A couple of us decided that because of the balmy December evening after a couple of weeks of brutal cold and snow, we’d go check out the “new” trivia scene at Red Rock BBQ in downtown Ypsi.

I think that this is the second time that we’ve revisited a place that hosted trivia games in the past, stopped hosting trivia, then started hosting it again. The other spot that we’ve done this is Original Gravity in Milan.

There’s not a lot that has changed about Red Rock between the time it offered trivia before (2012-2013 or 2014) and now. They still serve barbecued fare like the name says, and they also have a variety of craft beer and also crafted cocktails.

If you played at Red Rock for trivia night in the long, long ago, you might remember that they did all-day happy hour on trivia day. Which my team took advantage of –  often! They no longer do all-day happy hour on Tuesdays, but they do have daily happy hour from 4-6 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.

One positive change from past trivia nights here and now is that now you CAN use trivia prize money on non-food (you could not use it on anything but food before). Prize money can’t be used the same night (that is a common thing at many trivia spots).

This is a new trivia show and is only on its second night, so the competition was…light. We wound up finishing in first for the night and won two first place prizes! Yes we need for some other teams to show up to challenge us!

Here were our game questions: 

Game One/Round One

1 Australia – The six states of Australia include New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and what state named for a long-reigning royal?

2 Magazines – What magazine, first published in 1922, adopted the slogan “America in your pocket” in 2005 to reflect the fact that its pages are much smaller than those of most U.S. magazines?

3 Conferences – Big Red, Big Green and Crimson are colorful nicknames used by some of the schools that compete in what athletic conference whose members are all included in the Eastern U.S.?

4 Video Games – Cornelia, Altair and Narshe are fictrional towns in what long-running role playing video game franchise first published in 1987? Miss.

Mystery Round One

Something, Something Birds

The correct answer to each clue includes a bird that is referenced in the song “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

M1 Bird whose voice is “heard in our land” including to a line in the biblical book Song of Songs

M2 2010 film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis

M3 Book series that was introduced in 1992 with Welcome to Dead House

M4 ABC Sitcom starring Shirley Jones that aired from 1970 to 1974

Missed #3.

Round Two

5 Actors – What actor is heard in the following clip from the Dan Patrick Show, talking to his daughter about getting her phone privileges back?

I don’t have the audio clip, so I’ll say that this guy’s film credits include Ted, Daddy’s Home and Pain and Gain. Need another clue? He danced in his underwear under his stage name.

We missed this question. But if we had the clue “he danced in his tighty whities” we would have been all over it! 😂

6 Human Body – Name one of the two most abundant elements in the human body by mass.

NERD POINT: Name both elements.

7 Samples – The 2001 hit single “Bootylicious” by Destiny’s Child samples a song by what onetime member of Fleetwood Mac and two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

8 Slang – In  modern slang, a person exposed committing a wrongdoing with undeniable proof is said to be “caught in” what alphanumeric term, originally used to describe high-definition images or video?

Mystery Round Two

You might not want to read on. This is gonna get UGLY! I’ve said before that mystery rounds can make – or break – one’s game, and guess which scenario happened for us? 🤔

TV Episode Fill in the Blank

For this mystery round, your team can give four answers and put them in any order you choose.

In 2024, Peacock released a list of all-time classic Christmas episodes to binge during the holiday season. Shows with episodes titled “Ludachristmas,” “A Benihana Christmas,” “Christmas Scandal, and “The Pontiac Bandit Returns” were among those that made the list. Name the four sitcoms that aired those episodes.

We talked ourselves out of one that would have been correct because we thought it was the wrong network. It was all downhill  from there. Guess NBC sitcoms aren’t something we watch. At least not the ones that they asked about (except that one that we talked ourselves out of but haven’t watched in probably at least a decade or more).

Sadly one of the correct sitcoms was one we actually watched from beginning to end in the last couple of years! We just couldn’t spot it by the name of the episode. Ditto for another of these sitcoms! Clearly we don’t remember titles well enough!

We were in third out of four teams going into the final with 31 points, behind pretty but dumb, nope just dumb, 32 and Mario, 36. Garlie was behind us with 9 points.

We bet it all on the category of Presidential Names, because we thought we’d know more about that than…NBC sitcoms 😒

Name one of the two U.S. presidents who took the oath of office using a different last name from the one with which he was born. One of the presidents first took office 19 years before the second.

With that, we moved up to first! We won a $20 prize!

Game Two/Round Two

9 Celebrations – April 26 is the national day for what snack food, walthough a season three episode of The Office places the celebration in September or October? Good correct guess from Mike! 🥨

10 Gulfs – The Gulfs of Finland, Bothnia, and Riga are all part of what sea that borders Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, among others?

