GREMLINS
May 10-11, 2024
On-Air Questions and Songs
Unused questions are shown with gray text.
| Number | 1 |
| Realm | Film Ratings |
| Subrealm | Tricksters |
| Question | What 1984 film, along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, received backlash for being too violent for its PG rating, prompting the creation of the PG-13 rating? |
| Answer | Gremlins |
| Song | Where is my mind? (2007 Remaster) |
| Artist | Pixies |
| Hint | T: The answer to the first question is always the name of the team running the contest |
| Number | 2 |
| Realm | Deja vu |
| Subrealm | Deja vu |
| Question | The common toad, red fox and wolverine are all examples of what? |
| Answer | Tautonyms, where an organism has the same name for both its genus and its species. |
| Song | Louie Louie |
| Artist | The Kingsmen |
| Hint | T: Might have learn latin for this one S: This sounds a lot like "Jedi Jedi" A: Plural of a 2014 Matthew Vaughn Movie? |
| Note | The commonn toad is Bufo bufo, the red fox is Vulpes vulpes, and the wolverine is Gulo gulo. Wikipedia lists hundreds more. |
| Number | 3 |
| Realm | Williamsiana |
| Subrealm | Student protests |
| Question | A former art installation in front of Chapin hall was despised, ridiculed and eventually painted purple by the student body. In response, most of it was moved to Westlawn Cemetery, where it can still be found today. What was this controversial piece? |
| Answer | Rock Fan |
| Song | Fans |
| Artist | Kings of Leon |
| Hint | T: you might call a geologist this. S: is it getting hot in here? maybe i should grab one. |
| Note | Rock Fan consisted of a large rock with many electric fans attached to it. It was positioned directly in front of Chapin Hall, much to the chagrin of some students. |
| Number | 4 |
| Realm | War |
| Subrealm | Taking advantage of a bad situation |
| Question | During the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, what did a US diplomat send thousands of from the Iberian peninsula to his home in Vermont? |
| Answer | Merino sheep |
| Song | Marino Waltz |
| Artist | The Dubliners |
| Hint | T: Maybe he wanted a *lot* of nice sweaters? |
| Note | Before settling in Weathersfield, Vermont in 1812, William Jarvis (1770-1859) had been a successful merchant and the United States Consul to Portugal. When he came to Vermont he was wealthy and politically well known in both New England and Washington, DC. William Jarvis played an integral part in introducing Merino sheep to the United States and subsequently in the development of the sheep herds in this country. The Spanish government had held on tight to their Merino sheep until Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain. Rather than allow Napoleon to squander the Merino flocks, the Spanish lifted the blockade on exporting Merinos. William Jarvis, as Consul, took advantage of this opportunity and successfully introduced Merino sheep to America. |
| Number | 5 |
| Realm | Sports |
| Subrealm | Of sorts |
| Question | The oldest person to win an olympic medal won in which event? |
| Answer | Painting and engraving |
| Song | Pictures at an exhibition |
| Artist | Modest Mussorgsky |
| Note | (from Wikipedia) Art competitions formed part of the modern Olympic Games during its early years, from 1912 to 1948. The competitions were part of the original intention of the Olympic Movement's founder, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin. Medals were awarded for works of art inspired by sport, divided into five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. Britain's John Copley, winner of a silver medal in the 1948 engravings and etchings competition, was 73 years of age, making him the oldest Olympic medallist in history. The oldest Olympic medallist outside the art competitions is Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who won his last medal at age 72. |
| Number | 6 |
| Realm | Unique |
| Subrealm | but just barely |
| Question | Stephentown, NY, is proudly “The Only Stephentown On Earth”. What similar-sounding (but distinct) town is the birthplace of a famous novelist? |
| Answer | Steventon, England, which is the birthplace of Jane Austen |
| Song | We Are The Crystal Gems |
| Artist | Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe) |
| Hint | T: It's not the capital of Texas A: A sweet character |
| Number | 7 |
| Realm | Video Games |
| Subrealm | Indie Horror |
| Question | Before creating one of the most popular horror indie games franchises of the twenty-first century, which video game about beavers did Scott Cawthon create? |
| Answer | Chipper & Sons Lumber Co |
| Song | Five Nights at Freddy's |
| Artist | The Living Tombstone |
| Hint | T: Profiting from deforestation. S: Adapted into a movie released on October 27, 2023. S: I would be pretty scared if I saw one of these! |
| Note | Scott Cawthorn began by making Christian themed games, and although they were well received by critics, they were not profitable. So he switched to horror, and designed Five Nights at Freddy's, which became a media franchise. |
| Number | 8 |
| Realm | Fashion icons |
| Subrealm | With political aspirations |
| Question | What famously well-dressed personality, who was endorsed by William S. Burroughs during a brief political bid, died in 2020 at the age of 104? |
| Answer | Mr. Peanut |
| Song | Linus and Lucy |
| Artist | Vince Guaraldi |
| Hint | T: He's something of a snack. S: where's snoopy? |
| Note | (Wikipedia) On January 22, 2020, Planters released a teaser for its Super Bowl LIV commercial featuring Mr. Peanut, Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh. The trio was shown hanging onto a branch after accidentally driving the Nutmobile off a cliff to avoid an armadillo, with Mr. Peanut electing to let go and fall to his death onto the Nutmobile, which then explodes. Planters suspended the campaign shortly after the Calabasas helicopter crash on January 26, which killed all passengers including former NBA player Kobe Bryant. They eventually resumed the campaign with the Super Bowl commercial, which showed Snipes and Walsh presiding over the funeral of Mr. Peanut, also attended by fellow mascots Kool-Aid Man and Mr. Clean. Kool-Aid Man's tears combined with sunlight cause a new, younger incarnation of Mr. Peanut, dubbed "Baby Nut", to grow from the soil. |
| Number | 9 |
| Realm | Shipping |
| Subrealm | Shipping |
| Question | Between March 25th and March 31st of 2021, seventy-seven works of fanfiction were posted to the website Archive Of Our Own in response to a memetic current event. These fanfics were written about a romantic relationship between anthropomorphized versions of what two nonhuman entities? |
| Answer | The Ever Given and the Suez Canal |
| Song | The Love Boat |
| Artist | Jack Jones (or no artist needed) |
| Hint | T: can you call it true love if you haven't ever given your partner a reason to halt international shipping? |
| Note | (Wikipedia) The Ever Given is one of the largest container ships in the world. On 23 March 2021, while traveling from Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the ship ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the channel. She remained in place for six days before salvage crews freed her on 29 March 2021. Amid the many jokes that proliferated during the time of blockage, it was revealed that while circling and waiting its turn to enter the canal, the Ever Given had made what appears to be a deliberately phallic path in the Red Sea. THis may have prompted the fan fiction. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fa5pdwk1euvo61.jpg |
| Number | 10 |
| Realm | Herpetology |
| Subrealm | Carcinization |
| Question | The olm is a sightless cave salamander native to underground environments in Europe. It looks like and is adaptively identical to what other species of salamander, despite not even being in the same genus? |
| Answer | Texas blind cave salamander/Texas blind salamander |
| Song | Salamander |
| Artist | DECO*27 and Hatsune Miku |
| Hint | T: Contrary to expectations, they are not bigger here S: this one won't burst into flames, I swear |
| Number | 11 |
| Realm | Chemistry |
| Subrealm | Orthography |
| Question | Name the chemical element which if one letter in its name is changed becomes another chemical element, and which if a different letter is changed becomes a different chemical element. |
| Answer | Cerium (which is one letter away from both curium and cesium) |
| Song | Every Snowflake Is Different |
| Artist | My Chemical Romance |
| Hint | T: Now I'm hungry for Fruit Loops S: Like icy finger prints A: In love with the periodic table? |
