(calm music) - One of today's teams is moving on to the Championship Round, and a chance for the $1,000 grand prize.

Who's heading to the big game?

Will it be the Navigators of Falmouth?

(grandeur orchestral music) Or the Clippers of Yarmouth?

(grandeur orchestral music) Find out next on High School Quiz Show Maine.

(upbeat inspirational music) - [Narrator] Production support for High School Quiz Show Maine is provided by... - [Narrator 2] 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.

- [Narrator 3] It happens every day, someone falls for a phishing scam.

Cyber Risk Coverage from Safety Insurance is designed to help protect businesses from data breaches, ransomware, and other cyber attacks.

Safety Insurance, we'll help you manage life's storms, even the cyber kind.

(calm music) - [Narrator 4] Since 1852, Bangor Savings Bank has been dedicated to keeping New Englanders at the heart of what they do.

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

You matter more.

(calm music) - [Narrator] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(grandeur music) - Welcome to High School Quiz Show Maine.

I'm Todd Gutner.

In semi-final number one, Bangor secured their spot in the finals, and one of today's teams will join them in the quest for the season nine championship.

Falmouth is no stranger to the finals, having been the runners up twice in their five appearances on the show, but Yarmouth would like to make it two years in a row in the finals, and end the season with a win this time.

Everyone is eager to get semi-final number two underway, so let's get things started by meeting our teams.

For Falmouth, we have Aiden, Emmy, Felicity, and Julia, and they're coached by Mike Casey.

And for Yarmouth we have Sebastian, Kevin, Crosby, and James, with alternate Shad, and they're coached by Sarah Wilson.

The competition has four rounds, the Tossup Round, the Head-to-Head Round, the Category Round, and the Lightning Round.

We'll start with the Tossup 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.

I wish you both good luck, let's have a great match.

Here's the first question, in 2005, Animal Planet began airing what annual competition event, as counter-programming to the NFL Super Bowl broadcast?

(bell dinging) Kevin?

- Puppy Bowl?

- [Todd] Puppy Bowl is correct.

In a 1959 American TV interview, what former leader of Cuba said he wouldn't shave because quote, "My beard means many things to my country.

When we fulfill our promise of good government, I will cut my beard.'

(bell dinging) Kevin again.

- Fidel Castro?

- [Todd] That is also right.

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit is known for developing a thermometer consisting of a glass tube filled with what metallic element in liquid form?

(bell dinging) Sebastian?

- Mercury?

- [Todd] "Mercury" is correct.

Mount Katahdin is the northern head of what national trail that stretches from Maine to Georgia?

(bell dinging) Aiden?

- Appalachian?

- [Todd] That is correct.

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

What poet who was born in Portland Maine and attended Bowdoin College, is known for writing the poem which begins, "Listen my children, and you shall hear of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,"?

(bell dinging) Kevin, Yarmouth?

- Longfellow?

- [Todd] "Longfellow".

Right.

In a 1946 speech, former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to a metaphorical curtain of what material that separated Western Europe from the Soviet Bloc countries?

(bell dinging) Julia?

- Iron?

- [Todd] "Iron" is correct.

Tracing its roots to ancient Persia, what branch of mathematics takes its name from Arabic words meaning "to restore"?

(bell dinging) James?

- Algebra?

- [Todd] Algebra?

Yes.

The largest lake located entirely within Canada is what lake in the Northwest Territories whose name refers to the animals often seen near its shores?

(buzzer buzzing) (bell dinging) That was just a little late, Emmy.

The answer is "Great Bear Lake".

Was that what you were gonna go with?

Okay, good.

(Todd laughing) We'll go to the next question now.

George Orwell's novel "1984" begins with the line, "It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking..." What?

(buzzer buzzing) Answer's "13".

Up next we have a video question, so once again, please take a look at the monitor.

- Hi, I'm Jennifer Rooks, Host of "Maine Calling" on Maine Public Radio, and here's my question for you, the last major land battle of the Revolutionary War took place in Virginia when American and French forces overwhelmed the British at the Battle of Yorktown.

What was the name of the British General who surrendered, and effectively ended the War for Independence?

(bell dinging) - [Todd] Go ahead, Aiden.

- Cornwallis?

- [Todd] "Cornwallis" is the right answer, nice job.

"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot," is the first line of what song originally released by Joni Mitchell in 1970.

