This week on Granite State Challenge, the team from the Academy for Science and Design takes on the team from Merrimack 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 NEA New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, D.F.Richard Energy.

HRCU 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 our first quarterfinal match up of this season of Granite State Challenge.

Eight teams made it through the first round and two of those teams are here right now to do battle to see who will make it to the semifinals.

Let's introduce them to you.

First up, we have the team from the Academy for Science and Design.

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

I'm Vidya and I'm a senior.

I'm Daniel, and I'm a senior.

I’m Pranav Grover and I'm a junior.

All right.

The alternates are Danny and Edward, and the coach is social studies teacher Sean Kraus.

And that's the team from the Academy for Science in Design.

And their opponents this week is the team from Merrimack High School.

Hi, I'm Kishan the captain and a senior.

I'm Trey.

A senior.

I'm Erin I'm a junior.

Hi, I'm Liam.

I'm Senior.

The alternates are Shelby and Avis and the coach is chemistry teacher Sarah Campbell.

And that's the team from Merrimack High School.

All right.

Teams are out of the way.

But we do have one more introduction, of course.

Our beloved judge back with us again this week is Ann Boulanger.

All right.

Team's introductions are out of the way.

Go ahead and grab those signaling devices because we're going to play some Granite State challenge.

As you know, we play in four rounds.

In round one, we do ten point toss up questions.

So Academy for Science and Design, Merrimack.

Good luck.

Let's go.

This East Derry, New Hampshire native became the first American to go into space in 1961 and the fifth person to walk on the moon in 1971.

Pranav of ASD.

Alan Shepard.

Yes.

Actor Jerry Orbach played Baby's father in Dirty Dancing, NYPD homicide detective Lennie Briscoe on Law and Order and this candelabra in the 1991 animated film Beauty and the Beast Trey of Merrimack Lumiere.

Yes.

In his State of the Union address to Congress in 1964, this president declared, quote, Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and above all, to prevent it.

In what became known as the War on Poverty, Kishan of Merrimack.

Lyndon Johnson.

Yes.

This man served as US president from 1909 to 1913 and then as Chief Justice of the US of the US Supreme Court from 1921 until his death in 1930.

Kishan of Merrimack.

William Howard Taft.

He's the one.

This play by Arthur Miller, set during the Salem Witch trials, is seen as an allegory for McCarthyism.

Chris of ASD.

The Crucible, Yes, known as the Crescent City and the Big Easy.

This city on the Mississippi was seriously impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Trey of Merrimack, New Orleans.

Yes.

French philosopher René Descartes is known for the phrase cogito ergo sum, which translates to this in English.

Chris of ASD.

I think therefore I am.

Yes, you do.

All right, teams, this race is based on the legend of the Greek messenger.

Philip It is Erin of Merrimack Marathon.

Yes.

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

You may want pencil and paper for if you if you choose teams, what is the area of a circle in inches with a radius of ten inches rounded to the nearest whole number?

Kishan of Merrimack.

314.

That's right.

Henry Lee, in a 1799 eulogy, said this man was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.

Erin of Merrimack, George Washington.

That's right.

It is.

Last at bat in his last game on September 28th, 1960, this Red Sox legend, known as the Splendid Splinter and Teddy Ballgame, hit a home run to deep right field Trey of Merrimack.

Ted Williams.

Yes.

This ancient Greek marble statue found in the Louve is renowned for its beauty.

Even though it is missing both of its arms.

Erin of Merrimack.

The Venus de Milo.

Yes.

We'll give that to you if you are a flatter less.

What do you study or collect?

Erin of Merrimack Seashells.

Sorry.

No, ASD Dan fiddles.

No, it is stamps.

Stamps.

French athlete Kevin Mayer holds the world record in the decathlon with 9126 points.

How many individual events are there in a decathlon?

Vidya of ASD ten?

Yes.

All right, teams, go ahead and take a look at your monitor for the next question.

You are looking at the black tailed member of this group of burrowing ground squirrels found in grasslands in North America.

Erin of Merrimack.

Groundhog sorry.

