>> JOE HANSON: Major funding for High School Quiz Show is provided by Safety Insurance.

Coming up, it's Milton Academy... (cheers and applause) ...taking on Somerville High School.

(cheers and applause) That's next on High School Quiz Show!

(cheers and applause) ♪ ♪ (cheers and applause) >> HANSON: Hi, everybody.

And welcome to High School Quiz Show.

I'm Joe Hanson, your host.

Today we welcome wildcard winner Milton Academy taking on High School Quiz Show veterans Somerville High School.

We start with the toss-up round.

All answers are worth ten points, there are no point deductions for wrong answers, and players, you may confer before answering.

All right.

If you're ready, teams, good luck.

Here we go.

In the original Star Wars movie, which character tells Admiral Motti, "I find your lack of faith disturbing"?

Simon.

>> Darth Vader.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Anakin Skywalker would have counted, too-- spoilers.

(audience chuckles) The Jewel in the Crown is a historical novel set during final days of the British Raj in what country?

Rhys.

>> India.

>> HANSON: India is correct.

"It was more money than I've ever...

It was a seven-figure sum!"

Actor Tom Hollander said this about mistakenly receiving a check for what similarly named Spider-Man star?

Rhys.

>> Tom Holland.

>> HANSON: Correct.

In 1558, at age 25, who became queen of England amidst great turmoil and religious upheaval?

Nam.

>> Elizabeth I.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Our next question, take a look at your monitors.

Pictured here is the Alhambra, one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture.

Built to resemble a paradise on Earth, it overlooks what city in Southern Spain?

Rhys.

>> Granada.

>> HANSON: Granada's correct.

What major goddess in Norse mythology is associated with fertility, love, and beauty?

Sam.

>> Freya.

>> HANSON: Freya is correct.

What former cricket star who served as the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan was ousted from office in a no-confidence vote in 2022?

Ella.

>> Imran Khan.

>> HANSON: Yes.

In the comic book series Sabrina the Teenage Witch, what black cat is actually a witch who was turned into a cat as punishment for trying to take over the world?

Ella.

>> Salem.

>> HANSON: Salem is right.

Very typical cat behavior.

(audience chuckling) Our next question, take a look at your monitors.

We've got a special video guest.

>> Hello, I'm Dan Lothian.

I began my career as a journalist at the age of 16.

I worked at local television stations across the country.

I was a White House correspondent.

And I am now editor-in-chief for GBH News.

Here's my question.

After the Watergate scandal, the slogan "Don't Blame Me, I'm From Massachusetts" appeared on bumper stickers across the state.

This was in reference to the 1972 election, when Richard Nixon won every state except Massachusetts, which voted for what anti-war Democrat?

>> HANSON: Rhys.

>> George McGovern.

>> HANSON: George McGovern is correct.

Hall of Fame athlete Jerry West passed away in 2024 at age 86.

A literal icon, he appears as a silhouette in the logo of what sports organization?

Sam.

>> The NBA.

>> HANSON: That's right.

In a defense test conducted in 2022, NASA's DART spacecraft intentionally crashed into what object seven million miles away: an asteroid, a comet, or a planet?

Simon.

>> Asteroid.

>> HANSON: An asteroid is correct.

Thankfully, we can knock those off course, just in case.

"You may fire when you are ready, Gridley."

Admiral Dewey gave this famous command while aboard the Olympia at the 1898 Battle of Manila Bay during which war?

Jack.

>> Spanish-American.

>> HANSON: Spanish-American War is correct.

What element with atomic number 13 is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust?

Sam.

>> Aluminum.

>> HANSON: Aluminum is correct.

Denzel Washington and Viola Davis both starred in the 2012 film Fences, based on the Pulitzer-winning play by what author?

Ella.

>> August Wilson.

>> HANSON: August Wilson is correct.

We're off to a great start, but we're gonna take a moment to thank the folks who make High School Quiz Show possible.

Major funding for High School Quiz Show is provided by Safety Insurance.

>> From "Whoops"... (fire alarm blaring) ...to "Uh-oh" to "Oh, no," Safety Insurance can help you manage life's storms.

Even the indoor kind.

>> HANSON: Additional funding is provided by UMass Amherst.

>> At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a revolutionary spirit runs through our veins.

>> It inspires us.

>> To think in new ways.

>> To challenge convention.

>> We are committed... >> ...to the relentless pursuit of progress.

>> Be revolutionary.

(cheers and applause) >> HANSON: Okay, welcome back.

We've got a tied match on our hands.

70 points apiece between Milton Academy and Somerville.

Let's get back to the game.

