Best Powers

Dormant threads from the high school sections are preserved here.
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solonqb
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Post by solonqb »

Manyo2 wrote:From last year's Dunbar tournament on the deciding question versus Solon:
"His journey began and ended at the Reform Club.." Buzz: "Fogg"
Not exactly mind-blowing, but good given the situation.
That match was awesome.
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Post by mentalchocolate »

I watched it and I believe it came down to the last tossup and almost every tossup was answered. It was very intense until the end.
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Post by Manyo2 »

I agree with the sentiments, it was probably the best one that I've played in so far in HS.
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Post by radiantradon »

Featuring three men holding swords *buzz*
Answer: Oath of the Horatii

They come in Old World and New *buzz*
Answer: Monkeys

Eh, not that impressive if you read Zoobooks as a kid :P
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Post by MollyBlum »

Random NAQT packet at practice:

Q:Born in Kentwood, Louisiana..
A:Britney Spears

NAQT Nationals:

Q: The 100th episode featured a wedding vow renewal. This show, developed by Amy...
A: Gilmore Girls

This one wasn't a power, technically, just a super early hit at Hart County yesterday:

Q: The secret ballot was developed...
A: Australia
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Post by Irreligion in Bangladesh »

Scobol Solo:
"In a recent letter, he wrote, 'Go west...where you-'" Buzz
Answer: I. Lewis Libby
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Post by fancynancy »

A couple of practices ago--

"Born Isabella-"

Answer: Sojourner Truth
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Post by mentalchocolate »

At a prcatice a while ago


Q: "Born in Kiln...[buzz]"

Me: Brett Favre
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Post by thepowerofche »

At the county tournament this year:

"This bulemia sufferer" BUZZ
me: Terry Schiavo

At NAQT Nats 2 years ago:

"Reluctantly crouched" BUZZ
me: "The Distance" (song by Cake)

And at a JV practice that I was reading for:
me: "Answer the following about glaciers:" (this is a bonus lead-in that I'm converting)
Smartass: BUZZ
me: "Yeah right, let's see you try this"
Smartass: "Moraine."
me: "Fine. Next part: This-"
Smartass: BUZZ
me: "I'll be really impressed."
Smartass: "Kettle lake."
me: *gapes*
Smartass: "You want me to take care of the next one?"
me, after looking at the question and answer: "Go for it. If you get this right, I'll get up and leave."
Smartass: "Drumlin."
I got up and left. What made it even sadder was that there was no way he could have known them beforehand. I am still in awe to this day.
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Post by vcuEvan »

The protagonist fires his servant for serving shaving water*BUZZ*
Me: Around the world in 80 days

Its weaknesses are cortosis ore and the armor of the Yuzhan*buzz*
Me: lightsaber
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Post by Summoned Skull »

This was the deciding question in our match against MacArthur;
Only those of you from Central Illinois will get this one:

In the song "Decatur", the singer refers to a "chicken car"...

BUZZ

Me: Krekels!
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Post by insaneindian »

something 5 words in about uttar pradesh and something....*buzz* ganges river
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Post by dtaylor4 »

airmale007 wrote:This was the deciding question in our match against MacArthur;
Only those of you from Central Illinois will get this one:

In the song "Decatur", the singer refers to a "chicken car"...

BUZZ

Me: Krekels!
*Much applause, then much confusion*

Who in the hell wrote that question? Obviously someone from Decatur, but who?

To add to the thread's topic:

What city is known as the soybean *buzz* (captial of the world)?

Me: Decatur, my hometown
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Post by fluffy4102 »

Found in the H2, H3, H5... *buzz* Avian Flu
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Post by STPickrell »

Trashionals 2000:

It was founded in 1889 by Fusajiro...
*Nintendo

Spotswood Academic Tournament 1993:

In 1967, Israel...
*Six-Day War
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Post by Summoned Skull »

I've been waiting for a soybean capital of the world question for my entire high school career....

Nice one.
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Post by rchschem »

From Brookwood:

"It originated in Massillon..."

Coxey's Army

(player afterward: "It's the only thing that ever happened in Massillon!" note--He has never been there, AFAIK. Massillon may be a perfectly nice town with lots to offer.)

Eric
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Post by solonqb »

No, I've been there and he's pretty much right. About the only other thing Massillon has going for it are its notable high school football teams.
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Post by PeterGriffin »

This is from the UTC Tournament that was held in the fall.