| Number | 12 |
| Realm | Scientific Discovery |
| Subrealm | Masochism |
| Question | "Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W.C. Fields extinguishing a cigar in your tongue." This is an entry on what list which was originally published in a scientific journal in 1983 and won an Ig Nobel Prize in 2015? |
| Answer | The Schmidt Sting Pain Index (or Schmidt Pain Index) |
| Song | Ouch |
| Artist | Nxdia |
| Hint | T: i'd rather meet a paper wasp than an bullet ant. S: man that hurts A: nix the first A |
| Note | The Schmidt Sting Pain Index is a scale for measuring the pain caused by a number of stinging insects. It was created by Justin O. Schmidt, who was an entemologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Centerin Arizona, and claimed to have been stung by most of the insects on the list. Other entries: (level 1) "almost pleasant, a lover just bit your earlobe a little too hard", "light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm", (level 2) "the debilitating pain of a migraine contained in the tip of your finger", (level 3) "After eight unrelenting hours of drilling into that ingrown toenail, you find the drill wedged into the toe", and (level 4) "pure, intense, brilliant pain...like walking over flaming charcoal with a three-inch nail embedded in your heel", and "Torture. You are chained in the flow of an active volcano. Why did I start this list?" |
| Number | 13 |
| Realm | Williamsiana |
| Subrealm | ...or maybe not |
| Question | A certain book, published in 1920, is simply a chronological list of names, beginning with Jonathan White Noble and ending with Kenneth Hazen Woolson. World War I flying ace Edward Peck Curtis and US treasury secretary John Canfield Spencer are included, but most of the people listed are not particularly famous. What is this book? |
| Answer | General catalogue of the non-graduates of Williams College |
| Song | Another Brick in the Wall |
| Artist | Pink Floyd |
| Hint | T: It's not a book you want to be in. |
| Note | The book was published by the College and is available on Amazon. Although it is not clear form the title, it seems to be about people who came to Williams but didn't graduate. |
| Number | 14 |
| Realm | Traditions |
| Subrealm | Holy Roman Emperors, Batman! |
| Question | A German noble family was granted some land by holy roman emperor Henry VI, and in response decided to honor him with a tradition that continues to the present day. What is the family, and what is the tradition? |
| Answer | The house of Reuss, and every male member of the family is named Heinrich |
| Song | I'm Henry the VIII |
| Artist | Herman's Hermits |
| Hint | S: the kind of thing Anne Bolyn's husband might've said |
| Number | 15 |
| Realm | Concepts |
| Subrealm | Not For Kids |
| Question | What are creativity, time, love, computers, health, and dreams? |
| Answer | The episodes of Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared (season 1) |
| Song | Hug Me |
| Artist | Pharrell Williams |
| Hint | T: What's your favorite idea? S: something you'd ask a friend while watchign a scary movie A: clap along if you feel like you know the answer to this trivia question |
| Note | (Wikipedia) Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (DHMIS) is a British musical horror comedy web series created by Becky Sloan and Joe Pelling. The series is notable for its blending of surrealism and morbid humour with horror and musical elements. Its production is diverse, combining puppetry, live action, and styles of animation including stop motion, traditional animation, flash animation, clay animation, and computer animation. The original series consisted of 6 short episodes released from 29 July 2011 to 19 June 2016 on YouTube. A follow-up television series was released in 2022 on All 4 and Channel 4. In the series, each episode starts like a typical children's series, consisting of anthropomorphic puppets akin to those featured in Sesame Street or The Muppets. The series parodies and satirises these TV programmes by contrasting its childlike, colourful environment and its inhabitants against disturbing themes; each episode features a surreal plot twist in the climax, including psychedelic content and imagery involving graphic violence, dark humour, existentialism, and psychological horror. The six episodes of the web series explore and discuss basic subjects typical of preschool education, namely creativity, time, love, technology, diet, and dreams, while the television series touches on jobs, death, family, friendship, transport, and electricity. The web series received widespread critical acclaim for its story, production design, psychological horror, humour, hidden themes, lore, and characters. The television series was met with similar acclaim. |
| Number | 16 |
| Realm | Williams people |
| Subrealm | The New Yorker |
| Question | This is a three point play! In a 2000 article, Ben Greenman explains the censorship of the song "Beng Beng Beng" written by a Nigerian afrobeat artist, the son of the influential Fela Kuti. In a 1994 article with the same name, Ken Auletta discusses the son of this wealthy Williams alum and the hostile takeover of Time Warner. For the point, name this Williams person and for an extra point, tell us the name of the article. |
| Answer | Edgar Bronfman Sr., Rising Son |
| Song | Sorry Sorry |
| Artist | Femi Kuti |
| Hint | T: His name's only on an auditorium now S: Perhaps a repetitive apology A: Keeping it in the family |
| Number | 17 |
| Realm | Folk music |
| Subrealm | Where the titles are better than the songs |
| Question | The Ewe with the Crooked Horn, Shove that Pig’s Foot a Little Further into the Fire, and Bang Your Frog on the Sofa are all fiddle tunes with animals in the title, but there are lots of those. What’s different about these tune names? |
| Answer | None of them are about animals (the ewe with the crooked horn is a whiskey still, a pig’s foot is a blacksmithing tool, and a frog is part of a fiddle bow) |
| Song | Don't let me be misunderstood |
| Artist | The Animals |
| Hint | T: it's not an answer you'd need a zoologist for |
| Number | 18 |
| Realm | Film |
| Subrealm | Unusual Award |
| Question | Who won an academy award for writing lines such as “No, Father… I will not go to Bingham or any other college that bans automobiles for students!” and “Count Ravelli, your spells of uncontrollable laughter are due to a life of self-indulgence,” and why is this significant? |
| Answer | Joseph Farnham; he is the only winner of the academy award for best title writing |
| Song | Silent lucidity |
| Artist | Queensryche |
| Note | Best Title Writing was a category in the first Academy Awards in 1929, but was dropped the following year. |
| Number | 19 |
| Realm | Science |
| Subrealm | Nonsensical questionnaires |
| Question | A famous study involves asking children about various scenarios, including a quirky dog, a bell that can ring, and a melting ice cube. What does the first question in this study ask about? |
| Answer | A wug (the full text is “This is a wug. Now there is another one. There are two of them. There are two ___.”) |
| Song | Just the two of us |
| Artist | Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers |
| Note | The test is called the "Wug Test", and was designed by psycholinguist Jean Berko Gleason to show that even young children possess implicit knowledge of linguistic morphology. |
| Number | 20 |
| Realm | Sports |
| Subrealm | Go Ephs! |
| Question | In a game in which each team consisted of 13 players, Amherst defeated Williams by 41 points. The next day, Amherst beat Williams at a different game after 11 hours of play. Name both games played on this tragic weekend. |
| Answer | Baseball and Chess (this was the first documented collegiate baseball game) |
| Song | Sweet Caroline |
| Artist | Neil Diamond |
| Hint | S: BUM BUM BUM A: sounds like you're taking a knee on the baseball field |
| Number | 21 |
| Realm | All the news that's fit to print |
| Subrealm | And some that's not |
| Question | What famous newspaper headline is followed by the subheader “G.O.P. Sweep Indicated in State; Boyle Leads in City”? |
| Answer | Dewey Defeats Truman |
| Song | Harry Truman |
| Artist | Chicago |
| Hint | S: surprisingly, this president doesn't have a middle name |
