For the first time in three months, we paid a visit to Powell’s Pub in Ypsilanti, MI Monday for its My Trivia Live scene. Usually it’s just Mike and I, but this time Brad and John, who normally join us at Wurst on Wednesdays, joined in on the fun. It was almost like a rerun of our game Friday at Maplewood Lanes! Same (low) score going into the final, no prizes…no teams wound up getting the movies final question correct, so the zero wagers reigned supreme! Unfortunately, we opted to wager all of our points! The regular Monday night bartender Jamie (sp?) actually asked me, “Where have YOU been playing trivia on Monday nights?” I said, “Nowhere, really. Why? Are you accusing us of cheating on you at another trivia spot?” Her no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners attitude is all part of the charm! But she’ll always remember what you normally drink – and knows who all of her regulars are – even if they go three months between visits!
The big news of the bar that night was the Powell’s/McShane’s joint rolling jackpot, which McShane’s discontinued abruptly last Tuesday. I wasn’t there at McShane’s last week when this all went down, but heard a few things about it from McShane’s host Stacy. I never tried winning this, but the deal was if you won first at both places consecutively you had a shot at winning the jackpot money. Stacy, maybe you can explain it better than I can? Honestly, I really don’t know how it all worked, but there were players who followed it pretty closely and played regularly in both places – and engaged in some pretty competitive behavior in pursuit of it! Though McShane’s has called off its jackpot, Powell’s may still continue their own jackpot for players, but nothing has been confirmed yet. This is what I heard from bar staff, stay tuned for more about that! This was the last game of the MTL season Monday, since the next two games are both on holidays. What – no trivia game on Christmas? Is that like a REAL holiday or something?
Round One
1. Flags – How many red stripes are on an American flag? 5
2. Animals – What is the name of the shark fin that sticks out of the water? We called it the “Oh shit, it’s a shark” fin, 3 points.
3 Christmas – What brought Frosty to life per the “Frosty the Snowman” song? Hint: It’s NOT cocaine! More about cocaine with the next question! Got this for 1.
Round Two
1. TV – What is the name of the “Love Boat” boat? This is not exactly how the question was worded. Brad started yammering about Lauren Tewes, who played the bubbly cruise director. “She did so much coke she lost her nose,” he said. I have not found any Internet articles confirming loss of nose, but she did have a well-publicized battle with cocaine addiction, and has said that her “Love Boat” salary pretty much all went up her nose. I can honestly say I have never seen a single episode of this show! I had a camp counselor whose nickname was Gopher because she liked the show, though…

She don’t lie…she don’t lie…she don’t lie…cocaine. Lauren Tewes as The Love Boat’s “Your Cruise Director” Julie

2. Mythology – Whose face launched a thousand ships? 3
3. Christmas Music – What does Alvin from “Alvin and the Chipmunks” want for Christmas, per the lyrics of the song? John was all over this. This is the second time in as many weeks that I’ve been thankful for other people knowing more about “Alvin and the Chipmunks” than I do!
Round Three
1. Sports History – What was first witnessed at the 1955 Tournament of Roses parade, and later, the Rose Bowl itself – and has now become a staple at all sporting events? Miss for 3.
2. World War 2 (this question is going to be the first of two to sink a thousand ships…be warned) – What man’s nephew, who was born in England but later emigrated to the U.S., had to put in a formal request with FDR in order to serve in the U.S. Navy? Miss for 1.
3. Disasters – Isadore Strauss, co-owner of Macy’s Department Store, died in what famous disaster? Miss for 5, picked one that occurred 25 years too late. Is there room in that lifeboat? No problem, I’ll just cling precariously to that piece of wood and hope for the best!
Halftime – Mothers
Name the daughters of the following celebrity mothers.
1. Blythe Danner
2. Janet Leigh
3. Tippi Hedren
4. Diane Ladd
Got them all, Mike was a help with #4 because he can’t stand that actress (which is why he knows her name). Weird!
Halftime scores: Five teams, scores ?? to 33, with One is the Loneliest Number in first, We were right behind him with 31 points.
Round Four
1. Weird Laws – In which US state is it illegal to dress up like a priest for Halloween? Newsletter answer, 6
2. Reality TV – What was the name of the 2003 reality show starring Evan Marriott, whom had reportedly inherited some money and was looking for a potential bride? Nope, miss for 4.
3. Presidents – Which U.S. president’s daughter was allowed to have her senior prom on the White House lawn? Discussed the right guy, but went with a guy much earlier, miss for 2. Not a good round! Round Five gets a LITTLE better!
Round Five
1. Children’s Literature – Who first appeared in the children’s book “Cecily B and the Nine Monkeys?” 4
2. Companies – What company’s name means “three stars” in Korean? A bit of discussion, eventually made right guess for 2. Which left us a six point slip for the next question (fasten your seat belts!)…
3. Royalty – Who became King of Spain in 2014 after the death of his father Juan Carlos I? Where is the shenanigans opportunity when you really, really need it? Oh yeah, you can’t call shenanigans anymore, because some teams got into a fist fight over it a few months ago! Always somebody to ruin the fun!
Round Six
1. Athletes – What Super Bowl-winning quarterback was also a baseball player and drafted by the Montreal Expos? Miss for 2.
2. Business – Three gold balls are a universal symbol of that type of business? 6
3. Fast Food – What fast food item was created in 1957 when founder James McLamore noticed a rival restaurant having success selling a larger burger? Clearly we did not understand this question, communication breakdown…miss for 4.
Forty-nine points going into the final, which put us in fourth. Ungrateful Dan was in first with 57 points.
Final Category – Movies
What 1980s movie was made on a budget of $6 million and went on to gross more than $200 million – and was the first film to sell more than 1 million copies on video?
Picked another ’80s movie that was filmed on a low budget and was high-grossing (and the first one I watched on VHS), but it was not correct. All teams missed this, so zero betters took the prizes.
Until next time, which will be Wednesday. See y’all in the next recap!