Thursday Game Recaps

Thursday has suddenly become the busiest night of the week for Pour House Trivia, as we welcomed 121 teams across 16 venues:

FIRST ROUND:

Thursday’s opening round topics included the city of Beijing, salty superstitions, and Three Clues for the word ‘twins’.  We concluded the first round with a question regarding this fictional planet and the real-life African country which served as its filming location:

Most of our teams knew that the scenes depicting Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine were filmed in the country of Tunisia.  But even the die-hard “Star Wars” might not have known that the fictional planet was named for the Tunisian city of Tataouine.  After one round of play, 19 teams were holding a perfect score.

SECOND ROUND:

Thursday’s audio question asked our teams to name three musical acts singing about family.  While most of the field recognized Hall & Oats (“Family Man”) and Green Day (“Nuclear Family”), the stumper proved to be the oldest of the three songs: “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge.  Only 11% of the field picked up these two bonus points.  Next up, we discussed this Boston locale used for the exterior shots on the TV series “Cheers”:

We closed the first half by asking our teams to name the two letters of the alphabet which begin the names of at least five current NFL teams.  Since most people start at the beginning of the alphabet for this type of question, virtually every team came up with both correct answers of B (Bears, Bengals, Bills, Broncos, Browns, Buccaneers) and C (Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys).  Most of the teams that earned bonus points to open the second round cruised to a perfect score, as nine teams overall posted 36 second round points.

HALFTIME:

Caricatures of world leaders and college colors were the featured topics on Thursday’s halftime page.  Falling a bit on the easier side, this halftime page yielded perfect scores to 22% of our teams, with an overall average score of 17.4 points.  Here is Thursday’s halftime leaderboard:

• Breadsticks (Quincy’s):  92
• PC Principals  (Fish Market):  92
• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing):  92
• Castle Greyskull (Quincy’s):  90
• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market):  90

THIRD ROUND:

We began the second half with a three-part question on titles which include the word “LAST”: the 1950s song “Last Kiss” (later covered by Pearl Jam), the controversial Marlon Brando film “Last Tango in Paris”, and the video game “The Last of Us”.  With an array of topics, only ten teams picked up two bonus points to begin the third round.  We continued with questions concerning the brain’s gray matter, Oklahoma cities, and this Broadway musical:

The third round also included the most difficult wagering question of the night:

–> Created by Jim Sanborn, the sculpture Kryptos includes four encrypted messages, so it is appropriately located at the headquarters of which U.S. government agency?

While the FBI was a popular wong answer, only 28% of our teams gave us the correct response of the Central Intelligence Agency.  As a result, the only perfect scores from Thursday’s third round were turned in by Uranus Fly Trap (Smoketown Brewing) and Momentary Lapse of Reason (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s).

FOURTH ROUND:

Thursday’s final round began with the most difficult bonus question of the night.  After most of the field knew that “Weekend Update” anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che will be hosting next week’s Primetime Emmy Awards, only seven teams earned bonus points by also knowing that Stephen Colbert hosted last year’s ceremony.  Next up, we discussed this pair of homophones:

Other final round topics included international sports organizations, explorer James Cook, and the classic tune “Camptown Races”.  After the first bonus question took its toll on the field, the Fan Club (Quincy’s) posted the only perfect score of the final round.  These were your highest scoring Thursday teams after four rounds of play:

• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing):  168
• PC Principals  (Fish Market):  163
• Breadsticks (Quincy’s):  161
• Momentary Lapse of Reason (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s):  161
• Castle Greyskull (Quincy’s):  160

THURSDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (53.3% success rate):

–> Thanks to a re-dedication ceremony held earlier this year, which Navy destroyer is now named for three different men who share the same first and last name?

Just over half of our teams earned points on Thursday’s final question by remembering these three men:

Congratulations to Castle Greyskull (Quincy’s), Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing), and Momentary Lapse of Reason (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s), who posted the Perfect 21 on Thursday by answering each wagering question correctly.  Here is your final Thursday leaderboard:

• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing):  180
• Breadsticks (Quincy’s):  173
• Castle Greyskull (Quincy’s):  172
• Fan Club (Quincy’s):  169
• North Country (Quincy’s):  169
• PC Principals  (Fish Market):  168
• Indians (Bunker Sports Cafe):  168
• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market):  167
• Charlie Work (Olde Mother Brewing):  167
• Low Cal Calzone Zone (Olde Mother Brewing):  167
• 1-2-3 Drink (Cushwa Brewing):  167

