This week on Granite State Challenge, The Tomahawks of Merrimack High School take on the Bears of Winnisquam Regional High School.

Only one team will advance.

Granite State Challenge starts now.

Major funding for the production of Granite State Challenge is provided by Unitil.

Additional funding provided by Bangor Savings Bank.

Safety insurance.

NEA New Hampshire.

Aroma Joe's.

And viewers like you.

Thank you.

Get ready.

It's time for New Hampshire high schools to match wits in a high stakes scholastic showdown.

It's time for Granite State Challenge.

Here's your host, Jon Cannon.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Granite State Challenge.

This week we're making our way through round one.

Five teams have already punch their ticket to round two, and we've got two teams with us this week hoping to join them.

Let's introduce them to you.

First up we have the team from Merrimack High School.

I'm Erin, I'm a senior.

I'm Liam.

I'm a senior.

I'm Maeve.

I'm a senior.

Hi.

I'm Avis.

I'm a junior.

Their alternates are Hikari, Bridget and Lauren.

And their coaches are chemistry teacher, doctor Sarah Campbell and physics teacher Liz Dumais.

They're the Tomahawks of Merrimack High School.

And their opponents this week are the Bears of Winnisquam Regional High School.

Hi.

I'm Beni, I'm a senior.

Hi.

I'm Claire.

And I'm a senior.

I'm Marcus, and I'm a junior.

Hi, I'm Joe, and I'm a senior.

Their alternates are Georgia, Kevin and Emma.

And their coaches are science teacher Jeremy Samba and social studies teacher Stephanie Shepherd.

And they're the Bears from Winnisquam Regional High School.

Those are our teams this week.

But we do have one more introduction for you.

And that is, of course, our beloved judge on the Ann Cam, Ann Boulanger.

All right.

Merrimack and Winnisquam introductions are out of the way.

We'll get to know you a little bit after round one, but let's play around one first, shall we?

We play in four rounds.

In round one, we do toss up questions for ten points each.

So Merrimack and Winnisquam good luck.

Here we go.

This fictional bear was found in a train station in London and loves marmalade.

Maeve of Merrimack, Paddington.

Yes.

The ostrich is the tallest species of bird.

What is the tallest species of land mammal?

Joe of Winnisquam?

Giraffe.

That's right.

Some people believe that in 1947, an alien spacecraft crashed near this city in New Mexico.

Erin of Merrimack.

Roswell.

Yes.

Teams who wrote an open letter from a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963 that stated injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Erin of Merrimack.

MLK.

Yes.

This structure that was started during the Qin dynasty to stop invaders eventually spanned more than 13,000 miles.

Clarie of Winnisquam.

The Great Wall of China.

That is right.

Four months before he warned Massachusetts colonists about the British, this silversmith rowed 66 miles to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to warn about British troops arriving to reinforce Fort William and Mary.

Erin of Merrimack.

Paul Revere.

Yes.

Teams, you will find a statue inspired by this children's book by Robert McCloskey on the Boston Commons.

Erin of Merrimack.

Make Way for Ducklings.

That is right.

In what type of shape named dancing will you find do-si-dos, allemandes, both left and right, and promenades?

Maeve of Merrimcack.

Square dancing.

That's right.

All right, teams, for this next question it's a picture question.

So take a look at your monitors.

You are looking at a painting by American artist Childe Hassam depicting this writer and poet in her garden on Appledore Island in the Isles of Shoals.

Erin of Merrimack.

Amy Beach.

Sorry.

No.

Winnisquam?

That is Celia Baxter.

All right, teams, if you take a bottle and add baking soda and vinegar to it and then fit a balloon over the bottle opening the balloon will fill with this gas.

Beni of Winnisquam.

Carbon dioxide.

That is right.

This city in the west Bank, in Palestine, is one of the oldest cities in the world and is known for its defensive walls, which have fallen down.

Beni of Winnisquam.

Rafa.

Sorry.

No.

Merrimack.

Erin.

Islamabad?

Nope.

It is the city of Jericho.

All right teams, this man, with the permission of President Lincoln brought his photographic studio onto the battlefields of the Civil War, resulting in some of the first photographic images to capture the horrors of war.

Erin of Merrimack.

Ansel Adams.

