It was one of those trivia games that almost didn’t happen on a recent summery evening in Ypsilanti, MI!

I originally called the game off, since Tuesdays have become more annoying for me at work as of late.

But I changed my mind, and the rest is history!

We didn’t end up playing at least half of the season games at Red Rock Barbecue last season, being short by just one. But we wound up finishing third for the season and second overall in the final game. We won a $20/first place prize in game two.

We had our usual “trio” of ‘Pods playing this time – all “OGs” with the team since 2012 – myself Heb/Heather, my husband Mike, and our friend Brad.

Moods were pretty high for all of us on this night which was…quite unusual! But that’s all I’m gonna say about that. We all have our moods!

Here were our questions, except the visual mystery round and the audio mystery round that I may or may not try to recreate somehow. You’ll have to read on to see if I actually do that!

Game One/Round One

1 Celebrities – Prince, Paris and Bigi (formerly known as Blanket) are the first names of what late pop star’s three children?

2 Games – In what word game, first introduced in 1973, do players try to find as many words as they can within a set time limit?

NERD POINT: In the standard version of this game, what is the most points that a player can score on a single word?

I joked “Peggy Hill would probably know the nerd point answer!” Sadly, we didn’t know it.

3 Languages – In addition to eight recognized languages, Suriname is the only South American country with what official language, which it shares with two European nations and several Caribbean islands?

Brad wanted to go with one language that I thought was wrong, and we went with his answer. But my guess turned out to be wrong too! Miss.

4 Breaks – What sport, which is played between two teams of 11 players per side, has official rules to cover tea intervals?

NERD POINT: What country currently has the top-ranked women’s team in this sport?

Missed the nerd point.

Mystery Round One

Who is on TV a lot?

Name the character who has appeared in the most episodes of the given television series, according to IMDb.

M1 Hannah Montana – Amber Addison, Robby Ray Stewart or Jake Ryan

M2 Criminal Minds – Jason Gideon, David Rossi or Dr. Spencer Reid

M3 Scrubs – Ted buckland, Dr. Bob Kelso, or Jordan Sullivan

M4 How I Met Your Mother – The Captain, Victoria or Scooter

We missed the first two of these.

Round Two

Comics – What X-Men character from the American South has white streaks in her hair and is capable of absorbing memories and skills from another through physical touch?

NERD POINT: Shom does this character marry in X-Men Gold #30 in 2018?

I said “Take it away, nerd boys” when this question was read on the mic. And they didn’t disappoint, though we missed the nerd point. After hearing the answer for the nerd point, I decided I was jealous of her!

6 Movie Stars – What English actor, who rose to fame during the silent film era, was one of the first movie stars to appear on the cover of Time magazine, doing so following the 1925 release of The Gold Rush?

NERD POINT: The May 25, 2026 issue of Time has four covers, including one featuring what man alongside the headline “His Odyssey?”

We got this right for both parts.

7 Science! What is the eight-letter term for the scientific study of naming and classifying organisms, originally coined in 1813 by a Swiss botanist? Mike came up with this answer quicker than I would have (thanks man)!

8 Brand Names – What peanut butter brand marketed by Post is named after a character who lends their name to a 1953 Disney animated film?

Let’s see…Cinderella Peanut Butter? Dumbo Peanut Butter? Bambi Peanut Butter? Sleeping Beauty Peanut Butter with rufies? Seriously who’d miss this one?

Mystery Round Two

Audio

Each of the songs in the following clips has a title that includes the word “jungle.” Name the artist of each of those songs.

The songs they played were Welcome to the Jungle, Jungle Boogie, Concrete Jungle, and Jungle Love (not necessarily in this order). Sadly they didn’t play Bungle in the Jungle by Jethro Tull or Morris Day and the Time’s version of Jungle Love! That’s me for ya – always wanting to hear the “deep cuts!”

We had 47 points going into the final and were second behind Admiral Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters, who had 50. Six total teams.

Final Question Game One

Military History

In the 1980s, US Army Captain Linda Bray became the first woman in history to lead American troops into battle during the invasion of what country?

No teams got this correct. I’m guessing we all put in the same wrong guess.

Game Two/Round Three

9 Companies – What greeting card company that launched a TV channel in 1992 is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri?

NERD POINT: In 1984, this company introduced what character, who is colorfully dressed and often depicted alongside a horse named Starlite?

Got both parts of this correct.

10 Philosophy – What philosophical viewpoint, whose “N” name was popularized by Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, asserts that life is without objective purpose, meaning or intrinsic value?

11 The 1951 peace treaty between the Allies and Japan was signed in what Western US city?

NERD POINT: THe peace agreement ending the Vietnam War was signed in 1973 in what country?

Got both parts of this correct. Mike wanted to go with a US city that’s on an island, and I said “No, it’s too much of a pain in the ass for people to get there.” I’m glad I turned out to be right in my guess though (whew)!

12 Islands – I didn’t get this question down, so…they asked about the country whose capital is Valletta.

Mystery Round Three

Movie Antagonists

Name the performer based on three films in which they play a villain or antagonistic character.

M1 The Manchurian Candidate (2004), The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Into the Woods (2014)

M2 Die Hard (1988), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007).

M3 Batman Returns (1992), Space Jam (1996) and Matilda (1996).

M4 Nurse Betty (2000), Gone Baby Gone (2007) and Wanted (2008)

Missed #4. We totally forgot about that actor ever playing a bad guy. Our bad.

Round Four

13 #1 Hits – Kim Petras became the first openly transgender artist to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the 2022 single “Unholy,” released alongside what English artist?

14 Stadiums – What MLB stadium originally opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park, the home of a Federal League team known as the Federals, and later the Whales, before its current team became playing there two years later?

NERD POINT: The Fer al League team based in Indianapolis used what state-specific nickname?

Brad got the first part of this right for us, but he must’ve overlooked the nerd point portion because we didn’t put anything down as a guess. These things happen!

15 Canadian TV – Audio

The following clip is the opening theme to what Canadian mockumentary series that originally debuted in 2001?

I’ve heard of this series but have never seen it.

16 Authors – At Eton College, Aldous Huxley taught French to what future author of the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty Four?

NERD POINT: Eton College was founded in 1440 by the sixth king with what name?

Got both parts correct, Mike made right guess on the king’s name.

Mystery Round Four – Visual

They showed us maps of different parts of Africa color coded, and we had to pick which animal’s range the colors represented. We only got one of these correct (this one was tough even with a degreed zoologist on our team)!

We had 48 points going into the final and were in first. Dangerous Nights was in second, and Admiral Geech was in third.

Final Question Game Two

Sixties Songs

We got this correct. I was nervous though – I wasn’t sure if the song I chose was from this album – or Let it Be.

We got this correct, I think Jeff Probst got second.

This may or may not conclude our trivial pursuits for the week.

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Jeff Lebowski!

Answers:

R1 Michael jackson, boggle/eleven, dutch, cricket/australia

R2 rogue/gambit, charlie chaplin/christopher nolan, taxonomy, Peter Pan

M1 jake ryan, David rossi, bob kelso, victoria

M2 guns and roses, Steve Miller band, Kool and the gang, Bob Marley and the wailers

F: panama

R3 Hallmark/rainbow bryte, nihilism, San francisco/paris, malta

R4 Sam smith, wrigley/hoosiers, trailer park boys, orwell/henry

M3 meryl streep, Alan rickman, Danny devito, morgan freeman

M4 virtual round of ranges of giraffes, bonobos, warthogs and wildebeests

F come together