(bell dinging) Go ahead, Sebastian.

- California?

- Incorrect.

Falmouth, would you like to try?

(buzzer buzzing) Answer is "Big Yellow Taxi".

"Big Yellow Taxi".

Next question.

A formal debate includes a constructive speech in which each side presents its position and what other speech in which each side refutes in response to their opponent's constructive speech?

(bell dinging) Go ahead, Kevin.

- Rebuttal?

- [Todd] That's the right one.

What redheaded English singer won an Emmy award for the song, "A Beautiful Game" written for the TV series "Ted Lasso"?

(bell dinging) Aiden?

- Ed Sheeran?

- [Todd] "Ed Sheeran" is right.

Which of these states has a capital city named for a US president, Kentucky, Ohio or Wisconsin?

(bell dinging) James?

- Wisconsin?

- [Todd] "Wisconsin" is the right one.

Madison, of course.

Math question, what is the lowest common denominator of 5/6th and 2/9th's?

(bell dinging) Kevin?

- Three?

- [Todd] Incorrect.

Falmouth, would you like to try?

(buzzer buzzing) Answer's "54".

"54".

Published in 1930, "The Secret of The Old Clock" is the first book in a long running series with what teenage detective main character?

(bell dinging) James?

- Nancy Drew?

- [Todd] "Nancy Drew" is the right answer.

What 1896 Supreme Court decision used the standard of Separate But Equal to determine the constitutionality of racial segregation, until it was overturned by Brown versus Board of Education?

(bell dinging) Go ahead, James.

- Plessy v Ferguson?

- [Todd] That's the right one.

People sent to establish a colony on what North Carolina island in 1585, had mysteriously disappeared by 1590?

(bell dinging) James?

- Roanoke?

- [Todd] "Roanoke" is right.

In his play, "Lady Windermere's Fan", Oscar Wilde wrote, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at..." What?

(bell dinging) Aiden, you got in there.

- Stars?

- [Todd] "Stars" is the right answer.

(bell trilling) Ooh, and that's the end of our first round.

We still have a pretty close one here.

Falmouth 50.

Yarmouth 100.

Don't go anywhere, we'll meet the players when we get back.

(grandeur orchestral music) Before we go to the Head-to-Head Round, we like to pause and get to know our players with a slightly silly, off-the-wall question, and it is, imagine that it's spirit week at your school, and there's a pep rally this Friday.

What theme of the week are you most excited about, and why?

We'll start over here with Aiden.

- Probably Pajama Day.

(Todd chuckling) - Pajama Day?

Do you have a favorite like set of pajamas, Aiden?

- I... Yeah, I have this like, one really comfortable hoodie from the swim team, and then these like really fluffy pants.

- [Todd] Nice.

- And you know, I'm also really bad at getting up on time in the morning, so I could... I could sleep as much as possible, and then just dash to my car.

- And you could easily live in those pajamas, for sure?

- [Aiden] Yeah.

I mean, I might fall asleep eventually, but yes.

(Todd laughing) - Thank you, Aiden.

Emmy, what do you think?

- Anything But a Backpack Day.

- Anything But a Backpack Day?

So like, any other bag or carrying device sort of thing?

Do you have another one that you use instead of a backpack, anytime?

- I always just use a tote bag, which is kind of boring, but it's fun to see what other people do.

- [Todd] Yeah, for sure.

All right.

Thanks, Emmy.

Felicity?

- I really like Class Colors Day.

- Class Colors Day?

- Yeah.

- [Todd] What... What grade are you?

- I'm a senior.

- [Todd] Senior?

What's your class color?

- So we're black.

- [Todd] You're black?

- [Felicity] Yeah.

- [Todd] To intimidate?

(Todd laughing) - Yeah.

- Nice.

All right, Julia?

- My favorite would probably be Twin Day.

- Twin Day?

Do... Okay.

I actually have twins, but they're boy/girl twins, so they don't look anything alike, obviously.

But, I assume you'd pick somebody else, and you'd try to dress alike and lookalike?

- Yeah.

You like, usually like find a friend, and you both wear the same outfit the next day.

- Do you have a friend in mind?

- Um, it changes every year, honestly.

(Todd laughing) - All right, cool.

Thank you.

All right, let's head over to Yarmouth.

Sebastian?

- Probably be like Seasons Day, like every class dresses up like a specific season.

