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Quizzical
The First Quizzical Champion | 26.1.5
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This week, Alicia, James, Jack, and Memeristor battle for the title of 'Quizzical Champion' in our first ever Final Round! Play along and see how you score. Could you have won the final?
Check out James's newsletter at https://artisanalsudoku.substack.com/ and his book "Artisanal Sudoku" wherever you buy books.
Check out Memeristor's stuff at https://www.youtube.com/@memeristor
Think you know the answer to the listener question? Email People@quizzical.fm or send us a voicemail via the button on quizzical.fm
Want to be a contestant? Go to quizzical.fm to sign up.
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Created by Scott Strosahl
Theme song by Scot Aird (@scotairdmusic on instagram)
Intro
SPEAKER_01Welcome to Quizzical, the trivia show where confidence frequently outruns accuracy. I'm Scott Stroussel, and today we welcome back four winners. They've all tasted the thrill of victory. Now three will experience the agony of defeat. Today's games will test their knowledge and their patience and are a little different than the head-to-head competitions of the last four weeks. We will have three games today. The winners of each of the first two games will earn an advantage for the third final elimination game, where the last man or woman standing wins and will be crowned the first ever quizzical champion. Now let's meet our returning contestants. From
Contestant Introductions
SPEAKER_01episode one, we have karaoke enthusiast Alicia. Welcome back, Alicia.
SPEAKER_00Hello.
SPEAKER_01Hello. So I should have asked you before, and I don't know why I didn't. What's your go-to song when you do karaoke?
SPEAKER_04Well, I wouldn't say I have just one, but the OG is probably Respect by Aretha Franklin.
SPEAKER_01Respect by Aretha Franklin. Okay, very nice. All right. And do you have a favorite song that you like to hear other people sing?
SPEAKER_04Oh, maybe Tennessee Whiskey, Chris Stableton.
SPEAKER_01Okay, cool. All right, and from episode two, we have The Puzzler, aka James from Florida. Um, welcome back, James. Yes, thank you. Happy to be here. Uh, we mentioned last time that you just released a Sudoku book, but for those who missed it, the book is called Artisanal Sudoku, and they should be able to find it anywhere they get books, right? Yeah, that's what I've been told. And you have a newsletter on online that you publish Sudoku's all the every week, and people should go check out all of that. I'll have links in the, you know, wherever people will find the links.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, I I'm I'm very proud of it. I work very hard on it, and yeah, if you like if you like good puzzles, check it out. Artisanal Sudoku.
SPEAKER_01Perfect. All right, and next up from episode three, we have Jack from Washington who doesn't like countries with holes. Welcome, Jack. Thank you. Or islands. Those are tough. Or islands, yeah. All right, and finally, from last week's episode four, the living mood ring, Meme Rister. Welcome, Meme Rister. Thanks for having me. I can't quite see your eye colors, so are you feeling confident today or uh no? I'm pretty bad at trivia, so I think I'll probably lose against four people. Can't really see the color change over the internet. So I'm also colorblind, so even if I was seeing you in person, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. So all right, is everybody ready to get started? I'm ready. Ready to go. Then let's get quizzical.
Game 1 - Jump in any time
SPEAKER_01So our first game today is called Jump In Anytime. I will read a series of clues in order from most vague to most specific. You can buzz in any time to guess, but if you're wrong, you can't guess again on that question. Uh the person with the most points at the end of this round will earn a mulligan for the elimination round. Okay, so we're gonna buzz in. Anytime you want to buzz in, feel free. Whoops. Accidentally buzzed. Jack. Sorry. Already guessing. No. That's right.
SPEAKER_03What do you think it is? I don't know.
SPEAKER_01So buzz in when you think you know it. Here we go. Question one. A technological breakthrough.
SPEAKER_00An aircraft.
SPEAKER_011976. Ooh, James. James thinks he knows it.
SPEAKER_02Is it the Concorde?
SPEAKER_01It is the Concorde, and maybe more specifically, it's what?
SPEAKER_02Uh the supersonic uh crossing the Atlantic.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean it was the the first the first passenger flight of the Concorde is what we were going with for their with 1976. But yeah, the start of the Concorde, very good. I'm gonna give that to you. Good. It's the only supersonic passenger plane that that lasted more than about a year. The Russians actually had one briefly, sort of. They did, but there's some question about how well it actually worked, because they only had passenger flights for like a year and they had a couple crashes and then they just quit working on it. But all right, next question Europe, a political turning point involving a border.
