We may not have known about songs with the word “happy” in their titles that have filthy double meanings (we’re still snickering over that because mentally, we’re 13), but thankfully we remembered the name of at least one WNBA player and actually GOT A WNBA QUESTION CORRECT! No, I wouldn’t believe me, either! Well, if you happen to have your name mentioned a lot in the news because of…drugs – well, that helps! Sometimes the only way to remember people is about the controversy or notoriety they’re best known for! Otherwise why would anyone know the names of Mark David Chapman, Lee Harvey Oswald or Zsa Zsa Gabor? OK, OK – having a name like “Zsa Zsa” is memorable in and of itself – but some of us might remember her for being that woman who slapped the cop! Nope? Just me?

Otherwise, there was not much else exciting about this recent virtual trivia game, other than moving up from 12th to fifth for simply guessing the right names of presidents who share their names with aircraft carriers. My husband is an Army brat and has actually seen aircraft carriers in person. THEY ARE FREAKING HUGE! His experiences of living on base provides and endless well of great stories! Hey, if you’re going to marry someone, they should be really, really interesting!

Here’s what he said about the experience of seeing an aircraft carrier:

Can’t describe it very well. It was overwhelming. It’s like taking the Empire State Building, laying it on its side, and floating it in water. I couldn’t believe a thing like that could float, let alone comprehend that humans could build something like that.

Looking back, all I can think of now is how standing on the deck and looking over the edge while at sea would force someone to confront a fear of the ocean AND a fear of heights at the same time.

husband talking about seeing an aircraft carrier

Here were our game questions:

Round One –

1 Terms – What is the “spooky” two-word term for a village or city that has been abandoned, often due to a natural disaster or change in economic climate? Michigan has quite a few of these towns, some of them a result of the lumber boom coming to an end. Some of them have become Meccas for tourists, like Victoria in the U.P.; Glen Haven near Sleeping Bear Dunes; Fayette – which is home to a state park where visitors can look at replicas of some of the old buildings, DeWard, which once boasted a huge lumbering operation and town – and now is a remote Northern MI spot where you can view the Upper Manistee River and Rawsonville, which is near where I live and is now under water. I really want to visit some of these old places! Though I’m not fond of wearing scuba gear!

2 Comic Books – First introduced in 1965, Gwen Stacy was a long-term love interest of what Marvel Comics character?

3 Pets  – What is the nine-letter term for a dry container that holds soil, plants, and, often, small land animals?

4 Movie Settings – The 1969 film The Italian Job, and its 2003 remake, are each set in a different Italian city. Name one of those two cities.

NERD POINT: Name both.

We figured putting town two major Italian cities was a good idea. Nope. Neither one was correct!

Mystery Round One – Visual

Round Two –

5 Basketball – What woman is the only NCAA basketball player to score at least 2,000 points and block at least 500 shots, doing so from 2009-2013 for Baylor University? Yay, we got this right!

6 State Borders – Among the U.S. states that have capital cities named for a U.S. president, which two border each other?

7 TV Stars – What actress and comedian is the star of My Life on the D-List, a reality series that aired on Bravo from 2005-2010 and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award following each of its seasons?

8 Founders What technology company was founded in 1976 by Ronald Wayne and two other people who share a first name? Miss.

Mystery Round Two –

“Happy” Songs Name the song with the word “happy” in the title, based on the artist and the year of release.

1.  Sheryl Crow, 1996

2.  Thomas Rhett, 2015

3.  R.E.M., 1991

4.  Avril Lavigne, 2004

Missed #2 and #4.

We were in 12th going into the final with 43 points.

Final U.S. Navy

The U.S. Navy currently has 11 aircraft carriers, including eight named after U.S. presidents, including Harry Truman and George H. W. Bush.

Name two of the other six presidents, none of whom is John F. Kennedy, who is the namesake of a carrier expected to enter service in 2024.

A bit of discussion, but we got this, moved up to fifth.

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Kathy Griffin! And just what kind of “happy ending” are you REALLY talking about, Avril Lavigne? 🙂