A ‘Pods “duo” paid a visit to Original Gravity Brewing Co. Thursday for its @Sporcle Live trivia scene. This time it was just Dave and I, who are pretty much the only people on our team who still enjoy the trivia scene here! Us ‘Pods are a fickle bunch, what can I say? We didn’t do too badly, 112 total points, finished in fourth for the night. We won a second place prize in game one, blew the second game final question which was of the dreaded “put these in order” variety. Which from my experience, doesn’t rank too highly on the list of favorite final question sub categories! I lucked out on one of these before, in a game at Johnny’s Grill in Belleville, where I was playing by myself. The question: Put these New York City landmarks in geographical order, from north to south: The Apollo Theater; Yankee Stadium; Times Square; Coney Island. Since I knew essentially nothing about the geography of New York, I figured, “Yankee was the word for a union soldier, so that must be farthest north. And Coney Island is by the water, so that must be farthest south. Basically flipped a coin on the other two and wound up getting it right! I went on to win a tiebreaker for first that night so THAT was exciting! Well, Thursday Dave and I were not quite so lucky on our “colleges” final question! I’ll get to that in a bit, in the meantime, here are the rest of the questions!
Game One
1. Advertising – In the logo for Wendy’s, what color are the bows in her hair? Dave had the right answer written down, but had to step away from the table to take the call. So what did I do? Write down the right answer he had written down? Of course not! So we missed this for 4 (sorry Dave), and also missed the bonus asking for what word is subliminally hidden in her picture.
2. In the News – In the American immigration policy abbreviated as DACA, what does the letter “D” stand for? 10
3. Muscles – What muscles contract when you hiccup? Thankfully we didn’t hiccup on this one! 7
4. Movie Jobs – In the 2004 film “Million Dollar Baby,” what job does Maggie’s character have before she becomes a boxer? Waittress, teacher, journalist or attorney? My reasoning here is that only ONE of these jobs would piss off someone enough to take up boxing, and my hunch proved to be correct, but only for 3.
5. Independence – In 1945, Korea gained its independence from what country? 5
6. Sports Announcers – What sports commentator quipped “Do you believe in miracles?” after the famous 1980 hockey game between the U.S. and Russia in 1980? We needed Brad for this one, miss for 1.
7. Mining – Bauxite ore is mined so it can be used to process what commonly used metal? 6
8. Authors – Who wrote “Interview with the Vampire,” which was adapted into a 1994 film? 9
9. Airports – John Wayne Airport is located in which U.S. state? Miss for 2, though I considered the right state (d’oh)!
10. French Cuisine – What is the name for the flat pancakes commonly served with either savory or sweet toppings? 8
Missed a 4, 1 and 2.
Mystery – Anagrams – Identify the Fortune 500 company based on the following anagrams (all companies are in the top 10)
1. RAWL MAT
2. ASTRONOMER LEG
3. LONE MIX BOX
4. HAIRY HAWK BREATHES
Missed #4.
Six teams, scores 28 to 66, with Team Mott in first. We were tied for second with 59 along with Big Heads Big Hearts. We were playing under the name “It’s the Great Blumpkin, Charlie Brown!” Years ago we used a variation on the name blumpkin when we played Buzztime…
Final Category – Comic Strips
First published in 1970, and still published today, what comic strip was the first to earn its writer a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1975?
Yup, got this, but so did Team Mott, so we finished in second with a $10 gift card.
Game Two
1. 2000s Films – Kirsten Dunst, Gabrielle Union and Eliza Duskhu all appeared together in what 1999 film? 10
2. Infomercials – What “tough guy” actor previously appeared in “Total Gym” infomercials along with Christie Brinkley?
3. Sports Awards – The John Mackie Award, established in 2000, awards the most outstanding college player in what offensive position? Neither of us knew this…but by some strange majicks I was able to summon the correct answer, but for only 2. Yes, it was nice lucking out on getting this right, but luck would have been much more appreciated in the final question coming up (whine). Seriously, I can’t control the weird majicks that sometimes happen to our team…and other people. And I am NOT a witch! 🙂
4. Rescues – Within one, in what year in the 21st century were 33 miners trapped for 69 days in Chile? I was goofing off, and I asked Dave if the miners were trapped in chili…we missed this for 3.
5. National Parks – Mesa Verde National Park is lcoated in which western U.S. state? Miss for 1.
6. DNA – What percentage of DNA do humans share with chimpanzees? 70, 87, 91, or 98? Which explains why I sometimes feel like flinging my own feces at others (JK, JK!), got this for 8.
7. Cartoons – Audio clue of cartoon inspired by a Disney film, total miss for 4.
8. Presidential Families – Which presidential family did Richard Nixon’s daughter Julie marry into in 1968? 7
9. Cover Songs – What 1988 song by Bobby Brown was covered by Britney Spears in 2004 and is also the title of her “greatest hits” album? 6
10. Arcade Games – In the original “Pac-Man” arcade game, how many power pellets is Pac-Man able to eat in order to temporarily defeat the ghosts? 5
Mystery:

We missed #2 and #4.

Scores – Six teams again, did not record the low score, team Mott again in first with 61 (they were on a roll tonight, and only 3 of them). We were in third with 53 behind Where’s Trey, who had 57.
Final Category – Universities
Put the following Division I universities in order from WEST to EAST, based on their geographic location:
Vanderbilt University
Pepperdine University
Creighton University
Wake Forest University
I knew where one of these was, Dave knew where one was. But we flip-flopped two of them, so miss, and we wagered 20.
Top teams were Where’s Trey, 77; Mott, 81.
Until next time, which will be Saturday at Oscar’s Sports & Grill in Saline. After that, we will play Wednesday at The Wurst Bar for a MTL game with Stacy. Next week, as a spoiler, we will playing Thursday at Salt Springs Brewery in Saline for a “special engagement.” One of my co-workers, whose last name is Salt, is retiring soon, so we thought doing a trivia night together might be fun! She winds up knowing quite a few answers to questions I share with her from games, especially if they are about “The Beverly Hillbillies!” She also follows “Dancing with the Stars,” so maybe we’ll actually celebrate getting a question about THAT! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, that sleazy cheer instructor from “Bring it On!”