(bright music) - This is it, the season nine finale.

One of today's teams will be crowned our newest champion and take home the thousand dollar prize.

Will it be the Rams of Bangor High School?

(grandiose music) Or the Clippers of Yarmouth High School?

(grandiose music) Find out next on the season finale of "High School Quiz Show: Maine."

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Production support for "High School Quiz Show: Maine" is provided by... - [Voiceover] Energy fuels more than homes and businesses.

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- [Announcer] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

- Welcome to "High School Quiz Show: Maine."

I'm Todd Gutner.

Well, we're finally here, the Season 9 Championship.

Dozens of secondary schools from across the state tried out, 16 made it onto the show and two have made it through to compete for the Season 9 crown.

Bangor High School made it past Mount Ararat.

Windham and Westbrook on their way to what they hope is their second win or perhaps their third runners-up trophy.

Yarmouth made it to the final by beating Hamden Academy, Falmouth and last year's champ Orono who beat them in the Season 8 finale.

They would love to add a first place trophy to their history book.

Both teams will walk away winners tonight as they both take home some money for their school's project graduation.

But who will also take home the first place crown?

Let's start by meeting the teams.

For Bangor, we have Elias, Rowan, Paige, and Cooper with alternates Parker and Riley and they're coached by Carl Robbins and Susanna Owen.

For Yarmouth, we have Sebastian, Kevin, Elise, and James with alternates Crosby and Shad and they're coached by Sarah Wilson.

Now our competition has four rounds.

The toss-up round, the head-to-head round, the category round, and the lightning round.

We will start with the toss-up round.

All answers are worth 10 points and this is the only round with no point deductions for wrong answers.

Players must wait for me to complete the question and if one team answers incorrectly, the other team will be given a chance to answer.

How about we all take like a collective breath?

(heavily breathes) I needed that too.

Good luck to both of you.

You guys have been great all season.

I wish you both the best.

Here we go with the first question.

What name for a creature that lives under a bridge in Scandinavian folklore can also refer to someone who posts comments online with the intention of annoying people?

(buzzer dings) Paige.

- Troll.

- Troll is correct.

What is the most common scientific name for the gas with the rotten egg smell that has the chemical formula H2S?

(buzzer dings) Rowan.

- Sulfur.

- Incorrect.

Yarmouth, you want to try?

Go ahead, Kevin.

- Sulfuric acid.

- That's also incorrect.

It's hydrogen sulfide.

The next question.

Taylor Swift announced her engagement to Travis Kelsey in a public statement that said what two teachers are getting married?

(buzzer dings) Go ahead, Elise.

- English and PE.

- I think we'll take that, yes.

Thank you, Elise.

It was English and Gym, but PE's close enough.

The measure used to determine whether a family is eligible to receive certain federal benefits is abbreviated FPL, meaning federal what level?

(buzzer dings) Kevin.

- Poverty.

- Yes.

Up next is a picture question, so take a look at the monitor.

Name the American spy who was hanged by the British Army in 1776 and is credited with the phrase, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

(buzzer dings) James.

- Arnold.

- Incorrect.

Bangor.

(buzzer dings) Go ahead, Rowan.

- Nathaniel Hale.

- That is the right answer.

All right, next question.

VA.gov is the website for which cabinet department that was created to help people who served in the US military?

(buzzer dings) Kevin.

- Veterans Affairs.

- That is right.

Accessible mainly by canoe, the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area covers more than 1 million acres around the border between Canada and which US state?

(buzzer dings) Elise?

- Alaska.

- Alaska's incorrect.

(buzzer dings) Go ahead, Cooper.

- Montana.

- Close.

Minnesota.

Minnesota's the right answer.

Following World War I, what global peacekeeping alliance was founded in January 1920 and included more than 40 member states, but not the US?

(buzzer dings) James.

- The League of Nations.

- That's the right answer.

I wonder what the King is doing tonight.

Is the opening song of what Broadway musical about King Arthur written by Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Lowe?

(buzzer dings) Elise?

- Camelot.

- Camelot, nice.

Up next we have a video question.

So let's look at that monitor again.

- Hi, I'm Governor Janet Mills and here's my question for you.

The last major land battle of the Revolutionary War was in Yorktown, Virginia.

But what is the name of the treaty that officially ended hostilities with Great Britain and led to the official recognition of the United States of America?

(buzzer dings) - Cooper?

- Treaty of Paris.

- That is the right answer.

Nice job.

What Russian chemist is credited with introducing the periodic table of the elements that's the basis for the one scientists use today?

