Trivia: Jinxed by Joel

After acing the first seventeen questions Thursday night, Joel asked “Have we missed a question?” Sufficiently jinxed, we went on to miss five of the next six. It was back to the sad old times at Thursday Night Trivia this week, without the Hurts, Kevin, or Michael.

1. How many horns does a triceratops have? An easy five points.

2. What is the official state song of Georgia? Georgia on my Mind. Three points.

3. What is the full name for the American version of the first book in the Harry Potter Series? Joel knew both the American and British titles of the best-selling novel: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. The British version was “The Philosophers Stone.” One point.

4. What flowers did Vincent van Gogh paint most often? Will knew: Sunflowers. Erin’s favorite flower…also Zanna’s. Five points.

5. Which character in the Matrix movies is also known as “One”, an anagram of his name? Joel knew: Neo, Keanu Reeves’ character. Three points.

6. What website, founded in 1995, did thrift store editor Al Hoff say would put an end to thrift stores and garage sales as we know them? We went with Joel’s first answer: www.eBay.com. One point.

7. What name is given to volcanoes that haven’t erupted in historical times, but aren’t considered extinct? Joel correctly answered Inactive, though Erin was looking for Dormant. Jokingly, Bama moaned to Erin: “You let the Hinges get away with that?!” Three points.

8. What name is given to the closest star to our planet Earth? My first thought was Alpha Centuri, but Joel corrected me: The Sun. Five points.

9. What computer company broke into the arcade market with the game Donkey Kong? Joel’s guess was correct: Nintendo. One point.

10. What is the baby name for the following animals?

…Duck…duckling

…Kangaroo…joey

…Sheep…lamb (or lamkin, or cosset)

…Toad…tadpole

…Horse…foal (or colt, or filly).

We were one of FOUR teams with perfect scores, which included the always dangerous Georgia Tech and art school graduates’ Pollywogs team. Four more teams were within two points of our lead. Poor Bama was in last place, a full 13 points back.

11. What spice is named because it tastes like an elixir of cloves, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg? Spices? Who knows about spices? I thought…maybe it was an anagram of the four spices Erin listed. Then it came to me: Allspice. Six points. Brilliant!

12. What is the first and last name of the White Stripes drummer? Who? One of Erin’s favorite bands. Joel knew: Meg White. Erin added: When Meg married, her husband took HER last name. Four points.

13. What flightless bird is the national symbol of New Zealand? Joel thought penguin. I countered with ostrich. But Will knew: The kiwi. Two points. With a perfect night, this is when Joel uttered his fateful remark.

14. In what city do tourists visit the Anne Frank House? As I jotted down the question, Joel said “we’re looking to you on this one!” He went with my guess: Frankfurt. It was Amsterdam. No harm, just a two point miss.

15. In the 1990’s, what was NBC’s most popular comedy show, after Seinfeld? I brainstormed: The Cosby Show? Friends? Cheers? Joel answered SNL. No one got it. According to Erin’s trivia book, it was Third Rock From the Sun! A four point miss.

16. What rival ran up and gave Mark McGuire a big hug after McGuire broke the single season home run record? Sammy Sosa. Six points.

17. In photography (one of Erin’s favorite things) what “B” term has to do with shutter speed? Joel racked his brain, and wanted to kill himself when he heard the answer: BOLD. The setting used to photograph bright things in the dark, like fireworks.

18. What is the only real animal to regularly appear in the show Teletubbies? We should’ve know, but didn’t: Rabbits.

19. What state’s official animal is the sperm whale? I guessed Alaska. Washington state’s is the Orca. No one got it right…Connecticut.

Going into the final question, we were in fourth…ten points behind the young leaders, Rhianna’s Black Eye.

20. Name the five oldest universities in the United States. Harvard, William & Mary, Yale, Princeton, Columbia. I got three. No significant lead changes…we remained in fourth place. We were two ahead of the mighty Pollywogs. Bama edged out “The Dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide” for next-to-last place. It was Rhianna’s second straight win: the young regular and his three girlfriends.