Episode 22 University Challenge

APPLAUSE

University Challenge.

Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.

Hello, both teams playing tonight won their first round matches

and tonight's fixture will determine which of them

has what it takes to endure the rigours of the quarterfinals.

Five teams are already through to that stage of the competition

and tonight's winners will become the sixth.

Now, in the first round, the team from St George's, London,

had a comfortable time of it against

another London medical establishment, the Institute Of Cancer Research,

whom they beat by 190 points to 70.

As science specialists, we can forgive their lapses on

William Morris and Jeanette Winterson and architecture

but they were both impressive and quick on Mercury Prize winners,

US cinema, the size of Kazakhstan and Quidditch

and, given the nature of their studies, it was something of a relief

to all of us they also somehow managed

to identify the Heimlich manoeuvre.

With an average age of 26, let's meet the St George's team again.

Hi, my name's Alex Costley-White, I'm from London

and I'm studying medicine.

Hi, I'm Charles Nicholas. I'm from Lewes, East Sussex

and I'm also studying medicine.

-And their captain.

-Hi,

I'm Tom Burns. I'm from Amersham in Buckinghamshire

and I'm also studying medicine.

Hello, my name's Lucy Studd. I live in London and I'm studying medicine.

APPLAUSE

Now, by contrast,

the team from Peterhouse, Cambridge, had a tougher time in their first

round match but even so, they managed to retain the lead throughout

and won by 185 points to Glasgow University's 155.

On the basis of that performance, we can say with some certainty

that none of them has read Bleak House

but they were strong on Thomas Aquinas,

Alessandro Volta,

Simon Sharma and, perhaps surprisingly,

neglected tropical diseases.

With an average age of 20, let's meet the Peterhouse team again.

Hello, I'm Thomas Langley.

I'm from Newcastle upon Tyne and I'm reading history.

Hello, I'm Oscar Powell. I'm from York

and I'm reading geological sciences.

This is their captain.

Hi, and Hannah Woods. I'm from Manchester

and I'm studying for a PhD in history.

Hello, my name's Julian Sutcliffe. I'm from Reading in Berkshire

and I'm also reading history.

APPLAUSE

Well, there's no point in hanging around reciting the rules again, you

all know them, so fingers on buzzers, here's your first starter for ten.

What five-letter word matches all of these definitions?

A form of address expressing friendly familiarity,

a playful touch under the chin, a cut of beef extending from

the neck to the shoulder blade,

a device for holding a tool in a drill...

-Chuck.

-Chuck is correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on the 19th-century landscape gardener

and architect Joseph Paxton.

In 1826, the Duke of Devonshire appointed

Paxton superintendant of gardens at which Derbyshire stately home,

where he built a noted iron and glass conservatory?

-Chatsworth.

-Correct.

In 1844, Paxton designed the Emperor Fountain,

able to project water to a height of around 80 metres.

It was built to mark the proposed visit of which Russian monarch

to Chatsworth, although the visit never happened?

-What year?

-I don't know.

Alexander I or II?

-II?

-Alexander II.

-Alexander II.

No, it wasn't, it was his predecessor, Nicholas I.

Finally, based on his conservatory at Chatsworth, Paxton designed

the venue for which event conceived by Prince Albert?

It took place in Hyde Park in 1851.

-The Great Exhibition.

-Correct. APPLAUSE

Ten points for this starter question.

"I burst into tears in Dresden before the garden of flora by Poussin.

"In the middle of my sorrow,

"a guard came over and said it was forbidden to cry."

These are the words of which art critic

noted for his columns in the London Evening Standard?

-Brian Sewell.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Right, these bonuses are on names with their opening letters in common.

Firstly, known as the pure knight,

which figure in Mallory's Morte d'Arthur is the son by

bewitchment of Sir Lancelot and Elaine, the daughter of King Pelles?

-Galahad.

-Correct.

Derived ultimately from the Greek word for milk, the term galanthophile

refers to an aficionado of which early spring flowers?

-Daffodils?

-Yeah, or snowdrops.

-I think it might be daffodils.

-Go for daffodils.

-Daffodils.

-No, it was snowdrops.

-Oh, sorry.

The Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean are named after

the Spanish for a species of what animal native to the island?

-So...

-Oh, God.

-Penguin, tortoise.

-I don't think it's tortoise.

HE STUTTERS

-Finches.

-Is it finches?

-Shall we try finch?

-No, erm, go for...

-Penguins.

-No, tortoises.

-Tortoises.

-Correct.

Ten points for this.

The winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1953, which

German-born scientist gives his name

to the series of biochemical reactions...?

-Is it Hans Krebs?

-It is.

APPLAUSE

Right, you're off the mark. Your bonuses.

The first set are on the solar system, St George's.

At sea-level on earth, mean atmospheric pressure

is roughly 100,000 pascals.

On which planet is pressure at ground level known to be

approximately 600 pascals?

-Somewhere with a very heavy atmosphere like...Uranus.

-Venus?

-It's going to be very low, isn't it?

-Oh, sorry.

-Mars?

-Mars?

Mars is correct.

On which planet is the ground-level pressure known to

be around nine million pascals?

Almost a factor of ten higher than that of the tyres of a road bicycle.

-Jupiter.

-Jupiter.

-I think I'll go for Jupiter.

-Yeah, why not?

-Jupiter.

-No, it's Venus.

Which moon of the solar system has an atmosphere with a ground-level

pressure of about 150,000 pascals?

1.5 times that of Earth.

The moon...the moon...

-Europa.

-Go Titan.

-Titan.

-Titan's correct.

Ten points for this.

"A terrible childbed hast thou had, my dear."

Which of Shakespeare's title characters said those words to his

wife, whom he believed to have died giving birth during a storm at sea?

-Pericles?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

You get a set of bonuses, Peterhouse, on acting.

Using the actor's emotional memory to develop a characterisation,

the system known as the method is based on the approach of which

Russian actor and theorist born in 1863?

-Nominate Sutcliffe.

-Constantin Stanislavski.

Correct.

In 1951, Lee Strasberg became the artistic director of which

drama school in New York,

founded in 1947 by a group of directors including Elia Kazan

and noted for teaching the method?

-Any ideas? I can't think what it's called.

-The Juilliard?

-Shall I try that?

-That's the one in High School Musical.

Do we have any advances on High School Musical?

-No, no, Juilliard. It is.

-Shall we try it?

-Yeah.

-Juilliard?

-You're being facetious, of course.

No, it's The Actors Studio.

Directed by Sydney Pollack, which film of 1982 lampoons the excesses

of the method in a scene in which Dustin Hoffman's character justifies

his refusal to sit down while dressed as a tomato for a TV commercial?

I don't know.

Erm...

We don't know, sorry.

It's Tootsie. Right, we're going to take a picture round.

For your picture starter, you're going to see

a map showing the route of an inland waterway.

For ten points, I want you to give me its name.

-The Caledonian Canal.

-Correct, it is.

APPLAUSE

The 60-mile Caledonian Canal is one of the works of the engineer

Thomas Telford, nicknamed the Colossus of Roads.

Telford oversaw thousands of miles of civil engineering projects

in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Your picture bonuses show three more civil engineering works

associated with Telford. Five points for each you can identify.

Firstly, for five,

this shows the extant routes of which historic canal system?

Telford was lead engineer on various of its constituent parts.

-What is that?

-On the Welsh border.

My sister loves Telford.

OK, erm, that's useful(!)

-I don't know. Bangor?

-Can we make a guess?

-Is that near Bangor?

-No.

-No idea. We don't know, do we?

-I don't know.

-Is that near Liverpool?

-No.

-We don't know.

That's the Shropshire Union.

Secondly, you'll see highlighted a short section of which canal

noted for Telford's aqueduct at the point highlighted?

-Do you know a canal?

-Bridgewater's...Manchester.

-What were you saying, Julian?

-I don't know.

-I said, "Do you know a canal?"

-Oh, right.

-I don't think we have any idea, do we?

-We don't know.

That's the Llangollen Canal.

And, finally, name the structure by Telford at the point highlighted.

Can't remember the name.

-Oh, it's the Menai...

-Menai Strait Bridge.

-The Menai Bridge.

