Following, please find the questions for the Bricker Challenge 2005, Edition # ½ (or 1/2 if the special character doesn’t work!)
This edition has only 25 questions instead of the usual 50, and is thus edition ½.
The rules, as always, are simple: I have posted a list of … stuff. You, the contest participant, must identify each item and/or answer each question. For example, if one item were: “Is the quality of mercy strained?” you might answer, “No. It falleth as gentle rains from the heavens,” which would show you recognize the classic speech from Portia in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.
“What is NaCl?” Your answer might be, “The chemical symbols for sodium chloride, common table salt.”
Any answer that shows you get the reference is fine. If it’s a joke, explain the joke. Leave no stone unturned. Be the party know-it-all that explains why the malaprop is funny, and what the speaker MEANT to say. Some questions may contain deliberate errors of spelling, or of meaning. Correct the misapprehension or the mistake. Explain that “Bedtime for Bongo” isn’t about putting small drums to sleep, but likely a misunderstanding of the famous Reagan film title.
I’m phrasing questions ambiguously in an effort to cut down on the help that search engines can provide, although there’s no getting around it … many will be answerable by search engine anyway. There is no rule against using search engines (or any other reference) although I would appreciate if, just for curiosity’s sake, you note that you got the answer by search engine as opposed to simply knowing it.
I am awarding a $15 ($12.50 seemed silly, but this is Edition ½, after all) gift certificate from Amazon.com as the prize to the winner. Alternatively, if the winner is not a subscribed member and wishes to become so, I am awarding a one-year paid subscription to the SDMB. A winner who is already subscribed may donate his subscription to another person of his choosing, but must identify the recipient within a reasonable period of time.
The winner is the person that answers the most questions correctly by post here dated on or before Sunday, January 30th, at 11:00 PM EST, or the first person to answer all questions correctly before that time. I reserve the right to substitute another prize of comparable value for any reason. My decisions are final as to the accuracy of all answers. I may, or may not, provide intermediate feedback as to the number of correct answers each entrant has, but if I make any errors in doing so, it’s your tough luck. I won’t score posts with less than five correct answers. Only the single post with the most correct answers by the deadline qualifies you as a winner. In the unlikely event of a tie, which would occur if two or more posts have the same date/time stamp and both have the highest number of correct answers, the prize will be split amongst each tied contestant.
The next post has the questions. Good luck!
- Rick
John Larroquette’s character in Stripes