This week on the Granite State Super Challenge, the team from Merrimack High School takes on the team from Plymouth Regional High School.

Only one team will win.

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 the Granite State Super Challenge.

We started the season months ago with 32 teams.

We narrowed the field down to 18 and now we are down to the final two in these teams, Merrimack and Plymouth.

They'll be playing for these trophies.

They've been here before.

They know what's at stake.

So let's introduce them to you.

First up, we have the team from Merrimack High School.

I'm Kishan the captain and a senior.

I'm Trey.

I'm a senior.

I'm Erin.

I'm a junior.

Hi.

I'm Liam.

I'm a senior.

The alternates for Merrimack are Shelby and Avis, and the team is coached by a chemistry teacher, Sarah Campbell, and gifted and talented coordinator Sally Eagle.

And that's the team from Merrimack High School.

And facing off against them is the team from Plymouth Regional High School.

Hi, I'm Raegan.

I'm a junior.

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

I'm Paul.

I'm a senior.

Hi.

I'm Ethan.

I'm a senior.

The alternates are Norman and Max and the coaches are programing, drafting and engineering teacher Jay Fogarty and world language teacher Troy Harris.

And that's the team from Plymouth Regional High School.

All right.

Those are our teams.

But we do have one more introduction for you.

Of course, with us again is our beloved judge Ann Boulanger All right, teams, you know what to do.

Grab those signaling devices.

We're going to play the game.

We start in round one with ten point toss up questions.

So Merrimack and Plymouth.

Good luck.

And here we go.

Traditionally, this domestic animal is measured in hands.

And if you are wondering, a hand is about four inches.

Trey of Merrimack Horse.

Yes.

This is what a baby might do before it walks.

Or a 1993 song by Radiohead.

Reagan of Plymouth Crawl.

Sorry, no.

Merrimack.

Kishan talk.

Sorry.

No.

After they crawl.

Before they talk, they creep.

All right.

Teams don't get tied into knots on this question.

But where will you find an egg?

Let's Khalil of Plymouth on your shoelace.

That's right.

All right, teams, for our next question.

I'd like to have you take a look at your monitors for a special question from a fan of the show, Jimmy.

Take a look.

Hi, I'm James.

I'm a huge fan of Granite State Challenge, and I've got a question for you.

John Lennon was a member of the Beatles, which is one of the greatest bands in all of the world.

Name another member, Kishan, of Merrimack, Harrison.

Yes.

George Harrison is one.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are the others.

Thanks for that question, James.

All right.

Our next question is a math question.

So you have pencil and paper in case you need it.

Teams What is the area of a triangle with a height of five inches and a base of nine inches?

Trey of Merrimack, 22.5 inches.

That's right.

This Kentucky politician became Senate minority leader in 2021.

Kishan of Merrimack McCarthy.

Sorry, no Plymouth.

Paul McConnell.

Yes, Mitch McConnell is right.

This international humanitarian organization has won the Nobel Peace Prize three times.

Once in 1917, once in 1944, and once in 1963.

Khalil of Plymouth.

The Red Cross.

That's right.

This organ in the human body controls blood sugar levels and secretes insulin.

Trey of Plymouth.

Of Merrimack.

Pancreas?

Yes.

This 1952 movie musical features the famous tap dance Moses supposes performed by Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor.

Reagan of Plymouth, Singin in the Rain.

That is right.

All right.

So the next question.

Go ahead and take a look at your monitors.

You are looking at a photograph of Carrie Chapman Catt, the two time president of the National American Women's Suffrage Association and the founder in 1920 of this nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to registering voters and advocating for voting rights.

Kishan of Merrimack League of Women Voters.

That's right.

This port city is the second largest city in Egypt and was once home to one of the largest libraries in the ancient world.

Trey of Merrimac.

Alexandria.

Yes.

This Carthaginian general tried to invade Italy through the Alps using elephants.

Erin Of Merrimack.

Hannibal Yes.

Don Heck, my first cousin twice removed, was an artist for Marvel Comics Comics and was the story artist for Tales of Suspense.

Number 39, which features the first appearance of this superhero played by Robert Downey Jr in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Kishan of Merrimack Iron Man.

That is a very, very true story.

This is what the US Army called the open door to light utility vehicles used during World War Two.

Liam of Merrimack Willys Jeep.

We'll give you that.

We'll give you the Jeep.

