| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| The MS Alfhem helped this country bypass a US-led arms blockade by bringing Czechoslovakian weapons. A general from this country managed to capture a flag from William Walker’s house unharmed. Guerilla fighters were opposed in the “guns and beans” campaign implemented by its former president Efrain Rios Montt. Operation PBSUCCESS overthrew President Jacobo Arbenz of this country on behalf of the United Fruit Company. For the point, name this Central American country now led by Jimmy Morales. | Guatemala |
| In 2013, 18 people were killed in massive flooding on this island caused by Cyclone Cleopatra. The Treaty of The Hague granted control of this island to a royal house that ruled from Turin until Napoleon forced them off the mainland and south of the Strait of Bonafacio. The House of Savoy ruled this island in an alliance with Piedmont until Victor Emmanuel II, its king, completed the Risorgimento. Cagliari is the capital city of, for the point, what Mediterranean island that lies south of Corsica? | Sardinia |
| The arrival of French ships at Tybee Island near this city forced a withdrawal by John Maitland. This city was captured by Archibald Campbell in the Revolutionary War, and Casimir Pulaski died during a failed retake of this city. Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry harassed a force that captured this city, along with 25,000 bales of cotton and 150 guns. For the point, name this “Christmas present” to Abraham Lincoln at the end of the Sherman’s March to the Sea in Georgia. | Savannah |
| Prachanda led a lengthy Maoist insurgency in this country that is currently led by K.P. Oli. This country’s elite units were donated to India and Great Britain under the Tripartite Agreement. Narayan Shah unified this country against the Malla kingdoms, and this country served as the only official Hindu country in the world until the abolition of the monarchy in 2008. Gurkha units are heavily associated with this country. For the point, a massive April 2015 earthquake struck what Himalayan country with capital at Kathmandu? | Nepal |
| This event was compared to “an entomologist killing a beetle on a pin” by one of its perpetrators. This event involved a murder committed with a chisel, after which the victim was dumped at Wolf Lake. Its perpetrators pled guilty, but were spared the death penalty after a 12-hour speech by their lawyer, Clarence Darrow, who argued that Nietzsche’s writings were to blame. For the point, name this 1924 “Trial of the Century” in which the murderers of Bobby Franks, two University of Chicago students, were sentenced to life in prison. | the Leopold and Loeb murder case (accept any answer naming both Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. and Richard Albert Loeb, including their crime or the ensuing trial; accept the murder of Bobby Franks before his name is mentioned) |
| One ruler of this dynasty had King Luarsab II executed after he refused to convert to Islam. This dynasty lost territory after the Treaty of Amsaya, but regained much of it due to the military efforts of Abbas the Great. Selim the Grim greatly outnumbered the Qizilbash forces of this dynasty at the Battle of Chaldiran. This dynasty used the lion and sun to represent the state and religion as the pillars of society, whose use continued under future dynasties such as the Afsharids and Qajar Dynasty. For the point, name this first Shia dynasty to rule Iran. | Safavid dynasty |
| Timothy Tackett suggested this man was the biological father of Eugene Delacroix. He proposed a plan to partition a newly-independent Belgium. This man attended the Estates-General as Bishop of Autun, but proposed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy officially rendering the Catholic Church inferior to the French government. In his highest post, this man criticized the harsh demands of the Treaties of Pressburg and Tilsit, eventually resigning. For the point, name this foreign minister of Napol´eon who represented France at the Congress of Vienna. | Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-P´erigord |
| Canute IV of Denmark and his brother Benedict were murdered by angry peasants in one of these buildings in Odense, where their bodies remain. One of these buildings, built in Mantua by Leon Alberti, has coffers painted on its large barrel vault. The construction of one of these buildings was funded by the Arte de Lana, and is topped by a double brick dome designed by Brunelleschi in Florence. Il Duomo is, for the point, what type of Christian religious building? | cathedrals (prompt on churches) |
| Andrew Hacker’s The Math Myth notes that, in 2004, Jeb Bush incorrectly answered a question about one of these figures whose correct answers included 36.9 and 53.1 degrees. In 1876, James Garfield used three of these figures to construct a trapezoid. In the aforementioned anecdote, Jeb Bush did correctly note that “90” and “whatever remains on 180” would be two of its angles. For the point, name this type of polygon whose side lengths follow the Pythagorean formula. | right triangle (prompt on triangle) |
