Quizzical Leftovers

Answer: Bridge, 1,480 points

A maximum score in Bridge for an actively played game would be a Grand Slam in No Trump, redoubled, vulnerable (you could get an even higher score by defeating an opponent's game). The player would need to bid and make all 13 tricks against a hand with which the opponents have due cause of suspecting the player not to make his game, all of this in a situation where the opponent is ahead in overall score.

This extremely difficult feat would score 880 for the contract, 500 for winning a game, 1,500 for the grand slam and 100 points "insult bonus" for winning against an opponent's double - a total of 2,980 points. I have never heard of this score actually having occurred in competitive play. Most bridge players, when asked about the number they associate with a perfect score or game, would however answer "seven" anyway--any Grand Slam would qualify.

Answer: Dungeons and Dragons

In Dungeons and Dragons and many other role-playing games, the level of a player character is the most important measure of power of that character. Many other statistics - which spells a magic-using character can use, how good he is with the sword or how many wounds he can take - are then calculated from it.

In a well-balanced role-playing game, characters of different professions but of the same level are very similar in power and can generally defeat the same opponents.

Answer: Canoeing

Canoeing is, at the Olympic and highest levels, mostly conducted in sprint distances of 500 and 1,000 meters. However, there are also long-distance races of two km and six km on flat-water courses as well as open-water races on lakes and rivers. Rowing, although similar to canoeing at first glance, primarily asks for strength and aerobic endurance while canoeing requires a much higher degree of technique and control to achieve good maneuvering and propulsion with the paddle blade not being mounted to the boat. Canoeing also includes whitewater races that are primarily tests of reflexes and body control involving the navigation of a turbulent river with underwater hazards while having to pass slalom gates mounted above the water.

Answer: Tyson - Holyfield, Las Vegas, June 28, 1997

The Tyson-Holyfield match, staged at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, was not decided by a knockout, but rather by a disqualification: it was the infamous match in which Mike Tyson bit off part of Evander Holyfield's right ear. The bite that actually hurt Holyfield occurred in the third round when the two fighters entered a clinch.

The referee, Mills Lane, did not end the fight at this time in spite of the injury and several insubordinations from Tyson's side, but rather only deducted two points off Tyson's score. Only after Tyson bit Holyfield's other ear as well later in the same round - this time not drawing blood - was the disqualification handed down. Tyson was banned from boxing and forced to pay over three million dollars in fines, but was allowed to return to the ring some 15 months later.

Answer: The first commercial geostationary communications satellite

Intelsat I, as the satellite was officially called, was launched on April 6, 1965. It was able to relay intercontinental telephone calls, television broadcasts and telefacsimiles. For its time, it was very compact, measuring only 76 centimeters along its longest dimension and weighing under 35 kilograms.

Originally designed to last for 18 months, it saw four years of active service and was then reactivated twice later - the first time during the Apollo 11 mission to compensate for a failed satellite and the second time in 1990, for the 25th anniversary of satellite telecommunications.

Intelsat I remains in orbit as of 2009 and is still classified as a reserve satellite, meaning it is expected that it could be reactivated if needed even after over 40 years in space.

Answer: Yes

This question is based on the difference between the average and the median of a set of numbers. An average is calculated by adding up all the numbers and dividing by the number of numbers you added together. The median is simply the middle number when you sort the results by size.

Now if in our hypothetical class, the test results are 6x 70%, 1x 60% (you), 1x 10% and 2x 5%, the average is exactly 50%, (500% divided by 10) while the median is 70% and you, with the above-average 60% score would be well in the bottom half.

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven

Born in the year of 1770 in Bonn, Germany, Ludwig van Beethoven is best known for his nine symphonies, all of which belong to the standing repertoire of the major orchestras of the world. Unlike many contemporary composers, however, Beethoven has a rather low number of finished works over all genres, because he spent a very long time on each, revising and changing until he deemed it perfect. For his one and only opera, "Fidelio" (originally named "Leonore"), he composed four versions of the overture alone and the entire opera went through three completely separate versions over the course of nine years. Apart from the symphonies and the opera, Beethoven's work includes seven piano concertos, 17 string quartets and 32 piano sonatas. Altogether, Beethoven wrote over 300 pieces, but assigned an Opus (work) number only to 138 of them - a sign that he did not consider any of the others worth publishing.

Answer: The criteria vary from state to state

Each U.S. state has their own veterans' benefits program and the criteria to receive these benefits vary with the program. While, colloquially, any soldier who has either completed 20 years of peacetime service or a combat tour of duty is referred to as a veteran (some also restrict the honorific to soldiers having ended their service), none of these is a hard requirement.