SPEAKER_00Late 20th century.
SPEAKER_01I'm thinking the follow the Berlin Wall. Fall of the Berlin Wall, very good. East and West reunited, and Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall were the other clues, so. Nice. Alright, James out to an early lead. Alright, number three. Black and white. Signature hand gesture. Oh Jack.
SPEAKER_04I mean, I gotta go signature here, right? Signature? Is that your guess? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh, incorrect. Your guess, incorrect. Alright, so you're out for the rest of this question. So we got black and white signature hand gesture.
SPEAKER_002008. Music video. Beyonce. Put a ring on it.
SPEAKER_01Uh looks like James just snuck in. James, what do you got? Uh all the single ladies. Single ladies, yes. The the music video is black and white, and they had the hand thing that they did, you know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01Good try, Jack. It's good to jump in early, you know, take a chance. Yeah, I thought I might as well, but however. Yep. Alright, next one. So Jack's back in now. Everybody's in. Alright. A televised event. Air travel.
SPEAKER_00A national tragedy. A teacher. Meme. Meme restorers first.
SPEAKER_03I know what it is, but I can't remember the name of the it's a the space uh space shuttle crashed. Um I think it starts with a T. Oh crap now given away to everyone. Uh I I know it's a NASA space shuttle that crashed, and the teacher was on board. Uh she won a contest to get on. And the name was Seems like you know everything but what you need to know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Alright, we're gonna go to Ooh, James was the second one in. James.
SPEAKER_02Sorry, meme it's the Challenger.
SPEAKER_01Challenger Challenger. Not to not start with T. No, it did not start with the T. There's too many names of space shuttles. Yep, yep, you were on the right track. Just couldn't quite get to the destination. Alright, next one. A championship performance.
SPEAKER_0038 points. Game five. 1997.
SPEAKER_04Jack. Alright, so I don't know the answer, but I know I'm not going to know the answer because it's basketball. I'm pretty sure. So I'm just gonna guess a team or a player. So uh I don't think it's a team though, because if it was 38 points, that's low for a team to get. So I'm just gonna guess Michael Jordan.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna give it to you. Oh my goodness. That's pretty good. Anybody anybody know what specifically I'm talking about there?
SPEAKER_00The dream team.
SPEAKER_01Not the dream team, no. Good guess.
SPEAKER_00I have sports his name on El Forte.
SPEAKER_02Magic, I don't know. I think that that is what is commonly known as the flu game.
SPEAKER_01The flu game. It was Michael Jordan's flu game. He had the flu, he was throwing up, he was dehydrated, and then he had this amazing performance where he won the game basically for his team. I mean, it wasn't just him, but you know, yeah. There you go, very good. Thank you. Alright, next one. A scientific breakthrough. An accidental discovery. Ooh, Alicia.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna go with penicillin.
SPEAKER_01Penicillin, very good. Yep. A couple clues later was gonna be mold, 1928, Alexander Fleming, very good. Alright, nice, Alicia. You got that one early. Okay, final question. A computer simulation. Questioning reality. Ooh, memes in first. I'm gonna go with the Matrix. The Matrix, very good. 1999, science fiction, blue pill or red pill, Keanu Reeves for the rest of the clues. Alright, well, great job, all of you. I think everybody got at least one, but the winner of that game with uh four points is James. So that earns you a mulligan for the elimination round. Very good.
Thank you to our Patrons!
SPEAKER_01Today's episode is brought to you by the patrons and the listeners, especially those that have spread the word and shared the show with their friends and family. It really helps us a lot, especially with a new show to build our audience if you help spread the word. And of course, those who have signed up to support us on Patreon are helping to keep this show ad-free. I really don't want to put any commercials on it, but we're gonna have to get some support from people like Roger Lester and Chinook UT. They signed up to help the show and they're gonna get some perks like stickers and input on categories in the future and whatever else the patrons suggest for perks. I'd like to get input on that as well. If you are in a position to support the show financially, go to quizzical.fm for the links to sign up. And if you're enjoying the show, please give us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or maybe Podcast Addict, where we got a review from David who said that he's enjoying the creative trivia games so far. Whatever support you can send our way, we appreciate it. As always, you can find the links to all the things at quizzical.fm.
