Trivia team, "You're My Boy, Blue," celebrates its first round victory at O'Leary's in Sappington. The team answered 12 of 15 questions correctly about country capitals around the world. Clockwise from left are Jessica Poschel of Town and Country, Toni and Erich Mueller of Mehlville, Sue Holmes and Karen Ames of St.
Louis, Marie Thorne of Arnold, team captain, Andrea Gioia of Oakville and Charles Glasscock of Concord Village. Teams played for $10 gift certificates to O'Leary's. What was the original name of the cartoon bald guy on the Monopoly game?
How about the artist who performed Take My Breath Away before Jessica Simpson? These are crucial bits of knowledge among the trivia night crowd at Lemmons bar. Organizers fired question after question about everything from Newt Gingrich to Little House on the Prairie.
The latter brought a chorus of groans. Robert Severson, team captain of the Squids, suspected that the entire category about Michael Landon's TV show was an act of sabotage against his team. The Squids, a somewhat legendary team in the bar, were hoping for a third consecutive win.
They are an experienced, slightly smug lot made up of resident baby boomer Kevin Stroup and twentysomethings Severson, Ron Warner, Bill Michalski, Janet Lackey, Sarah Truckey and Michael Champlin. (Team member Keith Hueffmeier was out that night.) There are no lifelines in trivia no cell phones, Internet or other reference materials.
Team members must rely on one another's knowledge of everything from pro wrestlers and Irish cities to dead presidents and types of Easter candy. Sure, St. Louis is home to many trivia nights for various charities.
In bars, though, most people play just for a night of fun. Teams such as the Squids, however, are a little more hard-core. For example, Severson keeps a record of every question and stars the ones his team answered correctly.
Never trust anyone else's scoring, he warns. For luck, Warner wears a stuffed shark hat. The crew, mostly Webster University alumni, yells, Nailed it!
for each correct answer. If you want to establish a trivia dynasty, you need to use the same team name every week, Warner advises. By the way, back at the top of this story, if you guessed Rich Uncle Pennybags and the band Berlin, you should be playing trivia!
Even if you don't aspire to Squidness, trivia nights at local bars are good for some laughs. Among the places that offer contests: When: 7:30 p.m.
Tuesdays Details: Free. Three rounds of 10 questions; prizes of $10 gift certificates per round. Hosted by bar regulars.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays Details: Free.
No limit on team size. Five rounds of 15 questions; prizes of $10 gift cards per round. Steve Murphy, owner of the karaoke and DJ company www.
karoakestl.com, hosts trivia nights at O'Leary's and Syberg's Westport (see below). When: 7:30 p.
m. Wednesdays Details: Free. No limit on team size.
Five rounds of 15 questions; prizes of $10 gift cards per round. When: 9 p.m.
Wednesdays Details: Free. No limit on team size. Six to eight rounds.
Prizes of drinks and food per round. Specials all night. Hosted by Trivia Mike.
When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays How much: Free.
Sign up at the door. Groups of four to eight people. Five rounds of 10 questions; prizes of pizza and beer.
Hosted by Jamie Foehner and Sandy Olive. When: 7:30 p.m.
Thursdays Details: Free. No limit on team size. Typically seven rounds of seven to 10 questions; winners receive gift certificates for food.
On nice days, the event will be outside on the patio. Hosted by Robert Ruzicka. How much: Free.
Groups of one to three people. Number of rounds varies. 10 questions per round; prizes of gift certificates for food, merchandise, nonalcoholic drinks.
Crossing Tavern and Grille, 35 North Gore Avenue, Webster Groves When: 8 p.m. Sundays Details: Free.
No limit on team size. Five rounds of 10 questions; prizes of beer and food. Hosted by Jamie Foehner and Sandy Olive.
One team member writes down the answers. The answer sheet is turned in at the end of each round. The teams that do best include members with a variety of interests and ages.
Most bars offer audio and visual categories, asking players to identify music, movie clips, pictures of celebrities or packaging logos. Cheating isn't worth it. Nobody wants to be the trivia police, so please, play fair!
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