Episode 18 University Challenge

University Challenge! Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman!

Hello. It was La Rochefoucauld who observed that we're all strong enough

to bear the misfortunes of others, and last time, Clare College, Cambridge proved him right

when they beat Leeds University by a 255 point margin

to become the first team to go through to the quarter-finals.

Whichever team wins tonight will join them.

Birmingham University had a very comfortable win over at Trinity College, Cambridge

in their first-round match, holding the lead throughout and winning 225-105.

On that occasion, they quickly hit their stride with their knowledge of the Urals,

rivers flowing north and contemporary comedians,

but they struggled a bit on musical insects,

and they don't seem to read a great deal of Tolkien.

Let's see how they get on tonight.

Hi, I'm Thomas Farrell, I'm from Southend

and I'm studying physics with particle physics and cosmology.

All right, I'm Kirk Surgener, I'm from Northampton and I'm studying philosophy.

Their captain.

Hi, I'm Oliver Jeacock, I'm from Buckinghamshire and I'm studying chemistry.

Hello, I'm Elliot Rhodes, I'm from Sutton Coldfield and I'm studying mathematics.

APPLAUSE

Newcastle University scored 235 in their first round match against Queens University, Belfast,

whose almost Trappist reticence left them with a mere 85.

On that occasion, Newcastle demonstrated a familiarity with cheesemaking and early navigation,

and were reassuringly ignorant of some of the most hideous warblings

ever to come out of the Eurovision Song contest.

With only a ten point difference between their first-round scores,

between the two teams this could be a close match.

Let's ask Newcastle to introduce themselves again.

Hi, my name's Ben Dunbar, I'm from Hayward, Greater Manchester,

and I'm studying for a Masters degree in public health and health services research.

Hello, I'm Ross Dent, I'm from Chester-le-Street in County Durham, and I study economics.

And their captain.

Hello, I'm Eleanor Turner, I'm from London, and I'm studying medicine.

Hi, I'm Nicholas Pang, I'm from Malaysia, and I'm also studying medicine.

APPLAUSE

OK, the rules are unchanging, ten points for starters, 15 for bonuses,

five point penalties for incorrect interruptions to starter questions.

Fingers on the buzzers. Here's your first starter for ten.

Meanings of what six letter word include an animal of the phylum porifera,

a loose, fluffy cathode deposit in electrolysis, a porous metal obtained by reduction

without fusion, a piece of cleaning equipment and a type of cake?

Sponge?

-Yes.

-APPLAUSE

The first set of bonuses, Newcastle, are on historical events.

Firstly, for five, which historical event took place just after dawn on 28 April, 1789,

off the volcanic island of Tofua in the South Pacific?

Eruption of Krakatoa?

No, it wasn't. It was the mutiny on HMS Bounty.

In the years after the Bounty mutiny, William Bligh became captain of HMS Director,

part of the fleet in which, in 1797, a mutiny occurred

at which Royal Navy anchorage at the mouth of the Thames?

Dartford?

Dartford? No, you're thinking of Dartmouth, and that's in Devon. No, it's the Nore.

And finally, during the so-called Rum Rebellion of 1808,

discontented troops led by Lieutenant-Colonel George Johnston took Bligh into custody

while he was serving as governor of which Australian state?

Victoria?

No, New South Wales. Ten points for this.

Originally built by Henry VIII on the site of a leper hospital,

which Palace was the chief royal residence in London from 1698 until 1837,

when Queen Victoria established Buckingham Palace as the monarch's main London home?

Westminster?

No. Anyone like to buzz from Newcastle?

Hampton Court Palace?

No, it's St James's Palace. Ten points for this starter question.

Born in 1853, which Danish microbiologist gives his name

to a differential staining technique used to divide bacteria into two groups, depending...

Gram?

Gram is correct, yes.

Your bonuses now, Newcastle, are on a musical instrument.

The dulzian, the sordoni and the curtal are earlier versions

of which double reed instrument of the orchestra?

Bassoon?

Correct. Using the highest notes of the instrument's range, a bassoon solo

opens Stravinsky's score for which ballet,

first performed in Paris in 1913, with choreography by Nijinsky?

Cinderella?

No, it's The Rite Of Spring.

In Prokofiev's Peter And The Wolf, a bassoon plays the theme depicting which human character?

The grandfather?

Correct. Another starter question. Captain Scott's meteorologist,

the Scottish obstetrician who introduced ether and chloroform as anaesthetics in childbirth,

and the English cyclist who died during the Tour de France in 19...

Simpson?

Simpson is right, yes.

Your bonuses are on an ancient city, Newcastle.

Which city was a Roman colony under Julius Caesar,

is known for St Paul's letters to its people,

and has given its name to one of the classical orders of architecture?

