We had a really great night of Trivia last night at Thom's, as baseball history was potentially unfolding at Fenway Park. There were 17 teams playing last night. The scores were really good last night, as most of the teams rolled up big points, especially in the "Celluloid Heroes Trivia," as three teams got the maximum 14 points in the round.
Going into IQ Trivia, we had two teams tied for the lead, and three other teams within four points of the leaders. And we had something unusual in that round. We had 11 of the 17 teams get the same three questions right (questions 2, 4 and 5). But the two teams that got question 3 right, about John Major, wound up tied for the lead with 47 points. But at the time I didn't know it, as I did not give one team credit for getting it right. They rightly approached me about it, so we had to have a tie-breaker question.
I had a baseball question ready: "How many times have the New York Yankees lost the World Series in their history?" Both teams took their best guess, and the answer was 13. And the team called Table One, one of the long time regulars who had never been in the winner's circle, finally got their Trivia Night title. (I had originally proclaimed them the champs before the team of With Our Tables Combined We Are Still Missing No One told me of my error, which forced the tie-breaker question. I was simply mortified having to tell Table One they had to get one more question right before they could win.) The celebrations began with Tara and her crew, as they broke out the camera and took pictures with me of their historic win. I felt very good they had won, as they come to Trivia Night every week and do a ton of research in the effort to win. (I'm always impressed that they do that.)
My congratulations to Tara and all the Table One regulars. The long national nightmare finally ended for them.
BTW, all the best to Trivia Night regulars Alex and Meredith, who are leaving New York later this week for Pittsburgh, as Meredith is going to graduate school there. Alex is also running for Governor of Red Sox Nation for Pennsylvania. So he has my official endorsement. If you'd like to help Alex out, you can vote for him here. (You can vote for Alex Grosby, and the email address you can use is westygroz@yahoo.com) Good luck Alex!
Current Events
1. This Hollywood superstar actor rolled up the most salary of any performer for 2007: $80 million.
2. The International Olympic Committee banned this country's team from competing in the Summer Olympics because of government interference in the national-level committee.
3. This Congressman, a former presidential candidate, presented articles for the impeachment of President Bush to the House Judiciary Committee last Friday.
4. Google announced that it has found and indexed this landmark number of unique web pages.
5. A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck off the coast of this Asian country, with reports of landslides and a disruption of transport and power supplies.
6. This actor was arrested for suspicion of DUI after being involved in a car accident in Los Angeles on Sunday.
7. Wildfires have charred over 26,000 acres and forced the evacuation of over 200 homes near this national park since last Friday.
Answers: 1. Will Smith; 2. Iraq; 3. Dennis Kucinich; 4. one trillion; 5. Japan; 6. Shia LeBoeuf; 7. Yosemite.
Celluloid Heroes Trivia
1. Lt. John Dunbar
2. Capt. John H. Miller
3. Atticus Finch
4. Ellen Ripley
5. Andy Dufresne
6. Rick Blaine
7. Dr. Jeffrey Wigand
Answers: 1. Kevin Costner ("Dances With Wolves"); 2. Tom Hanks ("Saving Private Ryan"); 3. Gregory Peck ("To Kill a Mockingbird") 4. Sigourney Weaver ("Alien"); 5. Tim Robbins ("The Shawshank Redemption"); 6. Humphrey Bogart ("Casablanca"); 7. Russell Crowe ("The Insider").
Spell the Word ("The Q Train")
1. BOMBINATE (verb): to make a humming or buzzing noise.
2. EVIDENTIARY (adj): pertaining to constituting evidence.
3. TRANSCENDENTAL (adj): being beyond ordinary experience or belief; supernatural.
4. MESOMORPHIC (adj): existing in an intermediate state.
5. CANTILEVER (noun): any rigid construction extending horizontally well beyond its vertical support.
6. FALLACY (noun): a deceptive or false notion or belief.
7. MERITOCRACY (noun): leadership by able and talented persons.
8. COERCE (verb): to compel by force, intimidation or authority without regarding individual desire.
9. SARTORIAL (adj): of or pertaining to tailors or their trade.
10. CONIFEROUS (adj): belonging or pertaining to the conifers.
General Knowledge
1. What invention was patented by Elias Howe in 1846?
2. What was the name of Ross' pet monkey on the TV series "Friends?"
3. In the religion of Islam, what is a "hajj?"
4. What popular drink of the 19th century, now banned in the US, can cause blindness and insanity?
5. John Steinbeck's book "The Grapes of Wrath" chronicles a farming family's trek from what state to California?
6. What river runs through Rome, Italy?
7. According to the federal flag code, what's the preferred way of discarding the US flag?
Answers: 1. The sewing machine; 2. Marcel; 3. a pilgrimage to Mecca; 4. absinthe; 5. Oklahoma; 6. Tiber; 7. burn it.
IQ Trivia
1. How many provinces are there in Canada? ( 4 points)
2. What entertainer wrote the theme song to the TV game show "Jeopardy?"( 3 points)
3. What British leader was a circus performer's son, a school dropout, and a welfare recipient? ( 5 points)
4. What are bathyscaphes designed to explore? ( 4 points)
5. What word was repeatedly spelled backwards in the novel and the movie "The Shining?" ( 4 points)
Answers: 1. ten; 2. Merv Griffin; 3. John Major; 4. deep sea; 5. murder.
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