(gentle upbeat music) - Welcome to Season 9 of "High School Quiz Show Maine" where we're halfway through the qualifying matches.

16 schools are being whittled down to eight, but only one will take home the $1,000 prize for their school's project graduation.

In our 5th qualifying match, it's the Eagles of Windham High School- (triumphant orchestral music) taking on the Rams of Deering High School.

(triumphant orchestral music) That's coming up next on "High School Quiz Show Maine."

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- [Narrator] And by viewers like you.

Thank you!

(upbeat thrilling music) - Welcome to Season 9 of "High School Quiz Show Maine."

I'm your host, Todd Gutner.

We are just over halfway through the qualifying matches as we work our way towards the Season 9 championship and the $1,000 grand prize.

In our 5th match, we have two veteran teams with very similar quiz show histories.

The Eagles of Windham High School are making their 5th appearance on the show, having made it to the semifinals twice.

They're taking on the Rams of Deering High School in Portland who are also making their 5th appearance.

They have also made it to the semifinals twice, But only one of them will move on this year.

Who will it be?

Let's get things going by meeting the teams.

For Windham, we have Ashlynn, Delia, Mason, and Emma with alternates Nick and Maggie, and they're coached by John Ziegler.

And for Deering we have Iylarose, Erin, Eve, and Ivy, and they're coached by Kyle Davenport.

The competition has four rounds.

The Toss Up Round, the Head To Head Round, the Category Round, and the Lightning Round.

We'll 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.

All right, both teams, good luck.

Let's have some fun.

Here comes the first question.

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," is a quote from the inaugural address of which US president?

(buzzer dinging) Mason.

- JFK?

- JFK.

Yes.

What landmark in India was built in the 17th century by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial for his wife?

(buzzer dinging) Mason, again.

- The Taj Mahal?

- That is also correct.

What four-letter word can mean the outer covering of a tree or the sound made by a dog?

(buzzer dinging) Go ahead, Ashlynn.

- Bark.

- Bark, right.

"Under The Sea" and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" are songs from which 1989 Disney animated movie?

(buzzer dinging) Ah, Eve?

- "The Little Mermaid."

- That is correct.

Up next we have a picture question.

So take a look at the monitor right there.

What conflict that began in 1754 and lasted until 1763, created the conditions that led to the unrest between colonists and Great Britain, and eventually to the Revolutionary War?

(buzzer dinging) Ashlynn?

- The French and Indian War?

- That is right.

A viral news story from 2025 began when Ed ran away from home in Tennessee, and it took more than a week to catch him.

Ed is an animal not usually found in Tennessee.

What kind of animal is Ed?

(buzzer dinging) Go ahead, Mason.

- A zebra?

- A zebra, right?

HCL's an abbreviation for what acid?

(buzzer dinging) Delia?

- Hydrochloric.

- That is correct.

In Spanish, it's verde, in French, it's vert.

What is the English word for this color?

(buzzer dinging) Go ahead, Ivy.

- Green.

- Green, right.

Which of the 13 original American colonies was founded by Cecil Calvert, Second Lord Baltimore.

(buzzer dinging) Eve.

- Marylands?

- Maryland, correct.

Up next we have a video question.

Once again, the monitor.

- Hi, I'm Aislinn Sarnacki, the host of Borealis on Maine Public Television.

And here's my question for you.

The chickadee is Maine's state bird, with the black cap chickadee being the most common, but Maine is home to another type of chickadee that has a brown head.

What is the name of that chickadee?

(buzzer dinging) - [Todd] Iylarose?

- Boreal chickadee?

- Yeah, you nailed it.

Nice job.

Here's the next question.

"I Lost On Jeopardy" and "Smells Like Nirvana" are parody songs written and performed by what musical artist?

(buzzer dinging) Erin.

- Weird Al Yankovic?

- Yes.

In its most basic form, what simple machine used for lifting heavy objects consists of a wheel on an axle and a rope?

(buzzer dinging) Ashlynn.

- Pulley.

- Pulley, correct.

The painting known as "Self-Portrait With Gray Felt Hat" is one of 36 self portraits made by what 19th-century Dutch artist during his lifetime?

(buzzer dinging) Eve?

- Van Gogh.

- Van Gogh is right.

