Trivia Knights victorious

[earendel]

Saturday the Trivia Knights went into battle again and emerged victorious. After getting off to a rocky start with North American vacation spots we moved from fourth place to a tie for first, then pulled ahead by a few points. However our nemesis, the dreaded sports category, loomed and we had to hope that we could put enough distance between ourselves and 2nd place that this wouldn't doom us. Surprisingly we went 8-for-10 in the category including two contributions from your intrepid reporter. We were up by six going into the final category (movies) and won by that margin.

[melleon]

Congrats, Ear! Any chance you can share some of those questions with those of us always looking to expand our trivia knowledge?!

[earendel]

Congrats, Ear! Any chance you can share some of those questions with those of us always looking to expand our trivia knowledge?!

Yes. I'm a little OCD when it comes to our trivia contests - I always carry a notebook in which I try to write down the essentials of the questions and also the answers. I'll post them later (the notebook isn't with me), but I can remember some of the questions:

In what state would you be if you were walking through Craters of the Moon National Monument?
In what city is the Mall of America located?
Who wrote a 1994 Sports Illustrated article entitled "Time in a Bottle"?
What state has a town named for Gene Autry, the "singing cowboy"?
What musician received his aristocratic nickname in high school because of his fastidious mode of dress?
Who famously said "Too much of a good thing is wonderful"?

There were 8 categories in all, with 10 questions per category.

[ulysses5019]

Congratulations to the brave knights of trivia.

[Bob Juch]

I hope they said the Mall of America is in

Spoiler

Bloomington, Minnesota

. I was actually counted wrong on that once at Quizo in Philly.

[earendel]

I hope they said the Mall of America is in

Spoiler

Bloomington, Minnesota

. I was actually counted wrong on that once at Quizo in Philly.

Yes, they did.

[Weyoun]

Good to hear. I was stuck in Minnesota because of the hurricane, and I went to the Mall. I'm glad to know it had not moved since last Saturday.

[Bob Juch]

Good to hear. I was stuck in Minnesota because of the hurricane, and I went to the Mall. I'm glad to know it had not moved since last Saturday.

Yeah, but the Quizo host insisted it was in Minneapolis.

[Weyoun]

I HATE it when quizmasters insist on being wrong. At the Mellow Mushroom in Charlottesville, the smug little douchebag who ran it once asked what countries border Spain. We correctly answered France, Andorra, Portugal, the UK, and Morocco.

First of all, the guy totally didn't even include Morocco. We made him aware of the existence of Ceuta and Melilla and he conceded that.

But he wouldn't concede that Gibraltar = UK! It's a British Overseas Territory! It's UK!

I tried arguing with him that Gibraltar OR the UK should be accepted, as common knowledge equivalents. It's not like someone is just going to put UK for the hell of it. Oh, no. He insisted Gibraltar was a country.

Anyway, the rest of the evening we wrote in stupid answers and walked our tab.

[SportsFan68]

I HATE it when quizmasters insist on being wrong. At the Mellow Mushroom in Charlottesville, the smug little douchebag who ran it once asked what countries border Spain. We correctly answered France, Andorra, Portugal, the UK, and Morocco.

First of all, the guy totally didn't even include Morocco. We made him aware of the existence of Ceuta and Melilla and he conceded that.

But he wouldn't concede that Gibraltar = UK! It's a British Overseas Territory! It's UK!

I tried arguing with him that Gibraltar OR the UK should be accepted, as common knowledge equivalents. It's not like someone is just going to put UK for the hell of it. Oh, no. He insisted Gibraltar was a country.

Anyway, the rest of the evening we wrote in stupid answers and walked our tab.

So you stole from the Mellow Mushroom because the quizmaster behaved badly?

[earendel]

I HATE it when quizmasters insist on being wrong. At the Mellow Mushroom in Charlottesville, the smug little douchebag who ran it once asked what countries border Spain. We correctly answered France, Andorra, Portugal, the UK, and Morocco.

First of all, the guy totally didn't even include Morocco. We made him aware of the existence of Ceuta and Melilla and he conceded that.

But he wouldn't concede that Gibraltar = UK! It's a British Overseas Territory! It's UK!