- [Todd] Ah, and what... What class are you?

What grade are you?

- A senior.

- [Todd] And what's your season?

- Well it changes, you know?

Depending on the year, but if... Like for example if we did summer, maybe like a tropical, like Miami type thing.

- What's your favorite season?

- Summer, 'cause I don't have to go to school.

(Todd laughing) - Thank you, Sebastian?

Honestly, it would be mine too.

Kevin?

- I liked one we did last year, called "Rhyme Without Reason", and we just got our advisory group of like 10-people to rhyme, but it didn't have to be aligned any other way.

- That's it?

You just have to... Do you do like a skit or something?

Like, what do you mean "just to rhyme"?

Like... - Like, an outfit that rhymes.

Like you could do doctor and Proctor, like- - [Todd] Oh, okay.

- Didn't have to make any sense, but it had to rhyme.

- Yeah.

Oh, that's kind of fun.

All right, thanks Kevin.

Crosby, go ahead.

- My favorite is the Yarmouth Colors - [Todd] And they are blue and white?

- Blue and white, yes.

- [Todd] Blue and... Navy blue and white?

- Yep.

- Yep.

That makes sense.

James, wrap it up.

- Mine is also the Class Colors.

- Class colors?

What's your class?

- We're also black this year.

- Are you a senior too?

- I'm a junior.

- [Todd] You're a junior?

Okay, so are you intimidating the seniors with that black?

Yeah, I guess so.

- [Todd] You guess so, right?

All right gang, thanks so much.

The Head-to-Head Round is next, but first, find out how you can win a great Maine Prize Package in our Viewer Question of The Week contest.

(grandeur orchestral music) - [Narrator] If you've been playing along with the America 250 Viewer Question of The Week, you now have a chance to win a prize package that includes a trip on the Bay Ferries' The CAT, an international high-speed car and passenger ferry, sailing between Bar Harbor and Nova Scotia in three and a half hours.

This round-trip voucher is good for two passengers and a standard vehicle, for the 2026 sailing season.

To enter, send in your answer to this challenge.

There have been 12 viewer questions and answers this season, two of them mentioned the names of private homes in Maine.

What are the names of those two private homes?

Entries must be received by 11:59pm Eastern Time, on Monday June 1st 2026.

A winner will be chosen at random from all the correct entries, and announced during the season nine championship.

Go to "mainepublic.org/quizshow" for all the full rules, terms, and conditions.

And, good luck.

(grandeur orchestral music) - It's 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 have 90-seconds on the clock.

Here we go.

Greco-Roman and Freestyle are two variations of which Olympic sport?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) - Go ahead.

- Skiing?

- Wrestling.

- Kayak, and Civic are examples of what kind of word or phrase that reads the same- (bell dinging) - Palindrome?

- Palindrome, yes.

- What city is the capital of New York state?

(bell dinging) - Albany?

- Albany, right.

A decagon is a polygon with- (bell dinging) Over here?

- 10?

- 10, yes.

George W. Bush was governor of Texas, and his brother Jeb Bush was governor of what state?

(bell dinging) - Florida?

- Florida, right.

On which planet in our solar system, is the length of one day equivalent to 243 Earth days?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) - Venus.

Eddie Van Halen was best known for playing what musical instrument?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) The electric guitar.

During which holiday did a famous 1916 uprising against British rule in Ireland begin?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) Easter.

What is the name for the long thread-like projection that carries impulses away from a nerve cell?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) Axon.

In communist East Germany, the Ministry for State Security is known by what five letter name?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) Stasi.

What girl group from South Korea collaborated with Selena Gomez on the 2020 song "Ice Cream"?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) BLACKPINK.

What new country was formed from the region called "East Pakistan" in 1971?

(bell dinging) - Bangladesh?

- Bangladesh.

All right.

(bell trilling) Ooh, and that is the end of the Head-to-Head Round, and we have a score of Falmouth 50, Yarmouth 140.

The Category Round is next, so don't go away.

- [Narrator] Production support for High School Quiz Show Maine is provided by... - [Narrator 2] 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".

- Sit up.

Ready to learn?

I'm a proud member of the Maine Education Association.

English is my second language, and I am a teacher that teaches multilingual learners.

My name is Nes Griffin, and I am MEA.

- [Narrator] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(grandeur orchestral music) - Next up is the Category Round with the following choices.

