Answers at the end.

It’s been rough trying to hustle players for live trivia games these days. At the most recent round of Sporcle Events Globe Games, we had to really reach out beyond our “ranks” when we had to fill seats at our trivia tables!

It hasn’t gotten to the point where I’m trying to hustle players at the local bus depot or Wal-Mart returns desk – yet! 😂

I’m thankful for the reliable folks from outside our team who have stepped in over the past year to help us out in tournaments – such as players like Kim and Cathy from team Sparty On – and trivia host Stacy L. We wouldn’t have a chance without your help! ☺

We’ve recently started trying to do at least 1-2 virtual Sporcle Events trivia games a month. Which is pretty ideal during colder weather, because our “staging area” for these games happens to be in my husband’s “work from home ” office, which is the warmest room in the house!

For this most recent virtual game, we didn’t do so hot on the final questions, but managed to team up well on a good number of the other questions.

Our longtime teammate Dave managed to keep up with his household laundry during the game, which is difficult to do when you’re trying to play in a bar 😂

We played a two-hour game with east coast based host Mike E. hosting. Here were our questions:

Game One/Round One

1 Games – “The digits must be single” is one of the possible translations for the name of what logic-based puzzle?

2 Sound – Sound travels fastest through what state of matter – liquids, solids or gases? Miss. We must’ve been thinking of…farts!

3 Golfers – In 2009, what five-time Brisith Open champion nearly won the tournament again at 59 years old, ultimately finishing as the runner-up in a playoff? Miss. Never heard of the correct guy.

4 Directors – Of the 11 live-action feature films in the Star Wars franchise that have been released as of 2025, how many were directed by George Lucas?

NERD POINT: Name the most recent George Lucas directed Star Wars film.

I hang out with a pretty nerdy group of people, so I felt like I really belonged with this group by knowing these answers! 🤓

Mystery Round One – Business Models

Identify the following companies based on their business models.

M1

A) Create the Speedee Service System

B) Start franchising in 1955

C) Purchase real estate

M2

A) 1997 – Disrupt a decades-old market via mail-order

B) 2007 – Pivot to providing online content

C) 2013 – Produce original, critically acclaimed properties

M3

A)  Produce traditional playing cards for decades

B) Launch a product that revives a crashed industry in the 1980s

C) File lawsuits against websites like RomUniverse and LoveROMs

M4

A) Hire people like Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter and Nina Blackwood

B)  Focus more and more on reality content such as showcasing homes and souping up vehicles

C) Abandon content that gained brand popularity almost entirely

Missed #3.

Round Two

5 Viral Videos – In a viral video that was first uploaded to Instagram on September 21, 2015, a rat is seen carrying what type of food down the steps of a New York City Subway station? Thankfully Sam was all over this.

6 Books – In November, 2025, who released the New York Times best-selling book The Look, which chronicles her style evolution through pictures, as well as how she has used fashion as a tool for visibility and representation? FB host clue helped us here.

7 Soul Music – What Michigan-born artist released the 2011 single “The Walk?” Dave helped us get this one 😉

8 TV Voices – On the Netflix original series where Amy Sedaris voices Princess Carolyn, Alison Brie voices Diane Nguyen and Paul F. Tompkins voices Mr. Peanutbutter, what title character is voiced by Will Arnett?

Mystery Round Two

Food Crossword – Answer based on the crossword-style clue given. The second letter of each answer is the second-to-last letter of the following answer.

M1 Five letters – A ring-shaped bread roll that is first boiled and then baked

M2 Eight letters – Dish usually made with ground beef that is shaped like a mass of bread and baked

M3 12 letters – American-style entree consisting of a patty of grilled, fried or seared ground beef topped with slices of a certain dairy product?

M4 Seven letters – National dish of Peru; a cold dish consisting of fish or shellfish marinated in citrus and seasonings

Got all of these.

