This week on Granite State Challenge, the team from Nashua South High School takes on the team from Plymouth 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 and 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 thank you so much for joining us on Granite State Challenge.

We are halfway through our quarterfinal round two teams have already made their way to the semifinals.

We've got two teams here this week hoping to join them.

Let's introduce them.

First up, we have the team from Nashua South High School.

I'm Curtis.

I'm a senior.

I am Deetya I’m a senior.

I'm Narayan a senior.

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

The alternates are Henry and Eric.

The coaches are social studies teacher Lex Duval and English teacher Kelly Thornhill to Erskine.

And that's the team from Nashua South High School facing off against them.

This week is the team from Plymouth Regional High School.

I am Reagan.

I'm a junior.

Hi, I'm Khalil I'm a senior.

I am Paul.

I'm a senior.

I am Norman.

I'm a junior.

They're alternates are Ethan and Max and their coaches are a programing drafting and engineering teacher Jay Fogarty and world language teacher Troy Harris.

And that is the team from Plymouth Regional High School.

Those are our teams this week.

But we do have one more introduction.

Back with us again for another week is our beloved judge Ann Boulanger.

All right, everybody, that is introductions.

Those are out of the way.

Grab those signaling devices.

We're going to go ahead and play Granite State challenge as you know, we play in four rounds, round one, ten point toss up question.

So Nashua, South and Plymouth, good luck.

Here we go.

At one time, there were billions of this species of bird found in the US, but the last one who was named Martha died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Passenger pigeon.

That's right.

This Roman god of transitions, doors and Gates has two faces and a month named after him.

Khalil again?

Janice Yes, there is only one named Dog in all of Shakespeare's works.

He is the pet dog of Lance in two gentlemen of Verona.

It is named for this crustacean that comes in King Blue hermit and snow varieties.

Khalil of Plymouth Crab.

Yes.

What presidential candidate famously said, Read my lips, no new taxes.

In a speech at the 1988 Republican Convention.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Ronald Reagan.

Sorry, No.

Nashua, South Sorry Curtis not quite in time It is George H.W.

Bush.

Bradley Cooper plays this famous conductor in the 2023 movie Maestro Calvin of National South.

Leonard Bernstein.

Yes.

The Hoover Dam is found in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River at the border between Nevada and this state.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Arizona.

That's right.

All righty.

The next question is a civics question coming to you on your monitors from Jewel Hurt, a trustee of New Hampshire Civics.

Take a look.

Edith Windsor was the lead defendant in the 2013 Supreme Court of the United States case.

United States versus Windsor.

This case overturns Section three of this 1996 act, which banned federal recognition of same sex marriage.

Khalil of Plymouth, who?

Loving Virginia.

No sorry Nashua South?

Narayan?

Defense of Marriage Act.

That is correct.

Auguste Rodin sculpted this pensive figure in 1904.

There are 27 full size castings found around the world, but the original is found outside Musee Rodin in Paris.

Reagan of Plymouth.

The Thinker.

Yes.

All right, teams, you may want a pencil and paper for this next question.

Teams, what is the next number in this sequence?

Two, five, seven, 12, 1931.

Deetya of Nashua, South 50?

Yes, that is correct.

This legendary news anchor known to many as Uncle Walter signed off every newscast with a line.

And that's the way it is.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Cronkite.

Yes, Walter Cronkite.

This character from Greek mythology is so handsome that he falls in love with his reflection and can't stop looking at it.

Calvin of Nashua, South Narcissus.

Yes, You will find the deepest depths in the ocean in this 1580 mile long, crescent shaped area in the western Pacific Ocean.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Mariana Trench?

Yes.

All right, teams, Our next question is our Unitil Power Question.

It's worth double points.

So 20 point toss up question coming to you on your monitors.

The 2010 song Power was recorded by this artist before he married Kim Kardashian.

Calvin of Nashua South.

Kanye West.

Yes.

Teams.

What position did the American League add In 1973, Curtis of National South.

Designated Hitter.

That's right.

This New Hampshire County shares its name with a fictitious cat known for its grin.

Reagan of Plymouth, Cheshire.

Yes.

At close to 2200 miles long, this Russian River is the longest in Europe.

