topics 1/5/11

Celtic mythology
xxxholic (anime)
books by Guy Gavriel Kay
UFC
Eastbound & Down (tv show)
Ca. state budget & revenue
30 Rock (tv show)
1 Million Dollar Listing (reality tv show)
home loans
state birds
evolutionary biology
analog synthesizers
characters from a song of Fire & Ice
famous tourist attractions in Ireland

The Snicklefits secure their first overall win!

Congratulations to The Snicklefits for kicking ass and taking names in their dominant first win. On top of that, they drew the jackpot. Fresnocity brought the ferocity in round 4 so they could bring you these 14 topics.

1. The "L" Word
2. John Cougar Mellancamp
3. U.S. Universities
4. Celebrity Divorces
5. Johnny Cash
6. Fulton Mall
7. Fresno History
8. Star Trek
9. How I Met Your Mother
10. Physics (classical)
11. Elliott Smith
12. Monty Python (including Spamalot)
13. The Rolling Stones
14. Fly Fishing

Some new ones in the mix. Study hard!

In other news, we'll be taking a break between Christmas and New Years (12/29) so we can do some traveling and celebrating of our own. That means this coming pub quiz (12/22) is the last of 2010.

Also, January 13th marks the one year anniversary of Fresno Pub Quiz (I know, it flew by for us too!) which means we'll probably try to have some extra giveaways or some sort of celebratory additions to the nearest pub quiz night (1/12) to commemorate that event. We hope you'll be around to help us cheer the fact that you all have made this possible with your incredible attendance and faithful support.

Thanks for playing!

An Unspeakable Win

Unspeakable Title had a definitive win this week taking first place by a 5 point margin. They have become the team to beat it seems. Finding Strangers in the Alps swung a round 4 victory though, so they'll have the advantage going into round 2 next week. Study up and we'll see you on Wednesday!

1. Max Headroom
2. Films of Jacques Audiard
3. Doctor Who
4. The Endurance Expedition
5. DC Comics
6. Firearms
7. Films of Ridley Scott
8. Penny-Arcade (webcomic)
9. Suzanne Vega (musician)
10. German Board Games
11. Hannibal Barca
12. Starbucks "Lingo"
13. Sherlock (BBC series)
14. James Bond actors and actresses (film)

Round 2 Topics for 12/8

Full Frontal Double Rainbow won round 4, which pulled them into a tie with the Work of Bavmorta, and then they were closer to knowing the tie breaker answer about the number of pages in GW Bush's book, Decision Points. Here are the topics they selected for next week's Round 2:

1) The symphonies of Gustav Mahler

2) Episodes of Star Trek (the original series)

3) The voyage of the Beagle

4) Gods & godesses of India

5) Darker than Black (anime)

6) Books by Ilona Andrews

7) UFC

8) Tower District bartenders

9) Pai Gow Poker

10) Home loans

11) Black Flag (the band)

12) The Allman Brothers Band

13) preacher (comic books)

14) freaks & geeks (tv show)

And we're back!

Oh hi. Last week was a vacation week during which some of the fellas from Alana is Satan hosted pub quiz for Thanksgiving Eve. We're back to our regularly schedule quizzing this week so lets see the topics that The Work of Bavmorta picked out for you a week and a half ago.

1. Richard Nixon
2. The Beach Boys
3. Music Theory
4. Martial Arts Fighting Styles
5. Theodore Roosevelt
6. Calories
7. Dune (the movie)
8. Marvin Gaye
9. Fight Club (the movie)
10. Tower District Bartenders (current)
11. The New York Giants (football)
12. West Hollywood Bars
13. Ani DiFranco's musical career
14. Ramones

Study up! See you on Wednesday!

thanksgiving pub quiz

get your thanksgiving holiday started right with some pub quiz action!



tonight will be guest hosted by Alana is Satan and your regular pub quiz hosts will be playing on a team. So you there.

Cho-Stix win, Cho-Stix win!!

It was an exciting week. The anticipation of a big win was in the air and a lot of teams decided to make it a close game. At the end of round four, there were about 8 teams that were either tied for the lead or just 1/2 a point off the lead. But in the end, Cho-Stix struck gold in round four winning the chance to pick their own topics and a chance to draw for the jackpot. Alas, they were unsuccessful and so the jackpot rolls over to next week where the winner will have a 100% chance of drawing the blue chip. Study up because this game will be packed with hopefuls:

1. The Music of 103.7 "The Beat"
2. LL Cool J
3. Notown Roller Derby Team
4. Real Housewives of Atlanta
5. Tom Lehrer
6. Salt Lake City
7. Charlie Chan
8. One Hit Wonders
9. NCIS
10. Warehouse 13
11. Pedro Almodovar Films
12. Politics
13. Hunger Games Trilogy
14. Datsun Models

In other news, after next week (11/17), some of the guys from Alana Is Satan will be hosting another vacation week (11/24) for Carrie, Ed, and Adam. That's the day before Thanksgiving so we're excited to see some of our fans of pub quiz who are returning to town for the holidays. As usual, that week will be a standalone week where the winner will take the jackpot without drawing. As well, we won't be using or taking round two topics. Those will roll over to the next week after Thanksgiving. Once again, we three look forward to putting a team together and playing from the other side of the head table. We'll be reminding everyone of this during next week's pub quiz.

Also, don't forget Monday Night Football at Landmark for our quick half-time trivia match for all you sports quiz buffs.

