The Sporcle Live trivia scene Thursdays at Original Gravity Brewing Co. is almost always a unique experience. I’ve always liked coming to this small-town craft beer joint – for one, it makes me feel like coming home, since I grew up in a small town. The country drive getting there is not unlike traveling the country roads around rural Genesee County. Secondly, it’s a pretty no-frills, no-nonsense atmosphere – mostly locals, though craft beer aficionados from outlying areas pop in here too. It’s “kid friendly,” so some people bring their children out to the trivia games (yes, I know children in bars is a controversial topic among my friends). But my absolute favorite thing about this bar and the trivia scene here (besides the Spin Chops cream ale, which has been my favorite all summer)? Anything can happen on any given night. Expect the unexpected. It’s been six weeks since I brought a team here and won a spot in the league championship, after a particularly rough go during the regular season – and we only made it in true ‘Pods fashion – by the suction cups on our tentacles – a photo finish, as it were! Weeks went by without winning any prizes, we had to crawl our way up through the standings – I had come close to giving up the fight more than once. Hell, me coming out to this game almost didn’t even happen! This time, the most unexpected thing imaginable happened (ahem) – I won TWO FIRST PLACE PRIZES BY MYSELF! This is the first time I’ve ever managed such a feat in trivia. I’ve won some first place prizes playing solo, but never two in a night! Needless to say, I got a little celebratory after learning I was the only one getting final question number two right, and the story behind how I got it is a story in and of itself! We had to name a country for final number two, and it just happened to be the same country I mentioned by name in a trivia recap I posted on Thursday (how weird is that)? But it’s not the first time that things I talk about on trivia days wind up being asked about later that night. Embrace the weird! Moving on…
Game One
1. Netflix – Released in August, 2017, what Netflix mini-series features Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage fighting crime in New York City? When it comes to Netflix questions, I tend to never know the answer unless it’s a series I happen to watch. so I put “Not another comic book abomination.” Miss for 1.
2. Running Backs (boy this game sure wasn’t getting off to a good start…where’s my white Ford Bronco?) – On August 11, 2017, what running back, drafted fourth overall by the Dallas Cowboys in 2016, was suspended for six games for violating NFL’s personal conduct policy? I put down O.J. Simpson. Yeah, that’s how knowledgeable I am about running backs! Miss for 2.
3. Award-Winning Films – (that’s more like it) What nearly silent film released in 2011 won the Academy Award for best picture? For an extra nerd bonus point, who won the Oscar for best actor from that film? Though I got the bonus point, I feel sorta bad for spelling the dude’s name wrong. Spelling is one of my “things” – when I worked in the journalism biz, you would be virtually shunned like the Amish if you spelled someone’s name wrong in a news story! At my college newspaper, such a transgression would get your byline pulled (as would factual errors). Only twice in my career did I ever commit those “crimes,” and I felt awful both times it happened, lol! 10 plus the bonus point.
4. Clouds – What type of cloud has a name derived from the Latin for “heap” or “pile?” 9
5. Tall Buildings – What New York building constructed in Art Deco style was the tallest building in the world from May, 1930 to April 1931, surpassed when the Empire State Building was constructed? And this was one of two “Annie” references in this game…”You’ll stay up…until this dump shines like the top of the (blank) building!” These lyrics are from the 1982 film, not the recent remake with Will Smith’s daughter…
6. Presidents – Millard Fillmore was the last U.S. president from what political party? 7
7. Rock Ballads – Audio clue of guitar solo from 1991 song, had to identify the band. The song shares its title with an Academy Award winning film from the 1990s (hint), 6.
8. Symbolism – What is the two-word term for the symbolic device used to determine how close mankind is to nuclear destruction? Flubbed this for 5, realized my mistake immediately after handing it in (d’oh)! Mike would have helped me here!
9 .Universities – Which Ivy League school is located farthest away from the Atlantic? Had my choices narrowed down to two, picked the wrong one, miss for 3.
10. Fables – More than 600 fables are attributed to the writer Aesop – What is the name of the one with the phrase, “Slow and steady wins the race?” Could this be foreshadowing for my game? LOL…Immediately thought of the Looney Tunes cartoon, could THIS be my photo tie in? Hmmm… 4.