No.

Dan of ASD.

Prairie dog.

Prairie Dog is right.

On April 12th, 1961, this pilot became the first person to travel into space when he orbited the earth one time in a flight that lasted 108 minutes.

Liam of Merrimack.

Yuri Gagarin.

He is the one.

Yes.

This sport, often referred to as the sport of kings, is divided into periods known as checkers.

Erin of Merrimack.

Polo.

Yes.

At one time, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was the largest textile manufacturing mill in the world.

In what, New Hampshire City or town was the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company located Trey of Merrimack Manchester?

That's right.

Well, that is that is correct.

We'll give that to you.

What are the only two pieces that can move in the starting position in a game of chess?

Daniel of ASD pawns and knights.

Yes.

All right, teams, our next question is a civics question.

It's coming to you on your monitors from Marge Chiafery the vice chair of New Hampshire Civics.

Take a look.

Seven states have one representative in the United States House of Representatives.

Alaska, Wyoming.

Montana.

North Dakota.

South Dakota.

Delaware.

And this New England state Trey of Merrimack, Vermont.

Yes.

Xanthus and Balius are the immortal horses of this Greek hero of the Trojan War, who is known for his weak heels.

Erin, of Merrimack.

Achilles.

Yes.

The color fuchsia is a bright pink spell.

Fuchsia.

Trey of Merrimack.

F USCHIA sorry.

No ASD Pranva FUSIA No, it is f u c h s i a.

The c comes first.

The equatorial circumference of this planet is 24,901 miles and Mary O'Donnell circumference is 24,860 miles.

Trey of Merrimack.

Earth.

Yes.

Snow White shared a house with Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy.

And these two individuals whose names both started with the letter D in the 1937 Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Chris of ASD, Duck and Dopey, those are the two.

And that sound ends all round and a great round.

A lot of questions answered correctly, but Merrimack out to a lead by a score of 150 to 70.

All right great round teams fast furious.

Keep it up.

But before we move into round two, we're going to take a moment to get to know our teams a little bit.

And we're going to start with the team from the Academy for Science and Design.

The Academy for Science and Design is located in Nashua, New Hampshire, enrolls about 190 students in the captain of the team from ASD is Chris and Chris.

You are the president of what organization at your school?

I'm the President of our Schools chapter of the National Honor System.

All right.

So National Honor Society, we've got chapters all over the country.

You're the president at your school.

So what types of responsibilities does that mean you have?

So I run the meetings, make sure everything runs smoothly.

I coordinate between committees and make sure we get service projects done.

And I communicate to the school on behalf of the NHS.

All right.

So a lot of duties there.

Excellent.

Joining him is Vidya.

Vidya got to go on a trip to India for the first time in a long time.

You got to go to India, but you had something very specific that you wanted to see.

What was it?

So my dad and I have been planning to go to a food street in India because we hadn't been in seven years together.

So we got to make that trip this time.

And so this is in Bangalore, India.

And so there's a street called Food Street where there's food vendors.

Street food vendors, Yeah, all up and down.

Yeah.

All right.

So any recommendations?

Try everything.

That's a great recommendation.

All right.

Excellent.

I love it.

Daniel is the next member of the team, and you play the game of Spike Ball, but this is like a unique form of Spike Ball that I've never heard of.

So tell the folks at home about it.

It's.

We play on a table and we use a small miniature foam basketball.

So this is at school.

For those who aren't familiar with Spike Ball, the idea is your bounce the ball off of usually it's a net, but you play off a table and this is at school.

How do the how do the adults in school feel about this?

Most of them don't know about it.

All right.

Well, hey, you know, keep it up.

Who am I to stop the fun?

Speaking of fun, Pranav is a member of the first robotics team as well.

We talked about first robotics when you were on the show in the first round.

What's your role on the first robotics team?

So I'm the head of outreach and fundraising on the first robotics team.

So that basically means that I maintain relationships with our sponsors and I coordinate outreach events.

So, you know, if PBS ever needs anything, you know, you know, we're well known.

