Mark Brader:
> These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2012-04-09,
> and should be interpreted accordingly... For further information...
> see my 2021-07-20 companion posting on "Reposted Questions from
> the Canadian Inquisition (RQFTCI*)".

> ** Final, Round 4 - Geography

> * Highest Mountains

> 1. What is the highest mountain in the Caucasus Mountains?

Mt. Elbrus (Russia). 4 for Erland, Dan Blum, Joshua, Dan Tilque,
and Stephen.

In 2012 no less than 3 entrants named Mt. Erebus. They were off
by about 9,650 miles or 15,500 km: Mt. Erebus is on Ross I., off
the Antarctic coast in a position south of New Zealand. Nobody
made that mistake this time.

> 2. What is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies?

Mt. Robson (BC). (Mt. Logan is not in the Rockies.) 4 for Stephen.

> 3. What is the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere?

Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina). I accepted Aconagua. 4 for Erland,
Dan Blum, Stephen, and Pete.

It's also the highest mountain on the planet outside of Asia.

> * Who Owns These Islands?

> In each case, name the sovereign country that the island belongs to
> (whether as part of the country or a dependency).

> 4. Christmas Island.

Australia. 4 for Erland, Joshua, Dan Tilque, and Stephen.

This island is in the Indian Ocean. The Christmas Island that was
previously a British possession in the Pacific Ocean, now part of
Kiribati, is now spelled Kiritimati.

> 5. Bora Bora.

France. 4 for Joshua, Dan Tilque, Stephen, and Pete.

> 6. Zanzibar.

Tanzania. 4 for everyone -- Erland, Dan Blum, Joshua, Dan Tilque,
Stephen, and Pete.

> * US Natural Features

> In each case name the natural feature shown, or if it is in a
> national park, you can just name the park.

> 7. http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi-04/nature/7.jpg

El Capitan, Yosemite (California). 4 for Joshua, Dan Tilque, Stephen
(the hard way), and Pete.

> 8. http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi-04/nature/8.jpg

Devil's Tower (Wyoming). 4 for Joshua, Dan Tilque, Stephen, and Pete.

> 9. http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi-04/nature/9.jpg

Stone Mountain (Georgia). 4 for Erland, Dan Blum, Joshua, Stephen,
and Pete.

As to the carving, see: http://www.npr.org/2021/06/21/1007924006/any

> * Historical Cities

> 10. Two famous cities were completely wiped from the face of the
> earth in 79 by a volcanic eruption. There was no warning of the
> eruption and it was two days until the volcano settled. At some
> points during its eruption, Vesuvius spat out around 1,500,000
> tons per second of pumice, which reached a height of 20 miles
> (30+ km). One of these cities was Pompeii; name the other.

Herculaneum. I decided "Heracelium" was not quite close enough for
"almost correct". 4 for Dan Blum, Joshua, Dan Tilque, Stephen,
and Pete.

> 11. This commercial city was founded by the Nabataean Arabs in the
> 6th century BC and is in modern-day Jordan. Cleopatra asked for
> this great city as a wedding gift from Mark Antony, and got it.
> It is breathtaking to this day, carved and hidden in valleys
> of rock. This was the center of Asian trade during Roman times
> but declined after the Byzantine era. Name this ancient city.

Petra. 4 for everyone.

This was the filming location for the exterior and approaches to the
"grail temple" in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".

> 12. This city, in modern-day Turkey, could be true or just Greek
> myth. "The Iliad" told of the greatest city ever to have
> existed. It was strategically placed near the Hellespont, a
> sea trade route, and rich deposits of silver. Archaeology has
> revealed a possible location for it, where the seventh city on
> the same site burned to the ground around 3,200 years ago.

Troy. 4 for everyone.

> * Caribbean Nations

> Please see the map <http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi-04/carib.png>
> and in each case, name the Caribbean nation corresponding to the
> number given.

> 13. #6.

Antigua and Barbuda. (Either part was sufficient.) 4 for Stephen
and Pete. 3 for Joshua.

> 14. #10.

Grenada. 4 for Erland and Stephen.

> 15. #13.

St. Kitts and Nevis. (Either part was sufficient.) 4 for Stephen.
3 for Joshua.

> Name the 10 decoys if you like for fun, but for no points.

> 16. #1.

Cuba. Joshua and Stephen got this.

> 17. #2.

Bahamas. Joshua and Stephen got this.

> 18. #3.

Jamaica. Joshua and Stephen got this.

> 19. #4.

Haiti. Joshua and Stephen got this.

> 20. #5.

Dominican Republic. Joshua and Stephen got this.

> 21. #7.

Dominica. Stephen got this.

> 22. #8.

Barbados. Joshua and Stephen got this.

> 23. #9.

Trinidad and Tobago. Joshua and Stephen got this.

> 24. #11.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Stephen got this.

> 25. #12.

St. Lucia. Stephen got this.

