Word for Word/Trivia Marathon; Pulling an All-Nighter at This College Means Acting Out 'Nietzsche in Love'

COLLEGES celebrate the end of the academic season with traditions peculiar to their institutions. Perhaps the defining word is peculiar. Wellesley seniors dress in their graduation gowns and roll wooden hoops around the campus. At Columbia, the marching band parades through the library on the night before the organic chemistry final, probably to help concentrate the mind.

On the last night of classes at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., the student radio station WCFM conducts a marathon trivia contest. Teams of almost any number can enter. The twice-yearly event was first held some 30 years ago. The number of questions ranges from 500 to around 1,000.

Hundreds of questions are given over the air. Hundreds more are given out on paper, and they must be turned in, much like the tests students were supposedly studying for. Last month, a team called Pokemon Laboratory, which refers to a crucial locale in the popular Nintendo game Pokemon, won top honors after tackling such arcana as the names for all the members of the Jefferson Airplane. The prize? The winners get to put together next semester's test. THOMAS VINCIGUERRA

The on-air questions are divided into categories, which are each broken down into ''realm'' and ''subrealm.'' Hints are offered, and participants phone in answers while the station plays a helpful song.

Realm: Dietary Restrictions.

Subrealm: But It's Gotta Taste Worse Than Cream-of-Pork Soup.

Q: According to a Michigan restaurant owner, Lent is going to cause sales of a particular dish to skyrocket, presumably because of dietary restrictions. What is this Lenten food?

A: Sauteed Muskrat.

Song: ''Muskrat Love'' by America.

Realm: Tips, Gratuities and Other Bribes.

Subrealm: Don't They Have Anything Better to Do at Cornell?

Q: According to a recent Cornell University study, waiters can do one very quick and simple thing to increase their tips. What should they do?

A: Draw a smiley face on the check.

Song: ''Happy'' by the Red Elvises.

Realm: Fictional Characters.

Subrealm: And Their Fictional Bed Partners.

Q: What Well-Known Fictional Character Brags That His ''Experience of Women Spans Three Continents''?

A: Dr. Watson.

Song: ''Simultaneous Lovin' '' by Chef.

Realm: Musicians.

Subrealm: Who Kick Butt

Q: What singing sensation recorded the title track for the Hong Kong release of ''Beauty and the Beast''?

A: Jackie Chan.

Song: ''Supercop'' by Devo.

Realm: The Great Outdoors.

Subrealm: The Wide World of Sports.

Q: In 1976, Wes Chandler of the University of Florida had a rather rude greeting in the end zone when he scored a touchdown against Auburn. What was it?

A: Auburn's War Eagle [its mascot] flew off its perch and started pecking at him.

Song: ''My Man'' by the Eagles.

Realm: Short People Unite.

Subrealm: Robble Robble! Your Soul Is Mine!

Q. The four-foot-tall stand-up comedian best known for his role as McDonaldLand's Hamburglar has fallen on hard times of late. He has found himself working at a Mexican restaurant in Milwaukee, Wis., where he was recently the subject of a lawsuit brought by the American Association of Short People. Why?

A. He walked around the restaurant, serving chips and salsa from the brim of his sombrero.

Song: ''Hey Mickey'' (Spanish version) by Toni Basil.

The all-night marathon had eight bonus hours, which the Williams wags called ''Hour Boni.'' One category was ''Espionage'':

Q. What uncredited actor bit the dust in an elevator incident in ''Mission: Impossible''?

A. Emilio Estevez.

Q. In ''Goldfinger,'' why was the car-crushing sequence not terribly convincing?

A. When the car was lifted by the crane, you could see there was no engine inside.

Q. What is the earliest recorded spy mission in history?

A. Moses sent spies into the Promised Land (Numbers 13).

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Another bonus hour, ''Antiquated Technology,'' concentrated on computers, warfare and miscellany.

Q. What was the original computer bug, and who discovered it?

A. A moth, by Admiral Grace Hopper [United States Navy].

Q. Who owns the basic patent on the microcomputer?

A. Michael May.

Q. Why was the M-16 rifle much more deadly before it was ''improved''?

A. The rifling on the barrel was corrected, thus bullets flew straight. Before the rifling was fixed, they tumbled in the air, causing much more grievous damage.

Q. Darkened glasses were invented in China prior to 1430. What was their use before Europeans decided to use them to shield their eyes from the sun's glare?

A. To prevent people from seeing a judge's expression in court. A judge's opinions were kept absolutely secret until the trial's conclusion.

The most subjective category was ''Action Boni,'' in which players earned points by visiting the WCFM studios every hour on the half-hour to physically act out an improbable scenario. The most creative interpretations of these cryptic titles received the highest scores.

12:30 A.M.: ''Nietzsche in Love.'' 1:30: ''Job Interview for the Presidency of Williams College.'' 2:30: ''The Phantom Menace of the Opera.'' 4:30: ''Platonic Ideal of Kubrick Movies.'' 5:30: ''J. A. Confidential'' [junior adviser]. 6:30: ''Beyond the Valley of the Muppets.''

There were two super bonus sections, which were distributed at midnight and 4 A.M. One dealt largely with rock star necrology.

The Night They Ran Old Dixie Down: Name the three members of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band who died in the infamous plane crash. (Ronnie Van Zant, Steven Gaines, Cassie Gaines)

During their first concert after the plane crash, how did Lynyrd Skynyrd salute the absence of their late lead singer? (They left a single mike unused where he used to stand.)

Name the [Lynyrd Skynyrd] member who was paralyzed in a car accident, lost his wife in 1980, suffered from depression, lost his girlfriend in 1986, was an alcoholic and died of pneumonia in 1990. (Allen Collins)

The other super bonus section was ''Famous Last Words'':

Quotations (Final words before dying)

''Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!'' (Karl Marx)

''Why not? Why not? Why not? Why not? Yeah.'' (Timothy Leary)

Books (Name the book)

''Anything to eat?'' said Charlie. ''Oh, you just wait and see!'' (''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'')

''My mother was an ape, and of course she couldn't tell me much about it. I never knew who my father was.'' (''Tarzan of the Apes'')

Epitaphs (Who lies under these words?)

''Call Me Trimtab'' (R. Buckminster Fuller)

''He Died in Bed'' (Doc Holliday)

''The Greatest Honor History Can Bestow Is the Title of Peacemaker'' (Richard M. Nixon)