The air quality advisory caused us to change our “normal” trivia activities on a recent Thursday.

We usually like playing at McShane’s Pub, but decided against it because we like sitting near the door there (we like it because it’s near the host) and we knew the door would likely be opened and closed frequently by people going outside to smoke, which would bring in more icky outside Canadian wildfire air. Me making that choice would bite me in the ass in a very “Seinfeld” way!

I went to Aubree’s (Whittaker Road) in Ypsi – a place we have not waged any trivia battles for more than 10 years.

Irony is a bitch, isn’t it? So I go to a different bar (Aubree’s) which was also close to home, and I wound up sitting next to a guy who’s using a vape stick! This is totally sitcom fodder. Can’t you see a Seinfeld episode about this if they were still airing episodes today? I can just hear Jerry whining about this to Elaine, Kramer and George (Kramer is a vaper and of course gets offended). Cue sproingy sounding guitar music, and scene.

The bar area at Aubree’s was packed on this night, I was very lucky to find a seat at the bar! Too bad this exhausted my luck bank for the day, this is where my good luck would end!

Thankfully Mr. Vaper left less than a half hour into the game. Honestly I can’t blame this annoyance on this game being completely shitty for me 🥬💩 🌮🔔😂

This was all part of my plan, after all. We had a great game last Monday, where we won two first place prizes in our music quiz game at Arbor Brewing Company.

We also recently won a first place prize at McShane’s.  I know that whenever my team has this kind of awesome fortune that it must be paid back by logging an absolute shite game. Done. And done! Hey. It’s less messy than sacrificing an innocent adorable forest creature. My condo community does not look kindly upon residents sacrificing animals on the grounds anymore!

So…best to not drag any other players into this “sacrificial” game, right? As with most games I play solo, I missed my awesome teammates and really, really appreciated how they might have helped out with some of the answers about dogs, space telescopes, space TV series, U.S. representatives, music (five questions about music), and more!

I finished with 19 TOTAL points in this game. Which wasn’t even the shittiest score at this bar for the night!

Here were the questions:

Game One/Round One

1 Gaming – In the standard version of the board game Clue, a murder can potentially occur in how many rooms? Miss, my guess was one off from the correct guess.

2 Museums – Once the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the USS Midway is now a museum ship located in what US city?

NERD POINT: In what decade was the USS Midway decommissioned?

Miss and miss. I picked the right state for the museum at least…

3 Action Movies – The first film in the Expendables franchise was co-written and directed by what actor, who also stars as a character named Barney?

NERD POINT: Of the nine last names listed prominently on the theatrical poster for the film, which one is the shortest?

Got the points, missed the nerd point. I forgot about the Asian guy 😬

4 Science! Dendochronology is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of what?

Mystery Round One –

This was an all-audio round, they played different songs from four different Broadway musicals. Sorry folks. I’m not gonna try recreating this mystery round for y’all. I got one correct, it was the 76 Trombones song.

Round Two

5 Spin-Offs – The TV series Crusade, which aired one season in 1999, is set after the events of what space drama series of which it is a spin-off?

NERD POINT: Crusade aired on what cable network?

Miss and miss. Nerdy husband would have helped here! One of two space themed questions he would have known had he actually felt like a trivia game that night!

6 Close Calls – What country has finished as the runner-up at the FIFA men’s World Cup three times – in 1974, 1978 and 2010 – the most of any country that has never won the tournament?

NERD POINT: At the 2026 tournament, this country lost on penalties in the knockout round to what country? 

Got this for the points, but not the nerd point. 

I know that if this country ever wins the World Cup, our departed friend Archie’s spirit will be celebrating from beyond the grave! He was a huge fan of this national team (probably because of his West Michigan roots).

I still theorize to this day that his spirit helped me win a tiebreaker question about Harley Davidson motorcycles in a My Trivia Live tournament in December, 2019 where we won a third place cash prize. Hey, I’m allowed to have my “thoughts and prayers” moments, aren’t I? He was definitely a “motorcycle guy,” and he would have likely played with us at this tournament had he not died a few months earlier. 😢

7 Rock Music – “She’s Got Balls” and “Little Lover” are the only two songs that are included on both the domestic and international versions of High Voltage, the debut album what rock band?

8 Dogs – Also known as the Hungarian sheepdog, what breed of large livestock guardian dog sports a thick, corded coat that resembles a mop? My longtime trivia teammate Brad would have helped with this one (even if he didn’t spell the name exactly right). He’s definitely a “dog guy!”