What Polish tennis star won her fourth French Open singles title in 2024?

Sam.

>> Iga Swiatek.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

What island nation off Africa's east coast is the world's largest supplier of vanilla beans?

Ella.

>> Madagascar.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Known for hits like "Get Ur Freak On" and "Work It," in 2023, who became the first female hip-hop artist to be induced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah, or Janet Jackson?

Simon.

>> Missy Elliott.

>> HANSON: Missy Elliott is correct.

After the Great Fire of 1666, what English architect designed more than 50 new churches in London, including St. Paul's Cathedral?

Ella.

>> Christopher Wren.

>> HANSON: Christopher Wren is right.

One of the oldest constellations in the historical record, what constellation in the night sky is said to represent a water bearer, which is what its name means in Latin?

Rhys.

>> Aquarius.

>> HANSON: Aquarius is right.

In 2024, farmers protesting red tape and competition from cheap imports threw eggs at the European Parliament in what Belgian city?

Simon.

>> Brussels.

>> HANSON: Brussels is right.

By geographic area, what South American country is the largest majority- Spanish-speaking country in the world?

Sam.

>> Argentina.

>> HANSON: Correct.

Actor Carl Weathers passed away in 2024 at age 76.

He's best known for playing boxer Apollo Creed in what film franchise starring Sylvester Stallone?

Nam.

>> Rocky.

>> HANSON: Rocky is right.

In his 1620 work Novum Organum, one of the most important works in the scientific revolution, who outlined a more scientific approach to understanding the natural world: Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, or John Dalton?

Rhys.

>> Dalton.

>> HANSON: No.

Somerville, opportunity for you.

Ella.

>> Bacon.

>> HANSON: Francis Bacon is correct.

In the 1840s, what Army surveyor and future Republican presidential candidate mapped much of the American West?

(buzzer sounds) We're looking for John Frémont.

On May 13, 1607, English colonists arrived by ship at the site of what became the Jamestown settlement in what present-day U.S. state?

Jack.

>> Virginia.

>> HANSON: Virginia is right.

In 2024, Da'Vine Joy Randolph won an Oscar for her role in what film set at a New England boarding school during Christmas break?

Ella.

>> The Holdovers.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a secret plan to divide the lands of the disintegrating Ottoman Empire.

It was signed in 1916 by diplomats from Britain and what other European country?

Jack.

>> France.

>> HANSON: France is correct.

Since 2007, a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome has killed millions of what North American mammal?

Simon.

>> Bats.

>> HANSON: Bats is correct.

The Thousand Islands are a chain of coral islands located off the coast of what capital city of Indonesia?

Ella.

>> Jakarta.

>> HANSON: Jakarta is correct.

(bell ringing) And that is the end of the round.

The score is Milton Academy: 120 points.

Somerville's got 160 points.

How about a round of applause for these teams?

(cheers and applause) Last week, Andover beat Sharon to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.

In today's match, Somerville and Milton Academy both hope to advance.

The head-to-head round is next, but first, we're gonna take a minute to get to know our players.

Milton, we'll start with you.

Eli, it says here you can solve a Rubik's Cube in 20 seconds?

>> That's correct.

>> HANSON: How many times did you have to solve a Rubik's Cube to get down to that?

>> Probably thousands.

Something I was doing in, like, sixth grade, right when the pandemic hit, and then, you know, I had nothing else to do, so I spent a lot of time on it.

>> HANSON: So is it about, like, learning patterns?

>> A lot of YouTube videos.

Really, mostly YouTube videos.

>> HANSON: Okay, maybe I should start doing that, 'cause I can't solve a Rubik's Cube in two million seconds.

(audience chuckles) Simon, I hear you're a Canadian citizen.

>> Yes, my mother is from Toronto.

>> HANSON: So is there any particular point of, like, Canadian national pride that you carry with you?

>> Poutine.

(audience laughter) >> HANSON: Hey, I know that's polarizing, but I'm with you on poutine.

Gravy and fries with cheese?

Like... >> Nothing better.

>> HANSON: Nachos of the North.

>> Exactly.

>> HANSON: Rhys, I hear you had an interesting Halloween costume.

>> In 2019, yeah.

So I was Brexit.

>> HANSON: Okay.

>> It wasn't as cool, topical, timely as it could have been, but I can talk about it now.

>> HANSON: I mean, I know what Brexit is.

I can't quite picture it as a costume, though.

Can you, like, give me a little description?

>> Yeah.

So I had a shirt that had a United Kingdom flag, an exit sign, and then I had sort of European things, like croissants, and, like, you know, Brussels on one side.

