Has anyone else ever played this super fun trivia party game? It’s called…

List at least three things you know about a TV series that you never watched! I need to work on that title 🙂

Here’s what I’d say about this series that I never watched, yet was still asked about in a final question in a recent trivia game (see if you can guess the show):

Uh, that dad from ” Malcolm in the Middle” is a chemistry teacher who sells drugs or something to cover his medical bills or something like that? Set in some desert state? And didn’t someone get dissolved in acid in a bathtub? Were they dead when this happened? Something about blue crystals?

It’s too bad that me knowing that the dad from “Malcolm in the Middle” was in it would not have been enough – even had I known the actor’s name (which I would have). My mind works in mysterious ways when it comes to trivia – like remembering the name “Linwood Boomer” in association with “Malcolm in the Middle.” He was a showrunner on MITM, and also played the husband of Mary Ingalls on “Little House on the Prairie.”

Maybe one day I will be rewarded for remembering Linwood Boomer’s name for a trivia game, but I’m not holding my breath! Seriously – how could anyone NOT remember a name like that?

Other than all of that, it was your garden variety “do really well in the regular rounds trivia game, then miss both final questions after wagering on them.” On a positive note, it was the first decent “sitting outside” weather night we’d had in Southeast MI for at least a week or so, since being slammed with lots of heat and humidity – and thunderstorms knocking out power. My husband and I were joined by one other couple, Kim and Brent S. That was the closest to a “double date” we’d been on in quite a long time!

We played at a Milan, MI brewpub called Original Gravity, which stages its games outdoors on nice nights. On this nice night, the seating outside started to fill up very quickly, so much so that players were driven indoors!

Like many other bars offering outdoor seating, Original Gravity (OG for short) made drastic changes to its outdoor seating during the COVID-19 pandemic when indoor seating was not an option. They expanded their patio area into a portion of the parking lot, and even put in electric heating into the ceiling of the awning over the patio door area. It was quite nice bundling up in the winter and sitting under these heaters! After all of the hot ‘n sticky days we’ve had recently, I could really go for bundling up and enjoying some drinks by a gas or electric heater outdoors!

We finished seventh overall in the game with 72 points, no prizes.

Here were our questions:

Game One/Round One

1 TV Hosts – From 1987-2002, Robert Stack served as the host of what television show that documented cold cases and paranormal phenomena? That show used to scare the crap out of me when I was a teenager! I don’t know if it was Robert Stack’s delivery, the subject matter or both…

2 Band Names – Singer Debbie Harry has noted that her bleached hair inspired the name for what band?

NERD POINT: What 1979 single was the band’s first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100

Missed the bonus, we incorrectly guessed Rapture.

3 Rivers – After the Mississippi River, what is the longest river that flows into the Gulf of Mexico?

4 Mayors – Since 2019, Kate Gallego has been mayor of what Western US state capital city, the second woman elected to the office? Good guess.

Mystery Round One

Since 2017, only four different quarterbacks have started and won the Super Bowl. Name those four quarterbacks.

Thanks to Brent for helping us name two, so four points!

Round Two

5 Celebrities – Singers Carrie Underwood, Leona Lewis, Kellie Pickler and Anthony Kiedis are among those who have been named “Sexiest Vegetarian” by what organization?

6 Surgery – What six letters are commonly used to describe certain surgical procedures that involve the removal of body parts or organs?

7 Actresses- What title character is played by Actresses Mia Wasikowska in two films based on the works of Lewis Carroll?

8 Cars – What Kia crossover SUV model has a name that could mean “the spiritual essence of a being?”

Mystery Round Two

DNC State Songs

Match the US state to the song used to represent that state during the roll call at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024.

Options – Hawaii, Kansas, New Jersey, Missouri

Songs – Born in the USA, 24K Magic, Carry on My Wayward Son, Good Luck, Babe.

We were in fifth going into the final with 48 points, with just four points dividing us and the four teams ahead of us. Chippy and Friends were in first with 52 points and Mind the Gap and Icy Hot were both tied for second with 50.

Final Category – TV Casts

Other than Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, name one of the other four cast members of Breaking Bad who appear in more than 50 episodes.

Three teams got this correct. Clearly this is one of those series that you’re either a virtual expert in, or you don’t know shit about it. I mean, unless you lived under a rock in the late 1990s, you’re probably going to be able to name at least a couple of the four main cast members of “Friends,” even if you only watched the show on purpose once or twice (like me). It was THAT popular of show. These high-paid actors were all over the news, featured in countless celebrity gossip rags and all of them went on to have film careers (some more successful than others in this capacity). Some of them even had haircuts that all of the women wanted. My stylist looked at me funny when I said I wanted “The Ross” (JK)!

As for why I can name all of the main cast members of one series that I’d barely watched (Friends), and not do so well on naming any but one main cast member on another series I’d never watched? I honestly don’t know! Maybe because “Friends” was a network show and “BB” was cable? I have no idea! We would not have won any prize money even had we known it, so…

How about game two questions now?

Game Two/Round Three

9 Buildings – What building on Bennelong Point opened in 1973wirh a series of concrete ” shells” as a defining part of its architecture?

10 Disney – In the Disney animated film Moana, what type of animal is Heihei? Thanks Kim and Brent for helping us with this!

11 1960s Albums – In the 1960s, what singer released albums titled Soul Sister, Lady Soul and Soul 69?

12 Independence- Which US state had the most delegates sign the Declaration of Independence, including Robert Morris and Benjamin Franklin?

Mystery Round Three

Answer based on the crossword-style clue given. The third letter of each answer is the first letter of the following answer.

M1 First name of French painter Degas (5 letters)

M2 Hindu spiritual advisor (4 letters)

M3 Eye part that contains a layer of photoreceptors (6 letters)

M4 1990 monster film starring Kevin Bacon

Round Four

13 MVPs – What Russian-born Detroit Red Wings player won the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP in 1994, the first European trained player to do so? Sub host Sarah was chided a bit for mispronouncing his name! I remember being similarly chided about this when I worked at a newspaper in metro Detroit 20 years ago: “When you work at a newspaper in ‘the D,’ you MUST pronounce and spell Red Wings names correctly!”

14 Anatomy – In humans, the pectoral girdle is made up of the clavicle and what other bone? Our first of only two misses this round.

15 TV Duos – What two people – one a liberal and one a conservative – were the co-hosts and namesake of a Fox News show that aired from 1996-2001? My husband Mike remembered this show (thank the gods)!

16 Games – What letter in Scrabble is the most numerous?

NERD POINT: What is the only letter with a five point value?

Missed the bonus.

Mystery Round Four

Got all of these. We were in first with 52 points going into the final.

Final Category – Scientists

What six-letter first name was shared by the namesake of the law of elasticity, which states that the size of a deformation is directly proportional to the reforming force, and the gas law concerning the expansion of a gas at constant temperature? Both of these scientists lived in the 17th century and died in London.

Nope. I think only one team got this correct.

Oh well, we may be back here in a couple of weeks. My trivia availability has been sporadic as of late, and my work schedule is really picking up! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Sergei Federov!