Corinth...er...Corinthia?

-No, it's Corinth.

-Corinth!

You were in the right place, but the name of the city was what was asked for.

And secondly, for five points, the Isthmus of Corinth joins the Peloponnese to mainland Greece,

and separates the Saronic Gulf, an inlet of the Aegean Sea,

from the Gulf of Corinth, an inlet of which sea?

Come on, let's have an answer, please.

Adriatic?

No, it's the Ionian Sea. Which naval battle of 1571 was a victory for the Holy League

over the Ottoman Empire, and took place between the Gulf of Corinth and the Gulf of Patras?

-Nominate Pang.

-Lepanto?

Lepanto is correct, yes.

Right, we're going to take our first picture round.

Ten points if you can tell me the name of the space mission associated with this image.

Voyager?

No, anyone like to have a go from Newcastle?

Gemini?

No, it's Pioneer.

So, we're going to take another starter question, and picture bonuses in a moment or two.

Immediately before its independence in 1960,

the territory that is now the Somali Republic had been governed in two parts,

as a British protectorate, and as a colony of which other...

Italy.

Italy is right, yes.

Now, that plaque you saw earlier was attached to Pioneer 10 and 11.

Launched in the early 1970s, they were the first probes to leave our solar system.

The information on the plaque was designed to be understood by extra-terrestrial intelligence,

so we'll see what you four can make of it.

Firstly, depicted in blue at A,

this image represents the hyperfine transition of which element?

Oxygen?

No, it's hydrogen.

Secondly, what stellar objects lie at the ends of the radial lines at B?

The planets?

No, they're pulsars.

And finally, what is the object highlighted in green behind the human figures at C?

A satellite dish?

No!

No, what a terrible sign of our civilisation!

No, it's not, it's the space probe itself. Ten points for this.

What term is used in psychoanalysis to describe the diversion of a drive

towards a non-sexual aim or a socially valued object in chemistry...

Sublimation?

Sublimation is right.

OK, you're off the mark, Birmingham. These bonuses are on taxonomy.

In 1990, which US microbiologist proposed a system of biological classification

based on genetic relationships that divided all organisms into three domains?

-Pass.

-It's Carl Richard Woese.

Secondly, for five points, its name reflecting their ancient lineage, which domain contains methanogens,

extremophiles and other microorganisms with distinctive membrane and cell wall structures?

-Nominate Farrell.

-Archea?

Correct. Containing plants and animals, which domain is characterised by organisms

whose cells contain structures enclosed within membranes?

Eukaryote?

Eukaryote is correct, yes. Ten points for this.

What term denotes the ancient Hebrew marriage custom or law which, in some circumstances,

obliges a man to marry his brother's childless widow in order to maintain his brother's line?

-Kashrut?

-No. Anyone like to buzz from Birmingham?

It's levirate. Ten points for this.

In The Waste Land, to which play by Shakespeare is TS Eliot referring in the opening

lines of part two, "The chair she sat in like a burnished throne..."

Antony and Cleopatra.

Yes.

Right, Newcastle. Your bonuses are on parodies of well-known poems from Pistache,

a 2006 work by Sebastian Faulks.

In each case, listen to the extract, and name the poet it parodies.

Firstly, "In his love nest down in Peckham, Dad has left his girl asleep.

"Through the gridlock out to Barking, sees his bronze Toyota creep."

-Let's have it, please.

-Betjeman?

Correct. "So, twice five yards of blighted ground, with scaffolding was fenced around,

"where blossomed the odd apple-bearing tree, beneath the gormless eyes of Sky TV."

Housman?

No, he's parodying Coleridge's Kubla Khan. And finally,

"If you can never fail to write a headline and cap it off with some moronic pun,

"yours is the earth when comes the final deadline, and which is more, you'll be iconic, Sun."

Kipling.

Indeed, advice for a journalist. Right, another starter question now.

Bennis and Gingelis are alternative names for which seeds? They are used for baking,

as a source of oil in margarine and cosmetics, and form the basis of the paste tahini.

Sesame seeds.

Correct. Your bonuses this time are on the 17th century, Newcastle.

Artemisia Gentileschi, who died in the mid-1650s, was an early female exponent of what field?

She followed the profession of her father,

whose patrons included King Charles I, the Vatican and the Medicis.

Painting?

Correct. Which architect died in 1652? His achievements included the Queen's house at Greenwich,

the banqueting hall in Whitehall and the introduction of movable scenery to the English stage?

Let's have it, please.

-Wren?

-No, it's Inigo Jones.

The Milkmaid, Young Girl with Flute and Woman with a Water Jug

are among works of the 1650s by which painter, born in Delft?

Vermeer?

Correct. We're going to take a music round, now.