And our next question is our Unitil Power Question.

It's worth double the points is a 20 point toss up question coming to you live from Alec O'Meara from Unitil.

I'll take it away.

Thanks, John.

In your car, this is made up of the engine transmission drive chefs and differentials, Erin, of Merrimack power steering.

Sorry, no.

Plymouth.

Khalil Your steering wheel?

No, I don't think so.

What is the correct response, Alec O'Meara Correct answer is Powertrain.

Powertrain.

All right, here we go.

This president's gravestone notes that he was the father of the university of Virginia and a proponent of freedom of religion, but makes no mention of him being president.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Jefferson.

Yes.

In a 1971 anthem to women's rights, singer Helen Reddy saying, I am woman Hear me roar.

In the 2013 Song of Empowerment Roar.

This performer saying that she had the eye of the Tiger.

Kishan of Merrimack.

Katy Perry.

Yes.

This Greek playwright is often considered to be the father of comedy.

He wrote the plays Lysistrata, The Frogs and the Clouds.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Aristophanes.

Yes.

In the movie Blazing Saddles, the character Hedley Lamarr, was annoyed when people called him by the name of this actress, who also helped develop a radio guidance system for two torpedoes and frequency hopping technology that is the foundation of today's wi fi and GPS technology.

You must give first and last name Kishan of Merrimack.

Heddy Lamarr Yes.

For our next question, I would like you to take a look at your monitors for a civics question coming from New Hampshire's kid, Governor Ellie Lively.

Take a look.

New Hampshire does not have a lieutenant governor who would normally fill in for a governor if they were incapacitated or cannot serve.

Who takes over for the governor in New Hampshire if they are incapacitated?

Khalil of Plymouth.

Secretary of State.

Sorry, No.

Merrimack.

Liam.

President of the Senate.

Is the President of the Senate.

I did not know that.

In that sound and around it looks like Merrimack out to a bit of a lead at the end of round one by a score of 120 to 60 All right.

Good job, teams in round one.

But we're going to take a pause in the game play for just a moment to talk to both teams a little bit about what they do to prepare for Granite State challenges.

We're going to start with a team from Merrimack High School located in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

About a thousand students.

And from those thousand students, this squad makes up the Granite State Challenge team.

So let me ask you as a team, actually, Kishan we on one of your previous episodes here, you talked about making cupcakes for the whole squad.

So is that the sort of thing that you guys do as a team for building team camaraderie?

Of course.

I think the biggest thing of Granite State challenge is that it's not an extracurricular activity.

It's the most fun part of our day.

And that makes it very fluid, natural and very easy to to get good.

Nice.

And how often do you practice as a as a team at school?

Every day we can.

Every day you can.

Do you have time built into your schedule at school to do that?

Not really.

We sometimes practice on Thursday mornings in kind of a free block, but normally it's after school.

All right.

Excellent.

And any advice that you might give to other students either at Merrimack High School who want to join the Granite State challenge team or other students out there in New Hampshire who might want to start a team at their school, but just just keep working, you know?

I mean, with enough hard work, you can do anything.

Yeah.

All right.

That's great advice from the team, from Merrimack High School.

All right.

The next team that we're going to talk about is the team from Plymouth Regional High School.

And, of course, same questions for this squad.

When you are getting together to practice for Granite State challenge, getting together, what is that like for the team from Plymouth Regional?

Yeah, it's pretty fun.

We try and sort of review questions that we know are familiar on the show, try and sort of figure out the patterns, all that great stuff.

And how often do you get to practice at school?

Do you get to practice a lot?

Is this something you have to kind of squeeze in?

Well, we do.

We do Granite State challenge during the winter for an lloret right before shooting.

And we practice about every day right beforehand.

But normally we're practicing all throughout the season playing regular quiz bowl or just normal.

And we'll.

Gotcha.

So we've got, you know, on a typical Granite State challenge team, we have four players up here and we have anywhere from, you know, up to three or four sometimes alternates.

Are there more Plymouth High School, Plymouth Regional High School students that are aiming to be up here with on the team in future years?

You have like a deep squad.

There are.

Yeah, yeah.

We've got a bunch of kids who are on in the normal sort of quiz bowl season, so everyone's trying to sort of get onto this team.

But gotcha.

So it's sort of like a farm system to kind of to work it up.

Yeah.

