We wound up moving up in the standings in a recent virtual Stump! game for wagering zero on the final question! No, we didn’t move up to first or anything fancy like that, but…yeah!

It was the night before my birthday and though I wasn’t successful in getting anyone else to join my husband and I for this game, we soldiered on and had a good time all by ourselves! Seriously, what would we do without each other? OK, OK, I’ll stop with this sappy mushy stuff already!

Round One

1) Trees – Sequoia is a genus of tall trees commonly known by what colorful name?

2) Transportation – Transportation New York City is home to one of the three largest rapid transit systems in the U.S. by ridership, as of 2019. Name one of the other two cities, both of which had more than 200 million riders on their systems that year.

NERD POINT: Name both.

We almost got both, but flip flopped between one of the correct ones, so only got the main points.

3) TV Settings – A TV series that debuted in 1968 starring Jack Lord and its reboot that debuted in 2010 starring Alex O’Loughlin are both set in which U.S. state? Go ahead – start humming that theme song (you know you want to)!

4) Grammy Awards – Who was the winner of the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance each of the first eight years it was awarded from 1968-1975, in addition to three more wins in the 1980s? Thank you FB clue, though we probably would’ve made right guess without it.

Mystery One – Visual

Round Two

1) Productions – Criss Angel Believe, Viva Elvis, and R.U.N. are among Las Vegas-based productions from what entertainment company? Miss, we guessed MGM.

2) Bonds – What type of chemical bond results from the sharing of an electron pair between two atoms? Missed this, too. We zigged instead of zagged (picked wrong choice of two). This means that silly story I wrote in 10th grade science class about “Ike the Ion” going into a bar and forming a (blank) bond was for nothing! What would my teacher Mr. Abbott say (he was really intimidating – I swear he was like a blonde John Cleese!

3) Restaurants – Which European capital city is home to a McDonald’s restaurant with white arches, which helps it blend in with other shops on the street? Gimme a Royale With Cheese, s’il vous plait!

4) Authors – Jerusalem’s Lot, Castle Rock, and Derry are fictional towns located in Maine that have appeared in works by what author?

Mystery Two

The Sound of Silence The answer to each clue is a word found in the lyrics to “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel.

M1) Business founded as Pete’s Super Submarines in 1965

M2) The square of 100

M3) Object of Brick Tamland’s affection in a 2004 comedy film

M4) A rounded rock formerly used as a road surface

Final College Sports

What Division 1 athletic conference is named for a region of the Southern U.S. characterized by a warm climate and steady population growth, although the conference’s future expansion will add schools as far north as Huntington, West Virginia, and Harrisonburg, Virginia?

Nope, we missed this, moved up to sixth from whatever lower place we were before the final. Oh well, as always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Horrid Henry!