It was “opening day” of the new Sporcle Live trivia season at Original Gravity Brewing Co. There were no baseballs flying through the air, but there was pre-season football on the TV! At the end of the game the trivia host Lauren played the Michigan State University fight song, which fired up members of the trivia team This Is Sparta (who got first place for the night), and some others sitting at the bar, who were singing along. I don’t know any lyrics to this one, other than some “alternate” ones my dad (whom is a die-hard Wolverine) taught me as a kid! I’m not getting into what those “alternate” lyrics are, lest I upset any Spartans reading this! What? OH, OK…the only ones I know are “It’s a know-nothing…party school.” Don’t get mad at ME, blame my dad! 🙂
College football rivalry in Michigan is pretty big between MSU and the University of Michigan (duh). Me? I graduated from neither school, and have nothing against either one. But it does make it a tough call, since dad took me to U of M home games as a kid, where I learned the lyrics to “Hail To The Victors,” as well as the “ladylike” way of drinking Coke from a bottle while hanging out in his yellow van outfitted with blue shag carpeting (yeah, that was the 1970s, when the entire Earth was covered in shag carpeting, lol). All of that childhood college football indoctrination aside, I… go with the flow! Fire up Chips (CMU is my alma mater)! Go Green! OhowIhateOhioState (sorry not sorry Buckeye fans, but I just can’t shake THAT childhood indoctrination)! Go Blue!
Me at age 4. Though you can’t see it here, this van had blue shag carpeting on the floor inside! You can barely see it, but Cookie Monster is on my T-shirt and I am holding a “Little Golden Book!” Dad loved taking this van to U of M home games. And I loved riding in it and sitting on the floor in the back! In keeping with his very polarized football loyalties, dad had a bumper sticker on this van that read “Woody is a pecker.” Curious little me just HAD to ask, “Daddy, what’s a pecker?” Commence the white lying that all parents do with kids when they’re not ready to tell them the “truth!” He said a “pecker” is like “Woody Woodpecker, dear.” My mother laid a similar white lie on me when I asked what a “peep show” was!
Ultimately, there is only ONE team I root for (ahem) – GO Pods! 🙂
As for the trivia game, we finished with 104 points for the night, mainly due to conservative wagering on the final questions, which proved to be rough for most of the teams! National parks (groan) AND Grammy awards (double groan). We won a $10/second place prize in game one.
Game One
1. ’70s Music – What 1972 Carly Simon song about a self-absorbed lover was her only #1 hit? I’ll bet you think this song is about YOU (LOL), 10.
2. Cabinet – A food/nutrition service, rural housing service and animal health and inspection service are all agencies of what cabinet department? Pretty sure, but not SUPER sure, got for 4.
3. Space Words – What Latin-derived word describes mist, fog, or an interstellar cloud of dust containing hydrogen or helium? Mike the “space man” got this for 9.
4. ’80s Movies – Name one of the three non-Disney animated films featuring Dom DeLuise, which were released in 1982, 1986 and 1989. Name two for a “nerd” bonus. I had a good guess on one, Mike had a good guess on a second, we weren’t confident enough to do more than 3, but we got both.
5. Kids’ Books – What series of children’s books published by Scholastic since 1992 features photographs of rhyming riddles instructing readers about what must be found in each picture? All of our players were adults or older teenagers when these books first hit the shelves, so a total “404 pop culture reference not found” for all of us, miss for 1.
6. Pitchers – Who was the youngest pitcher to have earned three Cy Young awards, most recently in 2014? Miss for 2.
7. Video Games – What video game series launched in 1991 has three main sequels with titles that end in “2,” “3D,” and “Forever?” Mike the hero here for 7.
8. Borders – The country of Angola borders what ocean? 8
9. Snacks – Within three, in what year were nacho cheese flavored Doritos introduced? This was the Facebook clue, and right after I shared this with Mike, he responded “Now I want Doritos.” And sure enough…he bought a small bag at a convenience store last night (true story)! Me? I still miss the “3D ones they used to make (those were SO good)! 6
10. TV Families – Peter Boyle, Patricia Heaton and Doris Roberts are among the supporting cast members of what sitcom which aired from 1996 to 2005? 5
Mystery – Initials
Identify the following people based on the clues provided. The initials of these people, when placed in order, will form the title of a 2018 film that grossed more than $60 million domestically. One bonus point was awarded for naming the film.