(buzzer buzzes) The answer is Dmitri Mendeleev.

Next question.

A Neapolitan is a person from what city in Italy that is widely considered to be the birthplace of modern pizza?

(buzzer dings) Kevin.

- Naples.

- Naples, yes.

Which of these things is true about both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson?

They were both born in Virginia, they both graduated from Harvard, or they died on the same day?

(buzzer dings) Sebastian.

- They both died on the same day.

- Yes, they did.

And ironically, it was the 4th of July.

Math question.

Get your pencils and paper ready.

Solve for X in the equation.

3x cubed minus 7 equals 74.

(buzzer dings) Elias?

- X is 3.

- X is 3, nice work.

Next question.

What American astrophysicist and former host of the PBS science series "Nova Science Now" is director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York and the host of the StarTalk podcast?

(buzzer dings) Elise?

- Neil deGrasse Tyson.

- That is right.

Now a floating museum in the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, what historic ship was named for an important document in US history?

(buzzer dings) Go ahead, Elias.

- The Constitution.

- That's right.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are named for Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, and which other Italian Renaissance artist who was the youngest of the four in real life?

(buzzer dings) Cooper?

- Raphael.

- Raphael.

What five letter word that comes from the French verb meaning to raise refers to a human-made raised barrier, such as an embankment designed to protect farmland or cities from flooding?

(buzzer dings) Elise?

- Levy.

- Yes, nice job.

The national flags of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan are mainly what color that is associated with paradise in Islam?

(buzzer dings) Kevin.

- Green.

- Green, right.

(buzzer dinging) Ooh, that's the end of our first round.

It's a good one, of course.

Bangor, 60 and Yarmouth, 100.

We've got a great match underway, so don't go anywhere.

We'll meet the players when we get back.

(upbeat music) Before we go to the head to head round, we usually ask a slightly silly question, but since it's the season finale, we're going to ask a much more sensible question and find out a little bit more about our contestants and what you're going to be doing at the end of the school year.

We'll start over here.

Bangor, Elias, what are you going to be doing?

- Well, I'm excited for summer for obvious reasons.

School's over.

Not sure what the plans are right now, but next school year, I'm excited to have a little more room in my schedule for stuff I want to do.

- All right, sounds great.

All right, Rowan, your turn.

- At the end of summer, I'm going to be participating in a local theater program.

- Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun.

Is that what you're heavily interested in?

Theater?

- Yeah.

- Oh, great.

Good luck on that.

Paige, your turn.

(Paige faintly speaking) I love it, I love it.

You want to be in the sun and volleyball is your thing.

All right, well, good luck.

Cooper, your turn.

- I mostly just work all summer long.

- What do you do?

- I'm a butcher.

- A butcher?

- Yeah.

- Oh wow.

Do you have a favorite meat?

I have to ask that.

- I really like sausage.

It's pretty good.

- Okay, sweet.

Thanks, Cooper.

We'll go over to Yarmouth now, Sebastian?

- Well, I'm a senior, so I've applied to a handful of liberal arts schools such as Wheaton and Skidmore.

- Oh cool.

So you want to stay mostly in the northeast, do you think?

- Northeast, yeah.

Midwest, maybe a little bit, but mostly northeast.

- Great, Sebastian, thank you.

Kevin?

- Yeah, I'm a senior too, and I'm applying to a handful of colleges.

in the northeast.

- You want to stay closer to home?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

All right, good luck.

Elise.

- I'm looking forward to visiting some colleges maybe like Skidmore stuff like that again, northeast.

And next year, I'm looking forward to being on Maine High School Quiz Show.

- I hope to see you back here Elise.

James last one.

- Yeah, I'm also going to figure out where I want to apply to college.

I don't think I'm going to apply to Skidmore.

- (laughs) It sounds like the rest of your team will be though.

All right guys thanks so much.

The head-to-head round is next.

Don't go away.

- [Announcer] Production support for "High School Quiz Show: Maine" is provided by... - [Voiceover] The Worthington Scholarship Foundation, dedicated to the success of Maine students by providing scholarships and personalized support throughout their college journeys.

Learn more at worthingtonscholars.org.

The custodians clean the schools, we drive the buses, we get the fields ready to go.

I've learned over the years that becoming involved with MEA makes a big difference.

It takes everybody's collective voice to make a change.

My name is Jay Nicholson and I am MEA.

- [Announcer] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) - It's now time for the head-to-head round.

Players alternate facing off one-on-one right here at the desk.

Correct answers are worth 10 points.

