| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| While working with Charles Lyell, this man laid out a theory of geologic continuity in fossil distribution. In the 1950s, nuclear weapon tests at Eniwetok allowed deep drilling that confirmed this man’s theory of reef formation. This man names a paradox describing how coral reefs are only found in some tropical areas but not others, which he first discussed in his book The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. For the point, name this English naturalist who studied coral reefs while aboard the HMS Beagle, where he also formulated the theory of natural selection. | Charles Darwin (or Charles Robert Darwin) |
| This object possesses the oldest known pin-and-slot epicyclic system, which was previously thought to have originated with Medieval European clockmakers. Michael T. Wright created the first attempted reconstruction of this object using X-ray tomography. This object was likely made in Rhodes and utilized dozens of gears to predict relative star positions. For the point, identify this oldest-known analog computer that was discovered in a first-century BCE Roman shipwreck off the coast of its namesake island. | Antikythera Mechanism |
| While staying at his patron's home, this man wrote 50 pages daily of a text that was known in Latin as Sufficientia. Suspicions of this man's communication with Ala al-Dawla led to his imprisonment at Fardajan. "Metaphysics" and the "natural sciences" are two of the four divisions of a work by this man, who was born in a village near Bukhara. A 1025 CE work by this man in Arabic was influenced by such thinkers as Galen and contains a book that covers fevers and other diseases. For the point, name this Muslim philosopher and author of The Canon of Medicine and The Book of Healing. | Avicenna (or Ibn Sena; or Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn bin ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Ḥasan bin ʿAlī bin Sīnā al- Balkhi al-Bukhari) |
| This man served as the president of the earliest instance of the Solvay Conference. In 1921, an institute at the University of Leiden was named after this man, who helped found a committee of the KNAW to address food shortages following World War One. A type of observational symmetry is known as the invariance of this one-time chair of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, who married a daughter of a Rijksmuseum [[RIKES-"museum"]] director. For the point, identify this Dutch physicist who names a type of transformation in spacetime. | Hendrik Lorentz (or Hendrik Antoon Lorentz; accept Lorentz Transformation) |
| A New York Times article claimed that a son of Congressman Dick Zimmer saw this experiment as comparable to MRT. M-tropic strain resistance was central to this experiment, which involved the subjects "Lulu" and "Nana." 122 signatories of a petition claimed that this 2018 experiment constituted "a huge blow to the global reputation and development of [one country's] science." He Jiankui undertook this experiment, which some criticized for promoting “designer babies.” For the point, name this 2018 experiment that made use of CRISPR techniques to alter the DNA of embryos. | 2018 Human Gene Editing experiment by He Jiankui in China (accept Human Genetic Editing; or Human Genome Editing; accept Genetically Modified Embryos before "embryos" is mentioned; prompt on descriptive or partial answers) |
| Demonstrations of this process made with the assistance of Robert Le Rossignol contributed to its acquisition by BASF. Since one country did not have access to the Chilean saltpeter of a rival, this process was central to one side's munitions manufacturing during World War One. The rise in guano mining and increased demand for fertilizers contributed to the expansion of this process, which is sometimes named for a co-founder of IG Farben. Developed by the "father of chemical warfare," for the point, what is this industrial process used to create ammonia? | Haber Process (or Haber-Bosch Process) |
| An 1832 work by this man originally published in Encyclopaedia Metropolitana came to be known as On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures. That work outlined this man's namesake principle, which sought to explain business advantages associated with the division of labor. The Jacquard Loom served as the inspiration for the "analytical" form of one device proposed by this man who is sometimes known as the "father of the computer." For the point, identify this British engineer who created the "Difference Engine." | Charles Babbage |
| Along with pleuropneumonia and fowl cholera, this infection was the subject of research efforts by Adrien Loir during a pair of trips to Australia. A proposed World War Two plan known as "Operation Vegetarian" involved the use of linseed cakes with this infection to indirectly kill German civilians. In the 1870s, Louis Pasteur developed a vaccine against this infection, which, in October of 2001, was used as a bioweapon. For the point, name this bacterial infection, the subject of a 2001 set of mail attacks targeting U.S. politicians. | Anthrax |
| This compound was first synthesized by Othmar Zeidler, who sequentially added aromatic rings to chlorine compounds with multiple Friedel-Crafts reactions. This compound was first applied to agriculture and malaria prevention by Paul Hermann Müller during World War Two. Banning this compound in the U.S. is credited with preventing the extinction of the peregrine falcon and the bald eagle. For the point, name this once-widespread pesticide that was heavily criticized in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. | DDT (or Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) |
| A book partly titled for the Geological and Agricultural Survey of the District Adjoining this project was written by Amon Eaton. Benjamin Wright oversaw this project, which inspired the song "Low Bridge, Everybody Down." Utica and Rochester were among the cities that grew after the completion of this project in 1825. The New York Times ran a piece claiming this project was the "Nation's First Superhighway." For the point, name this waterway connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. | Erie Canal (accept A Geological and Agricultural Survey of the District Adjoining the Erie Canal in the State of New York) |