1. 44th U.S. president
2. Belarussian gymnast who led her Russian Olympic team to gold in 1972 and 1976
3. Singer with top 5 Billboard hits including All Through the Night, She Bop and True Colors
4. Jamaican Olympic sprinter holding the record for thee different sprinting events
Stumbled on coming up with the last name in #2, got this for six points plus the bonus point.
Scores – Thirteen teams, scores 13 to 63, with the ‘Pods in first.
Final question category – The Great Outdoors
What is the only U.S. state located east of the Mississippi River that is the site of more than one of the 60 U.S. National Parks?
Dave suggested the correct state though he could only name one of the parks. We wound up going with a state I visited last fall, though I could only name one national park in that state. We wagered only 12 and missed this…
Final scores: ‘Pods, 51; E=MC Hammered, 73 (they were the only team getting it correct)
Game Two
1. Museums – Established in 1846, what group of museums and research centers administered by the U.S. government’s purpose was for the “increasing and diffusion of knowledge?” 10
2. School Colors – What are two of the official colors used for Auburn University? “I’ll bet auburn isn’t one of them,” I said when we were discussing the answer. Dave managed to get one, but not both, miss for 9.
3. Alcohol – What gin brand introduced in 1987 with a sapphire version included a picture of Queen Victoria on the label?
4. Marijuana – What state has a six million-acre area nicknamed the “emerald triangle” and has the largest marijuana growing area in the U.S.? For an The correct state was on our list of possibilities, but didn’t wind up on the slip. We went with a more “hippie” state instead, and we also missed the bonus for 2. Clearly we need to boost our knowledge about chronic, ganja, weed, Mary Jane and countless other nicknames for Cannabis sitiva!
5. 20th Century Literature – Who was the title character in the T.H. White novel The Once and Future King? 8
6. ’60s Music – What is the sum of the numbers, one of which is in the title of a song written in 1968 written by Harry Nilsson with the lyrics “It’s just no good since you went away,” added to the numbers in the name of the band who performed the song and hit the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts? This question is very convoluted…I really, really hope I got this wording correct!
7. Kids’ TV – Audio clue of an animated TV series that aired from 2001 to 2007. Mike was the only one with an idea on this one, and he really, really worked on it, but had trouble coming up with one of the names in the series’ title. But he eventually got it (nice work)! 4
8. 2010s Movies – What biographical film released in 2014 features actor Steve Carell as a wrestling enthusiast? 7
9. Presidents – Rodrigo Duterte is the president of which Southeast Asian nation? 6
10. Games – “Noughts and crosses” is the British version of what game which originated in ancient Egypt?
Visual Mystery –
Missed #2.
Scores – Twelve teams, scores 29 to 58, with Salty Dogs and Blues tied for first. We were in sixth with 53 points.
Final question category – 2010s Music
Since 2010, only 3 solo artists, all of whom are singer-songwriters, have earned at least three of the so-called “Big Four” Grammy Awards, which are Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. Name 2 of 3 three artists.
We wagered zero on this, but managed to get one of these artists correct.
Final scores: E=MC Hammered, 60; This is Sparta, 65.
Our next trivial “pursuit” will be our My Trivia Live semifinal game Saturday at Bobby McShane’s in Belleville. If all goes well, we will get a spot in the MTL finals, which will be Saturday, Aug. 25. Any of you blog followers who also have to do semifinal battle Saturday? Good luck! Hopefully we’ll have the pleasure of being able to beat you at finals (or get a bit roughed up trying, LOL)! I am still breathing a sigh of relief about not having to battle a “certain” team in my semifinal game (you know who you are…I don’t know HOW you guys managed to qualify this time, but it wouldn’t be a tournament without ya, would it)? All’s fair in trivia and war! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy Olga Korbut!
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