Khalil of Plymouth.

The Volga?

Yes.

This Gothic short story by Edgar Allan Poe features Roderick Usher and his mad twin sister Madeline, and a home that cracks into and sinks into a lake.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Fall of the House of Usher.

Yes.

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

You are looking at a self-portrait of this 17th century Dutch artist who produced hundreds of paintings in his lifetime.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Vermeer.

Sorry, No.

Nashua.

South Narayan Rembrandt.

He's the one.

All right, teams, pencil and paper again for this math question.

As a mixed number, what is the difference when one and 2/5 is subtracted from six and 3/10?

Calvin of Nashua South five and 1/10.

Sorry.

No.

Norman of Plymouth 4 and 9/10.

Sorry, I have three and 9/10, but we can check my math later.

Teams in Music.

What is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double or half its frequency called Khalil of Plymouth?

Perfect.

Fifth.

Sorry.

No.

Nashua.

South Curtis.

Perfect Fourth.

It's an octave.

It's the octave.

All right, teams, go ahead and take a look at your monitors once more.

There are around 15 species found in this family of monkeys, native to the forests in Central and South America.

They get their name from their very loud call.

Curtis of Nashua South Howler Monkey.

Howler Monkey is right.

These could be the large, multi decked ships used by Spain in the 16th through 18th centuries, or a misspelling of a unit of liquid measurement of Deetya of Nashua South Galleon.

Yes, the S.A.T.

is a standardized test used in college admissions.

It was first used in 1926.

What does that stand for?

Narayan of Nashua South Standardized Assessment Test.

Sorry, no limit.

Khalil Standard academic Test?

No.

Both good guesses.

It's the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

And sounds ends the round.

And Hey, hey, look, we got a tie score at the end of round one.

Well, we like to see tight games here on Granite State Challenge.

But before we jump into round two, we're going to take a minute pause and get to know our players a little bit more, starting with the team from Nashua South.

Nashua South is one of two high schools in Nashua.

It enrolls nearly 1800 students.

So it's a big school in in there amongst them all is Senior Captain Curtis.

Now, Curtis, you were on Granite State challenge last year as a junior, and we talked about your participation in Barbershop.

I thought it was a barbershop quartet, but it's not.

It's.

It's a choir.

It's a whole barbershop choir.

And so how many people are in this choir?

I'd say like 30 to 40.

30 to 40.

All men?

All men.

All men singing Are you the youngest member of the choir?

Far, by far.

And you get to do you get to gig out or have, like, public shows.

People can go and watch it.

We have a bunch of shows throughout the year, like Christmas, Memorial Day.

We have a Valentine's Day concert coming up.

All right.

So if recording folks want to do that, who should they be looking for?

What's the name of the group?

We're called the Nashua Granite Statesmen.

The Granite Statesmen.

So there you have it.

All right.

Joining the team is Deetya and Deetya plans to go in a field that I am unfamiliar with.

Tell us about it.

It's computational biology.

So basically you apply computational computer science methods and techniques to solve biological problems.

Okay, So we've got biological problems in the world.

We use computer science type techniques.

So can you give like an example so you could use it to discover new drugs like they recently discovered a new antibiotic class with that or like new diagnostic methods, things like that.

All right.

Well, that's great.

Is doing the world some service with that.

Thank you.

Narayan also does some computer stuff in his spare time.

What do you like to do?

I like doing computer programing or coding in my free time.

All right.

Are you working on anything right now?

Any cool projects you're coding right now?

Yeah.

My biggest project is a website in the making called Empower.

It's like for substance abuse prevention.

And so does it take I don't know much about coding, but when you're doing coding, do you like wired in?

Does it, does it like a really intensive process or is it like, I don't know, it's not too intense and I kind of work over a long period of time.

It's not like I'm grinding for 8 hours at a time.

Gotcha.

Gotcha.

Well, that's probably a good thing.

All right.

Rounding out the team is Calvin.

And in the first round in your first round match, we talked about your goal to listen to 500 albums before the end of the school year.

And just full disclosure, even though we won't be seeing this episode on the air until the spring, right now, it's it's still January in the studio.

So how far are you at now?