Of these three types of clouds, which is found at the highest altitude?

Cirrus, cumulus, or altostratus?

(buzzer dinging) Go ahead, Mason.

- Altostratus?

- [Todd] Ooh, that's incorrect.

Deering, you wanna give it a shot?

(buzzer dinging) Iylarose?

- Cirrus?

- [Todd] One more time.

- Cirrus?

- Yes, cirrus.

Nice job.

That made me proud.

Nice job, Iylarose.

All right, next question is a math question.

You have a pencil and a paper.

You might need it.

Two legs of a right triangle measure 12 inches and 5 inches respectively.

What is the length of the hypotenuse?

(buzzer buzzing) (buzzer dinging) Ah, was just a little late there, Delia.

13 inches.

Is that what you had?

- [Delia] Yeah.

- Ah, bummer.

All right.

Maybe next time.

Here comes the next question.

What name is given to the period immediately following the Civil War when the Federal government enacted policies to rebuild the South and unify the country?

(buzzer dinging) Mason?

- Reconstruction.

- Yes.

A person's BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

In this context, what does BMI stand for?

(buzzer dinging) Delia?

- Body Mass Index.

- That's right.

The idea that people have a right to life, liberty, and property comes from a text called "Two Treatises of Government" written by what English political philosopher?

(buzzer dinging) Ashlynn.

- Locke.

- Yep.

Brian Wilson, who died in June, 2025, was a founding member and chief songwriter of what classic rock band from California?

(buzzer dinging) Ah, Eve?

- The Beach Boys?

- Yes.

(timer ringing) Ooh, all right.

That's the end of our first round.

Tight one.

Really good.

Windham, 100, Deering, 80.

So don't go anywhere.

We will meet the players when we get back.

(upbeat thrilling music) Before we go to the Head To Head Round, we like to pause, and get to know our players with a slightly silly question.

This question is, if you were asked to give a TED Talk, what would the title be and what would it be about?

We'll begin over here with Ashlynn and Windham.

What do you think Ashlynn?

- My TED Talk would be titled "A Familiar Melody" and it would be about how music unlocks memory in people with memory loss, whether it's- - [Todd] Oh, wow.

- Alzheimer's dementia or amnesia.

- Hmm.

Any specific music or type of music?

- Well, it can, music is tied to different memories, so if you hear music from your past, it unlocks memory tied to that time period.

- Oh, interesting.

Cool.

Delia, what do you think?

- I think I would do my TED Talk on spontaneity, 'cause I feel as though that's sort of what I'm embracing right now with answering this question, but also I think- - (laughing) You're just winging it?

- I think there's value in being spontaneous, you know, mix life up a little.

- Yeah, absolutely.

Keeps it interesting.

Right.

Mason, your turn?

- I haven't thought of a suitable title, so I'll just say the title's "insert suitable title here," and then as for the subject, I just rant about whatever I want, video games, whatever.

- Okay.

All right.

It'll be different every time, right?

(laughing) - Yeah.

- [Todd] Emma, your turn.

- Mine would be titled "'70s Music Is The Best And Here's Why."

- [Todd] Okay.

- And then I would go into a long rant about why it's the best.

- Can you do a condensed rant on that?

- Maybe.

Maybe.

- [Todd] Not here.

- I could shorten it down to like an hour and a half maybe.

- [Emma] Oh, we're not gonna do it right now.

- No, no, no, no.

- Is there an artist from the '70s that you like best?

- Oh man.

- [Todd] If you had to pick one.

- Oh my goodness, there's so many.

- [Todd] I know.

- I am big Cher fan.

- [Todd] Oh, wow.

- Cher's kind of like- - [Todd] I didn't see that one coming.

- Cher's kind of like- - Because she kinda, sort of, she transcends, you know, other decades too, so.

- Oh, she's a legend (laughing).

- She's special.

She's special.

All right, let's head over to Deering, Iylarose?

- I would do a TED Talk named "The Fowl Situation," and it would be on one of my favorite childhood books, "Artemis Fowl."

- Okay, I've never heard of it, know nothing about it.

Is, could you give us a little bit on the plot?

- It's sort of a funny plot.

It's about this kid who's super, super smart.

He's like 11 when it starts and his father got kidnapped, and he wants to get money to get his father back, but to do that, he decides to capture a fairy so that he can get the gold ransom.