-The Menai Bridge.

-Correct. Ten points for this.

Listen carefully. Who was the last reigning monarch of Great Britain

who was born before his or her immediate predecessor on the throne?

In this case, the years of birth were 1660 and 1665.

Queen Anne?

Nope.

William III?

No, it was George I, who succeeded Queen Anne, of course.

Ten points for this.

What term was coined by Julian Huxley and George Tessier

in 1936 after Huxley had been studying

the large claw of the male fiddler crab?

The term originally referred to

the scaling relationship between the size of a body part

and the size of the body as a whole.

-Allometry?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses, Peterhouse, are on aromatic compounds.

Firstly, in benzene,

the carbon-carbon-carbon bond angle is equal to how many degrees?

OK, let's try 120. I mean, there's an hexagonal ring.

-Yeah, yeah, it must be.

-120.

-Correct.

What is the common seven-letter name of the compound methylbenzene?

The name is derived from that of a South American tree

from which the chemical was extracted in the 19th century.

-So quinine.

-Quinine, yes. Quinine.

-No, it's toluene.

-Ah, yes.

3-dimethylbenzene isomers are commonly given the identifying

abbreviations O, M and P, corresponding to the relative

positions of the attached methyl groups.

For what three prefixes do those letters stand?

M and P...

O and P, O and P.

Erm...

-I mean, no, I'm not going to get that. Pass.

-Are we passing?

HE TAPS ON THE COUNTER

-Ortho... Ortho, no, yeah.

-Pass.

-You were getting there, it's Ortho, Meta and Para.

-Oh.

Ten points for this.

Streymoy and Eysturoy are the largest of which group of 18 volcanic

islands in the North Atlantic?

Their name means "sheep islands" in Old Norse

and they've been a self-governing region of Denmark...

-The Faroes.

-The Faroe Islands is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on archaeological sites in Britain, Peterhouse.

At least 800,000 years old,

the oldest hominid footprint outside Africa was

discovered in 2010 in sediments at Happisburgh by the North Sea.

In which English county is Happisburgh?

-Norfolk...

-Or Suffolk.

Do we think it's Norfolk?

It's on East Anglia. It's on East Anglia.

Norfolk...

Any advances?

-Norfolk or Suffolk.

-Guess.

I don't know.

-Norfolk.

-Correct.

A hominid tibia around half a million years old was discovered

in 1993 at Boxgrove, a village near which small city in southern England?

Erm, Winchester?

Boxgrove, is that not Devon?

I've never heard of it, I'm afraid.

Winchester's a small city.

-Shall we try Winchester?

-Yeah, yeah, Exeter's not small.

-Winchester?

-No, it's Chichester.

The so-called Red Lady of Paviland is an adult male skeleton

covered in red ochre.

It was discovered in 1823 in a cave on which peninsula to

the west of Swansea?

-Is that the Gower?

-The Gower.

-Yup, the Gower Peninsula.

Correct.

Ten points for this. First reported in London in 1837,

what nickname was given to an elusive figure of urban legend held

responsible for numerous attacks...?

Sorry, I was going to say Jack the Ripper

but I think that's obviously wrong.

Yes, it is. I'm afraid it cost you five points too.

..held responsible for numerous attacks and malicious pranks

and supposedly possessing a superhuman speed and agility?

-Werewolf?

-No, it's Spring-Heeled Jack.

Ten points for this.

The convertible mark pegged to the German mark

when it was introduced following the date and accords of 1995

is the unit of currency in which European country

whose cities include Banja Luka and Mostar?

-Bosnia?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on China in the 1920s, Peterhouse.

The Chinese Communist Party was founded in which year?

The same year saw the inauguration of the US president Warren G Harding.

-23?

-Which century?

-Oh, 1923.

-19.

-1923.

-1923.

No, it was 1921.

In which year did Chiang Kai-shek

launch the Northern Expedition in alliance with the Communists?

The UK general strike took place in May of the same year.

-26?

-Yup.

-1926.

-That's correct.

And finally, in which year was the Shanghai Massacre -

a violent suppression of Communist Party organisations by

Chiang's forces?