| When commissioned as a war artist, this man painted wounded soldiers walking to a dressing station. Earlier, this artist included two guitars hanging on the wall of a room in which a gypsy dances El Jaleo [hah-LAY-oh]. He is also known for intimate portraits, such as one of two girls hanging paper lanterns. In another work, this artist of Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose contrasted the pale skin and black satin dress of its subject, Virginie Gautreau [vir-zhih-NEE goh-TROH]. For the point, name this painter of Madame X. | John Singer Sargent |
| One of this polity’s colonies rebelled in the Revolt of St. Titus, and it feuded over Comacchio with Ercole [AIR-koh-lay] I of Ferrara in the Salt War. The Kingdom of Negroponte was a colony of this city, which was targeted by an alliance between Louis XII of France and Pope Julius II, resulting in the War of the League of Cambrai. The Arsenale, a massive shipyard, was built in, for the point, what “Most Serene Republic,” an Italian city with many canals? | Venice |
| This man received an extra year in prison for his June 1977 escape from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in eastern Tennessee, bringing his total sentence to 100 years. Loyd Jowers, who was fined $100 for wrongful death, claimed that this man was innocent. This man was arrested in Heathrow Airport using a fake Canadian passport with the alias Ramon George Sneyd. He had initially traveled to Canada after he was seen fleeing a rooming house, where he left his rifle, across the street from the Lorraine Motel. For the point, name this man who was convicted of the April 4, 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. | James Earl Ray |
| In honor of the defending champion, the late Payne Stewart, the 2000 iteration of this event began with a 21-drive salute into the Pacific Ocean; that iteration of this event was the most lopsided in its history, with a champion at 12-under and runner-up at 3-over. Phil Mickelson has finished second in this event six times, including at Bethpage Black twice. Jordan Spieth followed his 2015 Masters championship two months later by winning this event, whose final round is traditionally played on Father’s Day. For the point, name this major golf tournament that precedes the British Open and PGA Championship. | U.S. Open (prompt on the Open) |
| This justice often assigned the task of opinion writing to his close friend and colleague, William Brennan. This successor of Fred Vinson presided over a case involving the right to a public defender for a suspect in a burglary at a Florida pool room, as well as a case that resulted in a set of rights, including right to silence, that are read to suspects in custody. For the point, name this predecessor of Warren Burger as Supreme Court Chief Justice whose decisions included Gideon v. Wainwright, Miranda v. Arizona, and Brown v. Board. | Earl Warren |
| In this work, one character teaches Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto to a group of Chinese soldiers, while another character remembers hearing a clucking chicken that was actually a crying child. This work was five times the standard length for its series, was officially titled “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” and ends as Hawkeye’s helicopter takes him away from the Korean War. For the point, name this 1983 television event, which still holds the record for most-watched TV series finale. | M*A*S*H series finale (accept descriptions; accept M*A*S*H alone once “series finale” is read; prompt on other partial answers; accept Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen before mentioned) |
| The 1991 Bitesse Accords were violated by UNITA’s sale of these items, and a specific UN ban on these items was encouraged by the research of Robert Fowler. Charles Taylor was accused of dealing these items with the RUF. Unlike variants found in the DRC and Sierra Leone, Zimbabwean examples of this item are considered to be approved by the Kimberley Process, which curtails the flow of these items into the mainstream jewelry industry. For the point, give this term for controversial gems whose sales fund warlords in Africa. | blood diamonds (or conflict diamonds; accept descriptions; prompt on diamonds; prompt on general terms like gems before “jewelry”) |
| The failure of one man to defeat this politician was mocked by the phrase “As Maine goes, so goes Vermont;” that opponent of this man lost the governorship of Kansas in the same election cycle. Another defeated opponent became this man’s personal representative to Great Britain, in which position he became a rare Republican supporter for this man’s Lend-Lease Act. For the point, name this politician who defeated Wendell Willkie, Alf Landon, Thomas Dewey, and Herbert Hoover in his four presidential bids. | Franklin Delano Roosevelt (or FDR) |
| Ina“FragmentofaTurkishTale”bythiswriter,thetitleinfidelbecomeavampire.Thispoetof“The Giaour” [JOW-er] also used the story of Genevan patriot Fran¸cois Bonivard [fran-SWAH boh-nee-VAR] as the basis for “The Prisoner of Chillon” [shee-YOHN]. Another of his poems praises a “mind at peace with all below.” This poet affixed a sarcastic dedication to “Bob” Southey [SOW-thee] to an “epic satire” about the title renowned lover. For the point, name this Romantic poet of “She Walks in Beauty” and Don Juan [JEW-un] who died in the Greek War of Independence. | George Gordon, Lord Byron (accept either underlined name) |
