Answers are in the comments.

Two ‘Pods – plus a loaner from the Sporcle Events league team Sparty On – joined forces in a My Trivia Live game at Ypsilanti’s McShane’s Pub in a vain battle to know things on a recent Thursday evening! And in a lot of ways, it was quite the adventure of the minds!

Was Loretta Lynn born in this state – or THAT state? Did this future president – or THAT future president – sign the Declaration of Independence? Did that music artist or THAT music artist record that one song about whatever the hell it was they asked about (shuffles through notes) oh yeah, a break-up!

And it doesn’t end here! Does this poison – or THAT poison – smell like bitter almonds?

As for that flub? Guys, don’t second guess the player who loves devouring true crime shows – and wrote a paper about the Jonestown suicides in college – when it comes to questions about poisons!

Despite all of these face slapping flubs, we still managed to win first place! You’ll have to read on to see how we managed to do that. For now, we’ll chalk that up to a lunar event going on, which in the past, has given us some great trivia games! Like when we played during a blood moon in September, 2015 and had two perfect Sporcle Live games at Arbor Brewing (the downtown brewpub which is now closed), and a March, 2023 game at Sticks which occurred during an Aurora Borealis event. It wasn’t a perfect game, but it was our highest score in quite a long time!

Does this mean that we only have good trivia games during lunar events or in some cases, weather events such as snowstorms and thunderstorms?

Can I use my “word of the day” to avoid having to answer this?

Here were our very, very abbreviated questions:

Round One

Superstitions – What three-word phrase is commonly spoken to performers, who believe that wishes of good luck are actually bad luck?

Colleges – What college team is called the “Fighting Irish?”

Famous Weapons – What was the name of King Arthur’s sword?

Got all of these.

Round Two

Lakes – What lake in the Adirondacks is said to be the home of a lake monster named “Champ?”

Birds – Which aquatic bird likes to give a pebble or polished rock to a female bird that it likes? Aww, they’re just like people! Or are we like them?

Declaration of Independence – Name one of the two future U.S. presidents to have signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Sure, we COULD have named the guy who…I dunno – wrote the damn thing, but we did not. First – but not last – face slap of the night!

Round Three

Bowling – How many feet are there from the foul line to the pins in a regulation bowling alley? Off by ten feet, miss.

Sports Stars – Name the only horse to be on ESPN’s list of the top 50 sports stars in North America in the 20th century. One of those answers you remember from the original Trivial Pursuit game…

Brands – The Fair Life milk brand is owned and distributed by what soft drink company? Good guess here from Kim, yay!

Halftime – Industrialists

Name the industry for which each of the following business tycoons made their fortunes:

1 Cornelius Vanderbilt

2 Sarah Rector

3 Andrew Carnegie

4 JP Morgan

Missed #2.

We were in third at the half out of eight teams going into the second half with 29 points, behind Ypsi Starlings and Spacecats, tied with 32, and Dead Guys, who had 33. We’re not sure at what point the Dead Guys were joined by their “helper!”

Round Four

Home States – What U.S. state is a home state for Diane Sawyer, Loretta Lynn and Chris Stapleton? Made wrong guess between two here…

Song Lyrics – Where was the “six string” mentioned in the song “Summer of 69” by Bryan Adams purchased? That song isn’t about the year 1969 (jussayn).

Fairy Tales – Before they even asked this question, I said after we heard the category, “Mike will be all over whatever they ask here.” He didn’t disappoint!

What instrument does Jack in “Jack and the Beanstalk” steal from the giant?

Round Five

U.K. Money – What author, born in 1775, has their visage on the reverse of a ten pound British bank note? I think most teams missed this one if not all…We used our “word of the day” to avoid having to asnwer and still get points.

Reality TV – What Fox series is a survival series involving children’s actions being controlled by their families? This was a different kind of face slap moment, just because this show is advertised constantly on one of the streaming services we use regularly! Miss.

Flowers – The golden wattle is the national flower of what country? Wow, we actualy made a correct guess for this one!

Round Six

Recent Music – What singer released “Call me when you break up” in 2025? Miss.

Science! What poison is said to smell like bitter almonds? I was talked about of my correct guess here (tsk tsk)!

The Calendar – What is the first month in a calendar year to have 30 days?

We were tied for third with Pursuit of O Snappiness with 53 points going into the final, behind Dead Guys (plus helper), who had 61 points, and Ypsi Starlings, who had 64 points.

Final Question:

What specific McDonald’s menu item sold enough units in 1974 at Philadelphia stores to allow a Ronald McDonald House to be built?

We got the impression this wasn’t an easy question for the teams in the room (and not just our team). So we took our sweet time handing in our slip, and as I usually do, put my husband in total charge of deciding how much to wager on this (we could wager up to all of our points on this).

Since My Trivia Live allows teams to wager their points AFTER hearing the final question, it can make people watching a crucial skill!

Turns out NO teams got this correct, so it really all came down to wagering. We wagered just two points and finished in first! Spacecats wagered strategically and took second, K2 did the same and finished third.

Our next trivia outing will be a Sporcle Events game Sunday since I have the day off for once! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Selena Gomez!