying even within the same country (e.g. to indicate unequal
political status).

Any reference to "states or provinces" in a question refers to
these entities at the first level of division, no matter what they
are called.

* 4.1.3 Distances

Distances between places on the Earth are measured along a great
circle path, and distance involving cities are based on the city
center (downtown).

* 4.2 Entertainment

A "movie" does not include any form of TV broadcast or video release;
it must have been shown in cinemas. "Oscar" and "Academy Award" are
AMPAS trademarks and refer to the awards given by that organization.
"Fiction" includes dramatizations of true stories.

* 4.3 Words and Numbers
* 4.3.1 Different Answers

Some questions specifically ask for a *word*, rather than the thing
that it names; this means that different words with the same meaning
will in general be treated as distinct answers. However, if two or
more inflectional variants, spelling variants, or other closely
related forms are correct answers, they will be treated as equivalent.

Similarly, if the question specifically asks for a name, different
things referred to by the same name will be treated as the same.

* 4.3.2 Permitted Words

On questions that specifically ask for a word, The word that you
give must be listed (or implied by a listing, as with inflected
forms) in a suitable dictionary. Generally this means a printed
dictionary published recently enough to show reasonably current
usage, or its online equivalent. Other reasonably authoritative
sources may be accepted on a case-by-case basis. Words listed
as obsolete or archaic usage don't count, and sources that would
list those words without distinguishing them are not acceptable
as dictionaries.

* 4.3.3 Permitted Numbers

Where the distinction is important, "number" refers to a specific
mathematical value, whereas "numeral" means a way of writing it.
Thus "4", "IV", and "four" are three different numerals representing
the same number. "Digit" means one of the characters "0", "1", "2",
etc. (These definitions represent one of several conflicting common
usages.)

* 4.3.4 "Contained in"

If a question asks for a word or numeral "contained" or "included"
in a phrase, title, or the like, this does not include substrings or
alternate meanings of words, unless explictly specified. For example,
if "Canada in 1967" is the title of a book, it contains the numeral
1967 and the preposition "in"; but it does not contain the word "an",
the adjective "in", or the numeral 96.

* 4.4 Tense and Time

When a question is worded in the present tense, the correctness of
your answer is determined by the facts at the moment you submit it.
(In a case where, in my judgement, people might reasonably be unaware
of the facts having changed, an out-of-date answer may be accepted as
correct.) Questions worded in the present perfect tense include the
present unless something states or implies otherwise. (For example,
Canada is a country that "has existed", as well as one that "exists".)
Different verbs in a sentence bear their usual tense relationship to
each other.

You are not allowed to change the facts yourself in order to make an
answer correct. For example, if a question asks for material on the
WWW, what you cite must already have existed before the contest was
first posted.


* 5. Judging

As moderator, I will be the sole judge of what answers are correct,
and whether two answers with similar meaning (like red and gules)
are considered the same, different, or more/less specific variants.

I will do my best to be fair on all such issues, but sometimes it is
necessary to be arbitrary. Those who disagree with my rulings are
welcome to complain (or to start a competing contest, or whatever).

I may rescore the contest if I agree that I made a serious error and
it affects the high finishers.


* 6. Results

Results will normally be posted within a few days of the contest
closing. They may be delayed if I'm unexpectedly busy or for
technical reasons. If I feel I need help evaluating one or more
answers, I may make a consultative posting in the newsgroups before
scoring the contest.

In the results posting, all entrants will be listed in order of score,
but high (bad) scores may be omitted. The top few entrants' full
answer slates will be posted. A table of answers and their scores
will be given for each question.


* 7. Fun

This contest is for fun. Please do have fun, and good luck to all.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "If it's on TV, it has to be true!
msb@vex.net (I read that on the Internet.)"

My text in this article is in the public domain.




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