Worst Question EVER...
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Worst Question EVER...
At a tournament this weekend, I heard some real stinkers. But, this one took the cake. Has anyone ever heard a question worse than this one?
At the age of 45, an elephant's tooth weighs how much?
Answer: 9 pounds
This is quiz bowl gold! I'm not even going into all of the virtually infinite reasons that this question is horrible.
At the age of 45, an elephant's tooth weighs how much?
Answer: 9 pounds
This is quiz bowl gold! I'm not even going into all of the virtually infinite reasons that this question is horrible.
Oh come on, you didn't know that??? That is basic, basic stuff.
At a tournament in Lincolnton, N.C. last year (not exactly a quiz bowl hotbed), we got this three-part bonus:
1) At what fast-food restaurant did a finger end up in an article of food last year?
2) In what type of food was the finger found?
3) WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE WOMAN THAT PLANTED THE FINGER IN THE FOOD?
...and all their bonuses were all-or-nothing. We knew it was Wendy's chili, but we didn't know the name of the woman. And frankly, it would've been sad if we had known.
At a tournament in Lincolnton, N.C. last year (not exactly a quiz bowl hotbed), we got this three-part bonus:
1) At what fast-food restaurant did a finger end up in an article of food last year?
2) In what type of food was the finger found?
3) WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE WOMAN THAT PLANTED THE FINGER IN THE FOOD?
...and all their bonuses were all-or-nothing. We knew it was Wendy's chili, but we didn't know the name of the woman. And frankly, it would've been sad if we had known.
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See, but those last few examples are answerable and easy. This elephant thing sucked. First, there's no way that all elephants that are 45 years old have teeth that weigh exactly 9 pounds. Also, where would one even look to find this information? Also, don't elephants have several different kinds of teeth... and wouldn't they be of different sizes?
Point taken. I was just trying to show more examples of lousy questions. The Wendy's chili thing isn't academic... hell, it isn't even trivia - it's just minutae, but at least there's a definite answer.quizbowllee wrote:See, but those last few examples are answerable and easy. This elephant thing sucked. First, there's no way that all elephants that are 45 years old have teeth that weigh exactly 9 pounds. Also, where would one even look to find this information? Also, don't elephants have several different kinds of teeth... and wouldn't they be of different sizes?
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The question didn't mention that Gore's mother had died recently, it just asked if she was dead or alive.quizbowllee wrote:Excellent.bjb87 wrote:There was once a tossup that asked if Al Gore's recently deceased mother was dead or alive.
Later in the round there was question that asked if Bob Ross was dead or alive.
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I'm with Coach Lee on this ...... utterly indefensible as a questionquizbowllee wrote:I ought to kick you off my team for defending that, you tool!AndyBrindlee Mountain wrote:To defend that question, it did ask the weight of an elephant's molar.quizbowllee wrote:... Also, don't elephants have several different kinds of teeth... and wouldn't they be of different sizes?
I have heard bonuses:
"In any order, name the five fingers" (I guess, counting the thumb as a finger)
and
"In any order, name the four planets closest to the sun"
and no .... these were varsity questions .....
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Wasn't defending the question's quality, just one aspect of its suckiness.quizbowllee wrote:I ought to kick you off my team for defending that, you tool!AndyBrindlee Mountain wrote:To defend that question, it did ask the weight of an elephant's molar.quizbowllee wrote:... Also, don't elephants have several different kinds of teeth... and wouldn't they be of different sizes?
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I agree, that's quite possibly the most awful I have ever heard.quizbowllee wrote:I ought to kick you off my team for defending that, you tool!AndyBrindlee Mountain wrote:To defend that question, it did ask the weight of an elephant's molar.quizbowllee wrote:... Also, don't elephants have several different kinds of teeth... and wouldn't they be of different sizes?
And that's possibly the first time I've ever heard a teacher/coach call their student/player a "tool," I am highly amused.
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I knew that something from Ultima (and therefore, questions supplied by Panasonic from past years) applied here, but all I could remember was a 2-parter where answer one found the number 5280 somehow, and part 2 simply asked "What is the significance of part 1?" I knew that wasn't the worst, so I didn't want to post it.