| Note | Among the most famous errors of all time, "Dewey Defeats Truman" was a headline printed by the Chicago Daily Tribune on November 3, 1948. (Wikipedia) For about a year before the 1948 election, the printers who operated the linotype machines at the Chicago Tribune and other Chicago papers had been on strike in protest of the Taft–Hartley Act. Around the same time, the Tribune had switched to a method by which copy was composed on typewriters, photographed, then engraved onto printing plates. This required the paper to go to press several hours earlier than usual. On election night, this earlier press deadline required the first post-election issue of the Tribune to go to press before states had reported most of the results from the polling places. |
| Number | 22 |
| Realm | Music |
| Subrealm | Niche bands |
| Question | This band features a washboard, jug, banjo and several kazoos, among other instruments. They only produced one album, which was released over thirty years after being recorded when their tapes were found in an attic. Who are they, and why are they notable? |
| Answer | Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions; they were a precursor to The Grateful Dead |
| Song | Uncle John's Band |
| Artist | The Grateful Dead |
| Hint | A: they're less likely to become ghosts than the angry ones |
| Note | Several members of the Dead were also in Mother McCree. |
| Number | 23 |
| Realm | Artists |
| Subrealm | Commercial Illustrations |
| Question | A book about four gifted children who take on the brainsweeping head of the Institute and many albums for a folktale-influenced indie rock band were illustrated by the same person. Who? |
| Answer | Carson Ellis (the book is the Mysterious Benedict Society, the band is The Decemberists) |
| Song | Sons & Daughters |
| Artist | The Decemberists |
| Hint | T: The book does not feature monks, though it shares a name. A: They really like a month. |
| Number | 24 |
| Realm | Cars |
| Subrealm | Fancy cars |
| Question | What early self-driving technology, designed by a blind engineer, was first implemented in the Chrysler Imperial? |
| Answer | Cruise Control |
| Song | Cruisin' |
| Artist | Smokey Robinson |
| Number | 25 |
| Realm | Tiktok |
| Subrealm | The Mechanical Man |
| Question | Tiktok of Oz, the eighth book in the Oz series, had an error on the very first page that was copied into subsequent books in the series as well as reprintings of earlier books. What was the error? |
| Answer | The map of Oz was flipped, with north up, south down, east to the left and west to the right. |
| Song | Another World |
| Artist | One Direction |
| Hint | A: we all miss Zayn, but I liked Harry's new song |
| Number | 26 |
| Realm | Memes |
| Subrealm | Sequences of seemingly random characters |
| Question | What is significant about the sequence “/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ”? |
| Answer | Along with www.youtube.com, it is the link to the Never Gonna Give You Up official music video |
| Song | Rolling in the deep |
| Artist | Adele |
| Hint | T: I'm sure you're never gonna give up until you figure out the answer. A: Personally I prefer a dell to a macbook |
| Note | The practicing of Rickrolling began in 2007, and involves tricking readers into clicking on a link to Rick Astley's 1987 hit Never Gonna Give You Up. |
| Number | 27 |
| Realm | Cinema |
| Subrealm | Far Far Away |
| Question | Based on a children's book, this movie was the fourth highest grossing film in 2001, the first animated film to be nominated for a Palme d'Or since 1953, and the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. What is the name of this movie? |
| Answer | Shrek |
| Song | Hallelujah |
| Artist | Rufus Wainwright |
| Hint | T) It's not easy being green. S) you might hear it in church |
| Note | The book upon which the movie is based is called Shrek! It was written by William Steig and published in 1990. |
| Number | 28 |
| Realm | Publishing |
| Subrealm | Dead Drops |
| Question | Manuscripts for what book series can be found in a telephone booth outside a hotel, by ordering tea from the tallest waiter at a cafe, and in the glove compartment of a jeep parked outside an observatory? |
| Answer | A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| Song | Bad Luck |
| Artist | Noah Kahan |
| Hint | S: watch out for black cats and shattered mirrors! |
| Number | 29 |
| Realm | Also "musicians" |
| Subrealm | Birthdays |
| Question | Folks, welcome to May 11th. May 11th is the birthday of which man, who was depicted playing the bongos in a 2023 summer blockbuster? |
| Answer | Richard Feynman |
| Song | Bongos |
| Artist | Cardi B |
| Hint | T: I guess I can see the resemblance with Jack Quaid S: an instrument that sounds like a sound effect |
| Number | 30 |
| Realm | English |
| Subrealm | The language with four different terms for soft drinks |
| Question | From what brand of soda does an English word meaning toughness come from? |
| Answer | Moxie |
| Song | Can't You See I'm a Star |
| Artist | Moxy |
| Number | 31 |
| Realm | Music |
| Subrealm | MUS 273: Dangerous Music |
| Question | What song is referenced by the clapping pattern in the song you are about to hear, and why was it banned by the BBC? |
| Answer | Deep in the Heart of Texas; because during World War II they worried factory workers would put down their tools to clap along |
| Song | Take the Money and Run |
| Artist | The Steve Miller Band |
| Hint | S: something a robber might shout to their partner in crime |
| Number | 32 |
| Realm | Kid's Media |
| Subrealm | The looming inevitability of death |
| Question | In a children’s movie about a toy store, how does the title character, played by Dustin Hoffman, know he’s going to die soon? |
| Answer | He received a lifetime supply of shoes and his last pair is wearing out |
| Song | Diamonds on the soles of her shoes |
| Artist | Paul Simon |
| Hint | T: The movie touches my sole. |
| Note | The movie is Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. |
| Number | 33 |
| Realm | Dungeons and Dragons |
| Subrealm | Realistic Dragonslayers |
| Question | Which 4 Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition classes are not able to cast spells, at least by default? |
| Answer | Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Rogue |
| Song | Kung Fu Fighting |
| Artist | Carl Douglas |
| Hint | T: |
| Number | 34 |
| Realm | Mythology |
| Subrealm | Brough to you by the Jim Henson Company |
| Question | "If I'm gonna have a god, I prefer it to be a complete hoax and a glove puppet." Alan Moore said this about what Greco-Roman deity? |
| Answer | Glycon |
| Song | Puppet Boy |
| Artist | DEVO |
| Hint | T: It's reminicent of sugar. S: Sleeping Pinocchio might hear this A: if you squint, they might look art Deco |
| Note | Glycon was an ancient snake god. Moore (the acclaimed author of many comic books) describes himself as a ceremonial magician and devotee of Glycon. |
| Number | 35 |
| Realm | Islands |
| Subrealm | Endangered Reptiles |
| Question | During the ice ages, the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Cuba, and the Canary Islands all had what giant reptile, which is now only found on Aldabra atoll and the Galapagos islands? |
| Answer | The giant tortoise/turtle |
| Song | Galapagos |
| Artist | The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Hint | A: a fun activity to do on halloween night |
| Number | 36 |
| Realm | Insects |
| Subrealm | Uncharismatic hymenopterans |
| Question | The most well known group of wasps are the social wasps, which live in colonies with a queen and make nests out of chewed wood pulp. Of the three major groups of social wasps found in North America, two are native to the continent. What is the invasive group? |
| Answer | Hornets |
| Song | The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us! |
| Artist | Sufjan Stevens |
| Hint | T: they were here before 2020, believe it or not S: something you might yell while being chased by a carnivorous Yellowjacket on the Hudson River |
| Number | 37 |
| Realm | Oregon Celebrities |
| Subrealm | The Space Race |
| Question | Chilly Tee was an Oregon-born rapper who only produced one demo album and his debut album in his music career. Since then, this son of a Nike co-founder has won a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and an Annie Award for his work as a producer, director, and animator at what animation studio which shares its name with a famous dog? |
| Answer | Laika |
| Song | While my guitar gently weeps |
| Artist | Regina spektor (from kubo and the two strings) |
| Hint | T: there's nothing in the rules that says a dog can't go to space. S: why would you make your guitar so sad? A: her voice will haunt you like a spectre |
| Note | Laika was a Soviet space dog, the first mammal to orbit the earth. She was a mongrel from the streets of Moscow, and she flew on Sputnik 2 in November, 1957. |