Craziness (or anger, but not really either) leads the way with a Mad Figs tie-breaking win

The Mad Figs secured another win notch on their belt after a little break from the winners circle. They took it all the way down to a tie breaker with an iteration of last week's champion team, The Worst of Bob Morta. They did not draw the jackpot which means we're rolling down to one red chip and one blue chip next week. Those are pretty good odds if you ask...anyone (except for the last team to draw a red chip on 1-1 odds)! In other news, the Mad Figs won round 4 too! Here are the things they want you to study (and yes, there are some repeats, so maybe your job will be easier...or not):

1. Norse Mythology
2. Biology
3. 2010 World Series
4. Military Aircraft
5. Top Gear (TV Show)
6. FFA
7. Sexual Lubricants
8. Reformation Europe
9. Ska (2nd Wave)
10. Joss Whedon (TV)
11. Moto G.P.
12. Richard Simmons
13. Air Pollution
14. Fresno Pub Quiz

I don't know about you, but that last one seems familiar...hm....

Good luck studying!

In other news, we'll be taking a vacation and letting yet some more players take a stab at hosting pub quiz. We're planning for the week after the jackpot is drawn which will either be one or two weeks from next Wednesday. We'll have more details for you in that regard when they become available.

Also, you may have noticed (or probably not) that we didn't do MNF pub quiz this last week. We were there and were ready but more important things were taking place: namely, the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series. We decided not to disrupt a bar full of celebrants. You can bet your sweet bippy we'll be back this coming Monday. Turnout has been on the meager side so please, grab some friends and come give it a shot. The Landmark has wonderful new widescreen TVs on which to view the game and they run drink and food specials. And the best part is that there is no drawing, no messin' around, winner takes all. That's teams of 1-4 with the same entry fee as Wednesday nights.

Okay, I think that's it. Have a great weekend and we'll see you next week, Monday, Wednesday, or both!

Evil abounds while The Work of Bavmorta win the Halloween week

That maniacal laughter you heard late Wednesday night was the sound of The Work of Bavmorta reforming with an old teammate to dominate the competition with a 34 point win. They didn't win the jackpot though, so it's rolling over to next week where you'll all have an opportunity to start your November off with a bang. We'll be there, will you be?

Also of note, Donner Pass Supper Club rallied in the fourth round to achieve their first ever win in the last frame. That means the topics you're about to read are their first go around. Let's see if they can stump you in round two next week:

1. Formula One Racing
2. Serial Killers
3. Steampunk
4. Norman Borlaug
5. Norse Mythology
6. Nikola Tesla
7. Gay and Lesbian History
8. Big Ban Theory (TV Show)
9. Neil Gaiman
10. British Slang
11. Music Man (Musical)
12. Irish Music
13. Top Gear (TV Show)
14. Fresno Ska Bands

Good luck, good studying, and have a spooky Halloween weekend!

The Rectums lose their round 2 advantage for next week and the jackpot rolls over

Heidi-ho Pub Quiz Neighborinos,

This week's quizzing almost brought about a four round shut-out by the Rectum? Damn Near Killed 'EMs, but a round four victory put the category glory into the Work of Bavmorta's eager grasp. Congrats to both teams for their smarts, charm and overall good looks (this goes to the rest of you too). We hope to see you all next week with your brains filled with all you can learn up on the following topics:

1. Music Theory

2. House - tv series

3. Fresno History

4. 90s club music

5. Dead Kennedys (the band, I'm guessing? Bavmorta?)

6. "Hair", the musical

7. Motown

8. USAF Pararescue

9. Amiga Computers

10. South Park (cartoon)

11. Richard Nixon

12. Conspiracy Theories

13. Nutrition/Calories

14. New York Giants football

See you next week! Bring some friends!

round 2 topics for 10/20

next week's round 2 topics:
1) Egyptian mythology
2) Claymore (anime)
3) Black Sabbath
4) Elvis Costello lyrics
5) West Wing (tv show)
6) Jack the Ripper
7) Credit reports
8) Real Housewives of New Jersey
9) 20th century Creationists
10) The periodic table of elements
11) Characters in Song of Fire and Ice
12) Preacher (comic book series)
13) Macbeth
14) Exile on Main Street (Rolling Stones album)

I'm Not A Witch! wins

That's right, I'm Not A Witch! won this last week. A name referencing a politician's denial and also a hilarious scene from a Monty Python film. Commander Riker's Klingon picked up a round 4 win (and were pretty excited about it. I'd be). They want to stump you with these topics for next week's round 2:

1. Geology
2. Cohen Brothers Films
3. Sanrio/Hello Kitty
4. Famous Photographers
5. Cycling Teams
6. San Francisco
7. Mexican Cuisine
8. Cooking
9. 1950's Television
10. Precious Metals
11. American Poetry
12. Aquatic Sports
13. The Beatles
14. Table Etiquette

A diverse selection. Have fun reading up and researching and we look forward to seeing you at Monday Night Football sports trivia and/or the regular Wednesday night quizzing.

Oh, by the way

All of this week's songs are from records released by the Sub Pop label. Incidentally, those songs are all by artists from the Pacific Northwest. Having an indie music guru on your team may be helpful.

Winners and topics from last week

Congrats to the overall winner and jackpot clenchers from Wednesday, the Vowel Movements. A solid win from the team formerly known for their skills in the art of alpine stranger finding.

And now for your round two topics for next week, brought to you by the words Mad and Figs. Good luck guessing which ones we will choose to try and stump you with. See you Wednesday.

1.Blink-182

2. FFA

3. Parliamentary Procedure

4. Moto GP

5. Valley Runner of the Year Series

6. #1 Overall Baseball Draft Picks

7. "How your mom likes sex"

8. Weezer

9. Tim Lincecum

10. Biology

11. Bicycle Repair

12. Buster Posey

13. Fulton Mall

14. Porn

Aaargon Is Me Favorite Noble Gas

Yup, this last week, Aaarrgon Is Me Favorite Noble Gas managed at solid win with 31.5 points but the jackpot rolled over. Be sure play next week and make your attempt at winning! Alana is Satan, pub quizzers from the beginning finally won their first round four and were excited to pick some round 2 topics. Be sure to study hard because they are looking to stump you with their obscure sports, history, and musical topics:

1. Chicago Sports History
2. Sonic Youth (band)
3. Famous Lakes
4. Thai Cooking
5. Montreal Expos
6. Aztec Camera (band)
7. The Clash (band)
8. Alma Mahler-Werfel
9. Mystery Science Theater 3000
10. Otto von Bismarck
11. Fresno Punk Scene
12. Insurance Law
13. 1980's Baseball (MLB)
14. Climate Change

Hit the books and we'll see you on Wednesday.