| Along with purgatives, this practice was opposed by Erasistratus of Ceos, who developed the theory of plethora. An example of this practice was featured in the hadith and was known as "wet cupping." This activity was represented symbolically by barber poles, with the white stripes representing the bandages involved. Relying on the theory of humors, this practice often involved the use of leeches. For the point, name this process of removing a certain substance from patients. | Bloodletting (accept Phlebotomy; accept Venipuncture; accept answers synonymous to the Removal of Blood) |
| Richard Feynman once claimed that the "Civil War will pale into provincial insignificance compared" to this man's best-known discovery. Until disproven by Voyager efforts, an Adams Prize-winning piece by this man served as a standard description of the stability of Saturn's rings for over 100 years. An effort by this man was known as the "second great unification in physics" and built on the work of Michael Faraday. For the point, identify this Scottish mathematician who is the namesake of a set of electromagnetism equations. | James Clerk Maxwell (accept Maxwell's Equations; or Maxwell–Heaviside Equations) |
| While serving in the court of Frederick the Second, this dedicatee of a statue in the Piazza dei Miracoli was tasked with a set of problems by John of Palermo. Among the earliest texts in Western Europe to describe the Hindu-Arabic number system was this man's Liber Abaci. "Leonardo of Pisa" was another name for this man, whose namesake sequence was inspired by a problem regarding the population growth among rabbits. For the point, identify this Italian mathematician who names a sequence beginning 0, 1, 1, 2, 3. | Fibonacci (accept Leonardo Bonacci; accept Leonardo Bigollo Pisano or Leonardo of Pisa or Leonardo the Traveller from Pisa before "Leonardo of Pisa" is mentioned) |
| After hearing a report by Leonard Kleinrock, this politician was inspired to author a bill with a funding allocation of roughly $600 million. Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf claimed that this politician promoted one idea "as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system." The National Information Infrastructure was created after the passage of a bill introduced by this man called the High Performance Computing Act of 1991. For the point, name this proponent of Internet technology who later ran unsuccessfully for U.S. president in 2000. | Al Gore (or Albert Arnold Gore Jr.) |
| In an 1852 essay on boredom, Søren Kierkegaard used this process as a metaphor for his theory of aesthetics. The development of a three-stage form of this process is believed to be the primary reason legumes were added to the Medieval European diet. The Norfolk four-course system of this process replaced its fallow-year component with fodder and grazing products such as turnips and clover. For the point, name this agricultural practice where different plants are alternated to allow fields to replenish nutrients. | Crop Rotation (accept Three-field Crop Rotation; accept Norfolk Four-course Crop Rotation) |
| John Ambrose Fleming, an employee of Guglielmo Marconi, developed an early thermionic example of these devices known as his namesake valve. In the early twentieth century, the solid-state variety of these devices was developed as a radio detector. A silicon carbide crystal was used in the development of one type of these devices historically used in traffic lights, and that type of these devices release photons as energy. For the point, name these two-terminal electronic components that let current flow in one direction. | Diodes (accept Thermionic Diode; accept Solid State Diode; accept Light-Emitting Diode; prompt on "LED;" prompt on "Fleming Valve" before "valve" is mentioned) |
| G. I. Taylor was among a group of ten individuals who witnessed this event as listed "VIP"s. Jornada del Muerto was the location where this event took place on July 16, 1945. An object known as "The Gadget" was used during this event and had a design that mirrored Fat Man and produced a mushroom-shaped result. The site of this event was within the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range and yielded 25,000 tons of TNT. For the point, name this test of an American nuclear weapon that took place in New Mexico. | Trinity Test (prompt on "Manhattan Project") |
| In 1938, an early example of these objects was created by Vladimir Demikhov. The Dodrill-GMR was an early operational example of these devices, one of which was invented by Paul Winchell. In 1982, an effort at the University of Utah involving Barney Clark saw a pioneering use of one of these devices by William DeVries. That device of this type was named after Robert Koffler Jarvik. For the point, name these devices that are used to replace the organ that pumps blood in the body. | Artificial Hearts (prompt on "Heart") |
| It’s not the ampersand, but the first written appearance of this symbol in the West may have been in a Nicole d’Oresme manuscript in which it represented a two-letter Latin word. In a 1489 work, Johannes Widmann once referred to this symbol as mehr. Along with a counterpart, this symbol was introduced to speakers of English by Robert Recorde, who also developed a symbol for equality, and this mathematical symbol originally represented the word et. For the point, name this mathematical symbol used to signify addition. | Plus Sign (prompt on "Addition") |
| In the 1990s, British Petroleum came up with a greener means of producing this acid by making use of an iridium-based catalyst. That Cativa process built on a historic process developed by Monsanto to create this acid, and a minimum of 4% of this acid is part of a compound from which Romans often made wine. During the Napoleonic Wars, the balsamic variety of a liquid containing this acid became popular. For the point, name this acid that is found in vinegar. | Acetic Acid (prompt on "CH3COOH" or "CH3CO2H” or "C2H4O2" or "HC2H3O2") |
