This week on Granite State Challenge, the Cardinals of Bishop Guertin... take on the Blue Devils of Salem High School!

Only one team will advance.

Granite State Challenge starts now.

Major funding for the production of Granite State Challenge is provided by Unitil.

Additional funding provided by Safety Insurance, NEA New Hampshire, and viewers like you.

Thank you!

Get ready.

It's time for New Hampshire high schools to match wits in a high-stakes scholastic showdown.

It's time for Granite State Challenge.

Here's your host, Jon Cannon!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Granite State Challenge.

We are at the end of our first round of competition in this, our 44th season.

Seven teams have already punched their ticket to the round of eight.

Who is going to round out the field?

It’ll only be one of these two teams.

Let's introduce them to you.

First up, we have the team from Bishop Guertin.

Hi.

I'm Mohid, and I'm a senior.

Hi.

I'm Declan.

I’m also a senior.

I'm Teddy.

I'm also a senior.

I'm Aidan, and I'm also a senior.

Their alternates are Grant and Carter, and the team is coached by English teachers Katie Graham and Jeanette Riendeau.

And they're the Cardinals of Bishop Guertin!

[applause] And their opponents this week are the Blue Devils of Salem High School.

Hi.

I'm Megan.

I'm a senior.

Hi.

I'm Ross.

I'm a sophomore.

Hi.

I'm Gabe.

I'm a junior.

Hi.

I'm Sam.

I'm a sophomore.

Their alternate is Bernie, and their coach is social studies teacher Bernie Campbell.

And they're the team from Salem High School!

[applause] Those are our teams this week, but we do have one more introduction for you.

And of course, that is our judge on the Ann Cam, Ann Boulanger!

[applause] All right, teams, introductions are out of the way.

Go ahead and grab those signaling devices as we get ready to play some Granite State Challenge.

As you know, we play in four rounds, and in round one, we'll do some ten-point toss-up questions.

So, BG, Salem, good luck.

Here we go.

This video game series features Link and a princess who work to save the land of Hyrule from the evil warlord- turned-demon king, Ganon.

Ross of Salem.

The Legend of Zelda.

Correct.

The number of congressional seats allotted to a state is based on the state's population.

Six states have populations so small that they only have one seat in the House of Representatives Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and this New England state.

Mohid of BG.

Vermont.

Yes.

In 2025, the Kansas City Chiefs lost the Super Bowl by a score of 40 to 22 to this team led by quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Mohid of BG.

The Eagles.

Yes, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Teams, what is a 5-7-5 form of poetry called?

Gabe of Salem.

Haiku.

That's right.

This US president and former general warned about the military-industrial complex in his 1961 farewell address.

Ross of Salem.

Eisenhower.

Yes.

This could be a hankering for something or a Japanese monetary unit.

Gabe of Salem.

Unsure.

Okay.

Bishop Guertin.

Mohid.

Yen.

Yen is right.

In 1957, Laika, a stray mongrel found in Moscow, became the first dog to do this.

Gabe of Salem.

Go to space.

Right.

Teams, what is the feathered projectile with a cork base used in badminton called?

Teddy of Bishop Guertin.

A birdie That's right.

In 1588, the Spanish Armada under the command of Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, attempted to invade England and overthrow this monarch.

Ross of Salem.

Queen Elizabeth.

Yes.

Elizabeth I. We'll take that.

All right, teams, it's time for our Unitil Power Question.

So this is a 20-point toss-up coming to you on your monitors.

Take a look.

Hi.

I'm Amanda Vicinanzo with Unitil, and here is your Power Question.

Buttercup blossom and bubbles are known collectively as this.

Sam of Salem.

Powerpuff Girls.

That's right.

This organelle, known as the powerhouse of the cell, generates most of the cell's energy through cellular respiration.

Mohid of Bishop Guertin.

Mitochondria.

Yes.

Teams, what is the process of a solid changing directly into a gas called?

Megan of Salem.

Sublimation.

Yes.

This baseball player, known as the Sultan of Swat, began his Major League Baseball career as a left- handed pitcher for the Red Sox.

Teddy of BG.

George Herman Ruth.

Yes, Babe Ruth is right.

In 2019, Joaquin Phoenix played a failing clown and stand-up comic in the origin story of this villain.

Aidan of BG.

Joker.

Yes, the Joker is right.

Go ahead and take a look at your monitors, teams.

Biologists thought this species was extinct in 1976, when the last known colony in South Dakota disappeared.

In 1981, a group of about 100 of them was found near Meeteetse, Wyoming.

