Because It’s Monday Trivia!

Monday’s game of Pour House Trivia welcomed a total of 114 teams, playing across our 11 local venues.

FIRST ROUND:

While a first-round question on the anniversary of Richard Nixon‘s resignation had the highest correct-answer rate of the night, its bonus question proved to be the toughest of the round; just under two-fifths of the field knew that Nixon defeated George McGovern in the 1972 election. The hardest wagering query of this round came next, where a three-parter of C.D.-initialed answers saw 85% of teams get at least two of the three answers right for points. We finished up on a drive through the Shenandoah Valley with Krypto the Superdog. Seventeen perfect scores were recorded in the opening round on Monday.

SECOND ROUND:

For this game’s audio clue, teams had to name sitcom characters from short clips of dialogue. Exactly two-thirds could name at least two of them, but a half-low 20% got bonus points for knowing Alex P. Keaton, Chandler Bing, and Sheldon Cooper. We followed with the toughest wagering question in the first half:

• Which music video from the Beastie Boys was presented as the opening to a fictitious television cop show of the 1970s?

The brilliant music video to the song Sabotage was recalled by 51% of our teams. Other topics in the round included Marie Curie‘s two Nobel Prize wins, the Haka performed by New Zealand‘s rugby team, and the Bible books Lamentations, Leviticus, and Luke. A quintet of teams reached perfection in the second round.

HALFTIME:

Teams were pretty stumped by Monday’s halftime sheet, which asked them to name ten onscreen performers who gained weight for certain roles, and the works for which they did so. No perfect scores were achieved on this page; in fact, the average score was 11.2 points out of a possible 20. With that, we reached our break with these top-scoring teams:

• I Don’t Know (DRP): 89
• Talk Nerdy to Me (DRP): 87
• Hipster Fashion Consultants (DRP): 86
• Legalized Gambling (DRP): 86
• H.R. Puff ‘n’ Stuff (DRP): 86
• You’re Killing Me, Smalls (Mark’s): 86

THIRD ROUND:

A three-parter on people with the last name Young kicked off second-half action on Monday, but the most difficult wagering question of the night soon followed:

• While miniature trees are the focus of the Japanese art of bonsai, which other type of natural item is the focus of ikebana?

The latter is the Japanese art of flower arrangement; wagering points were earned by 27% of our teams. There were a couple of tricky bonus chances in this round, as well. A question on the Bon Jovi song Who Says You Can’t Go Home saw 23% of the field get two extra points for knowing that song’s country cover by the band Sugarland. The round’s last question had a 24% bonus rate for those teams who knew the scientific term stoichiometry before an additional multiple-choice clue. Team Holt (Bushwaller’s) and Beavers and Merkins (Rockwell) provided the third round’s perfect scores.

FOURTH ROUND:

A first clue on Italy having the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites was all that was needed for the three teams who got the full six-point boost in the 6-4-2. The final round of regulation on Monday began with its hardest wagering question, which was also the toughest bonus opportunity in the game:

• Which Swedish author earned worldwide posthumous success after introducing readers to computer hacker Lisbeth Salander?

Stieg Larsson was correctly named by 44% of the field, while 12% tacked on bonus points for knowing his works are known as the Millennium Trilogy. We moved on to other subjects, such as the upcoming film remake of Road House starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the soccer definition of nutmeg, and a three-part Over/Under where the line was a crazy 88. In this round, perfect scores were reached by Legalized Gambling (DRP), Adams Family (William Jeffrey’s), OMG (William Jeffrey’s), and Killer Snails (Quincy’s). With only the final question remaining, these teams had a hold on the top of the leaderboard:

• I Don’t Know (DRP): 160
• Hipster Fashion Consultants (DRP): 160
• Legalized Gambling (DRP): 160
• Team Holt (Bushwaller’s): 158
• Cheddar Biscuts (Mark’s): 155
• First on First (Aslin): 155

FINAL QUESTION (51.8% success rate):

• Among the 100 most commonly spoken words in the English language, which seven-letter word is the longest?

Why did we ask this question? Because: that’s the answer! A trio of Monday squads knew that and all the other wagering answers, as Hipster Fashion Consultants (DRP), Legalized Gambling (DRP), and Team Holt (Bushwaller’s) earned the Perfect 21. A three-way tie between teams at the same location topped the final standings:

• Legalized Gambling (DRP): 172
• Hipster Fashion Consultants (DRP): 172
• I Don’t Know (DRP): 172
• Killer Snails (Quincy’s): 164
• How Did I Get Here? (Quincy’s): 163
• Team Holt (Bushwaller’s): 163
• Cheddar Biscuts (Mark’s): 162
• That’s So Clavin (Cushwa): 162
• H.R. Puff ‘n’ Stuff (DRP): 162
• You’re Killing Me, Smalls (Mark’s): 161

MONDAY’S WINNERS:

Ellie’s Pub in Winchester, VA: No Probllama  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Films 1930-1960)

Cushwa Brewing in Williamsport, MD: That’s So Clavin  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Cobra Kai (not about car dealerships))

DRP in Alexandria, VA: Legalized Gambling  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Ice Cream)

Bushwaller’s in Frederick, MD: Team Holt  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: British Monarchs)

Rockwell Brewery in Frederick, MD: Jerk and Thrive  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Algebra)

Mark’s Pub in Falls Church, VA: Cheddar Biscuts  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Degrassi: The Next Generation (not about Drake))

William Jeffrey’s Tavern in Arlington, VA: Adams Family  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: The Addams Family)

Ragtime in Arlington, VA: Sanchezes  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: The Beatles) 

Aslin Beer Co in Herndon, VA: First on First  (NO GAME NEXT WEEK – FIRST CATEGORY ON AUG. 22: Botany)

Quincy’s Bar and Grille in Gaithersburg, MD: Killer Snails (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Center Fielders)

Il Forno Pizzeria in Frederick, MD: That’s a Bingo (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: The Sopranos)