Sorry, no.

It was Matthew Brady.

All right, teams.

The zoning Improvement Plan, activated in 1963 to improve mail delivery, is better known by this name.

Beni of Winnisquam.

Zip.

That's right.

The zip code.

If you are using the Scoville scale, what are you measuring?

Avis of Merrimack.

Spice.

Yes.

The hotness or the spiciness of peppers.

Yes.

In his 1964 state of the Union speech, this US president said his administration was declaring an unconditional war on poverty.

Erin of Merrimack.

LBJ.

Yes.

Correct.

Teams.

Our next question is our Unitil power question, which is worth double the points.

So a 20 point tossup question coming to you on your monitors.

Take a look.

George Orwell wrote we know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it in this 1949 novel.

Erin of Merrimack.

1984.

That is correct.

Teams.

Who was the last leader of the Soviet Union?

Erin of Merrimack.

Gorbachev.

Yes.

This organization formed in 1913 and made up of 12 regional banks and a board of governors, regulates the monetary supply of the U.S. by buying and selling federal notes and by adjusting the interest rate.

Avis of Merrimack.

The Federal Reserve.

Yes.

All right, teams, our next question is also a video question coming to you on your monitors.

Take a look.

Hi, I'm Erin Hennessey, the New Hampshire deputy secretary of state, and I have a New Hampshire civics question for you.

In most states, the second person in line for succession as acting governor of a state is the lieutenant governor, because New Hampshire does not have an lieutenant governor, the person in what position is next in line of succession?

Erin of Merrimack.

The Speaker of the House.

Sorry, no.

Winnisquam.

Beni.

Secretary of State.

Sorry.

No.

It is the President of the Senate in New Hampshire.

All right, teams, this dancer made history in 2015 when she became the first black woman to become a principal dancer in the American Ballet Theater.

Liam of Merrimack.

Misty Copeland.

That is right.

The Board on Geographic Names, established by President Benjamin Harrison in 1890, has granted only five place names in the U.S. the rights to contain a possessive apostrophe.

This large island in Massachusetts is one of the Five Avis of Merrimack.

Martha's Vineyard.

That is right.

And that sound ends round one.

Looks like Merrimack out to a bit of a lead here by a score of 130 to 40.

All right, keep it up, teams.

Great round one.

But we're going to put a pause in the action right now to get to know our players a little bit.

And we're going to start with the team from Merrimack High School.

Merrimack High School is of course located in the town of Merrimack.

Enrolls just over a thousand students.

And we'll start down here on the end with Avis and Avis, You are a skier.

Yes.

All right, alpine skier so a downhill skier.

And you broke a personal record earlier this season.

What was it?

I, hit my top speed, ever probably of 66mph.

Okay, so I know that's a fast speed to drive, but I'm not a skier.

Is that a fast speed to ski, I would assume, yes.

Very fast.

My average tends to be around 35 or 40.

Okay.

And were you trying to break your record?

No, I was just having fun.

It didn't feel that fast.

And then you checked the app?

Yep.

You did 66.

All right, well, be careful out there.

All right.

On the slopes of New Hampshire.

Next up, we have Maeve.

And, I'm sure you know, as a redhead, you get a lot of comments about that, but there's something interesting about your family.

Yes, yes.

So, my siblings and I are the only people, in our family that have red hair.

Okay, so I know a little bit about genetics, so that must come from someone up the line in your ancestry.

Yes.

So we have a great aunt and a great uncle on each of my parents side.

So that recessive gene made three.

Wow.

Those must be some powerful recessive genes.

All right.

Excellent.

Next up we have, Liam.

And, you know, we've been doing Granite State Challenge for a long time.

Merrimack and established team on Granite State challenge.

But this is your first ever quiz bowl competition.

All right.

How are you feeling about it?

I like it.

My mom's been begging me to do this for years.

I watched PBS as a kid, so she was like, you're going to do that someday.

I figured, I've taken chemistry with Doctor Campbell.

I got interested, and I was like, you know what?

Senior year.

So your coach was your teacher, and she was like, you got to get up on the team, and.

And here you are.

Here I am.

All right.

Well, we're happy to have you.

I'm sure the team is happy to have you as well.

Erin, team captain is happy to have you.