For your music starter, you'll hear a piece of 19th century music.

Ten points if you can name the composer.

Wagner?

No...

Brahms.

No, it was Sullivan. It was the overture to HMS Pinafore.

So, music bonuses shortly. Ten points for this starter question.

Used figuratively to mean sloth or apathy, what term is defined in physics

as the property of a body proportional...

Inertia?

Inertia is right.

So, you get the music bonuses.

They are more pieces of classical music by three British composers born during the 19th century.

Five points a time for each composer you can name. Firstly, for five.

Let's have an answer, please.

Holst?

No, it's Delius' prelude to Irmelin.

And secondly, the composer of this piece.

Elgar?

No, that's Parry. And finally,

Holst?

That was Holst, yes.

Neptune, from The Planets. Ten points for this.

First produced commercially in the United States

in 1932 from the polymerisation of chloroprene,

Neoprene serves as a synthetic form of which natural material?

Silk?

No. Anyone like to buzz from Newcastle?

Rubber?

Rubber is correct. Your bonuses now are on cities in the US state of Ohio.

Firstly, which city on Lake Erie by the border with Michigan,

shares its name with a historic city and World Heritage Site south of Madrid?

Toledo?

Correct. Situated on the Ohio-Kentucky border,

which city is named after a Roman dictator of the fifth century BC

who returned to his farm after victory in battle,

and was thus seen as embodying the ideal of selfless service to the Republic?

Agricola?

No, it's Cincinnati.

Which city on Lake Erie, close to the border with Pennsylvania,

is home to both the online comic strip character Yehuda Moon, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Cleveland?

Cleveland is right. Ten points for this starter question. The capital of Nebraska, a west coast state,

an avenue in New York, a dam...

Lincoln?

No, I'm afraid you lose five points.

A dam on the Arizona-Colorado border and a space Centre in Florida

all share names with men who have held which office?

Presidents of the USA?

Correct.

Right, some bonuses, at last, for you guys. They're on the sciences.

Messier Object number one is a nebula in Taurus,

believed to be the remnant of a supernova observed in 1054 by Chinese and Arabian astronomers,

and has what common name referring to its shape?

Crab?

Crab is correct. Secondly, for five points, ocypodidae is a crab family that includes the ghost crabs

and the genus given what name, after the characteristic up and down motion

of the small claw against the large claw when feeding?

Pincer?

No, they're fiddler crabs. And finally, George Crabbe, the English poet and naturalist,

was the author of a 1790 essay on the natural history of which region

on the borders of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire?

Sherwood Forest?

No, it's the Vale of Belvoir. Ten points for this. "Some lovers try positions that they can't handle"

is a mnemonic for the eight bones in which joint of the human...

The wrist?

The wrist is correct, yes.

Your bonuses, Newcastle, this time are on black and white flags.

Consisting of nine black and white horizontal stripes with

the top left quarter spotted to symbolise ermine,

the Gwenn-ha-du flag is the official flag of which region of France?

Brittany?

Correct. A moor's head in black with a white bandana on a white background

comprises the flag of which Mediterranean island?

Let's have it, please.

Sicily?

No, it's Corsica. Established in 1701 and part of Germany from 1871,

which kingdom had a variety of black and white flags,

ultimately derived from the banner of the Teutonic Knights?

Bavaria?

No, it's Prussia. We're going to take our second picture round now.

For your picture starter, you'll see a painting.

Ten points if you can give me the name of the artist.

Bridget Riley?

Correct.

You're going to see three more paintings now in the geometric abstract style,

all from the early 20th century. Five points for each artist you can name. Firstly, for five.

Rodchenko?

No, it's Malevich. Secondly,

Rodchenko?

No, that's Theo van Doesburg. And finally,

Picasso?

No, that's Wassily Kandinsky. Ten points for this starter question.

What word links a gold coin issued by Edward III and equal to half a Florin,

a former name for a lion passant guardant in heraldry,

and a large feline with the binomial Panthera Pardus?

Leopard?

Leopard is correct, yes.

Your bonuses, Newcastle, this time are on coups d'etat.

In 2004, Mark Thatcher, the son of the former Prime Minister,

was accused of backing a plot to overthrow the government of which small African country?

Equatorial Guinea?

Correct. In 2006, which author admitted his involvement in a 1973 plot

to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea,

in circumstances similar to the plot of his novel The Dogs of War?

Frederick Forsyth?

Frederick Forsyth is right. A prima ballerina at Sadler's Wells and the Royal Ballet,

which English dancer was recently revealed

to have been involved in a plot to overthrow the government of Panama in 1959?

Pass.

That was Dame Margot Fonteyn. Five and a half minutes to go,

ten points for this. Since 1832, what is the longest time, to the nearest year,

to have elapsed between general elections in the UK?