The same year saw Charles Lindbergh's first solo nonstop

transatlantic flight.

-28?

-27? 7?

I think 9.

Go for 8, it's in the middle. 8.

-1928?

-No, it's 1927, bad luck.

Right, there's still plenty of time

for you to get back in the game, St George's.

We're going to take a music round now.

For your music starter, you'll hear a piece of popular music.

For ten points, I want you to identify both the singers.

# Je t'aime, je t'aime

# Oh, oui, je t'aime

# Moi non plus

# Oh, mon amour... #

Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg?

Nope. You can hear a little more, Peterhouse.

Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin.

That is correct.

APPLAUSE

That was banned by the BBC for many years, you know.

Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus, which was the name of that immortal work,

was the first single in a language other than English...

If it was in a language, it was mostly grunting, as far as I recall.

..language other than English to top the UK charts.

Your music bonuses are three more non-anglophone songs that

were top ten hits in the UK.

This time, however, I want you to listen carefully and identify

the language in which each is principally sung.

Firstly, for five, I want the language of this number four hit.

# A recordacao vai estar com ele aonde for

# A recordacao vai estar pra sempre aonde for... #

Any ideas? Spanish?

Julian thinks Spanish.

Shall we try that?

Spanish?

No, that's in Portuguese.

Secondly, the language of this number six hit.

# Ue wo muite, arukou

# Namida ga koborenai you ni ... #

I was thinking Scandinavian for some reason.

# Haru no hi... #

Yeah, go for it.

-Is it Swedish?

-No.

Italian?

Do you speak Italian? It doesn't sound anything like Italian!

It's Japanese. LAUGHTER

Finally, the language of this number three hit.

MUSIC: Numa Numa by O-Zone

-Romanian.

-It is Romanian, yes.

Right, ten points for this.

In terms for thermodynamic quantities,

give the three-letter sequence

that encloses the word fragments erg, E-R-G,

trop, T-R-O-P, and thalp, T-H-A-L-P.

P-H-Y?

Nope.

E-N...T?

No, it's E-N-Y.

-Ah, sorry.

-Ten points for this. Which US state is this?

Slightly smaller than Cornwall,

it's second only to New Jersey in terms of population density

and its official name includes the words

"And providence plantations."

-Rhode Island.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Right, these bonuses, Peterhouse, are on biochemistry.

In an enzyme catalysed reaction,

the graph of reciprocal substrate concentration against reciprocal

initial reaction velocity takes its name from which two US chemists?

Make a guess.

What's the acidity equation called?

-Henderson-Hasselbalch but that's definitely not...

-Shall I...?

-Yeah.

Henderson-Hasselbalch?

No, it's the Lineweaver-Burk graphal plot.

In a Lineweaver-Burk plot, the reciprocal of which kinetic

constant is given by the intercept of the line and the Y axis?

Erm... So...

Rate constant, maybe. Rate constant or K.

-The rate constant.

-No, it's maximum velocity.

And finally, what constant is equal to the substrate

concentration at half the maximum initial velocity?

Substrate concentration...

-Do you know what this means?

-Perhaps enzymatic half...

I don't know if there's an enzymatic version of half-life, so...

I mean, I hate biochemistry, it's really dull

-but go for half-life.

-Half-life?

No, it's Michaelis-Menten.

Ten points for this.

From the name of the Roman god of boundary markers, what precise

name is used in astronomy for the moving line separating

the illuminated day and the dark-night side

of a planet or satellite?

-Terminus, but that's wrong, probably.

-You're right.

It IS wrong. LAUGHTER

St George's? One of you want to buzz?

Twilight?

No, it's a terminator. You were nearly there but not.

Ten points for this.

Which two letters begin the names of the 16th-century author

of the Spanish tragedy, the currency of Burma and the former

Japanese capital that gives its name to an environmental protocol...

-KY.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on the French artist Jacques-Louis David.

What is the title of the work of 1784 in which three figures raise their

right arms and swear to give their lives for Rome in the war with Alba?

Their father, facing them, holds their swords.

-Hmm.

-Something about Tarquin.

-No, it's...

THEY MUMBLE

Is it something to do with victory...?

-It's not The Metella or something?

