We wrapped up both the Sporcle Events pub trivia “off season” and the calendar year last weekend with our trivia adventures at the Ypsi Alehouse, which will have normal game days falling on holidays until January.

That being said, we finished in third for the night, got both final questions correct, won one second place prize and finished with 121 points. Highlights of the game were a sports mystery round that ALL of us teamed up on – and two back-to-back questions that I suspect may have been written with my husband’s trivia knowledge wheelhouse in mind! It’s always nice to see him quickly answer questions in trivia games that not everyone on our team will get – and especially ones that stump other teams in the bar!

We’ve been married so long that I’m “fairly” good at knowing most of all but the deepest nerdiest stuff that he knows (it’s a word I made up called “spousemosis”).

Let’s move on to the questions:

Round One

1 Companies – What chain of department stores was co-founded by Alvah Curtis Roebuck in 1886? Our host, a substitute named Alice, said all teams did NOT get this correct (yay we’re old)?

2 Rasslers – Name one of the two professional rasslers who made up the tag team The Rockers from 1985-1992.

NERD POINT - Name both.

When the photos of the correct guys were shown on screen, I said “Oh they’re kind of cute.” But nope, we missed this one…

3 Food – What French term meaning “with juice” describes meat dishes served with a light gravy made from meats natural juices while cooking? Anyone else out there remember the “French Dip” sandwich that Arby’s used to have? One of my friends from high school absolutely loved it. The sandwich wasn’t my thing, but I did love using Horsey Sauce on everything (that spicy mayo stuff was GOOD)! Nowawdays I’d shy away from using the communal sauce pumps they used to have because…gross! But in high school you feel indestructible about E. coli and other invisible baddies.

4 Anthems – Kimigayo is the national anthem of what country? This eas originally supposed to be an audio clue, we’re thankful technical difficulties prevented this from being played – but only because we probably would have missed it, not because it doesn’t sound cool! I listened to it on YouTube after the fact, I definitely wouldn’t have recognized it.

Mystery Round One – Animal Rhyme Time

The answer to each clue is a two- word rhyming phrase that includes an animal

M1 A British feline in a set of rooms forming an individual residence, typically on one floor and within a larger building

M2 A long-necked African mammal that only drinks from an open-topped flask

M3 A Madagascar primate who collects human thigh bones

M4 an uncastrated male bovine who has just finished a large meal

We got all of these correct.

Round Two

5 First Lines – What word used by Robert Frost in the first line of his poem The Road Not taken means “to go in a different direction?”

6 US Geography – Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in Tennessee, is also the highest mountain in what range that is part of the Appalachian Mountains?

And here’s a photo of me at Clingman’s Dome in 2005, showing how happy I was to get a cup of coffee (even if the most convenient place to get it was Starbucks):

7 Animals – With a wingspan measuring up to five inches, the Giant Darner is the largest of what order of insect in the United States?

8 2000s Music – What 2001 single by System of a Down has a title that is also a dish found at American Chinese restaurants? We’re usually shit in this category, but thanks to Rock Band memories with Dave, I remembered the name of this song! I don’t think this was one I actually sung though!

Mystery Round Two – Michelle Williams Movies

Name four of the five films for which actress Michelle Williams (pictured above left in the 1999 film Dick) has been nominated for an Academy Award

We managed to get three of the correct movies, thankfully the host allowed my desperate answer “Marilyn” as correct even though that was not the full title 🙂

We had 49 points going into the final, we were tied with 24 Hour Brunch, a guy playing solo using the team name “Me Just Me” was ahead of the packs with 51 points.

Final Question Game One – Song Lyrics

What two luxury brands- one founded in 1837 and the other founded in 1926 – are referenced in the same verse of the 1977 single Hotel California?

A lot of speculation and grumbling about this category. “It’s going to be about We Didn’t Start the Fire,” to which I said “No, they’ve already asked about that song recently, it’s probably not going to be that.” So we decided to wager full points on it, and yay I came up with the answers fairly quickly (isn’t it nice when trivia questions are like that)?

We were in a tiebreaker for second with 24 Hour Brunch, and had to answer this question:

In seconds, how many seconds long is the Eagles song Life in the Fast Lane?

I don’t remember exactly what number we guessed, but we ended up getting it, yay!

Game Two

Round Three

9 Princesses – Which Disney princess sings the song “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” to her animal friends and is also the subject of a song sung while animals create an article of clothing?

We were torn between the princess who shacked up with the miners and the princess with a really shitty home life and awful girls living with her. But in the end, we picked the right one…

10 Mythology – Set is the god of storms in mythology associated in what modern-day country?

I smiled when I heard this because I know this category is one of my husband’s specialties! He fell in love with this category because of a college mythology class that we actually took together. And while we were discussing this answer, I actually wound up mentioning a guy who would be mentioned in the next question! Which was:

11 Art – Originally named The Poet, what sculpture by August Rodin is believed to depict Dante? Mike was all over this one too, and if you’re willing to listen, he’d be happy to tell you some of the details from Dante’s signature work The Divine Comedy. Italian guys back then were SUCH gossips – boy did they love to trash talk each other!

12 World Politics – What government position in Russia did Vladimir Putin hold during Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency?

NERD POINT – Name any year in which he held this position.

Nope and nope, we incorrectly guessed head of the KGB and were too early in our guess on the nerd point.

Mystery Round Three - MLB Locations

Name the MLB team that fits the geographic clue

M1 The MLB team that plays its home games farthest west but is NOT in California

M2 The MLB team that plays its home games farthest east but is NOT based in a state or province that borders an ocean

M3 The MLB team that plays its home games farthest south but is NOT based in Florida

M4 The MLB team that plays its home games closest to the geographic center of the US near Belle Fourche, South Dakota

Some other trivia person I know described a question like this as a “gettable” question – one that a team can get right by working together. And that’s exactly what happened here, though we did wind up missing the fourth one 😦

Round Four

13 Locations – What specific location is home to the Sea of Cleverness, Marsh of Decay and Lake of Fear? FB clue.

14 Tunnels – At just over seven miles long, the Mont Blanc Tunnel connects Italy with what other country? Totally our dumb here, we should’ve paid more attention to the language…miss.

15 Games – What small robot is often paired with PlayStation character Ratchet? Yay Mike!

16 Running Mates – What representative from Wisconsin was Mitt Romney’s running mate in the 2012 election? Got this.

Missed #2 and #4. We were in third with 42 points going into the final, 24 Hour Brunch were leaders of the pack with 48 points.

Final Question Two – Holiday Movies

Four of the highest-ranked films on the Rotten Tomatoes list of “The 100 Best Christmas Movies of All Time” were released in the 1940s. Name those four films, which were released in 1940, 1944, 1946 and 1947.

Fairly easy one, 24 Hour Brunch finished on top, we missed the prize zone this game. Maybe next year?

We’ll most likely be playing here again in 2024, though not necessarily every week. We’ll be out playing tonight. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Richard Nixon!