Sometimes it’s nice – even if just for a nanosecond – and in your own strange mind – to live in a universe where things make sense to YOU. Where the movie Gods and Monsters is actually about gods and monsters, Monster’s Ball is about a formal dance with just monsters, the movie Nightcrawler is about the X-Men character, the movie Get Hard is a porno film rather than a comedy film, Channing Tatum’s real name is actually Tatum Channing (and he’s the love child of Carol Channing and Tatum O’Neal) and final trivia questions about “disasters” prove to be disastrous to a good number of the teams playing.

That last thing I mentioned? That actually happened!

We had a foursome (yes you read that right) of ‘Pods at Sticks for its Thursday night game hosted by Tim. Our “fourth man” was “pilot Joel,” joining in on the fun for the first time in months! Rounding out the “quartet” were myself, Mike and Evan. We fumbled a six-point answer at the end of game one about which late-night show featured Bill Clinton playing his sax. We had a PERFECT round two leading into the final. We knew it would be too good to be true for us to have a perfect regular round AND get the final question correct (that is just not the ‘Pods way). The last time such a thing even close to this happened was in September,  2015, during a trivia game at the Arbor Brewing Co. brewpub in downtown Ann Arbor (we missed only one point heading into the final). Some family members of mine were in attendance, and we had a final question about races of people in The Wizard of Oz which Mike hit out of the park.

This was the first time we’ve been shut out of prize money in four times playing at Sticks this past season. The top scoring team Thursday was Spooky Murderinos, with just 91 points (we finished with 74) – so clearly a good number of the Sticks teams struggled with the questions! Misery loves company? Speaking of Misery, that book/movie title actually makes a whole LOT of sense! That is what the story was about (on a couple of levels, actually)!

On to the “story” of our game…(hope you like tragic disasters, LOL)!

Game One

1. Plays – You’re Welcome, America was a short-running 2009 play starring Will Ferrell playing what person? 5

2. Decorations – What small disc-shaped item typically used as a decoration on clothing, shoes and handbags shares its name with a Venetian coin? 4

3. Destinations – According to its web site, what 1989 film is the inspiration for a field in Dyersville, IA which attracts 115,000 visitors annually? If you answer this question correctly, Shoeless Joe will show up…Funny, I just watched a Drunk History episode recently about the Black Sox scandal of 1918. 10 points.

John Cusack in Eight Men Out (1988).

4. Cars – Pop-up, spoiler, inbuilt, folding and panoramic are all different styles of what feature available on automobiles? We were split between the correct answer and the wrong one and put the wrong one down. First sign of “disaster,” akin to seeing elephants heading for the hills before that 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (animals always know what’s going on). Miss for 3.

5. Anatomy – On average, what is the second longest bone in the human body? Cue up the dick jokes, especially when host Tim said “average length 14 inches” when reading the answer (Sticks crowds can be a bit rambunctious, gotta love ’em – and you gotta be there)! Ha, and you probably thought this might be a non-racy trivia recap (perish that thought)!  This was a bit of a gamble for us, since we knew it was either that “bone” – or the other “bone.” Thankfully we picked the right “bone,” but for only 2 (I was really wishing re-rack would have been an option).

6. ’60s Songs – What four words follow “I’m a man of no means by no means” and are also the song title of a Roger Miller hit song? Us “old fogeys” were all over this for max points.

7. Basketball – Of the 18 Olympic medals won by the U.S men’s basketball team, only three have been silver or bronze. Name any one of the three years in which they won silver or bronze medals. Evan slam-dunked this one for us for 7.

8. Comic Strips – What comic strip that ended its run in 1995 featured one character saying “Let’s go exploring” to the other? 8. Here’s a clip of my favorite comic by this cartoonist:

If I were a parent, I’d probably be a bit like the dad here!

9. Fragrance – In 1989, what company released their fragrance Red Door fragrance named for their chain of day spa salons? It’s a rarity indeed when my department store job helps with answering any trivia questions, but this one did (I briefly worked at a perfume counter in the early 2000s and somehow managed to remember this answer). Now how about some more trivia questions about Levi’s, Dockers, and dickies? Go ahead…ask players what a “dickie” is (it’s not filthy at all, though it might be in poor fashion taste)! What’s the seven-letter industry term for casual T-shirts featuring things such as comic characters, rock bands, video game characters, etc.? If you have a British customer asking where the “jumpers” are, what are they actually looking for? And what type of undergarment is colloquially referred to as a “wife beater?” Only got this one for 1, (this will bit us in the ass in the next question).

