2007 EFT: Rataplan Ghost Rides the WWI Ambulance Packet 10
Packet by: Eric Mukherjee
1. This man published an editorial excoriating Edwin Killroe, for which he was charged with libel. He declared the East St. Louis riots “one of the bloodiest outrages against mankind” in a 1917 speech in Lafayette Hall. J. Edgar Hoover succeeded in charging this man with mail fraud, leading to a five-year jail sentence, where he published “First Message to the Negroes of the World from Atlanta Prison”. He presented the Petition of the Negro Race to a 1928 meeting of the League of Nations, and also created the Black Star Line. FTP, name this president of the United Negro Improvement Association and proponent of the “Back to Africa” movement.
ANSWER: Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr.
2. Unlike similar procedures, a parallel version of this algorithm requires no synchronization, and requires big-O of n time given big-theta of n processors. Combining this algorithm, which was originally developed by C.A.R Hoare, with heapsort gives introsort, which is faster on average because heapsort has a better worst-case runtime. Its second step is referred to as the partition function, which divides the original list into elements that are higher or lower than a given pivot value. FTP, name this algorithm that runs in big-O of n log n time, that sorts a list by repeatedly creating two sub-lists and resorting, named for its speed.
ANSWER: Quicksort
3. Its epigraph is taken from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 17, and reads “The stretched metre of an antique song”. Its first section takes place in a forest around Latmos, during a celebration of Pan, and during a trip to the underworld, the protagonist encounters Venus and Adonis. He relates the contents of a dream to his sister Peonia, and in the end he meets the Indian maid he has dreamed about, who is revealed to by the goddess Cynthia. Consisting of four books and beginning with the line “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”, FTP, name this poem about a handsome shepherd loved by the goddess of the moon, written by John Keats.
ANSWER: “Endymion: A Poetic Romance”
4. His portrayal of Virgil Renchler in Man in the Shadow was quite similar to a more famous role in which he plays the corrupt, overweight sheriff of a US/Mexico border town. In addition to his role as Hank Quinlan in Touch of Evil, he also directed a film centered around Sir John Falstaff, entitled Chimes at Midnight. He played Harry Lime in a movie centering on the pulp author Holly Martins, The Third Man, and first gained notoriety for a series that convinced listeners that an alien invasion was occurring. FTP, name this actor/director who starred in a 1938 radio serial adaptation of War of the Worlds, and also played a newspaper mogul who called for his sled on his deathbed in Citizen Kane.
ANSWER: Orson Welles
5. Orlin once created one of these devices using several capacitors and a toaster, and the Mark IX tactical nuclear weapon was specifically designed to destroy them. They normally can only remain active for 38 minutes, and are composed of the superconductor naquadah. A second, slightly more advanced group of these objects was recently discovered in the Pegasus Galaxy. Their inner tracks contain 39 symbols, 7 of which are used in a given address. The first of these objects seen was uncovered at an archaeological dig in Giza, and was decoded by Daniel Jackson. FTP, name these fictional wormhole-creating devices, one of which is used by a CheyenneMountain facility whose flagship team is SG-1.
ANSWER: Stargate or Ring of the Gods or Circle of Standing Water or Ancestral Ring or Stone Ring or Annulus or Chappa’ai or The Ol’ Orifice (FYI: The Mark IX is the “Gatebuster”, so its uniquely identifying)
6. One of this man’s earliest works was a chronicle of his time as a reporter during the Lebanese Civil War, entitled From Beirut to Jerusalem.The title objects of one of his later works represent the struggle between modernization and tradition. In that work, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, he presented his theory that no two countries with McDonald’s franchises have gone to war with each other, the “Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Resolution”. His most recent work analyzes globalization in terms of the “triple convergence”, and refers to things like outsourcing and the internet as “flatteners”. FTP, name this New York Times contributor and author of “A Brief History of the 21st century” entitled The World is Flat.
ANSWER: Thomas Lauren Friedman
7. One character in this work suffers from a “nebulous mass” in his chest which shows up in an X-ray, and this work ends by describing a supermarket whose isles have been rearranged, leading to much confusion. The protagonists’ boss is Alphon Stompanato, and his colleague Murray Siskind is an expert on Elvis Presley. The protagonists’ wife is revealed to have given sexual favors to Willie Mink in exchange for the drug Dylar, and much of the latter part of this book deals with the consequences of an “Airborne Toxic Event”. Focusing on a professor of Hitler Studies, FTP, name this novel about Jack Gladney and his family, by Don DeLillo.
ANSWER: White Noise
8. This nations lowest point is LakeKulul, which is located in the Denakil depression. The Dahlak Archipelago is a part of this nation, and it shares several of the HanishIslands with Yemen. The port town of Asseb lies in the far east of this nation, which is mostly inhabited by the Tigrinya and Tigre peoples. The town of Badme was granted to this nation by the EEBC in 2002, after a dispute with its neighbor. It was annexed by Haile Selassie I in 1961, leading to a 30-year war between this nation and Ethiopia. Also bordered by Djibouti and Sudan, FTP, name this small African nation with capital at Asmara.