I'm 60 now.

60.

Okay.

And so last week you were at last, guys at 40, 40, so 20 in a week.

So you're at a pretty good pace.

Any good finds this week?

This week.

Amnesiac by Radiohead which we both have our hottake is better than Kid A. I agree agreed.

So there you go and 500 by the end of the year.

Good luck.

We'll be keeping tabs on that.

That is a team from Nashua South.

All right, Plymouth, We come on over and we'll start with Reagan out over there at the end.

Captain Reagan and Plymouth Regional High School, by the way, it's in Plymouth Services.

Students from all around that area, 650 students or so.

And Reagan, amongst those students, you and some teammates have a track meet right after this.

Yes, I will be running out the door, literally running out the door.

And so it's winter now in New Hampshire.

So this is winter track, indoor track, Right.

And so where is the meet located?

It's at the UNH indoor track.

So, yeah, 100 meters should be pretty fun.

Okay.

Yeah, that's right down the road from where we are right now.

And we'll try to get you out of here on time to meet the starting line of that race.

All right.

With Reagan is Khalil and Khalil You just finished a book for the third time called The Phenomenology of Spirit.

Explain to us what that is.

Well, it's the culminating work of George Wilhelm, Friedrich Hegel, and he's a he's a German idealist philosopher from the 19th century.

And he basically is taking all of his former philosophers and compounding them into one big analog and applying a dialectic method to determine what's the future and what the past tool.

When was like.

All right, so when graduation happens, you head off to the next big thing in college.

You think in philosophy, I am thinking philosophy.

So there you go.

You'll you'll be ahead of the curve on that, I think.

All right.

Speaking of ahead of the curve, this kind of neat this is a little bit behind the curve.

Actually, I kind of like this.

So Paul likes to build with Lego, which is great.

Everyone loves Lego, but you're doing something really cool.

It says on here, What did you just build?

I just built a tape deck.

So this is for a tape deck for cassette tapes?

Yes.

Okay.

So where did this idea come from?

Well, I. I had several cassette tapes, and I thought it would be fun if I could, because I don't have a cassette player yet.

I would like to find one.

But I thought it would be something fun to do in the meantime.

And so you just gathered some random Lego and started putting it together and voila.

Yep.

All right, so what's next?

I think I might improve upon my Walkman.

Very.

There you go.

Excellent.

All right.

Rounding out the team is Norman, who's watched one of my favorite movies over 50 times, which is The Princess Bride.

I mean, it's such a great movie, right?

Such a lovely, lovely movie.

What is it about The Princess Bride?

50 times?

I don't know, man.

It's it's a family movie.

Yes.

We've we watch it regularly.

And I actually it was playing when I was born.

So I think that counts as at least a portion of a watch.

So you've literally been watching it your whole life.

Yeah.

All right.

Well, listen, I can think of no better movie to watch for one's entire life than the Princess Bride.

That is a team from Plymouth Regional High School.

All right, teams, we're going to roll into round two of Granite State challenge.

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

And in this round, each team gets ten questions and we go player by player.

Each player gets a question of their own.

You can pass.

Each team has three passes and we keep going until ten questions are asked or until three incorrect responses or strikes and you are out.

So we do this alphabetically.

So Curtis on Nashua, South, we're going to start with you.

And this is your question.

In this series set in Hawkins, Indiana, a group of friends encounter really weird and bizarre occurrences.

Stranger Things.

Yes, Deetya, The song Strange Fruits, recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, was about this extrajudicial action taken largely against black men.

Pass.

Pass.

Yep.

Lynching.

It is Lynching.

Yes.

Curtis, Germany invaded this country in 1939.

Poland?

Yes, Deetya, In 1939, this movie featuring Southern Belle Scarlett O'Hara, won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Gone with the Wind.

Yes.

Narayan, the 1977 song Dust in the Wind, was a hit for this band named for a state that got its start in the city of Topeka Pass.

All right.

Kansas.

Kansas is right.

Curtis, back to you.

This singer was frequently seen at Kansas City Chiefs football games during the 2023 24 season.

Taylor Swift.

Yes, Deetya Singer James Taylor is known for soft rock songs like Fire and Rain.