THURSDAY’S WINNERS:

The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg, MD:  ICUP Rainbows  (Next week’s first category: Disney Animated Films)

Black Walnut Brewery in Leesburg, VA:  Did You See Abe Lincoln?  (Next week’s first category: World War I)

Dawg House in Waynesboro, PA:  Not Your Team  (Next week’s first category: “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”)

Before we get to Thursday’s recap, you can download the updated standings here:

Frederick Division   Maryland Division   NoVa Division   Loudoun Division

As we approach the last week of the Summer Fling Season, Thursday’s game welcomed 118 teams across 16 venues, including the start of another five-week session at the Lake Linganore Event Tent in New Market.

FIRST ROUND:

Thursday’s opening round topics included Puerto Rico, TV talk shows, and this global concert event:

About one-third of our teams knew that the 1985 Live Aid concert was held in both London and Philadelphia, while providing famine relief for the people of Ethiopia.  Twelve teams began their night with as perfect first round score.

SECOND ROUND:

We quizzed our teams on singers with alliterative stage names in Thursday’s audio question, before moving on to topics such as Velveeta and the 2018 Boston Red Sox.  A pair of difficult bonus questions kept many teams from securing a perfect score.  First up, a question about alloys asked for the either one of the two primary components of brass.  Nearly every team earned wagering points with one correct answer of copper, but only 14% of the field picked up two bonus points with the second correct answer of zinc.  The final question of the first half dealt with the highest-grossing films in the career of Robert De Niro.  Only nine teams earned bonus points here by remembering this animated film:

Only one team answered both of these bonus questions correctly en route to sweeping the second round: 1-2-3 Drink (Cushwa Brewing).

HALFTIME:

Liquor brands and film quotes highlighted Thursday’s halftime page.   With an average score of 18.2 points, we saw 19% of the field notch a perfect score of 20 points.  Here this Thursday’s halftime leaderboard:

• 1-2-3 Drink (Cushwa Brewing):  89
• PC Principals (Fish Market):  89
• Slapsgiving (Cushwa Brewing):  89
• I’d Hit That (Quincy’s): 89
• FOUR TEAMS TIED WITH 88 POINTS

THIRD ROUND:

We began the second half with world geography, as 14% of our teams earned bonus points by naming both Greece and Bulgaria as the countries which border the European portion of Turkey.  After a Three Clues question concerning Freddie Mercury, we got one hell of a response on this food question:

–> According to an urban legend involving the Roman goddess Venus, the shape of tortellini pasta was inspired by which body part?

Before we get into the details, let’s familiarize ourselves with the actual shape of tortellini pasta:

Based on the circular shape of tortellini, the correct answer was the navel (or belly button), which is evident in this pasta’s alternate Italian name of ombelico.  Let’s just say that the most common answer here was a certain OTHER body part found somewhat below the navel.  Seriously, people… we run a family-friendly game here!  Fortunately, 26% of our teams had their minds out of the gutter and gave us the correct response.  After closing with a U.S. history question, only PC Principals (Fish Market) recorded a perfect third round score.

FOURTH ROUND:

Our final round began with a look at this sketch comedy series:

Later, we discussed the off-field troubles of star receiver Josh Gordon and the philosophical concept of hedonism.  Nine teams earned perfect scores in the final round, with five of those teams playing at Quincy’s in Gaithersburg.  Tough crowd!  These were your highest scoring Thursday teams after four rounds of play:

• PC Principals (Fish Market):  163
• 1-2-3 Drink (Cushwa Brewing):  162
• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing):  161
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s): 157
• Clever Team Name (Quincy’s): 156

THURSDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (16.7% success rate):

–> While it is widely accepted that this woman passed away at age 24, some oral traditions contend that she actually deserted her husband Toussaint Charbonneau and lived until the age of 95.  Who is this woman?

