| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| This man was interrupted by calls of “treason!” after he reasoned that “Caesar had his Brutus and Charles I his Cromwell.” In another speech, this man declared “our chains are forged! Their clankings may be heard on the plains of Boston” before telling the House of Burgesses that “I know not course what others may take.” For the point, name this Virginia politician who declared “give me liberty or give me death.” | Patrick Henry |
| ThismanandRogerPenrosenameasetoftheoremsexplainingtheresultofgravitationalsingularities. This man also names a phenomenon caused by pair production at the event horizon; that radiation causes mass loss in black holes, the primary focus of this man’s study. For the point, name this author of A Brief History of Time, a Cambridge physicist whose ALS has left him in a wheelchair. | Stephen Hawking |
| This event destroyed the Villa of Papyri, the largest home in Herculaneum. The author of Natural History, Pliny the Elder, died during this event while crossing the Bay of Naples. The House of the Faun, which contained a mural of Alexander the Great’s victory at Issus, was covered in ash due to this event. For the point, name this volcanic event which destroyed Pompeii. | Eruption of Vesuvius |
| This man, with Bernard Montgomery, participated in the Race to Messina during an invasion of Italy. During the Battle of the Bulge, this man declared he could relieve Bastogne in just 48 hours. This man planned Operation Torch but was later prevented from participating in D-Day due to slapping a shell-shocked soldier. For the point, name this commander of the American Third Army. | George Smith Patton Jr. |
| This country was led by Papa Doc who declared himself President for Life and was succeeded by his son Jean-Claude. A massive yellow fever outbreak prevented Charles Leclerc from reconquering this country. This country broke free of French control due to the slave revolt of Toussaint L’Ouverture. For the point, name this Caribbean nation on the western side of Hispaniola led from Port-au-Prince. | Haiti |
| This system was protected from “dangerous” criticism in Schenck v. United States. The ability to avoid this system by paying $300 led to a massive 1863 riot in New York. United States v. O’Brien ruled that burning cards related to this program was illegal destruction of government property. For the point, name this American system in which citizens are randomly selected to join the military. | the draft (accept conscription; accept Selective Service) |
| This is the home country of the composers of The Thieving Magpie and Tosca. This country is the setting for an opera in which Gilda sacrifices herself for the Duke of Mantua, who sings the aria “La donna e mobile” [moh-bee-lay]. The home country of Gioachino Rossini and Giacomo Puccini is, for the point, what country where Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto premiered in Venice? | Italy |
| This man would prank his guests at his Stonewall, Texas ranch by pretending to crash his amphibious car into a lake. The use of poll taxes to prevent blacks from voting was outlawed by this man’s Voting Rights Act. This man created Medicare and Medicaid as part of his “War on Poverty.” The Great Society was sponsored by, for the point, what president who succeeded John F. Kennedy? | Lyndon Baines Johnson |
| This city was the site of a Mongol attack which resulted in the death of Al-Musta’sim. In 1258, a siege of this city resulted in the destruction of an Al-Rashid founded library, the House of Wisdom. This city became a center for science and mathematics after the fall of the Umayyad and the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate. For the point, name this Middle Eastern city situated on the Tigris, the capital of Iraq. | Baghdad |
| William the Silent led this country in the 80 Years’ War, earning its independence and establishing the House of Orange. This country was afflicted by Tulip Mania in which people traded thousands of pounds of cheese for a single bulb. An explorer from this country, Abel Tasman, discovered Australia which he labeled New Holland. For the point, name this country whose Dutch East India company operated out of Amsterdam. | Netherlands (prompt on Holland) |
| This man declared “Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it” in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Worcester [WUSS-ter] v. Georgia. This man signed the Indian Removal Act into law which paved the way for the Trail of Tears. John Quincy Adams defeated this man in the Election of 1824 but lost to this man just four years later. For the point, name this seventh president of the United States. | Andrew Jackson |
| These objects were being used in athletic contests in 532 AD when an unruly crowd started the Nika riots. These objects can be classified as either bigas, trigas, or quadrigas. In 1274 BC, a record number of these objects were used in a battle between the Hittites and Egyptians, the Battle of Kadesh. The Circus Maximus is an ancient venue for racing, for the point, what horse-drawn war vehicles? | chariots (prompt on horses before “bigas” is read) |
| This battle’s losing side lost crucial supplies when the Citadel fired on the Star of the West. Robert Anderson surrendered to P.G.T Beauregard in this battle resulting in the loss of Charleston Harbor. In the aftermath of this battle, Abraham Lincoln called for tens of thousands of volunteers to fight the rebellion. For the point, name this 1861 attack on a South Carolina fort that began the Civil War. | Siege of Fort Sumter |
| ThisrulerrestrictedJewstothePaleofSettlementratherthanforcingthemtoconverttoOrthodoxy. Grigory Potemkin tricked this ruler with fake villages during her tour of the Ukraine. This ruler put Stanislaw Poniatowski on the throne of Poland. Alexei Orlov may have assisted this ruler in assassinating her husband, Peter III. For the point, name this patron of the arts and Empress of Russia. | Catherine II (accept Catherine the Great; accept Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; prompt on Catherine; prompt on Sophie) |