I tried arguing with him that Gibraltar OR the UK should be accepted, as common knowledge equivalents. It's not like someone is just going to put UK for the hell of it. Oh, no. He insisted Gibraltar was a country.

Anyway, the rest of the evening we wrote in stupid answers and walked our tab.

There was one question that raised a lot of ruckus but the host ruled that no challenges were allowed.

The question: What presidential campaign was targeted by the infamous "Daisy Girl" TV commercial?

Spoiler

LBJ's

Spoiler

We answered the question correctly, as did several other groups. But when the answers were announced, "Goldwater" was deemed the "correct" response. Several tables shouted in protest and one of our members went over later to ask about this. He was told about the "no challenges" rule (which had been announced at the beginning of the contest). Had we lost by one point I'd have been really put out.

There was a second question that had us scratching our heads: Oxygen and hydrogen are two of the most abundant elements in the universe. What is the third?

We debated long and hard about this one - what exactly did he mean? (I should have said that he was demonstrating it - stupidity). After narrowing the answer down to either

Spoiler

carbon or helium

we went with the latter. Fortunately we were correct. That was a really poorly-worded question.

[Weyoun]

I HATE it when quizmasters insist on being wrong. At the Mellow Mushroom in Charlottesville, the smug little douchebag who ran it once asked what countries border Spain. We correctly answered France, Andorra, Portugal, the UK, and Morocco.

First of all, the guy totally didn't even include Morocco. We made him aware of the existence of Ceuta and Melilla and he conceded that.

But he wouldn't concede that Gibraltar = UK! It's a British Overseas Territory! It's UK!

I tried arguing with him that Gibraltar OR the UK should be accepted, as common knowledge equivalents. It's not like someone is just going to put UK for the hell of it. Oh, no. He insisted Gibraltar was a country.

Anyway, the rest of the evening we wrote in stupid answers and walked our tab.

So you stole from the Mellow Mushroom because the quizmaster behaved badly?

Yes.

[MarleysGh0st]

The question: What presidential campaign was targeted by the infamous "Daisy Girl" TV commercial?

Spoiler

LBJ's

Spoiler

We answered the question correctly, as did several other groups. But when the answers were announced, "Goldwater" was deemed the "correct" response. Several tables shouted in protest and one of our members went over later to ask about this. He was told about the "no challenges" rule (which had been announced at the beginning of the contest). Had we lost by one point I'd have been really put out.

How do you define the word "targeted," ear?

Spoiler

Yes, LBJ's campaign ran the attack ad, but the target was certainly Goldwater. Wouldn't you agree?

[earendel]

The question: What presidential campaign was targeted by the infamous "Daisy Girl" TV commercial?

Spoiler

LBJ's

Spoiler

We answered the question correctly, as did several other groups. But when the answers were announced, "Goldwater" was deemed the "correct" response. Several tables shouted in protest and one of our members went over later to ask about this. He was told about the "no challenges" rule (which had been announced at the beginning of the contest). Had we lost by one point I'd have been really put out.

How do you define the word "targeted," ear?

Spoiler

Yes, LBJ's campaign ran the attack ad, but the target was certainly Goldwater. Wouldn't you agree?

I don't have the wording of the question at hand, so "targeted" may not have been the right choice. Whatever it was, the answer should have been

Spoiler

LBJ

.

[TheConfessor]

Anyway, the rest of the evening we wrote in stupid answers and walked our tab.

Very classy.

[Weyoun]

Anyway, the rest of the evening we wrote in stupid answers and walked our tab.

Very classy.

You are quick to judge. How do you know I haven't made it up? It's not on Snopes.

[Bob78164]

The question: What presidential campaign was targeted by the infamous "Daisy Girl" TV commercial?

Spoiler

LBJ's

Spoiler

We answered the question correctly, as did several other groups. But when the answers were announced, "Goldwater" was deemed the "correct" response. Several tables shouted in protest and one of our members went over later to ask about this. He was told about the "no challenges" rule (which had been announced at the beginning of the contest). Had we lost by one point I'd have been really put out.

Spoiler

The correct response is Goldwater, at least as the question is phrased here. LBJ's campaign used the commercial, but the target was Goldwater.