Incorrect answers will cost you 10 points.

We do have 90 seconds on our game clock.

Here's the first question.

How many seconds are equal to two minutes?

(buzzer dings) - 120.

- Yes.

Wordsworth and Byron are poets from what literary movement that emphasized imagination and emotion?

(buzzer dings) - Romantic.

- That is correct.

What German inventor printed a Bible on his movable... (buzzer dings) Over here.

- Gutenberg.

- Yep.

What is the name of the title character in Disney's The Little Mermaid?

(buzzer dings) - Ariel.

- Yes.

The Persian Gulf War began after Iraq invaded what?

(buzzer dings) - Kuwait.

- Kuwait is right, nice job.

Special screenings of what 2024 film allowed audiences to sing along with the songs pop- (buzzer dings) - Wicked.

- Yes.

Minsk is the capital city of what?

(buzzer dings) Over here.

- Belarus.

- Belarus.

A poem by Joyce Kilmer begins with "I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a" what?

(buzzer buzzes) We stumped them, tree.

Which of the college football championship bowl games has been played in Florida since the 19th?

(buzzer dings) - Orange Bowl.

- Orange Bowl is correct.

What British singer recorded her debut album 19 when she was 19 years old?

(buzzer buzzes) They gave up.

Adele.

In comic books, former KGB spy Natasha Romanova- (buzzer dings) Over here.

- Black Widow.

- Yes.

What Austrian composer wrote the opera "The Magic Flute?"

(buzzer buzzes) Mozart.

The Galapagos Islands are a province of what count... - Ecuador.

- Ecuador.

An optometrist named Billy Pil... (buzzer dings) Over here.

- Wenzes.

- Incorrect.

Slaughterhouse Five.

What name did President George W. Bush coin for a... Ooh, that's the end of the round.

Again, we're still super tight.

Bangor, 120 and Yarmouth, 130.

The category round is next, so don't go away.

Next up is the category round with the following choices.

Spelling Bee, Formula for Success, Musical Places, Peace on Earth, It Begins with Me, and The Maine Event.

Now each team will alternate control of two categories.

Questions have increasing point values with each question.

They can choose to answer and either gain or lose points.

They can skip and neither gain nor lose points, or once per category.

They can toss and force the other team to answer.

Players will have five seconds to confer and decide what to do.

Bangor, you trail by just 10 points.

Paige, you have control of the board.

What would your first category be?

- [Paige] Can we do The Maine Event?

- The Maine Event.

Yes, you can.

These will be questions about things to see and do in this great state of Maine.

Here's the first one for 10.

Covering about 47,000 acres in Maine's Hancock and Knoxville, what national park was the first to be established east of the Mississippi River?

- Acadia.

- Acadia is correct.

The Maine Event for 15.

What ski mountain in Carrabassett Valley, Maine shares its name with a distinctive mountain peak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil?

(buzzer beeping) What do you think, Paige?

We'll pass.

- You want to pass?

- Skip it, yeah.

- You want to skip.

- Yeah.

- Okay, the answer is Sugarloaf.

Sugarloaf.

I know you had it Cooper, I heard you.

It's okay.

We'll get it here.

Maine event, 20.

The Maine mineral and gem museum in Bethel, Maine has one of the world's largest collections of what geological specimens that fell from the moon and Mars to the earth?

- We'll go with tourmaline.

- Incorrect.

It's meteorites.

Meteorites.

All right, the Maine Event for 25.

Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine is home to what baseball team that is a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox?

- Seadogs.

- Seadogs is correct, nice.

The Maine Event for 30.

A historic house in South Berwick, Maine is now a museum dedicated to what author who set her 1877 novel "Deep Haven" and many of her short stories there.

- Dorothea Dix.

- That's incorrect, it's Sarah Orne Jewett.

Orne Jewett.

All right, we have the end of that category, so we're going to go over to Yarmouth now for the first choice.

Elise, what will your category be?

- [Elise] We'll take It Begins with Me.

- It Begins with Me, so these are all answers.

We'll begin with the letters M-E.

And here's the first for 10 points.

In the Superman comic book universe, Clark Kent is a reporter working for the Daily Planet newspaper in what fictional city whose name is Greek for Mother City?

- Metropolis.

- Metropolis, correct.

It Begins with Me, 15.

What is the name for the specialized type of cell division in which a parent cell divides twice to form four daughter cells, each one having half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell?

- Meiosis.

- Meiosis, yes.

It Begins with Me, 20.