| This composer was inspired by footage of World War II to write his Symphony in Three Movements. For the 35th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s death, he wrote the ballet The Fairy’s Kiss. He included “Mystic Circles of Young Girls” in a work that opens with a high bassoon solo. Ivan breaks Kashchei’s [ka-SHE’s] magic egg in this composer’s first collaboration with Sergei Diaghilev’s [dee-ah-guh-lev’s] Ballets Russes [ballet roose]. For the point, name this composer of Petrushka and The Firebird. | Igor Stravinsky |
| This country’s senate was dismantled by the “Three Times Yes” referendum. A worker’s strike in opposition to the KPP in Poznan eventually led a leader of this country to enter into the Round Table Talks. This country’s United Workers Party was led in the 1970s by Edward Gierek, and this country liberalized during a 1956 “thaw” under Wladyslaw [vwah-deh-swav] Gomulka. Pope John Paul II was born in, for the point, what European country where a Soviet military pact was agreed to in Warsaw? | Poland |
| This man once noted “it is just as easy to believe the miracle of Jonah as any other miracle in the Bible.” This man argued that “man is essentially devout” in his “Prince of Peace” speech, given at many Chautauqua gatherings in 1904. Though the judge later expunged the entire examination, this man was asked if he had “given considerable study to the Bible” by Clarence Darrow. For the point, name this American politician and orator who died shortly after arguing in favor of Tennessee’s Butler Act during the Scopes Monkey Trial. | William Jennings Bryan |
| One holder of this position defeated the mercenary leader Phalaikos in the Foreign War. Another holder of this position produced the Great Rhetra, yet another died at the Battle of Leuctra. This position was held by the cautious Archidamus and by the man who attempted to block Mardonius and Xerxes at Thermopylae, Leonidas. The Agaid and Eurypontid lines simultaneously provided this position. For the point, name this leader of a warlike Greek city-state. | King of Sparta |
| The Radcliffe Line determined the boundary for this event. The Lahore Resolution was an early precursor to this event, which took place according to the terms of the Mountbatten Plan. Major proponents of this event included Muhammad Ali Jinnah, though conflicts that arose out of it resulted in the deaths of almost 500,000 Hindus and Muslims. For the point, name this 1947 action that split a British colony into a predominantly Hindu nation and the predominantly Muslim Pakistan. | partition of India (accept equivalents; prompt on “Indian independence” or “Pakistani independence”) |
| After colliding with a truck driven by Robert Thompson, this man commented “This is a hell of a way to die.” After the surrender of Japan, this man wrote “Yet another war has come to an end, and with it my usefulness to the world.” During Operation Husky, this man participated in a race to Messina against Bernard Montgomery. While suffering from battle fatigue, Paul Bennett was slapped by this man. For the point, name this American general, known as Old Blood and Guts, who served under General Eisenhower during World War II. | George Smith Patton, Jr |
| Members of the Blackfeet tribe attempted to steal this group’s rifles, one of the few hostilities encountered by this group. Fort Cladsop was constructed by members of this group, which quartermaster Charles Floyd accompanied. A slave named York was a member of this group, which set out from St. Louis, and was guided by Sacagawea. For the point, name this group sent by Thomas Jefferson on an exploration mission to the newly-acquired Louisiana Purchase. | Lewis and Clark expedition (or the Corps of Discovery) |
| Hans Tausen led the Protestant Reformation in this country. According to legend, this country’s flag fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse. The first king of this country, Gorm the Old, was commemorated by the construction of the Jelling Stones under his son Harald Bluetooth. This country lost control of Norway after the Treaty of Kiel, which was reaffirmed by the Congress of Vienna. For the point, name this Scandinavian country that has had many kings named Christian rule from its capital, Copenhagen. | Denmark |
| This empire’s history was detailed in a comprehensive historical encyclopedia called the Suda. One historian greatly exaggerated the atrocities committed by one ruler of this empire, claiming that “ten thousand times ten thousand times ten thousand” people died during his reign. A female historian born to of a powerful ruler of this empire wrote about her father’s reign in the Alexiad. For the point, name this empire written about by John Skylitzes, Anna Comnena, and Procopius, who wrote the Secret History about the reign of Justinian I. | Byzantine Empire |