Six?

Anyone like to buzz from Newcastle?

Seven?

No, it's ten years, 1935 to 45. Another starter question coming up.

The French word for a leek - the vegetable, that is - is a near homophone of the surname

of which enduring fictional detective?

Poirot.

Poirot is right, yes.

Your bonuses are on authors who died in 2010.

In each case, identify the person from the description.

Firstly, a Liverpool-born novelist, her works include

Young Adolf, An Awfully Big Adventure and Master Georgie.

Beryl Bainbridge.

Correct. Secondly, the historian and political commentator whose works include Ill Fares the Land,

The Memory Chalet and Postwar: The History of Europe Since 1945.

Tony Judt?

Tony Judt is right. A sporting figure finally, who became a bestselling author of genre fiction.

His works include Dead Cert, Whip Hand and Under Orders.

Dick Francis.

Correct. Another starter question now.

Technically an example of the simplest non-trivial fibre bundle,

what name is given to the topological form that has only one side and one edge?

Mobius strip?

Mobius strip is right, yes.

Your bonuses, Birmingham, are on a plant family.

What is the common name for the poaceae?

They're generally regarded as the most significant plant family

in terms of human economics, and include sugar cane and sorghum.

Pass.

They're grasses, or true grasses. What name is given to the horizontal underground stems or root stocks

that send shoots above ground, a common means of reproduction in grasses?

Runner?

No, they're rhizomes. What is the common name of the grass secale cereale,

which thrives in high altitudes,

is grown as far north as the Arctic Circle, and is used to make bread and whisky?

Rye?

Rye is right. Four minutes to go, ten points for this.

The Feminine Mystique and the Second Stage are among the works of which US feminist, born Illinois, 1921?

Er, Germaine Greer?

No.

Judith Butler?

No, it's Betty Frieden. Ten points for this.

In 2016, which sea port will become the first South American city...

Rio de Janeiro?

Correct, to host the Olympic Games. Your bonuses now, Newcastle,

are on pairs of words that are easily confused.

In each case, give both words from the definition.

All end in the letters I-O-U-S.

Firstly, superficially plausible but wrong in reality,

and sham, bogus, fake or inauthentic?

I need an answer, please.

-Pass.

-It's specious and spurious.

Secondly, lewd or liable to arouse lust,

and health-giving, wholesome or agreeable.

Come on, let's have it, please.

Luscious and lustrous?

No, it's salacious and salubrious. And finally, progressing inconspicuously but harmfully,

and of an action or task likely to incur or excite ill will or resentment.

Insidious and perfidious?

-No, it's insidious and invidious.

-Oh.

OK, ten points for this. Answer as soon as you buzz.

If the numerals from one to nine are spelt backwards, which one comes first alphabetically?

Nine?

No.

Three?

Three is correct, yes.

Your bonuses, Birmingham, are on a politician.

Defeated in the 1983 General Election, which former Labour Party leader died in 2010, aged 96?

Come on, let's hurry along.

Pass.

It's Michael Foot. Michael Foot's 1957 work The Pen and the Sword is a biography

of which satirist, poet and cleric born Dublin, 1667?

Swift?

Correct. During the 1960s, Foot published a two-volume biography of which politician,

widely regarded as the father of the National Health Service?

Bevan.

Correct. Ten points for this starter question. In medicine,

an iatrogenic condition is caused by what external agency?

Doctors?

Doctors indeed, yes.

Your bonuses this time are on physiology, Newcastle.

What term describes glands that secrete into body cavities or ducts,

rather than directly into the bloodstream?

Endocrine.

No, it's exocrine.

Which serous secretion is produced by the parotid glands?

Saliva?

Correct. The exocrine glands known as the crypts of Lieberkuhn are found in what part of the body?

Come on!

-Let's have an answer.

-Pancreas?

No, it's the small intestines. Ten points for this.

In the titles of novels, what common adjective links Donna Tartt's friend, Sarah Waters' stranger...

Little.

Little is correct. Your bonuses this time are on Asian capital cities, Newcastle.

Originally called Heian, which city was the capital...

-GONG

-And, at the gong Birmingham University have 80,

and Newcastle University have 220.

APPLAUSE

Well, bad luck, Birmingham. We're going to have to say goodnight and goodbye to you.

You were up against a pretty strong team, though, so you go with your heads held high.

Many congratulations to you, Newcastle, terrific performance.

We shall look forward to seeing you in the quarterfinals, congratulations.

I hope you can join us next time.

-Until then, though, it's goodbye from Birmingham University.

-Goodbye

-It's goodbye from Newcastle University.

-Goodbye

And it's goodbye from me, goodbye.

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