The expression, "Life is a carnival" is an example what figure of speech that associate two unrelated things without the use of the words like or as?

- Metaphor.

- Metaphor is right.

It Begins with Me for 25.

In Greek mythology, what sorceress marries Jason and helps him win the Golden Fleece, then later takes revenge when he leaves her for another woman?

- Medea.

- Medea, right.

- It Begins with Me for 30.

James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo are the current members of which heavy metal band whose hits include "Enter Sandman."

- Metallica.

- Metallica, yes, I think you swept the category.

Nice job.

We're back over to Bangor.

Paige, what's your last category going to be?

- [Paige] We'll take Formula for Success.

- Okay, Formula for Success.

These are questions about formulas and equations in science and math.

Here's the first one for 10 points.

The Pythagorean Theorem, which is a-squared plus b-squared equals c-squared, can be used to find the length of what longest leg of a right triangle?

- Hypotenuse.

- Correct.

Formula for Success, 15.

Pi times radius squared times height is a mathematical formula used to calculate the volume of what solid figure?

- Cylinder.

- Cylinder is right also.

Formula for Success for 20.

The formula F equals MA is an expression of which of Newton's laws of motion?

What do you think, Paige?

- His second.

- His second is correct.

Nice job, Rowan.

Formula for Success, 25.

PV equals K or PV equals C, where P is the pressure of a gas, V is its volume, and K or C is a constant, expresses a scientific law associated with what 17th century Irish chemist?

(team whispering) (buzzer beeping) Paige, what would you like to do?

We'll toss.

- You want to toss over to Yarmouth.

Okay, I'll reread the question.

PV equals K or PV equals C, where P is the pressure of a gas, V is its volume, and K or C is a constant, expresses a scientific law associated with what 17th century Irish chemist?

- Boyle.

- Boyle is right.

Nice work.

We're going back to Bangor for 30 now, in Formula for Success.

In the equation, H equals E plus PV, sometimes written H equals U plus PV, E or U is internal energy, P and V are pressure and volume, and H is what thermodynamic property?

(buzzer buzzes) Paige?

- Plank's constant.

- Oh, also incorrect.

It's enthalpy.

We're back to Yarmouth now for the second category.

Elise, what would you like to select?

- [Elise] Peace on Earth.

- Peace on Earth.

These will all be questions in this category that are related to peace.

Here's the first one for 10.

What two word Latin name meaning Roman peace is given to the peaceful 200-year period between the reigns of the emperors Augustus and Marcus Aurelius?

- Pax Romano.

- That is correct.

Peace on Earth for 15.

What is the name of the presidential retreat in Maryland where President Jimmy Carter met with the leaders of Egypt and Israel in 1978 to negotiate a peace treaty?

- Camp David.

- Yes.

Peace on Earth for 20.

The Peace Corps volunteer organization was established by an executive order signed by which US president on March 1st, 1961?

- John F. Kennedy.

- JFK.

Peace on Earth for 25.

What country has its administration capital in the city called La Paz, meaning the peace.

- Bolivia.

- Bolivia, yes.

Nice job down there, James.

Peace on Earth for 30.

President Theodore Roosevelt won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the Treaty of Portsmouth that ended a war between Russia and what other country?

- Japan.

- Japan.

- Wow, you guys swept that one too.

That wraps up our category round and Yarmouth's pulling away a little bit.

We've got 120 for Bangor and 355 for Yarmouth, but of course, anything can happen in the lightning round, so sit tight.

We'll be right back with the championship.

(upbeat music) We're now heading into the final 90 seconds of gameplay, the lightning round.

Players, you do not have to wait for me to finish the question.

You can buzz in at any time, but do not answer until I call your name.

You get 20 points for each correct answer.

Incorrect answers will cost you 20, and the other team does not get the chance to answer.

At the end of this round, we will have our Season 9 champion.

Our clock is set.

Good luck.

Here's the first question.

The most commonly used computer programming language is which language that shares its name with a snake?

(buzzer dings) Paige?

- Python.

- Yes.

What one-eyed god is the supreme god in... Rowan?

- Odin.

- [Todd] Odin.

Boxer in Animal Farm and Shadowfax in... Elise?

- Horse.

- [Todd] Horse.

From 1808 to 1822, the Portuguese capital was in what present-day country that was a colony of... Rowan.

- Brazil.

- [Todd] Right.

Rickets is caused by a deficiency of which vitamin?

- D.

- Elias, yes, D.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a 1991... Elias.

- Nirvana.

- [Todd] Nirvana.

