A war of the minds was recently waged at SHSID. On Wednesday the 29th of May, twenty-four brave and brilliant 9/10 students gathered on stage in two places to compete in the fabulous and fun Annual Knowledge Knockout! In each place, the twelve students were divided into two teams who competed head-to-head to determine which team was the most knowledgeable and cooperative.

The students answered questions on topics ranging from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to insane characters from famous novels. A crowd-favorite category was the questions about Shanghai!

The audience was heavily involved as well; the student audience could post their own answers to the questions and receive candy prizes. The competition featured opportunities for the audience to vote on a question, a dance break, and exciting interactions with the host. Finally, two teams won the game. Congratulations!

If you’d like to test your own knowledge, here is a sample of questions from each category:

Marvelous Movies: Who is the only person to appear, in one form or another, in every Marvel movie to date?

Crazy, Rich, Books: This English author wrote a number of plays about (arguably) insane royals, including one about a Danish prince who believes he sees the ghost of his father.

History’s Best Parents: Norma Jeane Baker dyed her hair blonde in 1946 and changed her name to what before her big Hollywood break in 1950?

Innovations in Yo Nations: This American man invented the polio vaccine, effectively eliminating the condition globally within 50 years, but never patented it so that it could be cheaply available to all.

Shanghai-By-The-Sea: Which of these superlatives about Shanghai is true?

a. Shanghai has the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization.

b. Shanghai has the busiest airport in the world by the number of people who use it every year.

c. Shanghai has the busiest port in the world, by the number of shipping containers.

d. Shanghai has the busiest metro/subway system in the world by number of passengers.

Premium Gaming: This board game, currently played on a standardized 19×19 board known for its complex strategy, dates back to the 5th Century BCE, and has an estimated 2×10170 possible legal board positions!

Answers: Stan Lee, William Shakespeare, Marilyn Monroe, Jonas Salk, C, Go

Have Fun!

（Written by Daniel Hartmann          Pictures by Dandan Zhou and Danqing Chen）