And the other side I had, like, you know, mushy peas, and, like, black tea.

>> HANSON: So was that a hit in the U.S.?

Were people, like, "What are you, man?"

>> Yeah.

There was a lot of explaining.

I didn't get very much candy that night.

>> HANSON (chuckling): Okay.

Okay.

Nam, you live in Vietnam, I hear?

>> Yeah, my name's a bit of a giveaway, but I'm, born there, yeah.

(laughter) >> HANSON: So are there any particular, you know, flavors, memories of home that you really miss when you're here in the U.S.?

>> I miss pho a lot.

It's pretty famous here in the U.S., but it just doesn't hit the same.

>> HANSON: How does it compare?

Like, what, what's missing?

I, I love pho, as well.

>> I can't put my finger on it, but there's, like, just something special in the broth that I feel like only Vietnam can make.

>> HANSON: It's also very hot, so be careful putting your finger on it.

(audience chuckling) Also on the Milton team, we have alternates Isa and Solomon, and coaches Naomi Weinberg and Joanna Latham.

(cheers and applause) Now let's move on to Somerville.

Calla, I hear you played in a production of Mamma Mia!?

>> I was Pepper.

So it was a kind of gender-bent version of Mamma Mia!, but it was very fun, yeah.

>> HANSON: Do you have a favorite song from the show?

>> "Dancing Queen" is always a classic.

You know, like, how can you not start dancing when you hear that?

>> HANSON: I mean, "Chiquitita" is a sleeper hit, too.

>> Mm.

So true.

So true.

>> HANSON: Let's not-- you know.

You can't pick favorites, though.

(audience chuckles) Ella, I see you were the stage manager for not just Mamma Mia!, but some other shows that you've done, as well.

>> Yes, I stage-managed Kinky Boots at the high school, and Newsies for the middle-schoolers.

>> HANSON: What drew you to, to doing theater in high school?

>> I was looking for something to do, and theater was there, so... >> HANSON: There is a piece of paper and a pen there if you need to take notes about anything that's going on here on this stage.

You know, there's some pretty good experience, maybe some internships.

You can ask after-- all right.

(audience chuckles) Jack, so you work on robots for a robotics team.

>> Yeah, I'm on the Somerville High School Robotics Team, where we compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition every year.

>> HANSON: So what are you guys working on this year?

>> We're trying to build a robot to compete in the 2025 Reefscape competition, where you have to place coral and algae.

It's a water-themed game.

>> HANSON: What's the bigger challenge?

Is it the engineering and figuring out how to actually, like, build and work the thing, or is it more in, like, the computing, programming side?

>> We have to do it all to make a functioning robot.

There's no piece that can be missed.

>> HANSON: Well, put in a good word with the robots for all of us, okay?

(audience laughs) Sam, you're a nationally ranked bridge player, I hear.

>> It used to be a hobby, and then I spent way too much time playing bridge over the pandemic, and now I go to tournaments.

>> HANSON: What's your ranking?

>> Basically, in bridge, you, instead of having a ranking, you have a number of points that you have, and you collect those over time by doing well at tournaments.

So if you've been playing bridge for longer, you will just have more points, even if you're not necessarily a better player.

>> HANSON: Well, best of luck-- you're only going to get older, and hopefully, get more points.

(audience laughs) >> That's true.

>> HANSON: Also on the Somerville team, we have alternates Oliver and Nate, and coach Ted Blake.

Let's hear it for both teams.

(cheers and applause) Okay, it's the head-to-head round.

In this round, correct answers add ten points to the team total, and wrong answers result in a ten-point deduction.

Why don't you give a little friendly handshake before we start?

>> (whispers): Good luck.

>> (whispers): Good luck.

>> HANSON: All right, clock is set at 90 seconds.

Here we go.

In 2024, who won the Grammy for Album of the Year for Midnights?

>> Taylor Swift.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What 20th-century conflict is still remembered in Russia as the Great Patriotic... >> World War II.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Cancer of what organ is by far the most common type of cancer in the United States?

>> Breast cancer.

>> HANSON: No, skin.

In 1822, Brazil gained its independence from what... >> Portugal.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Scientists believe a deep ocean of liquid water exists on Europa, a moon of which planet?

>> Saturn.

>> HANSON: No, Jupiter.

Charleston Tea Garden, the nation's only large-scale tea plantation, is located in which... >> South Carolina.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What 2015 animated film includes characters named Joy, Anger, Sadness... >> Inside Out.

>> HANSON: Yes.

The U.S. Congress enacted the first national draft during which war?

>> World War I.

>> HANSON: No, Civil War.

