AAJA-LA Trivia Bowl Questions & Answers
ROUND ONE: Current Events and Pop Culture
PART 1 – Current Events
1. In April, Reporters Without Borders released its annual World Press Freedom Index, which listed what Scandinavian country as the safest country for journalists?
Norway
2. Notre Dame suffered a massive fire earlier this year. What does “Notre Dame” literally translate to in English?
“Our Lady”
3. In August 2019, Boris Johnson asked for what two-word act from the reigning monarch, which would effectively suspend parliament?
Queen’s speech
4. This spring there were around nine hundred confirmed cases of what disease in the US, making it the largest outbreak since 1994?
Measles
5. What Indian state did India recently send military troops into, revoking its special status and putting the state on communications lockdown?
Jammu and Kashmir (we have accepted just “Kashmir” as correct)
6. In February 2019, what country became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in Asia?
Taiwan
7. Pete Buttigieg [“boot-edge-edge”] is the only openly gay candidate for president in 2020. He is the mayor of what city?
South Bend, Indiana
8. In July, Donald Trump, Justin Bieber, and Kim Kardashian were all involved in trying to extract what rapper from jail in Sweden?
A$AP Rocky
9. During an early debate, what Democratic candidate for president said Donald Trump is responsible for a “dark psychic force” of “collectivized hatred”?
Marianne Williamson
10. The 2019 Hong Kong protests are also known as the Anti-(BLANK) Law Amendment Bill Movement. What fills in the blank?
Extradition
PART 2 – Pop Culture
1. In early 2019, a picture of what became the most liked photo on Instagram, beating Kylie Jenner’s previous record?
An Egg
2. According to the Marie Kondo method, the Five Categories of items in your home that you must process through include Clothing, Books, Papers, Mementos, and what category that represents miscellaneous items?
Komono
3. At the 2019 Grammys, the Grammy for 2018 Album of the Year went to a country album for the first time in eight years. What artist won that award?
Kacey Musgraves
4. Roma scored ten Oscar nominations at the 2019 Oscars, tying which year 2000 movie for most nominations for a foreign film?
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
5. What 2019 movie was based on a story in a 2015 article from the Cut, and stars Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez in the lead roles?
Hustlers
6. Ali Wong and Randall Park star together in what recently released Netflix rom-com?
Always Be My Maybe
7. In 2018, who became just the second Asian American woman to host Saturday Night Live?
Awkwafina
8. Four Weddings and a Funeral has been adapted for television and is now on Hulu. The show was produced by what alum of The Office and lover of romantic comedies?
Mindy Kaling
9. Who is the first artist born in the twenty-first century to have a Number One album on the Billboard albums chart? This feat occurred in 2019.
Billie Eilish [“eye-lish”] (she is seventeen-years-old)
10. The indie hit The Farewell is based on what Chinese-American director’s personal story?
Lulu Wang
ROUND TWO: Literature, Language and Art; and Sports and Games
PART 1 – Literature, Language and Art
1. In English, “pumpkin” is often used as a term of endearment for kids. French speakers are more likely to say “mon petit chou” [“muh pity shoe”], which translates to “my little…” what?
Cabbage
2. Yayoi Kusama is an artist best known for her introspective installation pieces called “Infinity Rooms” that make heavy use of repeated shapes and also what objects, usually lining the walls?
Mirrors
3. Midway through Season 1 of the series Arrested Development, matriarch Lucille Bluth adopts a Korean child she mistakenly refers to as “Annyong,” [“ahhn yong”] believing it to be his name. Fittingly, his real name is later revealed to be what?
Hello (Hel-loh)
4. Both Agamemnon’s daughter in Greek epics and Daredevil’s girlfriend from the Netflix show go by what name?
Elektra
5. The Swahili word for “freedom” lends itself to the name of a Star Trek character. What word?
Uhuru/Uhura (we have accepted either the Swahili word or the character’s name)
6. The Suzuki method is generally associated with learning how to play what classical instrument?
Violin
7. What novel by author Min Jin Lee, which follows the story of a Korean family who eventually migrates to Japan, was a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award?
Pachinko
8. What 2017 novel by Celeste Ng is being adapted into a television miniseries by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington?
Little Fires Everywhere
9. Sichuan cuisine is known for being ma-la. “La” means spicy. What does “ma” translate to?
Numb / Numbing
10. What collection of seventeen interconnected sculptural structures located north of Compton were created by amateur artist Simon Rodia over thirty-plus years?
Watts Towers
PART 2 – Sports and Games
According to a 2018 Forbes article, the most valuable sports franchise in the world is the Dallas Cowboys ($4.8 billion). What soccer club is the SECOND most valuable sports team in the world?
Manchester United
2. What country won the 2019 Cricket World Cup?
England
3. What Cal alumni went viral for her “sipping tea” goal celebration at the 2019 FIFA World Cup?
Alex Morgan
4. The Toronto Raptors, winners of this year’s NBA championships, have the slogan “We the North.” Despite claims that they are “the north,” there are in fact two NBA franchises that are located geographically farther north than Toronto. Name either one.