No Lonely Islands.

Everything In Its Place.

Numbers Game.

On The Table.

You Need To See This.

And, Easy Espanol.

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 it 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.

Falmouth, you trail by a little bit.

Aiden, you have control of the board.

What's your first category?

- [Falmouth Contestant] Easy Espanol.

- [Aiden] We'll go Easy Espanol.

- [Todd] Easy Espanol, these are questions about words borrowed from Spanish.

Here's the first for 10.

What word that means "table" in Spanish, is also the name for a mountain with a flat top?

- Mesa?

- [Todd] Mesa, yes.

Easy Espanol for 15.

What Spanish word for a fleet of ships is most often used to refer to the specific Spanish fleet sent to attack England in 1588?

- Armada.

- [Todd] Armada.

That is the right answer.

Easy Espanol for 20.

The state of Nevada gets its name from a Spanish word meaning "snowy".

Which of Nevada's cities gets its name from the Spanish words for the meadows or fertile lowlands?

(team whispering softly) (buzzer beeping) What do you think, Aiden?

- We'll skip.

- [Todd] Skip?

It's Las Vegas.

Easy Espanol for 25.

What four letter name for a tall cylindrical structure used by farmers to store grain comes from the Spanish word for a grain storage facility that could be above or below ground.

(team whispering softly) - A Silo?

- [Todd] Silo.

That's right.

Easy Espanol for 30.

What five letter word that comes from the Spanish word meaning "join" is used to refer to a coalition that controls a government after a military seizure of power?

(team members whispering softly) (buzzer beeping) Aiden?

- Skip.

- Skip.

- [Todd] It's "Junta".

"Junta".

Easy Es... Oh, that's the... That's the end of the category.

We wrapped it up.

We'll go over to Yarmouth now.

Kevin, what do you wanna start with?

- [Kevin] No Lonely Islands.

- [Todd] No Lonely Islands.

These are questions about island chains and archipelagos from around the world.

Here's the first one for 10-points.

What Swedish capital city is spread over a group of 14 islands that are part of an archipelago of more than 30,000 islands?

- Stockholm?

- [Todd] Stockholm, yes.

No Lonely Islands for 15.

Theakis and Culebra are two of the islands that comprise what US commonwealth situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea?

- US Virgin Islands?

- That's incorrect.

It's "Puerto Rico".

"Puerto Rico".

No Lonely Islands for 20.

Not all archipelagos are located in the ocean, Wisconsin's Apostle Islands are an archipelago of more than 20-islands in which of the Great Lakes?

(team whispering softly) - Skip.

- The answer is "Superior".

"Lake Superior".

No Lonely Islands for 25.

What Spanish archipelago located about 60-miles off the coast of Africa, takes its name from the Latin for "Islands of Dogs"?

- The Canary Islands?

- [Todd] Canaries, yes.

No Lonely Islands for 30.

The last one, located far north of the Arctic Circle, what Norwegian archipelago is home to a global seed vault, that stores seed samples as part of a global project to ensure the world's future food supply?

- Svalbard?

- [Todd] Svalbard.

Nice job.

That wraps up that category.

We're over to Falmouth again.

Aiden, your second category will be?

(team whispering softly) - [Aiden] We'll go with "Numbers Game".

- [Todd] Numbers Game.

All your answers will consist of a number.

Here's the first one.

A quotation that has been attributed to artist Andy Warhol says, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for how many minutes?"

(team whispering softly) (buzzer beeping) - Skip, maybe.

- [Todd] Aiden?

- Skip.

- [Todd] "15" is the answer.

I heard Abby saying it, she wanted it.

We'll get it next time.

Here it is.

Numbers Game, 15.

US Navy regulations specify that how many guns are to be fired as a salute when the president of the United States makes an official visit to a naval vessel?

(team whispering softly) - Skip - "21" is the answer.

Numbers Game for 20.

Most humans have five fingers on each hand, but Bart Simpson, Mickey Mouse, and most cartoon characters have how many fingers on each hand?

- Four?

- [Todd] "Four" is the right answer.

Here's Numbers Game for 25.

If you're feeling blissfully happy, you are said to be sitting on a proverbial cloud with what number?

- Nine?

- [Todd] Nine is the right answer.

Numbers Game for 30.