> ** Final, Round 6 - History

> * Famous Serial Killers

> In each case, name the famous serial killer pictured.

> 1. http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi-06/killer/1.jpg

Richard Ramirez. 4 for Dan Blum and Stephen.

> 2. http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi-06/killer/2.jpg

Ted Bundy. 4 for Dan Blum, Joshua, Stephen, and Pete.

> 3. http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi-06/killer/3.jpg
> (one man, two photos combined)

John Wayne Gacy. 4 for Dan Blum, Joshua, Stephen, and Pete.

> * Canada in World War II

> 4. The first major engagement that Canadian soldiers faced
> during World War II was the defense of a British colony
> overseas. Which colony?

Hong Kong. 4 for Erland and Stephen.

> 5. Canadians were the main assault force during Operation Jubilee.
> In 1942, the Allied forces needed to try to open up a second
> front in the West to relieve the Soviet Union, currently fighting
> most of the German army in the East. Jubilee was a trial raid
> working toward the long-term goal of establishing a hold on
> the continent, recapturing France, and driving German troops
> back into the center of the continent. Where, specifically,
> did this raid take place?

Dieppe, France. 4 for Dan Blum, Dan Tilque, Stephen, and Pete.

> 6. The Canadian army was largely responsible for driving Germans
> out of this country, as part of the larger-scale Allied
> offensive, Operation Market-Garden. The push had begun in
> September 1944, and Gen.Obst. Johannes Blaskowitz surrendered
> this nation to Canadian Lt.-Gen. Charles Foulkes on 1945-05-05.
> Which Nazi-occupied country are Canadians most often credited
> for liberating?

The Netherlands. 4 for Joshua, Dan Tilque, and Stephen. 3 for Pete.

I should have edited out the reference to Operation Market-Garden.
That was not an overall term as stated, but was an attempt by British
and American forces to establish a salient from the existing lines
as far as the bridge at Arnhem over a major branch of the Rhine.
They were unable to capture that bridge, but did take and hold the
salient as far as Nijmegen; and the Canadian advance mentioned in
the question started from there.

> * Rulers of Ancient Egypt

> In each case, name and number required if applicable.

> 7. Reigning from 1503 to 1482 BC, this queen was the daughter
> of Egyptian Pharaoh Tuthmosis I. (There are other spellings
> of that name.) She married her half-brother Tuthmosis II.
> After her father's death she ruled with her husband. She became
> regent to her son Tuthmosis III when her husband died, but then
> crowned *herself* pharaoh in 1503 BC. Who was she?

Hatshepsut. 4 for Dan Blum and Stephen.

> 8. Considered the first king of Egypt, this man was said to have
> unified the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt around 3100 BC.
> His use of warfare and diplomacy united the two kingdoms and he
> was famous for the foundation of Memphis, the ancient capital of
> Egypt. He reigned for 62 years and was killed by a hippopotamus.
> Who was this first king of Egypt?

Menes. 4 for Stephen.

> 9. His death in 1156 BC marked the end of an era. He had ruled
> for 31 years and was the last of the great pharaohs, as Egypt
> now began to suffer economic problems and was unable to exploit
> the revolution of the Iron Age because it had no sources of ore.
> Who was he?

Ramses III. 4 for Dan Tilque and Stephen.

> * The Falklands War

> 10. What year did Argentina invade the Falkland Islands?

1982. 4 for Joshua, Dan Tilque, and Stephen.

> 11. What was the name of the Argentinian light cruiser that was
> sunk by a submarine during the Falklands War?

General Belgrano. 4 for Erland, Joshua, Dan Tilque, and Stephen.

> 12. What was the name of the British destroyer sunk by an Exocet
> missile?

Sheffield. 4 for Dan Tilque and Stephen.

> * Who Preceded Them?

> 13. Who preceded Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor of West Germany?

Willy Brandt. 4 for Erland, Dan Blum, Stephen, and Pete.

> 14. Who preceded Mikhail Gorbachev as Secretary General of the
> Communist Party of the Soviet Union?

Konstantin Chernenko. 4 for Dan Blum, Joshua, Stephen, and Pete.
3 for Erland.

> 15. Who preceded Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States
> of America?

James Buchanan. 4 for Dan Blum, Joshua, Dan Tilque, and Stephen.
2 for Pete.

Scores, if there are no errors:

FINAL ROUNDS-> 2 3 4 6 TOTALS
TOPICS-> A+L Sci Geo His
Stephen Perry 52 58 60 60 230
Dan Blum 51 24 28 32 135
Joshua Kreitzer 44 13 46 28 131
Dan Tilque 16 20 36 28 100
Pete Gayde 28 4 40 25 97
Erland Sommarskog 12 12 32 15 71

--
Mark Brader | "And so it went. Tens of thousands of messages,
Toronto | hundreds of points of view. It was not called the
msb@vex.net | Net of a Million Lies for nothing." --Vernor Vinge

My text in this article is in the public domain.