Rainy, windy weather kept us from wanting to go out on a recent Friday night, so we thought we’d throw our hats into one of the most competitive virtual trivia scenes helmed by a Boston-area host using the moniker “Epic.” We wound up finishing around in the middle of the pack, which was about as well as we expected to do in this mix. The final question about holidays proved to be easy for most of the teams, which was a nice treat leading into a holiday weekend.

We aced a visual round about EGOT winners, but completely flubbed another visual round about Jeopardy! hosts whom are not Alex Trebek. Yes, we know that Jeopardy! is completely fair game as a trivia category, so we’ll hang our heads in shame!

Here were our questions:

Round One

1) TV Plots – What TV series, which originally aired from 1969-1974, tells “the story of a lovely lady” and “a man” who “form a family,” according to its theme song? While discussing our answer and this series, we decided that “Sam the Butcher” was a mob nickname. No apologies for giving a hint for the answer, because really – who DOESN’T know this answer?

2) Slogans – From 1992-1999 and again from 2003-2007, which of the “Big Four” sports leagues (NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB) used the slogan, “I love this game?” Got it, but for low points.

3) Viruses – Herpes zoster is a disease caused by a reactivation of the varicella zoster virus in a person’s body. Give the more common name of either herpes zoster or varicella. Doesn’t varicella sound like a pasta variety? Just me?

4) Due to a period of instability in Rome, Italy, seven consecutive Roman Catholic popes resided in what other European country during the 14th century? Miss. Clearly our memories of that time are fuzzy…

Mystery One

Got all of these (it’s one of my “pet” trivia categories). Categories like this are like fine China, you rarely need it or use it, but when it gets taken out of the cupboard and dusted off, it’s impressive!

Round Two

5) CLASSIC ROCK – What band, one of the most influential rock acts of the 1960s formed in Los Angeles in 1965 got its name as its lead singer was inspired by a 1954 autobiographical work by Aldous Huxley?

6) Same Name – What multi-headed monster from Greek mythology shares its names with a terrorist organization that was first introduced in an issue of Marvel Comics’ Strange Tales in 1965?

7) U.S. States – After Rhode Island and Delaware, which U.S. state is smallest by total area?

Nerd Point: Name the next smallest U.S. state after your answer (so the 4th smallest by total area)

8) Alcohol – Dom Pérignon, first sold in 1936 and produced by Moët & Chandon, is a brand of what kind of alcohol? Does anyone know the Queen song in which Moët & Chandon is mentioned by name? Commence silly jokes involving mispronounced variations on the correct answer…

Mystery Two

Total goose egg for us on this round. Missed every single one. Though #2 looked a bit like an older version of our friend’s ex wife!

Missing all eight points on the second mystery round? Ouch! This put us in (I think) ninth place going in the final out of 15 or 16 teams playing (I didn’t really count).

We wagered it all…

Final – Holidays

According to The Guardian, Christmas is the holiday for which the most greeting cards are sent. What two holidays are next in terms of number of cards sent?

It’s nice when final questions are easy. Except when it’s easy for you, it’s also easy for the teams playing against ya! Still a fun time…As always, Go Pods, and stay classy Savannah Guthrie! Even if you aren’t married to Woody or Arlo!