Perhaps my trivia “M.O.” has become a bit too apparent to my trivia teammates and others who know me (LOL). Two of my trivia teammates said Saturday night, after my trivia Sporcle Live game at Oscar’s Sports & Grill, that I only played that night because I wanted a “do-over” after a rough game Friday night. True! One of the “regulars” at Oscar’s said something similar, too, saying, “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist coming out here.” Yes, yes…it’s all true! I wanted a “do-over,” and it’s not the first time I’ve attempted to follow up lackluster trivia nights in such a fashion. But I got what I wanted, my trivial “white whale” as it were, winning first for the night, and a $15 first place gift card in game two following a tiebreaker. My two regular teammates Mike and Brad did not join me this time (they had a “dude’s night” hanging around a campfire and listening to a barely audible “soundtrack” from the Ypsilanti ElvisFest, and they also made up silly slogans for Hamm’s beer). My contribution to the beer slogan activity was “Comes out the same as it does going in.” Special thanks to Evan for coming out for the fun (he’s been a great helper at some of these Saturday games). And…the questions!
Game One
1. Video Games – In 1985, NES launched 17 games, two of which were team sport-based with one-word titles. Name one of those games, both for a “nerd” bonus point. Got one for 4, missed the bonus.
2. Words – What nine-letter word derived from the French word for “to surround” refers to a group of people who typically follow an important person and attend to their needs? 10
3. Indie Music – What indie rock band reached the top 25 on the alternative charts with the songs “Unbelievers,” “Diane Young” and “Cousins?” Whole lotta nope, miss for 1.
4. Reality TV – Mary Barry and Paul Hollywood served as judges on what cooking competition program? Nope again for 2.
5. Beverages – What drink’s name, derived from the Italian for “marked” can refer to espresso marked with milk, or milk marked with espresso? Clearly I need to start ordering things more complicated in coffee joints than black-as-your-soul coffee! But that would involve actually going into a coffee joint, wouldn’t it? Miss for 5 – we were a bit TOO confident with our guess 

6. Authors – What author, who wrote the Little House books, had her name removed from and changed to the Children’s Legacy Award in June, 2018 because of the way Native Americans were depicted in her books? And a real comment I heard from someone while this question was ongoing was “She’s not even a real person, she was a character played by Melissa Gilbert.” I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. As for this question subject, well that’s another blog topic entirely! Got this for 9.
7. MLB Teams – What MLB team formed in 1969 was the first franchise to be located outside of the U.S.? We were torn between two possibilities, but picked the right one for 3.
8. Rides – What two countries were home to the highest Ferris wheels in the world in the years between when that distinction was held by The London Eye and the Las Vegas High Roller? Miss for 6.
9. Actors – What 53-year-old actor, best known in recent years for playing a Marvel superhero, was first credited on Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1986? 8
10. Secretaries -Elaine Chao is the secretary of which U.S. cabinet department? Multiple clues were given along with this question, which I did not write down, got this for 7.
Mystery – Who/What/Where – Identify the following animal based on the clues, turning in one answer for two to eight points depending upon how soon you know the answer.
1. The orders of my more than 500 different species include Lamniforms, Orectolobiformes, and Squaliforms
2. Ancient versions were up to 44 feet long and weighed up to 28 tons
3. Live underwater and am an apex predator
4. Subject of weeklong programming once a year on the Discovery Channel
Got this on clue #3. Had the class name been given instead of order names in #1, would have gotten it earlier!
Scores: 12 teams, scores 19 to 53, with Fish Sandwich in first. We were in seventh with 48 points playing under the name 101 Croatians (in honor of Croatia’s nail-biting World Cup against Russia earlier that afternoon).
Final Category – U.S. Cities
Frederick, Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Bowie are the second, third, fourth and fifth largest incorporated municipalities in what state?
Most teams (including ours) wound up getting this, first place finishers were Fish Sandwich, 73 points; and Weasels won a tiebreaker for second and finished with 70 points. One of the tiebreaker questions asked for what year lead singer of Vampire Weekend was born. the other tiebreaker was about how many free throws, but did not catch the player’s name.
Game Two
1. Africa – What African country was formed in 1847 partly by liberated slaves? 10
2. State Flags – See image below, we got this for 5.

3. Composers – Which composer wrote “Toccata and Fugue?” This was actually an audio clue, we missed but had it been presented with its title, might have gotten it right, miss for 4.
4. Same Name – The son of Poseidon shares his name with what Disney king? I initially mis-head this question to be “The son of Paul Simon,” and I was not the only one in the bar to have heard it this way! Then I saw that Evan had the correct name written down on his paper and my weird brain thought, “Paul Simon named his kid THAT?” Then I remembered Paul Simon married a woman who had a recording career in the late 1980s and briefly forgot her name (welcome to my brain, LOL), though someone sitting farther down the bar did remember her name! She has been married to Paul Simon since 1992. “I’m not aware…of too many things…I know what I know…if you know what I mean…do ya?” Some of my high school classmates said I kind of looked like her (LOL). Uh…OK?

Singer Edie Brickell. The three children of her and Paul Simon include Adrian, Lulu, and Gabriel, none of which are also names of  Disney kings (lol)!

5. Vegetables – After tomatoes, name one of the two most commonly grown vegetables in U.S. gardens. Name two for a “nerd” bonus point. Got both for 3.
6. Toys – What is the name of the toy popular in the 2016 holiday season featuring a robotic creature in an egg unboxing itself? Miss for 1.
7. Nemeses – WOFAT is the name of the nemesis of a special task force on what TV series that originally aired from 1968 to 1980 and was relaunched in 2010? Evan the hero here, for 6.
8. Desserts – What dessert company was founded as a yogurt company in Hollywood in 2005 until California determined that there was not enough bacteria in its product to be considered yogurt? FB clue, 8.
9. Rookies – What rookie was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2017-2018 NBA season? Evan again for 7.
10. Mythology – Valhalla is a large cell central to what mythology? 2
Visual Mystery –

Missed #1 (considered right answer, just poor map reading on our part), got the rest.
Scores: Eleven teams, 30 point to 63, with Let’s Get It in first. We were tied with one other team for fourth with 56.
Final Category – ’70s Music
The Fleetwood Mac album Rumours includes four songs that reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 as singles. Name two of those four songs.

Album cover for “Rumours,” which is (imho) one of the best album covers of all time.

Wagered and got it. Which put us in a tiebreaker for first. Me and a guy from team Chatty Cathy had to answer this question: Total domestic box office gross of the 1986 film “Tin Cup.” I guessed $27 million, he guessed $85 million. My guess was closer, we won the $15. Yay!
That’s it for this crazy holiday week of trivia madness! Our next game will be the ’80s movies night Monday at Arbor Brewing Company, so the next writeup will be Tuesday. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Stevie Nicks!