Pogonip Pummelers

$25 of gift certificate glory

Current reigning champions, Dawn and I succeeded in besting all the teams one, potentially drunk team to win the $25 gift certificate at the Upper Crust New Year's Eve Trivia Night. Our win streak stands at one week...we stood-in for out-of-town friends who could not make it this week.

We answered questions like the following:

• Round 1
• What was Hermione's last name in the Harry Potter universe?
• What sport throws salt before competing?
• Kodiak Island represents the largest island of which U.S. state?
• Round 2
• The Gulf War started when Iraq invaded which country?
• What instrument does the leader of an orchestra typically play?
• How many moons does Mars have?
• Round 3
• What three U.S. states border Lake Superior? (such a gimmee, for me)
• What is the eastern-most U.S. state?
• What Kingdom owns Greenland?
• Bonus round: What city housed the first U.S. Mint?

Due to low turnout, the host, Chris, played only one gift certificate challenge (I guess they usually do two or more). No beer chug-off needed--this seems like the customary way ties get decided, based on videos on their Facebook page...seeing who can quaff a beer faster. We got a +5 bonus for best team name (see Subject), due to his preference for the word Pogonip, a Shoshone word meaning "icy fog," which represents a local Santa Cruz city park near the UCSC campus.

Teams get 5 points for each correct answer. If the team provides a wrong answer, but it makes the host laugh, they get 1 point. Teams tear off a piece of paper from a 4"x6" index card and write their team name on one side and their answer on the other, then hand it to the host after each question. The last question represents the bonus round, during which teams must wager between 1 and 35 points. Depending on whether a team answers successfully or not, they gain or lose their wager. So, it can allow a team to win, even if they have a substantial deficit. 

We got all the answers except for the Greenland one. We wagered 10 points and answered the bonus round successfully. So, it seems we had 60 points out of a potential 85 maximum for the round (45 for the regular rounds + 35 for bonus round + 5 for team name). Chris seemed like a very personable and gregarious guy and congratulated the other team with a free pitcher of beer (in addition to their existing one).

Sadly, it looks like we will not have the ability to defend our title next week, as I am out-of-town.