Erin.

Senior.

So you're thinking about life after Merrimack High School and, thinking about arts.

Yes.

So I plan to go to school for studio art to later get a job in art restoration and conservation.

Oh, very, very cool.

So, what got you interested in arts restoration and conservation?

So that was more of an interest that I found recently.

I know Doxey says she had a student who went into that as, like, a future career.

And it seemed like a really good career where I could work with the old art that really inspires me and, you know, use my studio tactics.

I love it.

Very good.

All right.

And that is the team from Merrimack High School.

All right.

Their opponents this week is the team from Winnisquam Regional High School.

Winnisquam is in the town of Tilton, but it also serves the towns of Sanborton and Northfield as well About 450 students or so.

We'll start down here on the end with Joe, who is, just took up.

Well, I guess it was five years ago.

You took up what hobby?

Playing guitar.

I've been doing since around 2020.

Been taking a lot of lessons since then.

Shout out Carlton.

There you go.

All right.

And and, did you just get a recent, recently made for Christmas, get a new guitar?

Yeah, I just got a Telecaster player 2 that.

I'm, excited to go home and play after this.

No offense.

Oh, no no, no, no, I, I would be excited to play a tele as well.

All right.

Excellent.

Next up we have Marcus.

Who has I would say this is a little bit more than a hobby for you.

This is like a lifelong pursuit since four years old.

What have you been doing?

I've been taking karate since I was four years old.

So?

So you go through the entire process.

Where are you at right now in your development?

Right now I have, my belt.

Zenji.

First degree.

Because when I'm 18, I can.

I'm an adult, and then I can officially have test out for my black belt.

All right.

And what role has that done for you in your life?

It's taught me a lot of self-confidence and discipline.

Given me a lot of good tools to use.

Yeah.

Excellent.

Yeah.

And, I would recommend it to anyone and to a lot of people.

Yes.

Fantastic.

All right.

Marcus is joined by Claire, also an artist.

Tell us a little bit about your art.

So I focus mostly on portrait work and, paintings.

I enjoy using graphite and mixed media, so I like to combine, like, oil paints and pastels and then go over on top with colored pencils for added texture.

You thinking maybe, art in the future as well?

No, I'm actually interested in studying dental hygiene.

Oh, okay.

So this is just a hobby for you.

Well, I can see some of your pictures on the notepads in front of us.

Quite a good artist is Claire.

Thank you.

Claire.

All right.

And leading the team is Beni.

Beni works, at one of our sponsors for Granite State Challenge.

Where do you work?

So I work at Aroma Joe's.

I work at the one right accross from high school in Tilton.

Oh, it's literally right across the street from the school, like a few hundred yards.

And so you work with, a friend, some friends who are also at school.

But you guys did something really cool as friends working at Aroma Joe's.

Tell us.

So we made a TikTok.

It's called Tilton Baristas.

And, we have done pretty well in the last month or so.

We've, gained about 1200 followers.

Wow.

Almost 100,000 likes in total.

It's been a really just great opportunity, like, to bring everyone together and get everyone in at work, bring them together, love it.

Love it very much.

All right.

That is Beni.

And this is the team from Win Winnisquam Regional High School.

All right, teams, thanks for that.

We're going to go ahead and pick back up where we left off with round two of Granite State Challenge, which is our three strikes and your'e out round.

So the way this works is that each team gets ten questions and we go one by one, player by player down the line.

Each of you gets a question and if you don't know the answer, you can pass.

Each team gets three passes and we keep going until all ten questions are asked or until three strikes and you're out.

Just a reminder, something in the previous question will be the inspiration for the next question.

So we do it alphabetically.

That means Merrimack.

We start with you and Erin.

This is your question, James Madison, Alexandra Hamilton, and John Jay were the primary authors of this still living document.

The Federalist Papers.

Sorry, it's the Constitution.

Liam.

Nine states were needed to ratify the US Constitution.

Delaware was the first state to ratify it.

What state was the ninth?

New Hampshire.

New Hampshire is right.

Maeve.

39 delegates signed the constitution, including John Langdon and Nicholas Gilman from New Hampshire.

Future President James Madison signed the document.

Along with this, other future president.

Pass.

Avis, your question.

Pass.