What Shakespeare tragedy is also known as The Moor of Venice?

>> Othello.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What is the chemical symbol for uranium?

(buzzer sounds) U.

The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of what country?

>> Spain.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Donald Sutherland, who died in 2024 at age 88, played what fascist dictator in The Hunger Games?

>> Coriolanus Snow.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Ben Franklin was the first to chart what warm ocean current that flows eastward across the North... >> El Niño.

>> HANSON: No, Gulf Stream.

What Greek goddess of the moon is the twin... >> Artemis.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What Massachusetts native was known as "the Angel of the Battlefield" as a nurse during the... (bell ringing) We were looking for Clara Barton on that last one.

That's the end of the round.

Let's take a look at the scores.

Milton has 180 points and Somerville has 150 points.

This is a close one.

Let's give it up for both teams.

(cheers and applause) All right, teams, it's time for our category round.

Today's categories are: When You're a Jet, Bright Lights, Big City, Back in Black, Oh My Goth, Mind Your Own Biscuits, and Catch Me If You Can.

All categories have five questions with increasing point value.

Teams will chose two five-question categories each, and you will have the option to toss one question per category to the other team that the other team must answer.

Players, you are able to confer.

Milton, who's your spokesperson?

>> I am.

>> HANSON: All right, Simon.

Somerville, how about you?

>> Oh, I am.

>> HANSON: All right, Ella.

Somerville, you guys have a little bit of ground to make up, so the first category goes to you.

>> (whispers): Big City?

>> (whispers): Yeah, I think so.

>> Bright Lights, Big City.

>> HANSON: Bright Lights, Big City.

These are questions about cities.

For ten points: with a population of 9.2 million, what is the largest city in North America?

>> (whispers): Mexico City?

>> (whispers): Mexico City.

>> Mexico City.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

For 15 points: what Senegal city is the westernmost capital of mainland Africa?

>> (whispering): Dakar.

>> Dakar.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 20 points: known as "Russia's window to the West," what present-day city was the site of most of the key events of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution?

>> (whispering): St. Petersburg.

>> (whispering): Yeah.

>> St. Petersburg.

>> HANSON: St. Petersburg is correct.

For 25 points: Ludwig van Beethoven was born in what city that was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990?

>> (whispering): Bonn.

>> (whispering): Bonn.

>> Bonn.

>> HANSON: Correct.

And for 30 points: in the fictional Star Trek universe, the headquarters of Starfleet Academy are located in the Presidio in what California city?

>> (whispering): Should we pass?

(team whispering) >> We're going to pass.

>> HANSON: Looking for San Francisco.

Milton Academy, your first category.

>> We'll do Back in Black.

>> HANSON: Back in Black.

In this category, all answers include the word "black."

For ten points: said to be "nigh uncatchable," what ship captained by Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films is the only ship that can outrun The Flying Dutchman?

>> Black Pearl.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 15 points: in 2021, Beyoncé broke the record for most Grammy wins by a female artist.

She earned her 28th win for Best R&B Performance for what song?

>> "Black Is King."

>> HANSON: No, "Black Parade" is the answer we're looking for.

For 20 points: a metaphor for achieving artistic perfection, what 2010 thriller stars Natalie Portman as a ballerina who loses her grip on reality during a production of a popular ballet by Tchaikovsky?

>> Black Swan.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 25 points in Back in Black: what terrorist group with close ties to the Serbian army was involved in the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo?

>> The Black Hand.

>> HANSON: The Black Hand is correct.

And for 30 points: made into an Oscar-nominated film in 1979, what classic novel by Walter Farley is about a boy and a black Arabian horse stranded on a desert island following a shipwreck?

>> (whispering): Pass.

I feel like they would know it.

>> Pass.

>> HANSON: Looking for The Black Stallion.

Somerville, your next category.

>> (whispering indistinctly) >> We're going to go with Oh My Goth.

>> HANSON: Oh My Goth.

These are questions about Gothic literature.

For ten points: written as a ghost story to pass the time during a rainy summer vacation in Geneva, what Mary Shelley novel is often cited as an early example of science fiction?

>> Frankenstein.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 15 points: "I am pouring forth a penny dreadful."

In 1885, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote this to a friend about what novella about a man with a split personality?

>> (whispers): Dr. Jekyll and... >> (whispers): Yeah.

>> Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

For 20 points: in her Pulitzer-winning novel Beloved, what author uses the features of Gothic fiction to discuss the real-life horrors of slavery and racism?

>> Toni Morrison.

>> HANSON: Correct.

For 25 points in Oh My Goth: what novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about a gloomy New England mansion, haunted since its construction by fraudulent dealings, accusations of witchcraft, and sudden death?

