Thursday Trivia Maps the World!

A massive 30-team game at Aslin Beer Co highlighted Thursday evening’s game of Pour House Trivia, which brought in a total of 207 teams to 19 area venues!

FIRST ROUND:

The most difficult bonus question in the opening round came on the night’s Three Clues question, where just over a quarter of the field named Wyoming before the third clue for two extra points. We logged on for the last question, which proved to be the round’s hardest way to get wagering points:

• Once endorsed by William Shatner where you would bid on items, which website now finds discounted rates for travelers on flights, hotel rooms, and rental cars?

With this being the round’s last question, teams couldn’t exactly name their own wager; however, 75% of teams got their points for knowing Priceline is that website. This ended up being the only round on Thursday where any team got a perfect score; here, a dozen teams got all 36 points.

SECOND ROUND:

Famous guitar riffs comprised Thursday’s audio question, followed by topics like the medical process of dialysis and Peyton Manning‘s retirement following Super Bowl 50. After that, the first half’s toughest wagering question reared its ugly head:

• On July 26, 1775, Benjamin Franklin became the first American to hold this government position, which he held for just over one year. As late as 1971, the person holding this position was considered to be a member of the U.S. Cabinet. What is the name of that government position?

Ben Franklin was the first-ever U.S. Postmaster General, which 48% of the field got correct. We ended the round with the night’s hardest bonus question; while over three-quarters of the field knew the Sam’s Choice beverage brand is a Walmart exclusive, only 12 teams in all knew that Twist-Up is the lemon-lime soft drink in that line. No teams achieved a perfect score in the second round.

HALFTIME:

The top half of Thursday’s halftime page was made up of TV channel logos, past and present. For the bottom part, teams had to match movie villains to their respective film. The average score here was 16.4 points out of 20, and perfect scores were reached by 41 teams. A three-way, two-venue battle for first topped off the standings at the halftime break:

• I Don’t Know (Aslin): 90
• Happy Birthday, Morgan (Aslin): 90
• YOLO Swaggins (Crooked Run): 90
• EIGHT TEAMS TIED WITH 88 POINTS

THIRD ROUND:

Round three contained two pretty tough bonus opportunities. The opening question about the Minnesota Twins hosting the first-ever indoor World Series game granted bonus points to 10% of the field that also knew pitcher Frank Viola was the 1987 World Series MVP. We later reached the hardest wagering query of the round, a three-parter on 82nd-birthday boy and former Beatle Ringo Starr. On that one, a third of the field got at least two parts right, but just 8% answered all three parts correctly for bonus points. We finished the round with the DINK acronym (meaning Double (or Dual) Income No Kids) and a discussion of the 2000s film Disturbia, influenced by 1950s thriller Rear Window.  Again, no perfect scores were recorded here.

FOURTH ROUND:

American Idol champ, singer, and current talk show host Kelly Clarkson was the subject of Thursday’s 6-4-2; 17 teams named her after the first clue to get all six possible points. The final regulation round contained topics like the sousaphone and the 32-year conflict known as the War of the Roses, but it also included the hardest wagering question on Thursday:

• Also used in bartending, which seven-letter word is the common name for the variety of poker in which the worst hand wins the pot?

That word with a double meaning, lowball, was given by 19% of our teams. One last question about three TV shows set in Baltimore capped off our final round.  Just Good Enough (Champion) broke through in the final stanza to post the only perfect score.  These were your highest-scoring Thursday teams before the final question:

• YOLO Swaggins (Crooked Run): 162
• Painful Burning Sensation (Smoketown): 160
• I Don’t Know (Aslin): 159
• Rum Ham (Olde Mother): 159
• Power Vacuum (Champion): 158

FINAL QUESTION (31.7% success rate):

• After more than a decade in the printing business, this entrepreneurial duo first published their Railroad Guide in 1872, entering the industry for which they are best known today. What are the last names of these two men?

Those men were William H. Rand and Andrew McNally, founders of the eventual mapping giant named for them.  Thanks to their knowledge of poker games, Champion Billiards rivals Power Vacuum and Just Good Enough each posted a Perfect 21 on Thursday by answering every wagering question correctly.  Teams did do pretty well overall, shown by these top scores:

• Painful Burning Sensation (Smoketown): 172
• YOLO Swaggins (Crooked Run): 169
• Power Vacuum (Champion): 168
• Transparent Eyeballs (Crooked Run): 168
• Rum Ham (Olde Mother): 168
• Just Good Enough (Champion): 167
• Hudson (Bear Brick Oven): 167
• Samurai Trivia Players (Bear Brick Oven): 167
• Fresh Off the U-Haul (Quinn’s): 167
• FOUR TEAMS TIED WITH 166 POINTS

THURSDAY’S WINNERS:

Smoketown Brewing Station in Brunswick, MD: Painful Burning Sensation  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: David Cronenberg Films)

Pour Dog House in Millersville, MD: Please, Not Last  (NO GAME NEXT WEEK — FIRST CATEGORY ON JULY 21: Modern Anime)

Champion Billiards in Frederick, MD:  Power Vacuum  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Ancient Egypt)

Loudoun Kitchen and Bar in Leesburg, VA: Better Lucky Than Smart  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: 19th-Century U.S. Vice Presidents)

Olde Mother Brewing in Frederick, MD: Rum Ham  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Linguistics)

Belly Love Brewing in Purcellville, VA: Hillbilly Geniuses  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Zombies (Disney Channel Original Movie))

Solace Brewing in Sterling, VA: Teachers Have Class  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Fictional Geography)

Bad Habits Bar & Grill in Martinsburg, WV: Artsy  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Llamas)

• This game is temporarily being played at O’Connell’s Irish Pub in Martinsburg.

Brewery Fire in Taneytown, MD: Five Heads, One Brain  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: European Geography)

Fourscore Beer Co. in Gettysburg, PA: Five Bing Crosbies  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Astronomy)

Crooked Run in Sterling, VA: YOLO Swaggins  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Marilyn Monroe)

Solace Outpost in Falls Church, VA: Sleeps With Dogs  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Yiddish)

Homaide Brewing in Williamsport, MD: ON HIATUS  (NO GAME NEXT WEEK — FIRST CATEGORY ON JULY 21: 1980s Music)

• This game will return on July 21 at the same physical location, but under the new venue name of Interchange Tiki Bar.  All standings points from Homaide will be transferred here.

Bear Brick Oven Pizza in Silver Spring, MD: Samurai Trivia Players  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Foreign Cat Breeds)

Preston’s Pub in Manassas Park, VA: Pew Pew Pew  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Gardening)

Quinn’s in Arlington, VA: Fresh Off the U-Haul  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Game Shows)

Aslin Beer Co in Alexandria, VA: Alien Bounty Hunters  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Norse Mythology)

Kalypso’s Sports Tavern in Reston, VA: Diamond Dogs  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: U.S. Women’s Soccer)

Two Story Chimney Ciderworks in Gaithersburg, MD: B-n-B Fun Factory  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Bart Simpson)

Mark’s Pub in Falls Church, VA: Southpaws  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Married… With Children)