Passing to Erin.

John Adams.

It was George Washington.

Liam.

Your question.

George Washington spent years trying to capture this runaway slave that belonged to his family.

He never caught her, and she settled in Greenland, New Hampshire.

Sorry.

Last one.

That was Oney Judge.

And that is the third strike that ends the round.

All right.

Winnisquam, we turn our attention over to you.

Same drill will go right down the line.

You've got three passes and three strikes.

Beni, we'll start with you.

The 20th amendments to the US Constitution changed this event from March to January 20th.

The inauguration.

Correct.

Claire.

In his inauguration speech, this president asked citizens to ask not what your country can do for you.

Ask what you can do for your country.

Pass.

Pass to Marcus.

What was the question?

The question is, in his inauguration speech, this president asked citizens to ask not what your country can do for you.

Ask what you can do for your country.

John F Kennedy.

Correct.

Joe, among the first recipients of a Kennedy Center honor was this singer who, in 1939, was not allowed to perform for an integrated audience in Constitutional Hall.

Pass.

All right, Beni, pass to you.

Ella Fitzgerald.

Sorry.

No, it is Marian Anderson.

Claire, Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt helped make arrangements for Marian Anderson to sing on the steps of this monument on Easter Sunday, April 9th, 1939.

The Lincoln Memorial.

Correct.

Marcus.

The statue of Abraham Lincoln found at the Lincoln Memorial was the work of this sculptor, who was born in Exeter, New Hampshire.

Pass.

All right.

That is your third pass, Joe.

I don't know what it is.

Daniel Chester French.

So we go back to Beni.

Daniel Webster served in the United States Congress as a representative for New Hampshire from 1813 to 1817, and this state from 1823 to 1827.

Massachusetts.

Correct.

Claire.

Western Massachusetts was the site of this 1786 armed uprising over taxes and economic hardship.

The Boston Tea Party.

Sorry.

No, it was Shays Rebellion.

That is your third strike and the end of the round.

All right, so a little tightening up after round two, but we're going to roll into round three, our 60 second round.

Alternates I'd like to ask you to come on up and join your teams at the podiums.

The way our 60 second round works is this.

Each team gets ten questions in a category.

They can work together and talk as a team.

But we do take the captains answer as the team answer.

We'll give you ten points for each correct response and a bonus of ten points if you get all ten correct.

Winnisquam.

As the team trailing, we're going to start with you.

So Beni, you can talk to your team and choose from these three categories.

Victory is Mine, Hit a Brick Wall or Call Me.

Victory Is Mine.

Victory Is Mine.

All right, so the answers to the following will all be winners in sports.

Okay, so, Beni, again, I will take your answer as the team answer.

But you can talk to your team.

60 seconds.

Start the clock.

This Yankee great was known as Joltin Joe and was married to Marilyn Monroe.

Joe DiMaggio.

Yes, she is considered to be the best gymnast of all time.

Simone Biles.

Yes, this boxer would tell you that he was the greatest and that he also floated like a butterfly.

Muhammad Ali.

Correct.

The Red Sox sold him to the Yankees and bad luck followed.

Ruth.

Babe Ruth.

Yes, he led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl champions.

Tom Brady.

Yes, she won 23 Grand Slam women's singles before she retired in 2022.

Serena Williams.

Yes, she won eight Olympic golds for swimming and called Dover, New Hampshire, her home.

It is Jenny Thompson.

In the hockey world, he is known as the Great One.

Wayne Gretzky.

Yes, this tennis player beat Bobby Riggs in the battle of the sexes.

Billie Joe, Billie Joe King.

Think about that, Ann.

This Jamaican sprinter holds the world record in the ten meter and 200 meter races.

Usain Bolt.

Correct.

So on the Ann Cam, eight out of ten on your 60 second round.

All right Merrimack we turn our attention over to you Erin.

You have your team.

You can decide from Hit a Brick Wall or Call Me.

Call Me, please.

Call Me.

All right.

So the answers to all of the following will include the word call or the letters c a l l in that order.

Okay.

Again, Erin, I'll take your answer as the team answer.

60 seconds.

Start the clock.

This military first person shooter game was first released Call of Duty.

Yes.

You might want to hang up on these auto dials with prerecorded messages.

