Highs and Lows at Weekend Trivia!

March 21, 2023

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A half-dozen venues brought in a total of 63 teams for some Pour House Trivia fun during St. Patrick’s Day weekend!

FIRST ROUND:

Friday’s first round contained some tricky questions, starting with this sports query:

  • The 2003 Sports Illustrated Sportsmen of the Year were Tim Duncan and David Robinson, both representing what NBA franchise?

Duncan and Robinson were pillars of the San Antonio Spurs in that era. About 61% of teams got that right, but just one squad earned bonus points for knowing that the Spurs defeated the then-New Jersey Nets to win the 2003 NBA Finals. That night’s Three Clues question regarded the TV series 24, but no teams were able to name it early for bonus credit. Other topics in this round included the failed New Coke from the 1980s, the Hawaiian and Aleutian Islands that make up the HAST time zone, and the Rubik’s cube.   Nine teams earned perfect scores in a weekend opening round, the most of any round.

SECOND ROUND:

Over the weekend, audio questions handled a trio of songs with titles containing the word Highway, U.S. cities contained in song titles, and stand-up clips from comedians Steve Martin, Lewis Black, and Kevin Hart. Two questions in a weekend second round had a sub-50% success rate. Friday’s round concluded with this literary question:

  • The line Who is John Galt? is not only the opening line, but a repeated question in which best-selling 20th century novel? You may name the novel’s title or its author.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand had a 25% wagering success rate, with 22% getting both answers for extra points. Sunday’s toughie came on a certain MLB authority figure:

  • In addition to being the father of actor Paul, which man spent five months as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball before his untimely death? His impact is still felt today as he essentially banned Pete Rose from the Hall of Fame.

That man, Bart Giamatti, was named by 42% of the field. In other second-round questions, teams discussed the Central Powers of World War I, the Miguel de Cervantes novel Don Quixote, and late 80s pop idol Tiffany. Perfect scores were recorded by seven teams in the second round.

HALFTIME:

For halftime pages over the weekend, teams handled topics such as green fictional characters, TV dogs, and the area and population rankings of U.S. states. All seven perfect scores were recorded in Sunday’s halftime round, but the average weekend score was 15.9 points. We headed into the halftime intermission with these top teams:

THIRD ROUND:

Saturday’s third round contained a difficult history question:

  • Which wife of Henry the 8th died (with her head attached) just two weeks after giving birth to the future King Edward the 6th? Today, she is the only one of Henry’s wives to be buried next to him.

Jane Seymour was named by 16% of Saturday’s teams. On Friday, this was the third round’s trickiest wagering chance:

  • Derived from a Sanskrit word meaning great soul, which honorific title was bestowed upon Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi?

About 32% of teams knew that title is Mahatma. Some other third-round questions involved topics like legendary baseball announcer Harry Caray, Three Clues about the mythological Pegasus, and Bill Nye‘s Netflix series where he Saves the World. Lone Strangers (Mason) and Supernovas (Mason) racked up the only perfect scores in the third round.

FOURTH ROUND:

Weekend 6-4-2 topics were, in order, the country of Cuba, the pay TV channel HBO, and the Swedish language; the only teams to earn all six points did so on Friday, with six teams knowing the Buena Vista Social Club showcased Cuban music. Friday’s final round started with this film query:

  • For the most part, the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland does not primarily take place in Scotland, instead being mostly set in which other country?

Roughly 22% of Friday’s teams knew that film was set in Uganda, while 9.6% knew its capital is Kampala. Some other subjects here included the Harland Sanders Cafe in Kentucky, expansion packs from the MMORPG World of Warcraft, and the horror classic The Exorcist. This round’s perfect teams were Lone Strangers (Mason) and Rock Paper Scissors (Mason). It was a Mason Social club at the top of the standings before the final question:

  • Lone Strangers (Mason): 163
  • Supernovas (Mason): 162
  • Rock Paper Scissors (Mason): 159
  • Vandelay Industries (Garage): 153
  • Cowbell Fever (Belles’): 152

FRIDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (12.90% success rate):

  • Before his 2008 passing, organic chemist and food storage technician Fred Baur requested that his body be cremated so his ashes could be stored in what container, which he is credited with designing?

SATURDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (43.75% success rate):

  • More than one-fourth of the area encompassed by which independent nation is situated below sea level, with that area being home to more than four million of its residents?

SUNDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (50% success rate):

  • For your wager, which geographic name is derived from Sanskrit words meaning snow and dwelling?

Baur designed the Pringles can, that low country is the Netherlands, and that Sanskrit-derived word is Himalaya! Lone Strangers (Mason) and Supernovas (Mason) pulled out all the stops to record the Perfect 21 feats in their Sunday game. They also ended the weekend as the top two overall teams in the final leaderboard:

WEEKEND WINNERS:

South Mountain Creamery in Frederick, MD: DC Swampers  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: The West Wing)

Dragon Distillery in Frederick, MD: Beer Pressure  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: ABBA (audio))

Flying Ace Farm in Lovettsville, VA: N3P  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Los Angeles Lakers)

Belles’ Sports Bar in Frederick, MD: Cowbell Fever  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: March Madness)

Pretzel and Pizza Creations in Hagerstown, MD: Quality Guesswork  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: 2023 Formula One Season)

The Garage in Frederick, MD: Sexual Chocolate  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: 1980s MLB Closers)

Mason Social in Alexandria, VA: Lone Strangers  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Hash House Harriers)

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