A Record Night of Pour House Trivia!

Opening Day must have inspired the competitive nature of our teams, as Thursday night brought a record number of teams to our venues.  In our highest weekday attendance in history, we welcomed 137 teams across 14 venues on Thursday night:

ROUND 1:

Difficult bonus questions seemed to be the theme of Thursday’a game, as we kicked off the game with a pair of toughies in the opening stanza.  In a question concerning the ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal, only 19% of our teams knew that his famous trek across the Alps took place during the Punic Wars.  Later, we closed the round with a question concerning the film “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”, with just 22% of the field remembering the name of Keanu’s co-star Alex Winter:

Alex Winter

Nine teams ran the table in the first round with a perfect score.

ROUND 2:

Thursday’s audio question featured three songs which include the word “Uptown” in the title: “Uptown Girl” (by Billy Joel) and “Uptown Funk” (by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars) were recognizable, but the song “It’s Quiet Uptown” (originally from “Hamilton” but covered here by Kelly Clarkson), was certainly the most difficult, as just 14% of our teams earned bonus points with three correct answers.  The rest of the round played rather easily, with the exception of Questiin #4, which proved to be the most difficult wagering question of the night:

–> Which subsidiary of Albertson’s currently uses the ad slogan “Ingredients for Life”?

It just goes to show that sometimes, advertising slogans are not as memorable as executives hope, as this question resulted in zero correct answers in half of our venues, with just 12 teams overall remembering this brand:

Safeway

Not surprisingly, only one team notched a perfect second round score: Dire Wolves (Belly Love).

HALFTIME:

Google Doodles and TV news were the topics featured on Thursday’s halftime page.  After last week’s page featured dozens of perfect scores, this version was much more difficult, with an overall average of just 13.3 points, which included nine teams notching a perfect 20 for 20.  Here are Thursday’s top scores after the first half:

ROUND 3:

Thursday’s second half opened with a question on this Broadway show:

Cabaret

Later, we looked at the hit 1980s song “Somebody’s Watching Me” and the success of the TV show “Ally McBeal”.  We also asked about this illegal figure skating maneuver (at the 3:30 mark):

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC7yJ4jez68[/embedyt]

Three teams earned perfect scores in the third round: Power Vacuum (Champion Billiards), Last House on the Jeff (Fish Market), and PC Principals (Fish Market).

ROUND 4:

Thursday’s final round included questions on quarks, Levi Strauss, and this literary vampire hunter:

Van Helsing

In addition to Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Jackman, and even Mel Brooks, future “Star Wars” actor Peter Cushing (above) have all played Abraham Van Helsing.  Just as in the third round, three teams were able to run the table in the final stanza: Syn Storm (Champion Billiards), Last House on the Jeff (Fish Market), and Atomic Dogs (Fish Market)..  These were your top Thursday scores after the fourth round:

FINAL QUESTION (65.8% success rate):

–> In 1845, a pair of American settlers both wanted to name a new western community after their respective hometowns.  A coin flip was used to determine the new name, with “Boston” on the losing end.  Name this city which is currently home to about 650,000 residents.

About two-thirds of our teams responded correctly with Portland, Oregon.  Congratulations to Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s) and Movin’ On (​Smoketown Brewing), who were the only teams to record the Perfect 21 on Thursday with correct answers on all wagering questions.  Here are your top overall scores from Thursday:

An honorable mention goes out to Syn Storm (Champion Billiards), who racked up 170 points tonight, but was playing “over the limit”.

TONIGHT’S WINNERS:

Quincy’s Bar and Grille in Gaithersburg, MD:  Lowered Expectations  (Next week’s first category: “De-Lovely”)

Champion Billiards in Frederick, MD:  Power Vacuum  (Next week’s first category: 100 Years War)

Bunker Sports Cafe in Leesburg, VA:  Thoroughly Screwed  (Next week’s first category: Motown)

​Smoketown Brewing Station in Brunswick, MD:  We Drink and We Know Things  (Next week’s first category: “Grey’s Anatomy”)

Beef O’ Brady’s in Frederick, MD:  Punslingers  (Next week’s first category: Pro Sports Stadiums)

Belly Love Brewing in Purcellville, VA:  Dire Wolves  ** FOUR WINS IN A ROW! **  (Next week’s first category: Hanna-Barbera Characters)

Cushwa Brewing in Williamsport, MD:  Slapsgiving  (Next week’s first category: CrossFit Games)

Olde Mother Brewing in Frederick, MD:  Jade Lee Fan Club  (Next week’s first category: MLB History)

The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg, MD:  Replacements  (Next week’s first category: Bowling)

Black Walnut Brewery in Leesburg, VA:  My Name is Judge  (Next week’s first category: Herbs and Spices)

Right Around the Corner in St. Petersburg, FL:  Just the Tip  (Next week’s first category: England)

Dawg House in Waynesboro, PA:  Irish Mafia  (Next week’s first category: James Michener Novels)

Fish Market Restaurant in Alexandria, VA:  PC Principals  (Next week’s first category: Porn and Fashion)

Guido’s in Frederick, MD:  Tuna Noodle Casserole  (Next week’s first category: “Harry Potter” Books)