About one-in-six teams responded correctly with Sacagawea.  With a rather difficult question to finish off the game, only PC Principals answered all 21 wagering questions correctly to record the Perfect 21.  Here is your final Thursday leaderboard:

• PC Principals (Fish Market):  165
• Green Machine (Art’s Tavern):  162
• Washington Foreskins (Bunker Sports Cafe):  161
• Power Vacuum (Champion Billiards):  159
• Psychos (Champion Billiards):  158
• North Country (Quincy’s):  157
• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing):  157
• Sack of Marbles (Cushwa Brewing):  154
• Our Cup Size is Stanley (Guido’s):  153
• FOUR TEAMS TIED WITH 150 POINTS

THURSDAY’S WINNERS:

The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg, MD:  Blood Legion  (Next week’s first category: U.S. Geography)

Black Walnut Brewery in Leesburg, VA:  The Land Before Time Sucked  (Next week’s first category: European Countries)

Dawg House in Waynesboro, PA:  Not Your Team  (Next week’s first category: “Uncharted”)

Thursday was a busy night for Pour House Trivia, with seven venues welcoming ten or more teams.  Overall, Thursday’s game featured 113 teams across 15 venues:

FIRST ROUND:

Thursday’s game opened with a question concerning the various roles of actor Bryan Cranston, including this acclaimed role as the 36th U.S. President:

A surprisingly difficult astronomy question found its way into the opening round on Thursday night:

–> If the eight planets of our Solar System were arranged in a collinear path, which planet would be closest to Earth?

The distances between the planetary orbits increase as one travels away from the Sun, meaning that the path of Venus is closer to Earth than that of Mars.  Only 56% of our teams answered correctly here.  Later, we asked a Three Clues question about the Supreme Court and discussed the origin of the company name Google.  In spite of the Solar System question, 16 teams ran the table in the opening stanza.

SECOND ROUND:

Thursday’s audio question featured songs with 11-letter titles: “Abracadabra” by The Steve Miller Band, “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba, and “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons.  We continued by looking at Romanian gymnastics, the Texas / Oklahoma border, and this action film which created a sales boost for the Mini Cooper:

This final question of the first half also included the first true stumper of the night, as we offered two bonus points to any team that could name the African-American director of “The Italian Job”.  With just nine teams picking up bonus by knowing the correct answer of F. Gary Gray, only The Bends (Dawg House) managed to sweep the second round.

HALFTIME:

Thursday’s halftime page featured pictures of ten celebrities with a hidden theme: their first names match those of characters from “The Office”.  Teams who picked up on the theme earned extra points by going back and recognizing faces such as Pam Dawber and Toby Keith.  The bottom half proved to be more difficult that usual, as teams were asked to match candy brands to their respective countries of origin.  Despite a low scoring average of 13.8 points, seven teams posted perfect scores.  Here is your Thursday halftime leaderboard:

• PC Principals (Fish Market Restaurant):  90
• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing Station):  90
• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market Restaurant):  88
• Power Vacuum (Champion Billiards):  87
• FIVE TEAMS TIED WITH 85 POINTS

THIRD ROUND:

We began Thursday’s second half with questions regarding “The Love Boat” and films which featured apes in the cast: “Mighty Joe Young” (another Charlize Theron film?), “Bedtime for Bonzo”, and “Dunston Checks In”.  We continued with a look at this luxurious sports car:

Once again, a wicked bonus question kept many teams from securing perfect third round scores.  While most of the field knew that the city of Krakow once served as the capital of Poland, only 11% of our teams knew that the city’s largest airport is named for native son Pope John Paul II.  Four teams earned perfect third round scores: Power Vacuum (Champion Billiards), They’re Real and They’re Spectacular (Belly Love Brewing), PC Principals (Fish Market Restaurant), and Trivia Knowmads (Fish Market Restaurant).

FOURTH ROUND:

After the 6-4-2 question looked at the various projects of Jennifer Aniston, we asked a question regarding this kosher product:

Only 14% of our teams correctly spelled ‘Manischewitz’ to earn a two-point bonus.  Other final round topics included “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”, the #1 hit song “Broken Wings”, and the upcoming college football season.  Six teams posted prefect scores in Thursday’s fourth round.  These were your highest scoring teams heading into the final question:

• PC Principals (Fish Market Restaurant):  166
• Power Vacuum (Champion Billiards):  159
• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing Station):  158
• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market Restaurant):  156
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s):  155
• Castle Greyskull (Quincy’s):  155

THURSDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (50.0% success rate):

–> A model of the German Mauser C96 gun was modified to become which film character’s weapon, known as the BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster pistol?