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It's not the first time "tool" has been used by him to refer to me, but probably the frist on the board.Trevkeeper wrote:I agree, that's quite possibly the most awful I have ever heard.quizbowllee wrote:I ought to kick you off my team for defending that, you tool!AndyBrindlee Mountain wrote:To defend that question, it did ask the weight of an elephant's molar.quizbowllee wrote:... Also, don't elephants have several different kinds of teeth... and wouldn't they be of different sizes?
And that's possibly the first time I've ever heard a teacher/coach call their student/player a "tool," I am highly amused.
That is the worst to me. I play guitar, and I wouldn't have been able to answer that.JohnandSlation wrote:I seem to remember the answer to "Where in TV have you encountered a doubly diminished 7th?" being "when something bad is about to happen."
Andy Knowles
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Drat! I was just about to ask that ...... bravo Mr. Grapesmoker.grapesmoker wrote:The proper answer would have been "This question."tachyonwill wrote:I have heard a question before that asked something to the effect of "explain what causes high blood pressure."
From a certain national tournament that was held in Chicago last year (I'm paraphrasing):
"Many states have state symbols of various kinds. I Oregon, voters recently selected a new state symbol, that being the state fruit. What is the state fruit of Oregon?"
Same tournament (remember now: "national" varsity championship caliber):
"While airplanes have fixed wings, what name is given to the rotating wings of a helicoptor?" (the team twhich answred "blades" was ruled incorrect, while "rotor" was accepted).
SAME tournament ....top teams in the nation need only apply here:
"Name the herb that is the reverse of the author of "The Stranger".
(and no one in the ten seconds could write down, "Camus" and turn the letters around to spell "Sumac" .... no one even TRIED to ring in!
And as they say, the piece de reistance! Same tournament ... remember, to crown the one true national champion of the United States of America:
"Name the four former presidents of the United States not buried in the U.S."
I didn't have a team entered, and I still wanted to through something at the modertor just to make myself feel better.
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I reversed "Camus" pretty quickly in my head, but I had no idea there was such a thing as an herb called "sumac." What tournament was this at anyway?Tegan wrote:SAME tournament ....top teams in the nation need only apply here:
"Name the herb that is the reverse of the author of "The Stranger".
(and no one in the ten seconds could write down, "Camus" and turn the letters around to spell "Sumac" .... no one even TRIED to ring in!
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That is the worst to me. I play guitar, and I wouldn't have been able to answer that.[/quote]JohnandSlation wrote:I seem to remember the answer to "Where in TV have you encountered a doubly diminished 7th?" being "when something bad is about to happen."
One of my teammates has been going through the AP Music Theory book, and he said he'd never heard of a doubly-diminished 7th, which was the first part. The second part was...
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The question you refer to was:Matthew D wrote:Lee and Andy, What was that question we had over there that had something about Ethan Hawks and a book made into a movie? That one was another that was just awesome
This book was made into a 1998 movie with Ethan Hawke and Robert Deniro.
Answer: Great Expectations
Although that was a crappy question (in that it was a statement and not a question at all), I still think that the elephant tooth was worse. If someone had ever seen Great Expectations with Hawke and Deniro, they had a fighting chance of recalling that information.
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My parents have a picture hanging on the wall in the upstairs hallway entitled "Camus sees sumac," which depicts a dour-looking man smoking a cigarette and staring at a wilted plant about three feet high...Tegan wrote:SAME tournament ....top teams in the nation need only apply here:
"Name the herb that is the reverse of the author of "The Stranger".
(and no one in the ten seconds could write down, "Camus" and turn the letters around to spell "Sumac" .... no one even TRIED to ring in!
Anyway...
I seem to remember a question from somewhere during my freshman year that gave the dimensions of a room and then asked how many walls the room had.