-I don't know.

It could be what's his name... Turnus?

-Come on, let's have it, please, chaps.

-Sons Of Turnus.

No, it's the Oath Of The Horatii.

And secondly, a work of 1787 depicts the final moments

of which Greek philosopher?

-Socrates.

-Correct.

And a painting of 1793 portrays which revolutionary leader

immediately after his encounter with the Girondin sympathiser

Charlotte Corday?

-Marat.

-Correct. APPLAUSE

We're going to take another picture round now.

For your picture starter,

you will see a photograph of a 20th-century playwright.

Ten points if you can give me his name.

Is that Arthur Miller?

It is Arthur Miller, yes!

APPLAUSE

Miller was one of those on the Hollywood blacklist

during the Red Scare of the '40s and '50s,

on the basis of alleged Communist sympathies.

You're now going to see three more photographs of prominent figures

associated with film and theatre

who were also accused of being Communist sympathisers.

Five points for each you can name.

Firstly...

That looks like Leonard Bernstein.

-Who?

-Leonard Bernstein.

-Leonard Bernstein?

-Correct.

Secondly...

Your guess is as good as mine.

-Annie?

-No, sorry.

No idea.

That's Dorothy Parker.

And finally...

-Is that Marlon Brando?

-No.

-Elia Kazan?

-No idea.

Elia Kazan?

-Nominate Studd.

-Elia Kazan?

No, it's Charlie Chaplin.

Hard to recognise without his moustache, isn't he?

Ten points for this.

Which Italian composer drew on works by the German playwright Schiller

for operas such as Luisa Miller, Joan Of Arc and Don Carlos?

-Verdi.

-Verdi is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

St George's, your bonuses are on Stanley Kubrick's film

2001: A Space Odyssey.

2001 was released in which year?

The same year saw the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia,

and the first manned orbit of the Moon by Apollo 8.

61... Hmm. 61 or 62?

-1962?

-No, it's 1968.

The title music for the film is Thus Spoke Zarathustra,

an 1896 tone poem by which German composer?

-Are you sure it's Richard?

-Richard.

-Richard Strauss.

-Correct.

2001 was based on The Sentinel,

a 1951 short story by which British author?

His novels include The City And The Stars and Rendezvous With Rama.

Is it Arthur C Clarke?

It is Arthur C Clarke, yes. APPLAUSE

Ten points for this. Listen carefully. During the 19th century,

four men succeeded to the US presidency

following the death of the incumbent.

Give the surnames of any two.

-Truman and Coolidge.

-No.

Anyone like to buzz from...?

Tyler and Taylor?

Tyler is one,

but the others were Fillmore, Johnson and Arthur,

so I'm afraid I can't give you the points.

Another starter question coming up now.

Named after a French physician,

the Mantoux test is an intradermal injection...

-Tuberculosis.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

St George's, these bonuses are on medieval Europe.

Gorm the Old, who died around 958,

is often cited as the first forebear

of the monarchy of which present-day country?

-France?

-No, it's Denmark.

Which of Gorm's sons succeeded him?

More than 1,000 years later,

his byname denotes a technology standard in wireless communication.

I need the regnal name and the byname.

By name in technology...

-Maybe it's like Ericsson.

-I don't know.

-Bluetooth?

-Ericsson?

Eric Bluetooth?

No, it's Harald Bluetooth.

LAUGHTER

And finally, which grandson of Harald Bluetooth

became king of England in 1016?

THEY MUMBLE

-..or Cnut?

-Cnut? Cnut?

-Yeah.

-Cnut?

-Cnut is correct. APPLAUSE

Four minutes to go, ten points for this.

Screaming, absinthe, India, Pakistan, Brunswick

and avocado are all shades of...

-Green.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on the structure of a hen's egg, St George's.

Firstly, in an unfertilised egg,

what term denotes the twisted cords of dense albumen

that connect the yolk to the shell membrane?

-Yolk sac?

-Yeah...go for it.

Yolk sac?

No, it's the chalaza.

In a fertilised egg, what membrane closely covers the embryo

and becomes filled with fluid to form the embryo sac?

-Trophoblast?

