I couldn’t resist hitting up a trivia spot during the Sporcle Events venue championship week, and as it worked out, Thursday was the best day for me to get out to do that.
So why not visit a trivia spot that we’ve played 96 times previously? Though mostly before the 2020 pandemic?
So…Original Gravity in Milan then? Why not? 🤔
I like getting back here when I can. They’re doing some interesting things with outdoor seating that basically expands their indoor seating. Right outside the door to the beer garden, they had a small area enclosed in a vinyl tented area with propane heaters. There were people playing the game in that outside area, mainly because the inside area was pretty packed.
I sat inside, so I’ll leave the reviews of the outside seating for others. Though I did hear that someone said a heater was a bit too “toasty” on his ear.
“Honestly, we weren’t talking about you,” I joked.
A Sporcle Events recap from July tells me that the July game was our 96th game, so the game we played Thursday must be our 97th game.
If you’re like me and not drinking alcohol anymore – but still like drinking adult beverages in a bar, this place is for you!
They have four different N/A beers – Athletic Brewing’s Run Wild IPA (on draft), Athletic’s Upside Dawn, Guinness Zero and something by Sam Adams (I didn’t see exactly what it was but I’m assuming it was some kind of beer flavored beer).
I wish bars could get Go Brewing’s NA beers because those are so, so good! I don’t know if there are distribution limits to getting that Chicago based beer or not (all of that advanced knowledge is way above my pay grade). Much like a couple of the questions in the game and that one horrible, horrible mystery round 😁
More about that in a bit… Overall, we had TEN sports themed questions including nerd points and an entire mystery round. We got two of the questions correct.
I’ll denote all of the sports questions from the game with a football 🏈 emoji.
As for the game, we didn’t win any prizes. Game one was almost complete utter shite! 💩
Game two was a little better to us, although the second mystery round about football positions nearly completely obliterated us.
It was nice seeing the faces of people we battled in trivia games in the long, long ago. The before times. Good on any of you getting this “Mad Max” reference! It’s how I like to refer to anything that happened before 2020!
Here were our game questions:
Game One/Round One
1 Speed – What unit of speed, commonly used on boats, is equal to one nautical mile per hour?
2 Cereal – After original Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios, name one of the two next-oldest varieties of Cheerios that are currently in production.
NERD POINT: Name both varieties.
🏈 3 Tennis Stars – As of 2026, who is the most recent American tennis player to be ranked #1 by the ATP in men’s singles, doing so in 2003 and 2004?
🏈 NERD POINT: As of November, 2026, who is the current highest American by the ATP in men’s singles?
Nope and nope.
4 SNL – What presidential candidate was played by Jason Sudeikis on 18 episodes of Saturday Night Live from 2011-2012 along with two more appearances in 2016?
My husband is more of the “politics” guy, so I helped him out by describing what Sudeikis looks like and mentioned the movie We’re the Millers which he starred in.
That must’ve worked, because he came up with the right candidate. Nice! ✋
Mystery Round One – Visual
Round Two
Animated Films – Bill Hader voices an inventor named Flint Lockwood in what 2009 animated film that is based on a book?
Miss. I put in a joke guess of “Sex Toy Story.”
🏈 6 Streaming – Since 2023, the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market sports package has been available in the United States on what streaming service having previously been distributed by DirectTV?
🏈 NERD POINT: Within three, in what year was NFL Sunday Ticket first made available to customers?
Miss and miss. We’re crashing and burning! The sports questions are killing us! Seriously how many players are we expected to bring to succeed in Sporcle games?
Speaking of questions killing us like 90s rap stars (sorry that’s a bad joke, I know). Totally bad taste.
7 Rappers – What rapper was born Parish Lesane Crooks in 1971, before being renamed by his mother after an 18th-century Peruvian revolutionary?
NERD POINT: What 1995 single was this rapper’s first #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100?
Miss. And miss.
8 Nicknames – What green gemstone is often associated with Ireland in the form of a poetic nickname?
Yay we ended the regular round by actually knowing an answer! 🙄
Mystery Round Two
The answer to each clue is a two-word rhyming phrase, where one of the words is the title of a film named after a character.
M1 Before committing crimes in Gotham City, Arthur Fleck puts on a close-fitting necklace or neckband worn snugly around the neck (2019)
M2 The pilot who safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River makes another dramatic landing, this time in a trench worn into the earth by running water (2016)
M3 A cigar-choming half-demon investigator takes a break from his government work and pursues anew role helping people with their bags at a hotel (2004)
M4 Before attending a disastrous prom at Bates High School, a shy student with telekinetic powers drinks a glass of a Spanish fortified wine (1976)
There were 14 teams playing the first game.
