LearnedLeague 97 Match Day 12 Recap, by KleinS2
Solomon Klein has today's recap for everyone. Check out his trivia flash cards at the link in the post!
Hi there LLers,
I'm KleinS2 with today's guest recap! I'm a 25 season LLer, currently duking it out in B Rainforest.
I also make digital trivia flashcard decks for Anki - an app used by top quizzers and Jeopardy! champs - and I have decks on tons of topics, ranging from capital cities, to Tony Award winners, to the periodic table, and far beyond. All my decks are available for pay-what-you-want (tips appreciated!) at:
www.ko-fi.com/kleinstrivia
If you'd like to get better at trivia, I really encourage you to give Anki a shot - even a few minutes a day can reap huge improvements.
Check them out! And now that my shameless plug is over, let's take a look at the questions! I'm already 10-for-12 this week, so let's see if I can keep up the momentum.
Match Day 12
1. What East African seaport was settled by the Arabs in the eighth century, was visited by Vasco de Gama in 1498 and sacked by the Portuguese in 1500, was captured by the Sultanate of Oman in 1698, was passed to the control of Zanzibar in 1837, was brought within Britain's East African Protectorate around 1890, and is today Kenya's second-largest city and principal port?
Pre-answer thoughts: OK, I've written a (hard!) question recently (I also write trivia questions, in various capacities) about a trans-African highway that runs from Lagos in the west to what city in the east, and I'm pretty sure this was Mombasa. I think my question also said that the city had some subnational region named after it, which would suggest it could definitely be the second-largest in the country (I'll post the question text after I submit). Mombasa also comes up in the X-COM series of computer games and a fairly major location for the aliens to attack, and I'm pretty sure it's on the coast, too. Frankly none of the information in this question matters to me except for "Kenya's second-largest city and principal port", but I do appreciate learning something from questions. So yeah, I'm pretty confident this is Mombasa.
Correct answer: MOMBASA
Was I correct? Yes!
How much of LL got it right? 37%. Higher than I thought it would be, but still not easy.
Points assigned to opponent: 3. Anything Africa-related tends to play much harder than you'd expect (or hope) in LL, and anyway Geography is my opponent's worst category at .344, so this seems like the right question to give 3.
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 3.
Current score: 3(1)-0(0)
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 1. My opponent is pretty good at geography and world history, so I'm going to give him 1 for this. I also know him in real life, and this just... seems like something he'll know. Call it a hunch.
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 2.
Current score: 2(1)-0(0)
Post-answer thoughts: Here's the question I wrote on the topic: "Trans-African Highway 8 is an East-West route that begins at Lagos, crosses five national borders, and ends after about 6300 kilometres at what eponymous county capital?" This was written for a friendly match in the Online Quiz League USA, which is a team-based, live-on-Zoom trivia league that's pretty fun. This was a "level 4" question, the hardest level, and as I recall very few people got it right, even some top-level quizzers. But I sure am glad I wrote it!
2. Per the FCC, the lowest frequency for an FM broadcast radio station in the United States in 88.1 MHz (such as Baltimore's 88.1 WYPR). As all FM radio frequencies in the US end in an odd decimal, what is the number of the highest possible frequency (used, for example, by "Philly's Classic R&B" WPPZ)?
Pre-answer thoughts: Well, the highest station I ever listen to (or, really, listened to - I suspect a strong generational divide on this question) is Y108, Hamilton's Best Rock, whose moniker is rounded up from 107.9, and if memory serves if I accidentally scrolled past it the dial would go back around to 88.1, which is, as everyone knows, Indie88, Toronto's New Alternative. So while I'm not 100% sure that it ends at 107.9, I'm fairly confident, and I have no reason to Price is Right it and try a higher number.
Correct answer: 107.9
Was I correct? Yes!
How much of LL got it right? 59%. About where I would have guessed.
Points assigned to opponent: 1. It's times like this where I wish LL told you your opponent's age (though it really shouldn't). This seems like a pretty hard question to pigeonhole on a category - someone good at either pop or classical music might be likely to know radio stations, or current events (for news radio, which to be fair tends to be AM), or bus/econ, or even sports or lifestyle. I feel like I should play this safe and give it low points - anyone could get it or anyone could miss it.
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 1.
Current score: 4(2)-1(1)
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 1. I know my opponent in Private also grew up in Toronto and likely also listened to Y108 (he's even a little older than me, so probably spent more of his life listening to the radio), so I'm gonna give him low points for this.
