Better never than late? Better late than never? It was “annual fall vacation” time for a couple of us on the ‘Pods team, so the recap of last Thursday’s (Oct. 11) Sporcle Live game at Original Gravity Brewing Company hosted by Lauren is a bit…tardy? That’s funny…I don’t FEEL tardy! We won a $10 gift card in game one, and…106 points for the night (though we kept the game off the books). And the questions…
Game One
1. Hit Songs – What band’s highest charting Billboard hits were a cover of Toto’s Africa and Perfect Situation? Knew this because of Dave, even though he was not there (he mentioned something about this in a previous game), 3.
2. Drafts – Which Big 4 sports league has the longest draft each year with more than 1,200 players selected in the 2018 draft? Miss for 1.
3. Companies- What appliance company, currently a division of Electrolux, was founded in 1918 as Guardian Refrigerators and was owned by General Motors from 1919 to 1979? Good guess from Mike, but for only 2.
4. State Capitals – What U.S. state capital city is home to the Western Heritage Museum, the Land Run Monument, the American Banjo Museum and Will Rogers’ Theater Event Center? Will Rogers’ name was the biggest clue here, but we also had a similar question in the MTL league a while back, got this for 10.
5. Words – What is a seven-letter word that means another word for “bedskirt” or a short curtain used to conceal the tops of curtains? Yay, I knew this because of my job for 9.
6. Video Games – Dino Hunter, Seeds of Evil and Rage Wars were the first three games released for Nintendo 64 in 1997 based on what video game series? Mike thought about the right series (nice try), but we missed for 4.
7. Bands – Name one of the bands featured on the T-shirts worn most often by Beavis or Butt-Head on their shirts in their self-titled TV series. Name both for a nerd point. Got both for 8.
8. 2000s Movies – Audio clue from legal thriller film released in 2003. Sounds like it was a stumper. Miss for 5.
9. Novels – The Adventures of (blank) and…ah, this was the Facebook clue. Popular Mark Twain character and name of song by Rush that makes Mike want to pour hot lava into his own ears  7
10. Nobel Winners – Who was the only Nobel Prize winner to have been born in modern day Macedonia though most of her life’s work was done in India? 6
Mystery – Name the last four people to have lost a presidential election in the 20th century who were nominated by either the Democratic or Republican Party and did not previously serve as U.S. president?
Got three of these correct.
Scores: Fourteen teams, scores 14 to 61, with Big Heads Big Hearts (aka Mind the Gap) in first. We were inu third with 55 playing under the name “It’s a Zombie Apocalypse, Charlie Brown.”
Final Category – Europe
Of the nine capital cities of countries that border Germany, name three of the four cities that would either be the first two or last two when ordered alphabetically.
Mike and I teamed up with success here…
Final scores: ‘Pods, 75; BHBH, 81.
Game Two
1. Comedies – What NBC comedy debuting in 2016 features Kristen Bell and Ted Danson in an afterlife setting? Mike LOVES this show, got this for 10.
2. Sports – The PDGA is the governing body for what sport? This question is REALLY abbreviated (sorry, looking at notes scrawled out from five days ago). Got this for 3 (shoulda been more confident).
3. Actresses – Elvira Hancock was a character played by what actress in the movie Scarface? 9

Actress from #3 in 2012 remake of Dark Shadows.

4. Eat This – Vichyssoise is a pureed soup made from onions, leek, chicken stock and what other ingredient? Any idea how many variations there are on this recipe? Missed this for 8 (curse my French class for teaching me that there was another ingredient in this soup)! Shakes fist, curses in French…sacre bleu? Do I even know any French curse words?  I know how to say “fuck you” in French, but unsure how to SPELL it (too lazy to Google). 
5. Don’t Eat This – What Hasbro game designed to help teach kids how to count features a basket, a dog, and fruit on some of its boxes? Miss for 4. Never heard of this game…
6. Bridges – What was the first steel wire suspension bridge in the United States- completed in 1883? 5
7. Adaptations – Name any one of the books by Nick Hornby that were adapted into films. Name two for a nerd bonus point. Knew one right away, and desperately tried to pry the other one from my brain. No success, no bonus point…7
8. Endangered Species – Borneon, Sumatran and Tapanouli are three known species of what endangered primate? 6
9. Albums – Verses, Vitology, Yield, and No Code were all albums released by what band? 2
10. Geography – What is the seven letter name for the region in Russia known for its harsh winters and prison and labor camps? 2
Mystery –

Got two of these correct.
Scores: Nine teams, scores 30 to 60, with BHBH/Mind The Gap in first. We were in fourth with 47 points.
Final Category – Academy Awards
Since 1970, six films have won the Academy Awards for both Best Actor and Best Actress. Name any two of those six films.
Picked a movie where the actress was in a supporting role NOT a starring role. Where’s an Oscar statuette so I can bludgeon myself with it?  Would have gotten second had I just bothered to think of a movie released a bit later. Oh well, I was definitely in “vacation mode” at that point! My vacation was glorious, by the way…We’ll be back in trivia battle tonight at Ypsilanti’s Tower Inn. It’s tradition, after all, for us to go out to a trivia game the day we come back from a vacation! No rest for the wicked…

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, you guards at the Gulag!