Answers are in the comments. Sorry so late, but I’m…moving a bit slowly today! Forgive me, I need a bit of down time, folks!

A “three amigos” threesome met up Thursday at Original Gravity Brewing Co. for…what else? Trivia! As luck would have it, I managed to score three seats together at the bar, which was good because my back was (and still is) a bit “tender” from a tad bit too much heavy lifting at work! The cushy barstools are more supportive/comfy than some of the harder chairs at the tables. Sigh…back pain sucks – thankfully Thursday’s game DIDN’T suck! Speaking of heavy lifting, my able-minded trivia teammates Mike and Dave did more than their share of coming through on some tough, tough questions! And, providing some entertainment! Though Mike’s spot-on recitation of Jabberwocky in its entirety wasn’t QUITE as entertaining as Dave’s “victory lap” a few years ago when he got a “sportsball” final question right about Dominican ball players – it just goes to show –  it’s never a dull moment with the ‘Pods!

The final questions evaded us in both games, but we still managed to win $30 in prizes (second place game one, first place game two) thanks to some “strategic” wagering – and a LOT of luck! Missing a Judy Blume final question was definitely a rarity for me, since I virtually devoured most of her books in the late 1970s/early 1980s – and even still have a couple of them!

I still have the book with this cover. I read that it’s been updated since then, and the references to feminine hygiene products don’t mention sanitary napkins having belts, as the copy of my book reported. Why do I still have this book? Good question! It’s too dog-eared to try to sell, and well…sentimental reasons?

Judy Blume was quite the controversial writer – tackling “banworthy” subjects such as female masturbation (Deenie), a teen-age boy’s nervousness about his…(ahem) “raised flag” while in class (Then Again, Maybe I Won’t), racial intolerance/bigotry (Iggie’s House) and bullying (Blubber). And to lighten the mood, there were always the antics of “Fudge,” aka Farley Drexel Hatcher, whom was the quintessential “annoying little brother.” When he didn’t want to eat what was prepared for dinner in one of the books, his dad decreed, “Eat it or wear it.” [SPOILER ALERT] Fudge chose to…wear his dinner. He also chose to eat his older brother Peter’s pet turtle, Dribble. Sigh…of all of the things I DO know about this beloved young adult author and her works, I sure as hell DIDN’T know enough titles of the “Fudge” books to have gotten final question #2 correct…A couple of those titles were published long after I stopped reading her books. Meh. Sometimes your annoying little brother swallows your pet turtle – and sometimes you just don’t get all of the trivia questions right!

And now for something completely different – the game questions!

GAME ONE

1. Sports – The FINA International  Swimming  Federation  oversees  five different  swimming  activities and what sixth activity played with a ball? 10

2. Abbreviations  – In 1969, Nebraska  changed  its postal abbreviation  so  that  it would  be  different  from  the  abbreviation  used  by  what Canadian  province? 9

3. Words – What  11 letter word coined  by Lewis  Carroll  describes a hybrid word with a blend of two word sounds such as “mimsy,” which combines  flimsy  and  miserable  as used in his poem Jabberwocky? And this  is yet another  reason  Mike is so valuable  to  our team – his ability  to pull arcane, obscure  words  from  his  brain  never  ceases  to  amaze  me! And then, as if on cue, he started reciting Jabberwocky  in its entirety (you  had  to  be  there). 9

4. Logos – The LGBT Human Rights  Campaign  uses what yellow symbol  on a blue background  as  its  logo ?  Dave  for 4.

5. Double  Threat  – What actress both appeared  as Judy  on the 1987 series 21 Jump Street  and sang its theme song? No clue, we put “Johnny Depp in drag” as our guess… miss for 1.

6. Awards – What 2007 film was the only Coen Brothers  film to have won them the Academy Award  for best director? FB clue, 7.

7. Food – What salad with a Greek name meaning immortality  is typically  made  with  marshmallows ,  mandarin  oranges , pineapple  and  coconut ? 6

8. Names – What  is  the  first  and  last  name of the drummer known as Ringo Starr? Some teams actually  put Ringo  Starr as their  answer… 5.

