I’ve just recently started re-visiting a trivia spot that was formerly a regular trivia spot for my team – the YpsiAlehouse, which offers games at a very odd time – 5 p.m. on Sundays.

This bar in downtown Ypsilanti has been offering trivia nights on Sundays since April 2016, and our team was among the first to dip their toes (or in our case considering our team’s cephalopod mascot, tentacles) into the competitive waters.

We’ve won at least a few tournament spots over the years by playing here, and we’ve seen a lot of of different teams come and go.

Longtime trivia host Emily F. departed a few months ago, and a different host Laura has been on the mic since then.

Our recent game was our 65th trivia game at the YpsiAlehouse, and our 890th Sporcle Events trivia game overall.

Are we supposed to “celebrate” our 900th game when that happens? Are pinatas involved? Kegs of beer? Chocolate fountains? Strippers? Clowns? Stripper clowns like in that one disturbed movie I think I remember seeing about 20 ish years ago back when we still rented from video stores? Yeah that was the 2000 movie “Vulgar.” I’ll wait here while you click away or ask your Alexa to see what streaming service has this disturbing, disturbing movie that has the whiny “I’m not even supposed to be here today” guy from “Clerks” in it (Brian O’Halloran).

What kind of party was I planning again? 🤔

Whenever and wherever our 900th game will happen, I’ll want it to be someplace significant. I haven’t figured out what I mean by “significant” yet, I’ll light the beacons when I do!

It was me, myself and I staffing this game – my normal trivia pardner and husband Mike likes to talk to his mama on Sunday afternoons, so we’ve agreed that it’s a good time for me to skedaddle off and do what I like for a couple of hours! It’s only a 10 minute drive from my house (if that), so why not? Especially when weather has been somewhat cooperative (it is March, after all)?

Here were our questions:

Game One/Round One

1 U.S. History – Upon his death in 1799, what notable American was eulogized by Henry Lee as being “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen?”

2 Symbols – What tree species is the national tree of the United States? Miss.

3 NHL Teams – With more than 3,600 wins in its history, what NHL franchise has more wins than any other? This was one of four sports questions we had on this trivia night, but would not be the one I would get correct 😔

4 Bones – In humans, the zygomatic bone is also known by which name – shin, jaw, cheekbone or  kneecap?

Mystery Round One – Tom Hanks Movies

Round Two

5 2000s Music – What band released the 2008 album “Only by the Night, which produced the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart #1 hits “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody?” Miss. I was too busy listening to 70s classic rock in this decade 😂

6 Dorothea Lange’s notable photograph titled Migrant Mother was taken in which decade of the 20th century?

7 TV Specials – What illusionist and endurance artist has been featured in TV specials titled Buried Alive, Vertigo and Drowned Alive? FB host clue.

8 Cities – Name one of the two most populous cities in Wisconsin with names that are two words long.

NERD POINT: Name both cities.

Mystery Round Two

The answer to each question is a word that can be paired with “planet” to make a recognizable term.

M1 In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Peter Dinklage plays King Eitri, who is almost twice as tall as Thor and is what type of humanoid?

M2 Griffith Observatory and Mulhulland Drive both afford visitors an excellent view of the landmark that gives its name to what surrounding neighborhood?

M3 What Muppet is frequently depicted with a collar around his neck chaining him to a set of drums? Had the Who done this with their drummer Keith Moon, maybe he would not have gotten into so many destructive shenanigans. Yes this Muppets character was inspired by Keith Moon. Would chaining him have helped tame him? Probably not!

M4 What is the seven-letter term for the state of health and well-being of the body?

Got all of these correct.

I was in fourth heading into the final with 43 points out of eight teams, behind 24 Hour Brunch, 46; No Talent Ass Clowns, 49, and Strait of Hormuz Swim Team, 50. Team Spring Break was tied with me with 43 points.

Final Category Game One – Network TV

Two shows that aired on Fox have won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Name both shows, which won in 1999 and 2004 and have titles beginning with the same letter.

I wagered about half of my points on this and managed to finish in third overall for this game, just shy of the prize zone 😔

I’m never any good at remembering TV networks really well – I just don’t think of shows in terms of what broadcast networks they aired on. It’s hard enough remembering which streaming service has whatever show it is you want to want to watch at the moment!