ANSWER: Eritrea or Hagere Ertra
9. Early in his career, this man became head of the Cercles of Stanleyville, and distributed literature for the Liberal Party of his country. His movement would later break into two factions, one headed by this man, and another headed by Albert Kalonji. His time in office saw the rise of secessionist movement under Moise Tshombe of the CONAKAT party, leading to UN intervention. After his removal from office, his successor sent him to Katanga province, where he was tortured and executed by those same rebels. FTP, name this leader of the MNC who was overthrown by a CIA-backed coup lead by Joseph Mobutu, the first prime minister of the Congo.
ANSWER: Patrice Lumumba
10. One method of trapping these molecules uses a molecular tweezer made of two bent corannulene units, and they can be purified by using DBU and trimethylbenzene. They undergo 1,3 dipolar addition with azomethine ylides in the Prato reaction, and one method of synthesizing them is named for Huffman and Kratschmer. The endohedral type has another molecule trapped inside, and they were first isolated from soot using a laser by Kroto, Smalley and Curl. The most well-known of these compounds has the shape of a truncated icosahedron. FTP, name this most recently discovered allotrope of carbon, named after the creator of the geodesic dome.
ANSWER: Buckminsterfullereneor Buckyballs
11. One work attributed to this man was taken to a shrine created by Pompey the Great in the Circus Maximus, and another work by this man was a depiction of Apollo created for Ephesus. One of his lost works was a heifer, which according to one account was decorated with 36 epigrams, and according to Livy, he was a student of Agelades. A copy of one of this man’s works is found in the Copenhagen gardens, and he’s also famous for a depiction of the satyr Marsyas with Athena. FTP, name this 5th-century BC Athenian sculptor, whose most famous work features an athlete throwing a discus, titled Discobolos.
ANSWER: Myron
12. She placed one of her sons in the heavens as the constellation Bootes, and she also turned Lyncus of Scythia into a lynx after he tried to kill her student Triptolemus. Her liaison with the titan Iasion in a thrice-plowed field resulted in the birth of Plutus. In one story, she disguises herself as the old woman Doso, and is taken in by King Celeus of Elusis. She plans to reward him by making his son Demophon immortal, but she was interrupted by Metanira when she was about to put him in a fire. She came upon this family while traveling the world searching for her kidnapped child. FTP, name this Greek agricultural goddess whose daughter Persephone was kidnapped by Hades.
ANSWER: Demeter
13. A satirical sequel to this work was published in 1982 by T. Coraghessan Boyle. The main character foresaw his eventual profession when he made a grimace upon being baptized. He becomes agitated when he is asked to change the wording of a report from the first to the third person, leading to his being appointed as a copier. He attempts to enlist the aid of the Very Important Person after he is robbed of the title possession, which was created by Petrovich from cat hair. He returns as a ghost at the end of the work, and retaliates against the VIP by robbing him of a similar object. FTP, name this work about Akaky Akakievich, written by Nikolai Gogol.
ANSWER: “The Overcoat” or “The Cloak” or “Shinel”
14. With Piola, this man lends his name to a two-point tensor which relates the stress of a material to a certain reference configuration, and with Clebsch, he names an equation used to characterize rigid bodies in irrotational, inviscid, incompressible fluids. He worked with Bunsen to develop his three laws of spectroscopy, and his namesake law of thermal radiation equates the absorptivity and emmissivity of an object in thermal equilibrium. He coined the term “Blackbody” in 1860, but he’s more famous for two laws he derived from Ohm's law. FTP, name this physicist, whose namesake “junction” and “loop” rules are useful in characterizing circuits.
ANSWER: Gustav Robert Kirchhoff
15. The figures in the painting were identified by Mary Hervey in 1900. At the extreme top left of this painting is a black-and-white representation of Jesus on the cross, and the floor design is based on Westminster Abbey. The lower table in the center contains two books, one propped open by a bookmark, next to a lute, while the upper table contains a globe and astrolabe; all of this occurs in front of a green curtain. However, most notable is a distorted object in front of the two title figures. FTP, name this painting featuring an anamorphic skull hovering in front of Georges de Selve and Jean de Dentville, by Hans Holbein the Younger.
ANSWER: The French Ambassadors or The Two Ambassadors
16. The monument to this battle is known as the “twin sisters”, and consists of two artillery pieces originally used by Major George Hockley during it. It began immediately after the burning of Vince’s Bridge, and Mirabeau Lamar commanded a cavalry unit of 61 men that circled the opposing force. It quickly devolved into hand-to-hand combat between the American forces and some 400 men commanded by Juan Almonte. Leading to the capture of Santa Anna by Sam Houston’s forces, FTP, name this 18-minute battle that began with the immortal yell “Remember the Alamo!”, the final battle of the Texan Revolution.