9. Companies  – What Columbus, Ohio cleaning  company  founded  in 1947 has  used  the  slogan  “Living  brings it in – we take it out?” Ohio  man Dave pulled  right  guess  from his ass for 2.

10. World  Countries  – Name  either of the two countries  completely  surrounded  by  Italy  name both for nerd bonus point, got both for 3.

MYSTERY  ROUND  – SCIENCE!

1. In what century were the first  two  periodic  tables first published a year  apart?

2. The Periodic  Table  can  be organized  into  three  categories, including  metals, non  metals  and what third  category?

3. Four elements  were  added  to  the  Periodic  Table  in  2016. Give the geographic  region  for one of those two elements, one of which is a world capital, the other  a US state

4. Other  than oxygen, name the only other  element  with the letter x in its name

Missed 2 and 3. Host announced  before  revealing  the  answers  that  she  was  ONLY accepting specific  answers for this  round. Our answer for #2 was not worded  exactly  like  the answer  given  by Sporcle, but was  still correct  (Dave pulled  up  a corroborating  Web  page  and  showed  it  to  the  host) but we still got it wrong and we did not argue about  it. No crying  over  spilled  trivia!

Scores: Fourteen teams, scores 14 to 62, with us in first. Mind the Gap was right behind us with 60 points, This Is Sparta was tied with team Orion with 56 points.

We wagered just one point on the final category of Music Awards.

Final standings: ‘Pods, 61; Titanic Swim Team, 72.

GAME 2

1. Spelling  – Give  the correct  spelling  of  the  US  state  that  is spelled  incorrectly  on the Liberty  Bell, which was forged in the misspelled  state, not confident, but got for 4.

2. Best Pictures – Since  2009, how many  total  films can be nominated  in the category  for best  picture  each year? For  the past  couple  of years after Oscar  nominations  have  been announced,  I’ve  rolled D&D dice to roll on each major Oscar category  to see how many wind up winning randomly (last year a couple of winners  were the same as the ones my “bones” picked). To confirm  my guess, I asked Mike if there was a die with the number  of sides matching my guess #teamwork, got for 10.

3. British  TV – Audio clue of series that aired from 2006 to 2013. Good guess for 1 ( not confident  at  all).

4. Comic Strips – What comic  strip  created  in 1950 was set at Camp Swampy and features  a title  character  with  an  alliterative  name? 10

5. Painters   – Give  the first names of the French Impressionist    painters  named Manet  and Monet. Name both for nerd bonus point. Got 1 not both for 8.

6. Video Games – What 1987 video  game title character  appeared  in  games ” In the land of lounge  lizards,” among others  I didn’t  write down? Mike all over  this one, I joked  that this game must’ve  been about his dad, because  of an old photo from the 1970s where dad is wearing  a “specific” type of outfit…7

7. Caribbean  – Which is not a sovereign  Caribbean  nation? St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin or St. Vincent  and  the Grenadines? 6

8. All Stars – Whom is second in total NBA all star game appearances  at 18 behind Kareem  Abdul  Jabbar, who was first with 19? Miss for 2.

9. Plants – Bryophyta is the scientific  name for what  flowerless plant that typically  grows in clumps in dark locations? 5

10. Dancers –  Maddie Ziegler, known for her role on Dance Moms, appeared  alongside  what singer  in several music videos? 3

Scores – Eleven teams – scores 16 to 59, with us in first. Mind the Gap was behind us with 50 points, This is Sparta was in fourth with 41.

Final Category – Children’s Literature – we wagered 12 points on this.

There are five books in Judy Blume’s Fudge series, the first published in 1972. Name three of those books.

Nope…

Final standings: Titanic Swim Team, 32; ‘Pods, 47.

Until next time – which will be a “special” trivia outing Monday. Our next “official” trivia outing will be Wednesday, Feb. 13 at Arbor Brewing Company (Ypsilanti) (Corner Brewery). We are going to “try” doing games here at least once per month when we can hustle enough players. This will be the seventh anniversary of the very first time we played here in 2012! You never forget your first time, just like those crazy teenagers in Judy Blume’s racy book Forever. This book, like some of her others, was banned.  As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, you mean kids who picked on Linda in Blubber!