We missed out on prizes in the spring/summer 2025 My Trivia LIve finals championship today! 😔

But we did post a very high score of 70 points heading into the final! With a strategic wager leaving us two points if we failed on the final question, we wound up in eighth, taking home a bit of “swag” (shot glasses and fidget spinners).

I was impressed with the teamwork and collaboration amongst my team today – myself (Heb), my husband Mike, and a couple of “loaners” from the Sporcle Events league team Sparty On – Kim S. and Cathy F.

I even challenged Cathy to use a word she came up with as an answer to a tough science question in a sentence! As a science teacher, she probably would have been able to do just that!

Ya know how some teams like to say “It’s all about the final question” as a consolation when they’re having a rough time?

Yes it is…it really is! 🤦‍♀️

Congrats though to the top finishers:

Combat Wombats, third; Quizards of Oz, second and the very creatively named Team Five for finishing first!

You either REALLY know about Disney characters – or you don’t. Apparently…we didn’t!

Oh well, ya gotta shake it off, like that one singer who’s engaged to that one football player says!

Who’s ready for the questions? They will be SUPER abbreviated. I’m leaving out lots of qualifiers and fluff – no “according tos” or any of that jazz. Just…go with it!

Round One

Continents – Which continent is the only one in which military activity is banned?

80s Movies – Which 1986 movie are members of the U.S. Navy Strike Force (et. al) forbidden to mention by name lest they be fined $5?

Elections – Which election, taking place in the 21st century, took the longest to determine the winner?

One of only two misses in this game for us.

Round Two

Nuts – What nut is never sold without its shells because of toxicity causing burns to the skin?

Of course this would have to be the nut I like the best (they can also be quite expensive because of the labor intensity of the shelling process).

Awards – What is the nickname given to the physical MTV Video Music Award trophies? Big hurrah to Kim S. here! 🤜

College Sports – Which is the only school to have posted men’s and women’s NCAA championship winners in the same year in basketball?

This time it was Cathy’s turn for the 🤜 !

Round Three

From the Greek – Which word from the Greek describes an instrument used for viewing “beautiful forms?” Cathy again for the win! ☺

1960s Songs – What 1968 song’s lyrics mention a woman named Mrs. Johnson who dresses provocatively and engages in lewd behavior?  Kim and Cathy collab here, woot!

Historical Poetry – What 1818 poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley mentions Osmandius (or is it Ozymandius) and is about what second Egyptian pharoah? Cathy and Mike collaborated here for the points.

Halftime – Nuclear Weapons

Not including the U.S., UK and USSR (Russia), name four of the five other countries that have actively done nuclear testing.

Got all of these, 10 points!

We were tied with maybe two trillion teams for second at the half with 36 points.

Round Four

Medicine – Scrivener’s Palsy is an older name for what movement disorder? Our only other miss of the game (besides the final question).

Motorcyle Movies – What 2007 film featured William H. Macy, John Travolta and Tim Allen?

Fun With Countries – What is the only country name that can be typed using just one line on a standard QWERTY keyboard?

Kim S. for the win!

Round Five

Definitions – What is someone doing if they engage in geophagia? Mike had the right idea  here…

Literary Subtitles – “A Pure Woman” is the subtitle of what Thomas Hardy novel? I was glad to have Cathy’s backup here so that we could go high on this (I do not usually have  much backup on literary questions)! I actually read this n high school and wasn’t required to read it! I’m not sure why I read it, but I speculate that it’s because my parents took me to see the movie when I was way too young to really understand what the hell was going on 🤷‍♀️ At the time, I remember listening to the “Violator” cassette by Depeche Mode and thought that the lyrics to “Halo” kind of fit with the themes of the book – “You wear guilt…like shackles on your feet.” The woman in this book did that for sure!

The poor woman in the book was anything but a “pure woman” by the time the men and others in the book were finished with her!

Well, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you stream this movie now (it’s a Roman Polanski joint)! 😂

Speaking of streaming…

Streaming TV – What defunct streaming service was the home for Sports Jeopardy and Comedians in the Car Getting Coffee, among other things?

Kim and Cathy were both all over this (thank the gods)!

Round Six

Science! – Parsec, a measurement associated with interstellar space, has a name based on what two words? Science teacher Cathy for the win (I’d never heard that P word before).

And now for my “triviagasm” moment of the game…which kind of ties in with this movie:

80s Headlines – Suzette Charles had to step in as what in July, 1985 due to another person being unable to fulfill the duties of the job?

If you can figure out what Sandra Bullock’s character in Miss Congeniality and Suzette Charles have in common, then you truly win trivia! Psst…it’s the Garden State!

Business – What business removed the word “donuts” from its name in 2019 because of beverages making up half of its business?

We were in first going into the final with 70 points, a team whose name I didn’t recognize was right behind us with 68 (maybe Dicks and Janes), Two was behind them with 67, Better Late Than Pregnant behind them with 66, and Keerok in fifth with 64 (I didn’t write down every team name because they would have to slow it way down for me to be able to do that, and then everyone would get mad at me for delaying their potty breaks and it would just get messy. All good?

Final Category – Disney

What character predates Steamboat Willie by three years, appeared in 67 shorts between 1925 and 1964, was one of the core characters in a 1995 film and is still appearing in Disney media today?

So when do we get to see the horrible horror movie about this character (I’m looking at you Winnie the Pooh, Popeye and probably Betty Boop really soon)! Wait…will Betty Boop be a  porno?

Yeah, I needed this little distraction because as you already know…WE GOT THIS WRONG. I’m guessing that most teams also got this wrong. Shout out to the teams that knew this!

And the top three:

Combat Wombats, 99; Quizrds of Oz, 121 and Team Five, ??? (didn’t write down the score).

Despite being defeated by Walt Disney (second time a Disney final question killed us), it was still a fun season leading up to finals! I’m grateful to everyone who helped contribute to us trying to qualify at McShane’s (looking at you Kim, Brent, and Dave), not to mention, the two very smart women helping us out at this finals!

We’re not going anywhere, we’ll still be out seeking prizes in the trivial seas at bars near you! Or maybe not so close to you…

We have a music trivia meetup in the Sporcle Events universe Monday, after that, I’m not sure what our plans are.

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Pete!

answers

r1 antarctica, top gun, 2020

r2 cashews, moon man, u of connecticut

r3 kaleidoscope, harper valley pta, rameses 2

halftime india, china, france, pakistan, north korea

r4 writer’s cramp, wild hogs, peru

r5 eating dirt, tess of the d’ubervilles, crackle

r6 parallax second, miss america, dunkin

f pete