You've Got a Friend and a song about the North won of this state.

Being in his mind, ahhh Massachusetts.

It is North Carolina.

Narayan this famous Chicago Bulls basketball player who wore the number 23, played college basketball for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Michael Jordan.

Correct.

Calvin In a 1964 song, The Girl Group, the Dixie Cups, sang about going to the chapel to do this.

Pray to get married.

Okay.

And Curtis, this British all girl group featured baby, Ginger, Posh, scary and sporty.

Spice Girls.

Spice Girls is correct.

That's ten questions.

So eight out of ten on your three strikes rounds.

Very well done.

Nashua South.

We're going to turn our attention over to Plymouth.

Same drill.

Reagan, we'll start with you.

This is your question.

A 1931 book by Irma Rombauer was all about the joy of doing this.

Swimming is cooking.

Khalil British captain James Cook is famous for his voyages to what is now this country that is also a continent.

Australia?

Yes, Paul.

Australia is a home to many unique animals, including this marsupial That is not really a bear.

Koala?

Yes, Norman.

The Bear is a comedy drama series set in this high pressure workplace.

A kitchen.

Yes, we'll give you that.

Reagan The 1981 song Under Pressure was a collaboration between the band Queen and this British singer known for songs like Ziggy Stardust and Heroes.

David Bowie.

Yes.

Khalil This guitarist for the band Queen, is also an astrophysicist.

Pass.

Brian May.

Brian May is right, Norman.

Louisa may Alcott wrote this novel about sisters Meg Jo Beth and Amy that was partially set during the Civil War.

Pass Little Women.

That is correct.

Khalil The Civil War began in 1861 when Confederate troops fired upon this U.S. fort.

Fort Sumter?

Yes.

Paul, You will find Fort Stark State Park in this New Hampshire town that is also an island, New Castle.

Yes.

And Norman, last question.

Billionaire industrialist Tony Stark is also this superhero, Iron Man.

That is right.

Is that nine out of ten on your three strikes around?

Wow.

Excellent work.

Teams in round two.

It's now time for round three, our 60 second round alternates.

I'd like to invite you to come on up and join your teams at the podiums in our 60 second round.

Each team gets ten questions in a category, and you can work together and talk together as a team.

We take the captains answer is the team answer.

And so Nashua South trailing only by ten points.

You get to pick first from our three categories and they are, Oh the places you'll go, Shake it up and Swifties.... Second place is going to be geography, right?

And okay.

Yeah.

Oh the places you'll go.

Oh the places you'll go.

All right.

So in this category, the answers to the following will all be places that begin with the letter O again.

Curtis, I'll take your answer.

Is the team Answer 60 seconds.

Start the clock.

The Nobel Prize is given out in this Scandinavian city, Oslo.

Yes.

A famous 2000 mile trail led to this state Oregan Yes.

You will find the capital city of Ottawa in this Canadian province, Ontario.

Yes.

This state has a non rectangular flag.

Ohio.

Ohio is right.

The NHL team, the senators are based in this city.

Ottawa.

Yes.

This city is home to Disneyland.

Ontario, Orlando, Yes.

This New Hampshire town is the county seat of Carroll County Pass.

It is Ossipee This Ukrainian port city is located Odessa.

Yes.

Businessman and investor Warren Buffett makes his home in this city in Nebraska.

Omaha.

Omaha.

Yes.

This English city is home to the university where Rhodes for Oxford is correct.

Is that nine out of ten on your 60 second round?

Nice work.

Nashua South Plymouth.

We turn it over to you, Reagan.

You've talked to your team.

You can choose from Shake it up and Swifties, Swifties, Swifties.

It is all right.

The answers to the following will all be related to things that are fast so.

All right.

So Reagan, I'll take your answer.

Is the team answer 60 seconds.

Start the clock.

This is the fastest land mammal it can reach.

Cheetah.

Yes.

On April 12th, 1934, a wind speed of 231 miles an hour was important here, Mt Washington.

This superhero is faster than a speeding bullet.

The Flash.

Sorry, Superman.

This travel is in 186,000 miles per second.

The speed of speed light?

Yes.

You Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner hold the men's and women's record for this race?