| Number | 38 |
| Realm | Video Games |
| Subrealm | Esports |
| Question | In the Super Smash Bros Melee competitive community, a select group of players became known as being unbeatable, mainly playing Fox, Jigglypuff, Peach, Marth, and Shiek. What was the collective term for these players? |
| Answer | Five Gods |
| Song | Untouchable |
| Artist | Taylor Swift |
| Hint | T: A divine day for three less hours of trivia! S: Keep your hands away! A: not in her reputation era |
| Number | 39 |
| Realm | Animation |
| Subrealm | Portal fantasy |
| Question | The summer of 2019 saw the premiere of three American cartoons which fans frequently referred to as “western isekai,” due to sharing a portal-fantasy premise reminiscent of a popular genre of japanese anime. Each of these shows was released by a different network. Which of these television networks released another hit “western isekai” in January of the following year? |
| Answer | Disney |
| Song | Little miss perfect |
| Artist | Taylor louderman & joriah kwame |
| Hint | T: These shows weren't the first time Brenda Song and Alex Hirsch gained fame on this channel. A: We almost chose a taylor swift song for this question, but this singer sure is louder, man |
| Number | 40 |
| Realm | Flags & Emblems |
| Subrealm | ENVI 220 |
| Question | What flower is the official flower of a Canadian province and a U.S. state, is the namesake of the soccer cup held between said state and province, and also appears on a Mexican bisexual pride flag? |
| Answer | Trillium |
| Song | Don't Carry It All |
| Artist | The Decemberists |
| Hint | T: It has 3 leaves. A: I wonder what happens to them in January? |
| Note | The Trillium Cup is an annual rivalry between Major League Soccer clubs Columbus Crew and Toronto FC. Trillium is the official flower of both Ontario and Ohio. |
| Number | 41 |
| Realm | Rodents of Unusual Size |
| Subrealm | Sword Lesbians |
| Question | Cavies are a family of South American rodents best known for the capybara and guinea pig. The family also includes what superficially rabbit-like rodent, which shares its name with a character from the 2018 Netflix reboot of a 1985 cartoon by Filmation and Mattel? |
| Answer | Mara |
| Song | Warriors |
| Artist | Aaliyah Rose (She-Ra) |
| Hint | T: It's also a Buddhist Demon. S: Catradora is associated with this song. A: This singer truly rose to the occasion |
| Note | Mara is a princess in the She-Ra universe. |
| Number | 42 |
| Realm | Linguistics |
| Subrealm | The study of tongues |
| Question | In what variant of Spanish do speakers put their fingers in their mouth? |
| Answer | Silbo Gomero |
| Song | I whistle a happy tune |
| Artist | The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein) |
| Hint | T: What sort of sounds do fingers in the mouth help make noise. |
| Note | (Wikipedia) Silbo Gomero is a whistled register of Spanish used by inhabitants of La Gomera in the Canary Islands, historically used to communicate across the deep ravines and narrow valleys that radiate through the island. |
| Number | 43 |
| Realm | Geography |
| Subrealm | Isolation |
| Question | Millions of years ago, the regions of Hateg in Romania, and Gargano in Italy were examples of what kind of landmass? |
| Answer | Islands |
| Song | I was an island |
| Artist | John Allison Weiss |
| Hint | S: Gargano might say this if it could speak |
| Note | Hateg was a volcanic island in the Cretaceous period, and Gargano was an island in the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene. Graduates of Geology 101 at Williams know that parts of Central Massachusetts were also volcanic islands before being absorbed into the continent. |
| Number | 44 |
| Realm | Invasive Species |
| Subrealm | Safari |
| Question | In the 1970s, Pablo Escobar kept four of these animals in a private mansion in Colombia. Since his death, they have multiplied to a population of about two hundred and may pose a threat to Colombia’s native wildlife. What kind of animals are they? |
| Answer | Hippopotamus |
| Song | Pablo Escobar |
| Artist | Dubdogz |
| Hint | T: they're hungry, hungry, and that's a problem |
| Note | The hippos are a big problem for Colombia, because people like them. |
| Number | 45 |
| Realm | Geography |
| Subrealm | Islands Again |
| Question | What is the largest island that is politically divided into two countries which do not occupy any other landmasses? |
| Answer | Hispaniola |
| Song | Santo Domingo |
| Artist | Manny Cruz |
| Hint | T: It turns out they don't both speak Spanish |
| Note | Santo Domingo is the island divided between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. |
| Number | 46 |
| Realm | And The Oscar Goes To... |
| Subrealm | WWII-Era Italian Airplanes |
| Question | Which filmmaker, who won his second Academy Award this year, has famously failed to retire four times in the last 27 years? |
| Answer | Hayao Miyazaki |
| Song | Hey Let’s Go – Opening Theme Song |
| Artist | Joe Hisashi (from totoro) |
| Hint | T: One of his movies is a Howl. |
| Number | 47 |
| Realm | Edible botany |
| Subrealm | Sunday school |
| Question | In 1995, Toy Story became the first feature-length movie completely animated with CGI. A year earlier, the cult classic animated series known as Reboot became the first full-length CGI television series. What franchise, which continues to produce new videos in the 2020s, predated both of these works as the first fully CGI American series to be released to direct-to-video in 1993? |
| Answer | Veggie Tales |
| Song | Pirates who don't do anything |
| Artist | relient k |
| Hint | T: It's more overt than C.S. Lewis. S: lazier than jack sparrow |
| Note | (Wikipedia) VeggieTales is an American Christian CGI-animated series and franchise for children created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series stars Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber leading a variety of fruit and vegetable characters as they retell stories from the Bible and parody pop culture while also teaching life lessons according to a biblical world view. |
| Number | 48 |
| Realm | Mediterranean Marvels |
| Subrealm | Not in Ibiza |
| Question | Following the naming convention of the ice age Cave Bear and Cave Lion, what ungulate formerly found on a Spanish archipelago in the Mediterranean is notable for its eerily human forward-facing eyes and for being a cold-blooded mammal? |
| Answer | Cave goat |
| Song | Hast thou considered the tetrapod |
| Artist | The mountain goats |
| Hint | T: They have no choice but to let their kids go spelunking S: Thinking about a four legged critter A: Adept climbers |
| Note | The fossil record for the Cave Goat (Myotragus) extends back 5 million years, to when the goat presumably arrived on Mallorca during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, when the Mediterranean Sea almost completely evaporated. It went extinct 4500 years ago, about the time humans arrived on the island. Its closest living relative is believed to be the takin, or gnu-goat, which lives in the Himalayas. |
| Number | 49 |
| Realm | Brony Culture |
| Subrealm | John de Lancie |
| Question | What My Little Pony fan-song, which was popularized by a remix created by the youtuber 'The Living Tombstone', shares its name with a widely used instant messaging app? |
| Answer | Discord |
| Song | This Day Aria |
| Artist | Daniel Ingram (My little pony) |
| Hint | T: This sure is a chaotic question, isn't it? Eris would be approve. S: Arias usually don't have this many singers. |
| Number | 50 |
| Realm | Things you find underground |
| Subrealm | Creative spelling |
| Question | When a large tree in Six Mile Bottom, England, blew over in a storm, it unearthed the complete skeleton of a famous animal, which is now on display in a museum. What is the animal’s name? |
| Answer | The animal is an 18th-century racehorse named Potoooooooo, pronounced “potatoes” (accept pot-8-os but not potatoes) |
| Song | Addicted to Spuds |
| Artist | Weird Al Yankovic |
| Hint | T: It's an unusual variation on a major crop. (A: he co-wrote his own biopic in 2022) |
| Note | Potatoooooooo won over 25 races and placed higher than some of the most prominent racehorses of his time. Supposedly his owner wanted him to be called "Potato", but the stable boy instructed to write the horse's name on his feed bin wrote Pot followed by 8 o's. His skeleton is now on display at the Kings Yard Galleries of the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket. |
| Number | 51 |
| Realm | Eponyms |