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 3.
Current score: 5(2)-0(0)
Post-answer thoughts: Whew. This was one where I was pretty sure I had it but was far from 100%, so it always feels good to get those right. And this is one of the few times in my life I will say: thanks, Hamilton! (If you're from Ontario, you'll know what I mean.)
3. The poor performance of the Mexican economy and ascension of a democratic movement under Francisco Madero were factors in the forced resignation and exile in 1911 of what president of Mexico, who led a military coup in 1876 and whose second term ran from 1884 until his resignation?
Pre-answer thoughts: Oh boy. OK. I'm pretty sure I know this from making flashcards of NAQT's excellent You Gotta Know series (still waiting on their May 2023 post - if anyone over there is reading, what's the hold up?), specifically their entry on Mexican leaders. I'm maybe 65% sure this is Porfirio Dias (Diaz? With maybe an accent? I'm not going to stress over it), who was president at some point around the early 20th century, though I couldn't say for sure he stretched that far into the 19th as well. I also remember my flashcard describes him as a "general", which fits with the military coup. The only thing tripping me up here is that my other 35% is pointing me to Venustiano Carranza, who I know was also an early-20th century president, but I'm pretty sure he was closer to the 1920s (because I often mix him up with Cardenas, who was president in the '40s, so I use the years to keep them straight). I also would have expected a question about Dias to mention his cientificos advisors, but it doesn't have to. I'm going to go with Dias and hope for the best.
Correct answer: PORFIRIO DÍAZ
Was I correct? Yes! (Except for the spelling)
How much of LL got it right? 15%. Yep, that's about what I expected.
Points assigned to opponent: 2. My opponent's not great at world history (.447, and their sixth worst category), and, like Africa content, non-European history tends to play pretty hard in LL, and I think this one will be tough. Lots of people will probably barely have a guess - I expect Zapata or Santa Anna to be MCWA. So 2 for this one. I'd even give it 3, but again, their worst category is geography, so Mombasa gets that.
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 1.
Current score: 6(3)-1(1)
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 2. My opponent is actually quite good at world history (and American history, which might bleed into this one), but I still think this is pretty tough.
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 1.
Current score: 6(3)-0(0)
Post-answer thoughts: Whew. Just goes to show the power of flashcards! This is definitely the one I was least confident in that I got right. I spelled it wrong, but I'm not going to worry about that. And indeed, Zapata was the MCWA, with nearly as many guesses as the correct answer.
4. What term, derived from the Greek for "solid" and "impression", originally referred to a method of duplicate printing, but was given its current (and often pejorative) meaning in social psychology by Walter Lippmann's 1922 book Public Opinion?
Pre-answer thoughts: Hmmmmmm. Definitely don't know it off the top of my head, though I am pretty good at Greek so I bet I can figure this out. "Solid" reminds me of "polyhedron", but I can't think of anything that fits with "hedro-" or the like in it. Really, the Greek roots here aren't helping at all, I don't think. I'm gonna have to go via the social psychology root, and just choose a word that looks Greek-y. My first thought that sort of fits is "manifesto", which kind of has a pejorative meaning, but that definitely looks more Latin than Greek, and also probably predates 1922 (e.g. that ol' Communist one, although that could be a title that was given to it later). OK, let's keep thinking... Something relatively modern that has a negative connotation in social psych... oh! Maybe propaganda? That looks Greek-y (though I can't really identify the roots), and seems like something that would be in a book called "Public Opinion." OK, I'm fairly confident in that.
Correct answer: STEREOTYPE
Was I correct? No.
How much of LL got it right? 25%. If I can't figure out a Greek etymology question, it's probably pretty hard. I was afraid this was going to play easier than this, though.
Points assigned to opponent: 1. My opponent is pretty good at language (.690, and their fourth best category), so I'm going to give this low points, even though I'm also pretty good at language and I'm not super confident.
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 1.
Current score: 6(3)-2(2)
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 2.
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 2.