11 Bands – What band relased several albums during its “Unmasked” era from 1983 to 1996, including Lick it Up, Animalize and Crazy Nights?

“I really liked this band better without all of their theatrical makeup.” Said no one ever!

12 Folk Tales – This q was based on FB host clue, did not get it all down.

Mystery Round Three

This one is gonna be FUN! “Polar” opposite of that sitcoms mystery round that annihilated us in the previous round. Or should I say “Molar opposite?”

Twisted Titles – Holiday Films

The correct response to each part is the title of a holiday movie with just one letter changed. Give the new movie title based on the description.

M1 The conductor operates a dental practice on his train, specializing in back teeth

M2 During his downtime as British prime minister, Hugh Grant’s character becomes obsessed with spotting birds that symbolize peace

M3 The stress of planning a mall heist causes billy bob Thornton to use Anheuser-Busch products 

M4 Instead of a Red Ryder air rifle, Ralphie wants a long-legged bird of the family Ciconiidae for Christmas

Round Four

13 Artists – In a 1967 interview tih Time magazine, what leading figure in the pop art  movement said that one day “everyone will be famous for 15 minutes?”

14 TV Spin-offs – The Nickelodeon sitcom Sam & Cat, which aired from 2013-2014, is a spin-off of two other shows. Name one of those two shows.

NERD POINT: Name both shows.

We were able to name one, but not both.

15 Quarterbacks – Among those in the top ten in passing yards in NFL history, what Miami Dolphins quarterback is the only one who played in the 1980s? I have the movie Ace Ventura Pet Detective to thank for me knowing this!

Among my trivia “mantras” include “It’s always earlier than you think,” “Everything is bigger in Texas,” and “It doesn’t matter how you know an answer as long as you know it!” This last one was relevant here 😉

16 Footwear – I didn’t get this one down in its entirety, so I’m a gonna wing it here (apologies if it insults anyone who wears this shoe brand:

What “Dad” shoe brand known for comfort is known for having a letter representing its brand displayed on most of their shoes?

I work in a store that used to carry this brand  of shoe but does not anymore. When I get customers asking for them (male customers), I tell them to consider the Fila brand instead, which has similar styles.

Hey I’m not hating on the brand, I’ve even had some of their shoes before! I used to have their slip-ons, which they no longer make (and they were so, so comfortable to slip into after a long shift on the feet)! 

Hey I actually did get the question after all, so here it is:

Founded in 1906, what shoe company originally specialized in arch supports, including one with three support points that provided increased stability, an attribute that gives the company its name?  This would be one of only two misses this game (the other being the nerd point on the Nickelodeon question).

Mystery Round Four – Visual – “D” in Science

We were in first with 53 points going into the final question category. Pretty But Dumb was right behind us with 41, and enchanted giraffe was in third with 37 points.

Final Question Category:

“Music Old and New.”

Mike wagered just enough to allow us to win by one point if we got it even if the team closest behind us bet it all and got it correct.

The 1990s songs “Cryin” by Aerosmith, “Basket Case” by Green Day and “Hook” by Blues Traveler all use chord progressions taken from or inspired by a piece by what composer born in 1653?

Well gosh darn it we went with a composer who was born 32 years later than that! I guess our knowledge of composers born in the 17th century ain’t so great after all!

It’s one of those questions that when the answer is revealed, you’re like “Ohhhh SHIT!” Or maybe a stronger expletive? In this case, we automatically thought of that string piece that’s used a lot in commercials, weddings (especially weddings in movie or on TV shows). Though it is NOT the “Wedding March” which is by Mendelssohn.

I’m just gonna name drop the composer at the very end so you’ll have to scroll down!

We only wagered four points and missed, but this was still enough to get us another first place prize!

This concludes our trivial pursuits for the week. We’ll be out for at least one other trivia game next week. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Pachelbel! Go ahead and look up his “Canon in D” and listen to the piece that inspired all of those artists in the final question! It’s probably in the public domain so you can use it in your next wedding too! 😂

r1 victoria, readers digest, ivyleague, final fantasy

r2 mark wahlberg, oxygen/carbon, stevie nicks, 4D

m1 dove, black swan, goosebumps, partridge family

m2 30 rock, the office, parks and rec, brooklyn 99

f ford, clinton

r3 pretzel, baltic sea, kiss,  stone soup

r4 andy warhol, icarly/victorious, dan marino, new balance

m3 molar express, dove actually, bud santa, a christmas stork

m4 deltoid, doppler, deimos, dilution

f pachelbel