10. TV Moments – On what late-night talk show did Bill Clinton appear and play his saxophone in 1992? For a nerd bonus point, what song did he play? Miss and miss, though (d’oh), I mentioned the correct talk show after handing in our slip. We went with The Tonight Show, which I tried arguing had “too old” of an audience for Bill Clinton to have appeared on since he was trying to woo young voters (among other people, ahem)! Miss for 6.

Mystery – Quickfire

Give the last names of four characters who have been credited in the most episodes of Grey’s Anatomy (OH F—- A DOCTOR COP LAWYER QUESTION…our Kryptonite – better run for the hills or hide under some rocks)! Well, I did say this game would be “disastrous!”

We managed to get one of these correct (thanks Evan)! Had Evan’s mom played with us, she would have known them all!

Scores: Fourteen teams, scores 27 to 60, with Stay Classy, Fighting Cephalopods in first (aka team Dem Iggs), were were in fourth with 50. I sat in with their team during the last few questions of game one at the Corner Brewery Wednesday and said “Stay Classy” to the team when I left. They’re cool group of players – they actually gave me a small cut of previous prize winnings for helping them with just those last few questions in the game (which I would have to say is pretty “classy”)! Though my work schedule usually keeps me from “commiting” to trivia on  Wednesdays these days, I still like to check in on the trivia nights at Corner from time to time (like a moth to a flame….trivia addiction is a Hell of a thing, folks)! Hats off to you, Dem Iggs!

Final Category – High Grossing

Of the eight highest-grossing performers at the U.S. box office, all of whom have surpassed $4 billion, which one is the youngest?

Lots of discussion of different possibilities, and the correct person was suggested…but not written down on the slip. Committee thinking prevailed!

Final Standings: Stay Classy, Fighting Cephalopods (aka Dem Iggs), 40; My Fire, 63.

Game Two

1. Cell Phones – What version of the iPhone was first available in November, 2017 only a couple of months after iPhone 8? Ha, another answer I knew because of working in a mall! I remember seeing crowds of people lined up to buy this thing, and the photo turned out blurry and I was going to delete it. But Mike saw and said he wanted to have some fun with it…behold…

When I have to take lunch breaks at work, people watching in the “food court” is one of my favorite things to do (besides eat).

2. Parodies – Audio clip of Weird Al’s parody using the melody from MacArthur Park, had to ID the movie it parodied, 10.

3. Birds  – What colorful wading bird is the national bird of the Bahamas? FB clue, 9.

4. Salad – What salad is made of tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, olives, anchovies (or tuna) and olive oil and originates from a city in SE France? 8

5. World Capitals – Of the five sovereign Nordic nations, which country has a capital with the shortest name? 7

6. Critics – Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert spent much of their careers working for newspapers based in what city? I asked, “Anyone remember what newspapers are?” Even said his mom was “saddened” when she was no longer able to get the Ann Arbor news delivered seven days a week. Speaking of memories, anyone remember Siskel and Ebert’s show Sneak Previews? I loved that show when I was a kid…(and especially loved hearing them bicker). Got this for 6.

The Animaniacs’ take on Siskel and Ebert.

7. Actresses – What Academy Award winning actress plays the title character in Captain Marvel? And for a “nerd” bonus point, what film did she receive her Oscar? 4 plus the bonus.

8. Nicknames – The University of Princeton and the University of the Pacific use what athletic nickname, which is also used by three schools in the Southeastern Conference? And the decidedly “non sporty” Joel knew this one (love it when things like this happen in trivia games, like me knowing what NFL team has the longest waiting list for season tickets last Tuesday), 1.

9. Middle Names – Which of the following people are NOT primarily known by their given middle names? Brad Pitt, Rihanna, Ashley Olsen or Bruce Willis? 3

10. Family Guy – What political post is held by Adam West on Family Guy? 2

Visual Mystery:

Got them all.

Scores: Sixteen teams, scores 45 to 64, with us in first.

Final Category – Disasters

The largest oil spill in recorded history took place in what decade?
Estimates vary widely as to how much was spilled, but most sources agree that it was at least 240 million gallons, and possibly much more.

We briefly considered the right decade for this one, but went a bit too recent.

Did not record which teams won game two…

This concludes our trivial pursuits for the week! We’ll be checking out the new Monday night show at Sticks next week. What did I say earlier about “like a moth to a flame?” If the ‘Pods don’t check out new trivia scenes in their ‘hood, then they’re not abiding by their playbook! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy…The Fighting Cephalopods! Uh, don’t hold your breath waiting for us to be classy! 🙂

If you’re still here…remember, I have a post scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight and two for 7 p.m. Saturday so that you readers have new things (well sort of new) to read while I’m taking a short trip out of town. Have a nice weekend, everyone!