| This man claimed “there are extremists on both sides” in response to an audience member’s question at Ball State. Later that night, this man prepared his audience, asking people to lower campaign signs, as he began an impromptu speech from a flatbed truck in Indianapolis; in that speech, he noted that “Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings”. For the point, name this former Attorney General who gave that speech after King’s assassination, then was assassinated himself two months later by Sirhan Sirhan. | Robert Francis Kennedy (or RFK) |
| This organization was founded at Hotel Cecil, and it engaged in “Pink’s War” against Mahsud tribesmen in South Waziristan. “Article XV” units were trained to serve alongside this force, which used Sir Barnes Wallis’ “bouncing bombs” in the “Dambusters” operations. The success of this force’s Spitfires led one leader to claim that “never...was so much owed by so many to so few.” This entity was able to prevent Operation Sealion was prevented by the successes of, for the point, what military force that fended off the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain? | Royal Air Force (accept descriptions of the British air force, including England or UK for Britain; prompt on general answers like “British armed forces,” but not specifically wrong answers like “British Army”) |
| This party devalued its nation’s currency in 1994’s “December mistake,” after which it plunged into debt paying off the tesobonos that were issued by this party’s outgoing leader to raise support for the incoming Ernest Zedillo [zeh-dee-yoh]. Plutarco Calles [kai-yes] founded this party in the aftermath of A´lvaro Obreg´on’s assassination. For the point, name this political party that, after seven decades in power through leaders like Carlos Salinas, was defeated by Vincente Fox’s PAN in 2000’s Mexican presidential election. | PRI (or Institutional Revolutionary Party or Partido Revolucionario Institucional) |
| The victor of this battle wrote two commemorations of it, known as the “Poem” and the “Bulletin.” The campaign leading up to this battle had been prompted by one side’s capture of Amurru, and in its early stages, two Shashu spies informed the eventual winner that his enemy was encamped in Aleppo. The winner of this battle succeeded due to his composite bows and faster chariots, prompting the signing of the first recorded peace treaty. For the point, name this 1274 BC battle between Ramesses the Great and the Hittites. | Battle of Kadesh |
| This event is referenced in the title of a speech that includes the poem “The Triumph of Freedom” and claims that this event “reveals the gross injustice and cruelty” of slavery. Frederick Douglass delivered that speech, asking “What, to a Slave, is [this event]?” On this day in 1826, a dying man lamented “Thomas Jefferson still survives,” though Jefferson had actually died five hours earlier, on the fiftieth anniversary of the event that this holiday commemorates. For the point, name this American holiday, during which fireworks celebrate the nation’s founding. | Fourth of July (or Independence Day; accept ”What, to a Slave, is the Fourth of July?”) |
| Along with plums, these objects name a war that was ended by the Treaty of Teschen. Frederick the Great apocryphally ordered a field of these objects to be placed under armed guard which led to their prompt theft. Antoine-Augustine Parmentier helped to overturn laws outlawing the cultivation of these objects. Charles Trevelyan was accused of not doing enough to relieve a famine caused by the failure of this crop. For the point, name this tuber, whose destruction by blight caused an Irish famine. | potatoes |
| This man cited Tengrist mythology to claim legitimacy, noting that he had been chosen by the “Eternal Blue Sky.” This man’s defeat at Balan Dalzhut to his enemy Jamukha was described in a Uyghur-script “Secret History,” though in his later career, this man conquered the Khwarezmian empire. Assisted by his general and successor Ogedei, this man also conquered the Western Xia [shee-ah] and Jin Dynasties. This man’s legacy in China was continued by his grandson, Kublai. For the point, name this Great Khan and founder of the Mongolian empire. | Genghis Khan (or Temujin) |
| The completion of this effort was marked by a nationwide message that simply said “DONE.” Asa Whitney and Theodore Judah were major advocates for this project, which was funded by the “Big Four,” including Leland Stanford. This project, which allowed for the creation of the popular “Overland Route,” relied heavily upon Chinese labor. For the point, name this project that was completed at Utah’s Promontory Point with a golden spike. | First Transcontinental Railroad |
| The Milion, a monument inscribed with the distances to other cities, marked the beginning of this city’s main street, the Mese. The Kentenarion Tower and Tower of Galata were two ends of a chain that defended this city’s Golden Horn. The Tower of Galata was rebuilt in the Genoese district as a gift for Genoa’s support against the Fourth Crusade, which sacked this city. In 1453, Mehmed II captured, for the point, what capital of the Eastern Roman Empire that was renamed Istanbul? | Constantinople (accept Byzantium; accept Istanbul before mentioned) |