Well, we always love our sponsors, whether it's for First Robotics, Granite Stage Challenge or anything on New Hampshire PBS, that is your team from the Academy for Science and Design.

All right.

Now we move on over to their opponents this week at Merrimack High School.

Merrimack High School is located in Merrimack, New Hampshire, enrolls just over 1000 students, and from among them, team Captain Kishan who as a team captain takes care of his team.

How I baked cupcakes for our team yesterday in preparation for this match, and I had enough cupcakes to decorate the entire set of Granite State Challenge.

And the specialty of these cupcakes were that they had each team members name on them, and I had a little drawing of them.

excellent.

And were they okay with the team?

Say it's okay.

We're they good?

They were okay.

They were okay.

All right.

They were good.

So they get the ringing endorsement.

Well, hey, that's good captaincy right there.

All right, Next up on this team is Trey, and you do something I think is super cool, right?

Which is you're in a band.

Tell us about your band.

I'm an I play keyboard for a band called Fork in the Road.

We we we've done one concert.

We're looking to do more and there's four people in the band a me on keyboard.

And then we have a singer, a bassist slash guitarist and then a drummer.

Excellent.

And a singer.

And a singer and a singer.

Yeah, Yeah.

So, you know, as you know, being in a band, you always want to play out more and more shows.

So, you know, maybe there's folks out there who want to hear some of your music.

How could they find find it They can go on Instagram to at Band Fork in the Road.

All right.

Check it out.

Excellent.

Next up on the team is Erin who's a fan of a universe, if you will, a genre of movie that I'm a huge fan of.

We're huge fans up here in New Hampshire.

PBS, which is what?

The Muppets.

The Muppets.

We love the Muppets.

Now, it says here, you watched every Muppet movie.

Yeah.

If you look up on Wikipedia list of Muppet movies, every movie that's listed as a film I have watch.

Okay.

And do you have a favorite in that list?

Yes.

I think Muppet Treasure Island is the best.

All right.

We'll see.

There you go.

All right.

Fantastic.

And rounding out the team is Liam.

And Liam has a number of pets that share a commonality with my dog, Peggy, in that they all have.

What kind of name?

So all my pets have human names.

All right, so let's hear them.

What do we got of a cat named Susie?

The dog named Lawrence?

A dog named Dottie had a fish.

I name Gilbert.

If you had a fish, you'd name them Gilbert.

Excellent.

And why the human names?

I kind of like it.

Kind of gives them human qualities, you know, Makes them feel more like members of the family.

Well, there you go.

There you have it.

And that is the team from Merrimack High School.

All right, teams, well done.

We're going to go right into round two.

In round two is our three strikes and you're out round.

So we're going to do this team by team.

You've gone through the drill before.

We have ten questions.

We go down the line, player by player.

Each player gets a question and we continue until all ten questions are asked or until three strikes and you're out.

And just as a reminder, you have three passes you can use as a team and each question is a bit of a clue to it in the previous question.

So we're going to start with the Academy for Science and Design.

And Chris, this is your question.

Actor Dorothy Dandridge was the first black woman to be nominated for a best Actress Oscar.

She was nominated in 1954 for the movie Carmen Jones.

Carmen Jones was based on this 1875 opera by French composer George Bizet.

Carmen Yes.

Vidya The opera Carmen is famous for its toreador song What is a Toreador?

You can pass Daniel if you want.

Yeah, for novice bullfighter, a bullfighter is right back to Chris.

This former president started the progressive or Bull Moose Party in 1912.

Theodore Roosevelt.

Yes, Vidya in 1963.

Lesley Gore saying that it was her party and that she would do this if she wanted to dance.

It's cry.

It's her party.

So cry if she wants to.

Daniel In 1992, Tennessee Senator Al Gore became the running mate of this future president Nixon.

Sorry, it was Bill Clinton.

Pranva, Bill Clinton played this instrument on the Arsenio Hall Show Pass.

Chris.

Saxophone.

Saxophone is right Vidya Arsenio Hall starred with this actor who is the voice of Mufasa, Darth Vader and CNN in the 1988 movie Coming to America.