As well, if you're an NFL fan and a sports trivia fan, this Monday night we're finally giving our sports trivia another go (assuming city crews don't cut the Comcast lines again while working). Registration will take place during the first half and the quiz will take place during half-time. Teams of 1-4 and $5 registration. Come enjoy some football, some drink specials, and all the sports trivia you wished we would put into Wednesday nights.

UPDATE: Music Hint: All songs this week brought to you by the letter P.

Monday Night Football Pub Quiz game

So, this Monday, 9/20/10 we're trying out a modified Pub Quiz game during halftime of the MNF game. It'll start promptly at half time, and you'll be able to register during the first half of the game. Here's how it'll run - same rules as normal, same $5 a player. Here's the difference: 1-4 players a team, only 20 questions, and the winning team wins it all. We'll be playing up in the front of the Landmark as well, so this will limit the amount of players possible.

The Monday night game will have no impact on the super awesome, long standing Wednesday night game.

Round 2 topics 9/22

Congratulations to first time (I think?) round four winners The Snicklefits. Below are the categories they hope to pound out an easy round 2 victory with, so study up quizzers. There are four chips in the pot - 25% chance of overall winner taking the jackpot.



1. Sex and the City (TV Series)

2. Adam Corolla

3. SF Giants

4. Healthcare Regulations

5. Breaking Dawn (Twilight Novel)

6. Ultimate Frisbee Terms

7. Surfing Terms

8. 311 (the band)

9. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV series)

10. The Real World (first 8 seasons)

11. The Ghostbusters (original movie)

12. Top Chef (TV series)

13. Sacramento Kings

14. Formation of the Solar System

also, congrats go out to F.T.W. (take it how you want it) on their, well, win. We hope to see you all next week.

Round 2 topics 8/15

Thanks to Heather & Roque for hosting for us last week. And, congrats to Work of Bavmorta on a win by 4.5 points, scoring 37! We're back on questions next week, and here are the round 2 topics chosen by I've never seen one that Big...the pot that is.

Round 2 topics for 8/15:
1) UFC
2) New Jersey Nets
3) Point Break
4) Goonies
5) Greek Mythology
6) Song of Fire & Ice characters
7) Cowboy Bebop (anime)
8) Real Housewives of New Jersey
9) Mortgage financing
10) Black Flag (the band, not the bug spray)
11) Smiths lyrics
12) Episodes of Star Trek, the original series
13) John Ford movies about the U.S. Cavalry
14) Famous creationists of the 20th century

September 1 results & news

Congratulations to "I've never seen one that big before...the pot that is" on their big win. The won rounds 3 & 4, and the jackpot. (BTW, for those that don't know, this team plays every week, but always changes their name. They even won like 3 weeks ago, but didn't pull the blue chip.)

Other important news:
Next week - Roque & Heather from Blogocide are picking questions & running the show. It'll be a winner take all night.

In 2 weeks - your normal FPQ team will be back at it, and we'll have Round 2 topics posted in advance.

For the future - we're going to now start at 5 chips in the bag instead of 10. Less chips = more winning!

The Work of Bavmorta hopes you won't study and that you don't know anything about these round 2 topics

The Mad Figs busted out a classic win this last week, not winning a single round but staying consistent through all four. Unfortunately for them, they didn't draw the blue chip. This next week is big because the winner of the game has a 100% chance of drawing the blue chip, so make sure you bring your A-game and I suggest you study because TWOB has a history of scoring very well on their own topics.

1. New Orleans Saints

2. Brian Wilson

3. Hot Wheels

4. Music Theory

5. Teddy Roosevelt

6. Amiga Computer

7. 1990s Major League Baseball

8. Rage Against the Machine

9. Fresno Mayors

10. Mopar Muscle Cars

11. Battlestar Galactica

12. Transformers (cartoon)

13. Algebra

14. CentralValleyTalk.com

See you next week!

Pub Quiz Results & Categories

Congrats to the Ground Zero Mosquitos on their win last Wednesday. It was a very close one with the top 5 teams all withhin 3 points of each other.

Whoa guys - still no pot winner! The rollover is getting ridiculous, so study up on the round two questions for next week, provided by Trivia Newton John, last week's round 4 winner by a 4-way, ten-point tie! Just goes to show - always put a time for the song, even if you leave the rest of the answer blank - you could just give yourself a round 2 advantage when there is a 50% chance of winning the jackpot for the overall winner. 50% Y'ALL!



1. Baroque Music

2. Vegan Cooking

3. Savannah, GA

4. iCarly

5. French Revolution

6. Fawcett Comics

7. Young Adult Fiction

8. Six Feet Under (TV series)

9. Green Day

10. Grammar

11. Psychology

12. Broadway Musicals

13. Nutrition

14. College Football

Record Breaking

This last week we had 131 of you players in the back room. That seems to be about all we can handle seeing as how the fire code puts room capacity at 138 and there just aren't anymore chairs for more people. It was certainly a fun night and we're glad you made it out. If you didn't, hopefully you can get there early enough next week to snag to a table.

