More players than expected/normal showed up for our trivia night Wednesday at The Wurst Bar hosted by Stacy. Before the game, I had discussed the option of splitting off on my own while the rest of the ‘Pods carried on as usual (there were five ‘Pods in the booth, and two more expected to show later, who wound up not coming, so it was 5 versus 1). Specifically, I was chatting via text messaging with Joel, who does not normally come out to games. Here’s a little bit of that conversation:

Me: Come on out if u want it will be cramped. yes 8(pm). maybe i will play by myself @ bar as separate team. lol
Joel: Youd win
Me: nah they barely need me.
I am looking forward to this will be a neat experiment! and add another team to mix. why didnt i think of this before?

Turns out both Joel and I were right! Yes, as Joel predicted, I rather unexpectedy won first place for the night. And I was right in that my team barely needed me at all! They finished with an impressively sexy 69 points heading into the final question –
which was the only question I got right that they didn’t get correct This is only the third time I’ve managed to win first in an MTL game playing by myself, the first time was at Powell’s in April, 2016, I lucked out in this game by having a three-point question about an obscure Looney Tunes character and a final about the American Film Institute and one of its many, many lists…. The second time I won a MTL game by myself was at Maplewood Lanes in March of this year – and the only reason I was at this game was to give a gift card to another player! Yes, gift cards/gift certificates can be like cigarettes in a prison and used as “currency” in the trivia world!

And so I ventured off to the bar and played under the team name GDX (short for Generation Double X) – which I usually only use if playing by myself or with just other women. And here’s how I did with the questions (spoilers – some of this will be REALLY bad! I flunked an entire round in the second half!). Read on if you dare…
Round One
1. Sports – Who is the only pitcher in MLB with over 500 career wins? My team got this, I missed for 1.
2. Languages – What is the Latin phrase meaning to work without charging a fee which means “for the public good?” 5
3. Presidents – Who was the only president to survive two assassination attempts by women? 3
Round Two
1. Literature – What is the name of the DH Lawrence book about Constance and Clifford Chatterly? 5
2. Music – Who was the lead singer of Van Halen from 1974 to 1985 and from 2006 to the present? 3
3. Civil War – In what decade was the American Civil War fought? For an extra three points, within one, how many Confederate states were there during the Civil War? Got this for 1 plus the three point bonus.
Round Three
1. TV – What name is commonly used on “The Walking Dead” to describe a zombie? Yay, I watched this show just enough to know this…5
2. Historic People – What was the nickname of Edward Fawkes, who was part of a group of English Catholics involved in a failed gunpowder explosion plot in 1605? Total brain fart…should have asked for the name spelling, I wasn’t thinking “Fawkes,” I was thinking “Fox.” Had the name been spelled correctly in my head, I would’ve gotten this…Hey, I think I have a photo tie in idea now! Hm….missed this for 1.
3. Medical Conditions – What is the more common name for herpes zoster? Both me and my team missed this, we put two different conditions, neither of which were correct. Miss for 3.
Halftime – Given the celebrity names, identify the decades in which they died.
1. Charlie Chaplin
2. WInston Churchill
3. Princess Diana
4. Henry Ford
Both me and my team missed one of these, but missed different ones. I missed #2, they missed #1.
Halftime scores: Nine teams, ,scores 17 to 35, with the ‘Pods in first. I was in fourth with 31.
Round Four
1. Saints – Who is the patron saint of accountants? Newsletter clue, 6.
2. Musicals – Who was Fred Astaire’s dancing partner in the 1948 film “Easter Parade?” Shenanigans were called since no teams got this, so we had this next question instead:
2. Movies – In what 2003 film do we meet the members of the Deadly Viper Squad? Dang, another great photo tie in idea…decisions, decisions! 2 points.
3. Presidents – What country was the first visited by Donald Trump, in which he secured a $110 billion arms deal? Picked wrong country, miss for 4.
Round Five
1. World War 2 – What city in France is known for its spas and for being the capital city for the Nazis during World War 2? Miss for 2.
2. Soccer – What is the official nickname of Manchester United? Brain fart again, I put a local high school’s nickname instead. I really hung my head in shame for this one! I’ve been out of the English Premier League loop for WAY too long! At one time, I could have held my own in any English pub with my knowledge of “the beautiful game.” Someone administer a nice English ale to my sorry face pronto! Uh, not TOO nice of an ale, meh, a Bass will do! An imperial pint, if it’s no trouble! Oh, bloody HELL! 😦 Six points in the dust bin for me!
3. Archaeology – Pierre Francois Bouchard was known for the discovery of what man-made archaeologic find? And I missed this ENTIRE round…maybe the ‘Pods will have a good game and win some money tonight?
Round Six
1. Medical Conditions – Associated with aspirin use, what condition caused a brain disorder which reportedly caused death to 20 to 40 percent of users, primarily children? 6
2. TV – Debuting in 1975, what sitcom featured divorced mother Ann Romano and her daughters Julie and Barbara, who lived in Indianapolis? Dammit, another funny picture tie-in! Which one will I choose?
3. Music – What group did Lionel Richie help start in 1968, then leave to pursue a solo career in 1982? I really needed to get all of these right and I did (whew!).
Scores – Nine teams, scores 33 to 69, with the ‘Pods in first. Those BASTARDS! JK! 🙂 Me aka GDX was in fourth again with 51.
Final Category – At two hours, 23 minutes and 32 seconds, whose acting performance in terms of screen time is the longest to ever win an Academy Award? Must name the actor/actress.
I thought of a movie that I knew had a really, really long run time and a character who just didn’t seem to know how to ever shut up. My instincts served me well…and (yay) I was the only person getting this one right! Sorry, it was just TOO exciting! I mean…I beat THE PODS! Sorry! Ahem…
Final standings: Ramrod, 33; Tipsy Gypsies, 37 and GDX, 102. Unsure when we are playing next, as always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Schneider the handyman! We all know what you were up to!