Transcript 02/18/15 Nicholas Weston-Swan

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Nicholas Weston-Swan
Buffalo, NY

Marine science educator who did something crazy for $10:
When swimming with a friend in Honduras, the friend dared him to touch a shark for $10 and he did that. He still has all ten fingers.


Question 1 -
Saying, "I probably have the best job on and off the planet," in 2014, UConn grad Rick Mastracchio gave a commencement speech from where?
A. The South Pole B. Space
C. A petting zoo D. A Starbucks bathroom

Answer and value

B. Space
Value: $10K
Bank: $10K

Question 2 -
If I took my shirt off right now and slowly turned around in a circle, which of these muscles would you NOT directly see, ripping in all their glory?
(Terry turns around in a circle but leaves his shirt on... the "NOT" was indeed in all caps in the question)
A. Abdominal B. Sartorius
C. Deltoid D. Pectoral

Spoiler

Nicholas was not familar with sartorius but ruled out the other three as ones that would show.

Answer and value

B. Sartorius
Value: $2000
Bank: $12K

Question 3 -
Seen in "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," Cabazon, California's enormous sculptures of what are now ironically part of a creationist museum?
A. Presidents B. Aliens
C. Movie stars D. Dinosaurs

Answer and value

D. Dinosaurs
Value: $3K
Bank: $15K

Question 4 -
For those thirsty for '80s nostalgia, Pepsi Throwback is a specialty drink where each can's contents are made how?
A. On a skateboard B. With sugar, not corn syrup
C. From recycled Rubik's Cubes D. By Mr. T

Answer and value

B. With sugar, not corn syrup
Value: $5K
Bank: $20K

Second break

Question 5 -
Maurice Ashley beat the likes of Alexander Shabalov and Svetoslav Dorobanov on his way to becoming the first African-American what?
A. Wimbledon champion B. Mr. Olympia
C. Chess grandmaster D. Figure skating gold medalist

ATA

A. 10% B. 22%
C. 51% D. 17%
Nicholas said he figured C was a good guess because of the Russian names and how much the Russians like chess.
However, he added that he knows nothing about figure skating and planned to look to see if the skating number was anything close to the chess number. He decided that number was low enough for him to risk it on C.

Answer and value

C. Chess grandmaster
Value: $500
Bank: $20500

Question 6 -
"Rockout. Workout." is the motto of Pound, a workout regimen in which you pretend to play music while holding weighted what?
A. Guitar picks B. Drumsticks
C. Keyboards D. Amplifiers

Answer and value

B. Drumsticks
Value: $25K!
Bank: $45500

Third break

QotD: Scientists hypothesize that the powdery coating on the wings of moths and butterflies evolved to help them escape what predators?
A. Spiders B. Birds
C. Rats D. Wasps

QotD

A. Spiders

Question 7 -
If Tyler Perry quit playing Madea and started playing Medea, he'd still be cross-dressing -- but in a tragedy by what Greek dramatist?
A. Euripides B. Aristophanes
C. Myrtilus D. Sophocles

Spoiler

Nicholas said he had an inkling before the choices came up, he was not sure, but he will go with his gut.

Answer and value

A. Euripides
Value: $15K
Bank: $60500

Nicholas will return tomorrow

[jarnon]

Question 4 -
For those thirsty for '80s nostalgia, Pepsi Throwback is a specialty drink where each can's contents are made how?
A. On a skateboard B. With sugar, not corn syrup
C. From recycled Rubik's Cubes D. By Mr. T

Answer and value

B. With sugar, not corn syrup
Value: $5K
Bank: $20K

Another drink with the same ingredient is kosher-for-Passover Coke, since many Jews abstain from corn products during Passover. It's starting to appear in supermarkets about now, so stock up!

Kosher Coke 'flying out of the store'

[Estonut]

Question 4 -
For those thirsty for '80s nostalgia, Pepsi Throwback is a specialty drink where each can's contents are made how?
A. On a skateboard B. With sugar, not corn syrup
C. From recycled Rubik's Cubes D. By Mr. T

Answer and value

B. With sugar, not corn syrup
Value: $5K
Bank: $20K

Another drink with the same ingredient is kosher-for-Passover Coke, since many Jews abstain from corn products during Passover. It's starting to appear in supermarkets about now, so stock up!

