Does anyone remember when you were kids or young adults and your favorite shows went into reruns when they were between seasons – or the show stopped airing? Well, we’re about to “air” a rerun of our own! Our trivia team has been on a bit of a trivia hiatus for going on a month now (don’t worry people, it’s self imposed, we’re not mad at anyone and we have a date set very soon as to when we’ll play again), so we thought we’d re-post a recap of a league championship from around this time seven years ago (April 16, 2016). For us, the game was at the banquet center called 59West, and we got roughed up a bit by the questions! Speaking of questions, if you want a place where you can see the questions AND answers – click here: https://www.sporcle.com/blog/2023/04/look-back-lc-2016/

If the above picture is too old or obscure of a pop culture reference for you (sigh)…that’s Rerun, whom is the younger brother of Linus and Lucy in the “Peanuts” comics. Also, when I was a kid, my mom had a bike seat kind of like this one – and I was the kid having to sit in it – without a helmet – when she raced around my neighborhood! What a ride (whew)!

All childhood nostalgia aside – if you’re into schadenfreude and want to take joy in our failures at this trivia tournament (LOL), please read on!

If my memory serves, our team qualified for this tournament by doing the “barhop,” which means playing in enough different spots a week to be able to bypass the qualifying semifinal/venue tournament games. I think we still went to the venue tournament game anyway even though we had nothing on the line, because that’s how I rolled back then. It was kind of fun being part of a high-stakes game that we didn’t “have” to win! I think the game was at Arbor Brewing Co.’s brewpub, when they still had a pub in Ann Arbor (which is now closed). You can read a recap of that game here: https://hebontheweb.blog/2016/11/28/trivia-recap-april-11-2016-venue-tournament-abc-brewpub/

The “entertainment complex” of 59 West bore witness to the ultimate test in cerebral fitness Sunday at the Sporcle Live Pub Champions League Championship. More than 30 teams from the “west” Michigan division battled it out over questions about musicals, elements, monsters, and more. Team “One is the Loneliest Number” (with helpers from More Beer Less Pants took the first place trophy/prize. We wound up in about 14th place heading into the final, which we knew would be dreadful because they handed out sheets with the final question on them. Ugh…we put forth a noble effort at answering it, but it was not to be. Shout out to our teammate Geoff for being MVP of Sunday’s game! We’ll explain more about his awesomeness if you read on. Also special thanks to Kevin S. from Team Ennui for helping us out when we had a player back out just days before. Cthulhu thanks you! And let’s get to those questions! Aww, does this mean I have to actually be able to read my notes?

Game One

1. Travel – If one were to fly due east from Tokyo, what would be the first U.S. state flown over? Discussed right state, but did not pick it, miss for 2.

2. Commercials – Name both the character and tangible product advertised in the viral video featuring Jim Croce’s song “Time in a Bottle.” Ten points.

3. Famous Feats – Conrad, Bean, Irwin, Mitchell, Young, Duke and Cernan are the last names of the first people ever to do what? Also, give the last names of two other people to have accomplished the same feat. Five points.

4. Companies – What company co-founded in 1935 takes its name from its founder and is known primarily for its public opinion polls? Nine points.

5. Costumes – Based on a book, what is the title of a 1974 film and a 2013 film, both of which won the Academy Award for best costume design? Blank stares, miss for 1.

6 .’80s Duets – Who sang in duets in the ’80s with Elton John, George Michael, and the Eurythmics? Heather thought of a duet between George Michael and Elton John, but could not come up with the right person for this answer. A rare ’80s music miss for 3.

7. Super Bowl MVPs – In the ’90s, who became the first Super Bowl MVP to be born after the first Super Bowl was played? Kevin, Brad, and Geoff put forth a great effort on this one, but miss for 4.

8. Billionaires – Born in 1990, the world’s youngest self-made billionaire is the founder of what mobile app? Discussed right answer, missed this for 6.

9. Operas – Mabel, Edith, Kate and Isabel are all daughters in a 19th Century comic opera partially set off the coast of Cornwall. What military rank is held by their father? Easy and much needed eight points here. This is one of only a handful of musicals Heather could take Mike out to watch without him complaining!

10. TV Characters – Zbornak, Petrillo, and Nylund are the last name of the three main characters on what TV series? Miss for SEVEN.

Mystery: Twisted Titles

1. Waxed Korean car learns martial arts

2. The most frequently occurring Leonardo in a set of data

3. Introduction to a family who puts eating utensils into everything they encounter

4. Sirius and Vega have a great place to store your valuables.

Good teamwork by Geoff and Heather here, but missed #4. Geoff was on fire in both mystery rounds! Also, he had to take a TRAIN back from Chicago the morning of the tournament, so thanks for being so dedicated to the team, bro! We appreciate it!

