University Challenge First Round - Green Templeton, Oxford v. Darwin, Cambridge

The Teams

Green Templeton College, Oxford

Will Owens

Annie Roberts

Yusuf Sahin (Capt.)

Fiona Asokacitta

Darwin College, Cambridge

Lewis Strachan

Ruth Ni Mhuircheartaigh

Louis Cameron (Capt.)

Jonathan White

Green Templeton were making their first appearance as a matter of note. We began with a starter in which Brian Aldiss described what seemed to have been from Frankenstein. Indeed it was, as Lewis Strachan thought, earning a set of bonuses on Breakfast at Tiffany’s for Darwin. We both took just the two bonuses. Clues to film portrayals of Sigmund Freud fell to Lewis Cameron. No bonuses on the Portuguese War of Restoration followed, although I think that they were unlucky not to get Ceuta. Lewis Cameron knew Clown for the next starter. Sex chromosomes (no sex chromosomes please, we’re British) amazingly not only produced this week’s first baby elephant walk moment but the last question in the set brought me a lap of honour when I knew that temperature changes in the eggs can determine the sex of turtle offspring. (Look, an NHS clerical officer just KNOWS these things, ok?) For the picture starter nobody recognized movements in a work by Ottorino Respighi. Vitamin B1 thiamin brought Annie Roberts and Green Templeton (henceforth I will call them GT) their first points. This earned the picture bonuses on movements in other tone poems and brought a further five points. Thus it was that just after the 10 minute mark that Darwin led 40 – 15.

Lewis Cameron was the first to recognize the person being described in the next starter as Genghis Khan. Art of the New York Subway provided an interesting set of which Darwin took just the one. With the next starter about an artist friend of Edgar Degas you had to wait until the pronoun ‘she’ was used, at which point I thought it was a 50/50 between Berthe Morrisot and Mary Cassatt. Lewis Cameron went for Cassatt and took the points. Game theory bonuses brought just the one correct answer. Will Owen knew the word Ambient as used in various album titles. Poaceae (the plant family not the Pokemon character) yielded only one bonus to GT, but at least it took us up to the music starter. Ruth Ni Mhuircheartaigh thought that the voice might be Leonard Cohen’s and was right. More songs that inspired the names of notable bands or artists provided just one correct answer. Captain Yusuf Sahin took one for his team with the next starter, recognizing descriptions of languages that all begin with the letters sin -. The Beach Boys . . . well the Beach Boys, like so many sets before them gave up just one correct answer. With the next starter you had to wait . . . and . . . wwwaaaaiiiitttt, until Menai Strait Bridge was mentioned, then sling buzzer. Will Owens gave the correct answer of Thomas Telford. Notable alumni of France’s Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees – nope, me neither – brought a rare full house. Which really changed the state of the competition. Darwin had been comfortably outbuzzing GT, yet at the 20 minute mark they only had a 15 point lead to show for their efforts, with the score at 85-70.

This was further reduced when Yusuf Sahin took the next starter with the Polish Galicia. We were back to famine rations of bonuses again though as only one bonus on Little Red Riding Hood brought the scores level. Lewis Cameron recognized the work of Heidegger (aka the boozy beggar) for the next starter and with two bonuses for art installations they began the long run for home. So to the second picture starter and the kind of illustration that could only be for Milton or Dante. Lewis Cameron buzzed too early and lost five. Will Owens went with Milton. It was Dante. Annie Roberts knew Progesterone (another Pokemon?) for the next starter and earned the bonuses showing three more depictions of Dante’s meeting with Francesca da Rimini. This brought them the two correct answers that they needed to level the scores again. A terrific early buzz to identify the character Clarissa Dalloway from Annie Roberts brought GT the lead. They sadly squandered a very gettable set on Greek Mythology. Emec and Etic (surely they are pokemon too) gave both teams the slip. A smut that grows on corn – and let me tell you that we are not averse to smutty corn or corny smut here at LAM Towers – lost Darwin five and fell to Yusuf Sahin. Natural world bonuses took GT to 130 meaning that Darwin needed two unanswered visits to the table. They took the next starter with residue. With two bonuses taken the next starter could tie the scores. Jonathan White took it. Was there enough time for any bonuses? Only just. Darwin took the only one there was time for and won the contest 135-130.

For the record both teams managed relatively modest BCRs. Green Templeton posted 42% while Darwin’s was 44%. Sadly their score of 130 means that GT do not make it onto the repechage table.

Amol Watch

I’m gratified to see Amol keeping to the principle of – if it’s not quite right than it’s quite wrong, even though Darwin may well feel aggrieved about Ceuta.

It appears that Amol is as fond of Leonard Cohen as he is of Bertrand Russell. Cohen is NOT unmistakeable, Amol, or GT wouldn’t have mistaken him.

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

Roy Lichtenstein designed a large mural at Times Square 42^nd Street Subway Station.

Baby Elephant Walk Moment

X-inactivation is only one method of dealing with the asymmetry of sex chromosomes. Some species instead halve the expression of genes from both female X chromosomes, while others double that of the single X chromosomes in males. What two word term refers to these methods collectively? Dum de dumdum dum dum dum dum dumdum.

Repechage Table

Sheffield	170
SOAS	170
New College Oxford	150
Lancaster	145
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Grenn-Templeton, Oxford	130
Cardiff	115
Linacre, Oxford	115
Newcastle	105
Bath	70