You Better Work at Thursday Trivia!

With seven venues each welcoming more than a dozen teams, our Thursday game was packed with a total of 127 teams across 15 venues:

FIRST ROUND:

Opening round topics from Thursday night included the novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, arachnids, and this Atlanta rapper:

After closing the first round with a question about the European Union, we saw 14 teams begin their game with a perfect score of 36 points.

SECOND ROUND:

Six-letter words were the focus of Thursday’s audio question.  While most of our teams recognized the songs of Sister Sledge and Savage Garden, the British rock band Kaiser Chiefs was certainly the most difficult to pin, as only 13% of the field tacked on two bonus points.  Later, we visited Dallas / Fort Worth Airport, celebrated some religious holidays by fasting, and discussed the work of this actor:

This query about Yul Brynner also included the most difficult bonus question of the first half, as only 11% of our teams knew that the feature film version of “The King and I” featured Brynner starring alongside Deborah Kerr.  As a result, the second round did not yield any perfect scores.

HALFTIME:

Thursday’s halftime page asked our teams to identify members of the Television Hall of Fame and phrases which contained the initials “G. M.”.  Across the board, ten teams earned a perfect score, while the overall average reached 16.4 points.  These were your highest scoring Thursday teams at the halftime break:

• Unatheltico Madrid (Guido’s):  90
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s):  90
• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market):  89
• Blood Legion (Flower Hill):  89
• Vitrifiers (Champion Billiards):  89

THIRD ROUND:

Thursday’s third round gave our teams Three Clues for the name George before moving on to topics such as the acting accolades bestowed upon Tommy Lee Jones, Trader Joe’s grocery stores, and these two pieces of art which share the same title:

In a bit of an anomaly, we saw ten teams earn a perfect third round score.

FOURTH ROUND:

After a quick visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 6-4-2 question, we began Thursday’s final round with the most difficult bonus question of the night.  Most of the field earned wagering points by knowing that LeBron James won four MVP Awards between 2009 and 2013, but only nine teams also knew that the only OTHER player to win an MVP Award in that time frame was former Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose.  Later, we discussed the poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the songs of Johnny Cash, and the link between Greek mythology and this bird:

Thanks largely to the first bonus question of the round, none of our teams posted a perfect final round score.  Here is Thursday’s pre-final leaderboard:

• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market):  167
• Lowered Expectations (Quincy’s):  164
• Vitrifiers (Champion Billiards):  163
• North Country (Quincy’s):  161
• Brainal Beads (Fish Market):  160

THURSDAY’S FINAL QUESTION (12.9% success rate):

–> Spelled with a capital ‘R’ in the middle of the title, the 2018 self-help book entitled “GuRu” is described as a “guidebook to keep you walking in the sunshine of the spirit”.  For your wager, which Emmy-winning TV personality wrote this book?

About one-in-eight teams earned points on this final question with the correct answer of RuPaul.  With such a difficult final question, none of our teams earned the Perfect 21 on Thursday night.  These were your highest scoring teams at the close of Thursday’s game:

• Brother of Menelaus (Fish Market):  173
• North Country (Quincy’s):  171
• Zambookie (Champion Billiards):  170
• Half Nelsons (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s):  170
• Uranus Fly Trap (Smoketown):  165
• Over 140 (Right Around the Corner):  160
• There Goes the Gayborhood (Right Around the Corner):  159
• Vitrifiers (Champion Billiards):  163
• Brainal Beads (Fish Market):  157
• Cheeky Bastards (Cushwa):  157
• Next to Nothing (Cushwa):  157

THURSDAY’S WINNERS:

Quincy’s Bar and Grille in Gaithersburg, MD:  North Country   (Next week’s first category: Jimmy Carter)

Champion Billiards in Frederick, MD:  Zambookie   (Next week’s first category: They Might Be Giants – AUDIO)

Loudoun Kitchen and Bar in Leesburg, VA:  Your Mom   (Next week’s first category: March Madness)

Smoketown Brewing Station in Brunswick, MD:  Uranus Fly Trap   (Next week’s first category: National Public Radio)

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s in Frederick, MD:  Half Nelsons   (Next week’s first category: “Newsies”)

Olde Mother Brewing in Frederick, MD:  Orgy Planning Committee   (Next week’s first category: “Hot Ones” web series)

Belly Love Brewing in Purcellville, VA:  I Am Groot   (Next week’s first category: English Monarchs)

Cushwa Brewing in Williamsport, MD:  Cheeky Bastards   (Next week’s first category: “Weird Science”)

The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg, MD:  Drinkin’ and Guessin’   (Next week’s first category: University of Memphis Basketball)

Dawg House in Waynesboro, PA:  Not Your Team   (Next week’s first category: Irish Whisky)

The Derby Restaurant in New Market, MD:  Crazy Cat People   (Next week’s first category: “Gilligan’s Island”)

Right Around the Corner in St. Petersburg, FL:  Over 140   (Next week’s first category: Harry Potter)

Fish Market Restaurant in Alexandria, VA:  Brother of Menelaus   (Next week’s first category: “Full House”)

Mark’s Pub in Falls Church, VA:  Sofa King Smart   (Next week’s first category: Spanish Words)

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