| This work’s second section, “Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession,” calls kings “crowned ruffians” and argues against John Locke’s idea of a constitutional monarchy. This work, which attacks the absurdity that an island should rule a continent, was widely shared throughout the colonies. For the point, name this 1776 pamphlet that argues for independence from Great Britain and was written by Thomas Paine. | Common Sense |
| This state’s junior senator criticized Donald Trump’s “undermining of democratic norms” and “flagrant disregard for truth”. In 2011, a representative from this state, Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in the head by an attempted assassin. A senator from this state stopped the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal by giving a thumbs-down. For the point, name this state represented by John McCain from Phoenix. | Arizona |
| This country’s soldiers murdered two people in the Axe Murder Incident during which reinforcements crossed the Bridge of No Return. In 1987, this country began construction on the Ryugyong Hotel but lost funding after the fall of the Soviet Union. This country has recently developed its nuclear arsenal and has launched missiles over the Sea of Japan. For the point, name this Asian country run by the Kim family. | North Korea (accept Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; accept DPRK) |
| This building was illegally sold to a scrapping company by Victor Lustig. Guy de Maupassant may have had lunch at the top of this structure so he didn’t have to see it while he ate. This originally temporary structure was constructed for the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution but was adapted to relay radio signals. For the point, name this tower in Paris named after the engineer who constructed it. | Eiffel Tower |
| This settlement was saved by Baron De La Warr whose “Third Supply” helped alleviate the “Starving Time.” A leader of this settlement claimed he was saved by the daughter of Powhatan. The motto “he who does not work, shall not eat” governed this settlement which became profitable after the introduction of tobacco by John Rolfe. John Smith led, for the point, what Virginia settlement aided by Pocahontas? | Jamestown |
| This city was plagued by the Great Stink, an ecological disaster caused by a heatwave reacting with excess human waste. The Gordon Riots rocked this city with rioters freeing prisoners at Newgate under the authority of “King Mob”. Samuel Pepys [Peeps] is a primary source for a 1666 fire in this city which destroyed St. Paul’s Cathedral. For the point, name this city on the river Thames, the capital of the United Kingdom. | London |
| Thisriverchangedcourseinthelate19thcentury,cuttingoffthetownofKaskaskia.Whiletraversing this river, Robert Fulton’s steamboat New Orleans turned away refugees of the New Madrid earthquake, which briefly reversed this river’s water. New Orleans lies near the mouth of, for the point, what river that, with the Missouri River, makes up America’s longest river system? | Mississippi River |
| This structure includes the Cloud Platform at Juyong Pass, built in the 14th century. Badaling is the most famous stretch of this structure, which extends over 5,500 miles from Dandong to Lop Lake. Originally built of wood, this structure was renovated with brick by the Ming dynasty during its wars against the Mongols. For the point, name this structure built by Qin Shihuangdi to keep invaders out of China. | Great Wall of China |
| This country’s “Four Minute Men” gave patriotic speeches to garner support for a war effort. This country’s southern neighbor was offered a military alliance by Germany in the Zimmerman Telegram. The sinking of the Lusitania partially caused this country to join the Great War during which it sent an expeditionary force across the Atlantic Ocean. For the point, name this country who was led into World War I by Woodrow Wilson. | United States of America (accept USA) |
| This object was worshiped at Amarna in the form of a disk representing the god Aten, who briefly replaced another god of this object before Amun was restored to power. A god of this object battled Apophis every night before returning in a boat to travel across the sky as this object. The god Ra represented, for the point, what large, bright object at the center of our solar system? | the sun |
| This city was targeted in Operation Typhoon whose failure led Hitler to appoint himself Supreme Commander of the German Army. Following the collapse of German lines, captured soldiers were marched around this city’s Garden Ring. This city, as a result of the October Revolution, replaced Saint Petersburg as its country’s capital. For the point, name this city whose defensive efforts were led from the Kremlin. | Moscow |
| Thisbattle’soutcomeresultedinciviliansundergoingthe“RunawayScrape”toavoidbeingmassacred. William Travis drew a line in the sand in the prelude to this battle. Those lost at this battle were honored with a cry to remember “this battle” during Santa Anna’s defeat at San Jacinto. Davy Crockett and James Bowie died at, for the point, what 1836 fight over a mission in the Texas Revolution? | Battle of the Alamo |
| This country was attacked in the “Singeing of the King’s Beard” in which Francis Drake attacked C´adiz. The Duke of Medina Sidonia led a fleet for this country which was meant to support an invasion by the Duke of Parma. At Tilbury, Elizabeth I rallied her troops in preparation for an invasion by this country. Philip II led, for the point, what Iberian country whose massive armada failed to invade England? | Spain |