Just Here for the Beer, 22; Polish Mafia, 33; chippy and friends, 36; Milan Metalloid Maniac, 39; Fab 4 and Bastard Squad (us), 40; Freezing for a Reason, 44; TTPD, 45; Goddamit Carl, 50; Quizteama Aguilera, 51; More Beer Less Pants, 52; Ryan and the Ladies and the idiots have arrived (tied), 53.
Final Question Game One
Category: Tony Awards
Two shows were involved in the only ever tie for Best Musical at the Tony Awards, in 1960. One was Fiorello! And the other was what production, which was the last musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein?
Ryan and the Ladies finished first with 68, Goddamit Carl finished second with 54.
Game Two/Round Three
9 TV Hosts – What is the last name of the man who co-hosted Wake Up with Al, along with Sephanie Abrams, on the Weather Channel from 2009-2015?
10 Saint Helena, South Georgia, and Gough Island are all located in what ocean?
NERD POINT – South Georgia is part of a British Overseas Territory that also includes what island chain?
Missed the nerd point.
11 I didn’t get this question down. I’ll just give y’all the answer. It was Tron! You’re all welcome!
🏈 12 Olympic Sports – How many total players are on the court at one time during an Olympic beach volleyball match?
🏈 NERD POINT: What country has won the most medals in Olympic beach volleyball?
We got the nerd point correct. I think this was the only sports question we got correct in this game! No, it was one of two sportsball questions we’d get correct in this game (one is coming up).
Mystery Round Three
The Star Spangled Banner
Name the word in the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner based on the definition.
M1 A defensive wall or embankment built around a fort to protect it
M2 Extremely dangerous or risky
M3 An uncomfortably bright light
M4 Having the mental or moral strength to face danger
Round Four
13 1980s Movies – When they first meet in the 1985 film The Goonies, Chunk offers Sloth what variety of candy bar?
NERD POINT: The Goonies is based on a story by what filmmaker?
14 Generals – In April 1951, President Harry Truman relieved Douglas MacArthur of several commands, including one abbreviated SCAP. What does the letter “S” stand for in the full name of this command for the Allied Powers?
15 Snakes – The largest rattlesnake species in the United States is partially named for the physical markings on its skin, which resemble what shape or pattern?
16 World Leaders – Give one of the two names used by popes in the 210th century other than John, Paul or John Paul.
Apparently “George” and “Ringo” are not correct guesses (I kid)!
NERD POINT: Give both names.
Mystery Round Four
Initials to Football Positions
Name the (American) football position that is represented when reading each person’s initials as a two-letter abbreviation. Give the full name of the football position, not the person’s name or initials!
🏈 M1 Inventor who registered more than 1,000 patents in the U.S. and was known as the “Wizard of Menlo Park.”
🏈 M2 Australian actress who earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and whose other credits include Neighbors and Bridesmaids.
🏈 M3 American sprinter who overcame polio as a child, won three gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and was known as the fastest woman in the world
🏈 M4 Lead singer of the band Matchbox Twenty
Scores heading into final 2:
Chippy and Friends, 39; Freezin’ for a Reason, 40; TTPD, 45; Bastard Squad (us), 47; Fab 4 and Ryan and the Ladies, 49; Milan Metalloid Maniac, 50; the idiots have arrived,/goddamit Carl, (tied) 53; More Beer Less Pants, 54, and Quizteama Aguilera was in first with 55 points.
Final Question Game Two
Category: Best Actors
For films released in the decade of the 2000s, three actors were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for their roles as real- life people born in Africa. Name one of the three films for which they were nominated.
In previous recaps, I’ve mentioned various “superpowers” our trivia team has. Those “superpowers” include overthinking answers, underthinking answers, and talking ourselves out of correct answers! Add to that coming up with one correct answer – and one that is incorrect, and choosing the wrong one!
Guess which of those things we did here? 🤔
Quizteama Aguilera took first with 70, More Beer Less Pants took second with 69.
We’ll likely get back to our regular trivia routines next week. Music quiz Monday, and one other “regular” trivia game during the week. Most likely close to home!
As always, Go Pods and stay classy, Forest Whitaker!
Answers
R1 knots, multi grain/apple cinnamon, and robich/Ben Shelton, mitt Romney
R2 cloudy with a chance of meatballs, YouTube/1994, Tupac/CA Love
R3 roker, Atlantic/sandwich, tron, four/brazil
R4 baby Ruth/Spielberg, supreme, diamond, Benedict/pius
M1 NK, Turkey, Cuba, Pakistan
M2 joker choker, sully gully, Hellboy bellboy, Carrie sherry
M3 rampart, perilous, glare, gallantly
M4 right end, running back, wide receiver, right tackle
F1 sound of music
F2 hotel rwanda, last king of scotland, invictus
