LearnedLeague 97 Match Day 18 Recap
With time running out in the season, could I squeeze out a victory?
Match Day 18
1. What was the name of the Spanish fascist party created in 1933 by José Antonio Primo de Rivera, which Francisco Franco merged in 1937 with various nationalist parties to create the National Movement?
Pre-answer thoughts: Thorsten is starting us out with a tough one today! I have no clue how to get to the answer here. But I know the Italian fascists in that era were called the Brownshirts, so I’m wondering if this is something similar. I associate Spain with the color red (their soccer team is the Furia Roja) — maybe this is the Redshirts?
Correct answer: Falange
Was I correct? No.
How much of LL got it right? 14%
Points assigned to opponent: 2
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 2
Current score: No score
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 3
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 1
Current score: No score
Post-answer thoughts: At 14%, this one played tough. And as early SNL often told us, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
2. The fuel injection system that controls and precisely times the air–fuel mixture in engines of most internal combustion vehicles of today has mostly replaced what other device, which also controlled the air/fuel mixture but did so less efficiently?
Pre-answer thoughts: I was a car-obsessed kid and learned then that the fuel injector replaced the carburetor in cars, so I’m pretty certain about this one.
Correct answer: Carburetor
Was I correct? Yes.
How much of LL got it right? 68%
Points assigned to opponent: 0
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 1
Current score: 1(1)-0(1)
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 2
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 2
Current score: 2(1)-2(1)
Post-answer thoughts: Thorsten has often asked car-related questions in LL, so I’m not surprised to see this come up.
3. The New York Times fashion photographer known for his candid and colorful street photography (and blue French work jacket) and the pioneering and prolific 20th-century photographer who was a member of the modernist collective Group f/64 (and whose given name comes from the king's daughter and heroine in Shakespeare's Cymbeline) both had what last name?
Pre-answer thoughts: This is the type of question I’d normally never get… Except that my family often read the big NYT during Sunday morning breakfast growing up, and my mom and sister would always fight over the Styles section. Of particular interest to them was a page called “On the Street” where a photographer would take candid photos of fashion-savvy New Yorkers. His name, from what I remember, was Bill Cunningham, and he passed away a few years ago.
Correct answer: Cunningham
Was I correct? Yes.
How much of LL got it right? 15%
Points assigned to opponent: 3
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 3
Current score: 4(2)-0(1)
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 2
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 3
Current score: 5(2)-4(2)
Post-answer thoughts: Both my opponents gave me 3 on this one, and I don’t blame them, but they got unlucky that much like Roz Chast last season, Bill Cunningham was a household name in my family growing up. (Both my mom and my sister got this question right as well.)
4. Identify the two companies that together enjoy greater than 40% of the global market share for smartphones, trading places in the #1 and #2 spots with each other regularly since 2013 (when Nokia dropped to #3).
Pre-answer thoughts: First I quickly jotted down Apple and Google, but then I remembered that Google doesn’t make the hardware for their phones. I think the other one has to be Samsung.
Correct answer: Apple, Samsung
Was I correct? Yes.
How much of LL got it right? 82%
Points assigned to opponent: 1
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 1
Current score: 5(3)-1(2)
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 1
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 1
Current score: 6(3)-5(3)
Post-answer thoughts: A good example of re-reading the question and your answers here, otherwise I might have left “Google” in there incorrectly.
5. The country of Spain devotes more acreage to wine grapes than any other country. The most planted wine grape in Spain—and the main grape used in Rioja—is a variety with what name, a diminutive form of the word for "early" (in essence, "very early", a reference to the timing of its ripening during the growing season)?
Pre-answer thoughts: Two Spain-related questions today! And another one that I have no idea on. Sadly I can’t remember the word for “early,” so I’m just going to guess a grape that I know is used a lot for wine. Let’s try sangiovese.
Correct answer: Tempranillo
Was I correct? No.
How much of LL got it right? 38%
Points assigned to opponent: 2
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 2
Current score: 5(3)-1(2)
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 1
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 2
Current score: 6(3)-5(3)
Post-answer thoughts: The word “temprano” means early in Spanish, and 87% of tempranillo grapes are grown in Spain.
6. In a 1932 film, Boris Karloff played Imhotep; in 1959, Christopher Lee was Kharis; in a 1999 film, Arnold Vosloo reprised Imhotep; in 2017, Sofia Boutella played Ahmanet. What were these four characters, per the titles of the respective films?
Pre-answer thoughts: Imhotep makes me think Egypt, and I remember The Mummy was a big hit in 1999 starring Brendan Fraser, so I think these are all mummies. I’m pretty sure there was a reboot in 2017 as well.
Correct answer: Mummies
Was I correct? Yes.
How much of LL got it right? 76%
Points assigned to opponent: 1
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 0
Points assigned to Private Rundle opponent: 0
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 0
Post-answer thoughts: The most recent Mummy movie was supposed to kick off a reboot of the Universal Monsters series (Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.), but the film’s financial failure canceled that series before it got off the ground.
Result: Win over CorsonJ, 5(4)-2(3)
Current Standings in Rundle A Byzantium: 26th of 30 (4-10-4)
Private Rundle Result: Win over BakerR, 6(4)-5(4)
Current Standings in Private Rundle: 2nd of 10 (12-4-2)
Overall thoughts: On a tough Match Day, this one came down to luckily knowing something in a subject outside of my wheelhouse. All those years of family infighting about the NYT Styles section over French toast finally paid off!