WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel high-tail it for a quiz about comets.
Last week's challenge
Start with the name ROBERT FORD. Rearrange the letters to spell a four-letter word beginning with F for a structure an army might build, and a six-letter word beginning with B for where they might build it. What are the words?
Answer: The structure is a FORT, and they might build it on a BORDER.
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: COMETS
On-air questions: On April 10, 837, Halley's Comet made its closest approach to the Earth, coming within 3.2 million miles of our planet. Halley's Comet is visible from Earth every 75 or 76 years: it was last seen in February of 1986, and it is predicted to be visible again in July of 2061. (Set your alarms.) In honor of our periodic visitor, this week our quiz is about comets.
1. Comet Geyser is a geothermal feature located in a U.S. national park, in an area of known as Upper Geyser Basin. This area has the highest concentration of geothermal features in the national park, and also includes Old Faithful Geyser. In what national park is Comet Geyser?
2. The Utica Comets are an American Hockey League team that moved to Utica, New York in 2013 after playing as the Peoria Rivermen since 2005. They are currently an affiliate of what British Columbia-based NHL team?
3. Established in 1929, the Comet Trading Company is a fictional company that appears in the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling. Marketed to Quidditch players, the company's first product was the Comet 140, which featured the Braking Charm, designed to help players not go offsides or overshoot goals. For what product is the Comet Trading Company best known?
4. The 1920 short story "The Comet" follows Jim and Julia, the lone survivors after a comet hits New York City and release toxic gases. The story was written by what three-initialed African-American author and civil rights activist, perhaps best known for his works The Souls of Black Folk and Black Reconstruction In America?
5. On November 12, 2014, the European Space Agency's probe Rosetta and its lander module Philae, as part of its study of Comet 67P, did what for the first time in history?
Extra credit
1. Portrayed by a golden retriever named Buddy, Comet was part of a litter born to a dog that found its way to the backyard of the Tanners, and was later adopted by the family, in the third season of what sitcom?
2. Comet is one of the eight reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh in the 1823 poem by Clement Moore, familiarly known as "'Twas The Night Before Christmas." What is the actual title of the poem?
This week's challenge
Start with the phrase HALLEY'S COMET. Change one letter to a B and you can rearrange the result to spell a seven-letter word for a part of the body and a five-letter word for where that body part is located. What are the words?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Yellowstone National Park
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. Broomsticks
4. W.E.B. Dubois
5. Landed on the comet's surface
Extra credit
1. Full House
2. "A Visit From St. Nicholas"
