University Challenge 2024 First Round - York v. Northeastern University

The Teams

York

Emma Giles

Emma-Mae Smith

Ollie Smith (Capt)

David Bachelor

Northeastern University

Colin Garwood

Benjamin Schmale

Chloe Rogers (Capt.)

Seamus Conlon

Here it is dearly beloved, the last of the first round heats. York took on newcomers Northeastern University, newest and smallest institution in this year’s series.

A great early buzz from Emma-Mae Smith took first blood for York, as she knew that the Ellesmere Manuscript was Chaucer’s. Love Chaucer. The bonuses that followed on George Eliot were gettable, but they only managed the one. Colin Garwood, who seems to be a gent of a similar vintage to my own, knew the Crafty Cockney was Eric Brisow. Bonuses on West African languages brought both Northeastern and me just the one correct answer. Several clues led both Emma Giles and me to the name Shirley for the next starter. Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues only brought another single bonus. This took us up to the picture starter. David Bachelor confirmed that the little dot on the map of the USA both teams were shown was in fact Pittsburgh. Locations of funicular railways (Pittsburgh still has a couple apparently) provided two bonuses for York this time. I love a funicular, but none of the ones I’ve ever ridden were shown. ‘Basalt sea cave on Staffa’ and ‘Mendelssohn’ should only bring one name to mind. Not Wicklow, unfortunately for Chloe Rogers, but Fingal as David Bachelor knew. York picked a pair of bonuses on British football clubs but missed out on the minute’s silence paid by a Finchley club to Margaret Thatcher. No comment. As we approached the 10 minute mark, York had carved out a noticeable lead, as the score stood at 70 – 15.

There was a chemistry starter that followed. Once the strains of the Baby Elephant Walk from my internal orchestra had faded Ollie Smith had answered amino acids correctly. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences – named after the Queen song, I believe – was the subject of the bonuses. This is the sort of set which I find induces narcolepsy, so it was ironic that I awarded myself a lap of honour for recognising a description of that very condition. With the next starter Northeastern began to elbow their way back into the competition. Colin Garwood knew that an Elton John mostly instrumental single and a Walter Scott novel share the name Guy. Bakery products brought a brace of bonuses. Did you know that the name Kings Cross comes from a statue of King George IV? A very unpopular one at that. Alright, I did but then Georgie Porgie (did you know that he was the origin of the rhyme? He was) was one of my specialist subjects. Colin Garwood took that one. Bonuses on the Madeira archipelago brought nowt to any of us. So to the music round, and Seamus Conlon buzzed in almost immediately, recognising the distinctive sound of Diana Ross. Oher disco recordings on the Motown label – sacrilege! – brought two bonuses. The gap was narrowing. It was Colin Garwood again who took the next starter, recognising a description of Australian Rules football’s origins as a game to keep cricketers fit in the winter. If you like oval ball games generally and you’ve never watched Aussie Rules, you should. It’s a fantastic game. Bonuses on asteroids provided nothing for either of us. Again, the next starter fell to Northeastern, with Seamus Conlon providing the word required – influencer. That was enough to give Northeastern an unexpected lead, and they added a bonus with two correct answers to a set of bonuses on Irish places beginning with Kil-.Regions of Argentina with neighbouring regions of Chile suggested Patagonia to me. David Bachelor thought so too. This was enough to earn a set of bonuses on hotels in New York. 1 correct answer was enough to put York just five points behind. Emma-Mae Smith recognised a description of alienation to put York back in the lead. Had Amol’s jedi boost finally worn off Northeastern? Well, York couldn’t find any more points on the set of bonuses on Restoration Comedy. I studied English Literature for 3 years at University, which qualifies me to offer my considered opinion, that Restoration Comedy is by and large absolute shite. This meant that York led by 105 – 100 at 20 minutes.

Northeastern struck back immediately. Seamus Conlon recognised the symbol of Bauhaus for the second picture starter. Altogether now – Bauhaus (boom, boom, boom)– in the middle of our street - Members of the teaching faculty brought us both a couple of bonuses. I sympathise with Chloe Rogers over the next starter – Les Sylphides is the only ballet by Delibes that I know too. But it fell to Emma-Mae Smith to give the correct answer of Sylvia. Doctor Hook wrote a song about her mother. Salt deserts and salt flats brought two more bonuses and gave York back the lead. The Wapping rail tunnel to Edge Hill positively invited the two wrong answers of London and Birmingham, but it was part of the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway at the Liverpool end. The next starter seemed to be pointing towards Impressionism, and Emma-Mae Smith bit the bullet and gave that answer. This earned York bonuses on extinct birds in Audubon’s Birds of America. ‘Passenger Pigeon!’ I shouted, and indeed it was the answer to the first bonus. I’m not surprised we both missed the Labrador duck (or do I mean the Mallard Retriever?) though I was surprised that York didn’t know the Great Auk either. David Bachelor knew various German defensive lines in Italy during world war 2. Then York only managed one bonus on the Commonwealth Games, but that didn’t seem to matter as they now had the whip hand with the starters again. Now, I’m very sorry, but I was pleased with myself for knowing – Law – Electricity – Resistance – has to be Ohm’s. Ollie Smith took that one. 2 bonuses on cocktails pretty much extinguished Northeastern’s dwindling prospects. David Bachelor knew that the fourth largest city in Sweden is Uppsala. Authors who wrote novels when they were very young didn’t offer a lot, but I thought Jane Ausen should have been guessable. Ollie Smith recognised a reference to fungi for the next starter. We were gonged before York could answer the first of a set on Richard Matheson. York had won by 190 – 120.

Not so much a game of 2 halves, more of a game of three thirds. It was amazing how Northeastern sprang into action after Amol’s encouragement, and how they dramatically ran out of steam in the last few minutes. They managed a BCR of 47, better than York’s profligate BCR of 39. York had some sprightly buzzing in the team, but they’ll need to improve on that BCR in the next round.

How is Amol Doing?

There was an early flexing of Amol’s metaphorical Jedi muscles in this contest. We were not yet 12 minutes into the show when he unleashed his encouragement. Plenty of time, Northeastern. Indeed there was. It was immediately effective, suggesting that Amol’s recent slump is well and truly over.

Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week

‘The yips’ is also called ‘dartitis’. You couldn’t make it up.

Baby Elephant Walk Moment

In chemistry, hydrogen, a carboxylic acid group, an amine group and a variable R group attach to a central carbon in the alpha type of what class of organic molecules? Dum de dum dum dumdum dumdum dumdum.