Several teams duked it out for the top spot this week but it was the Mad Figs and Alana is Satan that made it to the end of the game in a tie for first place. In a tie-breaker race decided by a split second, Alana is Satan eked out the win. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for everyone else hoping to get a piece of the jackpot, they didn't draw the blue chip. That means you'll want to study up on the round 2 topics for next week, as chosen by Finding Strangers In The Alps:

1. The WIRE (TV series)
2. HTML code
3. The Venture Bros
4. Steven Soderbergh films
5. Firearms
6. Pennsylvania history
7. DC Comics
8. Mixology
9. The Killers (the band)
10. Color Theory
11. NBA
12. James Bond films
13. Coen Brothers films
14. Max Headroom (tv series)

See you next week! Thanks for playing!

round 2 topics 8/11

Congrats to Blogocide for winning the 4th round last week, and the night as a whole. Here are the topics they picked for next week's round 2:

1 Wiz Khalifa
2 80s WWF (wrestling)
3 Spaced (TV)
4 Angel (TV)
5 Wes Anderson Films
6 Bay Area Hip Hop
7 Garbage Pail Kids (1-5 series)
8 American Currency
9 Magic Tricks
10 Fresno Grafitti
11 Colorguard (flag spinning not military)
12 Hip Hop Producers
13 Fresno Blogs
14 Boer Wars

The Work of Bavmora wins again

Yup, it was a bit tougher of a night, but with 28.5 points, TWoB swung another victory. It was probably a little bittersweet for them as we heard a rumor that it was the last night for one of their team members. They've got a lot of wins under the belt. Will you be with us next week as you try to unseat them? If you plan to be there, you'll probably want to study these round 2 topics as submitted by Chitty Chitty Gang Bang:

1. Football (NFL)
2. Forensic Psychology
3. Theories of Criminology
4. TV Theme Songs
5. Professional Baseball (U.S.)
6. Food Network
7. Rocky Horror Picture Show
8. 80's Music
9. US Capitals
10. Spelling
11. Universalist Unitarianism
12. The Gospel According to Matthew
13. Celebrity Marriages
14. Serial Killers

That...is quite the mix. Good luck and we'll see you next week!

round 2 topics for 7/28

Here are next Wednesday's topics:
Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV show)
Philadelphia Eagles
US Civil War
Akira
Kirosawa films
Boy Scouts of America
Discworld (Terry Pratchett)
Nikola Tesla
Vlad Taltos novels
Musical Notation
Railroads
Futurama
French New-Wave Directors
Flight of the Conchords
Penny-Arcade (web comic)

Winners for 7/7 and topics for 7/14

The Mad Figs got back to their winning ways. Not only did they win the overall game, they won rounds 3 and 4. And here are their topics for you to study over the weekend. See you next weekend.

1. Norse Mythology
2. Physiology
3. Formula One Racing
4. Finance
5. SF Giants
6. 16th Century Germany
7. Air Pollution
8. Firearms
9. Labour Unions. Yes, with the extra "u" in "Labor".
10. Angels and Airwaves
11. Open Wheel Racing
12. American Cuisine
13. Shows or films by Aaron Sorkin
14. The Anarchist Cookbook

The Work of Bavmorta, now tied for most winningest

Congrats to TWOB! While you're in between World Cup games, be sure to study the following Round 2 topics, courtesy of Dewey Defeats Truman:

1. Italian Opera
2. Geography
3. Musical Theater
4. Famous Cartoon Characters
5. Late Night TV
6. Film Noir
7. Meteorology
8. Aquatic Mammals
9. Natural Disasters
10. Stanly Kubrick Films
11. The Monkees
12. Local Landmarks
13. Major League Baseball
14. Fashion

Great topics from a first time Round 4 winner! See you next week.

Finding Strangers in the Alps: contenders now

That's right, if you weren't there or haven't heard already, FSITA managed a win last night at Fresno Pub Quiz. They won by a margin of two points, so congrats to them for that. Lawn Gnomes II pulled out a 10 point round 4 which means you'll be studying their topics for next week's round 2. I think we're all going to enjoy writing questions for these topics:

1. John Hughs Films
2. Star Trek
3. Dermatology
4. The IRS
5. Star Wars
6. Celebrity Chefs
7. Dog Breeds
8. U.S. Presidents
9. Pharmaceuticals (legal and illegal)
10. 80s Pop Music
11. Paleontology
12. Egyptology
13. Comic Books
14. Italian Phrases (better start brushing up)

Sooo...yeah, enjoy those and we look forward to seeing all your bright and shining faces next week. We have lots of potential things in the works including more theme nights, more teams getting a chance to run a night of pub quiz, and others. Don't forget, if you use Twitter, you can follow us: @Fresno_Pub_Quiz

Thanks for playing!

love music for 6/23

june is a month of marriages, and so this week we're celebrating with songs that have the word love in the title. all the songs will have love in the title this week.

Topics via Strangers in the Alps

Well, last week was kind of a big week. We start fresh this week with a new jackpot and these topics from Finding Strangers in the Alps. Good luck and we hope to see you on Wednesday!

1. Jimmy Buffet
2. Firearms
3. Arrested Development (TV Show)
4. Alfred Hitchcock Films
5. OSHA Regulations
6. Alaska
7. Classic Cars
8. World War II
9. M*A*S*H (TV Show)
10. Washington Redskins
11. Criterion Collection (DVDs)
12. English Monarchs
13. Internet Memes
14. 21st Century Academy Awards Winners

Got some good ones this week. See you soon.

more, More, MORE!

The Work of Bavmorta staged another win but It Smells Like a French Prostitute in Here pulled the round 4 win which means we'll be working with their topics for round 2 this week. Let's see what they've given you all to study:

1. Greek Mythology
2. Mosquitoes of California
3. Natural Vitamins
4. Madonna
5. Rome (HBO Show)
6. Computer Operating Systems
7. Kevin Smith Films
8. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Book)
9. Fresno Bands of the 90s
10. Geography of Ireland
11. Genetics
12. Hindu Deities
13. Twilight (First Book Only)
14. California Educational Standards

Quite the mix of categories. Good luck studying. See you on Wednesday!