Moderator: "Born Agnes"
Me: Mother Teresa

This wasn't a power, but it was an insanely early buzz.
Brindlee Mountain High School - 2006 Alabama NAQT State Champions
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Post by AndyShootsAndyScores »

In practice today:

Reader: Like James Kirk, he was once promoted to admiral.

Me: Cap'n Crunch

A similar one:

Reader: His mother was (can't remember first name) Runningstar...

Me, again: Cap'n Crunch

I know my Cap'n Crunch :).
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Post by AndyShootsAndyScores »

Don't talk about questions unless you know they won't be used again at a later time.

-Admin
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Post by insaneindian »

yeah, a guy on my team got that at the same spot. are we supposed to be talking about those questions?
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Post by dtaylor4 »

His hometown celebrates his birthday on February 11...

Thomas Edison

Something about 1350 volunteers in 1961...

Peace Corps
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Post by miamiqb »

insaneindian wrote:
AndyBrindlee Mountain wrote:
yeah, a guy on my team got that at the same spot. are we supposed to be talking about those questions?
No, you shouldn't be at all.
I want to post a word of caution for all the high school players posting in this forum. Powers are cool to talk about, but please make sure BEFORE you post that the question and/or answer you are citing will NOT be used in the future. All NAQT questions from this year should NOT be discussed online until July of 2006. Posts such as that above undermine the security of the question. Moreover, I am pretty sure it is illegal. Please try to think before you post. Thank you! If you want, post on powers of practice questions or older tournament questions.

Note: I am not a representative of NAQT, but I do like to see fair competition. And thanks to insane indian for bringing it up.
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Post by quizbowllee »

I apologize on behalf of my player who posted that power. They should have known not to do that, but the ultimate responsibility falls on me. I'll make sure to remind them about that. I'm sure that the student in question just didn't realize. He was really excited about that question...

Again, I apologize.
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Post by bigtrain »

Something about 1350 volunteers in 1961...

Peace Corps
Good work, my teammates almost require me to get all questions pertaining to the peace corps because Sargent Shriver's former home is in my neighborhood (as if that gives me some sort special knowledge of him?).
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Post by Trevkeeper »

From Richards:

"This minister's daughter--"
Harriet Beecher Stowe

"Founded by a Swiss man after an 1859 battle--"
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Post by AndyShootsAndyScores »

I also apologize in my careless post of that question. I didn't really think about it. Again, sorry for my actions.
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Post by mrs. dalloway »

Just a question: is a power (or generally insanely early buzz) considered good if the person was just lucky (see Harriet Beecher Stowe question above; there are at least two more minister's daughters I can think of that might come up), or only if the player had genuine knowledge of the subject that allowed him or her to answer based on the more obscure information?
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Post by DumbJaques »

Just a question: is a power (or generally insanely early buzz) considered good if the person was just lucky (see Harriet Beecher Stowe question above; there are at least two more minister's daughters I can think of that might come up), or only if the player had genuine knowledge of the subject that allowed him or her to answer based on the more obscure information?
We did have an "improbably correct answers" thread, and maybe the minister's daughter thing borders on that. Usually it's pretty defined. Essentially, if it was right, you can probably count it as a power/early buzz. If it wasn't, well, that's where Bad Negs threads come from.
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Post by Captain Sinico »

mrs. dalloway wrote:Just a question: is a power (or generally insanely early buzz) considered good if the person was just lucky (see Harriet Beecher Stowe question above; there are at least two more minister's daughters I can think of that might come up), or only if the player had genuine knowledge of the subject that allowed him or her to answer based on the more obscure information?
That depends entirely upon who's doing the considering. For me, any buzz wherein the respondant was lucky to be right (c.f. the Stowe buzz as there are any number of answers that could be right there) isn't all that great. A good buzz is one where the player demonstrates immediate knowledge of something from a difficult clue.
Really, though, what we're doing is approaching the issue of question quality from an oblique angle here. Unfortunately, as we all know, there are a lot of sets of questions where just guessing the easiest answer that fits the first clue (or, really, "clue") is the best strategy. It is often enough the only strategy likely to meet with success. Then you'd have to say the best buzz anyone can make is just the one where they guess the easiest (or most probable, maybe) answer from the first clue. To me, the solution is to not play questions like that if I can avoid it. In other words, an absolutely good buzz on a bad question is really, on its face, imposible as I see things.

