Level Up with Monday Trivia!

As we enter the last month of play in the Summer Fling Season, Monday night’s game welcomed 92 teams across 12 venues:

FIRST ROUND:

Monday’s opening round topics included U.S. geography, cover bands, and geometry terms.  We closed the opening stanza with the most difficult bonus question of the first half.  On a question concerning the origin of the term ‘brownie’, only 16% of the field knew that the term first appeared in print thanks to turn-of-the-century Boston chef Fannie Farmer:

As a result, only three teams swept the first round with 36 points: I Don’t Know Who (Morgan Inn), Tequila Mockingbird (Uno Pizzeria), and This is How We Go Down (Bushwaller’s).

SECOND ROUND:

A trio of TV comedies were featured on Monday’s audio question, as a majority of teams picked up bonus points with the correct answers of “M*A*S*H”, “Saved By the Bell”, and “Rick and Morty”.  We followed with the most difficult wagering question of the first half:

–> Picking up immediately where the first book ended, what is the full title of the literary sequel to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”?

Those who remembered how the first book ended certainly had a leg up on the rest of the field, but only 29% of our teams responded correctly with “Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator”.  We continued with a look at current films, the Battle of Gettysburg, and this NBA franchise which sports the only two-word team name in the league:

With just 22% of our teams earning bonus points by knowing that the Portland Trail Blazers play home games in the Rose Garden (now known as the Moda Center), we once again saw just three teams post a perfect score: Pandom Panda (DRP), George Washington’s Camel (DRP), Power Vacuum (Bushwaller’s).

HALFTIME:

Literary monsters were depicted on Monday’s (rather difficult) halftime page.  While numerous teams topped out at 19 points, none of our squads were able to run the table at halftime, as the overall average came in at just 14.7 points.  These were your highest scoring Monday teams at the halftime break:

• George Washington’s Camel (DRP):  87
• Killer Snails (Hershey’s):  87
• Unsavories (DRP):  86
• MAJ (DRP):  86
• I Don’t Know Who (Morgan Inn):  86

THIRD ROUND:

Monday’s second half began with a Triple 50/50 question regarding bordering countries, as many teams were surprised to learn that Poland borders SEVEN different countries:

(map courtesy of www.yourchildlearns.com)

Later, we looked at the “Suicide King” in a pack of playing cards, the biggest hits of the Black Keys, and this query in the category of cocktails:

–> Also the first name of a former MLB speedster, which cocktail is made from gin or bourbon, carbonated water, and a half a lime squeezed and dropped in the glass?

Sure, it’s a bit outdated, but that this the recipe for a rickey.  The third round did not yield any perfect scores.

FOURTH ROUND:

After the 6-4-2 question asked about Jeff Bezos, we opened the final round with questions on Broadway showtune lyrics and plankton (those were two separate questions).  Next up, we asked the most difficult bonus question of the night in the form of a Three Clues question:

CLUE 1: He was born with the real name of Joseph Levitch in 1926.

CLUE 2: He appeared in a guest role on “The Simpsons” voicing the father of Professor John Frink.

Very few teams ventured a guess at this point, but those who knew that Professor Frink was based upon the title character in the original version of the comedy film “The Nutty Professor” found themselves with a big hint, as the correct response was Jerry Lewis.  Only seven teams earned bonus points on this question with an early correct answer.  In fact, the the third clue did not help many teams either, as only 27% of the entire field earned wagering points on this question, causing many teams to lose out on a potential five-point category bonus.  After closing with another difficult question which looked at the events of the decathlon, we once again did not see any perfect scores in the final round.  These were your highest scoring Monday teams heading into the final question:

• Kitten Mittens (Cheesetique):  157
• MAJ (DRP):  156
• Killer Snails (Hershey’s):  155
• George Washington’s Camel (DRP):  155
• Unsavories (DRP):  154

MONDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (15.7% success rate):

–> Which fictional character was introduced in 1981 as a carpenter, before holding various occupations such as a medical physician, an archaeologist, and the president of a toy-making company?

Though he was best known as a plumber, the Nintendo character of Mario was introduced in “Donkey Kong” as a skilled carpenter.  About one-sixth of our teams earned points here, but the difficulty of this question kept several teams from earning the Perfect 21 on Monday night.  Here is your final overall leaderboard to start the week:

• George Washington’s Camel (DRP):  167
• Kitten Mittens (Cheesetique):  158
• Unsavories (DRP):  152
• Killer Snails (Hershey’s):  151
• State Senator McCheese (Rockwell Brewery):  149
• Arlington Underground (Cheesetique):  146
• Outdoor Alcoholics (Flanagan’s Harp and Fiddle):  145
• MAJ (DRP):  144
• ChunkyLover53@aol.com (Il Forno):  143
• Irish Beer Mafia (Greene Turtle – Hagerstown)  141

An honorable mention goes out to Wednesday’s Child (Bushwaller’s), who notched 155 points while playing ‘over the limit’.

MONDAY’S WINNERS:

DRP in Alexandria, VA:  George Washington’s Camel  (NO GAME NEXT WEEK – First category on September 3: Texas Longhorns Football Scandals)

Greene Turtle in Hagerstown, MD:  Irish Beer Mafia  (Next week’s first category: “Dirty Dancing”)

Morgan Inn in Woodbine, MD:  I Don’t Know Who  (Next week’s first category: “Phantom of the Opera”)

Hershey’s Restaurant in Gaithersburg, MD:  Killer Snails  (Next week’s first category: Lyndon Johnson)

Uno Pizzeria in Frederick, MD:  Tequila Mockingbird (Next week’s first category: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”)

Cheesetique in Arlington, VA:  Kitten Mittens  (Next week’s first category: Aretha Franklin)

Bushwaller’s in Frederick, MD:  This Is How We Go Down  (Next week’s first category: Old New York City Bars)

Greene Turtle in Urbana, MD:  Mud Duck Hunt Club  (Next week’s first category: Domestic Ducks)

Rockwell Brewery in Frederick, MD:  State Senator McCheese  (Next week’s first category: Buckethead)

Front Royal Brewing Company in Front Royal, VA:  Monkey Shoulders  (Next week’s first category: Theology)

Flanagan’s Harp and Fiddle in Bethesda, MD:  Outdoor Alcoholics  (Next week’s first category: NCAA Women’s Lacrosse National Champions)

Il Forno in Frederick, MD:  ChunkyLover53@aol.com  (Next week’s first category: World Capitals)