Here are your topics

The Work of Bavmorta snuck in a round four win this last week as An Inconvenient Spouse narrowly won the game. Here are their topics for next week's round 2:

1. Biology
2. Algebra
3. Logic/Philosophy
4. History
5. P.E.
6. New Orleans Saints (football team)
7. Music Theory
8. The Gays
9. Spanish 101
10. Psychology
11. Film
12. Religion
13. Bodily Functions
14. The Ramones

Looks like you should be good if you remember most of your high school coursework and/or your undergrad college courses. See you on Wednesday!

Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend

Hey, we're back. It's been a long week and weekend for all of us. Ed was out of town last week for national track/field competitions with his team so Corin stepped in and graciously MC'd for us once more. Carrie and Adam have been enjoying a long weekend out of town with friends and Adam managed to forget the Lawn Gnomes' list of topics at home. He managed to contact one of their team members and get an approximate list of topics to post. So, let's get to it since we're only two days out from our next game:

1. H.R. Pufnstuf
2. Astronomy
3. Fresno History
4. Superman
5. Classic Rock
6. Entymology
7. Modern Art
8. The Beatles
9. Physics
10. Typography
11. Lost (TV Show)
12. U.S. States
13. Lord of the Rings
14. Catholicism

Study up and we'll see you this Wednesday. Also, Ed is doing the music this week and he updated our Facebook page with the hint that all the bands were local Fresno bands.

5/26 Pub Quiz Details

Just a quick reminder that Pub Quiz registration will start at 7:50 on Wednesday, and the Quiz will begin at 8:15 (instead of 8:00). I know, this will make you stay out just a wee bit later, and we hope you won't mind.

hugs and kisses,
your Pub Quiz Mgmt Team

Wow, that was a tough one, no?

Apparently, we came back with a vengeance after a week off and a respectable showing at the last pub quiz hosted by our friends from the Mad Figs. From time to time we seem to lose our perspective a little bit so we'll try to rein it in a bit this week and keep the questions a tad easier. After all, we're getting to that point in the jackpot where teams tend to draw the blue chip; we certainly want that drawing to be accessible to more teams.

So hey, let's see what the topics are from the Cho Stix who won round 4 last week:

1. Broadway Musicals
2. Disney Channel
3. Keratoconus
4. Mormonism
5. Friends (TV Show)
6. 70's Rock
7. Car Parts
8. Joan Didion
9. Northern Baroque Painters
10. Great Apes
11. Potatoes
12. Local Sales Tax Measure (Measure B)
13. Catholicism
14. U.S. Presidency

Iiiiiiinteresting. Enjoy studying and we'll make sure we put together 40 questions/songs that are a little more accessible than last week.

And we're back

Well, it was a nice break that the fellas from Mad Figs gave to us by hosting the questions for one week. We hope you had as much fun as we did playing the game. Alana is Satan won another match and looks to continue working their way into a bigger share of the winner's circle. Meanwhile, our team managed to place 8th out of 16 which is right about where I kind of expected us to finish.

This week we're back to the regular format with everything back to normal. In fact, here are the topics that Team Raisin Bran picked for Round 2 of this week:

1. Veronica Mars
2. Dairy Farming
3. 4-H
4. Nutrition
5. Dynasty (TV Show)
6. 90's Hip Hop
7. Cardiac Conditions
8. Gynecology
9. Aviation Mathematics
10. Kate Spade
11. Westin Price Foundation Food
12. Cocktails
13. Bell Peppers
14.Candy

So, hit the books and we'll see you this Wednesday for week two of the rolling jackpot.

Big, big, BIG news!

If you didn't see the alert on Facebook already, here's what's
happening at pub quiz next week (5/12/2010):

Friends of pub quiz have offered to write questions and MC for one
week giving Ed, Carrie, and Adam an opportunity to sit at a table with
all of you and show you why we run the game rather than play it.
That's right, we'll be stumbling through our memories for obscure
facts and events while we suck down adult beverages and laugh it up.

What does that mean for you?  Well, several things.

One, this week's jackpot will be a straight payout to the winning
team.  This is a standalone game that won't be attached to the ongoing
rolling jackpot.  We'll bank last week's money and save it for the
next week we're running the show.

Two, the topics that Team Raisin Bran submitted for use in round 2
will not be used this week.  We're letting the guest quizmasters write
all their own questions and pick all their own songs.  We'll use their
topics when we take the game back over on 5/19.

Three, we have decided that our team will not be eligible for the
jackpot.  We just want to play for fun and enjoy (i.e. struggle
through) a game from your side of the table.

Four, we're still going to run registration and help them set things
up.  They're just running the game and MCing.

Five, for the sake of avoiding impropriety, the team that our guest
quizmasters normally play for will be sitting out the game for an
added layer of protection from claims of unfairness.

So, I think that's it.  Come prepared to answer questions as usual and
win the usual prizes at the end of each round.  Also, come prepared to
have fun and laugh at our team as I plan on instructing the guest MC
to read off our score for each round so you can laugh and point or ooh
and aah depending on how well we do.  See you Wednesday!

The hits keep on comin'

Alana is Satan pulled off a very, very, very close and well-earned win last week while Team Raisin Bran won round 4 by a narrow margin, earning them the right to choose topics for this week's round 2.  So let's just get to it:

1. Fantasy Baseball
2. Number Theory
3. 4-H
4. Garrison Keillor
5. Cooking
6. WW II
7. Chickens
8. L.A. Dodgers
9. Veronica Mars
10. Produce (veggies, fruit, cheese, eggs, etc)
11. Nutrition
12. Martha Stewart
13. Narnia (CS Lewis' fictional land)
14. Fresno State

Some of those are narrow and some of them are incredibly vague.  Study up and hope that we pick the questions that suit your knowledge.  And if we don't, well...perhaps you'll be able to drown your sorrows in a glass of beer or a cocktail or some iced tea or some potato skins.

Be forewarned that Wednesday is also Cinco de Mayo so we may or may not write some questions in that vein (it depends on how lazy/busy we all end up being) but if we do, there won't be more than a couple/few.