Final Question Game One

Category – NCAA

The first time that all four #1-seeded teams reached the Final Four of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament int he same year was 2008. Name two of those four schools, which were making their third, 13th, 17th and 18th appearances in the Final Four.

We sucker bet on this one. I think a couple of teams got this, I don’t really keep track of scores for virtual games since there are no prizes on the line.

Game Two/Round Three

9 Gems – The Koh-i-noor, which means “Mountain of Light, is a notable example of what kind of gemstone?

10 Hockey Players – What NHL franchise has retired numbers for players named Bob, Barclay, Brian, Brett and Bernie as well as for Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger? Dave shoots and scores here!

11 Comedy Songs – What song released in 2013 by Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis became YouTube’s top trending video that year and eventually reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100? Sam again for the points.

12 – Measurements – What unit of land area equal to 10,000 square meters and roughly 2.47 acres is widely used in countries reliant on the metric system?

Mystery Round Three – Visual

Name the sci-film based on the logo of the fictional company or organization

Got all of these.

Round Four

13 Flags – The flags of Australia, Brazil, and Samoa are among those that contain depictions of what constellation?

14 World History – On July 1, 1997, what country transferred its sovereignty over Hong Kong to China, ending 156 years of rule?

15 2025 TV – What Apple TV series, which debuted in November, 2025, stars Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka, an author living in a world where an extraterrestrial virus has tranformed nearly everyone into a hive mind? This must’ve been Sam’s game, another solo “hit” for him.

16 Cereal – What spin-off of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, which has been described on the back of its box as having “a taste that will have you flipping,” was discontinued in the U.S. in 2006 and brought back by popular demand in 2014?

Mystery Round Four

“These People are Animals!”

Give the first and last name of the person described in each clue. The first name will also be a type of animal.

M1 Host of the Situation Room since 2005

M2 Georgia-based speaker of the House in the 1990s

M3 Actress who played Lisa Turtle on Saved by the Bell

M4 Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of the treasury who also served as chief justice of the Supreme Court

Missed #s 3 and 4.

Final Question Game Two

Category – Agriculture

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2023, China was the largest producer in most categories of vegetables. Among the items in the following list, name one of the two vegetables of which China was not the top producer.

Artichokes, asparagus, cabbage, carrots, eggplant, peas, string beans

We talked about 2-3 possibilities and in true Pods form, picked the one that was wrong! Hey if you have to be good at something on a trivia team, we’re really good at talking ourselves out of correct answers! I’ll die on that hill 🤜 😂

Did anyone else try thinking of things you don’t normally see in dishes on Chinese takeout menus – or was that just us? We were actually quite surprised that a popular veggie in Chinese buffet restaurants was one of the correct  answers. Yes we know that the offerings on a typical Chinese buffet are hardly representative of “authentic” Chinese cuisine.

What we didn’t know that our teammate Dave (who has worked with a lot of Asians over the years), told us that some Chinese joints have “secret menus” with really good stuff! Even meat eaters might rave over mapo tofu (tofu served in spicy sauce with other veggies). I’m not strictly vegetarian anymore, but I do love a great tofu dish when it’s prepared properly! 😋

Anybody else craving Chinese food right now? Yes? Then I’ve done my job!

This concludes our trivial pursuits for this week. We’re taking things a bit more easy leading up to the end of the year.

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Salmon Chase! Weren’t you on paper currency? 🤔

answers:

r1 sudoku, solids, tom watson, 4/revenge of the sith

r2 pizza, michelle obama, mayer hawthorne, bojack horseman

m1 mcdonalds, netflix, nintendo, mtv

m2 bagel, meatloaf, cheeseburger, ceviche

f univ of kansas, memphis, u of NC, UCLA

r3 diamond, blues, what does the fox say, hectare

r4 southern cross/crux/ UK, pluribus, french toast crunch

m3 terminator, robocop, i robot, alien

m4 wolf blitzer, newt gingrich, lark voorhees, salmon chase (who was not an actual salmon)

f asparagus, string beans