Exactly half of our teams turned in the correct response of Han Solo.  Though we saw several difficult bonus questions, seven teams recorded the Perfect 21 thanks to correct answers on all wagering questions.  Here is Thursday’s final overall leaderboard:

• PC Principals (Fish Market Restaurant):  172
• Castle Greyskull (Quincy’s):  167
• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing Station):  165
• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market Restaurant):  165
• Brain Freeze (Quincy’s):  163
• Not Your Team (Dawg House):  162
• Power Vacuum (Champion Billiards):  161
• Trivia Knowmads (Fish Market Restaurant):  161
• 1-2-3 Drink (Cushwa Brewing):  161
• Breadsticks (Quincy’s):  160

THURSDAY’S WINNERS:

The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg, MD:  Drinkin’ and Guessin’  (Next week’s first category: African-American History)

Black Walnut Brewery in Leesburg, VA:  Three Men and No Baby  (Next week’s first category: Ancient Civilizations)

Dawg House in Waynesboro, PA:  Not Your Team  (Next week’s first category: Wildland Firefighting Tools)

Several large crowds on Thursday led to a slightly higher number of teams than usual, as we welcomed a grand total of 128 teams across 14 venues:

FIRST ROUND:

Opening round topics from Thursday night included yhe New England patriots, Middle Eastern geography, and this breakfast cereal:

After a Three Clues question about the word death, we saw 16 teams begin Thursday night with a perfect first round score.

SECOND ROUND:

Thursday’s audio clue featured song with descriptive titles such as “Ironic”  by Alanis Morissette, “Crazy” by Patsy Cline, and “Happy” by  Pharrell Williams.  With a slew of bonus points handed out there, many of our teams continued to cruise through the second round topics of The Wall Street Journal and lanolin, but the final question of the round stumped many of our teams:

–> Derived as a play on words, the Palm Dog Award was once bestowed upon a Jack Russell terrier that appeared in which 21st century black-and-white film that won the Best Picture Oscar?

Only 43% of our teams earned wagering by remembering “The Artist”:

Two teams ran the table in the second stanza: Your Mom (Bunker Sports Cafe) and PC Principals (Fish Market).

HALF TIME:

Thursday’s halftime page featured celebrities whose full names for complete sentences (e.g. Britney Spears and Norman Fell).  Here is your overall leaderboard at the halftime break.

• PC Principals (Fish Market):  92
• Chad’s Favorite (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s):  88
• Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune (​Smoketown Brewing):  87
• Your Mom (Bunker Sports Cafe):  87
• Washington Foreskins (Bunker Sports Cafe):  87

THIRD ROUND:

We wasted no time getting to the difficult second half questions, as there were very few bonus points handed out on this geography query:

–> Name any two of the three Connecticut cities which have a higher population that the state capital of Hartford.

Only nine teams snagged two bonus points by naming all three correct answers of Stamford, New Haven, and Bridgeport.  Next, we look at the use of tannins in both the production of leather and wine before moving on to a question regarding the defunct amusement park Astroworld (and the new Travis Scott album of the same name).  We closed with a question regarding the International Monetary Fund and the Bretton Woods Agreement by which it was created.  Chad’s Favorite (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s) notched the only perfect score of the third round.

FOURTH ROUND:

After a 6-4-2 question regarding Elton John, we began the final round with a look at this current film:

Not surprisingly, a question on the topic of modern art proved to be the most difficult wagering questions of the night:

–> As one of the key figures in the Dada movement, which Frenchman created the sculpture Fountain, which was nothing more than a porcelain urinal?

Only 14% of our teams picked up points with the correct answer of Marcel Duchamp.  The final round closed with a relatively easier baseball question on the career achievements of Ty Cobb and Pete Rose, the only two players to amass 4,000 career hits in MLB history.  The only team to sweep the final round was Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market).  These were your highest scoring Thursday teams at the final question:

• PC Principals (Fish Market):  159
• Chad’s Favorite (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s):  156
• Flat Stanleys (The Grille at Flower Hill):  155
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s):  154
• We Are Not Going to Be Suck This Year (Art’s Tavern):  154

THURSDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (54.7% success rate):

–> According to the American Red Cross, what is the rarest of the eight human blood types, present in less than 1% of the world’s population?