Hey!  We're still havin' fun and we hope you're still havin' fun too!  See you this Wednesday!

Still plugging away, look for exciting announcements in the weeks to come

The Work of Bavmorta pulled out a win this last week but pulled a red chip so next week will be the third without a blue chip drawing.  Here are the topics they chose for round 2 of next week:

1. Dune (Novels and/or Film)
2. 80s TV Shows
3. Willow
4. Woody Allen Films
5. Mopar Muscle Cars
6. HTML Code
7. Cocktails
8. Chuck Palahniuk
9. Mayors of Clovis
10. Martial Arts
11. Frasier
12. The Office (US Version)
13. Law & Order: SVU
14. Robert Rodriguez (Film Director)

Study up and thanks for playing.  This next week should be busy and full.  At least, we hope it will be.  ;-)

Topics for Round 2 of 4/21/2010 and other tidbits of info

So, a new team, The DL's, picked up the win this last week.  Good for them!

The Work of Bavmorta won round 4 again and so the following topics are the ones they chose.  And just to out them a little bit, they were so confident that they were going to win round 4, they had their topics written before the end of the game.

1. NFL
2. New York Yankees
3. Martial Arts Styles
4. Transgender
5. Cultural & Social Taboos
6. Chloe Sevigny
7. John Waters Films
8. Dune (book & film)
9. Willow
10. Nixon
11. '80s Films
12. Woodstock
13. "The L Word" (TV Show)
14. Drinking Games

There you go.  Study up!

As an aside, the email group now has 45 pending memberships (including the 7 I added today).  If your friends are wondering why they aren't getting updates, it may be due to the fact that they haven't actually activated their membership in the group.  In that same vein, I don't invite about two people per week because their handwriting is too messy to discern what their email address is.  So you may mention to those same friends that are wondering why they aren't getting updates, that they should write their email a bit more legibly.

Okay, business aside, pub quiz is motoring along quite nicely though attendance did dip to 68 this last week.  We suspect some of that had to do with conflicting activities.  That we are still averaging 75 to 85 players each week continues to astonish us.  Thank you so much for making this such a fun and popular Fresno facet!

Pub Quiz results for 4/7/2010 and topics for next week's round 2

Thanks to all of you that made up our 95 players last night.  And for those of you that were unable to make it, we look forward to your next appearance.

Mad Figs eked out a win by a slim margin and won the jackpot so kudos to them (despite all the poor sports and booing players on the other teams).  If any of you Mad Figgers are reading this, you've apparently created some arch nemeses by being the winningest team in our short Fresno Pub Quiz history.  My advice to all those teams that don't like it when the Mad Figs win...build a bigger and/or better team.  There are many teams that place closely, Corporate Zombies, Alana is Satan, The Work of Bavmorta and a couple of other teams that change their names around are always lurking (and sometimes winning).  Fresno has more than 8 trivia buffs.  Find 'em and bring them to quiz night!

Enough rambling, Blogocide snuck in a winning round last night which just so happened to be the 4th round.  Here are the topics they chose for round 2 of next week's pub quiz.  Study up!

1. Pez
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
3. North of Shaw Ave.
4. Video Games
5. 80s TV
6. Apple Computers
7. Celebrity Gossip
8. Catholic Theology
9. Cajun Cooking
10. Wu-Tang Clan
11. The DMV Handbooks
12. Bloggeraderie
13. Serial Killers
14. Real Housewives

There you have it.  We'll see you next week!

Topics for Round 2 of the next game, 4/7/2010

1. Greek Mythology
2. Art History
3. Famous Landmarks
4. Marijuana
5. World Religion
6. Tarantino Films
7. India
8. Computers (Operating Systems)
9. NBA
10. World Geography (good luck studying that one!)
11. Bones (TV Show)
12. Urban Legends
13. Woodstock
14. Harry Potter

Hope your Funk and Wagnall's is up to date!

Pub Quiz recap and your topics for next week: 3/31/2010

Hey hey!  Wednesday night we had a lot of people, 93 in fact.  It was a good turn out for what turned out to be a quiz night with some rough patches.  We'll work harder to avoid those rough patches in the future.  The Mad Figs pulled out a close win and The Work Of Bavmorta won round four, offering up these topics for the pleasure of your studies.  Good luck and see you next week!

1. Gay Media
2. NFL
3. '60s Garage Bands
4. 1969
5. Gangs
6. Mayors of Fresno
7. Hugo Award Winning Authors
8. TV Game Shows
9. Willow (film)
10. Ani Difranco
11. Modern Philosophy
12. Disney Movies
13. Street Drugs
14. Vice Presidents

pub quiz 3/24 round 2 topics

For the second week in a row, your round 2 topics have been selected by the Mad Figs. They would like to test your knowledge of these categories:

Physiology
FFA
Air pollution
Ultimate frisbee
Norse mythology
German beer
CSUF men's BBall '95 to present
US Presidents' years in office
SF Giants
The X-files
The civil war
Pearl Jam
Cooking
Organic farming

Your pub quiz staff will be coming up with questions based on these topics. For your chance to pick round 2 for the rest of the group, win round 4!

See you on Wednesday

Your topics for Round 2 of Pub Quiz 3/17/2010

1. The U.S. National Parks
2. U.S. Presidents Years In Office
3. The San Francisco Giants
4. Formula One Racing
5. Ultimate Frisbee
6. NCAA Division One School Mascots
7. Future Farmers of America (FFA)
8. Fresno State Basketball (1995 To Present)
9. Air Pollution
10. Blink-182
11. U.S. Military Aircraft
12. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover Models (1990 To Present)
13. Fruit and Vegetables
14. Parliamentary Procedure

Pub Quiz 3/3/2010

We are on for next week's pub quiz! A good friend of the quizmasters
has stepped in to fill the gap that Ed will leave as he fulfill's
other obligations. We appreciate your patience with whatever bumps in
the road may result in having a substitute MC.