The top ten teams had scores ranging from 45 to 57, with the Krumbums in the top spot. Tanooki Suits were right behind them with 54, One is the Loneliest Number/Your Resume Sucks tied for third behind them (52 or 53 points), and Little Lebowski Urban Achievers in fifth with 49. We were a bit behind the herd with 38 points.

Game Two

1. Actresses – Name one of the two theatrically released films in which actress Keira Knightley plays a character in a title role? Kevin came up with one right away with backup from Heather, nicely done, Kevin! Ten points.

2. Board Games – In the classic board game “Clue,” how many suspect/weapons/room combinations are possible? Everyone teamed up on this one, but nope, miss for 6.

3. American Idol – Name two American Idol alums who had charting singles with different songs each titled “Home?” Came up with one, but not both, miss for 2.

4. Cities Without Sports – According to the 2010 Census, Austin Texas is the most populous city without any “big four” sports teams. Name one of the next two most populous cities without a major sports team. Kevin and Heather came up with both correct cities, but NEITHER were written down. Obviously it was not in Cthulhu’s plan for this to be “our game.” Miss for 3.

5. Cartoons – First airing in 1969 on CBS, “What a Night for Knight” was the title of the first episode of what animated series? Got this for 9. A certain team that shall remain nameless actually (face-palm) forgot to hand in their slip for this one! Oh the humanity! smile emoticon

6. Canada – Name one of the two Canadian provincial capital cities that were named for members of the British royal family who were not ruling monarchs? Again, had right answer written down, just didn’t turn it in. The “stars” couldn’t be more wrong for the ‘Pods in this tournament! frown emoticon

7. Losing Presidents – Who was the only sitting U.S. president to lose a presidential election to a candidate from the Whig party? Heather nails this for 7. Still doesn’t make up for the 3 points “duets” miss. It just doesn’t!

8. Elements – There are five elements on the Periodic Table with two-letter chemical symbols containing a vowel that does not appear in the common English name. Name all five of these. We were a “SCIENCE!” man down on this one with Dave being absent, but we made a noble effort anyway. Miss for 1.

9. Condiments – What Japanese food company well known for a type of condiment has a name that translates to “10,000 tortoise shells” and symbolizes longevity? And apparently saltiness..got this for 5, nice Geoff!

10. Magazine Covers – In April, 2009, Oprah Winfrey shared an “O” magazine cover for the first time when she appeared with what woman? Four points.

Mystery: Same Last Name – Give the first names of the pairs of people who have the same last name.

1. Sierra Club photographer and rock singer who had a hit album with “Cuts Like a Knife.”

2. Singer called the “Cleopatra of Jazz” who lived in France and Aussie actor known for his work on “The Mentalist.”

3. Actress whose TV roles include “Santa Barbara” and basketball coach at Villenova

4. Current longest-serving Supreme Court justice and U.S. senator who served from 1962 until his death in 2009. Good teamwork all around on this round for 8 points, but Geoff was “the” man in this round! He had the first two letters written down for the woman in #2, and apparently that was all that Heather needed to come up with the rest! It’s so sweet when the answers come about like that. That’s f—ing teamwork, as Tenacious D would say!

We were in 14th going into the final with 81 points. Did not write down the rest of the standings.

Final Category: Word Scramble

The answer to each statement below is a single letter. If you take all of the single letter answers and rearrange them, they will form the team name (not location) of a franchise in one of the four major sports leagues (i.e. Red Sox). It is possible that letters may be repeated. You must have all of the letters in the correct spot and the team name correct.

??? If you put the Ivy League schools in alphabetical order, the second one starts with what letter?

??? What is the first letter of the fictional Midwestern title city in a 1990s TV series featuring best friends Marshall and Simon that also had a spin-off subtitled “The Other Dimension?”

??? In 1961 and 1962, the Soviet Union conducted a group of five different nuclear tests known as the WHAT project?

??? The team name of Seattle’s Major League soccer team starts with what letter?

??? The 32nd president of the United States’ last name starts with what letter?

??? Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson has been in the news as of late. What letter does his native country begin with?

??? Very hot bluish stars are given what letter in stellar classification?

Nope.

Top five:

5. Sistine Chapel, 111; 4 ??? (someone was talking and our writer did not hear this); 3. Nerd Herd/Little Lebowski Urban Achievers; 2. Kenosha, 126; and One is the Loneliest Number, 132.

The ‘Pods will be taking this week off from Sporcle trivia (IKR?), but may visit a couple of My Trivia Live spots. As always, stay classy, Michigan, and Go Pods!