TOSSUPS – KENTUCKY BCenter of the Known Universe Open 2004 -- UT-Chattanooga
  1. A strong form of their namesake conjecture, the Hardy-Littlewood conjecture, postulates a distribution law for them. Brun’s sieve method shows that the number of them less than x is much less than x over log x squared, and therefore the sum of their reciprocals converges. Every pair of these except the first is of the form (6n - 1, 6n + 1) for some natural number n, but the question of whether there are an infinite number of them remains one of the great open questions in number theory. FTP, name these pairs of numbers, the first few of which are (3, 5), (5, 7), (11, 13), and (17, 19).

Answer:twin primes

  1. He resigned his post his nation’s as ambassador to India in 1968 to protest the Tlatelolco massacre. Born in Mexico City in 1914, he entered his country’s diplomatic service in 1945 and worked in France until 1962. Influenced by surrealism, encouraged to write by Pablo Neruda, and cooperating often with Benjamin and Breton Peret, it was during his time in France that he published his most famous work, El Laberinto de la Soledad. FTP, name this man, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Answer: Octavio Paz

  1. He was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, in 1774 and died under mysterious circumstances at a tavern called Grinder’s Stand in 1809. He helped put down the Whiskey Rebellion as a member of the Virginia militia and soon joined the regular army, serving until 1801 and achieving the rank of captain. Appointed as President Jefferson’s private secretary, he studied mapmaking in Philadelphia before setting out on his most famous endeavor. FTP, name this man who shared command of the Corps of Discovery with William Clark.

Answer: Meriwether Lewis

  1. Helmholtz discovered it in 1853, but it is named after the French telegraph engineer who rediscovered it thirty years later. The voltage divider principle is often useful when calculating the namesake equivalent voltage, declaring one terminal to be at Vout and the other at ground. When calculating the equivalent resistance, it is important to replace all voltage and current sources with their internal resistances. FTP, identify this theorem which states that any combination of voltage sources and resistors with two terminals is electrically equivalent to a single voltage source in series with a single resistor.

Answer:Thevenin’s theorem

  1. The title is taken from the first and tenth books in a series by Patrick O’Brian, based loosely on the career of Thomas Cochrane. The plot mixes events from various books in the series; for example, the scene in which Maturin operates on himself to remove a bullet is from the third book, HMS Surprise. Winner of the 2003 Best Cinematography and Best Sound Effects Editing Academy Awards, this is, FTP, what movie directed by Peter Weir and starring Paul Bettany and Russell Crowe?

Answer:Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

  1. Though large fragments of Sophocles’s Ichneutae have survived, the only one still extant in its entirety is Euripides’ Cyclops. At the Athenian Dionysia, playwrights usually submitted three tragedies and one of these. Similar in style to modern-day burlesque, they did not necessarily include their namesake creatures but did typically contain references to drinking, overt sexuality (often including large phallic props), pranks, and general merriment. FTP, name these Greek plays associated with the likes of Pan.

Answer:satyr plays

  1. Born in Erfurt, Germany, his Christmas gift to his parents when he was 13 took the form of two historical essays, and his younger brother Alfred followed in his professional footsteps. Nearly a decade after earning his doctorate in law, he suffered what is believed to be a nervous breakdown which halted all his academic output for four years. Along with Marx, Pareto, and Durkheim, he is considered one of the founders of modern sociology, but unlike them he worked in the idealist tradition. FTP, who is this author of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit Of Capitalism?

Answer: Maximilian Weber

  1. Its melting point is exceeded only by those of tungsten and carbon, and it is denser than any other element save platinum, iridium, and osmium. It is used as a catalyst in the synthesis of high-octane gasoline and in high-temperature superalloys. The last naturally occurring element to be discovered, it was detected in platinum ore and columbite by Berg, Noddack, and Tacke in 1925 and named after a European river. FTP, what is this 75th element with symbol Re?

Answer:rhenium

  1. Its namesake was a Republican representative from Minnesota of Norwegian descent. Part of its stated purpose was “to insure an ample supply” of something “and promote its use in scientific research and in the development of fuel, lye, and other lawful industries.” Passed on October 28, 1919 over President Wilson’s veto, it went into effect on January 16, 1920. Defining “beer, wine, or other intoxicating malt or vinuous liquors” as any beverage with greater than 0.5% by volume, FTP name this act which enforced the Eighteenth Amendment.

Answer:Volstead Act

  1. He was taken at the age of 18 to Boucher, who recognized his talent but sent him to Chardin. Six months later he returned to Boucher, whose style he acquired so completely that Boucher entrusted him with the execution of replicas of his paintings. He also studied under Van Loo and Natoire, but a summer stay at the Villa d’Este made the most impact on his style. FTP, name this painter of Corsus, The Sleeping Bacchante, The Bathers, The Shepherds’ Hour, and The Swing.