Current score: 6(3)-0(0)
Post-answer thoughts: Blargh! Of course that's it. "Stereo" means "solid" as in "three-dimensional" (hence stereo sound), and "type" like "typical". Greek roots often have vowel Ys in the middle of them, and I was trying to think of words like that but couldn't come up with anything. Dang. This is one I could have gotten. If I hadn't gotten all the others, I'd be more upset :). By the way, "propaganda" seems to come from the Latin "propagare" for "set forward, spread", and originally referred to a Church committee established to supervise foreign missions. Makes sense! Also, the "-nd-" infix is often a clue that something is Latin, which I did think of, but didn't let it push me off. After seeing the get rate, though, this was clearly a toughie.
5. What is the name of the cake, similar in concept to a French tarte Tatin or Brazilian bolo de ananás, whose popularity is widely attributed to a 1925 recipe contest held by a fruit producer and distributor founded by James Dole?
Pre-answer thoughts: Thank you, various Bake Offs! Tarte Tatin is a cake that's baked upside down and flipped rightside up for serving, so I already pretty much know this is going to be upside-down cake, and I'm pretty sure ananás means pineapple, which is further confirmed by the mention of James Dole (the guy, I assume, behind Dole Foods, and their ubiquitous pineapples). So this must be pineapple upside down cake cake. My only question is do I need to include "pineapple" or can I just say "upside down cake" - I think I'm going to include it because Dole and ananás really seem like they're pushing me to do so.
Correct answer: PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Was I correct? Yes!
How much of LL got it right? 77%. The easiest question of the day, and we both rightly assigned it 0 points.
Points assigned to opponent: 0. Food/drink is my opponent's best category (.872), so this seems pretty obvious. I bet they watch Bake Off too :)
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 1.
Current score: 6(4)-2(3).
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 2. My opponent's food/drink score is middling, so I'll hope they miss this one.
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 1.
Current score: 7(4)-0(0)
Post-answer thoughts: I'm not a big fruit-in-baking fan, so I don't think I've ever eaten it, but I've seen enough of them collapse upon flipping on TV not to miss this one. Seems like all the pineapple clues probably helped too.
6. In the hierarchy of the nine types of winning hands in 52-card poker games, with "high card" at the bottom and "straight flush" at the top ("royal flush" being the optimal straight flush), what hand is third from the bottom (i.e., the third-weakest)?
Pre-answer thoughts: OK, I used to play a bit of hold 'em in undergrad, so I'm pretty sure it goes high card < pair < two pair < three of a kind... Honestly it gets muddled after that (straight comes next, right?), but who cares, I got where I needed to! Goin' with two pair, don't let myself overthink it.
Correct answer: TWO PAIRS
Was I correct? Yes!
How much of LL got it right? 70%. Also fairly easy on a tough day.
Points assigned to opponent: 2. Games/sport is my opponent's third worst category (.379), and this seems like a question that's easy to overthink or screw up (I'm pretty sure I used to think two pair beat three of a kind). Although a low games/sports score often means they're just bad at sports and OK at games, I'm still going to give this 2 and hope for the best.
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 2.
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 0. My opponent was in university a few years before I was, at the height of the poker craze, so I'm pretty confident he's played at least a little.
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 0.
Post-answer thoughts: Glad I didn't overthink this one or forget some other hand. My not-great games/sports score seems to have caused my opponent to give me 2 points for this, as well - probably the right move, just unlucky.
Result: 8(5)-4(4)
Current Standings in Rundle B Rainforest: 6th(!)
Private Rundle Result: 7(5)-0(1)
Current Standings in Private Rundle: 4th
Overall thoughts: I hope to one day be good enough that I'm disappointed by getting 5, but that day is not today. Pretty happy with the result, even if I think I might have come up with "stereotype" with a little more thinking. But hey, I have other things to do in the day. Can't spend all my time thinking about one answer! I'm now 15-for-18 on the week, and with a 3-win streak, which is pretty wildly good for me.
Really happy I went with my first thought for the Mexican president and didn't second-guess myself. Again, studying can really help, especially with the particularly hard questions!
After seeing the results, my opponent definitely defended "correctly", as I'm pretty good at language, but missing stereotype got me an "extra" point, while I played perfect defense, so that's nice too.
And again, do be sure to check out my page at www.ko-fi.com/kleinstrivia - I'm confident you'll find something there that can help you improve!
Good luck with the rest of the season, LLers!
The hint in clue 4 “originally referred to a method of duplicate printing” helped me get stereotype. I went to a Degas exhibit where they had a bunch of his monotypes, which are made by creating an image with ink on a non-absorbent surface then pressing that to paper. With the “type” base, I made my way to stereotype.