Just over half of our teams answered correctly with AB negative.  None of our teams earned the Perfect 21 tonight.  Here is your final overall leaderboard:

• We Are Not Going to Be Suck This Year (Art’s Tavern):  166
• PC Principals (Fish Market):  166
• Chad’s Favorite (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s):  165
• Five Sure (Black Walnut):  164
• F.U. Darts (Art’s Tavern):  164
• Zambookie (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s):  164
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s):  163
• Tuna Noodle Casserole (Guido’s):  163
• FIVE TEAMS TIED WITH 162 POINTS

THURSDAY’S WINNERS:

The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg, MD:  Flat Stanleys  (Next week’s first category: Potent Potables)

Black Walnut Brewery in Leesburg, VA:  Five Sure  (Next week’s first category: “A” For Effort)

Dawg House in Waynesboro, PA:  Space Farce  (Next week’s first category: “Breaking Bad”)

Six different venues boasted more than ten teams on Thursday night, with a total of 116 teams across 14 venues:

FIRST ROUND:

Thursday’s game began with a three-part question in which all of the answers featured the initials ‘K. D.’: Kentucky Derby, Komodo Dragon, and Kirk Douglas.  We continued with a look at U.S. cities, the multiple uses of the word drone, and this diminutive U.S. President:

More than half of our teams also knew that Montpelier was the name of James Madison’s Virginia estate.  A record 36 TEAMS swept the opening round, including eight teams at Quincy’s in Gaithersburg.

SECOND ROUND:

We paid tribute to the Queen of Soul during Thursday’s audio question, as we listened to the legendary Aretha Franklin cover hits such as “Eleanor Rigby”, “I Will Survive”, and “Rolling in the Deep”.  Next up, we asked about the animated film “Rango”, expansion NFL teams of the 1990s, and this duo of TV talk show hosts:

The bonus questions were slightly more difficult in the second stanza, but nine teams still managed to run the table by posting 36 second round points.

HALFTIME:

Thursday night featured the Smurfiest halftime page in PHT history, with exactly one-quarter of our teams posting a perfect score, while the overall average came in at 18.2 points.  Here are your highest scoring teams from Thursday’s first half:

• Five Sure (Black Walnut):  93
• Space Farce (Cushwa Brewing):  92
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s):  91
• North Country (Quincy’s):  91
• My Harry Potter Has Hogwarts (​Smoketown Brewing):  91

THIRD ROUND:

With more than a dozen teams recording at least 90 first half points, the argument could be made that that the opening two rounds were a bit too easy.  How do make up for that?  With a diabolical third round, of course!  The overall success rate for the five wagering questions averaged 46% during Thursday’s third round, with the easiest of the five questions barely breaking 60%.  We explored topics such as Daniel Day-Lewis, South African landmarks, and the recent controversy stirred up by Ariana Grande’s song “God Is a Woman”.  The most difficult wagering question of the night featured a bit of wordplay:

–> The Greek goddess of the night has a name which is pronounced identically to that of an NBA team.  Give either spelling of this word.

Only 23% of the field came up with the correct response of Nyx (or Knicks).  After closing with a three-part question in the category of European monarchs, none of our teams posted a perfect third round score.  In fact, just five teams answered all five wagering questions correctly.

FOURTH ROUND:

Final round topics included the lead voice actors from “King of the Hill”, the early work of H.G. Wells, and this Olympic event:

While the field recovered nicely from the wicked third round, several difficult bonus questions kept the perfect scores off the board in the final round.  Here are Thursday’s top teams heading into the final question:

• PC Principals (Fish Market):  160
• Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune (Smoketown Brewing):  157
• Power Vacuum (Champion Billiards):  156
• Your Mom (Bunker Sports Cafe):  155
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s):  154
• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing):  154

THURSDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (53.3% success rate):

–> While it is also defined as an impractical building constructed primarily for decoration, which word meaning ‘foolishness’ is also used to describe an 1867 land purchase?

Just over half of our teams knew that the transaction referenced in the question was the purchase of Alaska as suggested by U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, an acquisition which quickly became known as “Seward’s Folly”.  Congratulations to PC Principals (Fish Market) and Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing), who avoided the third round speed bumps to record the Perfect 21 tonight with correct answers on all wagering questions.  Here is your final leaderboard from Thursday night:

• Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune (Smoketown Brewing):  167
• Uranus Fly Trap (​Smoketown Brewing):  166
• PC Principals (Fish Market):  163
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s):  163
• Power Vacuum (Champion Billiards):  163
• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market):  162
• Just Good Enough (Champion Billiards):  162
• Your Mom (Bunker Sports Cafe):  162
• No Scrubs (Cushwa Brewing):  162
• Brain Freeze (Quincy’s):  162

THURSDAY’S WINNERS:

The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg, MD:  Flat Stanleys  (Next week’s first category: U.S. Vice Presidents)

Black Walnut Brewery in Leesburg, VA:  Five Sure  (Next week’s first category: Advertising Slogans)

Dawg House in Waynesboro, PA:  50 Shades of Grey Matter  (Next week’s first category: Welding)