| John Mandeville claimed this man ruled Largo and had a daughter that transformed into a dragon. A collection of roughly 60 works by this man is known as his namesake "Corpus." This man may have begun his career in one field at a temple dedicated to Asclepius. The phrase "First do no harm" is thought to have originally been part of a text named for this man, who was born on the island of Kos. For the point, identify this Greek physician and namesake of an oath taken by doctors. | Hippocrates of Kos (or Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; or Hippocrates the Second; accept Hippocratic Oath) |
| Thomas Aquinas has sometimes been attributed as the author of a major text in this field called Aurora consurgens. The Hermetic tradition had a major influence on the growth of this field, which sought to achieve chrysopoeia [[KRY-soh-PEH-uh]]. Much of Isaac Newton's later-life occult studies were in this field, which often made use of "base metals" that practitioners attempted to transmute. For the point, name this protoscience that aimed to turn metals into gold. | Alchemy (or al-kimiya; or Khumeia) |
| Tombaugh Regio's western lobe is a basin on Pluto that is known as this object's namesake Planum. This object and a later one from the same program both saw use in the International Geophysical Year. The R-7 was used to assist this object in an effort that launched its namesake crisis in the West. A radio signal indicated that the batteries had died on this object after its October 1957 launch from a Roscosmos facility. With a name meaning "satellite," this is, for the point, what Soviet device, the first artificial Earth satellite? | Sputnik One (accept Sputnik Two or Three; or Sputnik Planum; or Sputnik Planitia) |
| A former CEO of this company, Dennis Muilenburg, was ordered to personally pay $1 million amidst a $200 million corporate penalty. The Daniel Guggenheim Medal was given to the namesake founder of this organization, who once chaired the forerunner to United Airlines. In 1997, McDonnell Douglas merged with the present form of this company that is based in Seattle. Following Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, this company grounded the MAX variety of one aircraft. For the point, name this manufacturer of the 737. | The Boeing Company (accept Boeing 737) |
| An event in this U.S. state affected the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park as well as the Summit area of one mountain range in 1989. That event of this type is often named for Loma Prieta Peak and occurred in this state more than 80 years after a similar event accompanied by fires that burned much of the Mission District. An extreme Mercalli intensity event that occurred in this state in 1906 resulted in over 3,000 deaths. For the point, name this U.S. state, the site of the “great earthquake” in San Francisco. | California |
| Skeletons found in Atlit-Yam in 2008 were revealed to show signs of this disease, which was thought to have caused a different disease known as the "king's evil." In the nineteenth century, this disease came to be known as "the robber of youth" and the "White Death," the latter of which was due to the pallor of the skin of those affected. Historically known as consumption, this disease is caused by a member of the genus Mycobacterium. For the point, name this bacterial disease that affects the lungs. | Tuberculosis (accept Consumption before mentioned; prompt on "TB;" prompt on "White Death" or "Robber of Youth" before mentioned) |
| In 2002, prohibitions on the mining of this element lead to the shutdown of Almadén. Between the 1930s and 1960s, a compound containing carbon, hydrogen, and this element was released by Chisso Corporation into wastewater, causing a disease named for a city in Kumamoto Prefecture. The aforementioned Minamata disease resulted from poisoning caused by this element, which was alleged to have flowed within the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi [[CHIN SHEE WANG-DEE]]. For the point, name this element that was historically known as quicksilver. | Mercury (or Hg; accept Hydrargyrum; accept Quicksilver before mentioned) |
| A 2014 New York Declaration pledging to reduce this process by half has been signed by 37 governments. A sum of two quantities is used to calculate a form of "net change" that the FAO contrasted with this process, which the publication Scientific Reports claimed could lead to human extinction in 20 to 40 years. The Guardians of the Biome were established to deal with illegal activity centered on this process by the government of Brazil. For the point, name this process in which trees are removed from regions such as the Amazon. | Deforestation (accept Forest Clearance; accept Deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest; accept descriptive equivalents) |
| According to one account, the word nu was used to describe these objects in China "because it spreads abroad an aura of rage." A frame known as a tiller is used for the mounting of these objects, which historically made use of quarrels. A Genoese group of mercenaries became famous for using these weapons in medieval Europe. Gunpowder led to the replacement of, for the point, what ranged weapons that relied on drawstrings to fire bolts? | Crossbows (prompt on "Bow") |
| One contributor to this event was the rise of the "middleman system" in the century prior to its occurrence. The cottier class was largely wiped out in this event, which people attempted to escape on overcrowded vessels called "coffin ships.” Phytophthora infestans caused the late blight that started this 1845 to 1852 event, which resulted in approximately one million deaths. For the point, name this period of starvation on the Emerald Isle. | Irish Potato Famine (or an Gorta Mór; accept Great Famine; or Great Hunger; prompt on partial answers) |
| Problem 48 of the Rhind Papyrus gives a method of calculating this shape's area that was used in ancient Egypt. Ferdinand von Lindemann solved a thousand-year-old problem by proving that a constant associated with this shape is transcendental. Movements that resembled this shape were conceptualized in epicycles. Medieval astrologers ascribed perfection to this shape, which was used to depict halos. For the point, name this shape that inspired the design of the wheel. | Circle |