All but 18 died from distemper.

Since then, a captive breeding program has helped reintroduce them into the wild.

Mohid of Bishop Guertin.

Ferret.

I need you to be more specific.

Black-footed ferret.

Correct.

This Disney princess has a pet tiger named Rajah.

Aidan of Bishop Guertin.

Jasmine.

Yes.

All right, teams, it's time for our Semiquincentennial Question.

This is a 25-point toss-up question to celebrate America's 250th anniversary coming at you on your monitors.

Take a look.

Hello.

I'm author and teacher John Herman, and I've got a question for you.

This act, passed by the British Parliament in 1765, taxed paper, legal documents, and newspapers in the colonies, and was repealed in 1766.

Ross of Salem.

The Stamp Act.

Yes.

On the 26th of April 1986, the number four reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, leading to a major nuclear disaster.

Chernobyl is in the northern part of this country, near its border with Belarus.

Mohid of BG.

Russia.

Sorry, no.

Salem.

Ross.

Ukraine.

It is in Ukraine.

This 1993 novel by Lois Lowry depicts a society where emotions and memories are strictly controlled.

Mohid of BG.

The Giver.

Yes.

All right, teams, a math question.

You have pencil and paper there if you'd like to use it.

Using 3.14 as pi, what is the circumference of a circle with a radius 7.

Mohid of BG.

14 pi.

Sorry, no.

We can't accept that; we're looking for the numerical value.

So we couldn't quite get there.

We were looking for 43.96.

I'll take the math for its word.

All right, teams, Pikachu was the first Pokémon of this trainer from Pallet Town.

Aidan of Bishop Guertin.

Ash Ketchum.

Ash Ketchum is right.

The TV series Percy Jackson and the Olympians is based on a series of novels by this author.

Ross of Salem.

Riordan.

Yes, Rick Riordan's right.

On May 29th, 1790, this New England state became the last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the U.S.

Constitution after the U.S.

Congress threatened it with a trade embargo.

Gabe of Salem.

Rhode Island.

Yes.

Five women have won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The last woman to win the prize was French physicist Anne L’Huillier in 2023 for her work generating attosecond pulses of light.

Who was the first woman to win the prize?

Mohid of Bishop Guertin.

Curie.

Yes, Marie Curie is right.

And that sound ends the round.

And we've got a tight match, folks, after round one, with Salem in a bit of a lead by a score of 135 to 120.

[applause] Great first round, teams.

We're going to take a break in the action right now and take a moment to just get to know you a little bit.

So, we're going to start with the team from Bishop Guertin.

Bishop Guertin High School is in the town of Nashua.

There are 800 students enrolled at BG, and of that number, we're going to start all the way down here at the end with Aidan, who, does something, I think, pretty fun every day after school.

What is it?

I play basketball.

Okay.

So, is this, like, an organized team sport?

Is this a pick-up game?

What kind of It’s just a pick-up game.

Whoever shows up can kind of just hop in.

So, any of the kids at the school can just hop in and play.

And you do this every day.

Well, when I'm not on quiz bowl, yeah.

Gotcha.

When you don't have Granite State Challenge practice, you play some basketball.

That's good.

You exercise your brain and your body.

All right.

Excellent.

Aidan is joined by Teddy, who's been doing a lot of studying for Granite State Challenge on something called Sporcle.

Tell us what you've been up to.

Yeah, so I've been doing two quizzes I do more than two quizzes, but I've perfected one quiz.

It's called [6 Most Populous Cities in Each State] by [robhop] Okay.

And what are the top six cities in New Hampshire.

You did New Hampshire in the warmup round.

[laughter] I want another one.

Okay.

Well, what are the top six in Massachusetts?

Okay, Massachusetts.

Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Cambridge, Lowell, and Brockton.

All right.

And do you trust that list?

[shrugging confidently] Yeah.

Okay.

Excellent.

All right, well, keep studying.

You never know when it might come up on Granite State Challenge.

All right, moving down the line, we've got Declan, who's got his license to drive, but not a car.

You might have a license to drive, but you also have your license for a boat, but not in New Hampshire.

Yeah.

In Michigan.

Okay, so you have your license to boat in Michigan.

Why in Michigan?

Because my family, every summer we go up to Michigan.

My grandma has a house on Lake Michigan.

On Lake Michigan?

Okay, fantastic.

So, how far have you gone boating on Lake Michigan?

Well, I have my boating license, but I have not actually used it.

Gotcha.

So summer's coming, so we're going to put it into use and go across Lake Michigan.

Fantastic.

All right.