In historic use, a veteran was any soldier who had been in a potentially lethal combat situation at least once and the term was used as opposed to novices or recruits who had not yet defended their own life.

Answer: 21

From 1914, the Eagle badge and later Eagle Scout rank have always included a requirement to earn a certain number of merit badges. For most of the time, this number was 21, with just a brief change to 24 from 1972 to 1978. These badges include a fixed list all scouts must earn and a remaining number of electives.

The fixed list varied much more than the overall total, ranging from a low of 11 to a high of 16.

Answer: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

The diplomatic rank system was established in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna. It was supposed to resolve the differences about seniority and precedence when representatives of several countries were appointed to the same head of state. In this system, the higher three grades - Ambassador, Envoy and Minister - were full representatives with the authority to speak and sign for their sovereign while the Chargé was just a deputy, acting within clearly defined authorities or in case of the unavailability of their leading diplomat.

Ambassadors had the privilege of heading an Embassy which was superior in status to a Legation, even though it essentially filled the same purpose. The rank of a representative was used to signify the amount of respect and friendship offered to a different country, but it was also a sign of own status. Only the most powerful countries exchanged full ambassadors, countries with less influence were usually only afforded an Envoy (and were in return also expected to appoint no higher rank).

With the founding of the United Nations, it became expected to deal with all nations as peers, so Legations were upgraded to full embassies around the world. Today, the Envoy and Minister ranks still exist, but are typically used to signify high-echelon diplomats serving under an ambassador, not ambassadors of lesser recognition.

Answer: Elector

The originally six electors or prince-electors ("Kurfürsten") had a special status among all the nobles of the Holy Roman Empire of Germany from 902 all the way to 1806. They consisted of three clerical leaders - the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne - and three worldly leaders - the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg and the Count Palatine of the Rhine. Regardless of their actual titles, these six held great power in that they were the ones to elect the Emperor whenever the need for succession arose. To prevent an election resulting in a tie, the King of neighboring Bohemia would serve as seventh elector in succession proceedings, but he had no other influence in the Empire.

This power of election also gave the six electors a major influence on the everyday matters and diplomacy in the empire and the elector title superseded their normal title of nobility for purpose of ranking.

Answer: a vine stick

While centurions' uniforms differed from those of normal soldiers in multiple details, the official designator of rank was a well-balanced stick of vine that not only established the right to mete out discipline but also provided the owner with an immediate and often-used means to do so.

Answer: Commodore 64

Impossible Mission was one of the most famous games of its time. It had a deceptively simple game-play mechanism - you controlled your character across rooms from platform to platform, jumping over gaps and enemies, to collect 36 puzzle pieces that would ultimately unlock the chamber of the final boss.

Its difficulty level however was legendary, good matches took a long time to play and the intelligent randomization of rooms and enemy features gave it an extremely high replay value. It was also one of the first games to feature digitized speech - including a much copied cry of death when the character fell into an elevator shaft. Combined with the high market share of the Commodore 64 platform, Impossible Mission had all ingredients required for re-establishing success in the home video game market that had crashed a year earlier after the ill-fated Atari E.T. and Pac-Man cartridge releases.

Answer: Nicolas Flamel

Contrary to popular belief, Nicolas Flamel was not just an invention by Joanne K. Rowling but a real alchemist born approximately in the year 1330. His work was centered on finding the Philosopher's Stone, a substance allegedly not only being able to confer great longevity or even immortality, but also of turning lesser metals into gold. Flamel experienced a long life, having designed his own tombstone in 1410.

His death is recorded as having occurred in the year 1418, but his prepared tomb was never used and remained empty. Rumors of Flamel sightings still occasionally flare up in Paris.

Answer: 13

The theoretical maximum number of questions to be asked in Jeopardy! is 61 in 13 categories, based on 6 categories with 5 questions each in the first round, six categories with five questions each in the "Double Jeopardy!" round and the one category and question of the "Final Jeopardy!" round. An ideal game would see all these questions played and would result in a total winning of $566,400, as follows:

29 first round questions: $17,800
1 first round daily double last: double to $35,600
28 second round questions: add $35,200 for $70,800
2 second round daily doubles last: quadruple to $283,200
1 Final Jeopardy! doubling to yield $566,400

The highest winning score ever actually achieved was a much more modest $75,000, by 74-times champion Ken Jennings.