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From a practice when I played in high school in Texas in 1995:
"Who is Mao Zedong's wife?" Correct answer: Mrs. Mao Zedong
Another awful moment from a scrimmage with a nearby high school in 1995:
"If you drink it, it will give you a terrible death but a fine finish. What is it?" Correct answer: varnish
A final, game-winning question at the tournament mentioned in the avatar to the left:
"How many calories are in a cup of black coffee?" Correct answer: none
From the JV division of an otherwise well-written tournament in either 1999 or 2000:
"(equations from a two-equations-in-two-unknowns algebra problem followed by the values of x and y). Find the values of 4 and 5." Correct answer: 4 = 10 and 5 = 7
From that same national championship Tegan mentioned earlier only this time in Washington D.C. in 2003:
"What medium is currently posing a threat to radio?" Correct answer: the Internet
"Who is Mao Zedong's wife?" Correct answer: Mrs. Mao Zedong
Another awful moment from a scrimmage with a nearby high school in 1995:
"If you drink it, it will give you a terrible death but a fine finish. What is it?" Correct answer: varnish
A final, game-winning question at the tournament mentioned in the avatar to the left:
"How many calories are in a cup of black coffee?" Correct answer: none
From the JV division of an otherwise well-written tournament in either 1999 or 2000:
"(equations from a two-equations-in-two-unknowns algebra problem followed by the values of x and y). Find the values of 4 and 5." Correct answer: 4 = 10 and 5 = 7
From that same national championship Tegan mentioned earlier only this time in Washington D.C. in 2003:
"What medium is currently posing a threat to radio?" Correct answer: the Internet
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grapesmoker wrote:I reversed "Camus" pretty quickly in my head, but I had no idea there was such a thing as an herb called "sumac." What tournament was this at anyway?Tegan wrote:SAME tournament ....top teams in the nation need only apply here:
"Name the herb that is the reverse of the author of "The Stranger".
(and no one in the ten seconds could write down, "Camus" and turn the letters around to spell "Sumac" .... no one even TRIED to ring in!
After hearing all of the bashing going on, I decided to sit in on 4 or 5 rounds of the NAC. I think I had what alcoholics have called "a moment of clarity"
The utterly most amazing thing: when that utterly stupid presidents questions came up, it looked like I was the only one who wanted to throw something (stone, lamp .....bomb). The "panel" that "got" the questions started whooping like a pack of pre-pubescent hyenas on nitrous, and the other team looked like their collective puppies had been shot. The host's response was to snicker at the situation.
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From the same oft-mentioned national tournament (1999):
Who becomes President of the United States if the Vice President dies?
Answer: The President is still President. We never said he died too.
Who becomes President of the United States if the Vice President dies?
Answer: The President is still President. We never said he died too.
"Believe those who seek the truth. Doubt those who find it."
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That's because, with a few notable exceptions, the general quality of Missouri quizbowl is so horrendous. People keep buying questions like that.
At least never really caught on. But really and truly we have had some of the most abysmal State Championships ever created, and most of the coaches love it.
At least never really caught on. But really and truly we have had some of the most abysmal State Championships ever created, and most of the coaches love it.
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Well since we're piling on...
* From a crappy local tournament -- "Explain why the narrator in Moby Dick was called Ishmael." I think someone actually got points on that.
And of course, the legendary "How are humans messing up the Everglades?" fiasco, that I am proud (hmm, not at all the right word...) to say I actually was one of the eight players on a buzzer to mercifully let that one fall dead. Glad to have been a part of history... Thanks,
* From a crappy local tournament -- "Explain why the narrator in Moby Dick was called Ishmael." I think someone actually got points on that.
And of course, the legendary "How are humans messing up the Everglades?" fiasco, that I am proud (hmm, not at all the right word...) to say I actually was one of the eight players on a buzzer to mercifully let that one fall dead. Glad to have been a part of history... Thanks,
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So in the finals of a high school match we got the first tossup and our bonus was:
"All or nothing, sing the Oscar Meiner Weiner song". The one kid on our team who sort of knew it apparently messed up two of the words and we didn't get any points on it.
We lost the match be only a few points, despite having more tossups answered. Wonderful tournament.
Also, at a Pennsylvania State Championship tournament that our A team was in, I think they just took bonus parts from other packets and used them as tossup questions. There were at least 4 tossups on Catch 22 and military ranks. Classic.
"All or nothing, sing the Oscar Meiner Weiner song". The one kid on our team who sort of knew it apparently messed up two of the words and we didn't get any points on it.
We lost the match be only a few points, despite having more tossups answered. Wonderful tournament.
Also, at a Pennsylvania State Championship tournament that our A team was in, I think they just took bonus parts from other packets and used them as tossup questions. There were at least 4 tossups on Catch 22 and military ranks. Classic.