Weekend Trivia Reaches the Big Time!

May 1, 2023

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Even with a less-than-ideal few nights of weather, we had 86 teams show up to play Pour House Trivia over the weekend at any of our eight locations.

FIRST ROUND:

The only wagering question in any first round this past weekend that fooled many teams came on Sunday:

  • What Pixar film was originally slated to be titled The Bear and the Bow before changing to a much simpler title?

About 31% of teams correctly named Brave as that film, while 18% earned bonus points for knowing its main character is named Merida. Some other tricky bonus chances in this part of the game dealt with director Patty Jenkins’s work on Arrested Development, actor Russell Brand‘s children’s book about the Pied Piper, and the inaugural MLB All-Star Game which took place in Chicago. This round’s perfect teams were Barking Bad (Pretzel and Pizza), Lone Strangers (Mason), and Higher than the Debt Ceiling (Mason).

SECOND ROUND:

While Friday’s audio clue about TV sitcoms wasn’t too rough on that night’s squads, Saturday’s wasn’t so simple. Teams were played clips of a trio of TV journalists and while 41% named at least two, only one team knew the voices of Jake Tapper, Tom Brokaw, and Lester Holt for bonus points. Sunday’s first half ended with a Three Clues question that had a low bonus rate as well:

  • On the Wentworth scale used to classify sediment grain sizes, this grade falls between granules and cobbles.
  • This was the stage name of 1980s and early 1990s R&B singer born Perri Reid.
  • Produced by Post, this line of sugary breakfast cereals features characters from a former animated TV series.

Bonus points were earned by 18% of the field able to identify the word Pebbles before the final clue. Other subjects in this round included the opening of the Suez Canal, the highly-successful opening weekend for the recent Super Mario Bros. movie, and Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s signing of the Social Security Act. This was the only round in which no teams earned a perfect score this weekend.

HALFTIME:

Depending on the night, teams may have encountered band logos, films with 10-letter titles, or coasters representing TV shows on their halftime page. The average score was just over 16 points, while nine teams recorded a perfect score. These teams led the field at the halftime intermission:

THIRD ROUND:

The most difficult wagering chance all weekend started Friday’s second half. A three-parter on the 2005 novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo stumped a majority of those teams:

  • 1)  This novel was originally published in which language?
  • 2)  Though the work was published posthumously, who is the author of this novel (as well as its two sequels)?
  • 3)  The three books comprise a novel series collectively known by which one-word name?

Wagering points were earned by 15% of teams but in order, those answers are Swedish, Stieg Larsson, and the Millennium trilogy. Saturday’s tough wagering question was of the musical variety:

  • Closely associated with Celtic music, which woodwind instrument is also known as a flageolet? When this more common name is used, one could be misled into believing the cost of the instrument is very, very cheap.

The flageolet is better known as the pennywhistle, named by 37% of the field. On Sunday, this Hollywood query wasn’t so easy:

  • After a short stint on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s, this actress landed her next TV role 15 years later, a namesake sitcom entitled What About Joan?. For your wager, what is her last name?

About 36% of Sunday’s teams knew that actress is Joan Cusack, while 9.1% received bonus points for naming either Working Girl or In & Out as the films for which she received an Oscar nomination. Through all this, Quality Guesswork (Pretzel and Pizza) earned a perfect score in the round.

FOURTH ROUND:

Weekend 6-4-2 questions gave clues about singer Alanis Morissette, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, and the rabbit. Friday’s Three Clues asked teams to identify the first name Lorelai; while no teams did so early for bonus credit, 30% did so with a final Gilmore Girls clue for wagering points. Sunday’s final round had a wagering question in that success range:

  • Though this phrase first appeared in the Bible, its modern definition is attributed to French poet Alfred de Vigny, who used the French phrase tour d’ivore to describe a condition of seclusion or separation from the world. What is that phrase?

Roughly 31% of teams figured out that English phrase is ivory tower. Other topics here included MLB strikeout kings Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson, the hydrangea flowering plant, and the iodine deficiency which causes many goiters in humans. Another round with only one perfect team saw Supernovas (Mason) earn all 36 points. After four rounds of questions, these teams found themselves in the overall lead:

FRIDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (7.5% success rate):

  • Only two films have made a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and had a performer win an acting Academy Award. Name both performers.

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

  • As a result of a governmental decision in 1949, what is the world’s largest country in terms of land area to be officially represented by a single time zone?

SUNDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (45.45% success rate):

  • The four most populous U.S. states all border open water (i.e. a gulf or an ocean). The next two states on the list are considered to be landlocked. Name both of these landlocked states.

A very tough final on Friday dealt with Oscar-winning actors in Batman films: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight and Joaquin Phoenix for Joker. The other weekend finals weren’t as brutal; they concerned the lone time zone in China and the landlocked populous states of Illinois and Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, we were unable to record any Perfect 21 outings this weekend. However, these teams were the highest scorers:

Slightly Agitated (Belles’) deserves an honorable mention as well; that team finished Saturday’s game with 161 points but did so over the limit of seven eligible players.

WEEKEND WINNERS:

South Mountain Creamery in Frederick, MD: DC Swampers  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Arrested Development)

Springfield Manor Winery in Thurmont, MD: Five Heads, One Brain  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: View Askewniverse)

Dragon Distillery in Frederick, MD: Beer Pressure  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Tolkien Spelling Bee)

Doc Waters Cidery in Germantown, MD: NO GAME  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Muppet Cover Songs (audio))

Flying Ace Farm in Lovettsville, VA: Squircle Jerks  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Hamlet)

Belles’ Sports Bar in Frederick, MD: Alcoholics Unanimous  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: David Lynch Films)

Pretzel and Pizza Creations in Hagerstown, MD: Edible Derangements  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Reggae)

The Garage in Frederick, MD: DC Swampers  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: World Capitals)

Mason Social in Alexandria, VA: Lone Strangers  (NEXT WEEK’S FIRST CATEGORY: Washington Nationals)

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