The “better half” and I signed on as a two-person team for trivia earlier this week. Turns out he really was the better half in that he knew which country the Tetris game originated AND knew the final question answer about geologic eras (must be because he loved the study of dinosaurs when he was a boy). Still all of this was only enough to put us in third at the end of the game (still not bad for a virtual game)!

1. Dogs – With a name translating to “sand skin,” what ancient breed of dog from China is known for its distinctive deep wrinkles?

2. Acting – Who is the only person to have received an Oscar nomination for an acting performance in any of the Star Wars movies?

3. U.S. Cities – Other than Honolulu, name one of the next two southernmost U.S. state capital cities.

NERD POINT: Name both.

Got one, but missed the bonus – we picked a city that was really, really close geographically to being “that” southern.

4. NFL Leaders – Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt are the two leading receivers in catches, yards, and touchdowns in the history of which NFL franchise? Miss.

5. New Music – In March 2021, what artist released the song “Montero (Call Me by Your Name),” which is titled after his birth name? We guessed Post Malone, we were not correct.

6. Characters – Marvel Comics character and X-Men member Bobby Drake is better known by what superhero name? The name Bobby Drake made me think of dragons, which almost steered us in the wrong temperature direction, thankfully Mike said “Their names sometimes make no sense at all.” That turned out to be sound comic book logic (thanks bro)!

7. Money – Which 13th-century conqueror appears on the five highest denominations of the Mongolian tögrög? He totally ravaged Oshman’s Sporting Goods…

8. Banks – The “Big Four” banks in the United States, which, as of 2020, hold 45% of all customer deposits, are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and what fourth bank?

9. Give the full name of one of the two elements on the periodic table whose atomic symbols are shown in the title of the show during the opening of Breaking Bad.

10. The video game Tetris originated in which country? Thank goodness Mike knew this one…

Mystery Round – For each of the following pairs of movies, name the one actress who appears in the films with the given actor.

M1. You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle with Tom Hanks

M2. Dead Again and Much Ado About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh

M3. The Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street with Johnny Depp

M4. Romancing the Stone and The War of the Roses with Michael Douglas

Got all of these, though we weren’t 100 percent sure that actress was in “Dead Again,” let alone had we any memory of that movie.

Final Category – Geology

The Mesozoic era is divided into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.Name one of the six periods from the Paleozoic era, which occurred immediately before the Mesozoic era.

Note: The Mississippian and Pennsylvanian are subperiods, not periods.

Mike knew this one confidently, which allowed us to hang onto third place.

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Ice Man!