My husband and I just wanted to play a trivia game for fun Wednesday evening, so we signed up for a virtual game hosted by Sporcle Live. With no actual prizes being on the line – other than the random chance of winning a gift card should you happen to finish in first – well, why not? Though we miss going out for trivia games, there is something to be said for being able to lounge on the couch in comfy clothes, watch one of the “Kingsman” movies on TV in between questions (rather than whatever the bar feels like putting on their TV screens) and drinking whatever you want!

Here are the questions as presented to us:

1) Birds – What “P” word is used for domesticated birds that are raised on a farm for their eggs or meat?
2) Emmy Awards – What TV series starring Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara became the first show to air on Pop to earn an Emmy Award nomination? Wow, an Emmy question we get right for big points?
3) Novels – Billy Pilgrim is the time-traveling main character in what 1969 anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut? Miss. Had I thought a little harder and named the only Kurt Vonnegut novel I know of, we would’ve gotten this right – but Mike jumped in with a guess, and I was feeling pretty…casual!

Does anyone else think of the movie Back to School when they think of Kurt Vonnegut? I always think of Rodney Dangerfield’s character hiring Kurt Vonnegut to write his paper – about Kurt Vonnegut – then failing the assignment. His professor said, “Whomever you hired to write your paper about Kurt Vonnegut obviously doesn’t know the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut.”

4) At the Casino – The boxman, the dealers, and the stickman are the titles of casino employees who run what dice game? I had the right hunch on this one, but we went with another guess (that’s OK, I wasn’t really sure anyway). Miss.
5) Speeches – In 1931, what Indian addressed Kingsley Hall in London in a speech about the existence of God?
6) Not Hannah – Name two of the five cities in Montana that are more populous than its capital Helena. Name a third city for a bonus point. Thank the Gods I’ve watched at least two seasons of Yellowstone, otherwise we would’ve missed the bonus point!
7) Dressing – What salad dressing, named for the color it gets from the ingredients chervil and chives, is usually also made with mayonnaise, sour cream, anchovy, tarragon, lemon juice, and pepper?
8) Rituals – Because it is believed to have purifying power, what do sumo wrestlers commonly sprinkle into the ring prior to fighting? I remember having this question at a venue tournament in which I played with my friend Amy’s trivia team Betty Ford Rejects to try to help them qualify for finals. We got this question right in 2016 – and we got it right last night!
9) Movie Doctors – Sam Neill and Laura Dern played Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler in what 1993 film, which was the highest-grossing film of all time until Titanic surpassed its record?
10) Girl Groups – Melanie, Emma, Mel, Geri, and Victoria are the first names of the members of what music group?

Mystery – Rom Coms (Yikes – NOT my kind of category, but since I’m female I had to make my best effort…I didn’t actually do too badly)!

Given a pair of lead performers and the year of release, name the romantic comedy.

1. 1994: Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell

2. 1995: Hugh Grant and Julianne Moore

3. 1999: Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts

4. 2001: Hugh Grant and Renée Zellweger

Missed #2.

Final Category U.S. Government

There are three current U.S. cabinet level departments that have never had a woman serve as secretary. Name two of those three departments.

Sometimes you kind of have to think…backwards – to get a trivia question correct. And I thought, “What cabinet departments has a woman not been trusted to run yet?”

This was very similar to a question Dave and I had a couple of years ago at Original Gravity:

Cabinet Members – Who was the first president to name an African American to his cabinet? For an additional “nerd” bonus point, name one of the three cabinet level departments to have never had an African American cabinet member. Got both for 3.

Got it right, but so did enough teams ahead of us. Can’t compete with all of the perfect games that happen in these virtual games (sorry but I don’t think it’s all on the up and up, but don’t really care since we just play for fun – and to kill a bit of time). Seriously, if people are cheating to get answers right in virtual trivia – what is the point? You’re not guaranteed a prize anyway. Over ‘n out with this lame attempt at a rant (it really isn’t a rant).

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Hugh Grant!