I Choo-Choo-Choose Thursday Trivia!

Valentine’s Day brought out couples and singles alike, as 117 teams took in a game of Pour House Trivia at one of 15 venues:

FIRST ROUND:

Opening round topics from Thursday night included the TV drama “ER”, Russian history, and the work of this larger-than-life singer:

We closed the first round with a three-part question about famous people with the last name of Blair: author Eric Blair (also known as George Orwell), actress Selma Blair, and Olympic speed skater Bonnie Blair.  As a result of all three bonus questions yielding about a 20% success rate, only six teams earned a perfect first round score.

SECOND ROUND:

We made a 180-degree turn from Valentine’s Day during Thursday’s audio question, choosing instead to play clips from films about splitting up.  Most of our teams had no problem identifying “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, “The Break-Up”, and “Kramer vs. Kramer”.  After a question concerning the U.S. Air Force Academy, we asked about the NHL’s Vezina Trophy, offering two bonus points to any team that could name this goalie as its most recent recipient:

Only nine teams tacked on two bonus points by naming Finnish goaltender Pekka Rinne.  After closing the round with a shot of Bacardi, we saw four teams run the table with 36 second round points, three of which were playing at the same venue: Periodic Table Dancers (Quincy’s), Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market), Thin White Dukes (Fish Market), and Wingardium Triviosa (Fish Market).  Apparently all of the hockey fans were hanging out in Alexandria last night!

HALFTIME:

The top half of Thursday’s halftime page depicted films whose titles contain the word “HEART”, while the bottom half asked the field to match lovers from history and mythology.  Six teams notched a perfect score of 20 points, while the overall average landed at 15.3 points.  Here are your highest scoring first half teams from Thursday night:

• Thin White Dukes (Fish Market):  92
• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market):  90
• Uranus Fly Trap (Smoketown):  90
• Wingardium Triviosa (Fish Market):  88
• Rum Ham (Olde Mother):  86

THIRD ROUND:

We opened Thursday’s second half with a three-part question regarding U.S. border cities, followed by a question regarding a unique athletic achievement:

–> Announcing his retirement from the NFL last week, who is the only person to play in the NCAA Division I Basketball Final Four before going on to play in a Super Bowl?

Before playing in the big game with the Carolina Panthers, defensive end Julius Peppers was also a standout basketball player at the University of North Carolina.  Next, we looked at some of the acting accolades which have been bestowed upon this versatile performer:

After an in-depth look at the lyrics of Tim McGraw, we saw just two teams earn a perfect third round score: Rum Ham (Smoketown) and Washington Foreskins (Loudoun Kitchen).

FOURTH ROUND:

The fourth round began with a divisive question on the topic of 1980s films:

–> Which 1985 film starring John Cusack tells the story of high school student Lane Myer, who becomes suicidal after his girlfriend breaks up with him shortly before Christmas?

We would have bet two dollars that several teams would guess “Say Anything”, but that iconic scene with Lloyd Dobler holding the boom box over his head would not hit theaters for another four years.  Instead, we were looking for the comedy film “Better Off Dead”.  Not surprisingly, about half of our teams missed this question, but nearly half of those incorrect responses were accompanied by a nine-point wager!  With many teams still in shock, the second half of this one-two punch asked about the (apparently rather obscure) computer game of Hearthstone.  Who would have thought that Impressionist art would rescue our teams?  Such was the case on Thursday, as most of the field knew that Claude Monet created an entire genre of art after painting this piece:

Even after closing with a relatively easier Three Clues question about the word “Love”, the final round did not yield and perfect scores.  These were your highest scoring teams heading into Thursday’s final question:

• Thin White Dukes (Fish Market):  160
• Rum Ham (Olde Mother):  158
• Wingardium Triviosa (Fish Market):  157
• Uranus Fly Trap (Smoketown):  156
• Singing Inferno (Smoketown):  156

THURSDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (32.1% success rate):

–> Awarded to the athlete who is judged to have “sizably re-emerged”, the MLB’s Comeback Player of the Year Award was developed in 2005 as part of a sponsorship agreement with this brand name product.  For your wager, name this product associated with other “sizable re-emergings”?

Nearly one-third of our teams responded correctly with the pharmaceutical drug Viagra.  None fo our teams posted a Perfect 21 on Thursday night.  Here is your final Thursday leaderboard:

• Uranus Fly Trap (Smoketown):  168
• Your Mom (Loudoun Kitchen):  159
• Beginner Winners (Belly Love):  159
• Where’s Len? (Belly Love):  158
• Deck Chairs on the Titanic (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s):  157
• Singing Inferno (Smoketown):  156
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s):  153
• My Harry Potter Has Hogwarts (Smoketown):  151
• Backstreet Boys (Smoketown):  151
• Thin White Dukes (Fish Market):  150

An honorable mention goes out to Washington Foreskins (Loudoun Kitchen), who posted an impressive 159 points while playing ‘over the limit’.

THURSDAY’S WINNERS:

Harpers Ferry Brewing in Purcellville, VA:  NO GAME THIS WEEK  (Next week’s first category: “Talladega Nights”)

Quincy’s Bar and Grille in Gaithersburg, MD:  Lowered Expectations  (Next week’s first category: “Pulp Fiction”)

Champion Billiards in Frederick, MD: Bazinga  (Next week’s first category: “Sideways”)

Loudoun Kitchen and Bar in Leesburg, VA:  Your Mom  (Next week’s first category: “The Simpsons” – Season 6)

Smoketown Brewing Station in Brunswick, MD:  Uranus Fly Trap  (Next week’s first category: John Hughes Films)

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s in Frederick, MD:  Deck Chairs on the Titanic  (Next week’s first category: “The Shawshank Redemption”)

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

Belly Love Brewing in Purcellville, VA:  Beginner Winners  (Next week’s first category: 1980s Sitcoms)

Cushwa Brewing in Williamsport, MD:  Smarty Pints  (Next week’s first category: 1980s TV Cartoons)

The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg, MD:  Blood Legion  (Next week’s first category: Classic American Toys)

Dawg House in Waynesboro, PA:  50 Shades of Grey Matter  (Next week’s first category: Dreadnought)

The Derby Restaurant in New Market, MD:  Crazy Cat People  (Next week’s first category: History of the Florida Keys)

Right Around the Corner in St. Petersburg, FL:  Fiver Easy Pieces  (Next week’s first category: RADAR)

Fish Market Restaurant in Alexandria, VA:  Thin White Dukes  (Next week’s first category: Local Speed Limits)

Art’s Tavern in Falls Church, VA:  F. U. Darts  (Next week’s first category: 1980s Punk Music)

Guido’s in Frederick, MD:  Sunder Dogs  (Next week’s first category: “King of the Hill”)