It's a really good book.

You should read it.

- Sweet.

I don't really need to.

I don't have to read it now.

You did a great job.

Thank you, Iylarose.

Erin?

- Mine would be called "Crochet For Dummies."

It would go over the basics of crochet.

How to read patterns, how to count stitches, all of that.

- So is I assume that's a hobby of yours?

- It is, yes.

I do it constantly.

- Are you?

I was gonna say are you stitching all the time?

- I brought like three balls of yarn to school today, so kind of, yeah.

- Oh, okay.

Do you do that, like not in class?

- [Erin] No, in class.

Okay, the teacher's okay with it.

It's fine.

- But you're obviously learning too, right?

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- All right, Eve, your turn.

- I think that I could probably give a TED Talk on Adam Sandler movies because I'm quite a fan.

- Okay.

Give us your favorite one.

- My favorite would have to be "Big Daddy."

- "Big Daddy."

All right, sweet.

Thank you.

You know he is from New Hampshire.

He is a New Englander.

Oh yeah.

Ivy, your turn.

- I would say, I'm not sure about a title, but I would say my TED Talk would probably be about how it's really easy to fall into kind of like a pattern of compliance and how there's like comfortability in that.

But also it's really important to understand like the value in learning to speak up and speak out when it matters most.

- To not get like complacent.

- [Ivy] Absolutely.

Yeah.

- Okay.

And speak your mind.

- [Ivy] Totally.

- Thank you, Ivy.

Thank you both teams.

All right.

The Head To Head Round is next.

Let's see how well you do though first.

with our viewer question of the week.

(upbeat thrilling music) - Hi, I'm Paul Riley from Safety Insurance, and here is your America @250 Viewer Question Of The Week.

The first company of soldiers to leave the District of Maine during the Revolutionary War marched from what town in Maine?

(upbeat thrilling music) The answer is York.

Considered to be the origin of the Maine National Guard, the 1st York County Regimen of Militia was first formed in 1652.

(upbeat thrilling music) - It is 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.

There are 90 seconds on our game clock.

Players ready?

Here we go with the first one.

What is the square root of nine?

(buzzer dinging) - Three.

- Three.

What was the first name of Jennifer Aniston's character on "Friends"?

(buzzer dinging) Ah, over here.

- Rachel.

- Yes.

Montpelier is the capital of- (buzzer dinging) Go ahead.

- Vermont.

- Yes.

Walking away.

What type of radiation from the sun produces vitamin D?

(buzzer dinging) - Solar?

- Ultraviolet.

A catastrophic explosion occurred in April, 1986 at what nuclear power plant in Ukraine?

(buzzer dinging) - Chernobyl.

- Yes.

The Khyber Pass links Afghanistan to what neighboring country?

(suspenseful music) (buzzer buzzing) Pakistan.

"Beep beep" is the sound made by what fast-moving Looney Tunes character?

(suspenseful music) (buzzer buzzing) Roadrunner.

The current United States flag has how many stripes?

(buzzer dinging) - 13.

- Yes.

The city of Honolulu is located on- (buzzer dinging) (suspenseful music) - Hawaii.

- Incorrect.

Oahu.

"Counting Stars" was a hit song for what band that has a number in their- (suspenseful music) - OneRepublic.

- Yeah.

Abbreviated with the letter K, what is the si unit of temperature?

(buzzer dinging) - Kelvin.

- Kelvin, right.

The big four cities of fashion industry are Paris, London, New York, and what northern- (buzzer dinging) - Milan.

- Milan.

Good job.

What flavor of ice cream is Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey?

(suspenseful music) (buzzer buzzing) Banana.

The Rastafarian movement started in what Caribbean island country where musician Bob Marley was born?J (buzzer dinging) - Jamaica?

- Jamaica, right.

(timer ringing) Ooh.

Okay.

That's the end of the Head To Head.

We have Windham at 160, Deering, 90.

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

- [Narrator] Production support for "High School Quiz Show Maine" is provided by- - [Presenter 3] The Worthington Scholarship Foundation dedicated to the success of Maine students by providing scholarships and personalized support throughout their college journeys.

Application deadline is April 15th.

Worthington scholars.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 Nesrene Griffin and I am MEA.