Game 2 - Unbelievably True
SPEAKER_01Now on to game number two. We're gonna call this one unbelievably true. I will read some incredible facts to you, but it's about 95% hogwash. If you hear something that you think is actually true, buzz in, and if you're right, you'll get a point. But if you're wrong, you will lose a point. The person with the most points at the end of this round will earn a mulligan for the elimination round. Any questions? Here we go. Stop me if I say something true. The giraffe is widely regarded as the most efficient animal in the world, primarily because it has no natural predators and has therefore never experienced stress. In fact, giraffes always sleep standing up, so they can continue photosynth Ooh, Jack, yes. I think they do sleep standing up. They sometimes sleep standing up, but not always. They sometimes sleep standing up to watch for predators, but not always. So good, good thought, but unfortunately that's a negative point for you. Giraffes always sleep standing up, so they can continue photosynthesizing through their spots, which are nicknamed by zoologists as nature's solar panels. Speaking of efficiency, the ancient Romans invented concrete, plumbing, and most surprisingly, meme, yes. The Romans did invent plumbing. The Romans did not invent plumbing, actually. Earlier civilizations had basic plumbing systems. The Romans perfected and scaled it like others hadn't with vast aqueducts, but they didn't invent plumbing. Good good try. Alright. Uh Romans invented concrete plumbing, and most surprisingly, fast food. They served ready-to-eat food from buildings called thermopolia. This innovation allowed families to quickly grab supper on the way to their kids' gladiator practices. Of course, if you really want to talk about speed, not much beats sound, which travels at over a thousand miles per hour in dry air at sea level. Ooh, Jack was in first.
SPEAKER_04I'll go for it. That sounds like a good number.
SPEAKER_01Thousand miles per hour? Sure. Oh no, it's only about 761 miles per hour in dry air at sea level. Oh boy. All right. James also buzz buzzed in. James, were you buzzing for something similar? Or same factory? No, that's a bound at the end.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01Well, luckily for you. Sound also travels faster in cold air than in warm air. Ooh, Alicia.
SPEAKER_04That is true. Sound does travel faster in cold air than warm air.
SPEAKER_01I think. Actually, no, sound travels faster in warm air. Oh my gosh. The vibration's faster. Yep, yep. Sound travels faster in cold air than warm air. This is why your voice sounds clearer on snowy winter mornings. And also, oh, Jack.
SPEAKER_04That's not why, but your voice does sound clearer on snower winter mornings because That's true.
SPEAKER_01Very good.
SPEAKER_03I buzzed in too.
SPEAKER_01Jack gets a point. Your voice does sound clear on winter mornings. It's not because it's faster in cold air. It's a combination of things, but it's part of it is the sound getting reflect back to reflected back down to the ground by the warmer air above and bounces around more. So it tends to muffle other sounds you might otherwise hear. And there's fewer people outside doing things, so it's just easier to hear things. But um, so yes, correct. That's why your voice sounds clear on snowy winter mornings, and also why arguments are statistically more effective during snowstorms. During a particularly snowy winter in 1914, it was discovered that contrary to popular belief, Swiss cheese did not originate in Switzerland. But from a very Ooh, meme, yes.
SPEAKER_03Well, first of all, I'd like to say that there almost certainly would be a snowy morning in 1917, somewhere. I don't know where, but there would be somewhere. I'm sure.
SPEAKER_01But the fact that there was a snowy winter morning is not really what we're going with here.
SPEAKER_03Anyways, I'll go with the Swiss cheese not being uh not originating in Switzerland. Originating in Switzerland, but I believe they perfected it.
SPEAKER_01That's incorrect. Good try. Um, so Swiss cheese not originate in Switzerland, but from a very single, very secretive cave in Ohio. The holes in this cave cheese were caused by cheese mites holding tiny conferences. Other cheeses not produced in Ohio caves got their holes from mice, from hay particles falling in the milking bucket, or from trapped air when cheese is pressed and shaped into blocks. Mimister.
SPEAKER_03That actually is how Swiss cheese works, so the air thing.
