From: stephen.w.perry@gmail.com   
      
   On Sunday, January 28, 2024 at 8:56:33 PM UTC-5, Mark Brader wrote:   
   > These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2023-11-27,    
   > and should be interpreted accordingly.    
   >    
   > On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give    
   > both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.    
   > Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,    
   > based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote    
   > the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal    
   > the correct answers in about 3 days.    
   >    
   > All questions were written by members of the Usual Suspects and    
   > are used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may have    
   > been retyped and/or edited by me. The posting and tabulation of    
   > current-events questions is independent of the concurrent posting    
   > of other rounds. For further information please see my 2023-05-24    
   > companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition    
   > (QFTCI*)".    
   >    
   >    
   > We wrote the Final entirely in pairs, allowing teams to select what    
   > order the pairs were used in. There was no Canadiana category,    
   > but Canadiana pairs were distributed through the different rounds.    
   > In this set I wrote 8 of the 12 pairs.    
   >    
   >    
   > ** Round 2 - Geography    
   >    
   > * A. South American Cities    
   >    
   > A1. Name the city of about half a million in Peru's part of the    
   > Amazon basin that is the largest city in the world that    
   > *is not* on an island, but has *no access* by road.    
      
   aquito?   
      
   > A2. In which country would you find El Alto, meaning "the    
   > heights"? It's the second-largest city in the country,    
   > larger than the capital of which it was once a part, and    
   > has the distinction of being the largest mostly-indigenous    
   > city in all of Latin America.    
      
   bolivia   
      
   >    
   > * B. A is the Only Vowel    
   >    
   > In these questions the "name" of a country means its usual short    
   > name in English, like "France" or "Germany".    
   >    
   > B1. In North and South America, including their associated    
   > islands, there are three countries where the only vowels    
   > in the name are instances of A. Name *either one* of the    
   > *other two*.    
      
   panama [I was born there][bahamas is the other one I can think of]   
      
   > B2. In Africa, including its associated islands, there are four    
   > countries where the only vowels in the name are instances    
   > of A. Name *any one*.    
      
   chad ; ghana [rwanda and madagascar are the others]   
      
   >    
   > * C. Population and Spelling    
   >    
   > Again, in these questions the "name" of a country means its usual    
   > short name in English.    
   >    
   > C1. What is the world's most populous country with a Z in    
   > its name?    
      
   brazil   
      
   > C2. What is the world's most populous country with an X in    
   > its name?    
      
   mexico   
      
   >    
   > * D. Canadiana: Ontario County Seats    
   >    
   > D1. Owen Sound is the county seat of which county? Hint:    
   > The name resembles a well-known sports trophy.    
      
   grey??   
      
   > D2. Orangeville, Ontario, is the county seat of which county?    
   > Hint: The name resembles a major street in Toronto.    
      
   dufferin   
      
   >    
   > * E. Lakes at Interesting Elevations    
   >    
   > E1. This body of water in Venezuela is sometimes called the    
   > largest lake in South America, but it's practically at sea    
   > level and receives ocean water at high tide, so arguably    
   > it's not a lake at all. In any case, what's its name?    
      
   lake maracaibo   
      
   > E2. The other candidate for the largest lake in South America    
   > is so far above sea level that it's the world's highest    
   > lake navigable by large ships. What's its name?    
      
   lake titicaca   
      
   >    
   > * F. Artificial Lakes    
   >    
   > F1. Lake Mead was created by damming what river?   
      
   colorado river   
       
   > F2. Lake Nasser was created by damming what river?    
      
   nile river   
      
   >    
   > ** Round 3 - Miscellaneous    
   >    
   > * A. Culinary Terms    
   >    
   > A1. What word means to lightly coat uncooked food with a dry    
   > mixture, typically flour, cornmeal, or bread crumbs?    
      
   dredge   
      
   > A2. What word means a thick creamy soup, with a base of strained    
   > broth of shellfish or game?    
      
   bisque [dang nabbit now I want lobster bisque]   
      
   >    
   > * B. The Exception to the Pattern    
   >    
   > B1. Sue Grafton wrote 25 novels about Kinsey Millhone. The    
   > first and last titles were "A is for Alibi" and "Y is for    
   > Yesterday", and most of the rest followed the same pattern    
   > in alphabetical order. But the 24th book, in 2015, did    
   > not fit the pattern. What was its full title?    
      
   x   
      
   > B2. Once the term "Super Bowl" became official, it became    
   > customary to refer to the annual instances of the game using    
   > Roman numerals in sequence, for example "Super Bowl XIV".    
   > But again, in 2015 an exception to the pattern was made.    
   > What did they call the game that year?    
      
   superbowl 50 is the answer you are expecting, but that was played in 2016.    
   the game played in february 2015 was superbowl xlix   
      
   >    
   > * C. Crossword Words    
   >    
   > These questions were stolen from a recent "Toronto Star" crossword.    
   > If you disagree with the clue, please take it up with the "Star".    
   > In each case, we give you the clue, the number of letters, and    
   > one letter you're supposed to have already filled in in the grid.    
   > You give the exact answer that would go into the puzzle solution.    
   > Example: we say "Add yeast, 6 letters, 2nd letter is E"; you    
   > say LEAVEN.    
   >    
   > C1. "Ancient port near Carthage or a town in New York State."    
   > 5 letters, 2nd letter is T.    
      
   utica   
      
   > C2. "Put in chains." 7 letters, 3rd letter is S.    
      
    enslave   
      
   >    
   > * D. Gaza    
   >    
   > D1. The Gaza Strip has been much in the news in recent weeks.    
   > What is its area, within 5% of the true number in either    
   > direction?    
      
   140 sq miles   
      
   > D2. In 2005 Israel withdrew from military occupation of Gaza,    
   > including the removal of settlers. Which Israeli prime    
   > minister proposed, and was eventually able to implement,    
   > the withdrawal?    
      
   ariel sharon   
      
   >    
   > * E. Prizes Established    
   >    
   > E1. What year, within 5, were the first Pulitzer ["PULL-it-zer"]    
   > Prizes given out?    
      
   1917   
      
   > E2. What year, within 5, were the first Nobel Prizes given out?    
      
   1901   
      
   >    
   > * F. Indian Numbers    
   >    
   > F1. In India they generally do not express large numbers    
   > in millions. What we call a million, they would call how    
   > many lakhs?    
      
   ten   
      
   > F2. In India, one crore [rhymes with "bore"] equals how many    
   > lakhs?    
      
   one hundred   
      
   > --    
   > Mark Brader "'... Fifty science-fiction magazines don't give    
   > Toronto you half the naked women that a good issue of    
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)