>> House of the Seven Gables.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

And for 30 points: the Netflix version of The Haunting of Hill House is a modern reimagining of the 1959 novel of the same name by what author?

>> (whispering): Shirley Jackson?

>> (whispering): Yeah.

>> Shirley Jackson.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

Milton, final category.

>> We'll do Mind Your Own Biscuits.

>> HANSON: Mind Your Own Biscuits.

These are questions about diet and nutrition.

For ten points: in the 18th century, British sailors earned the nickname "limeys" when the Royal Navy began storing citrus fruits on board all of its ships to prevent what deadly disease caused by a lack of vitamin C?

>> Scurvy.

>> HANSON: Scurvy is correct.

For 15 points: what dairy product is the largest single source of saturated fat consumed in the adult American diet?

>> (whispering): Butter.

>> Butter.

>> HANSON: No, it's cheese.

For 20 points: aside from some fortified foods, mushrooms are the only non-animal food source with a significant amount of what vitamin that helps the body absorb and retain calcium?

>> (whispering): I don't know.

>> Toss.

>> HANSON: Somerville, answer to you.

>> (whispering): Just the letter E?

>> (whispers): Vitamin E, yeah.

>> (whispers): Yeah.

>> Vitamin E. >> HANSON: No, it's vitamin D. >> HANSON: For 25 points in Mind Your Own Biscuits: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that all enriched grain products be fortified with what acid that helps prevent certain birth defects, especially neural tube defects?

>> (whispering): Citric.

Citric.

>> Citric acid.

>> HANSON: No, we're looking for folic acid.

And for 30 points: curry gets its golden yellow color from what ancient spice that may help improve memory and has been studied as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease?

>> Turmeric.

>> HANSON: That is correct.

(bell ringing) That is the end of the category round.

The score is Milton: 220 points.

Somerville is in the lead with 300 points.

Let's hear it for both teams.

(cheers and applause) Okay, we're heading into the final round of play, the lightning round.

Correct answers add 20 points to the team total, and there is a 20-point deduction for incorrect answers.

The clock is set.

Here we go.

Bees make honey by collecting what rich, sugary liquid that's... Rhys.

>> Nectar.

>> HANSON: Nectar is correct.

What powerful city-state was destroyed as a result of the Punic Wars?

Ella.

>> Carthage.

>> HANSON: Yes.

A hectogram is how many grams?

Simon.

>> Ten.

>> HANSON: No, 100.

When George Washington took the oath of office as the first U.S. president in 1789, it was in what city?

Rhys.

>> Philadelphia.

>> HANSON: No, New York.

In 1950, what American science-fiction writer released his influential short story I, Robot?

Sam.

>> Isaac Asimov.

>> HANSON: Yes.

What popular dessert takes its name from the Italian words for "pick me up"?

Rhys.

>> Tiramisu.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Located just south of the Equator, what country in East Africa has a capital city of Dar es Salaam?

Rhys.

>> Tanzania.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Derived from the Greek for "snail," what spiral-shaped cavity in the inner ear contains the sensory organ of hearing?

(buzzer sounds) Cochlea.

What U.S. state forms the western border of Kansas?

Rhys.

>> Um... Colorado.

>> HANSON: Yes.

In Greek myth, who takes revenge on her unfaithful husband, Jason, by murdering... Sam.

>> Medea.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Which constitutional amendment imposed federal prohibition of alcohol?

Ella.

>> The 18th.

>> HANSON: Yes.

Gingivitis is the inflammation of the what?

Rhys.

>> Gums.

>> HANSON: Yes.

In 1608, what French explorer founded Québec City?

Rhys.

>> Cartier.

>> HANSON: No, Champlain.

What ill-fated automobile brand was... (bell ringing) Ooh, we're looking for Edsel there.

This week's winning team is Somerville with 380 points.

Milton Academy finishes with 260 points.

Congratulations to both teams for a great game.

Somerville now moves on to the quarterfinals.

Join us next week for the match between South High from Worcester and Weston.

That's gonna be a good one.

So be sure to join us right here on High School Quiz Show.

(cheers and applause) ♪ ♪ Major funding for High School Quiz Show is provided by Safety Insurance.

>> Boston traffic is the worst.

Safety Insurance offers auto insurance policies designed to help for when the worst happens.

You can ask an independent agent about Safety Insurance.

Safety Insurance: we'll help you manage life's storms.

>> HANSON: Additional funding is provided by the Museum of Science.

♪ ♪ (crowd cheers and applauds) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (cheers and applause) ♪ ♪