Sometimes when you have a “hunch” about something, it winds up paying off big! I had a “hunch” that having two native Ohioans on our team Thursday night would be a good thing! In July, 2017, we had two Ohioans (brothers – David and Matt, both Cleveland area natives) play with us at Original Gravity Brewing Co. in our second-to-last game of the season, and we logged the highest score of the season! The two brothers predictably teamed up well on a good number of the questions, and we all had a blast! In last night’s game, we had a “new” player named Matt join us as a “loaner” from the Steele Trap trivia team, so again…two Ohioans. Without further ado, I would like to announce that Matt has agreed to be our fourth player for the MTL semifinals/finals in August, so welcome aboard! I invited him to play with us Thursday as a means of testing out how well he would play with our team. We wound up winning a spot in the league championship, and two first place/$20 gift cards. In addition to the two “Ohioans,” the other players were myself, Mike and Evan (E). We finished with eleventy-one points for the night (that’s 111 points in non-Hobbit speak, lol). There were only three teams in contention as announced by Sporcle Live with Lauren – ours, Big Heads Big Hearts and This Is Sparta. And here come the game questions!

Game One

1. Launches – From what U.S. state was the Hubble space telescope launched? Thought of three possibilities, picked the right one, but for only 3.

2. Kids’ Books – In a series of children’s books originally published in 2008, written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean, what kind of animal is the title character of the book called I Love My White Shoes? Dave’s son Johan has these books…we got this for 6.

3. Animated TV – What animated TV series originally aired in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2004 including a title character who was a mason, along with his co-worker Wendy and other characters with whom they work? Not a lot of certainty for 4.

4. Drinks – First introduced in 2002, what carbonated juice brand distributed by Pepsi uses a logo depicting a slice of citrus fruit? Miss for 5.

5. Actors – What comedian starred as “Billy Bones” in Muppet Treasure Island? This is where teamwork came into play. Dave described him as “British,” and I named a couple of actors from a British comedy troupe, which apparently were not correct. I asked whether he was older, younger, etc. Then he used the descriptor “curly haired,” and I came up with the right actor’s name. Yay, I helped (my team would not need me very much in this game, lol). Got this for 2.

6. Independence – In 1821, what European country declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire, which sparked a war lasting about eight years? Miss for 1.

7. Card Franchises – What media franchise was introduced in 1979 by American Greetings and featured a series of dolls, including a title character with a pet cat named Custard and a nemesis named the Purple Pieman? I remember these dolls…they smelled more like the underlying rubber than the things they were SUPPOSED to smell like! I never owned any of these, but my friends did. 10 points.

8. Track – How many meters long is the longest hurdling event, with the current world record being just under 47 seconds? A bit of debate, but got for 7 (getting risky with big point slips remaining).

9. Albums – “Revolutionary Radio” in 2016, “Uno,” “Dos” and “Trey” in 2012 and “21st Century Breakdown” are the five most recent albums released by what band? Dave for the big points, got for 9.

10. Siblings – Paul, Donny and Mark are all siblings who founded what restaurant chain in 2011? For an extra bonus point, in which city was the first of these founded? 8 Big Michigan news lately with this chain…

Mystery – This Day In History

On this day in history…

1. 1943, lead singer born who released solo albums “Out of Our Heads” and “Exile On Main Street”

2. 1797, future U.S. president marries Louisa Johnson

3. 1847, What african country declared independence from the American Colonization Society

4. 1908, what U.S. government agency founded, with Stanley Finch as the first head of the agency

Missed #4.

Scores- Ten teams, scores 16 to 59, with us in first. BHBH was in third with 54, and This is Sparta were in sixth with 43 points. With “tournament” points figured in, this put BHBH in first with 62, us in second with 54 and This Is Sparta in third with 42.

Final Category – ’90s Music

We did a cautious wager of 10.

Six albums released in the decade of the ’90s by bands or groups have sold at least 13 million copies as of 2018. Name two of those five bands or groups.

No teams got this correct…we didn’t even come up with ONE correct band or group!

Game one standings: BHBH, 47; ‘Pods, 49.

Game Two

1. 2000s Movies – What 2004 Dreamworks animated film featured characters named Oscar, Angie and Lola, among others? Matt demanded the big point slip here, got for 10.

2. Commercials – What snack food company produced a 2001 Super Bowl ad featuring its product fed into a tennis ball machine and launched at an actress’ head? I remember this snack! Why oh why did they stop producing these? Without giving away too much, Mike and I used to call the variety of this snack “pillows” (they were so good)!

3. Words – What is the name for the frame used for execution by hanging? 9

4. NHL Players – Name either NHL player scoring the most points per game in the 2017-2018 season, averaging 1.3 points per game. One of them played for the Edmonton Oilers, the other played for the Colorado Avalanche. Name both for a nerd bonus point. Evan and Matt teamed up here with success, but for only 2.

5. Horror Games – The horror video game “Outlast” primarily takes place in what setting? Close but no cigar, miss for 1.

6. Russians – What Russian author penned Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov? 8

7. Bands – “Holiday” and “Love Hurts” are the only charting hits for what Scottish band? My “triviagasm” moment for 7. Yay my team needed me in this game (LOL).

8. SCIENCE! What is the seven letter word for the process of energy in the universe trending toward disorder? 6

9. Sitcoms – Actor Oliver Hudson stars alongside what actress in an ABC sitcom featuring a recently divorced couple? Matt and Evan teamwork for 4.

10. Languages – Other than Chinese, English and Spanish, name one of the two other most spoken languages in U.S. homes. Neither of these two even occurred to us…miss for 3. We picked a language that would probably be correct for the state of Michigan.

Mystery – NBA Players

Name the NBA teams featuring these top-scoring players of all time.

1. Mark Gasol, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph

2. Kevin Love, Sam Mitchell, Kevin Garnett

3. Hal Greer, Al Iverson, Dolph Schayes

4. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Bob Love

Side note, usually with these “sportsball” questions, I wind up having to google their names to check spelling. Matt saved me the trouble by writing them all down (thanks). It’s the “little” things that matter in life! Got all of these (nice job Evan, Matt, Dave).

Scores heading into final: Unsure how many teams….low score was 13, we were in first in 59, with BHBH right behind us with 54 points. This Is Sparta were in fourth with 48.

Final Category – African Geography

We wagered two points on this one…

Not including countries bordering the disputed territory of Western Sahara, name two of the six African nations bordering at least six other African nations.

Got one, but not both.

We finished first with 111 points. Team Mack finished in second with 55 (low wagers were wise here).

Well this concludes the story of the Spring/Summer 2018 Sporcle Live season at Original Gravity! The final “chapter” will be the league championship Aug. 5. Our trivia outings will be light during the next couple of weeks, so for you blog readers, maybe I’ll just have to come up with some trivia quizzes!

Whew! That was a tough season at OG, there is nothing like feeling like we “earned” our tournament spot! Special tip ‘of the hat to team Big Heads Big Hearts for making us sweat the whole season at OG (wouldn’t be worth it to win otherwise). You were truly worthy adversaries!

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Carlos Santana!