100 meter dash?

Yes.

Tom Cruise played a fighter pilot who felt the need for speed in this 1986 Top Gun Yes, Mr. McFeely promised speedy mail delivery in this children's show hosted by Fred Rogers.

Mister Rogers neighborhood.

Yes.

This the first film in this movie franchise was released in 2001 and starred Vin Diesel so Fast and Furious.

Yes.

This movie featured Keanu Reeves as a cop and Sandra Bullock as a bus driver.

Speed.

yes.

This superhero is also known as the Scarlet Speedster.

Flash, Correct.

Another nine out of ten on your 60 second round.

Wow.

Excellent, Excellent rounds.

Teams, alternates.

Thank you so much.

You can go ahead and take your seats as we get ready for round four in a tight, tight game.

So in round four, we're going to pick back up with our toss up questions, but we're going to be doubling the point value to 20 points, but we will be deducting 20 points for incorrect responses.

So play smart and strategic.

Nashua South Plymouth Regional.

Here we go.

In 1812, John Langdon, the third governor of New Hampshire, turned down a nomination to serve as vice president to this future president.

Didn't want to take a chance on James Madison.

Teams.

How many pairs of ribs are there in the average human body?

24 ribs makes 12 pairs teams in what popular game will you find?

Five modes Survival creative har Curtis of National South Minecraft.

Yes.

In 1949, this man became the leader of the People's Republic of China.

Calvin of Nashua South Mao Zedong.

Yes.

Military uniforms use camouflage to help soldiers blend into their surroundings.

Spell camouflage.

Khalil of Plymouth CAMOUFLAGE?

Yes.

In a 1959 song by Martha and the Vandellas, people were doing this in the streets of Chicago, New Orleans, in the Motor City.

They were dancing in the streets.

The title for this 1961 satirical novel by Joseph Heller is a term that refers to a no win situation.

Norman of Plymouth Catch 22 Yes, the English author.

This English author created the characters Moobley Sharekhan, The Tiger and Baloo, the Bear in his Jungle Book collection of stories.

Kahlil of Plymouth.

Kipling.

Yes, this basketball player, considered by many to be the best player of all time, wore number 23 and also tried his hand at professional baseball, where he wasn't so great.

Curtis of Nashua South.

Michael Jordan Yes, this wind instrument, which is made out of wood from the eucalyptus tree, originated in Australia.

Khalil of Plymouth, Didgeridoo.

Yes, there are over 2500 species of this eight legged arachnid with a stinging tail and pinchers found around the world.

There was also one found in a constellation in the sky.

Khalil of Plymouth Scorpion.

Yes.

Teams in what Arthur Miller play.

Will you find the traveling salesman character Willy Loman and his sons Biff and Happy Khalil Again.

Death of a Salesman.

Yes.

What longitudinal line in Greenwich, England, is zero degrees?

Curtis of Nashua South.

Prime Meridan.

yes.

In this picture book by Chris Van Allsburg, a young boy travels on a train to the North Pole.

Reagan of Plymouth.

The Polar Express.

Yes.

Former Miami Heat basketball star Dwayne Wade is married to actor Gabrielle Union, who starred as a head cheerleader for the East Compton Clovers.

In this movie, released in 2000, Calvin of Nashua South.

Get it on.

Sorry, No Plymouth it is.

Bring it on In this story by Hans Christian Andersen.

What is believed to be a young duck is transformed and squeaking it out in round four Plymouth will be moving on to the semifinals.

Excellent game.

Both teams Plymouth.

Congratulations on your win.

Nashua South.

Tough loss in a great game.

I know I had a lot of fun watching and I'm sure the folks at home had fun watching this week's match.

We do hope you tune in next week when the team from Hopkinton will take on the team from Laconia High School.

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

As I like to say, I learn something new every every episode of Granite State Challenge, and I hope you do as well.

We'll see you next time.

Bye bye.

Major funding for the production of Granite State challenge is provided by Unitil and additional funding provided by NEA New Hampshire Safety Insurance, D.F.

Richard Energy, HRCU and viewers like you.

Thank you.

Studio support for Granite State Challenge is provided by Proulx Oil and Propane.