Polite Dissent

The game consisted of ten rounds of ten questions each. There were ten categories, so each round consisted of ane question from each category. Twelve teams competed, and each team could have up to 8 people.

Each team could also purchase up to ten “mulligans.” They could use a mulligan once per round to skip a question, yet still get full credit for it. Most teams purchased the maximum ten mulligans.

I was originally going to spread out the tough questions evenly over the ten rounds, but I was concerned that because of the mulligans, teams would be able to skip all the hard questions. Instead, I saved the harder questions for the last five rounds (and this is reflected in the fact that the percentage of right answers for the first five rounds averaged out at 65%; but dropped to 41% for the last five rounds).

I tried hard to have a variety a questions so that having a well-rounded team would be important. I avoided trick questions.

Questions are below the cut. The category is in brackets at the begining of each question. Answers will be in the comment section.

ROUND ONE

1. [Food & Drink] In 2002, Nabisco introduced a new animal cracker. What was it?
2. [American History] Who shot Billy the Kid?
3. [The World] What country borders the most other nations?
4. [Pop Culture] What new award category was added to the Academy Awards in 2001?
5. [Books & Literature] Who answered the Sphinx’s riddle?
6. [Science] What does SCUBA stand for?
7. [Quotations] Whose last words were: Here’s to my love! O true apothecary! / Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.
8. [Famous Doctors] Who portrayed Dr. Ben Casey?
9. [Disney] What is Herbie’s number?
10. [Sports & Games] What team hired the NFL’s first professional cheerleading squad?

ROUND TWO

1. [Food & Drink] Where does gin derive its flavor?
2. [American History] The destruction of which ship precipitated the Spanish-American War?
3. [The World] Who was Czar Nicholas II’s youngest daughter?
4. [Pop Culture] Which Beatle crossed Abbey Road first?
5. [Book & Literature] Who wrote The Thin Man?
6. [Science] What are the only two planets in our solar system without moons?
7. [Quotations] This is the last line of what famous book: The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which.
8. [Famous Doctors] Who was “the only trumpeter who dresses louder than he plays”?
9. [Disney] What kind of animals are Timon and Pumba?
10. [Sports& Games] Name the only brothers to have each won the top NASCAR championship.