And Declan is joined by Mohid, captain of the team.

A big fan of probably one of my favorite desserts.

What is it?

I'm a big fan of BG’s cookies.

Of BG’s cookies.

So, BG, is this in the cafeteria?

They sell cookies?

Yes.

Okay.

And so they go through many different varieties.

You've tried them all?

Right.

Okay.

How many are we talking about?

It's quite a lot.

Like, I don't remember.

I think it's like 16, maybe 17 cookies.

So it's quite a bit.

Okay.

And, is there a best one out there?

I like the Oreo white chocolate chip ones.

Oreo white chocolate chip.

Okay.

All right.

Well, if I'm ever in BG, I'll have to try that.

All right.

That's Mohid, and that is the team from Bishop Guertin High School!

[applause] Well, their opponent this week is the team from Salem High School, located in Salem, New Hampshire, down in Rockingham County.

They've got an enrollment of about 1,000 students, and of that number, we come to Sam down at the end.

Sam, you and I share something in common, and that is our love of... Maps.

Our love of maps, yes!

You're a cartographer yourself.

So when did this love affair with maps begin?

Toward the end of sixth grade.

Okay.

And how did that come about?

Not really quite sure.

Yeah.

Just started looking at maps, decided that you like them.

Yeah.

How about flags?

Are you a fan of flags as well?

Love flags.

Okay.

Yeah.

You got a favorite out there?

Morocco is my favorite.

Seychelles is a close second.

Okay.

Seychelles came up a couple of weeks ago.

Morocco that's a good pull.

That's a cool flag.

I agree.

All right.

Joining him is Gabe.

And Gabe is a linguist.

Been taking what language since middle school?

I've been taking German since seventh grade.

Since seventh grade, been taking German.

That's pretty cool.

It’s fairly uncommon in New Hampshire schools to be able to take German.

What drew you to German?

Just felt like it.

I had no interest in the other two.

So there you go.

You're interested in German.

Have you got the chance to go to Germany and test out your linguistic talents?

I've been to both Germany and Austria twice.

Very good.

And is it helped a lot?

Yes, it has.

Excellent.

Gonna go back?

Maybe one day.

All right.

Maybe one day.

Excellent.

All right.

Speaking of world- travelers or worldliness, Ross, not just a citizen of the U.S., a dual citizen.

Where else?

Of Ireland.

Of Ireland the Emerald Isle.

How did you get citizenship there?

It's from descent from my mother.

Gotcha.

So you get it from family descent.

So, have you been able to go to Ireland?

I have, yeah.

And how was it?

Good stuff?

It's great, yeah.

Just visiting family?

Mostly family.

Got any interest going back?

Definitely.

Definitely someday.

Maybe college, maybe beyond.

All right.

And team captain Megan is a bit of a baker maybe makes some cookies, too but your specialty is not cookies.

What is it?

It's bread.

It's bread.

And among all the different breads that you could bake, what is your absolute specialty?

My favorite bread to bake is sourdough.

Sourdough.

Okay, so I don't know much about the process, but I hear it's difficult.

Is that true?

I'd say it’s pretty difficult.

Okay.

What makes it so difficult?

Understanding fermentation and understanding that it takes a lot of time.

Okay, so you got to have a little patience and a little bit of scientific knowledge, two things that I think help on Granite State Challenge.

And that's Megan, and that is the team from Salem High School!

[applause] All right.

Thanks so much, teams, for giving us that break in the action.

But we're going to get right back into the game in round two, which is our three strikes and you're out round.

So the way this round works is each team gets ten questions, and you answer them one by one, player by player, right down the line, okay?

Each team has three passes that you can use.

If you don't know the answer, you could pass your teammate next to you.

And we'll keep going until all ten questions are asked or until three incorrect responses, or three strikes, and you're out.

Just as a reminder, there's always a little clue in each question for the next one, so always be listening.

All right, we'll do this alphabetically for BG.

So, Mohid, we'll start with you.

This is your question.

In the cartoon world, the Road Runner always outsmarts this character, sometimes with his own anvil.

Is it the Mouse?

It is the Coyote.

Declan.

This singer is known for songs like Coyote, Big Yellow Taxi, and Both Sides Now.

Joni Mitchell.

Correct.

Teddy.

Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, is found in this state.

North Carolina.

That's right.

Aidan.

Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum played college basketball for this NCAA powerhouse university located in Durham, North Carolina.

Duke.

Yes.

Mohid, we head back to you.

The mascot for Duke University is this colorful character.

The Blue Devil.

Yes.

Declan.