Any advice that you might give to one of those students who's maybe coming into their freshman year wants to be on GSC, Practice hard and play harder, All right.

Practice harder and play harder.

That's good advice from the team from Plymouth Regional High School.

All right, Thanks so much, teams.

We're going to roll into round two, which is our three strikes and you're out round.

As you know, we play this round team by team, player by player.

Each team gets ten questions.

We go player by player down the line, ten points for each correct response with a bonus of ten if you get them all.

And each team has three passes to work with.

And there is always something in the previous question that will be the inspiration for the next.

So we do it alphabetically.

Kishan of Merrimack, we'll start with you.

Here's your question.

Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat song is featured in this movie about a young girl, Lydia, and some friendly and not so friendly.

Ghosts pass, pass.

That's too fast.

Is Erin Beetlejuice?

Beetlejuice is right, Liam.

Beetlejuice was directed by this man who also produced the film Nightmare Before Christmas.

Tim Burton.

Yes, Kishan Nightmare on Elm Street featured this creature who killed you in your dreams.

Pass, Trey.

Freddy Krueger.

That is right, Erin Sesame Street is the home to Bert, Ernie, Elmo.

And this blue muppet with a pink nose.

Cookie Monster sorry Grover Liam.

Grover Cleveland was the first Democrat elected president following this war.

The Civil War.

That is right, Kishan Cleveland, Ohio is home to this museum that celebrates music.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Correct?

Trey Bernie Taupin was a 2023 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Taupin wrote the words to the songs Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road and Candle in the Wind.

The music to the songs were written by this singer.

Sorry, it's Elton John.

Erin The song A Candle in the Wind was about this blond actress, Marilyn Monroe, Correct.

Liam Marilyn Monroe sang the song Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend in the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blonds.

This singer did in homage to the song in her music video for Material Girl Madonna.

Correct, Kishan You will find the Diamond Head volcanic cone in this state, New Hampshire.

You would find it in Hawaii.

And that's eight out of seven out of ten on your round.

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

Same drill, Reagan, this is your question.

Granite State Challenge premiered in this year with host Tom Bergeron.

Pass Pass 1984 is correct, Ethan 1984 is the title of a novel by this author George Orwell, Correct?

Reagan Curious George is companion is this man with a colorful head covering the man in the yellow suit.

Who's the man in the yellow hats?

Khalil In the 2007 Curious George movie, The Man in the Yellow Hat was voiced by this actor who also starred as Buddy the Elf in the 2003 movie Elf.

Will Ferrell, Correct.

Paul Will Ferrell voiced President business in this 2014 movie, The Lego Movie.

Yes, Ethan.

Lego is a company based in this Scandinavian country, Denmark.

Correct.

Reagan.

This Prince of Denmark is the title character in a play by Shakespeare.

Hamlet.

Yes.

Khalil West Side Story is a retelling of this tragedy by Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.

Yes, Paul.

This New Hampshire storyteller and illustrator wrote and illustrated the book Strega Nona Dan Brown.

It is Tommi De Poala in 2000.

Ethan in 2000, 23.

Tommy DePaul is Dragon.

No-No was featured on a U.S. postage stamp.

Who was the first postmaster of the United States?

It is Benjamin Franklin.

And that is the end of your rounds.

All right, teams at this point, we're going to move into round three, which is 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.

They can talk together and work together as a team.

We do take the captains answer as the team answer.

These teams know how to do it.

And so Plymouth as a team trailing.

We're going to start with you and Reagan.

You could talk to your team and choose from these categories.

Got to catch up to them.

All the wonders of the world and brown bag wonders of the world and as the world wonders of the world.

All right, Wonders of the world.

The answers to the following will all include or be related to the word wonder.

So again, Reagan, I'll take your answer as the team answer 60 seconds start the clock.

Batman's companion Robin is sometimes called this one boy Wonder Boy Wonder.

Yes, this is where Alice met the Mad Hatter by Wonderland.

Yes.

Singer known for the songs.

Isn't She Lovely and Super Stevie Wonder.

Stevie Wonder?

Yes.

Gal Gadot played her in Wonder Woman.

Yes.

This series about a coming of age in the late 1960s was rebooted in 2021.

Wonder, wonder, wonder one Wonder Child.

Wonder Child is Wonder Years.

This children's series featuring Ming Ming the Duck and Lenny the Guinea Pig One Wonder about pets.