Call bot?

No, it's a robo call.

This novel by Jack London is set in Yukon, Canada.

Call of the Wild.

Yes, Carlee Rae Jepsen had a hit with this song.

Call Me Maybe.

Yep.

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a construction worker in the 1990 film set in 2084.

Pass.

It's Total Recall.

This regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem is known for the song Minnie the Moocher.

Cab Calloway.

Cab Calloway is right.

This flower is often associated with funerals and Easter Calla Lily.

That is correct.

This is a highly stylized form of writing you might use on an invitation.

Calligraphy.

Yes, this is sometimes called a green onion.

Scallion.

Yes.

If you do a good job in an audition for a play, you might get this.

Call Back.

Yes.

Correct.

And at the end of your round eight out of ten on your 60 second round.

Great job teams.

Thank you alternates.

You go ahead and grab your seats as we get ready for round four.

So in round four we're going to pick back up with our toss up questions.

But we are going to make a couple changes.

We're going to double the point value to 20 point toss ups.

But we will be deducting 20 points for incorrect responses.

So playing smart and strategically Merrimack and Winnisquam.

Good luck.

Let's play.

This company, known for its yellow boot, is headquartered in Stratham, New Hampshire.

The boot is referenced in songs by Wu-Tang Clan, NAS, Tupac Shakur, and The Notorious B.I.G.

They love their Timberlands.

All right, teams William Bradford governed this colony from 1621 through 1656.

You know the Plymouth Colony.

All right.

The Aerosmith song Walk This Way was inspired after the band saw the line used in a scene between Igor and his employer and his fiancé in this 1974 Mel Brooks movie.

Erin of Merrimack.

Frankenstein.

Sorry, no.

Winnisquam?

The movie's Young Frankenstein.

All right.

Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren is known for creating several book series, including Emil of önneberga, Karlsson on the Roof, and a series of books about this girl with long red braids, freckles and superhuman strength.

Erin of Merrimack.

Pippi Longstocking.

That's right On December 2nd, 1804, this man crowned himself Emperor of France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Avis of Merrimack.

Napoleon.

Yes.

All right, teams, we've got a math question for you.

You've got pencil and paper if you want it.

What is the average speed of an object that travels 110 miles in 2.5 hours?

Beni of Winnisquam.

55 miles an hour.

Sorry.

No.

Merrimack.

You're on the right track.

It's 44 miles an hour.

All right.

Teams with a radius of 1635 miles.

This moon of Jupiter is larger than Mercury, making it the largest moon in our solar system.

Avis of Merrimack.

Titan.

Sorry.

No.

Winnisquam.

It is Ganymede is the name of that moon.

The father of this singer might have an achy breaky heart while being estranged from her for several years an estrangement that probably won't be solved with flowers.

Avis of Merrimack.

Miley Cyrus.

That is right.

The bald eagle has been the national emblem of the United States since 1792.

It became the national bird of the country when this president signed it into law on Christmas Eve.

Happened recently by Joe Biden.

The credit for for this hairstyle, often described as business in the front and party in the back, is often given to the Beastie Boys, who wrote about it in a song that stated don't cut it wack, Jack.

Erin of Merrimack.

Mullet.

That's right.

After the Sun, at 4.25 light years away, this is the closest star to Earth.

Erin of Merrimack.

Proxima Centauri.

That's right.

In the Middle Ages in France, these roving minstrels would go from castle to castle, telling stories and singing songs of pure love.

They were known as troubadours.

The only signature on the Declaration of Independence was placed.

Well, we'll have to save that maybe for the next game.

But at the end of this game looks like it's going to be Merrimack.

Moving on to round two.

Great job Merrimack.

Congratulations on a good win.

We'll see you in round two and Winnisquam, thank you so much for coming on up.

We hope you had fun being here.

We had fun having you here and we hope you had fun at home as well.

We do hope you join us next week as the teams from Bow and Profile face off.

That'll do it for us this week on Granite State Challenge.

I hope you learned something because I did as well, and we'll see you next time.

Major funding for the production of Granite State Challenge is provided by Unitil.

Additional funding provided by Bangor Savings Bank, Safety Insurance, NEA New Hampshire, Aroma Joe's, and viewers like you.

Thank you.