Minnesota Timberwolves / Portland Trailblazers
5. In July 2019, Colombian Egan Bernal became the first Latin American winner of what event?
Tour de France
6. At the start of the 2019 MLB season, who played two games as the oldest active player in the MLB before retiring in March?
Ichiro Suzuki (He was forty-five at the time)
7. In January, Trump welcomed what team to the White House by serving them a fast food feast of burgers, pizza, and fries?
Clemson Tigers
8. After a US Open game, Naomi Osaka invited what fifteen-year-old tennis player to share the post-game interview with her?
Coco Gauff
9. Fabiano Caruana is the highest ranked American player in what, just after world champion Magnus Carlsen?
Chess
10. Megan Rapinoe [“Ra-pee-no”] plays in the NWSL; her girlfriend, Sue Bird, plays in WNBA. They both play for what city?
Seattle
ROUND THREE: Culture, Traditions and Food; and Science and Technology
PART 1 – Culture, Traditions and Food
1. In Chinese culture, what number is considered unlucky because it is a homophone of the word for death?
Four
2. Granite Mountain Records Vault, also known simply as The Vault, is a large archive owned by what religious group? It is built six-hundred feet into the north side of Little Cottonwood Canyon.
The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints / Mormons
3. According to the Book of Revelation, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse include War, Pestilence, Death, and what else?
Famine
4. What Australian wine brand, whose logo contains a picture of a wallaby, shares its name with a type of fish known in Japanese as hamachi?
Yellowtail
5. What expensive spice shares its name with the 2007-2008 political revolution in Myanmar that saw the arrests of thousands of Buddhist monks?
Saffron
6. Feijoada (fay-ZHWA-da), traditionally prepared in a clay pot on low heat, is a stew with black beans, beef, and pork. It is the national dish of what country?
Brazil
7. A member of the fig family, what ingredient is common in Southeast Asian cuisines and is sometimes used in vegan recipes as a substitute for pulled pork?
Jackfruit
8. “Nikkei” refers to Japanese people living outside of Japan, but in recent years, it’s come to indicate the merging of Japanese cuisines with what South American country’s cuisine? Nikkei dishes include ceviche nikkei, tiradito, and the creative incorporation of quinoa using Japanese techniques.
Peru
9. Burger King’s new plant-based burger is known by what name?
Impossible Whopper
10. Dumplings native to Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and the Himalayan countries are known by what name, which appears in the name of a culinary brand established by celebrity chef David Chang?
Momo
PART 2 – Science and Technology
1. After exploring Mars for nearly fifteen years, what NASA rover shut down in February?
Opportunity
2. Before flat screens and liquid crystal displays, C.R.T. televisions dominated the market. What does C.R.T. stand for?
Cathode Ray Tube
3. In April, scientists in Israel were able to 3-D print what human organ for the first time ever?
Heart
4. Coming from the Greek word for “seahorse”, what part of the brain is responsible for long-term memory?
Hippocampus
5. Using energy consumption as a basis of measurement, the Kardashev [“CAR-duh-shev] Scale describes “Type One, Type Two, and Type Three” levels of what? A Type Three would effectively harness the energy of an entire galaxy.
Civilizations
6. What word from carpentry is the common term for an Einstein-Rosen bridge, a theoretical structure that could connect distant points in space?
Wormhole
7. On the Periodic Table, what element with atomic number nineteen is represented by the same letter used to represent a strike-out in baseball?
Potassium (they are both represented by the letter K)
8. What sixteen-year-old Swedish climate activist told world leaders, “I don’t want you to be hopeful, I want you to panic”?
Greta Thurnberg
9. In April, scientists used a network of telescopes known as an E.H.T.–an Event Horizon Telescope–to capture the first ever images of a what?
Black Hole
10. An increase in opioid overdoses in the USA, including the deaths of rapper Mac Miller and Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, have been linked to the rise of what synthetic drug?
Fentanyl
ROUND FOUR: History and Geography; and California/L.A. Local
PART 1 – History and Geography
1. Which US state capital comes alphabetically last?
Trenton, New Jersey
2. Ching Shih was a Chinese woman born around 1775. She was a sex worker and then a widow before becoming what she was best known for–perhaps the single most successful person ever in what occupation?
Pirate / Privateer
3. Previously known as East Pakistan, what country to the east of India gained independence in 1971?
Bangladesh
4. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican Army over which country at the Battle of Puebla in 1862?
France
5. Chadwick Boseman has been cast to play Yasuke on film, who is historically considered the first black person ever to hold what title?
Samurai
6. In December 1874, the King of what island made the first visit by a foreign Head of Government to the USA?
Hawaii (Hawaiian Kingdom – King Kalakaua)
7. What West African country’s name translates roughly from Portuguese and Spanish to “Mountains of the Lion”?
Sierra Leone
8. What country was once the Khmer (Kuh-MARE) empire, which lasted for over six-hundred years and spread Hinduism and Buddhism to much of Asia?
Cambodia
9. Who was the last U.S. president to be born in the nineteenth century?
Dwight D. Eisenhower (born 1890)
10. What 1967 Supreme Court case struck down all state laws banning interracial marriage?
Loving vs. Virginia
PART 2 – California/L.A. Local
1. The immigration of Lebanese people to Mexico in the nineteenth and twentieth century is said to have given rise to what style of taco meat similar to shawarma, now common throughout Los Angeles?