The 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada stars this versatile actor as demanding fashion editor Miranda Priestly.

Alan Rickman.

She is played by Meryl Streep.

Teddy.

Meryl Streep played this British politician in the 2011 movie Iron Lady.

I don't know.

It is Margaret Thatcher.

Sorry, I didn't get that in quite fast enough.

Aidan, we move to you.

Oh, is that the third strike?

That is the third strike and the end of your round.

Margaret Thatcher.

All right, BG, good job.

Salem, we turn to you.

Same drill; right down the line, Megan, starting with you.

This is your question.

Kelly Clarkson was the first winner of this musical talent show.

American Idol.

Correct.

Ross.

The 2004 studio album American Idiot by this band was the inspiration for a 2010 Broadway musical.

Green Day.

Yes.

Gabe.

Singer Morris Day is the leader singer for The Time, and appeared in the movie Purple Rain, along with this singer with whom he went to school in Minneapolis.

Pass.

Pass to Sam.

Prince.

Prince is correct.

Megan, back to you.

The Little Prince, the main character in a novella by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, fell in love with this type of flower, but left her to explore the universe.

Pass.

Pass to Ross.

Rose.

A rose is correct.

Gabe, next question.

The Rose Bowl football game is played on New Year's Day in this city.

Minneapolis.

Sorry, no.

It’s played in Pasadena.

Sam.

This Nobel Prize- winning theoretical physicist was a professor at Caltech in Pasadena and loved to play the bongos.

Not sure.

It is Richard Feynman.

Megan, back to you.

This band is known for the songs Little Old Lady from Pasadena, California Girls, and Good Vibrations.

The Beach Boys.

Correct.

Ross.

Don Henley, who had a solo hit with the song Boys of Summer, was a founding member of this bird-named band known for songs like Hotel California and New Kid in Town.

The Eagles.

Yes.

Gabe.

Ben Franklin thought the eagle was not a great choice as the national bird.

He wanted this bird instead.

The turkey.

He did.

Yes.

And Sam.

This is the second- most populous city in Turkey and its capital.

Ankara.

Correct.

And that is your 10th question and the end of your round.

[applause] Great jobs in round two, teams, but we're going to roll right into round three.

I'd like to invite the alternates to come on up and join their teams for our 60-second round.

In this round, each team gets ten questions in a category.

You can work together and talk together as a team.

We'll give you ten points for each correct response and a bonus of ten points if you get them all correct.

We do this based on who is trailing.

So, BG, as the team currently trailing, you get to choose first from these categories That’s Great, We're All Winners, and Checkered Past.

Checkered Past.

Checkered Past, okay.

Mohid, you can talk to your team and confer all you want.

I will take your answer as the team answer.

In this category, Checkered Past, the answers to the following will all include the word check or the letters C-H-E-C-K, in that order.

Okay?

All right.

60 seconds.

Start the clock.

This is waved for the winner in an auto race.

Checkered flag.

Yes.

He wanted you to twist and shout.

Chubby Checker.

Yes.

This dog was made famous in a speech by Richard Nixon.

Checkers.

Yes.

You can catch typos by using this.

Spell-check.

Yes.

This is what you call the playing surface for a common game.

Pass.

It is a checkerboard.

These were yellow forms of transportation in cities before Uber.

Checker cab.

It was a checker cab.

This is the game- ending move in chess.

Checkmate.

Yes.

You don't want to ignore this when it comes on in your car.

Check engine light.

Check engine light is correct.

Divided power between the three branches of government is called this.

Checks and balances.

Yes.

This is where you go when you are done shopping in a store.

Checkout.

Yes.

Correct.

Is that it?

That's the end of the round?

And at the end of the round, we're counting them up.

You got... Nine!

We got nine out of ten on your 60-second round!

[applause] All right, Salem, we turn to you.

Tough act to follow, but Megan, you and your team can do it.

You can choose from That's Great and We’re All Winners.

That’s Great, please.

That’s Great, okay.

So in this category, the answers to the following will all include the word great.

All right?

So, again, Megan, you can talk to your team but I'll take your answer as the team answer.

60 seconds.

Start the clock.

Novel by Charles Dickens featuring the orphan Pip.

Great Expectations.

Correct.

It was built to keep out invaders and can be seen from space.

Great Wall of China.

Correct.

England, Scotland, and Wales are collectively known as this.

Great Britain.

Yes.

It was the villain in the movie Jaws.

Great white shark.

Correct.

Name given to periods of religious revival in the U.S.

No, it's Great... Great Awakening!

