In Pursuit of Trivia

I've always had one of those enquiring minds that enjoys trivia and, for some strange reason, retains it. Because I was one of these boring farts who can talk for hours about matters totally irrelevant to anybody of normal mind, a couple of years ago, a friend of mine who owns some pubs asked me to create and compere a Quiz Night which I duly did, and it proved successful. I'm pleased to say that they became a permanent fixture and are still going strong. I create all the quizzes myself and even design the posters which takes a fairly large chunk of time. Why do I do it? Well, the lure of the microphone and the built-in entertainer in me are two reasons but the main one (if I'm brutally honest) is that I really get a buzz from seeing people enjoy themselves and knowing that I am partly instrumental in that.

The quizzes I host (ably assisted by Mrs B as scorer and peripatetic hint-giver) aren't about people's knowledge being tested. The questions aren't particularly difficult but they tend to be on the "interesting" or humourous side. The teams that compete aren't there to show off their knowledge but merely to have fun, try and wind up the others and send a barrage of friendly abuse in my direction. Fortunately, there are a wealth of sources both on the net and in all good charity shops that provide me with a fund of questions and, at a rough guess, I reckon I've had to select or invent 8000 or so questions so far!

There are no big prizes; the last thing I want is people taking it seriously and the "professional" quiz goers soon lose interest when they discover that the potential prize of £5,000 is actually a scratch card for each member of the winning team!


Fancy trying a few? (and no Googling!):

All the answers begin with A, B or C

1) What colour is the Queen’s blotting paper?
2) Which London Underground Line opened in 1906?
3) Which breed of dog is called the “King of the Terriers”?
4) Beards of which colour grow quickest?
5) What was the name of Jacques Cousteau’s famous survey ship?
6) Which TV sitcom centered around Whitbury Newton Leisure Centre?
7) What turns blue litmus paper red?
8) What is between Strand and Fleet St.on a Monopoly board?

How about a bit of Pot Luck?

1) What facial feature does not feature on the Mona Lisa?
2) Which is the only American state to end in 3 vowels?
3) How many 4 pence stamps are there in 3 dozen?
4) In medieval times what did a nob thatcher make for a living?
5) What word becomes longer when the third letter is removed?
6) What is the longest medically recorded erection?
7) Which brand of coffee was named after the hotel where it was first served?
8) What colour is the milk of a yak? White, green or pink?

In the mood now? Each Quiz also has a Table Round for teams to work on throughout the evening. Here's one I did for last week's Quiz, it's basically all cryptic clues for types of food i.e. Casino equipment would be Chips - get it?

1	red head breaks?
2	throw or hurl a sweetener?
3	a mixed aunt and aquatic vertebrates?
4	snooping a look at the mallard?
5	flying torpedo with rabbit food?
6	wrap that's used in packaging. a mouse sound?
7	scoring system in golf becoming infertile?
8	a cats door in a box?
9	king or tiger have an alcoholic mixed drink?
10	wee and a bolt to spread on bread?
11	canard in citrus colour?
12	a rubbish tip, sounds like ping?
13	a cow wearing wet weather boots?
14	granny smith is fragmenting?
15	the french to break or to crack. a part in a play?
16	sounds like a north american elk?
17	struck with a leather strap so some ointment is needed?
18	small green vegetable able to know 3.14159?
19	covered in au dripping with a thick sweet liquid?
20	on the cob snow particles?
21	environmental baked or stringed pods?
22	this border herding dog like to bloom?
23	the best man will do this with a drink?
24	a condiment and sounds like pony?
25	type of stew from north west england?
26	telling cockney lies?
27	yellow-bellied ukraine capital?
28	mother could?
29	northern dales and desserts?
30	a nick name for western films, a meat based italian pasta sauce?
31	this will keep vampires away, a baker’s best seller?
32	14th letter + cold + big food storage?
33	the colour of old age hair in a big chelmsford festival?
34	bachelors, campbell and heinz make this.
35	used to keep hands warm. not out?
36	rapper t or cube is whipped single or double?
37	a small bird goes to the toilet?
38	rocking session spread?
39	dutch cheese made backwards?
40	ebony dessert?

I can't claim any credit for the above. It came from another site and, sadly, I can't give them credit because I've forgotten where it was!

I'm busy trying to get all technical by doing menus and things to make navigation around the blog a bit easier so I might just do a little weekly quiz if I can make it "clickable". There again, maybe I'll just accept that not everyone has a a desire to know the average weight of a blue whale's testicle. Perhaps, dear reader, you could leave a comment if you like the idea of a quiz section?

I'll leave you with a link to the kind of site that is a Paradise for trivia addicts - http://www.angelfire.com/ca6/uselessfacts/ Click to open and venture into a whole new (and useless) world. Enjoy!