No answer.

It is James Earl Jones.

And that is your third strike and it ends the rounds.

All right, Merrimack, we turn our attention to you.

Same drill.

Kishan, we'll start with you.

This is your question.

The Pink Panther in the movies is not a species of cat.

It is this type of gem.

DIAMOND Yes.

Trey In the song Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds by this group, there are tangerine trees and marmalade skies Pass Erin The Beatles.

Yes.

So that was a pass.

Liam.

Lucille Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz, starred in this groundbreaking sitcom that first aired in 1951.

I Love Lucy.

Yes.

that was correct.

I, I We're back.

We're back to the start.

Yep.

No strikes against you so far.

Keyshawn, we're back to you.

The blues songs, Ball and Chain was a hit for singer Janis Joplin, but it was written and recorded by Big Mama Thornton, who also wrote and recorded the song Hound Dog, which was a number one hit for this singer in 1956.

Elvis Presley.

Yes, Trey.

In a 1979 song, British artist Elvis Costello wondered What's so funny about peace, love?

And this happiness.

Close peace, love and understanding.

Erin The comedy duo Abbott and Costello is famous for the routine Who's on First, which is about players in this sports baseball.

Yes, Liam.

Actress, producer and writer Quinta Brunson won an Emmy for Best Actress in a comedy series for her role as a teacher in the series Abbott Elementary, which is set in this Pennsylvania city that is home to the Flyers and the Eagles.

Philadelphia.

Yes.

Kishan Philadelphia is known for its cheesesteaks and this cracked symbol of American freedom.

Liberty Bell.

Yes.

Trey Book Loving Bell is the protagonist in this 1991 animated Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast.

Yes.

And Erin, Angela Lansbury is the voice of Mrs. Potts in the movie Beauty and the Beast.

She was also the lead character in the series Murder.

She wrote where she played a mystery author who lived in Cabot Cove in this New England state, New Hampshire.

Sorry, it's Maine.

And that's the 10th question in the round.

So that ends your three strikes, rounds.

All right.

Merrimack, hanging on to his lead after two rounds in our third round is our 60 second round.

I'd like to invite the alternates to come on up and join their teams in the 60 second round.

Each team gets ten questions in a category.

They can talk together, work together as a team, and we do take the captain's answer as the team answer in Academy for Science and Design.

And Chris, because you are the team trailing right now, you do get to select first from our three categories this week and they are best b o the places you'll never go and a hairy situation.

Best b best be all right.

In this category.

The answers to the following will be words or names that begin with the letters B and E in that order.

All right, Chris, again, I'll take your answer as the team answer 60 seconds.

Start the clock.

He betrayed the US during the Revolutionary War.

Benedict Arnold?

Yes.

He thought going to bed early would make you healthy, wealthy and wise.

Ben Franklin Yes.

This separated two parts of a German city after World War Two.

The Berlin Wall.

Yes.

Don't let these bite you when you go to sleep.

Bedbugs?

Yes.

Don't say this movie Demon's Name three times.

Beetlejuice.

Yes.

This is the capital of Lebanon.

Beirut?

Yes.

She wrote books about Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins and Ralph s Mouse.

Beverly Cleary.

Yes, Raffi Song.

Sorry.

Raffi sang a song about a baby.

One of these beluga belugas right.

This Portsmouth native was governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766.

No answer is Banning Wentworth.

He really made Grendel's mother angry in an old English poem, Beowulf.

Beowulf is correct that nine out of ten very well done on your 60 second round.

All right, Merrimack and Kishan you've seen the categories.

the places you'll never go.

And a hairy situation which you choose.

the places you'll never go.

the places you'll never go.

All right, Merrimack.

The answers to all of the following will be fictional places.

Kishan I'll take your answer.

Is the team answer 60 seconds.

Start the clock.

It's where Harry Ron and Hermione learned spells.

Yes.

The Grinch hates this happy village of Whoville.

Yes.

Peter Pan makes his home here.

Neverland?

Yes.

Batman protects this city.

Gotham City?