Game winners – Strait of Hormuz Swim Team, 65; No Talent Ass Clowns, 64. I finished third out of eight teams.

Game Two/Round Three

9 Slogans – According to its slogan, what brand of licorice-type candy “Makes Mouths Happy?”

10 Lakes – Lake Geneva lies on the border of Switzerland and what other European Country? Speaking of needing teammates to help, I’m not so hot on “borders” questions – I can name a lot of countries and cities, I usually lean on teammates to help pinpoint where they are!

11 Boxing – Name one of the two weight classes in Olympic boxing with names that begin with “F.”

NERD POINT: Name both weight classes.

I came up with one, if I had actual teammates, they may have helped me come up with the second one. Hey I was just excited to, for the second week in a row, be able to go full points on a trivia question about boxing!

12 Solo Artists – This was an audio clip of someone singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” who used to be in an all-female Motown group in the ’60s, starred in a 1970s film called “Mahogany,” was a date for Michael Jackson at a 1980s award ceremony and played Dorothy in “The Wiz.” Have you figured it out yet? We didn’t have any of these hints in the game (you’re all welcome)!

Mystery Round Three

Who-Ray?

Give the last name of the person named “Ray” based on the clue.

M1 Actor known for his roles in Goodfellas, Field of Dreams – and more recently, Cocaine Bear (which may have been his last role).

M2 Author of the Martian Chronicles

M3 NBA Champion with the Celtics in 2008 and the Heat in 2013 who was the NBA’s all-time leader in three pointers at the time of his retirement

M4 Artist who had a hit with the 1960 single “Georgia on my Mind”

Missed #3.

Round Four

13 Movie Pairs – What 2004 film follows characters played by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church as they take a weeklong excursion into Santa Barbara wine country? This was one of those movies that made me feel like Elaine on Seinfeld when everyone was raving about the English Patient and how wonderful they thought it was. I just didn’t see the appeal of the movie. Other than the scene where Sandra Oh beats a guy with her motorcyle helmet (who probably deserved it, honestly I don’t remember the context), I didn’t find anything entertaining about this movie. But I’m willing to give it another chance if it happens to pop up on a streaming service somewhere. I’m not gonna actively look for it.

14 Peanuts – What Peanuts character, theyounger sister of Charlie Brown, has a crush on Linus, calling him her “Sweet Babboo?”

15 Arcade Games – Coily, Slick, Sam, Ugg and Wrong-Way are the names of the bad guys moving around the block pyramid in what classic 1982 arcade game?

16 Numbers – Including zero, how many different single-digit numbers appear in the Fibonacci sequence?

Mystery Round Four – TV Podcasts

Name the TV series based on the title of a rewatch podcast hosted by a member of members of its cast.

M1 Fake Doctors, Real Friends

M2 How Rude, Tanneritos

M3 Zack to the Future

M4 XOXO

I missed 1, 3 and 4 (talked myself out of correct answer for #1).

I had 39 points going into the final question for game two, did not record the other scores.

Final Question Game Two

Category: Playoff Games

Every AFC Championship Game played after the one in January, 2011 has featured the New England Patriots and/or the Kansas City Chiefs. What two teams – one in the AFC North and one in the AFC East – played in that January, 2011 game? For one of the teams, this was its most recent playoff appearance.

Game winners: Spring Break, 59; Isla’s College Fun, 54. I finished in fourth place out of eight teams.

We haven’t figured out a trivia plan for this week other than our Monday music quiz game at Corner Brewery. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Diana Ross!

Answers:

r1 washington, oak, canadiens, cheek

r2 kings of leon, 1930s, david blaine, eau claire/green bay

m1 green mile, captain phillips, the terminal, a man called otto

m2 dwarf, hollywood, animal, fitness

f: ally mcbeal, arrested development

r3 twizzlers, france, flyweight/featherweight, diana ross

r4 sideways, sally, qbert, six

m3 ray liotta, ray bradbury, ray allen, ray charles

m4 scrubs, full house, saved by the bell, gossip girl

s, je

f: steelers/jets