Threats of storms kept us home Saturday afternoon and evening – some areas in Southeast MI were under a tornado watch – so what better place to be than in the basement – playing a tank warfare-based board game created by Steve Jackson (Ogre, for inquiring minds) – followed by a virtual trivia game? We weren’t sure if we’d be able to sign up for the 7 p.m. virtual game, but as it turns out, it didn’t take that much time for Mike’s massive Ogre (an estimated 11 stories tall) to take out my army of smaller tanks and infantry. So…trivia then? We got one of the last four or so remaining tickets available for a show hosted by Jill from Cleveland, whom has become one of our favorite virtual hosts (her perkiness is infectious)!

We’ve often theorized that stormy weather is usually a good omen for our trivia team! Is it because it means our cephalopod mascot Cthulhu is closer to us? We don’t know! All we know is that we’ve kicked some butt in trivia games and tournaments that we’ve driven through snow and rain storms to get to (yeah yeah, that could just be coincidental, but what’s the fun in that)?

All of that said – and I know I’m burying the lede – but WE GOT FIRST PLACE! Exciting moments in our house are few these days! Just when I thought nothing could beat the excitement of having my very first Subway sub since the long, long ago which I did yesterday – we go ahead and get first place in a trivia game, too. I’m not sure we can handle that much excitement in one day! 🙂

I know Subway might not seem THAT exciting when it comes to food – but when you haven’t had a certain food you used to like for 18 months – it really does make you appreciate it more! I even sprung for the avocado spread! Apparently I like a lot of green things on my subs.

But enough about subs and weather, right? How about some trivia questions?

1) Pet Food – What pet food brand is named for a cat’s alleged ability to avoid death and has featured an advertising mascot named Morris? I tried to distract Mike from putting in the correct answer by singing another cat food company’s jingle “Meow meow meow meow…” It was not successful.

2)Travel – Which cardinal direction would a person generally have to travel to go from the Peach State to the Magnolia State? Helped that I knew which states have those nicknames

3) Disney – Which Disney princess has a father named King Stefan? We’re fairly decent on names of Disney princesses, but apparently not their dads – miss (our only miss of the game).

4) Weather – Within two, to the nearest degree, how many degrees Celsius is equal to 100 degrees Fahrenheit? Mike with the right guess here.

5) Media – What TV host and political commentator won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2021 for her book Blowout? We were torn between two possible answers, picked the right one.

6) Sports Records – What sport, which has a name meaning “merry festival” in Basque, has been called the “fastest moving ball sport” by Guinness World Records, as the ball can be propelled at nearly 200 miles per hour? I have NO idea how Mike knew the name of this “Ocho” sport, but yup – he knew this name (just couldn’t spell it correctly). And he’s never even watched “Mad Men!”

7) Fast Food – In late-2015, what fast food restaurant introduced a side menu item consisting of its signature curly fries topped with cheddar cheese sauce, ranch sauce, and pepper bacon? Just my opinion, but as yummy as all of these individual things sound, I like my fries crispy! Don’t add things to them to make them soggy!

8) Stocks – What corporation that no longer exists traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ENE?

NERD POINT: This corporation was headquartered in which U.S. state?

Got both of these parts correct.

9) Movie Songs – The song “Over the Rainbow” was originally written for a film in which it is sung by what character? Thankfully we didn’t overthink and have to sing “If I only Had a Brain…”

10) Birthstones – What traditional birthstone for the month of June is commonly associated with mollusks?

Mystery – Anagrams

Decipher the anagram to reveal the full common name of a former first lady of the United States.

M1. “Toxin Pan”

M2. “Forty Debt”

M3. “Dynamic Troll Nod”

M4. “Rhubarb Saab”

Number 3 gave us a little bit of a challenge, but we got it and got the rest. But I’m a little disappointed they didn’t ask about Mamie Eisenhower or Dolley Madison!

We were in second with 63 points going into the final, one team was ahead of us with 64.

Final Category – Same Name
Final: The firearm known as “The Gun That Won the West,” a movie starring Helen Mirren, and a pair of TV siblings all share what name?

And I was so worried that we’d get an Emmy or sportsball final question to ruin our game, LOL…we managed to move up from second to first. Yay?

Movie trivia game tonight. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Sleeping Beauty!