SPEAKER_01The air trapped air?
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01That's incorrect. It's actually not trapped air. There's not air, air doesn't get trapped in the cheese when they're pressing it.
SPEAKER_03That's not where the holes come from. I'm I'm about to Google this afterwards, so. Apologies for this interruption, but we have some breaking news.
SPEAKER_01Alright, editor Scott here jumping in. The judges reviewed the footage and have decided to award Meme Rister a point. They decided that it was worded a little bit confusingly. So when I said that the air is trapped in cheese when it's pressed into the molds, that's not really correct. But the holes do come from bacteria releasing carbon dioxide that are trapped inside there. So the air isn't trapped inside initially when they press the cheese into molds, but there is trapped air involved. So meme gets a point back. I don't want to spoil anything, but it doesn't affect the outcome of the game. But we'll say meme was half right and I was half right. Anyways, back to the game. On the topic of foods, you may have heard that humans share about 75% of their DNA with bananas. This is because bananas were once the dominant species on Earth. Ooh, Memeister.
SPEAKER_03Yes, humans do share about 75% of their DNA with ADNAS or it's about 40 to 60%, not 75%.
SPEAKER_01Really? It is a lot, but it's not 75%. I'm okay. I'm I'm I'm getting negative, so I'm just gonna keep going. That's fine. That's fine.
SPEAKER_02I feel like I'm in a good position with zero points.
SPEAKER_01Um bananas were once the dominant species on Earth until they were wiped out by an asteroid shaped exactly like a grocery store. This is also why banana peels are yellow. It's a warning color. Astronauts, meanwhile, are not allowed to eat bananas in space, mostly because bananas float away too confidently. Instead, they rely on carefully engineered foods that help counteract their tendency to grow taller in space due to spinal expansion, which makes space one of the only places where gravity literally lets you stretch your legs. Alright, and that is it. Um at the end of that game with zero points, James has earned another mulligan for the elimination round. Very good. That's ridiculous. Uh Alicia and Jack both had negative one, and Meme had negative four. Very good. Actually, with the adjustment, meme ended up with negative three.
SPEAKER_03Was there anything true in that whole thing?
SPEAKER_01Alright, so true things were um Romans invented fast food. They served ready-to-eat food from buildings called thermopolia. Your voice sounds clear on snowy winter mornings, as Jack said. Uh, cheese gets Swiss cheese gets its hole and other types of cheese from hay particles falling in the milk bucket, actually. Some studies recently they found that modern, more modern milking methods um do not have holes in the cheese because they figured out it was the hay particles. Little tiny microscopic hay particles falling in the milk. Um, the other one is that uh people grow taller in space due to spinal expansion. Yeah. Um astronauts grow one to three inches temporarily because the lack of gravity allows the fluid-filled spinal discs to expand. But the effect reverses itself within a few months.
SPEAKER_03I was gonna say that, but then I was scared you tricked me again. So right, right.
SPEAKER_01All right, very good, very good. Everybody did well, you did exactly as I was hoping you would, and got a bunch of negative points. At least nobody thought that giraffes photosynthesized through their spots. I was glad nobody went for that. Yes, or that mice were holding conferences in the cheese in a cave in Ohio. Okay. So very good. All right. Well, James is just rolling through. He's got two mulligans for the final round, which may or may not give him the I don't know, maybe he'll be really bad and he'll need both of those. Who knows, right?
Listener Question
SPEAKER_01This is the part of the show where we would normally give an answer to last week's listener question. But as this is a final round episode with three games, we're gonna keep things a little bit brief and continue last week's listener question for another week. So if you think you know the answer and you haven't had a chance to send out a message yet, you still have time. And if you didn't hear last week's episode, what's wrong with you? Go back and listen to it. But but seriously, I'll give you the question again just in case. So, very simply, I'm gonna give you four things. You need to tell me what they have in common. The four things are bookmark, shotgun, pause button, sticky note. What do those four have in common? If you think you know, send a message to people at quizzical.fm or go to our website, quizzical.fm, and click on the leave a voicemail button, and you can answer in audio form. And of course, next week we'll give the answer, choose a winner, and we'll have a new listener question.