Mystery Round Two – Add ‘Em Up

The answers to each of the following questions will be numbers, that when added together, will be 85.

M1 Number in the title of a 1997 song by Blur with a distinctive “woo hoo” chorus

M2 Number of square feet in a square yard

M3 Number of teams that participated in the FIFA men’s World Cup

M4 Number of the 1971 amendment to the US Constitution that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

Missed 1, 3 and 4. Bleah.

Final Question Game One

Category: Baby Names

According to the Social Security Administration, among the top ten names for baby boys and girls (20 names total) in 2025, only four do not include the letter “A.” Name one of those four names. 

I initially wrote down a baby boy’s name in my brainstorming that would have been correct. Did I put it in for my answer and actually get it right? What do YOU think? 🤔 I ruled it out because I thought it sounded too much like a dog’s name.

Maybe the next game will be better? Nope!

Game Two/Round Three

9 Numbering – What cardinal number prefix for the number three is exactly the same in Greek and Latin?

NERD POINT: What is the cardinal number prefix for the number nine in Greek?

Got the points, missed the nerd point.

10 Telescopes – What former NASA administrator is the namesake of a telescope that was launched in 2021 and is currently the largest telescope in space, containing a mirror that is 2.7 times larger that of the Hubble Space Telescope?

My husband not only would have known this answer, but he said that he voraciously followed this story when it was happening. He was actually talking about it in detail while I was typing this! Something about solar panels?  This is why we call him the “Space Man” –  or to name a Davie Bowie song – the “Starman” on our team! Yeah I have that song in my head now🎵🎶

11 Movie Settings – What 1980 film used the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon for exterior shots of its main mountain setting?

NERD POINT: Who directed this film?

Yay a rare question this game I got correct for the points AND nerd point! I was so obsessed with this movie right before the pandemic and its shutdowns (it’s almost like the movie prepared me for it).

12 Top Tens – This was an audio question of a song I didn’t recognize, miss. The band was Panic at the Disco. This is how crappy my luck was in this game. I missed four out of five music questions in this game!

Mystery Round Three

Round Four

13 World History – After returning from the Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance Congress in 1923, Huda Sha’arawi, a women’s rights activist from what African country, removed her veil and mantle, a landmark event in the nation’s history? FB host clue.

14 State Names – There are two U.S. states whose names are wholly included within the name of another state – Virginia and what other state? I thought of the state that has another state’s name in the name, but needed the state that was part of the name, so big miss for 7 points. My trivia pardner/husband Mike would have helped check me on this one!  

15 TV Awards – In 2024, Jon Hamm was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, one for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series or MOvie. Name one of those two series for which he was nominated. Maybe this was a nerd point for naming both? Meh. 

I did think of one series that he was in that might fit this answer, but I thought it was too early of a series to fit the criteria. Of course I was right! 😩 Could this game get any worse for me? Yes it could! And it will!

16 Constitution – Within three, how many years old must a member of the House of Representatives be according to Article I, Section 2, Clause 2 of the US Constitution?

NERD POINT: Get the year exact.

I showed this question to my husband after the game, he knew this and the nerd point.

Mystery Round Four – Visual

Final Question Game Two

Category: Singers

What Hawaii-born singer has had a total of five top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as part of two different groups, but only two charting singles as a lead solo artist, the last of which was “Right There” featuring 50 Cent?

I bet it all, and after hearing the question that I did not know, I put in “I’m outta here” as my answer, used the bathroom and…left. I drove home to pick up my husband so we could do a list call at another bar. Sign of the times, their beer garden was closed because of air quality.

This concludes our trivial pursuits for the week. Next week, we may be hitting the road and paying a visit to a trivia spot that we’ve traditionally only visited during the warm weather months. Though it used to be a semi-regular trivia spot about 10 years ago or so. That is TBD. Trivia plans can change on a dime with our team!

As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Oliver Platt! Who knew that your name would become a popular baby name in 2025? Also Teddy Roosevelt! And Henry Kissinger! And Evelyn who occasionally plays music trivia games with us!

Answers:

R1 9, san diego/1990s, stallone/li, tree rings

R2 Babylon 5/tnt, netherlands/morocco, ac/dc, komondor

R3 tri/nia, james webb, the shining/kubrick, panic at the disco

R4 Kansas, egypt, morning show/fargo, 25

M1 hairspray, newsies, music man, the prom

M2 2, 9, 48, 26

M3 pandora, rhea, iris, Calypso

M4 bulls, warriors, spurs, 76ers

F1 oliver, Henry, theodore, Evelyn

F2 Nicole scherzinger