Mystery – Before and After
1. Blake Lively husband and popular brand of aluminum foil
2. LeVar Burton series aimed at childhood literacy and song made famous by Kermit the Frog
3. Actor who provides voice of Chris Griffin and name of Dr. Seuss book
4. North by Northwest star and third overall draft pick for Detroit Pistons in 1994
Got all of these (thanks nice man sitting next to me for the little bit ‘o help with #4, which I did not solicit, BTW).
Scores – Thirteen teams – scores 35 to 65, with Big Heads Big Hearts in first. I was in sixth playing under the very creative name Team Number Five with 56 points, I was just ahead of Doug by one point (which also happened in game two, strangely enough).
Final Category Album Titles
Had I been playing with a team, I would have most likely gone with the “herd” and wagered zero, since we get burned on so many music questions. But since this was an off night and I had nobody to tell me “no,” I decided, “Why the hell not?” And so I wagered 20…
Between 1975 and 1995, the words “Storm”, “River”, “Street”, and “Houses” appeared in the titles of #1 albums released by what artist?
And this person was the recent subject of a few posts on our page…I knew two of these words matched a particular artist recording during this time frame for sure…
Final Scores: Smokin’ Aces, 70; Good King Snugglewumps, 74; ‘Pods, 76.
Game Two
1. Ireland – What musical instrument is depicted on the coat of arms of Ireland? Got this, but not very confident for 3.
2. Elements – Among the elements on the Periodic Table beginning with the letter “B,” which one comes first alphabetically? Also not too confident here, 5.
3. Novels – The final chapter of what James Joyce novel features 40 pages of meditations by the character Molly Bloom? See the comments for a full link to this text (pretty heady stuff), got this for 10, but missed the bonus asking for what decade this was published within one.
4. Sports Nickname – What is the shared nickname of MLB players Joe McGinnity and Cal Ripken Jr.? The host said he was going to use the “easier” version of this question, but a “certain” other team protested, so the harder version was used. Hey, bro – I probably would have flunked the “easy” version of this question, too! Miss for 1. The “easier” version said that these people shared the nickname with a Marvel hero…I would not have known either version of this one.
5. Folk Songs – What Mexican folk song hit #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1959 and again hit #1 in 1987 when sung by a different artist? 9
6. Islands – On what island located east of the French mainland and west of the Italian peninsula was Napoleon Bonaparte born? 8
7. ’90s Comedies – What stand-up comic, whose birth name is David Adkins, appeared in the 1995 comedy film “House Guest” along with Phil Hartman? Sigh, I still miss Phil Hartman…”The Simpsons” just wasn’t the same after he died, got this for 7.
8. Fabric – What fabric made from purified cellulose was first produced commercially in the 1890s and was marketed as the first “artificial silk?” FB clue, 6.
9. TV Documentaries – What reality sports documentary is broadcast on HBO and highlights football training camps? And this was the second “Annie” reference of the game (if you know the title of the correct answer you’ll see why). Was this done on purpose? 🙂 Miss for 2.
10. Keys – What spooky sounding name describes a key that is designed to open several doors? 4
Mystery – https://www.sporcle.com/blog/visual/cast97/ Missed #2 and #4.
Scores – Nine teams, scores 23 to 64, with Big Heads, Big Hearts in first again. I was behind them by eight points with 56 in second, again ahead of Doug by just one point (seriously how odd that happened twice in one night).
Final Category – Soviet Union
There are two former Soviet Republics whose names do NOT end in “-stan” AND who do not share a border with Russia.
Name one of those former Republics.
And my husband Mike just recently mentioned the country I wrote down as my answer as being a landlocked country (kind of a nerdy inside joke for us). So my thinking was, “If this country is landlocked, then the Soviet Union might NOT be one of the other countries it borders). Turns out I was the only team getting this right (IKR). So woot? Hey…these things don’t happen to me very often, and my team has been kind of Slumpsville lately! But if you’ve gotta hate…hate! 🙂
Final Scores: Suck it Trebek, 35; Big Heads Big Hearts, 44; and ‘Pods, 76. I think BHBH were in second, I didn’t write it down, I just think I overheard the name. Well that’s it for now, we will be playing Saturday at our normal spot, our plans to be gone this weekend have changed. So anyone we may have beaten up upon Thursday will have a shot at revenge! Which is a dish best served with guacamole. Wait, that’s not how the phrase goes, is it? Anyway, Go Pods, and stay classy, Jean Dujardin! Wait…I think I may have accidentally spelled his name correctly when I turned in my answer (no way to know for sure…). 🐙