Game 3 - The NATO Phonetic Alphabet
SPEAKER_01All right, and with that, it's time for the main event where we will find out who will be the champion and who will say, I was so close. Scott cheated me, you know. All right, today's elimination round is called 10-4. Good buddy. Every answer will be a word from the NATO phonetic alphabet, which is of course a list of words that are used in the place of letters when spelling. Jack seems like he does not know the NATO phonetic alphabet based on his reaction.
SPEAKER_04I have an inside joke with my family about the phonetic alphabet and me not knowing it.
SPEAKER_01So Okay, perfect. So, for example, if I gave the clue typically shorter than UV rays and longer than gamma rays, the answer would be X-ray, which is the word used for the letter X in the NATO phonetic alphabet. Uh, as an aside, I once was talking to customer service on the phone, and the guy said a for Aurovois, and it took me a second to figure out what he meant because I was like, that is not a good way to do A. A for Apple, right? That's that's fine, but not Aurovois. So I'm sure you could come up with a whole list of like the worst possible words to use for each letter. But uh all right, in this game, we're gonna play spelling bee style. So that doesn't mean we're spelling, it means we're gonna take turns, and if you miss a question, the next person will have the opportunity to answer. And if they get it right, then you are eliminated. If everyone Misses it, then no one's eliminated. If Alicia and Meme Rister both miss one and James gets it, he eliminates both of them that had missed it. Make sense? So that's why I mean by spelling B style, because that's kind of like that.
SPEAKER_03So if you get one wrong that nobody else gets wrong, you're out.
SPEAKER_01Then nobody's out. You're only out if you miss one and somebody else gets it right. Oh, okay. If everybody misses it, then everyone's still in. Alright. Now, James, you have your two mulligans still, so if you get eliminated, you won't actually be out until you've you have to be eliminated three times to be out, essentially. We're gonna go one at a time. Gonna work our way through. I'll read a clue, and your answer will be a word from the NATO phonetic alphabet. And we're just gonna go in the order that you guys are on my screen. So Alicia, you will be up first. This is military slang for a member of the Viet Cong.
SPEAKER_00Honestly, I have no idea.
SPEAKER_01No idea. Do you want to just guess something? Any idea at all? Sorry. I don't have a clue. Alright, meme rister. Military slang for a member of the Viet Cong.
SPEAKER_03The only one that I can think of that would make any sense would be maybe Zulu?
SPEAKER_01Incorrect. James. Do you know the answer to this one?
SPEAKER_02Um, I think I do. Does that mean that I knock both of them out if I get it?
SPEAKER_01I think it does, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I feel bad about that.
SPEAKER_03You don't have to say the right answer, also.
SPEAKER_02Is it Charlie?
SPEAKER_01It is Charlie. Very good. James has knocked Alicia and Memeister out. Alright. Wow. Jack, you you've got some work cut out for you here. Wow. And he has two. James has his two mulligans still. Yikes. Yep. Alright. Jack, next one's for you. The seventh largest country by area and second largest by population.
SPEAKER_00Ooh. Um, is it India?
SPEAKER_01It is India. Yes. Very good. James. Statuettes awarded annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
SPEAKER_02Well, I don't want to date this recording, but it may or may not be coming up. Uh the Oscars.
SPEAKER_01The Oscars. Very nice. Alright. Jack. The most dominant, powerful, or assertive person in a group.
SPEAKER_04I'm thinking like leader. I don't know if that's the one for L though. Um but I don't know. I guess I'll go with leader.
SPEAKER_01Correct. James, you can win it with this one.
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah, it's not a term that I especially care for, but I think alpha is what we're going for.
SPEAKER_01Alpha is correct. That's the answer. Very good. And with that, James wins the first ever quizzical final round. He's the first ever quizzical champion. Very good, James. And as his prize, James will receive a quizzical champions card deck. Oh wow. That's exciting. So at your next game night, you can subtly tell all your friends that you are smarter than they are. And then, of course, direct them to go listen to the show themselves as well. And everyone listening should do the same. Spread the word, help us grow our audience. All that jazz. You know how to tell people about things. Thank you to all our contestants. Congratulations again to James. Join us next week as two more competitors match wits for a chance at being crowned the next Quizzical champion. Remember, trivia is just proof your brain hoards interesting things. I'm Scott, and this has been Quizzical.