As well, these are the topics for Round 2 of next week's pub quiz as
chosen by The Lawn Gnomes:

1. Heavy Metal Music
2. Harry Potter
3. Art History
4. Comic Books
5. Fresno History
6. Physics
7. Typography
8. Design History
9. 80's TV Shows
10. Star Trek
11. Rubber Stamps
12. Grunge Music
13. Film History
14. The NHL

Expect all the questions for the round to come from these 14 topics.
This includes the song, if you catch my now very obvious drift. Feel
free to research these topics however you like. And remember, these
are topics that their team chose because they feel they know them well
enough to win the round. That's some bragging rights if The Lawn
Gnomes fail to win Round 2. No pressure!!

See you next week! Thanks for playing!

pub quiz 2/24

Thanks to the 85 people that showed up for pub quiz last night. Much respect to the lawn gnomes, who became our first 2 time winner last night. They also won the jackpot, so congrats to them on that as well.

We're also working on our questions for next week and will be giving some hints soon.

Some scheduling notes: we will have pub quiz on 3/3 (next week) but won't have it on 3/10 - we're taking the week off for Rogue festival. Go see a Rogue show that night. We'll be back on 3/17. But, remember there is still Pub Quiz next week (3/3)

Fresno Pub Quiz on Fresno Famous

Shoot, i totally forgot to put up a post about being interviewed by Famous Whitewater for Fresno Famous. If you haven't already, check out this interview with us.

Fresno Pub Quiz in the Bee

Yessir, we continue to get noticed. Thanks to Mike Oz for interviewing us about the pub quiz. Check out his story online if you weren't able to see a hard copy in today's 7 section.

pub quiz article

we recently wrote an article for the undercurrent and thought we'd share it with you here as well. -

"Have you ever wondered how smart you were? I do all the time. Is your brain filled with useless facts? I know that mine is, and watching Jeopardy just doesn’t cut it. So, I joined with my podcast partner in crime, Adam to start a pub quiz. Of course, it was a natural choice for us to have it at the Landmark, our home away from home.
What is a pub quiz? Are the questions about bars? They could be, but really it’s just a team trivia night. Adam and I slave away all week for you, the quiz takers, creating questions that will challenge your brain. And on Wednesday we give you the opportunity to show how smart you are, enjoy some time with other people, answer questions, and have a cocktail. Each player contributes $5, and can either play the quiz alone or on a team of up to six people.
How does the pub quiz work? There are four rounds of questions. The first question of each round is a snippet of a song. You need to correctly identify the artist, title and tell us how long the song is. The length part is just used for tiebreakers, so don’t freak out if you don’t know that. The other nine questions of the round are all over the trivia spectrum. We had questions about sports, pop culture, movies, music and some basic trivia. We move through the questions at a good clip, but you have five minutes after the round to go over you answers, rethink what you wrote, or figure out that last one that was stumping you. Then we score each round and begin the next. When it’s all said and done, the team with the best overall score has a chance to win big. They draw a token from a bag, and if it’s the jackpot won they win a nice cash prize. If they draw one of the other chips, they win back at least their entry fees. That’s cool, right?
Wednesday, January 13 was our first pub quiz night. We were nervous and didn’t really know how many people would show up. We figured that if we had twenty people we’d be a success, and hoped for thirty. Fresno blew our minds and we had 62 people play. We actually turned away people because there just weren’t any more seats in the bar. Due to our success, we’ll be in the back dining room at the Landmark in the future. It can hold a lot more people, so we shouldn’t have to turn anyone away. The scores on the night we very close, and the winning team won only by 3/4 of a point! They didn’t pull the jackpot chip, so that rolls over to the next week. That winning team from the first night looks poised to be a juggernaut, come out the Landmark and see if you snatch victory away.
The details: Pub Quiz at the Landmark, 644 E. Olive. $5 a person, teams of 1-6. Registration @ 7:30, quiz starts @ 8pm sharp. More info available @ fresnopubquiz.blogspot.com"

Fresno Pub Quiz 2/3/2010

Heeeeeeeey, it's been a few days, but I'm finally writing a review of this last week's pub quiz.  It was an event, to be sure.  105 of you showed up to test your knowledge and drink some low-price happy hour drinks.  We're glad you did and hope that you're glad you did as well.  I know The Work of Bavmorda was glad they showed up to play.

Yes that's right folks, the jackpot got snapped up by their team in a nail-biter of a win.  They ended up tied with the Mad Figs at the end of the game and it came down to a tie-breaker.  In keeping with the Super Bowl theme we had going, the tie-breaking question was, "What is the longest punt in NFL history?"  Team member Fran from The Work of Bavmorda wrote down the correct answer of 98 yards and had the paper in my hand before the question had finished echoing around the room.  Fran was also the team member that got to draw the token and as mentioned above, it was the winning blue token so congratulations to them.  It was good to see all the other teams applaud their win.  We appreciate that spirit of fun and comradery coming from the teams that weren't quite able to get enough questions right.

What this all means, of course, is that next week, the jackpot rolls over to a new beginning.  We hope to see your smiling faces there.

Oh, and to the players that notified us of the warmth of the room and those who notified us of the lack of service due to the large crowd, we hope to have both of those issues addressed next week with the adjustment of the thermostat and the possible addition of a third server.  Yes that's right, you all have made pub quiz so popular, the Landmark is now able and considering bringing in an extra server in addition to the extra bartender they bring in already.

Thanks for playing!

Pub Quiz 1/27

We had our biggest turnout yet last night.  86 of you showed up to play trivia.  It was a good night.

The Landmark brought in an extra bartender to keep your drinks running smoothly, the atmosphere was bubbly and loud, and people had fun.  The Lawn Gnomes finally had their day pulling off a win by just one point.  Unfortunately, they didn't draw the winning token and so the jackpot will roll over to next week.