--Bob

[frogman042]

The question: What presidential campaign was targeted by the infamous "Daisy Girl" TV commercial?

Spoiler

LBJ's

Spoiler

We answered the question correctly, as did several other groups. But when the answers were announced, "Goldwater" was deemed the "correct" response. Several tables shouted in protest and one of our members went over later to ask about this. He was told about the "no challenges" rule (which had been announced at the beginning of the contest). Had we lost by one point I'd have been really put out.

Spoiler

The correct response is Goldwater, at least as the question is phrased here. LBJ's campaign used the commercial, but the target was Goldwater.

--Bob

Well, Ear did say he wasn't sure of the exact wording - so I'm thinking that he 'almost' got the wording right and we all know that 'almost' doesn't count except in horseshoes and

Spoiler

thermonuclear war.

[TheConfessor]

Anyway, the rest of the evening we wrote in stupid answers and walked our tab.

Very classy.

You are quick to judge. How do you know I haven't made it up? It's not on Snopes.

Not yet. But it probably will be if you ever run for office.

[Weyoun]

Very classy.

You are quick to judge. How do you know I haven't made it up? It's not on Snopes.

Not yet. But it probably will be if you ever run for office.

Actually my guess is that voters won't care. However, Rick Perry will likely my last name so toxic that it won't matter.

[Bob Juch]

I HATE it when quizmasters insist on being wrong. At the Mellow Mushroom in Charlottesville, the smug little douchebag who ran it once asked what countries border Spain. We correctly answered France, Andorra, Portugal, the UK, and Morocco.

First of all, the guy totally didn't even include Morocco. We made him aware of the existence of Ceuta and Melilla and he conceded that.

But he wouldn't concede that Gibraltar = UK! It's a British Overseas Territory! It's UK!

I tried arguing with him that Gibraltar OR the UK should be accepted, as common knowledge equivalents. It's not like someone is just going to put UK for the hell of it. Oh, no. He insisted Gibraltar was a country.

Anyway, the rest of the evening we wrote in stupid answers and walked our tab.

There's a Mellow Mushroom in Rogers, Arkansas, just half a mile from my hotel (when I'm there). They have the best pizza crust I've ever had! They'll be starting trivia in a few weeks.

[TheConfessor]

However, Rick Perry will likely my last name so toxic that it won't matter.

I hope you're wrong about that. But I agree with much of what you said, including the technically correct answer about the countries that border Spain, and the common problem of poorly researched questions asked by closed-minded quizmasters. After a while, you realize that the goal is to give the answer they're looking for, whether it's technically correct or not. Where you lost me was in taking out your frustrations on the wrong person. It is common practice in the restaurant and bar business to deduct the cost of a walked tab from the pay and tips of the server. S/he is just trying to do his/her job, make the customers happy enough to leave a respectable tip, and go home with enough money to get through another day. If the quizmaster won't admit that Spain borders the U.K., it's not the waitress's fault.

[Weyoun]

However, Rick Perry will likely my last name so toxic that it won't matter.

I hope you're wrong about that. But I agree with much of what you said, including the technically correct answer about the countries that border Spain, and the common problem of poorly researched questions asked by closed-minded quizmasters. After a while, you realize that the goal is to give the answer they're looking for, whether it's technically correct or not. Where you lost me was in taking out your frustrations on the wrong person. It is common practice in the restaurant and bar business to deduct the cost of a walked tab from the pay and tips of the server. S/he is just trying to do his/her job, make the customers happy enough to leave a respectable tip, and go home with enough money to get through another day. If the quizmaster won't admit that Spain borders the U.K., it's not the waitress's fault.

Ah, but I didn't tell you the whole story. For example, we did leave some cash for the waitress. We were all semi-regulars at the place, so chances are one of knew the waitress/wanted to sleep with her. One waitress there got my copy of Walter Kaufmann's guide to Nietzsche, which she took to Europe and lost.