-Trophoblast? Trophoblast?

-Yeah.

Trophoblast?

No, that's the amnion, or amniotic sac.

And finally, what is the major inorganic compound

found in an egg shell?

-Oh.

-Inorganic?

-Is it not calcium carbonate?

-Yeah.

-Calcium carbonate.

-Calcium carbonate?

-Correct. APPLAUSE

Right, ten points for this starter question. The Venerable Bede,

King Louis the Pious, and Offa of Mercia all lived

during the timespan of which Chinese dynasty?

The Ming Dynasty?

No, anyone like to buzz from Peterhouse?

Tang Dynasty?

The Tang Dynasty is correct, yes. APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on 20th century politics, Peterhouse.

Herbert Gladstone, Winston Churchill and Reginald McKenna

all served as Home Secretary under which Prime Minister?

Erm, it's...

-It's Asquith.

-I think it is Asquith.

-It is Asquith.

-Asquith.

-Correct.

Which Prime Minister made RA Butler Home Secretary

when he first came to power?

Butler was later replaced by Henry Brooke.

-Er... Churchill.

-Definitely?

-Do we think Churchill?

-Churchill or Eden.

It's... It's Churchill or Eden, I'm not sure.

-Churchill.

-No, it was Harold Macmillan.

And finally, Roy Jenkins and James Callaghan both served

as Home Secretary under which Prime Minister?

Erm... What's-his-name Wilson.

Wilson.

It was Harold Wilson, yes. APPLAUSE

Ten points for this.

Which unit of volume is equal to one cubic decimetre, or 1,000...?

-A litre?

-Correct. APPLAUSE

You get a set of bonuses, St George's, now, on Japanese food.

In each case, give the four letter term from the description.

Firstly...

A savoury paste made from fermented soya beans,

often with barley or rice malt. It's used to make soup or noodle broth.

-(Miso?)

-Tofu?

-No, it's miso.

-Oh, sorry.

Secondly, edible seaweed of the genus porphyra,

used in Britain to make laverbread.

In Japan, it's often used to wrap sushi.

-Oh.

-HE CHUCKLES

-Pass if you don't know.

-Call it seaweed?

-Don't know.

It's nori.

And finally, the Japanese word for buckwheat

and for thin noodles made from it.

-Oh, is that udon? It's like...

-Yeah, yeah.

-Try udon. Try it.

Udon?

No, those are thicker. It's soba.

Ten points for this.

"Man is the measure of all things"

is an assertion of which sophist Greek philosopher?

Born in Abdera around 490 BC,

he gives his name to a dialogue by Plato...

I'm sorry, no, it's gone.

I'm sorry, I'm going to offer it to you, Peterhouse.

I'm going to have to take five away.

-Parmenides?

-No, it's Protagoras.

Ten points for this.

How many carbon atoms are there in an atom of naphthalene?

-Ten?

-Ten is correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on African flags this time, Peterhouse.

The flag of Mali is a vertical tricolour of green, gold and red.

Which neighbouring country's flag has those colours in reverse order,

with no stars or other symbols?

-Green, gold and red?

-Yes.

-Guinea?

-Do you think? I don't know.

-I think it's Guinea.

-Guinea?

-Guinea?

-Correct.

Which country's flag...? GONG BONGS

APPLAUSE At the gong, St George's have 90

and Peterhouse have 195.

APPLAUSE

Well, St George's,

it's a lot better than I feared it was going to be at one point.

You seemed to just be half asleep on 20 points or something. It's...

You know, it's fine to go out at this stage,

so thank you very much for joining us.

Peterhouse, that was a very impressive performance from you,

and you confer very amusingly.

LAUGHTER

I am sad you hate biochemistry, Mr Powell.

LAUGHTER

It's only... It's a reasonable position...

-Yeah, but it's useful to know, isn't it?

-No.

LAUGHTER It is useful to know, it's...

Round here, matey, it's very useful.

Anyway, I hope you can join us next time

for another second round match,

-but until then it's goodbye from St George's, London. TEAM:

-Goodbye.

-It's goodbye from Peterhouse, Cambridge. TEAM:

-Goodbye.

And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.

APPLAUSE