Great Awakening.

Correct.

There are five of these.

Only one is Superior.

Pass.

It is Great Lakes.

Scooby Doo, Astro, and Marmaduke are all this breed of dog.

Great Dane.

Yes.

This began with the U.S.

stock market crash in October of 1929.

Great Depression.

Yes.

Novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald set during the Roaring 20s.

[The] Great Gatsby.

Yes.

This king of Macedon was only 32 when he died.

Alexander the Great.

That is correct.

Another solid 60-second round.

Counting them up.

Nine out of ten on your 60-second round!

[applause] Great rounds, both teams.

Alternates, go ahead and grab your seats as we get ready to roll into round four.

In round four, we're going to pick back up with our toss-up questions, but we're going to be doubling the point value to 20-point toss-ups and we'll be deducting 20 points for incorrect responses.

So, a tightening game, BG and Salem.

Good luck.

Here we go.

In this popular board game created in 1934, players try to get their red, green, yellow, or blue pawns back home first.

When they do, they might issue in insincere apology to the rest of the players.

Ross of Salem.

Sorry!

Yes.

This game involves catching fictional creatures like Eevee, Charmeleon, and Pidgey.

Mohid of BG.

Pokémon.

Yes.

In Minecraft, what hostile mob, or mobile non-player character, explodes when it gets close to you?

Teddy of BG.

A creeper.

Yes.

All right, teams, our next question is coming to you from New Hampshire's Kid Governor on your monitors.

Take a look.

Hi.

I'm Liv Crete-Sayer, Hew Hampshire’s 2026 Kid Governor, and here's my question for you.

In 1982, Vesta Roy, president of the New Hampshire Senate, became the first woman to serve as governor of New Hampshire when she served for eight days after the death of governor Hugh Gallen.

in 1997, this politician became the first woman elected as Governor of New Hampshire.

Aidan of Bishop Guertin.

Jeanne Shaheen.

Correct.

This Russian novel by Leo Tolstoy about the tragic affair between the title character and calvary officer Count Vronsky opens with the line, All happy families [are alike].

Mohid of BG.

Anna Karenina.

Correct.

All right, teams, go ahead and take a look at your monitors for this next question.

This artist is known for detailed landscapes of the Americas, including this 1836 work, View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm.

(or The Oxbow) Ross of Salem.

Cole.

Thomas Cole is right.

This Persian king was known for his policy of religious tolerance and monumental building projects, including Persepolis.

Teddy of Bishop Guertin.

Cyrus.

We'll take that.

Cyrus the Great, yeah.

There are 206 bones in the human body.

How many of them are found in a single ear?

Mohid of Bishop Guertin.

Three.

There are three, yes.

The Sea of Tranquility is around 544 mi , 44 mi larger than the city of Los Angeles.

Where is the Sea of Tranquility located?

Teddy of BG.

The moon.

Yes.

Teams, which German composer wrote the Brandenburg Concertos?

Ross of Salem.

Bach.

Yes, Bach is right.

Tofu originated in China around 2,000 years ago and is popular in Asian cuisine.

From what legume is tofu derived?

Teddy of Bishop Guertin.

Soy... or soybean.

Soy or soybean.

Yep, we'll take that.

The Magna Carta, signed in 1215, limited the power of this English monarch.

Ross of Salem.

John.

King John is correct.

Skipping the next question.

99% of Earth's atmosphere is made up of nitrogen and oxygen.

This noble gas with the symbol AR makes up less than 1% of the atmosphere.

Its name is taken from the Ancient Greek word for lazy or inactive.

Teddy of BG.

Argon.

That is right.

Teams, hw many times has the U.S.

Constitution been amended since the addition of the Bill of Rights?

Ross of Salem.

17.

That's right.

Choreographer Jerome Robbins is known for his work on the Broadway musicals Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, and this story about the tragic rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks Didn't quite get there.

A very tight game all the way to the end, but Bishop Guertin squeaking out the narrow victory.

[applause] Great game, Bishop Guertin.

Congratulations on your victory.

Salem, tough loss to a good team.

A tight game, a fun game.

We hope you had fun.

We had fun watching, and we hope you had fun watching at home as well.

That'll do it for us this week, but tune in next week as the teams from Nashua High School South and Bedford High School face off in our first second round match.

That'll do it for us.

I learned something this week, and I hope you did as well.

We'll see you next time.

Major funding for the production of Granite State Challenge is provided by Unitil.

Additional funding provided by Safety Insurance, NEA New Hampshire, and viewers like you.

Thank you!

♪