Yes.

Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie make this their home.

Springfield.

Yes.

A place in Oz where Dorothy and her companions traveled Emerald City.

Yes.

This theme park features prehistoric creatures.

Jurassic Park.

Yes.

This is where Norse gods hang out Asgard.

Yes.

This is the home of the Black Panther.

Anaconda?

Yes.

This fictional New Hampshire town is the setting for the play.

Our town, Grover's Corner.

That is correct.

Is that a ten out of ten?

All right.

Ten out of ten.

Very well done.

All right.

Thank you so much, Alternates.

You can go ahead and take your seats as we roll into round four.

Merrimack extending its lead just a little bit.

But in round four, we're going to double the point value of our toss up questions, and we will be deducting 20 points for incorrect responses.

So a lot can change in round four Academy for Science and Design, Merrimack.

Good luck.

And here we go.

And our first question in the round is our UNITIL Power Question worth double the points?

So a 40 point toss up question coming at you on your monitors.

Take a look.

This is what you get in hockey when the other team has a player in the penalty box.

Liam of Merrimack Power play power, play his rights.

Elvis Presley sang about finding a new place to dwell in this hotel found at the end of Lonely Street in the 1956 song of the same name, Erin of Merrimack Heartbreak Hotel.

That's right.

This 20th century artist is sometimes referred to as Jack the Dripper because of his unique painting style.

Kishan of Merrimack Pollock.

Yes.

Daisy and Tom Buchanan live in East Egg, New York, in this novel by Scott Fitzgerald's Kishan of Merrimack.

Great Gatsby.

Yes.

This was the name of one of Queen Elizabeth, the second favorite Welsh Corgis when she was a child, the name of a 1994 album by the band Green Day and a euphemism for defecation was Dookie was what we were looking for.

All right.

This could be a plant in the monocoque order or the bottom side of your hand.

Kishan of Merrimack.

Palm Palm is right.

This singer's song Dance The Night was featured in the 2023 movie Barbie.

Chris of ASD Dua LIPA.

Yes, Crimson, Carmine and Vermilion are all shades of this color.

Daniel of ASD Red, Yes.

Two US presidents have been divorced.

Name them Trey of Merrimack, Trump and Cleveland.

Sorry, no Academy for Science and Design.

You had one of them Trey.

The other was Ronald Reagan.

All right, teams, next question.

Go ahead and take a look at your monitors.

This baseball player became the first black man to play in the modern era of baseball when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15th, 1947.

Trey of Merrimack, Jackie Robinson.

Yes, a boo is the fez wearing kleptomaniac pet monkey in this 1992 animated Disney movie Vidya of ASD.

Aladdin, Aladdin is right.

Same voice actor is curious George.

The US has two territories in the Caribbean, named them Trey of Merrimack, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Which Virgin Islands?

The US Virgin.

Okay, we'll give it to you.

Five men have been five star generals in the US Army.

General George C Marshall, General Douglas MacArthur, General Henry Arnold's General Omar Bradley, and this man who would go on to be president.

Liam of Merrimack.

Ulysses S Grant.

Sorry, no Academy for Science and Design.

Chris Eisenhower.

Eisenhower is right.

In 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down key parts of this 1965 federal law that provided protections against racial discrimination in elections.

And Daniel of ASD affirmative action.

So we'll say it again.

Affirmative action.

Sorry, no, it was the Voting Rights Act, but that sound does end the round.

And it is Merrimack moving on to the semifinals.

Congratulations, Merrimack, on a great, great match.

We'll see who you play in the semifinals when we see the teams from Skowhegan and Trinity match up next week.

Academy for Science and Design.

Congratulations on your first round win.

Tough loss today, but we hope you had fun with us here.

And we hope you had fun with us as well.

We do hope you tune in next week for that game against Souhegan and Trinity.

But that's going to do it for us this week.

And as I like to say, at the end of each week on Granite State Challenge, I learn something and I hope you did as well.

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

Additional funding provided by NEA New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, D.F.Richard Energy, HRCU and viewers like you.

Thank you.