But eventually we went back and sorted things out with the bartender, who was a friend of two of the guys on our team. I think, two weeks later, and I want to say he bought us shots to make us feel better. It was good to smoke the peace pipe, because the food there is good. Plus, if we burned that bridge, the only other place we could have played live trivia at in Charlottesville was McGrady's, which had far spottier questions and did that "ten questions of one theme per round" format that I'm not a fan of.

Mellow especially good at the final question, which usually had some element of brain teaser to it - for example, sometimes we had to fill out a crossword. Of course other times it was "identify the video game character," and that sucked. PERHAPS MY FAVORITE was when they would give us five actors, and we had to do the Kevin Bacon game, in a circle. You'd have to form a ring of names, each linked to the neighbor with a movie both were in. Sometimes, multiple actors could work, but you had to get to a specific order of the actors to making a working circle. That was good.

Ah, memories.

[earendel]

OK, at melly's request, here are the questions from last Saturday's trivia contest.

Round 1 – North American vacation spots
1. In what state would you be if you were walking through the Craters of the Moon National Monument?
2. In what city will you find the largest collection of art by Salvador Dali, housed in the Dali Museum?
3. In what Minnesota city is the Mall of America located?
4. What is the name of the first Ivy League school founded?
5. What state features an annual beer festival in late September?
6. What state has a town named “Gene Autry” in honor of the singing cowboy?
7. What is the name of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home in Spring Green, WI?
8. A bronze statue of what famous person is at the base of the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art?
9. What state’s residents had bumper stickers reading “My governor can beat up your governor”?
10. What famous San Francisco hill is home to a colony of wild parrots?

Spoiler

Answers to Round 1
1. Idaho
2. St. Petersburg
3. Bloomington
4. Harvard
5. Colorado
6. Oklahoma
7. Taliesen
8. Rocky Balboa
9. Minnesota
10. Telegraph Hill

Round 2 – Political ponderings
1. Who was the first losing candidate in a presidential election?
2. Whose presidential campaign targeted his opponent with the infamous “Daisy Girl” TV ad?
3. Which president had a job as a model and appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan in 1942?
4. Which state is represented in the U.S. Senate by two Jewish women?
5. Which president had a California residence named “La Casa Pacifica”?
6. Who was the first president to have been a Boy Scout?
7. What “war” introduced the competing slogans, “Better red than dead” and “Better dead than red”?
8. What presidential candidate received only one delegate in 1980 after spending $12 million?
9. Who was the first president to use his informal first name?
10. How many electoral votes are required to be elected president?

Spoiler

Answers to Round 2
1. Thomas Jefferson
2. LBJ
3. Gerald Ford
4. California
5. Nixon
6. JFK
7. Cold War
8. John Connolly
9. Jimmy Carter
10. 270

Round 3 – All mixed up
1. Who was the first UN Secretary-General to proclaim Earth Day as an international observance?
2. What is one of the two states in which it is illegal to pump one’s own gasoline?
3. What is the only nation to border both Libya and Israel?
4. Who penned “De Profundis” from behind bars?
5. What movie opens with a feather drifting down at a bus stop?
6. Which of the “H’s” in the 4H Club is not a body part?
7. Which nation’s national anthem includes “A prince I am, undaunted, of Orange, ever free”?
8. Aside from being a hat, Fez is the third largest city in what country?
9. What state has been led by governors named Hannibal Hamlin and Edmund Muskie?
10. On which golf course would you find the “Amen Corner”, a name for holes 13, 14, and 15?

Spoiler

Answers to Round 3
1. U Thant
2. New Jersey (or Oregon)
3. Egypt
4. Oscar Wilde
5. Forrest Gump
6. health
7. the Netherlands
8. Morocco
9. Maine
10. Augusta National

Round 4 – What’s in a name?
1. What was the name of Aristotle Onassis’ yacht, named after his daughter?
2. What was the original title of Buddy Holly’s hit “Peggy Sue”?
3. Gummo, Harpo, Zeppo and Chico are four of the Marx brothers; who is the fifth?
4. What was the name of the hospital in which “Scrubs” took place?
5. What is the nickname of the University of Mississippi?
6. What was Archie Bunker’s son-in-law Mike Stivic’s nickname?
7. What was the name of Bambi’s rabbit pal?
8. What is the name of Snoopy’s mother?
9. Who wrote the 1957 autobiography “Be My Guest”?
10. What tennis great was nicknamed “the Ice Queen”?

