Sometimes too much knowledge can actually hurt you in a trivia game! Had I not been able to name two pairs of movies directed by Quentin Tarantino that were released roughly 15 years apart – and only able to name the “popular” ones – we might not have failed the final question about his movies on Sunday night! Sometimes it just comes down to a failed coin toss. What better way to top off a failed trivia weekend than to…fail again? Mike and I visited Haymaker Ann Arbor for its Sporcle Live trivia scene Sunday night as a change of pace, since we were out and about in Ann Arbor visiting different spots that gave away birthday “freebies.” The free mini cupcake from the Cupcake Station was nice! Failing a question about Tarantino movies? Not so nice! We also failed quite a few other questions, though the $3 pints of Lake Brothers lager that were on special helped soften the blow a LITTLE bit…Without further ado, here are the questions that were slung at us by Sporcle With Tim…
Game One
1. Software – Adobe Acrobat was initially released in 1993 to view and manage files in what format? 10
2. State Names – What winner of both an Academy Award and Grammy Award was born Eric Marlon Bishop in 1967? Remembered this because we failed it before, woot! 9
3. Elements – What element discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie is the first alphabetically out of all elements beginning with the letter “R?” For an extra nerd point, within 5, what is this element’s atomic number? Got this, but narrowly missed the bonus for 8.
4. Hair Care – Herbal Essences is a brand of hair care products produced by what division of Proctor and Gamble? FB clue, 7.
5. Soccer – Since 2004, Lionel Messi has played for what Spanish club team? 6
6. First Ladies – Two of the three first First Ladies of the United States shared what first name: 5
7. Movie Remakes – What 2003 film starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt has the same premise as a 1950 film of the same name? Picked wrong remake starring this guy, miss for 4.
8. State Capitals – Which U.S. capital city is located on the banks of the Hudson River? Overthought this, miss for 1.
9. Cartoon Jobs – The Slate Rock Gravel Company is the employer of a main character on what animated series? 3
10. French Phrases – Translated into English as “White Card,” what two-word French term is defined as the complete freedom to act as one wishes? Easy way to finish this round. Now all we need is a horrible mystery round! Uh, careful what I wish for?
Mystery – Long Song Titles
Given the artists and release years, name the following songs that have titles of five words or more.
1. P!nk featuring Nate Reuss, 2013
2. Taylor Swift, 2012
3. Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell, 2004
4. Justin Timberlake, 2007
Complete failure for us, though this round was a challenge for all of the teams, judging from what Tim said…
Scores – Eleven teams, 34 to 59, with Homo Erotic Shampoo Montage in first with 59. We were tied with What the Shibboleth (playing under Apollo 15 name) in third with 53 points.
Final Category – Directors
Quentin Tarantino has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for two films, which were released roughly 15 years apart. Name those two films.
I wrote down two pairs of films fitting the time frames, and incorrectly guessed that he was not nominated for director as early as he was (though I remember an early film being nominated for best picture). Picked the wrong one. Getting it right would not have put us in the prize zone, as two teams ahead of us managed to get it.
Game Winners – Big, (?) 74; High (?), 74. Big won the tiebreaker asking for how many units of Taylor Swift’s album Reputation were sold in the U.S.
Scene from one of the incorrect movies we named, though the actor on the right received an Oscar for his performance in this movie.
Game Two
1. ’90s Music Videos – What hip-hop artist wore an outfit that resembled an inflated trash bag in the 1997 video for “Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)?” I was definitely NOT paying attention to hip-hop music in 1997 any more than I am now! And I actually just tried watching this video (didn’t try very hard, lol). My teammates say I’m the whitest one on our team! Yeah….miss for 1.
2. Politicians – Who became prime minister of the U.K. in July, 2016? Miss for 4.
3. Fight Songs – Audio clue of “Rocky Top,” the unofficial fight song for what university? Even had I known the name of this song I would have missed this, we missed for 2.
4. TV Locations – The Fox TV series “Bones” was primarily set in what major U.S. city? Only watched one series featuring David Boreanaz, and it wasn’t this one! Miss for 3. Can we get on the points map already?
5. Countries – Name one of the two countries bordering Indonesia by land. Both for an extra bonus point. Got one but not both for 10.
6. Authors – What humorist author wrote “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and “Naked?” Thankfully Tim only needed a last name, since I could think of two humorist authors sharing the same last name…got this for 5.
7. Space Exploration – What was the name of the first U.S. satellite launched in 1958? Wayfarer, Odyssey, Pioneer, or Explorer? Miss for SIX. Not tripping the light fantastic so far! Ugh…
8. Actors – Actor Daniel Day-Lewis announced his retirement in 2017 following the completion of what film for which he received an Academy Award nomination? Mike asked me, “What’s that movie about?” I said, “It’s some kind of May-December romance period piece or something.” Mike’s response? “Of course!” Got this for 9.
9. Fast Food – In 2013, what fast-food company introduced its “Right Price, Right Price” value menu? Good guess…which was good – because we had to use our 8 point slip.
10. Legal Terms (we flunked a legal terms question in the MTL finals on Saturday, clearly we need to consider recruiting a law jockey for our team, lol) – What is the term for intentionally lying under oath? This is abbreviated. And both of us totally brain farted here. I will blame the sugar crash from the cupcakes we had earlier! We missed this for 7. Hey, if you’ve gotta have an awful game, don’t be half-assed about it!
Visual Mystery – Did not write down the URL and I do not have it saved on my tablet. It was about board games, and we got them all.
Scores – Ten teams, scores 27 to 60 with Shibboleth/Apollo 15 in first. We were in seventh with 39 points. NOT IN DEAD LAST, yay!
Name the four largest islands of the Greater Antilles, which make up nearly 90% of the total area of the West Indies.
Mike and I teamed up with success here, but enough teams ahead of us also got it, so no prizes for us.
Shibboleth/15 took first, unsure who took second.
I’ll be joining Kimberly later today for a MTL “afternoon delight” game at the Canton Bistro, and playing with my “posse” tonight at Powell’s Pub. We just managed to squeak into the lead at this bar, let’s see if we can hang onto that lead! We have not been bringing our usual foursome here, so it’s kind of been like playing with one brain lobe tied behind our backs, lol. We shall see! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Missy Elliott!
hebspeaks 