ANSWER: Battle of San Jacinto
17. The agent that causes this disease can be transported in the Cary-Blair medium, and it is often diagnosed by plating it onto TCBS medium and looking for yellow colonies. Its namesake enterotoxin ADP-ribosylates a G-protein linked to adenylate cyclase, causing a massive increase in cAMP concentration and opening of chloride channels. Epidemiologist John Snow traced the origin of one outbreak in Westminster, and its causative agent was isolated by Filippo Pacini. Cystic fibrosis is thought to confer a heterozygote advantage against, FTP, this disease, caused by a gram negative vibrio bacterium, which leads to massive dehydration and diarrhea and is transmitted through contaminated water.
ANSWER: Cholera
18. The exordium of this work contains four different retellings of the central story, and the first of these is believed to reflect the author’s failed engagement. This work was published alongside a tract about a Young Man who wishes to break off his engagement, entitled Repetition. The author contrasts the “Knight of Infinite Resignation” and the “Knight of Faith” in one section of this work, and concludes that the path of the former is much easier. Its third problema asks whether there exists a teleological suspension of the ethical, and it was published under the name Johannes de Silentio. FTP, name this Soren Kirkegaard work whose title describes emotions felt during Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac.
ANSWER: Fear and Trembling or Frygt og Baeven
19. It is analogous to May’s theorem, which replaces one of the conditions with anonymity and considers only the case of two options. The Gibbert-Satterthwaite theorem is a special case of this result, and Amartya Sen extended upon it to create the Liberal Paradox. One of its conditions is an independence of irrelevant alternatives, which states that the social welfare function must provide the same set of rankings in a subset of choices as it would for the whole set. First stated in 1951’s Social Choice and Individual Values, FTP, name this theorem that says that no non-dictatorial voting system based on ranked preferences of three options can take everyone’s choices into account.
ANSWER: Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem
20. One of this man’s short stories centers on Belacquah Shah, who picks up the title creature while going to an Italian lesson. In addition to Dante and the Lobster, this man wrote a play concerning the solipsist Henry, entitled Embers, and another play centered around the old couple Mr. and Mrs. Rooney, called All that Fall. One of his better-known works consists of an old writer listening to Spool number 5. He is probably best known a work features Nagg and Hamm, and another has Pozzo and his servant Lucky, as well as Vladimir and Estragon. FTP, name this absurdist playwright of Krapp’s Last Tape, Endgame, and Waiting For Godot.
ANSWER: Samuel Beckett
21. This government legalized a system of alternate attendance among feudal lords, where they were required to spend one year within their domains and one in the capital. One challenge to it came from disgruntled ronin lead by Yui Shotetsu, who attempted a coup called the Keian Uprising. Its downfall came during the Bakamatsu, during which popular sentiment called for “expelling the barbarians”, leading to the Boshin War and resignation of Yoshinobu. It was founded after its namesake’s victory over Ishida Mitsunari at Sekigahara, and it also signed of the Treaty of Kanagawa with Matthew Perry. Immediately followed by the Meiji restoration, FTP, name this Shogunate, founded by Ieyasu, that ruled Japan from 1600 to 1868.
ANSWER: Tokugawa Shogunate
Bonuses
1. Answer some questions about the pancreas, FTPE:
[10] This cluster of cells, named for a German pathologist, makes up the endocrine portion of the pancreas. Its epsilon cells have recently been discovered to secrete ghrelin.
ANSWER: Islets of Langerhans
[10] The alpha cells of the Islets of the Langerhans secrete this peptide hormone that is released in response to low blood glucose levels.
ANSWER: Glucagon
[10] These cells in the exocrine portion of the pancreas secrete bicarbonate ions in response to rising secretin levels in the intestine.
ANSWER: Centroacinar cells
2. Identify some paintings by Eugene Delacroix, FTPE:
[10] This work commemorates the July revolution. A boy holding two pistols stands next to the title figure, who’s holding a tricolor flag and has one breast exposed.
ANSWER: Liberty Leading the People or La Liberte Guidant le Peuple
[10] This work shows the mass killing of some Greek islanders by Ottoman Turks. A turban-wearing mounted soldier is depicted in the right foreground, and a group of dying civilians lie on the left.
ANSWER: Massacre at Chios or Massacre at Scio or Scenes de Massacres de Scio
[10] This work, based on a Byron play, depicts the killing of the title characters concubines and destruction of all of his worldly possessions. He reclines on a pink bed while the chaos occurs in front of him.
ANSWER: Death of Sardanapalus or La Mort de Sardanapale
3. Answer some things about Valhalla, the Norse hall of the dead, FTPE:
[10] These shield maidens and “choosers of the slain” carry fallen warriors to Valhalla. Notable ones include Brunhilde and Hrist.
ANSWER: Valkyrie
[10] The warriors of Valhalla are given this collective name. They will fight with Odin at Ragnarok against the forces of the giants.
ANSWER: Einherjar
[10] The Einherjar battle each other to death on the plain Idavoll, after being awakened every morning by this golden-combed rooster.
ANSWER: Gullinkambi