My numero uno trivia “pardner” Mike and I signed up for one of the “double” virtual trivia games that were offered Wednesday night. But as it were, not enough teams signed up, so we were reassigned to a double “Stump” game instead – which gave us a crash course in the new format that is supposed to go live on September 7, 2021. There are some differences in how points are wagered, how the regular rounds are set up, and some other minor things. We’ve played a similar points wagering format in the My Trivia Live league in the past, so adjusting to the new “hotness” was not that difficult for us to figure out.

We wound up finishing in eighth overall with 93 points.

Here were the questions:

Round One (wager 1, 3, 5 or 7)

1) SCIENCE – What is the term for an inactive substance used in comparison to real drugs in medical tests or research?

2) Geography – The International Criminal Court is located in The Hague, which is the administrative capital of what country?

3) Television – What Chris Carter-created TV series, which originally aired from 1993-2002, returned for a tenth season in 2016 and an eleventh season in 2018?

4) Music – What 2004 single by Britney Spears samples strings from the 1981 Hindi song “Tere Mere Beech Mein”?

Got all of these first round questions correct.

Mystery Round 1 (visual)

Round Two (wager 1, 3, 5 or 7)

1) Sports – Name two of the three WNBA players with the best-selling jerseys during the 2020 season. Nope…

2) Technology – Acquired by Lenovo in 2005, the ThinkPad brand of computers introduced in 1992 was originally designed and developed by what company? Nope on this one, too.

3) Art – What Dutch artist painted Jacob de Gheyn III, which has been stolen a record four times since 1966? We almost overthought this and went with that Dutch painter who painted the pregnant woman in the green dress. Thankfully we went with one of the two “popular” Dutch painters – and we knew it wasn’t the guy who gave his ear to a sex worker (literally)!

4) Mythology – According to Greek mythology, the 100 eyes of the giant Argus are forever preserved in the feathers of what bird?

Mystery 2 – High Grossing Films

Name the film from 1997 that was among the 15 highest-grossing films of the year, based on a selection of the cast.

(Note: Based on domestic box office figures)

M1 – Billy Zane, Gloria Stuart, and Kathy Bates

M2 – Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, and Minnie Driver

M3 – Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett

M4 – John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, and Gina Gershon

Got all of these.

Round Three (wager 2, 4, 6 or 8)

1) Food and Drink – The French appetizer escargot is a dish of what type of animal? Gross…

3) Movies – What 1997 Disney animated film has a direct-to-video sequel subtitled Zero to Hero? Thank the gods Mike knew this (see what I did there)?

3) Geography – Montauk Point Light les on the eastern end of what island in New York?

4) Business – Goldwing is a motorcycle model from what company? Miss.

Mystery 3 – Name the capital city and U.S. state that shares the same first and last initials as the people described in each of the clues.

Give the city and state, NOT the person’s name or initials!

Example: If I said, “Artist whose greatest hits album, Legend, is the best-selling reggae album of all time,” the answer would be “Boston, Massachusetts,” because Bob Marley = B.M. = Boston, Massachusetts

M1 – SNL cast member who played a member of the Spartan Cheerleaders alongside Will Ferrell

M2 – French artist whose notable works include Woman in a Hat and Blue Nude

M3 – Actress whose TV roles have included Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy and Eve Polastri on Killing Eve

M4 – Country artist who has released the albums Boomtown, Honkytonk University, and American Ride

Missed #1 and #4.

Round Four – (wager 2, 4, 6 or 8)

1) SCIENCE – A monotreme is which type of animal—bird, fish, insect, or mammal?

2) Sports – Name one of the two teams that have faced each other in three different Super Bowl games. Yes, we actually got this! IKR?

3) TV – What actor and comedian served as co-host of the sketch comedy series The Eric Andre Show, before leaving early in the fifth season? Miss.

History Final (wager 2-10 points, lose half your points if you miss)

What two-word title was used by the two men who served as heads of state of England, Scotland, and Ireland between 1653 and 1659?

Missed this, but wagered low.

Food and Drink Final

In French-speaking parts of Canada, what breakfast cereal is called Croque Cannelle?

Got this, but…we wagered low.

Tiebreaker –

To the nearest million dollars, how much did the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy gross at the domestic box office?

Well THAT was interesting! I’m sure not all players will become instant fans of this format, but everything’s gotta change sometime, right? As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Henri Matisse!