Thursday, March 15, 2007

In Australia, It's the Easter Bilby

I was back to my solo status at Trivia Night tonight. Coincidentally, I was back to winning tonight.
So here's how trivia night works at this particular establishment: six rounds of three questions each, plus a three-question 'halftime' and a final question. In each round, you get a 1-, 3-, and 5-point question; you get to decide which question gets which value. The halftime questions are each worth three points. There's no penalty for missing, until the final question, which is worth fifteen points if you get it right, -15 if you get it wrong, and nothing if you elect not to answer. There is some strategy to the final question, but the real key to winning at trivia night is: don't blow your 5-pointers.
A tough night, but thanks to the advent of Spring Break and early St. Patrick's Day celebrations at other local watering holes, the competition was light. Tonight's misses:

1. What is the first name shared by the Hungarian actors who played Pontius Pilate and John in The Passion of the Christ?
2. In Switzerland, what animal brings eggs on Easter?
3. What is the longest a total eclipse of the Sun can last?
4. What was Astroturf called before it was installed in the Astrodome in 1966?
5. What is IRS form 211?
6. What comedian's experiences in the Navy were the inspiration for M*A*S*H's Corporal Max Klinger?
7. What is most of the ocean floor made of? (in other words, what mineral?)
8. How many buttons are on a U.S. soldier's bell-bottom pants?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, apparently I shouldn't even bother to try out for Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, much less any other trivia game. One of these weeks I am going to know one. Keeping in mind I got the worst grade of my scholastic life in Geology ... is number 7 magnesium?

J. Bowman said...

It isn't, but I will say I don't think many fifth-graders would get these questions. Plus, I don't list the fourteen I got right. If you can name five current members of the Nuclear Club, you got last night's final question.

anne57 said...

If I were guessing number 7, I'd go with silicon/silica.

Anonymous said...

The Nuclear club? Not the Supreme Court or the Presidential Cabinet or the American Idol finalists or something?

How about sodium? (the grade, by the way, was really bad - I had this problem that every time we had to describe the appearance of a rock, I would just go with 'earthy').

J. Bowman said...

American Idol questions, which I don't do well on, do show up every few weeks. I'm also bad at the fashion questions; the life of Coco Chanel is not my area of expertise.
I'll post answers tomorrow.

J. Bowman said...

1. Hristo
2. the cuckoo
3. 7 minutes 31 seconds. Give yourself credit if you were within 15 seconds.
4. ChemGrass
5. Application for Reward for Original Information
6. Lenny Bruce
7. Basalt
8. 13 (I guessed zero. Where do they put 13 buttons?)