Heading to the Far Side of Tuesday Trivia…

Tuesday’s game of Pour House Trivia featured our first event at Live Oak Restaurant in Alexandria.  Overall, we welcomed 153 teams across 21 venues.

FIRST ROUND:

Opening round topics from Tuesday night included chemical elements, Philadelphia landmarks, the TV sitcom “The Office”, and the history of the Los Angeles (or Minneapolis) Lakers, the latter of which featured the most difficult bonus question of the first round.  Only 13% of our teams knew that in 1947, the Lakers acquired “big man” George Mikan, who dominated the early years of the NBA.  That was the only sticking point for most of the field, as a dozen Tuesday teams posted a perfect first round score.

SECOND ROUND:

Tuesday’s audio question featured three ‘zoological’ song titles, as we listened to “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John, “Dog Days are Over” by Florence + the Machine, and “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” by Smashing Pumpkins.  We continued the second stanza with the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, the nation of the Bahamas, and the novel “Little Women”.  An incredibly difficult bonus question kept the perfect scores of the board in the second round.  After most of the field earned wagering points on a question concerning Forbes magazine, only four teams tacked on two bonus points by also knowing that the publication is based in New Jersey.  As a result, the second round did not yield any perfect scores.

HALFTIME:

Shared U.S. city names and Oscar-winning films were the featured topics on Tuesday’s halftime page.  Twelve teams recorded a perfect score of 20 points, while the overall average reached a healthy 17.6 points.  Here is Tuesday’s leaderboard at the halftime break:

• Bizarre, Interesting, Essential (Dudley’s):  90
• Hipster Fashion Consultants (Dudley’s):  90
• Breadsticks (Upper Deck):  90
• E = MC Hammer (Quincy’s South):  90
• Billing Boys (Upper Deck):  90

THIRD ROUND:

We began Tuesday’s second half with a Triple 50/50 question asking our teams to determine whether or not fencing, lacrosse, or golf were current Olympic events (respectively: YES, NO, YES).  From there, we moved on to algebraic equations, TV shows set in the Archie Comics universe, and the historic Spaniard El Cid.  A question on he topic of European national flags gave us the most difficult wagering and bonus questions of the round:

–> Apart from Luxembourg, identify any two of the three European monarchies whose national flags comprise the colors red, white, and blue.

Obtaining one of these three answers was certainly easier than the other two, as virtually every team gave us the correct answer of the United Kingdom.  Arriving at either the Netherlands or Norway proved to be much more difficult, as less than half of the field earned wagering points, with just 17% of our teams earning bonus points with all three correct answers.  Seven teams ran the table by earning a perfect third round score.

FOURTH ROUND:

After traveling back in time to the Jurassic period during the 6-4-2 question, we opened the final round with a look at the comic strip “The Far Side”.  In the first of two difficult final round bonus questions, only 12% of our teams knew that the strip gained widespread prominence after it was purchased by the San Francisco Chronicle.  Other fourth round topics included the Nielsen ratings, the daughter of former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, and the comedy film “Coming to America”.  Once again, only 12% of the field notched two bonus points by knowing that Eddie Murphy’s character hailed from the fictitious nation of Zamunda.  Three teams swept the final round with 36 points: Fourth Floor Pirates (Dudley’s), Spret (Quincy’s South) and Oh God, Bees! (Quincy’s South).  After four rounds of play, your overall leaderboard included these teams:

• Hipster Fashion Consultants (Dudley’s):  164
• Wiseacres (Champion):  161
• Bizarre, Interesting, Essential (Dudley’s):  161
• SIX TEAMS TIED WITH 160 POINTS

TUESDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (48.1% success rate):

–> As of August 2019, only five U.S. locations remain of which restaurant chain founded by Robert Wian in 1936?

Nearly half of our teams earned wagering points on this final question with the correct answer of Bob’s Big Boy.  Congratulations to the six teams that recorded a Perfect 21 on Tuesday by answering every wagering question correctly.  Here is Tuesday’s final overall leaderboard:

• Hipster Fashion Consultants (Dudley’s):  174
• Wiseacres (Champion):  173
• Bizarre, Interesting, Essential (Dudley’s):  173
• Power Vacuum (Champion):  171
• Hundo (Cuginis):  169
• Moons of Uranus (Cuginis):  168
• Comfortably Dum (Champion):  166
• Balls Out (Quincy’s South):  166
• Wiley Coyotes (Quincy’s Uptown):  164
• Dumber Than We Look (Upper Deck):  164
• E = MC Hammer (Quincy’s South):  164

TUESDAY’S WINNERS:

Champion Billiards in Frederick, MD:  Wiseacres   (Next week’s first category: Vermin)

Cuginis in Poolesville, MD:  Hundo   (Next week’s first category: Florence, Italy)

Senor Tequila’s in Germantown, MD:  How Did I Get Here?   (Next week’s first category: “The Outsider” – 2020 TV series)

Shuckin’ Shack in Frederick, MD:  Ya Donkey   (Next week’s first category: New Kids on the Block)

Topgolf in Ashburn, VA:  Kelvin   (Next week’s first category: Herman Melville)

Upper Deck in Mount Airy, MD:  Dumber Than We Look   (Next week’s first category: “Grace and Frankie”)

Olney Winery in Olney, MD:  F. P.   (Next week’s first category: Harry Potter)

Cheesetique in Fairfax, VA:  Moose Killers   (Next week’s first category: Ferns)

Live Oak Restaurant in Alexandria, VA:  Spartan’s Will    (NO GAME NEXT WEEK – First category on Feb. 18: “Frankenstein”)

Vola’s Dockside Grill in Alexandria, VA:  Happy Little Trees

** THIS WAS OUR FINAL GAME AT VOLA’S – THANKS TO ALL OF OUR LOYAL TEAMS! **

Funkstown Tavern in Funkstown, MD:  Arrested Intelligence   (Next week’s first category: Founding Fathers)

Dudley’s Sport and Ale in Arlington, VA:  Hipster Fashion Consultants   (Next week’s first category: “Seinfeld”)

Quincy’s Uptown in Damascus, MD:  Wiley Coyotes   (Next week’s first category: “Bob’s Burgers”)

Hometown Harvest Kitchen in Frederick, MD:  Slime Puppies   (Next week’s first category: Sailing Songs)

Ramparts Tavern in Alexandria, VA:  Loyal Order of the Beefaloes   (Next week’s first category: English Premier League)

Monk’s BBQ in Purcellville, VA:  Beer Winners   (Next week’s first category: Rob Lowe)

Quincy’s South in Rockville, MD:  Balls Out   (Next week’s first category: Chinese Dynasties)

Casa Tequila in Lovettsville, VA:  True Wit   (Next week’s first category: U. S. Presidents)

Tommy Joe’s in Bethesda, MD:  Hunchbacks of Notre Gone  (Next week’s first category: Children’s Literature)

Union Jack’s in Gaithersburg, MD:  Twerking For Shots   (Next week’s first category: “90 Day Fiance” – Season 7)

Miller’s Ale House in St. Petersburg, FL:  Poynter Pros   (Next week’s first category: Dallas Cowboys Super Bowls)