Yes, George Bailey found out how important to the world.

Its a Wonderful Life?

Yes, you might put your baloney between two slices of this Wonder Bread.

Yes.

In a 1958 song, the Monotones wondered who wrote this?

Who wrote the book of love?

That is right.

How many ancient wonders of the world are there?

Seven, seven, seven, seven is correct.

Nine out of ten on your 60 second round.

All right, Merrimack, we turn to you and Kishan, you have your team there you could choose from.

Got to catch them all or brown bag.

Brown bag, please.

Brown bag.

All right.

So in this category, the answers to the following will all include the word brown.

Again, Kishan I will take your answer.

60 seconds.

Start the clock.

Tasty dessert or beginning Girl Scouts?

Brownie?

Yes.

Supreme Court cases Determined Brown Yes.

Grizzlies and Kodiak.

Are these brown bears?

Yes.

Van Morrison sang about one of these in the 1967 song Brown Eyed Girl.

Yes.

Ivy League School in Rhode Island.

Brown University.

Yes.

He is the godfather of Soul.

James Brown.

Yes.

He was a radical leader of the abolitionist movement.

John.

John Brown.

Yes.

New Hampshire author who wrote the division program.

Dan Brown What You Get When You Mix White Sugar with molasses, Brown.

Brown sugar, Yes.

Yellow wildflower often found along roadsides for brown dandelion.

It is a brown eyed Susan, and that ends the 60 second round.

All right.

Thank you so much, Alternates.

You can go ahead and grab your seats.

We're going to roll into round four.

In round four, we're going to pick back up with our toss up questions.

We're going to double the point value to 20 points, but we will be deducting 20 points for incorrect responses.

And so teams play smart and strategic.

There's a lot of game to be played.

left Good luck, both teams.

Here we go.

This sea turtle lacks a hard shell and is the largest extent turtle in the world.

Liam of Merrimack Leatherback.

Yes.

This city is the second largest city in Russia.

It has been known as Petrograd and Leningrad.

It is currently known by this name Erin of Merrimack.

Saint Petersburg.

Yes.

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

This species of owl breeds in the Arctic regions of North America, Europe and Asia.

A female member of the family named Hedwig is the pet of Harry Potter.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Barn Owl.

Sorry, no.

Merrimack.

Erin.

Snowy owl.

That is right.

Many cartoon characters have catchphrases.

For example, Bart Simpson is known for the phrase Don't have a cow.

In it, Bugs Bunny is famous for saying, What's up, doc?

What cartoon character is known for the phrase Yabba dabba do?

Khalil of Plymouth.

Fred Flintstone.

He's the one.

While this is the only continent with no currently active volcanoes, it is home to the world's largest extinct volcano, the Tweed Volcano.

Erin of Merrimack, North America.

Sorry, no.

Plymouth.

That's in Australia.

World War Two began on September 1st, 1939, when Germany invaded this country.

Trey of Merrimack, Poland.

Yes.

This sporting event began in 1903 as a promotion for a newspaper.

It can span over 2000 miles and lasts 21 days.

Khalil A Plymouth.

Tour de France?

Yes.

In 1994, Bill Gates paid close to $31 million for the Codex Leicester, a 36 page scientific notebook of this renaissance man.

Kishan of Merrimack.

DaVinci Yes.

On the ground, these mammals found in Central and South America move at a speed of about five feet per minute.

It's a good thing they spend most of their time in trees where they move at speeds of up to 15 feet a minute.

Erin of Merrimack, Sloth.

yes, the French phrase rape on Desa vu play is better known by this acronym.

Reagan of Plymouth RSVP.

Yes.

In American folklore and song, this railroad worker was a steel driving man who tried to beat a steam driven drilling machine with his hammer.

Erin of Merrimack.

John Henry Yes.

In 1871, this man became the first chancellor of the German Empire.

His last name is also the name of a donut Khalill of Plymouth.

Bismarck?

Yes.

This group is known for the songs Barbara and California Girls and Surfin Safari.

Liam of Merrimack Beach Boys.

Yes.

This actor won two consecutive best Actor Oscars, one in 1993 for Philadelphia and one in 1994 for Forrest Gump.

Liam of Merrimack.

Tom Hanks.

Yes.

The Bull and Finch pub in Boston is seen in the opening credits for this sitcom set in a bar in Boston.

