Build Me Up, Weekend Trivia!

May 31, 2023

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A 23-team game at Springfield Manor Winery on Friday kicked things off over the weekend, as 95 teams attended Pour House Trivia events across eight venues.

FIRST ROUND:

Wagering questions were no big deal for our teams in the opening round. However, a three-part question at the end of Friday’s round proved tricky when it came to earning bonus points. Here, teams had to name three people whose first or last names begin with the letters Mag:

  • 1)  His list of film roles includes Peter Parker, Nick Carraway, and Bobby Fischer.
  • 2)  The works of this Belgian-born surrealist painter are thematically linked by male figures in bowler hats.
  • 3)  During the 1990s, he claimed the title of World’s Strongest Man on four occasions.

Only 20% of the field named all three people: Tobey Maguire, Rene Magritte, and Magnus ver Magnusson. Other topics in this round included David Tennant’s return as the Doctor in Doctor Who, Three Clues about author C.S. Lewis, and three men named Jerry. Seven teams recorded perfect scores in this round.

SECOND ROUND:

Audio questions this past weekend dealt with covers of Tina Turner songs, clips from TV sitcoms, and musicians singing about their ages. Friday’s most difficult wagering question also came in this round:

  • Derived from the Book of Daniel, the words mene, mene, tekel, upharsin comprise the origin of an English expression meaning a sign of impending doom. Name this phrase, which also inspired the title of an Oscar-winning song from Sam Smith.

Just under 7% of teams correctly identified the phrase the writing is on the wall. Saturday’s second round also contained a tough question, this time on the Broadway stage:

  • The musical numbers Jacob and Sons and Song of the King are featured in what Biblically-inspired Broadway show?

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was named by 37% of Saturday’s teams. On Sunday, a U.S. geography question was the game’s hardest:

  • Not surprisingly, this U.S. state is home to the four largest cities in the country in terms of land area. Individually, all four of these cities are larger than Rhode Island. These cities are all found in which state?

Those cities are all found in Alaska, a correct answer provided by 26% of the field. Other questions in this round dealt with topics such as the raccoon, the 1990s film Fargo, and Amazon‘s purchase of Whole Foods. No teams in this round achieved a perfect score.

HALFTIME:

At halftime this past weekend, teams handled topics such as fictional dog breeds, country outlines, and foods that start with the letter H. A solid run of pages brought back an average score of 17.7 points, while 35 teams got all 20 points. At the halftime break, these teams were in the lead:

THIRD ROUND:

Friday’s second half began with an African geography question:

  • Located along the equator, Lake Victoria has coastlines on or within which three different African countries?

About 22% of the field named at least two of those three nations for wagering credit, but 8.3% were able to get all three: Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Later, Three Clues about the dollar sign saw just two squads give the correct answer early enough for bonus points. Some other third-round topics included the Brazil nut, the Oval Office’s Resolute desk, and the Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia. The only team to reach perfection in this round was Norfolk and Chance (Garage).

FOURTH ROUND:

Weekend 6-4-2 questions were about the cranberry, the Michael Jackson song Smooth Criminal, and actor Bradley Cooper. Sunday’s final round had a question about recent World Cup successes:

  • Both located in Europe, which two countries have finished in the top three in each of the last two FIFA Men’s World Cups?

Only two teams earned bonus points for naming both France and Croatia. Other subjects in this round included Revolutionary War hero and company namesake Ethan Allen, the city of Memphis, and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. As with the second round, no teams were able to put together a perfect round here. Another two-way tie for first topped the overall standings after four rounds:

FRIDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (45.83% success rate):

  • This Cole Porter song was performed by Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm in the 1956 film High Society. More than 40 years later, it would appear as the title of a TV game show. Name that song.

SATURDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (12.5% success rate):

  • A nickname commonly used for the image orthicon tube provided the inspiration for the name of what annual award?

SUNDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (73.33% success rate):

  • Shortly after taking office in 1956, President Juscelino Kubitschek ordered the construction of a new national capital city in his home country. Name the country over which Kubitschek ruled.

That Cole Porter song is Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the image orthicon tube inspired the name Immy that was then changed to the Emmy, and Kubitschek led Brazil to create its new capital of Brasilia. No teams recorded a Perfect 21 game over the weekend. We finished with these leading teams:

WEEKEND WINNERS:

South Mountain Creamery in Frederick, MD: Vandelay Industries  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Fictitious Films from Seinfeld)

Springfield Manor Winery in Thurmont, MD: TJ  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Game Show Hosts)

Dragon Distillery in Frederick, MD: Sherlock Homies  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Seinfeld)

Doc Waters Cidery in Germantown, MD: Alexa, Siri, and Google Walk Into a Bar  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: High Society (film))

Flying Ace Farm in Lovettsville, VA: Magnificent Seven  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Van Halen)

Belles’ Sports Bar in Frederick, MD: NO GAME  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: The Bible)

Pretzel and Pizza Creations in Hagerstown, MD: Nerd Birds  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Michael Scott)

The Garage in Frederick, MD: Sexual Chocolate  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: World Capital Wordplay)

Mason Social in Alexandria, VA: Porpoise Pod  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Tristram Shandy)

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