As always, we are working to fine tune the event so it's better and better.  We'll continue to strive to write clear and concise questions (sorry about that single term presidency question), and we'll continue to work with The Landmark to hopefully offer more prizes.  Keep showing up and keep having fun while you stretch your knowledge of facts and tidbits.

Thanks for playing.

who won last week?

oh man, i forgot to mention how teams did last week:

we had a tie for first between blogocide and the loners. tie-breaker question went to the loners ftw!

pub quiz 1/20

three photos shot at our second pub quiz night:







it was a great time last night. we had 77 people in the back of the Landmark for our quiz. those 77 broke into fourteen different teams, each competing for honor, bragging rights, drinks, and even a little cash. Here's a couple of bullets for the night:
-we had two rounds with perfect scores. time for us all to step our game up
we had a tie for the overall 1st place. the tie-breaker question was answered exactly right (when was the magna carta first issued - 1215).
-the overall scores were pretty close again. not too much space between the first place tie and a three-way tie for third place
-the jackpot chip was not drawn, moving next week's drawing odds to 1 in 8, and quite a nice amount of money rolls into next week's jackpot



thanks again to everyone who came out and helped make it a fun, successful night. we hope to see you next week at the Landmark.

remember, registration starts at 7:30, quiz at 8.

pub quiz 1/13

two photos from our packed first night of pub quiz @ landmark

January 13th Pub Quiz: the inauguration

Last night was awesome!  We had a huge turn out, twice as many as were expected in fact.  62 of you formed teams and played, coupled with the fact that we ran out of room for another 4-10 players.  We'll remedy that issue next week when we move to the back room where we can stretch our legs.

I don't currently have the score sheet in front of me, but two things.  Team 12, Murphy's Law, pulled out a close win last night with a team made at the last minute between two couples that came separately so kudos to them for that.  They drew from the jackpot bag but did not pull the winning token which means they got $30 and the jackpot rolls over to next week where it will get even bigger.

The second thing, my math was bad and discovered upon checking the scores that Blogocide was actually the second place team and Lawn Gnomes were bumped to third, though all three top teams were within a point or two.  It was a close game.

Thanks to everyone who came and played.  Thank you also for your patience.  For our first time, we felt that it went really well and we hope you come back next week.

The Rules

1. Teams may be comprised of no more than six physically present individuals. No other people besides the team members can be at your table. I don't want to hear any of that "They're just going to sit here and not play" crap. There is no minimum team size. If you think you have the chops to take on teams of six people by yourself, then giddy-up. Hint: When building your team, go for the widest variety of subjects covered possible.You wouldn't want a baseball team comprised of only shortstops.
   
2. No outside help for questions, and no inanimate team members. Please don't call people on your cell phones, download web pages on your PDAs or sneak in volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica in your shorts. We'll be watching you and the other teams will be watching you too.  No one wants to lose to cheaters.
3. The quizmasters are the final arbiter of truth, beauty, fashion, justice, all questions and other matters of Pub Trivia policy. Even if the results appear unfair, inaccurate, rude or obscenely biological, don't argue. It won't help.
4. Any rule not included herein may be created on the spot by the quizmaster and enforced with brutal abandon.
5. The game is composed of four rounds of ten question each. At the end of each round, you'll turn in your answers, we'll grade them, and then make fun of your scores.
6. In the event of an overall tie, the tied teams shall be asked a tie-breaker question. The team with the correct (or closest to correct) answer will win the game. In the unlikely event that more than one team puts down the same winning answer, the round will go to the team that gets in their winning answer first.
7. At the end of the evening, we'll total up the scores and the team with the most points will get a chance to win the rolling jackpot.

How does this work?

Here is the format for how we plan to run the quiz:

The quizzing starts at 8 PM but we'd like to see you and your brains there early so you have time to register your team name and members as well as pay your entrance fee of $5 per person.

There will be four rounds of 10 questions each.  The first question of each round will consist of the intro to a song.  Your team will have to name the title of the song and the artist as well as how long you think the song is.  The length of the song will only come into play if there is a tie for the round in which case the team with the closest guess to the actual song length will win the round.  Even if you don't know the song or artist, you want to write a time in just in case you tie the round.  The rest of the questions in each round will consist of standard trivia which may be as simple as being asked to spell a word, to multiple choice, to answering within a range, to something as discrete as a specific number, person, or place.

Example questions:

Q. On the show Barney and Friends, who was Barney's first side kick?
A. Baby Bop

Q. What ingredients make up a standard Tom Collins cocktail?
A. Gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, soda water

Q. Within +/- 200 feet, how tall is Mt. Everest?
A. Correct answers would fall within the range of 28,829 ft. and 29,229 ft. with the actual height being 29,029 ft.

Q. Name two members of Led Zeppelin.
A. Any two of the four: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham

At the end of each round, we'll put on some tunes and grade your answers.  Then we'll go over the questions and answers and name the round winner.

Winners of Round 3 will either be bought a round of drinks or given drink tokens (depending on availability).

Overall winners will be given an opportunity to draw for the rolling jackpot.  At the beginning of a new jackpot, a bag will be brought out containing 10 tokens (9 non-winners and one winner).  The winning team will draw one token.  If it is the winning token, the jackpot goes to them.  If it is not the winner, they will be paid out $30, the jackpot will roll over to the next week, and their token will be removed leaving nine for the next drawing.  This will continue each week until the jackpot is won and it reverts back to all 10 tokens.  As well, the "losing" payout will go up each week a team doesn't draw the winning token.  In other words:

Week 1 non-winning token: $30; 9 tokens left
Week 2 non-winning token: $35; 8 tokens left
Week 3 non-winning token: $40; 7 tokens left
Week 4 non-winning token: $45; 6 tokens left

And so on until the jackpot is won.

So it begins