Saturday marked the 700th time Sporcle Live with Liz hosted a Sporcle Live game. And the milestone was marked in a variety of ways at Oscar’s Sports and Grill in Saline, where partygoers slash trivia players honed their skills in haiku and pun writing, and even put their spelling abilities to the test – in addition to answering questions about topics ranging from NFL records, Greek mythology, space exploration and more. Special door prizes such as board games, plush “boy band” bears, etch-a-sketch toys and a karaoke machine were given out. Congrats to the team Umpires Strike Back for winning the karaoke machine! Reminds me, it’s been a bit too long since I’ve been on a karaoke mic! A larger number of league teams than usual joined in on the fun, including Umpires Strike Back, What the Shibboleth, A Blessing of Unicorns, Better Late than Never, Group W Bench (an older pop culture reference, to be sure, but Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers with hippie parents will get it), and the Compound. Mike and I were joined by E (Evan), a “loaner” from the Sticks team Trump 2020, who helped us in some awesome ways. Wagering 10 on a 2015 music question? Getting an NFL records question correct? What madness was THIS? For more about this game, read on!
Game One
1. Debut Singles – What 2015 single with a dessert name in its title by Joe Jonas’ band DNCE debuted at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts? Even with the dessert hint, Mike and I would not have had a f—ing clue on this one, but Evan was all over this like frosting on a cake for 10.
2. Parks – First State National Historic Park is primarily located in which U.S. state? Not very confident, got this for 4.
3. Mythology – In Greek mythology, was who was the goddess of marriage and also the wife of Zeus? And this “goddess of marriage” was married to quite the philanderer, as it were…9
4. Space Exploration – What was the main accomplishment of Explorer 6? Multiple choices given here, did not write them all down, miss for 3.
5. NFL Records – As of August, 2017, what active New Orleans Saints quarterback holds the record for the most career games? Got this, but for only 2.
6. James Bond – What 1974 James Bond film is the only James Bond film to have a six-word title? For an extra “nerd” bonus point, who played James Bond in that film? For an even harder “nerd” bonus point, who played the villain in that movie? That last one was not asked in the game, I just wanted to throw it in there! Got this for 8 plus the bonus.
7. Coffee – What coffee type, not to be confused with a type of latte, is grown in Yemen? 5
8. Office Products – What corporation makes “white out,” also known as liquid paper? Considered right answer, but missed this for 1. Now I am imagining a question writer staring at items on a desk looking for question inspirations…stapler, note pad, Post-Its….hmmm, how about I ask about white out?
9. Debates – What fast food company’s slogan was mentioned by Walter Mondale in a 1984 debate with Gary Hart? And years later, Donna Rice might say the same words to Gary Hart while in bed with him on a yacht called “Monkey Business.” Yes, I am old and remember this….anyone else remember this scandal? Got this for 7. While we’re on the subject, anyone remember the name of Donna Rice’s clothing line?
10. TV Characters – On what CBS drama that aired from 2009 to 1016 featured an lead character named Alicia Florriek? I pulled the right guess from my ass here for 6 (damn, THAT was painful…). Never watched a single episode of the show, but recall this show being asked about in previous games.
Mystery – Name the four U.S. capital cities that come last alphabetically. Got three of these correct.
Scores: And I cannot find my sheet of paper with everyone’s scores on it. But I do remember we were in first with 61 points, Group W Bench in second with 60.
Final Category – World Leaders
From 2011 to 2015, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Dilma Rousseff were the presidents of bordering countries. Name those two countries.
Got them both, so us and Group W held onto our positions – they won a $10 gift card, we won $15.
Game Two
1. Outdoor Games -What is the name of the white hoops balls are pushed through in croquet according to the U.S. Croquet Association? 10
2. Netflix – Within two, in what year did Netflix start offering subscription services? Way off here, miss for 4.
3. Harry Potter – Name all four houses of Hogwarts – but to get full credit, all must be spelled correctly. Got this for 3.
4. Numbers – Starting with number one, what is the first number, counting upward, to contain the letter “D?”
An extra bonus point was awarded for being able to name all members of the 700 home run club. Evan got all of these…nice!
5. Pop Singers – What is the last name, by birth, of the person whose album titles include “Confessions on the Dance Floor” and “Hard Candy?” I suggested that Liz only give points if this was spelled correctly, lol…
6. Reality TV – “Ice Road Truckers” airs on what cable network? Miss for 5. Our score started veering off the road here!
7. Candy – What candy’s commercials have featured characters saying “Sorry, I was eating a (blank)?” I did not write down the actual question very well, but this one has the same answer, and it was the FB clue, so there’s that! Got this for 7.
8. Bridges – Bayonne Bridge separates Bayonne, NJ from what New York borough? F— borough questions! I’ve actually tried studying this stuff before, but there is no substitute for actually LIVING in New York! Curses! Shakes fist! Miss for 1.
9. Same Roles – Actor Harry Morgan played Officer Bill Gannon in what 1960s TV series and in a 1987 film alongside Tom Hanks? A 1960s TV question? What trivia league is THIS? 🙂 Got this for 6.
10. Cars – What Japanese automaker manufactured the RX-7 model from 1978 to 2002? Just the other day I was behind someone driving this make of car too slowly and I said, “Zoom, zoom!” Yes, I just gave a hint (pffft!).
Liz did two different contests for haiku writing and pun writing, unsure which teams won these contests. But the winning haiku mentioned Liz’s tits. I couldn’t make that up! We took home an N’Sync plush bear named Chris (he has two hoop earrings) and a mini etch-a-sketch that is actually in our team colors purple and green! Mike and I have both played with it already, his knob-turning skills are far superior to mine!
Visual Mystery – https://www.sporcle.com/g00/blog/visual/flower916/… Got all of these.
Scores – We were in fourth with 54 points. Dang, where is that sheet with the scores on it? Not blaming this one on ghosts! 👻
Final Categtory – Awards (so, so vague, had we known what the award was for, we may not have wagered 20 on this)
For the last fifteen years, what award has been announced at three different locations – the Yale Club of New York City, the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square, and the PlayStation Theatre in Times Square?
Nope…
We wound up in fourth for the night behind Umpires Strikes Back, Better Late than Never and One is the Loneliest Number, who finished first overall for the night with 139 points. We remain in first in the bar’s overall standings with 54 league points, with OITLN nine points behind. Until next time, which is TBD… Stacy, try not to miss us too much, but we will not be playing our usual Wednesday game at the Wurst Bar next week and just doing something a little different for the bye week. We’ll be back when the season starts! A Thursday game is planned at Original Gravity Brewing Co.  with a possible appearance by Dave!  As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Gary Hart!