Kishan of Merrimack, Friends Sorry, no Plymouth.

Paul Happy days.

No, it is.

Cheers.

The film industry in India, which is centered in Bombay, is known by this name, which riffs off the name of the film industry in the US, centered in California.

Kishan of Merrimack.

Bollywood.

Yes.

This MLB team named for law enforcement officers started as the Washington senators in 1961.

They became the Texas Rangers.

Audrey Hepburn starred as Eliza Doolittle in this musical based on the novel Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

Kishan of Merrimack, My Fair Lady.

Yes, the National Hockey League, or NHL, currently has 32 teams, 25 in the US and seven in Canada.

When it was formed in 1917, it was made up of four Canadian teams.

In 1924, the Boston Bruins became the first U.S. team in the NHL.

What is a Bruin?

Liam of Merrimack Baby Bear.

We could take that.

It is a bear.

Yeah, I will give that to you.

There are two types of electricity, current electricity in which an electric charge flows through a conductor and this type of electricity that can make your hair stand on end.

Reagan of Plymouth.

Static?

Yes.

Napoleon was affectionately called La Petite Corporal by his soldiers.

What does La petite corporal translate to in English?

Khalil of Plymouth.

The small general.

Small corporal.

So sorry, Trey The little corporal.

The little corporal?

Yeah.

This could be a black and orange butterfly that looks like a monarch butterfly or the governor of a territory or province acting on behalf of a monarch Trey of Merrimack Viceroy.

That's right.

In 1948, he became the first prime minister of Israel.

Khalil of Plymouth.

The first.

Not Netanyahu?

No.

Sorry.

Merrimack.

It is David Ben-Gurion.

In the fairy tale, the Pied Piper of Hamlin, a Pied Piper leads both rats and children out of the town.

In what country will you find?

The town of Hamlin.

Khalil of Plymouth, England.

Sorry, No.

Merrimack.

It's in Germany.

The only opera produced by this composer was Fidelio.

He is much better known for his nine symphonies.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Beethoven?

Yes.

The title character in this 1964 James Bond movie plots to contaminate all the gold in Fort Knox with radiation.

Khalil of Plymouth.

Goldfinger.

Yes.

This actor, known for his work in Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Fever excuse me.

Grease and Pulp Fiction got his big break playing Vinnie Barberena on the 1970s sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter.

Erin of Merrimack.

John Travolta.

Yes.

In this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, the King of Siam had 67 children and was in desperate need of a teacher and that sound is the game.

And with a strong final round, Merrimack is victorious in the Granite State Super Challenge.

And now with the presentation of the runner up and championship trophies.

Here from Unitil is Alec O'Meara.

Thanks, John.

It's been another great season here.

The end looked awful similar, but again, it was a fantastic season with a lot of great teams and it's my honor to be able to give these trophies.

We'll start with the runner up trophy coach.

Congratulations on another fantastic season.

Thanks, Alec.

Anything to say about this particular group of kids?

I'd like to first off, thank Granite State Challenge and Unitil for running such a great show.

And this program just means a lot.

It's a big part of our year.

And I also have my coach, Troy Harris, to help me and I just get to work with a bunch of great kids and this is really a wonderful experience.

So I want to thank you for that.

Well, you're very welcome.

You your consistency is stunning to me.

I think your team is excellent year after year.

It's something you should really be proud of.

Thank you.

And now I will present the championship trophy on behalf of United to this year's championship team.

Congratulations Thank you so much of this is getting very impressive.

Anything to say about this particular group of kids?

I love working with the students.

It's why I do this and I let them kind of decide how much effort they want to put into it.

And this group has they've dedicated themselves more than I thought possible in terms of how much work and effort they put into this.

Well, great job.

Great job by both teams.

I have a feeling we'll see all these folks again.

Back to you, John.

Thank you, Alec, and congratulations once more to both Merrimack High School and Plymouth Regional High School for a fantastic season and a fantastic final.

And really congratulations to all of the teams that competed this season on Granite State Challenge.

On behalf of myself, the crew and our sponsors, thank you so much for joining us.

This 42nd season of Granite State Challenge.

And as I like to say, I learned something new this season and every season, and I hope you did as well.

We'll see you next year.

Bye by Major funding for the production of Granite State, challenge is provided by Unitil.

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

Thank you.

Studio Support for Granite State challenge is provided by Proulx Oil and propane.