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THE LOBACHEVSKY HOUR BONUS

  1. Where was the location of the epicenter of the most powerful earthquake in the continental United States (historically documented)?

  2. 1883 was known as "the year without a summer," because of the radically unseasonable cold temperatures. What was the cause of the "year without a summer"?

  3. What are the three forms of elemental carbon known to exist in nature?

  4. Most people ascribe to one of two theories which explain the extinction of the dinosaurs. We are aware of three theories. Please summarize the extinction theory proposed by each of the following: Alvarez and Alvarez; Officer and Dracut; Larson.

  5. We know that Marie Curie won 2 Nobel Prizes-- the prize for Physics in 1903, shared with her husband Pierre; and the prize for Chemistry in 1911. Who is the only person to win two UN-shared Nobel Prizes, and which award(s) did he/she win?

  6. As a finale to his career, which included three unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Presidency as a major party candidate, William Jenninsg Bryant assumed the role of prosecuting attorney for a case which put science on trial. What scientific debate was showcased in this trial?

  7. From what earlier computer language was the language C derived?

  8. According to the theory of Spontaneous Generation, how could someone create mice?

  9. In a recent genetic engineering experiment, scientists introduced a gene into the common tobacco plant which caused it to create the compound luciferase. What did the addition of luciferase do to affect the tobacco plant, and where did the luciferase-causing gene originally come from?

  10. What caused the flaw in the primary mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope?

  11. What does the acronym BASIC stand for?

  12. The Michaelson-Morley Interferometry Experiment became famous for empirically demonstrating how light propagates. Unfortunately, Michaelson & Morley were disappointed with their experiment's results, and considered their effort a failure. What, specifically, had they been trying to prove?

  13. Please also submit a Moebius strip along with your answers to this bonus.

  14. Who first postulated the existence of, and use for, the geosynchronous orbit?

  15. What is James Joyce's contribution to modern particle physics?

  16. Who was the first to explore the lands found at the center of the earth?

  17. What early 20th-century writer is credited with predicting the invention of: radar, skywriting, tape recorders, solar power, holograms, the fax machine, and aluminum foil?

  18. Please briefly explain what the follwoing do, and how they work:

  19. Why is Ice-9 dangerous?

  20. In Heinlein's "And He Built a Crooked House," Homer Bailey spent some time chasing an intruder through Homer's radically-designed home. Who was the intruder, and why did the design of the house guarantee that the intruder would NEVER be caught?

  21. The spice melange was consumed by Guild Steersmen so that they might then pilot Guild Spaceliners through interstellar space. What was it, exactly, that melange did to enhance the pilot's otherwise normal abilities? From the book, please, NOT the movie.

  22. If you can, please tell us how sheep's bladders may be used to prevent earthquakes.