Kosher Coke 'flying out of the store'

Huell Howser did a show on Galco's, a Los Angeles supermarket that specializes in vintage sodas. They have lots of the old sugar-based brands.

Many people did not like Howser because, even after 30 years on TV, he was unpolished, unprofessional and very easily distracted. That's also exactly why others found him so charming. YMMV

http://www.kcet.org/shows/visiting_with ... alcos.html

[SportsFan68]

Question 7 -
If Tyler Perry quit playing Madea and started playing Medea, he'd still be cross-dressing -- but in a tragedy by what Greek dramatist?
A. Euripides B. Aristophanes
C. Myrtilus D. Sophocles

Spoiler

Nicholas said he had an inkling before the choices came up, he was not sure, but he will go with his gut.

Answer and value

A. Euripides
Value: $15K
Bank: $60500

JTQ

[ghostjmf]

Q7: Euripedes came into my head before the answers came up. I've never heard of Myrtilus 'til now. I hope I'd have the guts to go with my gut. If I chickened I'd ask my +1.

[ghostjmf]

The reason, if anyone who doesn't already know this is interested, that some Jews consider corn products not kosher for Passover is the injunction against leavening; the bread didn't get to rise before the Jews left Egypt, hence the eating of matzoh (made with no leavening agent & beaten flat just in case it was inclined to rise anyway). I was told as a child that legumes are considered to be "self leavening" or something because of the nitrogen-fixing nodules on them. This is "huh what" mystery science to me. How corn, which does not grow underground & doesn't have those nodules, gets thrown into the same category I don't know. So I looked it up. Apparently the stuff about legumes was local to my very own home-town authorities, as it didn't even make it into Wikischmoozia, & everything generally makes it into there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitniyot

A brief summary of the Wiki article is that you can only eat certain grains during Passover if they've been beaten into being matzoh. Various things not known in biblical times are evaluated by various rabbinic authorities at various historical times & locations as to whether they fit into these "grain" categories or not. Apparently, corn makes it in for some folks. So they could eat corn matzoh, something I've personally never seen, let alone eaten. But not stuff sweetened with syrup made from fructose derived from corn.


Also kind-of explains the many Passover cakes. In my family, they are made with about 12 eggs, the whites of which are beaten, in each cake, but no baking soda or baking powder. Or yeast. They rise. Believe me, they rise. Of course, the flour they are made with is a mixture of matzoh-meal flour (wheat flour that is made into matzoh, then ground fine as any cake flour) & potato starch.


Doesn't explain the kosher-for-Passover products I've seen as mixes which do contain baking soda or powder. Both leavening agents unknown in biblical times. But certainly, along with the beaten egg-whites of 12 eggs (maybe its 10 eggs; the recipes are at home) known in these times.


I'm gonna do more looking-up on all this. For my own benefit, of course.


Here's a fairly "makes sense" explanation if anyone else is interested: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/dinin ... d=all&_r=0


"Lighten up", the rabbi here says. "You're interpreting too much." Really?


OK. This article says beans were banned because they used to be ground into flour. And as such, in olden days, might have gotten mixed into containers with the forbidden-grain flours. Now, that makes sense as far as any of it all does.

[earendel]

Nicholas Weston-Swan
Buffalo, NY

Marine science educator who did something crazy for $10: When swimming with a friend in Honduras, the friend dared him to touch a shark for $10 and he did that. He still has all ten fingers.

Question 7 -
If Tyler Perry quit playing Madea and started playing Medea, he'd still be cross-dressing -- but in a tragedy by what Greek dramatist?
A. Euripides B. Aristophanes
C. Myrtilus D. Sophocles

Spoiler

Nicholas said he had an inkling before the choices came up, he was not sure, but he will go with his gut.

Answer and value

A. Euripides
Value: $15K
Bank: $60500

I've never heard of Myrtilus but that doesn't matter because I know it's one of the others. Aristophanes is known for comedies/satires. Sophocles is associated with the Oedipus cycle. So it's Euripedes, not to be confused with Car Talk's tailor, Euripedes Imenedes, document shredder from Jamaica Euripedes Upmann, proprietor of Car Talk's men's clothing store Euripedes Eumenedes or staff bouncer Euripedes Ibrakauface.

Nihil obstat®.