| Subrealm | One's not like the others |
| Question | What naturalist has (among other things) five species of wasps, seven species of beetles and a ship named after him, and why was the naming of the ship more controversial than the others? |
| Answer | David Attenborough; because the more popular choice for the ship’s name, Boaty McBoatface, was rejected |
| Song | A TV show called earth |
| Artist | Philip Labes |
| Hint | T: "And here we see the young beetle" |
| Note | (Wikipedia) The name Boaty McBoatface was originally proposed in a March 2016 #NameOurShip online poll to name the £200 million polar scientific research ship being constructed in the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead for the United Kingdom's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). BBC Radio Jersey presenter James Hand coined the humorous suggestion Boaty McBoatface for the poll, and the name quickly became the most popular choice by far, with 33% of the vote to 11% for the second choice. The name was described as a homage to Hooty McOwlface, an owl named through an "Adopt-a-Bird" programme in 2012 that became popular on the Internet. The ship was named the David Attenborough instead, but one of the submersibles that the ship carries was named Boaty McBoatface. |
| Number | 52 |
| Realm | Politics |
| Subrealm | Legal troubles |
| Question | In October 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew pled no contest to tax fraud and resigned from public office. Shortly before, what did over 100 congressional representatives sign to show their support for him? |
| Answer | A giant card with a picture of a kitten and the words “hang in there, baby” |
| Song | I got you babe |
| Artist | Sonny and Cher |
| Hint | T: It might have been a motivational poster. A: what you might say to comfort a pig who wants to be a sheepdog |
| Number | 53 |
| Realm | Standard Practice |
| Subrealm | Colors |
| Question | The ISO standard for what procedure was updated in 2019 to allow for cases where the primary substance used is green? |
| Answer | Brewing tea |
| Song | Colors |
| Artist | Ice-T |
| Hint | T: The NIST has a cookies recipie. A: sounds like a refreshing beverage on a hot summers day |
| Note | ISO 3103 was originally layed down by the British standards Institution as BS 6008:1980. The standard is not meant to define the proper method for brewing tea intended for general consumption, but rather to document a tea brewing procedure where meaningful sensory comparisons can be made. ISO 3103 won the Ig Noble prize for literature in 1999. |
| Number | 54 |
| Realm | Ridiculous contests |
| Subrealm | Prior to Williams Trivia |
| Question | Who publicly offered a one-way trip to mars in the 1950s, and what did they provide instead when they were unable to follow through on their original offer? |
| Answer | Burma-Shave, and a trip to Moers, Germany |
| Song | Shaving cream |
| Artist | Benny Bell |
| Hint | T: It's not the place the company is named for. |
| Note | Burma Shave was famous for ads composed of a series of signposts on highways. In 1958 one such series read: "Free — Free / A Trip / To Mars / For 900 / Empty Jars / Burma-Shave". Arliss French managed a Red Owl grocery store in Appleton, Wisconsin, and decided to win the contest, event hough he didn't think Burma Shave was serious. He bought 1000 jars of Burma Shave and offered a rebate of 15 cents to patrons who brought back the empty jars to him. But that was taking too long, so he equipped all his cashiers with spatulas and paper canisters from the deli counter. When a shopper bought a jar of Burma Shave, the cashier scooped the gel into the paper and saved the jar. When Burma Shave found out what was going on, they sent a Frencha telegram saying: "If A Trip / To Mars You Earn / Remember, Friend / There’s No Return". And when it became clear that French would reach 900 jars, they searched for a way to save face, and found that the town of Moers, Germany, was pronounced "Mars" by the locals. With great fanfare, an armored truck arrived in Appleton to collect the jars, along with French — dressed as an astronaut, complete with football helmet and Red Owl shirt — and his wife, Frances. On Dec. 2, 1958, the couple flew from Minneapolis to New York and then on to Europe. |
| Number | 55 |
| Realm | Science Fiction |
| Subrealm | Repeat Acts |
| Question | What is notable about David Tennant due to appearances on a popular BBC show 13 years apart, that makes these appearances different from those of Jodie Whittaker, Christopher Eccleston, and Tom Baker, among others? |
| Answer | He has played 2 different incarnations of the Doctor, numbered differently. |
| Song | Spice Up Your Life |
| Artist | The Spice Girls |
| Hint | T: The numbers matter. S: Nearly a self-titled song A: |
| Note | David Tennant had a long run as the 10th Doctor from 2005 to 2010, and then a brief, 3-episode run as the 14th Doctor in 2023. |
| Number | 56 |
| Realm | Amphibians |
| Subrealm | Salamanders |
| Question | The axolotl is species of salamander known for keeping its larval gills in its adult forms and for its remarkable ability to regenerate parts of its body. This common exotic pet is critically endangered in its home range, which are the lakes surrounding what capital city? |
| Answer | Mexico City |
| Song | Mexico City |
| Artist | jolie holland |
| Hint | T: It's a high up city. S: The most populous city on the continent |
| Number | 57 |
| Realm | Wordplay |
| Subrealm | Puns |
| Question | The sentences "'I've just checked into the hospital' said Tom, patiently" and "'Two, four, six, eight' recited Tom evenly" are an example of what kind what kind of phrase, named after the main character of a series of books? |
| Answer | Tom Swifties |
| Song | Killing in the Name |
| Artist | Rage against the Machine |
| Hint | T: That question went by quickly S: A: They seem pretty angry |
| Note | Tom Swift appeared in more than 100 books, starting in 1910. A Tom Swiftie is a phrase in which a quoted sentence is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed. A stylistic idiosyncrasy of at least some books in this series was that the author, "Victor Appleton," went to great trouble to avoid repetition of the unadorned word "said", using a different quotative verb, or modifying adverbial words or phrases in a kind of elegant variation. The Tom Swiftie is a parody of this style with the incorporation of a pun. |
| Number | 58 |
| Realm | The Seven Seas |
| Subrealm | Go West Young Man |
| Question | The Austronesian Expansion was a wave of human migration that resulted in the colonization of New Zealand, Hawaii, Tonga, and many other Pacific Islands. What was the westernmost island settled during the Austronesian Expansion? |
| Answer | Madagascar |
| Song | I like to move it |
| Artist | will.i.am |
| Hint | T: It's not in the Pacific Ocean A: Wilhelm he is not |
| Note | An Austronesian group, originally from the Makassar Strait region around Kalimantan and Sulawesi, eventually settled Madagascar, either directly from Southeast Asia or from preexisting mixed Austronesian-Bantu populations from East Africa. Estimates for when this occurred vary, from the 5th to 7th centuries CE. |
| Number | 59 |
| Realm | Puppets |
| Subrealm | The United States Congress |
| Question | This is a three-point play! During his testimony to congress, Elmo (the Sesame Street character) said that he listened to music and was not in what? For the second point, what did he claim his SAT score was? |
| Answer | a gang, 1550 sat score |
| Song | Lost in the Flood |
| Artist | Bruce Springsteen |
| Hint | T: Elmo never was one to skip school. S: Hey, this singer really doesn't know where they are, do they? A: The Boss!!! |
| Note | Elmo was testifying on behalf of music education. |
| Number | 60 |
| Realm | Mammals |
| Subrealm | Extreme Senses |
| Question | Monotremes are Australian, egg-laying mammals which, together with dolphins, are the only mammals with what sense? |
| Answer | Electroreception |
| Song | The Way of the Platypus |
| Artist | Rick Cowling (from Phineas and Ferb) |
| Hint | T: the answer will shock you! S: this is the way they do it . A: I know what we're gonna do today! |
| Note | (Wikipedia) Electroreception and electrogenesis are the closely related biological abilities to perceive electrical stimuli and to generate electric fields. Both are used to locate prey; stronger electric discharges are used in a few groups of fishes (most famously the electric eel, which is not actually an eel but a knifefish) to stun prey. The monotremes are platypus and echidnas. |
