Scores have not yet been posted online from Thursday’s Sporcle Live game at Original Gravity. I will edit/update this post accordingly when that happens. We finished with 121 points for the night, a $10 prize in game one following a tiebreaker. I chose to be honest about a scoring discrepancy in our favor in game one, which would have put us in a tiebreaker for FIRST PLACE had I just let it go! My teammates said I should’ve kept my mouth shut. One or two points off I’ll let slide, but I couldn’t let four extra points slide! Is there no honor among thieves? 🙂 Unsure how we finished for the night, but wagering 20 and getting the game one final and wagering low on the game two final may have at least put us in the top three! We’re on a “push” to move up in the rankings as much as possible before the July 26 venue tournament. We only have one game to accomplish this! Challenge accepted! We had a special “guest” player join us, since Evan couldn’t get players together with his own Sticks team (advantage ‘Pods)! We also had special “guest” Kimberly, who has become a semi-regular at this bar, having fallen in love with “Boy Blue,” which is an (apparently) delicious blueberry cider. And let’s get on with the questions!

4. T.V. History – In what decade did the BBC air its first program, titled “Opening of the BBC Television Service?” When we heard “BBC” at least two of us said we were hoping this would be a “Doctor Who” question. Obviously it was not (sadface). Miss for 3.

5. Poetry – What American poet published Leaves of Grass in 1855? 8

6. Video Games – Echo is the title character in a Sega Genesis series of video games released in 1992. What type of animal is Echo? 7

7. Vice Presidents – Under which president did Richard Nixon serve as vice president? 6

8. Words – What is an 11-letter word for a designated recipient of funds from an insurance policy payout or a trust fund? 5

9. NBA – Who recently joined the Charlotte Hornets after playing 17 seasons with a different team? Miss for 2

10. Political Subdivisions – When I first heard this category, my mind thought of “subdivisions” as in a bunch of houses grouped together, in this case a group of houses in which only politicians live. Which might be a funny sitcom…however, this was the question: Nunavut is a large territory established in 1993 in what country? 4

Mystery – Crosswords

1. Four letters – Name for female counterpart in British high society for a lord, knight, or gentleman

2. Eight letters – Periodical publication, or an ammunition storing/feeding device

3. Eight letters – Common name for group of animals including chipmunks, prairie dogs and marmots

4. Four letters – value most often found in a given set of values

Got ’em all.

Scores – Twelve teams, scores 6  to 66, with Big Heads Big Hearts in first. We were tied with team Jeff in third with 62 points. When the host first read the scores, she gave us four extra points, which I said we needed to have corrected. I know, I know! Sometimes those “gifts” from the trivia gods wind up having to get repaid in ways you can’t imagine (and that’s all I gotta say about that). Yes, my teammates teased me for this one a bit (all good natured fun, moods were great on this trivia night).

Final Category – Child Actors

Hollywood Darlings is an unscripted documentary comedy series following Beverley Mitchell, Jodie Sweetin, and Christine Lakin, who were child actors in the 80s and 90s. Each actress has appeared in at least 150 episodes of one TV show. Name two of three.

Kimberly got all excited as soon as she heard the name of the series, so I knew we had this! I would have only been able to name one of the correct series, nice work, guys! Wagered 20 and got it, which put us in a tiebreaker for second with team Jeff.

What ranking does the baby boy name Jefferson have on the most recent Social Security Index?

Weirdness ensued…I put down 37, the other guy put down 36. Neither of which were anywhere close to the correct answer (it’s… not very popular at all). But our guess was closest without going over, so we won $10!

Final scores: ‘Pods, 82; BHBH, 86.

Game Two

1. Animals – Orcinus orca is the scientific name of what animal? 10

2. Royalty – What is notable about a royal person called a “dowager?” Miss for 5. Ouch – send us to the Tower of London for this transgression!

3. T.V. Families – What is the familial relationship between Cora Crowley and Countess Grantham on “Downton Abbey?” Pulled right guess from the nether regions for 1. Seriously, this is how this played out…woot!

4. Musicals – What musical released in 2000 was based on children’s stories originally written by Theodore Geisel? 9

5. Toys – In the 1940s, Chem Toy became the first company to systematically produce what toy, selling 200 million bottles of it annually? We joked that the answer was “kiddie vodka,” but this was the FB clue, got this for 8.

6. Lakes – Buffalo, N.Y. is located on the eastern shore of what Great Lake? Debated between two, which forced us to wager low, got for 3.

7. Games – Name either of the two games involving a trampoline-like round net where players bounce a ball from one team to another. Nope…Miss for 2.

8. Fairy Tales – In what language did the Brothers Grimm publish their collection of fairy tales?

9. Actresses – Evangeline Lilly plays what superhero on film? For an extra “nerd” bonus point, name both of her highest-grossing non-superhero films at the domestic box office. We put so much effort into trying in vain to answer the first part of this question that we didn’t catch that we had to name TWO films for the bonus point, which we could have done. Miss for 4.

10. Food Products – What brand of canned pasta was launched in Cleveland in 1928? 6

Visual Mystery –

Missed #3.

Scores: Eleven teams, scores 33 to 59, with Hit or Miss in first. We were in seventh with 50 points, right behind BHBH who had 51, and right ahead of This Is Sparta, who had 49.

Final Category – Award Winning Literature

We were not confident enough to wager 20, but wanted to wager SOMETHING, so we split the difference and wagered 11.

The following quote is a summary of the appearance of the title character in what novel?
“A young woman mysteriously appears from a body of water and is discovered soaking wet on the doorstep by Sethe, Paul, and Denver”

We had the additional “hint” that this was adapted into a 1998 film.

Final Scores: Bunchicken, 40; This is Sparta, 49. This was a good question to wager zero, and these two teams were smart enough to do that!

We’re 50/50 on whether we will play Saturday or not, but will be playing Monday for sure. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Richard Nixon!