Answer: Jean-Honoré Fragonard

  1. One of his lesser known works is De Generatione, an Aristotelian exposition on mammalian generation. He studied first at Gonville and Gaius College, Cambridge, and later at Padua under Fabricius. Though his work agreed with the earlier findings of Ibn Nafis, his ideas were not accepted during his lifetime; however, he was still regarded as an excellent doctor and served as personal physician to James I and Charles I. FTP, identify this man who, in his An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals, described the circulation of the blood.

Answer: William Harvey

  1. He suffers from learning difficulties and blackouts as a youth, but these are treated with some success in Switzerland. On his way back to St. Petersburg, he befriends Rogojin, but the two become rivals after he proposes to Nastassia and she flees with Rogojin. He grows close to Aglaya but eventually gives her up to save Nastassia. On the day of their marriage, however, Nastassia again flees with Rogojin, who kills her. FTP, who is this Dostoevsky title character?

Answer: Prince Myshkin (accept The Idiot)

  1. One resolution to it was offered by Benoit Mandlebrot, who suggested that the stars are not uniformly distributed, but rather fractally like a Cantor dust. The most common resolution is offered by the Big Bang theory: the light from distant stars is redshifted in our expanding universe, which is finitely old anyway. First posited by Kepler, this is, FTP, what paradox which states that in an infinite universe consisting of infinitely many uniformly distributed luminous stars, every line of sight should terminate on the surface of a star?

Answer:Olbers’s paradox

  1. At 10 p.m. on September 12, 1942, the commander of U-156 spotted an unescorted British liner and attacked. As the ship began to sink, he surfaced, hoping to capture senior officers, but he was appalled to see 1800 Italian POWs floating in the water and began a rescue operation. On September 16, an American B-24 attacked the U-156, which submerged and escaped. Hundreds perished, and Admiral Doenitz issued an order that such rescue attempts were now prohibited. FTP, name the ship and you name the incident and the order, which served to convict Doenitz of war crimes at Nuremberg.

Answer: the Laconia incident (or equivalent)

  1. She is celebrated every July 17 and December 21. Her most important shrine, in Ise, is torn down and rebuilt every twenty years, and in it she is represented by a mirror. Born from the eye of Izanagi while he was purifying himself in a river, she became so embarrassed when her brother Susanowo ravaged the earth that she retreated into a cave, plunging the world into darkness. FTP, name this Shinto sun goddess, mythical ancestor of the royal family of Japan.

Answer:Amaterasu

  1. Lizzie Magie created the board game Monopoly to demonstrate his theories. He was the third most famous man in America after Mark Twain and Thomas Edison, at least according to his granddaughter, Agnes de Mille. A trip to New York inspired his most famous work, and in 1886 he came in second in that city’s mayoral race. He ran again in 1897 but died four days before the election. FTP, identify this proponent of a single tax on land, author of Progress And Poverty.

Answer: Henry George

  1. They share their name with a novel by Nancy Huston, and a complete performance of them will take between 35 and 50 minutes. The third is a canon at the unison, the sixth a canon at the second, the ninth a canon at the third, and so on; the thirtieth and last, Quodlibet, is probably a joke. In a scene in The Silence Of The Lambs, Hannibal Lecter listens to the aria on which they are based. FTP, name this collection of pieces, named after the harpsichordist who was to play them and written around 1741 for Count Hermann Karl von Kayserlingk by J. S. Bach.

Answer: the Goldberg Variations

  1. Its main waterway is the Valira River, and its primary industry is tourism. Independent since 1278, an edict by Henry IV in 1607 established the French king and the bishop of Urgell as its co-princes. In 1933, the Russian adventurer Boris Skossyreff seized power and declared himself king but was soon arrested. The population is 33% indigenous, 43% Spanish, 11% Portuguese, and 7% French, and the official language is Catalan. FTP, what is this principality in the Pyrenees?

Answer:Andorra

  1. For those of you who have played The Secret Of Mana, it shares its name with the monster you fight in the Water Palace after first meeting Geshtar. Its contributions to the popular lexicon include the word “chortle” and the infamous D&D term “vorpal.” Set in quatrain verse and using rhymed iambic meter, it also introduces such characters as the Jubjub bird, the titular foe (with its “jaws that bite” and “claws that catch”), the slithy toves, and the ever-popular frumious Bandersnatch. FTP, name this nonsense poem from Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll.

Answer:Jabberwocky

  1. Before it, a letter was sent to Count Teckley of Hungary, threatening him with destruction if he took advantage of the situation. The sender, Polish king Jan Sobieski, then left his own nation virtually undefended and personally led 30,000 reinforcements to the city. At four in the morning on September 12, the Austrians and Germans advanced on Kara Mustafa’s center and left, and when he counterattacked in force Sobieski took the high ground on his right. The subsequent cavalry charge won the battle and the war in, FTP, what 1683 engagement that effectively ended the Ottoman threat to central Europe?