| Number | 61 |
| Realm | Monotremes |
| Subrealm | Look I just really like platypi/platypuses/platypodes? |
| Question | What platypus-related discovery in 2020 was accidentally predicted by 2007 TV show Phineas and Ferb? |
| Answer | they glow blue-green under UV light |
| Song | Everything's Better With Perry |
| Artist | Robbie Wyckoff (from Phineas and Ferb) |
| Hint | T: Apparently Perry's hat is what makes him distinctive. S: a perfect way to start a movie |
| Note | The bioluminescence of platypi was discovered by scientists at the Field Museum in Chicago, using two specimens from Tasmania. It may be a trait to confuse predators, but no one really understands it yet. |
| Number | 62 |
| Realm | Flag redesigns |
| Subrealm | Not by choice |
| Question | The flag of the International Red Cross is, appropriately, a red cross on a white field, and was chosen to represent the organization at the 1864 Geneva Convention. This was unfortunate for what country, who had chosen a red cross on a white field as their flag just two years earlier, and had to change their design to avoid confusion? |
| Answer | Tonga |
| Song | Cross Road Blues |
| Artist | Robert Johnson |
| Hint | S: something to sing if you're sad at a fork in the road |
| Note | The current Tongan flag has the old flag inset in the upper left corner, on a red field. |
| Number | 63 |
| Realm | Animal Attacks |
| Subrealm | Jimmy Carter In The News |
| Question | On August 30, 1979, the Washington Post and New York Times reported that what animal had attacked a U.S. president a week prior? |
| Answer | A rabbit |
| Song | Pero Ya No |
| Artist | Bad Bunny |
| Hint | T: It's not a sparrow, African or European. S: we were speaking in Spanish, but not anymore |
| Note | (Wikipedia) On April 20, 1979, during a few days of vacation in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, Carter was fishing in a canoe or rowboat in a pond in his farm, when he saw a swamp rabbit, which Carter later speculated was fleeing from a predator, swimming in the water and making its way towards him, "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared", so he reacted by either hitting or splashing water at it with his paddle to scare it away, and it subsequently went away from him and climbed out of the pond. A White House photographer captured the subsequent scene. Carter was uninjured; the fate of the rabbit is unknown. on August 30 the story got a front-page article in The Washington Post under the title "Bunny Goes Bugs: Rabbit Attacks President", illustrated with a parody of the Jaws movie poster, entitled "PAWS", and a New York Times article entitled "A Tale of Carter and the 'Killer Rabbit'". Coverage in various news continued for more than a week. |
| Number | 64 |
| Realm | Journalism |
| Subrealm | Freedom of the press |
| Question | A certain building, operated by Reporters Without Borders and containing banned journalism from around the world, is built on a small island and consists of six wings surrounding a central rotunda. What about this building makes it easily accessible to researchers around the world? |
| Answer | It's built in Minecraft |
| Song | Mine |
| Artist | Beyonce feat. Drake |
| Hint | T: It was made block by block. |
| Note | Many countries do not have freedom of the press, but do allow access to Minecraft. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) uses this loophole to bypass internet censorship. |
| Number | 65 |
| Realm | PBS |
| Subrealm | Not S&P Approved |
| Question | In 2022, a crew member of what PBS Kids show was supposedly fired over the design of the character “Clark Newman,” who was a reference to the popular anime character Reigen Arataka? |
| Answer | Molly of Denali |
| Song | 99 |
| Artist | Mob Choir (from Mob Psycho 100) |
| Hint | T: I think it's a popular show in alaska S: that's A lot of red balloons A: did you know it's supposed to mean a psychic in a crowd, and not an unstable person working for the mafia? |
| Note | Apparently, Clark Newman resembles Reigen from the web manga series Mob Psycho 100. |
| Number | 66 |
| Realm | Nomen Nudum |
| Subrealm | found under a trash heap |
| Question | In 2020, a genus of dinosaur was officially described from the country of Lesotho. However, the bones of this dinosaur were first discovered under a refuse heap in 1930, and were excavated in the mid-1950s. In the 90 years between it's initial discovery and official naming, this dinosaur was known by what unofficial name which means "trash heap lizard?" |
| Answer | Thotobolosaurus |
| Song | life in da trash |
| Artist | Little Big |
| Hint | T: I can tell you've thotob-bout this question S: a career that people might joke about during a low point in finals week A: it's an oxymoron |
| Number | 67 |
| Realm | Parks and Recreation |
| Subrealm | Canadian edition |
| Question | A park in Vancouver, British Columbia, officially shares a name with a city in Ontario, but is better known as what? |
| Answer | Dude Chilling Park |
| Song | Dude |
| Artist | Lake street dive |
| Hint | T: A surfer bro might say it. A; sounds like something you'd do at a pond by the road |
| Note | "Reclining Figure" is a piece of public art exhibited in Vancouver's Guelph Park since 1991, leading to the park's nickname, "Dude Chilling Park". |
| Number | 68 |
| Realm | Toys |
| Subrealm | Emotional involvement |
| Question | In the 1990s, a pet cemetery in Cornwall opened a section for what digital device? |
| Answer | Tamagotchis |
| Song | Pet Sematary |
| Artist | The Ramones |
| Hint | T: It's not Furbies. S: my favorite stephen king book |
| Note | Tamagotchi are a brand of "digital pets" created in Japan and first released in 1996. They became a sudden fad. If you didn't push the button to feed them at regular intervals, they would die. The inventers won Ig Noble Prizes in Economics in 1997. (There are a lot of Ig Noble prize winners in this contest!) |
| Number | 69 |
| Realm | Holidays |
| Subrealm | Regrets |
| Question | The founder of which holiday originally chose a white carnation to represent it, but later organized a petition to end the holiday and called for boycotts of florists during the holiday season? |
| Answer | Mother's Day |
| Song | Tomorrow’s Gonna Be a Brighter Day |
| Artist | Jim Croce |
| Hint | T: What are you going to be doing on sunday? |
| Note | Mother's Day is largely the creation of Anna Jarvis, who began advocating for the holiday in 1905. By the early 1920s, Hallmark had begun selling cards for Mother's Day, and Jarvis thought of that as a corruption of her creation, so she asked people to boycott the holiday, to no avail. At the end of her life she lived in a sanitorium, and there is a legend that her medical bills were paid by a group of thankful florists. |
| Number | 70 |
| Realm | The internet |
| Subrealm | Local towns |
| Question | What road in Charlemont, Massachusetts, shares its name with a popular app? |
| Answer | E. Harmony Lane |
| Song | Harmony Hall |
| Artist | Vampire Weekend |
| Hint | T: If it's anything like the app, it's excelent for finding love. |
| Number | 71 |
| Realm | Art |
| Subrealm | Not the boaring kind |
| Question | What artist, known for her expressionist paintings, lost the use of her legs due to rheumatoid arthritis before passing away this past March? |
| Answer | Pigcasso |
| Song | Picasso's last words (drink to me) |
| Artist | Wings |
| Hint | T: The name is very similar to a very famous artist. A: when pigs fly, they'll probably have these |
| Note | (Wikipedia) Pigcasso (April 2016 – March 2024) was a 700-kilogram (1,500 lb) pig from South Africa whose paintings have sold for millions of rand all over the world. Pigcasso is best known for being the first non-human artist to be given her own art exhibition, and for holding the record for most expensive artwork by an animal ever sold. |
| Number | 72 |
| Realm | Pop culture zoology |
| Subrealm | Dick jokes |
| Question | In 2024, a new species of spider was discovered in China. This species stands out for its unique scientific name, which references a toy brand and a mythological figure. Both aspects of the name describe the spider's male reproductive organs. Name either the toy brand, or the character from mythology that this spider was named after |
| Answer | Hotwheels and Sisyphus |
| Song | Running Up That Hill |
| Artist | Kate Bush |
| Hint | T: he will never be able to 'beat that!' S: when you slept in on mountain day but your acapella group is performing on stone hill in 10 minutes. A: you might find this spider in a shrub |