Which Major League Baseball stadium in Chicago opened in 1914?

Rowan.

- Fenway.

- Incorrect, Wrigley Field.

Lady Gaga had a dance hit in 2025 with what song whose title is a word used by magicians?

Paige.

- Abracadabra.

- [Todd] Yes.

Launched in 2021, what NASA Space Telescope has been looking for... James.

- James Webb.

- [Todd] That's correct.

The main campus of the University of Georgia is in what city?

(buzzer dings) Sebastian.

- Athens.

- [Todd] Athens.

Sent by Zeus to snatch things from the earth, what creatures in Greek mythology?

Cooper.

- Eagles.

- Harpies.

In what type of radioactive decay does the nucleus of an atom give off a particle consisting of the two protons and two neutrons?

(buzzer dings) Cooper.

- Alpha.

- [Todd] Alpha, right.

Florence Nightingale became known for her work as a nurse during what war in your... Rowan.

- Crimean.

- Crimean.

And that's the end of the lightning round and the winner of season nine is Yarmouth with 415 points.

Our runner-up Bangor, you guys had 240 points, but really, both teams are winners having made it all the way to the final.

We will take a minute to get set up for the prize presentation.

So let's take a quick break and see if you are the winner of the main prize package in our Viewer Question of the Week contest.

(audience applauding) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] For the Season 9 Viewer Contest, we asked the question, "What two private homes were mentioned during the Season 9 Viewer Questions of the Week?"

The answers are, the John Bray House and the William Whipple House, both in Kittery, Maine.

And the winning entry came from Ed Z of Monmouth, Maine, who wins a round trip sailing between Bar Harbor, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on The Cat, courtesy of Bay Ferries.

Congratulations to Ed and thanks to everyone who entered.

- Well, this is the fun part.

This is when we give out the prizes for a long season and prizes go to their project graduations.

$500 Bangor High School runner up, Coach Robbins and Coach Owen.

You've been in this position before, multiple times.

You know how hard it is to get to this final match.

So how proud are you of your team?

- Incredibly.

Every member of this competing team is brand new to this process and they were pretty nervous in the beginning.

Every match we came to, they became more confident in what they know and how to learn new things.

And it's been quite exciting.

- And the best part is none of your teammates here are seniors.

You could come back.

You could be in the same spot next year.

- They'll be returning, they hope so.

- Well, I wish you all a great summer and I really hope to see you back next season because it was great having you on the show this time.

- This is great, thank you.

- All right.

Let's go over to Yarmouth High School our champions.

Thousand dollars, you got the grand prize to your school's project graduation.

Coach Wilson, you guys came through a lot.

You've made it far last season, but this is the first championship for Yarmouth.

How do you feel?

- Oh, we're so incredibly happy, I'm so proud of them.

I was on maternity leave for much of the fall.

So they prepped for this almost entirely on their own.

And after coming so close last year and just the really tough competition, whether it was buzzing fast, answering questions, they locked it in and prepared so hard to be able to go up against a team that's buzzing as fast as Bangor and has this wide range of knowledge.

So we're so happy to win and I'm just so proud of them.

- Yeah.

Now, coach, you have some seniors on the team that will be graduating, but you do have some underclassmen as well.

What are you going to do in the off-season to prepare for season 10?

- Yeah, so the team you see up here is our top six, but we've got a much larger team that practices with us every Friday.

So, we've got some freshmen on that team that maybe you'll see next year.

- All right, I hope so.

Once again, congratulations to both of you.

That wraps up Season 9.

Thank you and congratulations to all the teams that that took part in this season.

We'd love for your school to be part of Season 10.

Check out our website, mainepublic.org/quizshow later this summer for information on how to try out for the show.

Maybe your school will be crowned the Season 10 Champion.

Thank you to our sponsors for helping us celebrate academic achievement in the great state of Maine.

And thank you for watching.

I'm Todd Gutner, and I will see you next season on "High School Quiz Show: Maine."

(audience applauding) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Production support for "High School Quiz Show: Maine" is provided by... - [Voiceover] Energy fuels more than homes and businesses.

It fuels dreams, ideas, and growth.

Unitil champions the critical thinkers and team players of tomorrow and is proud to support "High School Quiz Show: Maine," where learning takes center stage.

Welcome to another edition of New England Survivalists, the game we all get to play.

Prepare to Win.

You can ask an independent agent about Safety Insurance and learn more at the resource center at safetyinsurance.com.

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That means investing in communities they serve and supporting families and businesses.

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- [Announcer] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music)