Fechez la Vache… for Monday Night Trivia!

Is it possible fans of Monty Python had an advantage in Monday night’s game of Pour House Trivia?  Maybe, but either way we welcomed 92 teams across 11 venues:

ROUND 1:

Monday’s game certainly broke from the norm in the opening stanza, as the first round included two of the most difficult bonus questions of the night.  First off, we discussed this majestic landmark in Australia’s largest city:

While most of our teams recognized a description of the Sydney Opera House, many players did not realize how old this venue is.  Believe it or not, construction was completed all the way back in 1973.  With just 10% of the field earning bonus points here, most perfect scores were dashed, but we followed up with an equally difficult bonus question to close the first round.  We asked our teams name the Stieg Larsson novel trilogy which introduced Lisbeth Salander (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”).  While many teams assumed that the word “Girl” would have appeared in the title of the trilogy, those three books are collectively known as the Millennium trilogy.  Once again, only 10% of our teams earned these two bonus points.  For the first time in recent memory, the first round did not yield any perfect scores.

ROUND 2:

Monday’s audio question asked out teams to identify three female singers with seven-letter stage names.  About one-quarter of our teams recognized the voices of Madonna (“Holiday”), Shakira (“Underneath Your Clothes”), and Ashanti (“Foolish”) to pick up two bonus points.  Other topics included the upcoming reboot of the TV series “Lost in Space”, and this national championship winning team:

After closing with a question on Betty Ross, the love interest of The Incredible Hulk, we saw seven perfect second round scores.

HALFTIME:

Monday’s halftime page included pictures of TV series featuring future Oscar-winning performers, as well as a matching section on nicknames of foreign countries.  The overall average came in at 15.8 points, with nine teams cruising to a perfect score of 20 points.  Here are your top Monday scores at the halftime break:

• Need More Trash Culture (Flanagan’s Harp and Fiddle):  90
• Give Us Your Beer Money (Greene Turtle – Hagerstown):  88
• Oliver’s Army (DRP):  88
• Wednesday’s Child (Bushwaller’s):  88
• Mud Duck Hunt Club (Greene Turtle – Urbana):  87

ROUND 3:

Monday’s second half began with a look at the many floral works of Vincent Van Gogh, as well as three films directed by Peter Jackson (which were set OUTSIDE of Middle-earth).  Since the Kiwi has not directed many films away from the high fantasy genre, earning bonus points proved to be quite difficult.  Only six teams were aware of this murderous drama which featured the big screen debut of Kate Winslet:

We closed the third round with an equally difficult bonus question.  After referencing the bizarre connection between gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano and the “South Park” franchise, only 15% of our teams knew that the “Battle of the Brians” resulted in a silver medal for Canadian skater Brian Orser.  As a result, only ONE team notched 36 points in Monday’s third round: MAJ (DRP).

ROUND 4:

Monday’s final round opened with a question on World geography, as we asked our teams to name the Central American countries which do not border both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea:

Later topics included Kroger grocery stores, the human shoulder blade, and World War II.  In 1943, Operation Avalanche and Operation Slapstick ultimately led to the surrender of Italy.  The fourth round actually featured the highest number of perfect scores on Monday, as nine teams ran the table with 36 points each.  Here are Monday’s top scores heading into the final question:

• Need More Trash Culture (Flanagan’s Harp and Fiddle):  163
• MAJ (DRP):  159
• Kitten Mittens (Cheesetique):  159
• Oliver’s Army (DRP):  158
• Killer Snails (Hershey’s):  158

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

–> Thought to have lived about 300 A.D., a Roman military commander named Lucius Artorius Castus is considered to be one of the people who provided the basis for which legendary figure?

Across the board, exactly half of our teams arrived at the correct answer of King Arthur.  Congratulations to the seven teams who secured the Perfect 21 on Monday night by correctly answering all wagering questions.  Here are your top overall scores from Monday night:

• MAJ (DRP):  171
• Oliver’s Army (DRP):  170
• Two Unsavories (DRP):  169
• Kitten Mittens (Cheesetique):  168
• Chariots of Dire (DRP):  166
• Jerry Lewis Romperthon (Bushwaller’s):  165
• What’s a Z.J.? (Il Forno):  165
• Eat Ham (DRP):  163
• Need More Trash Culture (Flanagan’s Harp and Fiddle):  163
• Ask Jeeves (Bushwaller’s):  162

TONIGHT’S WINNERS:

Berkeley Springs Bowl in Berkeley Springs, WV:  Angus  (Next week’s first category: 1980s Pro Wrestlers)

DRP in Alexandria, VA:  MAJ  (Next week’s first category: Washington Capitals)

Greene Turtle in Hagerstown, MD:  Shirts and Skins  (Next week’s first category: “Fortnite”)

Morgan Inn in Woodbine, MD:  Pop Rocks  (Next week’s first category: Air Traffic Control)

Hershey’s Restaurant in Gaithersburg, MD:  Killer Snails  ** NINE WINS A ROW! **  (Next week’s first category: HQ Trivia)

Uno Pizzeria in Frederick, MD:  This is How We Go Down  (Next week’s first category: “The Great British Baking Show”)

Cheesetique in Arlington, VA:  Kitten Mittens  (Next week’s first category: Triple 50/50 – Death or Taxes?)

Bushwaller’s in Frederick, MD:  Jerry Lewis Romperthon  (Next week’s first category: One Hit Wonders of the 2000s – AUDIO)

Greene Turtle in Urbana, MD:  Mud Duck Hunt Club  ** FIVE WINS IN A ROW! **  (Next week’s first category: “Duck Tales”)

Flanagan’s Harp and Fiddle in Bethesda, MD:  Need More Trash Culture  ** FOUR WINS IN A ROW! **   (Next week’s first category: 2017 NFL Draft)

Il Forno in Frederick, MD:  What’s a Z.J.?  (Next week’s first category: WrestleMania 27)