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Post by brownboy79 »

Born in Vite...<Buzz>
Chagall

Born in Porbandar<Buzz>
Gandhi
Granted, it isn't hard for a brown person, but still...

They haven't had a winning season since 1988<Buzz>
Bengals (obviously older than this year, since we just won our ninth game)
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Post by Golden Tiger 86 »

I thought the Bengals last winning record was in 1990? Oh well. Chad Johnson rules.
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Post by hhssteve »

From our SCIENCE person at Brookwood's tourn this year:
"This failed 1915-"
BUZZ: Gallipoli

So it's not the craziest thing ever but it was the first question in the semis against WALTON. :w-hat:
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Post by mentalchocolate »

I thought the Bengals last winning record was in 1990? Oh well. Chad Johnson rules.
1990 was the Bengals last winning season (9-7) although in 2003 and 2004 they were 8-8, but in 1988 was the last time they reached the superbowl when they had a 12-4 regular season record.
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Post by brownboy79 »

Sorry for the mistake.
But 1988 was their last division championship.
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Post by The Time Keeper »

brownboy79 wrote:Sorry for the mistake.
But 1988 was their last division championship.
Wrong again. They won the division in 1990 even though the Oilers and Steelers both went 9-7 as well.
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Post by brownboy79 »

Ah, my football historical knowledge is weak. Didn't the Oilers and Steelersmake the playoffs that year?
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Post by BobGHHS »

Last year at Solon

Q: p53
Jon: BUZZ -- Ribosomes...

I'm not exactly positive if p53 was the first word or not, but it was no more than 3 or 4 words into the question that he got it.
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Post by csrjjsmp »

BobGHHS wrote:Last year at Solon

Q: p53
Jon: BUZZ -- Ribosomes...

I'm not exactly positive if p53 was the first word or not, but it was no more than 3 or 4 words into the question that he got it.
I would think something like "oncogenes" would be more likely off just the one word.
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Post by Summoned Skull »

Q: This state is home to the nation's tallest domed state capital...

BUZZ

Me: Illinois
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Post by DrakeRQB »

From practice recently:

Me: Acetic acid----
BUZZ
Vitamin C
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Post by insaneindian »

DrakeRQB wrote:From practice recently:

Me: Acetic acid----
BUZZ
Vitamin C
Wha???
you've got some splainin to do. :razz:
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Post by geekjohnson »

Mine are from our CC tournaments, my fav. is:

She is the 7th of (buzz) Cleopatra.

or

Its members include Sturgis (buzz) Order of the Phoneix.

or

She was the daughter of a religious (buzz) Harriet Becher Stowe.
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Post by First Chairman »

rchschem wrote:From Brookwood:

"It originated in Massillon..."

Coxey's Army

(player afterward: "It's the only thing that ever happened in Massillon!" note--He has never been there, AFAIK. Massillon may be a perfectly nice town with lots to offer.)

Eric
Massillon is also where Paul Brown had coached... probably among other things that give Massillon some notoriety.
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Post by BobGHHS »

In the year 3010 <BUZZ>

Me: Brian Boitano!

Coincidentally I was a huge South Park dork at the time (still love it) and it just so happened this tournament wasn't very long after the movie had come out...

We were playing some really uptight academy who asked us how we knew that and when we said "its from the South Park movie"... they looked at us like "You uncultured swine!"...
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Post by DrakeRQB »

insaneindian wrote:
DrakeRQB wrote:From practice recently:

Me: Acetic acid----
BUZZ
Vitamin C
Wha???
you've got some splainin to do. :razz:

ASCORBIC. It was ASCORBIC ACID. Duh. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I teach U.S. History. Impressive nonetheless, especially considering the girl that got it hasn't taken Chemistry yet.
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Post by dtaylor4 »

BobGHHS wrote:In the year 3010 <BUZZ>

Me: Brian Boitano!

Coincidentally I was a huge South Park dork at the time (still love it) and it just so happened this tournament wasn't very long after the movie had come out...

We were playing some really uptight academy who asked us how we knew that and when we said "its from the South Park movie"... they looked at us like "You uncultured swine!"...
As a fellow South Park dork, I must commend you. I got a similar look when I swept a bonus on South Park cameos.
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Post by Frater Taciturnus »

"With his power ring..."

Me: Green Lantern
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Post by Summoned Skull »

Q: "This British mathematician.."
BUZZ

Newton
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