There was a “party” atmosphere at Thursday’s Sporcle Live game at Original Gravity Brewing Company. What was the occasion? The one-year anniversary of Sporcle Live with Lauren being a trivia host at OG! She is the fourth trivia host to be on the mic at this bar since it started offering trivia in February or March of 2016 (I’ll never forget that first game – driving in a blizzard was NOT fun)! To mark the occasion, she brought in little bowls of candy for the players, and she offered both a “booby” prize for the best incorrect answer – and a grand prize for whomever scored the most points on her “How much do you know about Lauren” quiz she presented after both games were over. Sadly, we were not the winning team, but came SO close to nailing her final question about how many games of Sporcle Live in total has she hosted (we came within three games of the correct answer).

Here’s a couple of photos I took of the candy that Lauren gave out to players…proof that I was being WAY too OCD, LOL…

The hard candies weren’t too offensive with the Spincast cream ale! Though chocolate didn’t… work so well with the Spincast! I will have to make sure to include this in the blog  I recently posted about beer/candy pairings…

As for the regular game, we didn’t win any prizes. Only SIX total points divided the top four teams in terms of scores for the night – we were in fourth with 70 points – and Mind The Gap/Big Heads had 76 points…woe to us for missing the ENTIRE visual mystery round in game two). We wagered full points and missed both final questions (the final questions were pretty tough on this night, with only one team managing to get the final right in game two about quarterbacks). Funny thing about quarterbacks…A couple of years ago or so we were playing at Corner Brewery and we had a scrambled name mystery round about quarterbacks, and I wrote down the name of a guy I thought was a quarterback and showed it to Dave and said, “He’s a quarterback, right?”- and he gave me an…incredulous look (yes it was a quarterback, a Seattle Seahawks QB, to be exact – and he was the correct answer). Fast forward about two years to this game, and we get a “quarterbacks” final question category, so I started naming off as many quarterbacks as I can (keep in mind it’s… not that many – though Dave seemed impressed when I named Dan Marino and Joe Montana), and wouldn’t you know it…one of the ones I mentioned as a possibility for the final question answer was the SAME GUY! We didn’t know at the time what the question would actually be, it’s just kind of…interesting! Maybe every time I mention the guy’s name he will be the correct answer? Furthermore, what would happen if I said his name three times while looking into a mirror – would he show up? If he did show up, would he also grant three wishes? Maybe I’ll have to find out!

Game One
1. Movie Characters – Gwyneth Paltrow portrays Pepper Potts as a supporting character and love interest of what Marvel superhero in what 2008 film and its sequels? When we had this question, I remembered having a question about her about three years ago or so, and a teammate named Geoff blurting out, “She steam-cleans her vagina.” You really had to be there! 10

2. North Carolina – Name two of the three North Carolina cities whose points form the “research triangle.” Name all three for a bonus point. Got them both plus the bonus, but weren’t confident, 4.

3. 2018 TV – What TV series launched in October, 2018 has been dubbed “Roseanne without Roseanne?” I just read about this not two days ago (sometimes reading those magazines in the break room at work pays off in trivia…like when I got that Princess Eugenie question correct a few weeks ago). 9

4. Popcorn – What is the most popular brand of popcorn in the U.S. consumed by 64 million Americans in 2018? got for 2.

5. Tony Awards – What won the 2018 Tony award for best play as a two-part production written by J.K. Rowling among others? Dave was on the right track here, but we couldn’t come up with the whole name, miss for 1. I knew this category would be rough unless it was an older production!

6. ’90s Music – According to the lyrics of the Ace of Base song All That She Wants, what is that “she” wants? I had a college roommate who loved blaring songs by this band – and another who loved blaring German polkas – which one would YOU prefer to hear at full volume? 8

7. Medicine – A cerebral vascular accident or incident is more commonly known by what term? Dave and I both have a dear friend who had one of these when he was only 39 – he wound up making a full recovery. Got for 7.

8. NFL Games – When the 2018 NFL season ends, there will be only three teams who have never played a London game. Name one of those teams – one is a NFC North team, one is a NFC South team, and one is a AFC south team. We tried…but miss for 3.

9. Video Games – What video game character is the subject of games called Topsy Turvy, Woolly World, New Island and Touch and Go? We incorrectly guessed Crash Bandicoot, miss for 5.

10. World Leaders – Akihito, Hirohito and Yoshihito are the most recent emperors of what Asian country? Easy way to end round for 6.

Mystery – Twisted Titles – Answers will be titles of holiday songs, with one letter changed

M1. Mom of the Brady Bunch finds herself in charge of spherical sports objects

M2. Religious song about winged heavenly entities and a wash basin

M3. Hannukah song about keeping a spinning object out of danger

M4. Song about St. Nick getting insulted by my mother while I watched

Got all of these, though we had to REALLY think about #3…

Scores: Sixteen teams, scores 15 to 62 with team Mott and Significant Others in first. We were in second with 59 playing under the name “It’s time to Prepare for Guy Fawkes’ Day, Charlie Brown.” This is Sparta were in ninth with 54, and Mind the Gap was in fifth with 57.