According to a song from the stage musical, "The Music Man", how many trombones led the big parade?

- 76.

- 76?

76?

- [Todd] "76" is right.

Nice job, Felicity.

We go back over to Yarmouth for the last category.

Kevin, what'll it be?

(team whispering softly) - [Falmouth Contestant] You Need This?

- [Falmouth Contestant 2] Which one do you want?

- [Falmouth Contestant 3] Table.

On The table.

- [Kevin] On The Table.

- [Todd] On The Table.

All of your answers will be names of elements from the periodic table.

Atomic number eight is what gas that plays an essential role in the process of respiration?

- Oxygen.

- Oxygen?

- [Todd] "Oxygen" is correct.

On The Table for 15.

Atomic number 29 is what transition metal that is known for its high heat and electrical conductivity?

(team whispering softly) - Skip.

- The answer is "Copper".

"Copper".

On The Table for 20.

Used as an antiseptic to clean cuts and abrasions, atomic number 53 is what halogen that is essential for the function of the thyroid in humans?

- Iodine?

- [Todd] "Iodine".

Nice work.

On The Table for 25.

Atomic number three is what low density alkali metal, that is widely used to make rechargeable batteries for electronic devices?

- Lithium.

- [Todd] "Lithium".

Yes.

And the last one, On The Table for 30.

With a name that comes from the Greek for "greenish yellow", atomic number 17 is what halogen element that has been used as a disinfectant, and as a chemical weapon?

- Chlorine?

- [Todd] "Chlorine".

Great job there.

And that wraps up our Category Round.

Our current score is Falmouth 175.

Yarmouth 275.

Everything can change in the Lightning Round, so sit tight, we will be right back.

(grandeur orchestral music) Okay, we're heading into the final 90-seconds of game play, the Lightning Round.

Players, you do not have to wait for me to finish the question, you can buzz-in anytime, 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.

The clock is set.

Good luck.

In a classic Disney movie, Pongo and Perdita are what breed of dog?

(tense music) (bell dinging) Crosby?

- Dalmatian?

- [Todd] Yes.

What is the square root of 121?

(bell dinging) Julia?

- 11.

- [Todd] Yes.

"Stay gold, pony boy."

Is a lot- (bell dinging) Felicity?

- The Outsiders?

- [Todd] Yeah.

What species of whale with a four letter name is known as the killer whale?

(bell dinging) Julia?

- Orca.

- [Todd] Yes.

Orca.

Artist Amy Sherald unveiled a portrait of which First Lady of the United States at the National Portrait Gallery in 2018?

(bell dinging) Aiden?

- Michelle Obama?

- [Todd] That's right.

The lowercase form of what Greek letter is used to represent the standard deviation in a dataset?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) Sigma.

In what Winter Olympic sport do players stand on ice, and push stones towards a- (bell dinging) Kevin?

- Hurling?

- [Todd] Hurling.

Right.

The Sandinista National Liberation Front started in what country?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) Nicaragua.

A standard limerick poem consists of one- (bell dinging) Go ahead, Kevin.

- 14?

- [Todd] Incorrect.

Five.

I can't get that... I gotta skip to question 11.

The Alhambra is a historic palace in what Spanish city?

(tense music) (buzzer buzzing) "Grenada" is the answer.

What English author created the character of James Bond and wrote the children's book, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"?

(tense music) (bell dinging) Crosby?

- Fleming?

- [Todd] "Fleming", yes.

In 1513, what Spanish Explorer became the first European- (bell trilling) That's the end of the Lightning Round, and our winning team is Yarmouth with 315-points, they'll be moving on to the season nine championship.

Falmouth, you guys had 255-points, great job, great season.

I hope you guys are back with us next year.

Well, it all comes down to one last game.

Join us next time for the season nine finale, as Bangor takes on Yarmouth, and we crown a new champion.

We will reveal the winner of our Viewer Question of The Week contest as well, you'll not wanna miss it.

Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time, for the Season Finale of High School Quiz Show Maine.

(grandeur orchestral music) - [Narrator] Production support for High School Quiz Show Maine is provided by... - [Narrator 2] 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.

- [Narrator 3] 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".

(calm music) - [Narrator 4] Since 1852, Bangor Savings Bank has been dedicated to keeping New Englanders at the heart of what they do.

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

You matter more.

(calm music) - [Narrator] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(grandeur orchestral music)