| Note | Hotwheels is the genus, and sisyphus is the species. The long coiled embolus of the palpal bulb of this new genus reminded the authors of a looping Hot Wheels track, and of Sisyphus's endless task of pushing a boulder up a hill. |
| Number | 73 |
| Realm | Motorsports |
| Subrealm | Georgia, Georgette, & Georgina |
| Question | At the 2024 Alabama Indy Grand Prix, winner Scott McLaughlin appeared in a photo with a damaged art installation after the race. What unusual event involving said installation occurred during the race? |
| Answer | Mannequin ("Georgina") falling onto the track |
| Song | No Cars Go |
| Artist | Arcade Fire |
| Hint | A: what might happen if an arsonist hated pacman |
| Note | Barber Motorsports Park has "dozens of whimsical sculptures and mannequins scattered throughout" the grounds. One of them was a mannequin suspended from a pedestrian bridge over the track, and in the middle of the race it fell and was run over by at least one car, causing it to shatter. |
| Number | 74 |
| Realm | Williamsiana |
| Subrealm | Just monkeying around |
| Question | Featuring a classic spy-thriller plot and the titular plushie, what is the title of this film held in Sawyer Library? |
| Answer | Secret of the Sock Monkey |
| Song | Knee Socks |
| Artist | Arctic Monkeys |
| Hint | T: Shh, its a secret. S: a footwear of intermediate length A: Brrrrr. |
| Note | Secret of the Sock Monkey is a 2004 film written and directed by Trivia veterans Brent Yorgey and Steve Winslow. Filming took place on the Williams campus from January--May 2004, and the movie premiered to an audience of about 150 in Bronfman Auditorium on May 17, 2004. It was afterwards made into a limited-edition directors' cut DVD with an all-new special effect. |
| Number | 75 |
| Realm | Deja vu |
| Subrealm | Deja vu |
| Question | The common toad, red fox and wolverine are all examples of what? |
| Answer | Tautonyms, where an organism has the same name for both its genus and its species. |
| Song | Louie Louie |
| Artist | The Kingsmen |
| Hint | T: Might have learn latin for this one S: This sounds a lot like "Jedi Jedi" A: Plural of a 2014 Matthew Vaughn Movie? |
| Note | See question 2. |
| Number | 76 |
| Realm | Collegiate rivalries |
| Subrealm | Seen on a trash can |
| Question | Wikipedia lists Amherst College, but not Williams College, as a school with a noted population of what arboreal, urban rodent known for its impressive memory, hoarding habits, and fluffy tail? |
| Answer | Squirrels |
| Song | S.I.M.P. (Squirrels in my pants) |
| Artist | From Phineas and ferb |
| Hint | T: they're also known for their love of acorns. S: Not the kind of simp you're thinking of. A: not Candace's best song |
| Number | 77 |
| Realm | Web Forums |
| Subrealm | TTRPG Design |
| Question | This roleplaying game design forum was known for its focus on "narrative" games in the early 2000s. It is associated with the games Blades in the Dark, Burning Wheel, and Fiasco |
| Answer | The Forge |
| Song | Anvil |
| Artist | Lorn |
| Hint | T: It was a place for smithing games. |
| Number | 78 |
| Realm | Williams "Alums" |
| Subrealm | Photography |
| Question | What Williams student went on after his one year at the college to become a renowned photographer, known for his work in the 30s and 40s photographing architecture and occasionally people with a keen eye for form and a love of ambiguity, or as he put it, "shades of grey" |
| Answer | Walker Evans |
| Song | Walk |
| Artist | Foo Fighters |
| Hint | T: He photographed small southern churches, among others. S: if you can talk the talk... |
| Number | 79 |
| Realm | The US Department of the Interior |
| Subrealm | Lovecraftian horrors |
| Question | What fictional US National Park was officially declared to be not kosher? |
| Answer | Mystery Flesh Pit National Park |
| Song | Flesh & Bone |
| Artist | Sammy Rae & The Friends |
| Hint | T: It's unusally alive for geologic features. S: Recent Campus Artist |
| Note | (Wikipedia) The Mystery Flesh Pit National Park is an online speculative evolution and alternate history project created by artist Trevor Roberts consisting of text fiction and photomanipulation. The project revolves around the fictional "Mystery Flesh Pit National Park", said to be a United States National Park dedicated in the 1980s. The eponymous 'pit' is depicted as a massive subterranean organism (erroneously referred to as a superorganism) of unfathomable size and mysterious anatomy discovered during the mid-1970s near the fictional town of Gumption, Texas. |
| Number | 80 |
| Realm | 5G side effects |
| Subrealm | Pre-1900 |
| Question | In the 1870s, several newspapers reported that what effect was occurring as a result of the transatlantic telegraph cables, with dire consequences in the next decade if it was not addressed? |
| Answer | The earth was being drawn closer to the sun, causing global warming |
| Song | I feel the earth move |
| Artist | Carole King |
| Hint | S: is there an earthquake happening? |
| Number | 81 |
| Realm | Big Spending |
| Subrealm | Card Games |
| Question | What is the name of the unique Magic: the Gathering card recently purchased by Austin Richard Post for two million dollars? |
| Answer | The One Ring |
| Song | Taking the Hobbits to Isengard |
| Artist | Erwin Beekveld |
| Hint | T: There's more than 1 black lotus card, so it's not that. |
| Note | Wizards of the Coast announced The One Ring card in March, 2023, revealing a special version would be printed in Elvish as a "one of one" copy in Magic's Tales of Middle Earth set. The internet immediately erupted in excitement at the real-life Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket moment, while collectors struggled to fathom what the first of its kind card could be worth. |
| Number | 82 |
| Realm | Military Industrial Complex |
| Subrealm | Consumer Merchandise |
| Question | Raytheon is known for many things, including in some internet circles, socks available on its internal company store. What makes these socks notable? |
| Answer | A pride flag. |
| Song | Seven Nation Army |
| Artist | The White Stripes |
| Hint | T: Raetheon accepts everyone for the US war machine. S: A classic of high school bands. |
| Note | Raytheon has included protections for transgender employees since 2005. |
| Number | 83 |
| Realm | Williams Athletics |
| Subrealm | Variable Lengths |
| Question | What Williams sports club plays games that are 14 minutes long, as well as games that are an hour and 20 minutes long? |
| Answer | Rugby |
| Song | Wagon Wheel |
| Artist | Darius Rucker |
| Number | 84 |
| Realm | Surveying |
| Subrealm | Boat |
| Question | What boats frequently measure 1 rod long, a unit which is also used to measure the length of trails they are carried over in a certain National Wilderness Area named after them? |
| Answer | Canoes |
| Song | Voyager |
| Artist | Boygenius |
| Hint | T: They were a backbone of the Hudson Bay Company. S: The french spelling used the boats. A: They include Lucy Dacus |
| Note | A rod is 16.5 feet, which is 25 links or 1/4 chain. Rods, links, and chains were units typically used in survering. One acre is exactly 10 square chains. |
| Number | 85 |
| Realm | Children's Literature |
| Subrealm | Only in Florida |
| Question | In what children's book series does the villain create genetically modified bird-alligator hybrids to fight invasive species in the Everglades? |
| Answer | Killer Species |
| Song | Alligator Sky |
| Artist | Owl city |
| Hint | T: if it weren't for the target audience, this villain would've been a killer S: Well it's certainly no crocodile ground A: where the bird parliament might reside |
| Note | Each of the four books in the series by Michael P. Spradlin covers a genetically engineered super predator wreaking havoc on the environment. |
| Number | 86 |
| Realm | Jeffersonian America |
| Subrealm | Museums |
| Question | Which Philadelphian artist ran a museum of natural history that, among other things, contained a fossilized mammoth and his portraits of founding fathers? |
| Answer | Charles Willson Peale |
| Song | Ain't no Rest for the Wicked |
| Artist | Cage the Elephant |
| Hint | T: The museum pealed back curtains. S: They say that evil never sleeps A: I bet PETA hates this band name |
| Number | 87 |
| Realm | Catholicism |
| Subrealm | Semantics |
| Question | According to the Catholic Church, what do beavers, capybaras, muskrats, alligators, turtles, and barnacle geese have in common? |
| Answer | they have all been classified as fish, and thus could be eaten during lent |
| Song | Lent |
| Artist | Autoheart |