Final Category – World History

The colonies of Pondicherry, Karaikal, and Yanam were all French colonies until the 1950s, and are now part of what nation?

Wagered 20 and missed…Maybe if I had been able to see how the names were spelled, we would have gotten it. Who knows?

Game winners: Mott, 62; Rough Riders, 78

Game Two

1. World Geography – What is the largest country by total area lying completely below the Equator? We definitely needed Mike for this one – his “maps” mojo is much, much stronger than ours (though we did discuss the right answer). Miss for 3.

2. Same Name – What name is shared by a Mexican soup made with beef stomach, broth and red chili peppers and is also the name for a Latino boy band that released 24 albums between 1977 and 2009? And let the record show that our team got a BOY BANDS QUESTION CORRECT FOR 10! Thank the trivia gods for that!

3. NHL History – The New Jersey Devils played in Kansas City between 1974 and 1976 and were located in what city between 1976 and 1982, which is currently home to a different NHL franchise? We needed Mike’s help in question 1…but we needed help from Brad in this one! This is definitely one of Brad’s specialty areas! Miss for 1.

4. ’80s Movies – What 1981 sci-fi film had the slogan, “In 10 seconds the pain begins, in 15 seconds you can’t breathe, and in 20 seconds, you explode? FB clue, 9

5. Hit Songs – Audio clip of song with an overblown and expensive video featuring a guitarist playing a solo in the middle of a field and model Stephanie Seymour in a short wedding dress. Though this video was not quite as expensive as the one by the same band where the singer jumps off of a freighter in the middle of the ocean (I’m guessing that the use of the freighter in the video was just one of the the many things contributing to its estimated $5 million price tag making it the sixth most expensive music video ever made – anytime you film something at sea, it’s expensive, just ask the people who made Waterworld). Not to mention the live concert scenes filmed at a German football stadium. Hey…if I had the ability to play the audio clip, I would – but this is far more fun! Got this for 8.

6. Wars – Name either of the companies involved in the Betamax format war in the ’70s and ’80s – name both for a “nerd” bonus point. Got one but not both for 7. One of our former ‘Pods “Roh” (whom has since moved to Rochester, MN) said his folks stubbornly stuck to Betamax rather than upgrading, which was a bummer when it came to finding decent things to rent at the video store! And this is just one of many funny stories about his childhood (we miss you, Roh…nobody could best you when you were in true storytelling mode)!

7. Comics – What DC Comics character’s modern origin story involves him being born to a king and queen and being abandoned for having blonde hair and him having the Mark of Kojack? Kidding…it was the “Mark of Kodax?” I arrived at the right answer simply by thinking of the only blonde DC character I could think of…besides Harley Quinn – and Power Girl. A couple of things I said while discussing the answer..”Well, it can’t be Black Panther – and it can’t be Superman.” It really doesn’t matter HOW you arrive at an answer as long as you get it right – even if by dumb luck! Got this for 2.

8. U.S. Presidents – Who was president when Richard Nixon died? 6

9. Board Games – “Twists and Turns” is a special 2007 edition of what classic board game featuring criminal justice, hospitality, small business ownership and sports medicine as available career choices? This category has been scaring us as of late…but we got this for 4.

10. ’50s TV – Dave and I were a little nervous that this category could be too “old” for us, but I said, “Maybe it will be about (show which will wind up being correct answer).” Desi Arnaz starred alongside his wife on what sitcom that aired from 1951 to 1957? Got this for 5.

Mystery –

Total goose egg. Mike would have been helpful on this one…

Scores: Ten teams, scores ? to 59, with MTG in first. Had we managed to get all of the mystery questions correct, we would have been tied with them – but sat in sixth with 51 (playing under the name “Look Mom, No Polyps” which was Dave’s choosing), only two points behind This Is Sparta. Maybe this was the sacrifice we had to make for getting 10 points on a boy bands question in game one! I’m not even going to pretend I understand how all of the trivia majicks work!

Final Category – Quarterbacks

Dave was feeling “ballsy,” and wanted to wager 20.

Since 1970, five quarterbacks have rushed for at least 800 yards in a season, including Michael Vick in both 2004 and 2006. Name two of the other four quarterbacks.

Nice try, Dave! Had I played by myself, maybe I would have guessed that one guy who plays for the Seahawks, LOL!

Final scores: MTG, 39; 68, ?? (did not write their name down).

Our next trivia outing will be Tuesday at Tower Inn Cafe, but our trivia plans are always subject to change! Sometimes at the drop of a hat…as always, go Pods, and stay classy, Aquaman!