- [Narrator] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat thrilling music) - Next up is the Category Round with the following choices.

Five-letter Countries.

That's A Good Question.

Feeding Time.

Good Sports.

Give This A "Tri" and Officially Visiting.

Now, each team will alternate control of two categories.

Questions have increasing point values.

With each question, they can choose to answer it and either gain or lose points.

They can skip it, and neither gain nor lose points.

Or once per category, they can toss it and force the other team to answer.

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

Deering, you are trailing right now.

Eve, what do you wanna start with for your first category?

- We'll do Give It A "Tri" - Give This A "Tri" is all of your answers will begin with the letters T-R-I.

Here's the first one for 10.

In "The Hunger Games" books and movies, what is the name for the teens who are chosen to compete in "The Hunger Games"?

Spoiler alert, Katniss Everdeen volunteers as one in order to save her sister's life.

- Tributes.

- Tributes.

Nice job.

Give This A "Tri" for 15.

What city is the capital and primary seaport of the nation of Libya?

- Libya.

Where's Libya?

- Africa.

- Skip?

Skip.

- Oh, skip.

It's Tripoli, Tripoli.

Give This A "Tri" for 20.

Composed of three fatty acids bonded to a certain form of glucose, what is the medical name for fat in the bloodstream that stores unused calories and provides the body with energy?

- Triglyceride.

Triglyceride.

(buzzer beeping) - [Todd] Eve, I'll need an answer.

- Triglyceride?

- Yeah, I think we got it.

Nice job.

Great job.

Give This A "Tri" for 25.

The largest moon of Neptune is which moon that is named for the fishtailed Greek God who is the son of Poseidon?

- Triton.

- Triton.

Nice.

Give This A "Tri" for 30, the last one in the category.

In music, what term is defined as a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a tone or a semitone apart?

- Trill.

- Maybe.

- Yeah.

- Trill.

- You got it.

Nice job.

All right.

That's the end of that category.

We're going over to Windham.

Delia, you get to select for the first time.

- [Mason] Countries?

- [Delia] Five-Letter Countries please.

- Five-Letter Countries.

All answers in this category will be a country with a five-letter name.

The first one, the Tiber and Po Rivers are historic rivers in which European country with a five-letter name?

- Italy.

- Italy?

- Italy.

Yes.

Five-Letter Countries, 15.

On July 1st, 1997, Hong Kong became a special administrative region of what country?

- China.

- China?

- China, yes.

Five-Letter Countries for 20.

Katmandu is the most populous city in which landlocked Himalayan country with a majority Hindu population?

- Nepal?

- Yes.

Five-Letter Countries for 25.

Which small Persian Gulf monarchy shares its only land border with Saudi Arabia?

- Wait.

- Yemen?

- No, it's not Yemen.

It's Qatar?

- Yeah, try it.

- Qatar?

- Qatar.

- Qatar is correct.

Nice job, Mason.

Five-Letter Countries for 30.

The Masai Mara Game Reserve is located in which East African country?

- No.

Skip.

- No, skip.

(buzzer bleeping) - Skip.

- Wanna skip it?

It's Kenya, Kenya.

All right, we head back over to Deering.

Eve, what will your second category be?

- [Eve] We'll do Good Sports.

- Okay, Good Sports.

These questions are all about famous athletes.

Here's the first.

What quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles was voted the most valuable player in Super Bowl 59?

- Jalen Hurtz?

- Great job, whoever got that one.

Sports for 15.

With 11 Olympic medals and 30 world medals, who is the most decorated female gymnast in US history?

- Simone Biles.

- Yes.

Good Sports for 20.

Wildly considered to be the top ranked player in the WNBA, what center for the Las Vegas Aces averaged 26.9 points in 11.9 rebounds per game in the 2024 season?

- Caitlyn Clark?

- That's incorrect.

It's Asia Wilson.

We move on though.

Good Sports for 25.

As of the end of the 2024-25 season, which NHL player who plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins was the only active player among the top 10 leading point scorers of all time?

- Skip.

- Skip.

- Skip.

It's Sidney Crosby.

Good Sports for 30.

This is the last in this category.

One of the top rated soccer players in the FC 25 video game is what striker, who played most of his career for Paris Saint Germain but was traded to Real Madrid in 2024?

