Getting first place for the night at a bar with only 99 points is still… first place! We desperately needed the 15 league points in our Sporcle Live game Thursday at Original Gravity Brewing Co. hosted by Sporcle Live with Lauren – and we got them! Now we trail the #3 team Where’s Trey a little less, and have slightly slowed down the #2 team Big Heads Big Hearts and the numero uno team This Is Sparta. We’ll take whatever gifts the trivia gods have to offer in this “final stretch,” even if that means a NFL Draft final question that every team flunked – on which we wagered zero (though we did write down one correct player). We had a completely different “women-only” lineup, which included myself, Kimberly and Kirsten (both from the Downriver league team Sparty On); Ang E (from More Beer Less Pants) and her neighbor Teresa B. As you can imagine when you get a bunch of women together when the drinks are flowing, sometimes the tongues got a bit…loose! There was talk of other women with “really big boobs,” new cars, and…the other trivia teams in the room whom I pointed out to the others as the ones to beat that night (which consisted of rivals both familiar and unfamiliar to the players on our team)! As for the drinks, the blueberry cider got a resounding two thumbs up (four if you count both people drinking it using both hands). And nobody seemed to complain about the food (except nobody seemed to want Kim’s pickle that she was freely offering, go ahead and make a filthy joke if you want lol), so with all of that said…how about some trivia questions?
Game One
1. Kids’ Games – What two kinds of birds are the focus of a popular kids’ game where they sit in a circle and one of the kids walks around and taps one of the other kids on the head? Oh the kindergarten memories…social for 10.
2. Ratings – In North America, a green circle, blue square and black diamond are ratings for what type of sport? 9
3. TV Settings – For what TV series airing 1976 to 1985 was Mel’s Diner the primary setting? I was apparently the “old lady” on the team for knowing this one, lol…some of the others didn’t even spot the catchphrase uttered by one of the supporting characters when I said it aloud. “What does that even mean,” another player asked. “Well, it basically means ‘kiss my ass,'” I said. And another player added, “Yes, in kind of a Southern way.” Who says pop culture can’t be educational? 

This is what I said when our team missed a final question about this series’ “sequel” in a 2016 semifinal game!

4. Elements – What element is represented by #13 on the Periodic Table and is the most abundant element in the earth at about 18 percent by weight? Talked ourselves out of the correct answer, but only for 2.
5. James Bond – What James Bond film is the only one showing James Bond getting married? This is the FB clue question and is abbreviated, got this for 7.
6. Building Names – In 1973, the Manned Space Center in Houston was re-named in honor of what U.S. president? For an extra bonus point, within 1, in what year was this building opened? Got this for 6 plus the bonus.
7. Pop Songs – What artist’s highest charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100 charts included “Upside Down,” “Lullabies,” “You and Your Heart” and were used on the Curious George soundtrack? When I heard “Upside Down” I thought of Diana Ross (I am old, lol), and we were initially kind of stumped, but Ang stepped in with the correct answer at almost the last second, woot! 5 points.
8. Deserts – The Atacama Desert, considered the driest in the world, is located in what South American country? Talked ourselves out of the right answer again, miss for 1 (our crudely drawn map wound up looking like a “certain” body part, lol).
9. Same Name – What name is shared both by a type of French bread and a popular type of cut diamond? Another social for 4.
10, Novels – “Blood Sport” and “Prom Night” are the names of parts 1 and 2 of what Stephen King novel? 3
Mystery – Add ’em Up (groan….) – Sum total of numbers in these question’s answers will total up to 2020.
1. Most recent year in which the Summer Olympics were in the United States
2. Number of the Shakespeare sonnet with the words “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”
3. Number of letters in the group releasing a self-titled album in 1999 and a song called “Summer Girls.”
4. The number of films in the I Know What You Did Last Summer film franchise
Missed #2 and #4.
Scores- Thirteen teams, scores 23 to 63, with us in first, using the moniker “GDX” (shortened form of Generation Double X). Where’s Trey/and This Is Sparta were right behind us tied in second with 60 points, with Big Heads Big Hearts not far behind them with 59 points. All three teams used “alternative” names, and I only knew the identity of Where’s Trey for sure. I figured out the other two teams, with confirmation from Lauren (I always have fun trying to figure who is who when different names are used).
Final Category – NFL Draft
We wagered zero.
Five players who have been the first overall pick in the NFL draft have also been the NFL Rookie of the Year.
Name two of those five players, who were drafted in 1978, 1980, 1981, 2010, and 2011, respectively.
We managed to get one of these correct, no teams got both.
All came down to wagers…zero betters reigned supreme (hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do…)
Final scores: WTF, 41, GDX (‘Pods), 63.
Game Two
1. Vegetables – What is the six-letter word for a section of broccoli or cauliflower? 10
2. TV Families – What are the first names of the Reynolds siblings owning Paddy’s Pub on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia?” Miss for 1.
3. Novel Characters – In the 1820 novel Ivanhoe, the character “Locksley” is revealed to be what legendary character? For a “nerd” bonus point, who wrote Ivanhoe? Another hit for Angie, I managed to remember this author’s name, 9 plus the bonus.
4. Skating – What American figure skater won four consecutive gold medals in the world Figure Skating Championships in 1981 to 1984 and also won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 1984? Kirsten for the gold here…(she is also an ice skater, interestingly enough).
5. Juice – First introduced in 1977, what juice used the slogan “The very best juice for the very best kids?” Cautious guess for 4.
6. U.S. Cities – What U.S. capital city is home to the F. Scott Fitzgerald/Zelda Fitzgerald house and the first white house of the Confederacy? Miss for 5 (ouch)!
7. Toys – The modern version of what toy launched in 1920 was invented by Max Pohlig and Ernst Gottschall of Germany, with the name of the toy being derived from the men’s names? 7
8. Lyrics – Who was the original artist of the song with the lyrics “There must be some way out of here…said the joker to the thief?” Being the “old lady” on the team, I knew this one right away, but was presented with another possible contemporary artist. I said, “My mom had wet panties for this guy back in the day.” Well, maybe not REALLY, though she was quite the fangirl! 3

Robert Zimmerman, aka the guy in the previous question…

9. Leaders – David Ben-Gurion became the first prime minister of what country in 1948? Kirsten for the points here, 6.
10. Film Series – Audio clue of film series, word that clued me in was “witch king,” got this for 2.
Mystery –

Missed #4.
Scores: Eleven teams, scores 23 to 60, with Where’s Trey in first. This is Sparta was in fifth with 49 points, and Big Heads Big Hearts was in fourth with 52 points, we were in second with 56 points.
Final Category – Franchises
What media franchise is the highest-grossing of all time, with sales of over $59B worldwide, including revenue from box office, merchandise, home entertainment, and games? The franchise has released at least one film yearly for the last 20 years.
A “hint” given to us was that we were to think “broadly” about the word “franchise.”
Wagered and missed…
Final scores: GDX, 36, Where’s Trey, 40.
We’ll be taking the weekend off from trivial pursuits, but will be back at it Monday at Powell’s. Also taking a short break from blogs (will be out of town), but may post a couple of “photo” blogs that don’t require much typing!  Our next game recap will be posted Tuesday, so be sure to check in! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy…the women of GDX who played Thursday! Though we’re far more interesting when we’re not (LOL)…Great times!