| Hint | T: It's an unusual taxonomy. S: I'm giving up instagram this year A: if robots felt love, it would come from the ___ |
| Number | 88 |
| Realm | Expensive Books |
| Subrealm | Field Guides |
| Question | What set of illustrations of wildlife makes up 5 of the 10 most expensive book sales ever, with 120 known unseperated editions that each measure over 3 feet tall, one of which is owned by Williams College? |
| Answer | Birds of America |
| Song | Birds |
| Artist | Thomas Sanders & Terrence Williams Jr. |
| Hint | T: There's a society named for the author. S: a feathered friend A: Storytime! Vine's dead |
| Note | Birds of America was illistrated by John James Audubon and published between 1827 and 1838. It contains 435 hand-coloured, life-size prints, made from engraved plates, measuring around 39 by 26 inches. |
| Number | 89 |
| Realm | The Desert |
| Subrealm | Camels |
| Question | This man's grave in Quartzite, Arizona was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. At that site, a cairn and the ashes of one of 70 camels he immigrated alongside at the behest of Jefferson Davis. |
| Answer | Hi Jolly, Hadji Ali or Philip Tedro |
| Song | Camel by Camel |
| Artist | Sandy Martin |
| Hint | T: The name could be a greeting. S: look at all those camels A: sounds like a swallow on a beach |
| Note | Ali was one of several men hired by the United States Army to introduce camels as beasts of burden to transport cargo across the "Great American Desert". |
| Number | 90 |
| Realm | World Leaders |
| Subrealm | Don't Say It |
| Question | This card game often starts with the phrase “The game of ___ has officially begun. The only rule you may be told is this one.” What is the name of this game, which shares its name with a famous world leader? |
| Answer | Mao |
| Song | Hana Ni Natte / Be A Flower |
| Artist | Ryokuoushoku Shakai (from The Apothecary Diaries/Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) |
| Hint | T: Point of Order: Have A Nice Day S: something you might tell your marigold seeds to encourage them to grow A: from a recent anime whos main character has a similar name to the card game |
| Note | The rules of Mao change as the game goes on. |
| Number | 91 |
| Realm | Extreme Fishing |
| Subrealm | Identity Theft |
| Question | On the Animal Planet show River Monsters, Jeremy Wade encountered them on every continent except Australia (and Antarctica). Some fishermen in the Southern US catch them by sticking their arm into a hole and hoping they bite. What is the name of this fish? |
| Answer | Catfish |
| Song | Longshot |
| Artist | Catfish and the Bottlemen |
| Hint | T: it's on the tip of my whisker… |
| Number | 92 |
| Realm | Metals |
| Subrealm | Unusual Definitions |
| Question | In astrophysics, what is the heaviest non-metal? |
| Answer | Helium |
| Song | Starlight |
| Artist | Muse |
| Hint | T: Astrophysics counts a lot of gases as metals. S: Urania cares about this. A: Homer's famous addressee |
| Number | 93 |
| Realm | Biology |
| Subrealm | Extreme Piercings |
| Question | Unlike most tusked mammals, the tusk of the narwhal always pierces the skin of the whale's upper lip. Name the only other mammal whose tusks emerge through their skin. |
| Answer | Babirusa |
| Song | Desolation System |
| Artist | Babirusa |
| Hint | T: the weirdest pig from insular southeast asia A: named for an animal which has been known to impale its head on its own teeth |
| Note | (Wikipedia) The babirusas, also called deer-pigs, are a genus, Babyrousa, in the swine family found in the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Togian, Sula and Buru. |
| Number | 94 |
| Realm | Farmyard Animals |
| Subrealm | Exotic Pets |
| Question | What is the only family of mammals in which over half of the living species are domesticated? |
| Answer | Camels (llamas, Camelidae, camelids are also acceptable) |
| Song | Never Let Go |
| Artist | Camel |
| Hint | T: not all of them have humps! S: What Idina Menzel sings on opposite day A: named after a desert animal |
| Number | 95 |
| Realm | Board Games |
| Subrealm | Guys on Map |
| Question | In which board game favored by the Williams Association of Roleplayers do you need to claim Pretender to win? |
| Answer | Inis |
| Song | Castle on the Hill |
| Artist | Ed Sheeran |
| Hint | T: Irish for island. S: Like Neuschwanstein. A: Redhead Irish man with a sly little grin. |
| Number | 96 |
| Realm | Seafood |
| Subrealm | Footwear |
| Question | The spiny lobster can be easily distinguished from a true lobster by the enlarged, spiny antennae which it has instead of claws. What crustacean which is named after a shoe also has enlarged antennae instaed of claws? |
| Answer | slipper lobster |
| Song | Rock Lobster |
| Artist | The B-52's |
| Hint | T: something you might wear on a cozy night in S: well it's certainly not a stone crab A: do you think they serve seafood at the love shack? |
| Number | 97 |
| Realm | Ornithology |
| Subrealm | Another handless dinosaur |
| Question | While there are many species of birds that are flightless, only one group of birds has completely lost not just their wings, but their shoulder bones as well. What island were these birds found on? |
| Answer | New Zealand |
| Song | Don't dream it's over |
| Artist | crowded house |
| Hint | T: surprisingly, the bird in question is not a kiwi A: what happens when you invite too many people to your housewarming party |
| Number | 98 |
| Realm | Backyard summer fun |
| Subrealm | Glow In The Dark |
| Question | This poisonous, cannibalistic insect is a specialist predator of snails. In some species, females never metamorphose into an adult form, similar to the axolotl. What is the name of this insect, which is the most common bioluminescent animal on land? |
| Answer | Fireflies / lightning bugs / glowworms |
| Song | Fireflies |
| Artist | Owl city |
| Hint | T: I'm sure the answer will hit you like lightning. S: pyromaniac insects A: You're thinking of the wrong flying nocturnal animal |
| Number | 99 |
| Realm | Musical Theatre |
| Subrealm | Song cycles |
| Question | In the musical Ghost Quartet, the character played by Brittain Ashford expresses a desire to be what kind of dead person? |
| Answer | Ghost |
| Song | Any Kind of Dead Person |
| Artist | Ghost Quartet |
| Number | 100 |
| Realm | Dinosaur facts |
| Subrealm | Anatomy |
| Question | Sauropod dinosaurs in the group ‘Titanosauria’ include Argentinosaurus and Patagotitan, which were not only the largest dinosaurs but also the largest land animals to ever exist. Titanosaurs are also notable for not having what bones/part of their body? |
| Answer | fingers/phalanges/claws |
| Song | I can't put my finger on it |
| Artist | The housemartins |
| Hint | T: well you can't put a ring on it S: It's on the tip of my tongue... A: not to be confused with a group of beech martens |
| Number | 101 |
| Realm | Musical Theatre |
| Subrealm | Certain,,, bodily functions |
| Question | The musical Urinetown is at some points a pastiche, both musically and dramaturgically, of what writers' earlier works of Epic political theatre? |
| Answer | Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill |
| Song | Mack the Knife |
| Artist | Louis Armstrong |
| Number | 102 |
| Realm | Classification |
| Subrealm | Modern Raptors |
| Question | Birds of prey, also known as raptors, are defined by their predatory diet and features such as a sharp curved beak and claws. Many well-known birds of prey, such as eagles, hawks, and falcons have always been considered members of this group, but which terrestrial South American bird was not considered a bird of prey until 2019? |
| Answer | Seriema |
| Song | Bird of Prey |
| Artist | Emily James |
| Hint | T. One was featured in a viral video involving a golf ball. S: would've been a good fit for the suicide squad sequel |
| Number | 103 |
| Realm | Video Games |
| Subrealm | Speedrunning |
| Question | Who is the current Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! single segment speedrun world record holder? |
| Answer | Summonging Salt |
| Song | We're Finally Landing |
| Artist | Home |
| Hint | T: A ritual must be completed with certain items. S: What you might say at the end of a 12 hour flight. A: Where the heart is. |
| Number | 104 |
| Realm | Typography |
| Subrealm | sssssssssss |
| Question | What archaic symbol, noted for looking like a lowercase f, would be improper to use in the terminal position of a word? |
| Answer | Long S (ſ) |
| Song | Concerto for Two Violins |
| Artist | (J. S.) Bach |
| Hint | T: Just one case! S: There's two of them! A: we're so back! |