Al Pastor
2. What sushi restaurant on 1st Street in Little Tokyo shares part of its name with an Irish music artist who has recorded in as many as ten languages?
Sushi Enya
3. What 2004 Oscar-winning movie caused pinot noir production in California to increase by one-hundred-seventy percent?
Sideways
4. What LA neighborhood is bound by Vermont Avenue on the east, Western Avenue on the west, Third Street on the north, and Olympic Boulevard on the south?
Koreatown
5. In the Baldwin Hills / Crenshaw area of LA, a stretch of Rodeo road was recently renamed for whom?
Barack Obama
6. What eighty-nine-year-old actor and director was the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California from 1986 to 2001?
Clint Eastwood
7. What LA local chef, who Ali Wong cites as the inspiration for her character in Always Be My Maybe, recently earned two Michelin stars for her restaurant n/naka?
Niki Nakayama
8. What would you get if you ordered a Number One at In-N-Out?
Double-Double (with cheese!)
9. Each July, Echo Park Lake celebrates the blooming of what flower?
Lotus (lotus festival)
10. California governor Gavin Newsome recently signed Assembly Bill 1482 into law, which puts a five-percent yearly cap on what?
Rent Increases (Rent Control)
SUDDEN DEATH
ROUND 5 – SUDDEN DEATH (2 or 3 Questions in each category – 20 Questions total)
SUDDEN DEATH RULES: By random drawing, one of the tied teams picks a category. One question is asked in that category and all teams write down their answer. Any teams that get the answer incorrect are eliminated immediately. If more than one team answers correctly, the team that submitted their answer fastest chooses the next category.
If, at any point, every team misses a question, they all continue playing. The last team to choose the category chooses again. This continues (quickly) until there is only one team remaining. The “last team standing” wins the tie-breaker.
(CURRENT EVENTS) 1. In May, Ted Cruz spoke out in support of a US “Space Force”, citing the need to protect the country against threats from what?
(Space) Pirates
2. Ahead of Apple’s Worldwide Development Conference, reports came out that Apple will soon be shuttering services for what app that it launched in 2001?
iTunes
(POP CULTURE) 3. When PBS and Netflix brought the Great British Bake Off to US TV, they had to change the title to “Great British Baking Show” because the phrase “Bake Off” is trademarked for a competition started in 1949 by what Minneapolis based food brand?
Pilsbury
4. Who is the only actor to win an Oscar for portraying a US President?
Daniel Day Lewis (for Lincoln)
(LITERATURE, LANGUAGE, ART) 5. What best-selling book series, which would go on to spawn its own film franchise, originally began as Twilight fan-fiction?
Fifty Shades of Grey
6. What 1899 Kate Chopin novel, set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast famously ends with the female protagonist apparently committing suicide by walking into the ocean?
The Awakening
7. In Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, the protagonist is attempting to catch what type of fish? The fish shares its name with another inappropriately named Disney fish.
Marlin
(SPORTS AND GAMES) 8. Recently, Lebron James surpassed Michael Jordan to become the fourth-highest scoring NBA player of all time. What former LA Laker is first on the list?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
9. Rounders, an outdoor game common in the British Isles since as early as the 1400s, is most similar to which of the five major pro sports in the US?
MLB / Baseball
10. Country House beat Maximum Security by disqualification on May Fourth to become the winner of what event?
Kentucky Derby
(CULTURE, TRADITIONS, FOOD) 11. Yakitori is a Japanese style of skewered meat. What kind of meat is used in yakitori?
Chicken
12. What secular holiday is celebrated in Britain, Canada, as well as many former British colonies, the day after Christmas?
Boxing Day
13. In Filipino culture (among others), when moving into a new home, it is often considered good luck to put a few of what item in every corner?
Coins
(SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY) 14. Titan is the second largest moon in the Solar System and the only known moon that has a significant atmosphere. Its name is appropriate, as it orbits what planet?
Saturn – Latinized form of Cronus, leader of the Titans in Greek Mythology
15. Mini Melts and Dippin’ Dots Ice Cream is made by flash freezing droplets in the liquid form of what element, which makes up seventy-eight percent of Earth’s atmosphere?
Nitrogen
(HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY) 16. When William of Normandy (AKA William the Conqueror) successfully invaded England in 1066 and became king, what romance language became the first language of every monarch for the next three-hundred years?
French
17. Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma each feature a region known by what culinary term?
Panhandle
(LA / CALIFORNIA) 18. What local-favorite late-night LA food stand is named for the street where you’ll find it in Cypress Park?
Avenue 26 Tacos
19. What building used to film scenes of the original Blade Runner, is an LA Historic-Cultural Monument and is located on South Broadway, across from Grand Central Market?
The Bradbury Building
20. During the 1930s, Walt Disney built his first large studio at the corner of Griffith Park Boulevard and Hyperion Avenue, currently the site of Gelson’s Market, in what LA neighborhood?
Silverlake