Answer: Battle of Vienna (do not accept “Siege of Vienna”)

  1. It begins in Tibet at the confluence of the Sengge and Gar and flows northwest through Gilgit-Baltistan just south of the Karakoram range, then gradually turns south, coming out of the hills between Peshawar and Rawalpindi. Tributaries include the Hunza, Ravi, and Beas, and it is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a significant tidal bore. After passing by Hyderabad, it empties into the Arabian Sea in the Sindh province, from which it takes its name. FTP, what is this principal river of Pakistan?

Answer:Indus River

  1. Inspired by the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a poll conducted prior to it unanimously agreed that only a few sadists would go all the way to 450. In reality, 65% of participants did just that, and no one stopped before reaching 300, even though the actor always requested them to stop at 150 volts. The results were first described in 1974’s Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. FTP, what is this classic experiment of social psychology in which participants administer what they believe to be increasingly intense electric shocks?

Answer:Milgram experiment

  1. One of his works coined the word “serendipity.” He was a devotee of George II and Queen Caroline and sided with them against Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales. His home, Strawberry Hill, was a fanciful neo-Gothic structure which began a new architectural trend, and this 4th Earl of Orford set a literary trend to match with a novel he published in 1764. FTP, name this son of the first British prime minister and author of The Castle Of Otranto.

Answer:Horace Walpole

  1. The 2001 re-release features the bonus track “I Live For You” as well as alternate versions of four other songs. The original release features two records of songs and a third containing the Apple Jam. While the artist wrote nearly all the songs himself, “If Not For You” and the leadoff track “I’d Have You Anytime” were respectively written and co-written by Bob Dylan. Featuring Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, and Ringo Starr, FTP name this album released in November 1970 by George Harrison which contains “My Sweet Lord.”

Answer:All Things Must Pass

  1. The Constitution has been abrogated, all religions have been suppressed, and African-Americans and dissidents are liquidated or deported to regions where pollution has reached toxic levels. The changes brought about by the Republic of Gilead have affected women the most: they are no longer allowed to read or choose their clothes, and they have been divided into five castes, four of which are Wives, Aunts, Marthas, and Econowives. The title character’s original name is not given, but her new name is Offred in, FTP, what 1985 dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood?

Answer:The Handmaid’s Tale

BONI – KENTUCKY BCenter of the Known Universe Open 2004 -- UT-Chattanooga

  1. Identify the following fictitious musicians FTPE.

10)Also known as Regina Phalange, this author of such songs as “The Double-Double-Double-Jointed Boy” and “Sticky Shoes” is perhaps best known for “Smelly Cat.”

Answer: Phoebe Buffay [aw, what the hell, accept just Phoebe]

10)Long-lost brother of Dr. Julius Hibbert, his lone album Sax on the Beach was extremely lucrative, but this mentor of Lisa Simpson died poor after spending too much money on Fabergé eggs.

Answer:Bleeding Gums Murphy

10)The only album actually released under his name came out in October 1999, but this alter ego of Garth Brooks had a rich and storied fake past.

Answer: Chris Gaines

  1. Name these ignominious terms from U. S. history FTPE.

10)Named after Wilson’s attorney general, these were flagrantly unconstitutional attacks on socialists and communists between 1918 and 1921.

Answer:Palmer raids

10)Camping on the Anacostia Flats, these demonstrating veterans were tear gassed in June 1932.

Answer:Bonus Army (or Bonus March, or Bonus Expeditionary Force)

10)All that needs to be said is May 4, 1970, the National Guard, and “four dead in Ohio.”

Answer:Kent State shootings

  1. Cough up these curses FTPE.

10)Its victims have included Beethoven, Schubert, Vaughan Williams, and Dvorak. Mahler was so afraid of it that he titled the relevant work Das Lied von der Erde instead.

Answer: curse of the ninth symphony

10)Also called the Zero Year Curse, it affects U. S. presidents elected in years divisible by 20 and is attributed to an enemy of its first victim.

Answer:Tecumseh’s curse

10)Uttered by a disgruntled animal lover in 1945, it asserts that the Cubs will never reach the World Series again.

Answer:goat curse

  1. Breaking up is hard to do. [Pause for effect.] Identify these ways to separate mixtures FTPE.

10)In this crude process, one pours a solution from a container, leaving a precipitate.

Answer:decantation

10)Variations of this method, in which a sample is passed through some material that provides resistance at different rates for different components, include paper, thin-layer, and column.

Answer:chromatography

10)Used in genetics and biochemistry, in this method a mixture is injected onto a colloidal substance and a current is applied; different molecules travel through the substance at different speeds.

Answer:gel electrophoresis

  1. Name the Nobel laureate in Literature from works FTPE, or from their home country and the year they won for five.

10)Hunger, Pan, The Growth of the Soil

5)Norway, 1920

Answer: Knut Hamsen

10)The Dancing Girl of Izu, The Sound of the Mountain, Snow Country

5)Japan, 1968

Answer: Yasunari Kawabata

10)Desolation, Tenderness, Sonnets of Death