Well, well, well! If your team’s going to visit a trivia spot with 22 other teams in contention and NOT win any prize money? Then a $1.25 bar tab (excluding tip) is pretty A-OK! And how about having $20 in prize money left over after that? Sweeeeet! Now that I’ve gotten the “silver lining” stuff out the way, let’s get on with Wednesday night’s game! Three of us visited Haymaker Ann Arbor Wednesday for a Sporcle Live with Alex S joint. When we arrived, all of the tables in the “main” room were, as they would say in Mexico “occupado.” Maybe it’s because the U of M homecoming is this weekend, hmmm… Alex said that the trivia room doesn’t normally fill up THAT quickly. We managed to find a table with just enough room in the next room near the dartboard and bar area, right next to the hall leading to the restrooms. Let’s just say…if anyone was going to take a potty break, I would be the first to know about it! 😉 Thankfully everyone playing darts had decent aim and we didn’t wind up with any wayward darts on the table – or in…worse places. As for whether everyone had decent aim in the restrooms? I honestly don’t know! 🙂 Maybe the cleaning staff can comment further…

It was a pretty rough set of questions overall! An all-visual final question in game two (see previous post) stumped all but one team in the room (shout out to Blue Moon Investigations/aka Apollo 15 for being the only team to get it correct). The top score of the night at our bar was just 110 points, so most teams had a rough go of it, apparently.

And the questions…

Game One

1. Computer Programs – What is the three-letter abbreviation used for file extensions in Microsoft Word? 10

2. Mexican Cuisine – What Mexican dish gets its name from the diminutive form of the Spanish word for strips of beef skirt? I came up with right guess right away, and our team’s Spanish language expert David was able to back me up, but we only wagered 5 on this.

3. Actors – Two actors appeared in many films together – the last of which was in 1998 when they reprised their roles from a 1968 film. I wrote down the two actors whom I thought fit this description (which would have been correct), but I was confused by the question’s wording…I thought they were reprising their roles from the 1968 film so I second guessed myself 😦 Now Neil Simon’s ghost is tsk-tsking me for my error (sorry dude)! Miss for 1.

4. Singers – What singer from the band Bush had a Billboard Hot 100 charting solo single in 2008 called Love Remains the Same? Dave all over this for 9.

5. TV Jobs- Which regular character on Cheers was an accountant, though he also held jobs a painter and as an interior decorator? For an extra “nerd” bonus point, what is this actor’s name? Got both, and I remembered this actor’s name because of an old Animaniacs episode (Matthew will appreciate this). What episode? “Would you like to take a survey?” Yes, THAT one! Got this for 8 plus the bonus.

6. Olympians – Other than Simone Biles, name one of the three American women who won an individual medal in artistic gymnastics at the 2016 Olympics? Too confident here, miss for 7. Uh, another beer, please? 🙂

7. Vaccines – Vaxchora is an oral vaccine against what bacterial infection that affects the small intestine? Wow, maybe James Knox Polk would have lived a bit longer if he’d received that vaccine! Miss for 4.

8. Family Names – What is the last name of the man named William who founded a company in 1806 that became known for toothpaste? His family is also the namesake of a school in Central New York. Got this for 8.

9. Book To Movie – Name the 2014 film starring Jeff Bridges as the title character that was adapted from a 1993 novel by Lois Lowery? No idea…but our “joke” answer Fabulous Baker Boys 2: Electric Boogaloo was read on the mic…miss for 2.

10. State Capitals – Name the two U.S. states that were “Original 13” colonies and also have 10-letter capital city names. 3

Mystery – Current Events

1. What cable network announced that as of the end of 2018 they would move away from airing live boxing matches after having done so for 45 years?

2. What CEO was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for security fraud after an aborted attempt to take the company private earlier this summer?

3. What actor parodied an angry Brett Kavanaugh on the 44th season premiere of SNL?

4. What U.S. state was the first to require that corporate boards of publicly traded companies must include women?

Missed #1.

Out of 23 teams, we were “around” the middle with 51 points. Top score 65 points.

Final Question Category – ’80s Hits

Which of the following artists had the most Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hits during the decade of the 1980s (as a main artist)?

The Kinks

Janet Jackson

Rick Astley

R.E.M.

The Pointer Sisters

INXS

We debated between two answers, one of which would have been correct, but we went with the “other” answer…Too bad, getting it right would have (I think) put us in the top 2! That’s OK, I’m not going to start “burnin'” over that one or anything! Whomever was in sixth moved up to first and won $75, unsure who won second.

Game Two

1. Memory – Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain is one mnemonic device for remembering what?  I have a mnemonic for remembering the Lesser Antilles Caribbean nations (south to north) – “Thank God Vinnie Barbarino Loves Dana and Kate.” In this case, “Dana” is Dana Plato, and “Kate” is Kate Jackson. Let’s not get into whether or not John Travolta is actually into women or not (it’s really none of our business, is it)? 10

2. British TV – What British TV series based on Arthurian legends starred Colin Morgan as the title character and aired from 2008 to 2012? First big hit of the night for Mike for 9

3. College Football – Name one of the two NCAA Div. 1 national football champions following the 2003 season with one topping the AP Poll and the other topping the coaches poll? Nerd point – name both. Miss for 4.

4. Box Office Bombs – What film earned Will Smith and Jon Voight Academy Award nominations despite the fact the film was unsuccessful at the box office, failing to recoup its $107 budget? Zero for two on movie questions in this trivia night (what a total knockout…). Miss for 1.

5. Video Games – What major video game console released in the U.S. in 1989 was known as Megadrive outside of North America? And the least knowledgeable person on our team (well, besides Brad) wound up coming up with the correct guess. For only 2.

6. Countries – After the U.S., what European country is closest to Canada, due to possessions of a handful of small islands off the coast of Newfoundland? Mike had the right idea, but we went with a different country, miss for 3.

7. Reporters – Audio clue of TV personality/journalist, got for 8.

8. Disbanding – What band was best known for a 2004 Top 40 hit Ocean Avenue and for the use of violin in their music until disbanding in 2017? Thank the trivia gods this was the Facebook clue! Got this for 7.

9. TV Moms – Sharon, Sheila, Liane and Carol are the mothers of the main characters on what TV series? Miss for 5.

10. Statues – What animal is depicted in a series of statues by Arturo Di Modica – the first of which was unveiled in New York in 1989 with others later in Shanghai and Amsterdam? 6

Mystery – Geography – Identify which state in each trio of states has land extending the farthest west

1. Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee

2. Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa

3. Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska

4. West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina

Missed #3.

We were in ninth out of 20-some odd teams with 48 points. Dumb Skunks were in first with 56.

Final question –

Blue Moon Investigations aka Apollo 15 only team to get correct. Dumb Skunks was in second with 34 points. Ah, memories! We used to play against BMI/A15 regularly at ABC Brewpub back in 2015-2016. We were in a tiebreaker with him and I jokingly said we should use “Rochambeau” to pick the winner. He said, “I don’t want the prize that badly.” Lord – what would I DO if I didn’t have “straight men” such as him in my life (it’s a comedy thing). Honestly, I had YEARS of practice with my dad and brother! 🙂

Until next time, which will be a completely “unofficial” game tonight at Original Gravity Brewing Company (keeping the score off the books). I do not want to be drawn into being too competitive with trivia this season (though it is like I’m fighting my true nature)! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Mrs. Danvers!