It’s a rare enough thing indeed when our team finishes in first place in a trivia game! What’s even more rare is when we finish in first after having been in dead last going into the final! Yes, that’s what happened in a Stump! virtual trivia game a couple of nights ago!

It’s a night we’ll remember not only for that little bit of icing on the cake, but in MAC Football news, the alma mater of my husband and I – Central Michigan University – beat Western Michigan University in sportsball that night too! Though we could not actually tune into that particular game, we followed the game’s action using an app on the ESPN site that kind of looked like a high-tech game of Pong. Anyone old enough to remember playing that game? No? Maybe you’ve at least absorbed the pop culture reference of Pong just by virtue of having been a little kid when it came out – and having older relatives talk about how much of a blast they had playing it. However you know about Pong, it doesn’t matter! It’s an old-ass video game involving a ball and paddles – though the paddles don’t look like paddles!

My husband had a blast following the game using this app! He was even providing commentary – “Look, there must’ve been an interception!”

Our beloved Chippewas won the game 42-30. Which is a big deal since CMU and WMU have a rivalry almost as fierce as that of University of Michigan and Michigan State University – and U of M and The Ohio State University. Though it’s not as fierce of a rivalry as that of Rangers and Celtic in Scottish football!

But enough about sportsball games already! How about a recap of the only types of games that REALLY matter – trivia games! Here’s the skinny on how we did (spoiler – pretty awfully up until the final)!

Round One

1) Mythology – Name either of the two older brothers of Zeus in Greek mythology. Poor Mike hung his head in shame. He’s supposed to know this stuff, but a big nope on this one…

NERD POINT: Name both.

2) Overtime – How many minutes are in an overtime period for a regular-season NHL game? And another nope…

3) Languages – Which of the seven Central American countries has English as its official language? And this would be the only one we’d get right in this round.

4) Video Games – In what video game released in December 1996 and set in the fictional Kingdom of Khanduras can gamers choose to play as a warrior, rogue, or sorcerer? Nope…

Mystery One

Mystery Round: This Day in History
Answer the following questions about things that happened on this day in history (11/3).

M1) On this day in 2014, what building, the tallest in the U.S., officially opened?

M2) On this day in 1962, what girl group reached #1 for the only time in their career with the song “He’s a Rebel”?

M3) On this day in 1964, residents of Washington, D.C. cast their ballots for president for the first time, thanks to the passage of which numbered amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

M4) On this day in 1957, a dog named Laika was launched into space aboard a spacecraft with what name?

The only ones we got right in this mystery round were numbers 1 and 4 – and 4 was a guess – we just added the number “2” to our guess and it turned out to be right! IKR?

Round Two

1) 80s Bands – Formed in the early 1980s, what musical duo consisted of singer Annie Lennox and guitarist Dave Stewart?

2) Mexican Food – What food that originated in Mexico gets its name from the Spanish for “to add chili pepper to?” Nope.

3) Science – What is the two-word term used to describe when energized particles from fusion in the Sun escape through the corona? Nope again, though Mike’s guess was almost correct.

4) TV Reboots – Audio clue about a show involving blue colored mythical creatures and group sex (just kidding about the last part). Got it.

Mystery 2

Other than films that are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Idris Elba has credited roles in five live-action films that have earned at least 100 million dollars at the domestic box office.

Name any four of those films, which were released in 2007, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2019.

(Note: For the purposes of this question, The Jungle Book is considered to be an animated film).

Nope, We got NONE of these correct. We were in sixth (last place) with 24 stinking points going into the final.

Final Category: Great Books

Final:
According to TheGreatestBooks.org, there are two authors that have at least three books listed in the top 20 of the Greatest Books Written by American Authors list.

Name either of those U.S.-born authors.

Note: TheGreatestBooks.org is a website that has compiled and analyzed 130 “best” book lists into a single list.)

I came up with one of the correct authors almost right away, and in true ‘Pods fashion, Mike nearly talked me out of the guess. But we wound up putting in my guess.

Then OMG…the host Abbey (from Columbus, OH) read the scores…WE GOT FIRST PLACE! No prizes, but that’s OK!

Then we “tuned into” the CMU/WMU football game and got to see our team win! So, that was a pretty good night!

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Poseidon!