PBH Team Will Match Wits With Norfolk Prisoners in Quiz Contest

Phillips Brooks House's self-styled "Whiz Kids" will put Harvard's intellectual reputation on the line this week when they match wits with the best brains of Norfolk prison.

Last year's quiz contest was a humiliating 98-62 defeat for the Harvard team (The contest is modeled after the General Electric College Bowl television program.).

The PBH team captain, Peter W. Schamdorff '67, said yesterday that this year the Harvard team will be considerably different from last year's losing squad. The five men (girls ae not permitted in the prison) will be chosen on the basis of intellectual agility, not volume of knowledge.

Schamdorff said that last year the prisoners' advantage lay in their ability to respond more quickly than the Harvard men.

Trivia and general knowledge are considered essential in this no-holds-barred contest. The questions range more widely and the rules are less strict than on the T.V. program.

Last year, Harvard earned points for its answer to the question "How long were Abraham Lincoln's legs?" "Long enough to reach the ground," a student replied.

The contest is part of the general PBH prison program. The state-employed teachers who coach the prisoners report that competition for positions on the squad is fierce.

Many of the prisoners are experts on such subjects as ornithology, linguistics, and mythology, Schamdorff said. This knowledge, often acquired as a hobby, is given a rare outlet in the PBH contest. Last year one prisoner overwhelmed the Harvard team with a display of knowledge of French history and literature.

The exact date for the match has not yet been set since it depends largely on the free time of the Harvard men.