Spoiler

Answers to Round 4
1. Christina
2. Cindy Lou
3. Groucho
4. Sacred Heart
5. Ole Miss
6. Meathead
7. Thumper
8. Missy
9. Conrad Hilton
10. Chris Evert

Round 5 – Musical notes
1. What hard-partying country singer penned the autobiography “I Lived to Tell it All”?
2. What countdown DJ ends his show with “keep your feet on your ground and keep reaching for the stars”?
3. What was the name of the studio in which the Beatles recorded most of their albums?
4. What is the stage name of Darius Rucker?
5. What well-known song was originally known as “The Defense of Ft. McHenry”?
6. What soul singer famously wrecked his Corvette the first time he drove it?
7. How many Grammy awards did Lawrence Welk win?
8. What 1976 song did Barry Manilow sing but not write?
9. What Tejana singer was murdered by the president of her fan club?
10. What musician earned his aristocratic nickname in high school because of his fastidious dress?

Spoiler

Answers to Round 5
1. George Jones
2. Casey Kasem
3. Abby Road
4. Hootie
5. The Star-Spangled Banner
6. Ray Charles
7. Zero
8. I Write the Songs
9. Selena
10. Duke Ellington

Round 6 – Simply science
1. What is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature?
2. What state leads the nation in the per capita production of waste, with 15 tons per citizen?
3. Oxygen and hydrogen are two of the most abundant elements in the universe; what is the third?
4. In what year was Sputnik I launched?
5. How many laws of motion did Newton discover?
6. If an object is dropped off a building, how many feet will it fall in the first second?
7. What did Mrs. W. Cochran invent in 1889?
8. According to WHO what is the deadliest animal in the world?
9. Latin for “a curl of hair” what type of cloud forms at the highest level in the atmosphere?
10. What is the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way?

Spoiler

Answers to Round 6
1. mercury
2. California
3. helium
4. 1957
5. 3
6. 16
7. dishwasher
8. mosquito
9. cirrus
10. Andromeda

Round 7 – Be a sport
1. In what Olympic event will participants perform the clean and jerk?
2. What is the only tennis Grand Slam event still played on grass?
3. Who was the first gymnast to receive a perfect score of 10 in the 1976 Olympics?
4. What team does Jerry Jones own?
5. What Phoenix Suns forward won the first NBA Slam Dunk contest?
6. Who was the youngest NBA All-Star Game MVP at age 21?
7. Who wrote the 1994 Sports Illustrated article “Time in a Bottle”?
8. The family on “Married with Children” was named for what famous professional wrestler?
9. Who is the only woman to have made a slam dunk in a WNBA game?
10. For what team did Vince Lombardi coach after leaving Green Bay?

Spoiler

Answers to Round 7
1. weightlifting
2. Wimbledon
3. Nadia Comeneci
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Larry Nance
6. LeBron James
7. Mickey Mantle
8. King Kong Bundy
9. Lisa Leslie
10. Washington Redskins

Round 8 – Movies
1. What 1975 blockbuster featured the line “we’re gonna need a bigger boat”?
2. What movie character has played opposite Maud Adams, Kim Basinger and Ursula Andress?
3. What Beatles movie was unnamed until John Lennon remembered a quote from Ringo Starr after a long recording session?
4. Who is Angelina Jolie’s father?
5. Who was the first actress to appear on a postage stamp?
6. What actor is the newest James Bond?
7. In 1989 who was the first African-American to win an Oscar, after a drought of 50 years?
8. Who said “too much of a good thing is wonderful”?
9. What actor is known as “the muscles from Brussels”?
10. The movie “Tangled” is based on what Grimms’ fairy tale?

Spoiler

Answers to Round 8
1. Jaws
2. James Bond
3. A Hard Day's Night
4. Jon Voight
5. Grace Kelly
6. Daniel Craig
7. Denzel Washington
8. Mae West
9. Jean-Claude van Damme
10. Rapunzel

[melleon]

Thanks, Ear! Congratulations again on your victory, some tough questions here.