Hitting the Wall at Thursday Trivia!

Thursday’s game of Pour House Trivia welcomed 119 teams across 15 venues.

FIRST ROUND:

Thursday’s game began with a three-part question concerning TV show settings, followed by a wicked bonus question on the topic of world geography.  After most of the field earned wagering points by knowing that Portugal shares its only land border with Spain, only four teams picked up bonus points by also knowing that the longest river shared by Spain and Portugal is the Tagus.  Our teams recovered nicely thanks to questions regarding Ronald Reagan and the Shakira song “Hips Don’t Lie”.  Thanks to the geography question, the only perfect score of the first round was posted by Dave Martinez School of Management (Flower Hill).

SECOND ROUND:

We played clips from three A-list films in Thursday’s audio question, as most of our teams had no trouble identifying “The Aristocats”, “Ace Ventura (Pet Detective)”, and “Avatar”.  Once again, a treacherous bonus question nearly stumped our entire field.  After a wagering question in which our teams linked the poetic nickname “Old Ironsides” with the frigate U.S.S. Constitution, only four teams tacked on two bonus points by knowing that the poem “Old Ironsides” was penned by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.  The first half closed with a timely question about the NBA Draft, which for most of our venues began within minutes of that question being asked.  As a result of the poetry question, none of our teams recorded a perfect second half score.

HALFTIME:

Thursday’s halftime page looked at the topics of fictional music groups from TV shows and items that begin with the letters “B-R-O”.  Perhaps we were using a bit of foreshadowing when we decided to sneak in an extra point on this halftime page, as eight teams recorded a perfect score of 21 points.  With an average halftime score of 14.7 points, this is how your Thursday leaderboard panned out at the break:

• Dave Martinez School of Management (Flower Hill):  91
• Charlie’s Angels (Mark’s Pub):  89
• Gong Gong and the Butt Demons (Cushwa):  89
• Slapsgiving (Cushwa):  88
• 99th Precinct (Smoketown):  88

THIRD ROUND:

Fittingly, we followed up a 21-point halftime round by starting the second half with a three-part question about proper blackjack strategy.  This question was a game changer at numerous venues as more than two dozen teams coughed up a nine-point wager or a five-point category bonus (and in some cases, both) by failing to answer two of the three questions correctly.  Hopefully, you folks will study your strategy cards before your next trip to National Harbor or Charles Town.  Apart from that rough start, the third round proved to be slightly easier than normal, as each of the next four wagering questions were correctly answered by a majority of our teams.  That list of answers included author Shel Silverstein, singer Roy Orbison, and actresses Lupita Nyong’o, and Jennifer Hudson.  Five teams earned a perfect third round score: Turnip for Trivia (Belly Love), Slapsgiving (Cushwa), Cheeky Bastards (Cushwa), Dave Martinez School of Management (Flower Hill), and Semicircle of Trust (Solace).

FOURTH ROUND:

After the 6-4-2 question looked at the career achievements of Cher, we began Thursday’s final round with questions concerning current MLB veteran C.C. Sabathia and the recent engagement of Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson.  The third question of the final round was our most difficult wagering question of the night:

–> Accused of blasphemy at his trial, what Saint made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him which led to his stoning, making him the first Christian martyr?

Only 17% of our teams gave us the correct response of St. Stephen.  As if that wasn’t enough, this query included another incredibly difficult bonus question.  For the third time of the night, only four teams earned bonus points by knowing that Saint Stephen shares his name with the first king of Hungary.  Inexplicably, Dave Martinez School of Management earned points on ALL THREE of these diabolical bonus questions.  Needless to say, it was no surprise seeing which team topped the overall leaderboard before the final question:

• Dave Martinez School of Management (Flower Hill):  168
• Shaft (Mark’s Pub):  159
• Slapsgiving (Cushwa):  155
• Thoroughly Screwed (Loudoun Kitchen):  155
• FOUR TEAMS TIED WITH 154 POINTS

In what is likely to be a Pour House Trivia first, Dave Martinez School of Management would have had a runaway victory at 14 of our 15 venues tonight.

THURSDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (71.5% success rate):

–> A zoologist would classify it into the Talpidae family.  A dermatologist would examine and treat it.  It’s a measure for a chemist and a chef would pour it over a food for eating.  For your wager, what is this word?

Nearly three-quarters of our teams responded correctly with mole.  Even with a relatively easier final question, none of our teams earned the Perfect 21 on Thursday night.  In spite of a nearly flawless game, Dave Martinez School of Management missed the celebrity couples question in the fourth round.  Here is your final Thursday leaderboard:

• Dave Martinez School of Management (Flower Hill):  180
• Slapsgiving (Cushwa):  167
• Cheeky Bastards (Cushwa):  166
• Punslingers (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s):  163
• F. U. Darts (Mark’s Pub):  162
• Gong Gong and the Butt Demons (Cushwa):  162
• No Keefe (Flower Hill):  161
• Rum Ham (Olde Mother):  161
• Charlie’s Angels (Mark’s Pub):  161
• Who Runs the World?  Squirrels (Mark’s Pub):  161

THURSDAY’S WINNERS:

Quincy’s Bar and Grille in Gaithersburg, MD:  Castle Greyskull   (Next week’s first category: Idioms)

Champion Billiards in Frederick, MD:  Vitrifiers   (Next week’s first category: Nickelodeon Game Shows)

Loudoun Kitchen and Bar in Leesburg, VA:  Thoroughly Screwed   (Next week’s first category: Biblical References in Shakespeare)

Smoketown Brewing Station in Brunswick, MD:  We Drink and We Know Things   (Next week’s first category: “Weird Al” Yankovic)

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s in Frederick, MD:  Punslingers   (Next week’s first category: Triple 50/50 – Yes or Rush?)

Olde Mother Brewing in Frederick, MD:  Rum Ham   (Next week’s first category: “Animal Crossing”)

Belly Love Brewing in Purcellville, VA:  Bueller…, Bueller…   (Next week’s first category: Triple 50/50: Sheriff Woody or Buzz Lightyear?)

Cushwa Brewing in Williamsport, MD:  Slapsgiving   (Next week’s first category: 1990s Country Music – AUDIO)

The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg, MD:  Dave Martinez School of Management   (Next week’s first category: Sports Mascots)

The Derby in New Market, MD:  Psychos   (Next week’s first category: Intelligence Tests)

Solace Brewing in Sterling, VA:  Semicircle of Trust   (Next week’s first category: Mexican Food)

Jockey Bar and Grill in Boonsboro, MD:  Fat Kids Are Hard to Kidnap   (Next week’s first category: “Derry Girls”)

Fish Market Restaurant in Alexandria, VA:  Happy Little Trees   (Next week’s first category: “World of Warcraft”)

Mark’s Pub in Falls Church, VA:  F. U. Darts   (Next week’s first category: Pastries)

Guido’s in Frederick, MD:  Glow in the Dark Boner Tag   (Next week’s first category: Jon Sings Nirvana)