- I have no idea (whispering).

(buzzer bleeping) - [Todd] What would you like to do, Eve?

- We'll skip it.

- Wanna skip that one too?

It's Mbappé, Mbappé.

We go back to Windham for the final category of this round.

Delia?

- [Mason] Officially Visiting.

- [Delia] Maybe.

- [Todd] Delia, what do you think?

- [Delia] Officially Visiting.

- Officially Visiting.

This category includes questions about diplomatic visits.

First one, what Caribbean island nation has been visited by just two sitting US Presidents, Calvin Coolidge in 1928 and Barack Obama in 2016?

- Cuba.

- Cuba, right.

All right.

Officially Visiting for 15.

Nayib Bukele, the president of what Central American country where the CECOT prison is located, met with Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the prison in April, 2025?

- El Salvador.

- El Salvador.

- That is right.

Officially Visiting for 20.

After a diplomatic visit in the 5th century, an ambassador from the Byzantine Empire wrote a detailed description of what man who was the ruler of the Huns?

- Like, Attila.

- Attila?

- Attila is correct.

Officially Visiting for 25.

In 1853, President Millard Fillmore dispatched Commodore Matthew C. Perry on a diplomatic trade mission to visit what Asian country that was intentionally closed to trade with other nations?

- Japan.

- Japan.

Nice.

Officially Visiting for 30.

The final one.

In his two terms as President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has made more than 30 visits to what Central Asian nation, a former Soviet Republic that is home to the Baikonur Cosmodrome space launch facility?

- Kazakhstan?

- Kazakhstan?

- Kazakhstan is right.

That's the end of our Category Round.

And right now we have a score of Windham with 330, Deering trailing at 180.

Anything can happen in the Lightning Round, so sit tight.

We will be right back.

(upbeat thrilling music) Okay, we're 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 any time.

But do not answer until I call your name.

You get 20 points for each correct answer and an incorrect answer will cost you 20, and the other team does not get the chance to answer.

The clock is set.

Good luck both teams.

Here we go.

Freedom of the press is addressed in which- (buzzer dinging) - First Amendment.

- Mason?

Yes.

Represented by a Greek letter, what constant has an approximate value of 3.1?

(buzzer dinging) Mason?

- Pi?

- [Todd] Yes.

What is the world's largest non-polar desert?

(buzzer dinging) Eve.

- Antarctica.

- The Sahara.

Bono and The Edge are founding members of- (buzzer dinging) Emma.

- U2.

- U2, right.

What Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Elizabeth Strout is set in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine?

(buzzer buzzing) "Olive Kitteridge."

The 1848 Women's Rights Convention took place in what- (buzzer dinging) Mason?

- Seneca Falls.

- That is correct.

A scarab is what type of insect?

(buzzer dinging) Delia.

- Beetle.

- Beetle, right.

What king founded the Achaemenid Empire?

(buzzer dinging) Mason?

- Cyrus The Great?

- [Todd] Cyrus The Great.

In Norse mythology, Fenrir is a giant type of- (buzzer dinging) Delia.

- Wolf.

- [Todd] Wolf.

Which Dutch golden-age painter created "Girl With A Pearl Earring"?

(buzzer dinging) Mason.

- Vermeer.

- [Todd] Vermeer.

The Rig Veda is a sacred Hindu text written in what ancient language?

(buzzer dinging) Mason again.

(suspenseful music) (buzzer buzzing) - Sanskrit?

- I think you came up a little short.

It is Sanskrit though.

Deuterium oxide is commonly called what water?

(buzzer dinging) Mason.

- Heavy water.

- Heavy water.

On a regulation NBA basketball court, the rims are how many feet off the floor?

(buzzer dinging) Eve.

(timer ringing) - 10.

- You can answer it and you said it there.

Correct answer of 10.

And we have a final score of Windham with 490 points.

Deering with 180.

Windham, you are our winners this week.

Deering, thank you for playing.

Congratulations.

It was a lot of fun having you here.

Be sure to tune in next time as Mount View takes on Orono.

Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time on "High School Quiz Show Maine."

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

- [Presenter 2] 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 in supporting families and businesses.

You matter more.

- [Narrator] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat thrilling music) (upbeat thrilling music continues) (upbeat thrilling music continues)