Last night was our annual Quiz Night at work. I was asked by the head of school to be on her team, probably because I was part of the winning team last year, so the pressure was on. I recruited a couple of other former teammates, and we all wound up -- in seventh place. Roughly the middle of the pack.
Ouch.
Hopefully I won't get fired today.
(Joke! I think.)
When work ended at 5 p.m. I had a couple of hours to kill before Quiz Night began at 7. I walked to the Danubius Hotel, which isn't far from work, and sat in their bar having a gin & tonic and reading. It was cool to revisit the ol' Dubious (as it's affectionately known where I work). Dave and I stayed there when we first landed in London almost nine years ago. They served my G&T in a ridiculous fishbowl-shaped glass.
We got off to a bad start when asked in the first round who won an Oscar for acting and another for screenwriting. We knew from the context of our answers that the name began with an E and ended with an N. I felt like a bloody genius when I came up with Elia Kazan, and we confidently went with that -- and then the correct answer turned out to be EMMA THOMPSON! Yes, my neighbor derailed me at quiz night. And I never quite recovered.
(Elia Kazan did win two Oscars for Best Director, and he was an actor and writer, so I'm still pretty proud of my answer, even if it was wrong.)
In retrospect, one of our downfalls as a team is we were all fifty-something adults. This was a very pop-culture-oriented quiz, and we were no good on questions about rap music (my apologies to Kendrick Lamar for thinking his name was "Kenner") or at identifying the music from the film "Interstellar." (Although I did at least see "Interstellar," so I suppose that's something.)
In the picture round we were shown an image of a dashing young man with exceptional teeth and none of us had any idea who he was -- and even when the name was revealed, we had no idea. I couldn't name him even now.
So, yeah, lacking an age spread definitely hurt us. In quizzing, as in life, diversity of experience makes us stronger!
(Top photo: North Greenwich, a couple of weeks ago.)
At least you didn't come last! Good job you didn't also have these questions:-
ReplyDelete23) What is the path at the side of a city street called?
24) What is the term for a woman who rents out a residential property?
25) How do you spell "colour"?
26) What is the rear storage compartment of a car called?
When we've gone out to Hank's trivia, it's always most successful if "the young people" join us as a team. I'm like you- there are so many supposedly famous people now that I've never heard of or if I have, I certainly didn't take note.
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy about the Elia/Emma thing. Good Lord! I know you must have truly thought you got that one.
Have A Wonderful Weekend Brother
ReplyDeleteCheers
I would have gotten the Emma Thompson question just fine. The rest? Not so much. But I've got well over a decade on you--so today's culture info has more than passed me by..
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about the pop culture and the over 50 crowd. I see photos on the front of 'gossip' magazines and I have no idea who the persons pictured are and why I should care. I love that photo today!
ReplyDeleteQuizzes are fun. Some of my staffed played quizzes on long bus rides.
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to know who the guy with the great teeth was. And I keep meaning to look up Kendrick Lamar. He's the one that won a Pulitzer and everyone under the age of 30 has heard of him. It's work to keep up with the culture.
ReplyDeleteI could never take a quiz about modern culture these days. It's all passed me right by in a zip of language and fame before the inevitable flame. Good for you and your team for trying.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteWell it sounds like you had a little fun and didn't come in last. I know that I would not have been a good team member as this new age culture has passed me by. I have just recently started watching television again. For several years I would just watch it occasionally preferring Netflix movies and documentaries. I tried my best to keep up with 60 Minutes and Dateline but even those took a backseat to other things.
We have also had a very mild winter up to this point. The last few days it has been cold and damp but not freezing but a couple of days so far. We usually get our bad cold icy weather in February so we are fast approaching that month but I am not anticipating anything bad for our area. I could be wrong tho.
Have a great weekend and I hope Dave is on the mend and that you do not become ill with what he has at the moment. Sending healing vibes and love and light...
I know how you felt. I can never identify any actor or actress past the Brad Pitt era.
ReplyDeletewhen the game Trivia came out my sister and her husband invited us over for dinner and we played and won every game. another night same thing. after that they wouldn't play with us. I doubt I'd do well in the sort of setting in which you played.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun evening and a good way to bond with coworkers as long as everyone keeps it light. I think you can learn a great deal about people in a setting like that.
ReplyDeleteLove the gin glass and would like to have seen more of the interior. Do you mind if I ask what it cost? And do you get snacks with a drink?
Middle of the pack is not too shabby for a bunch of old folks! lol
ReplyDeleteI am horrible at fast-paced quizzes because I freeze like a deer in headlights. Everything I know flies out of my head. I envy those who can keep their composure.
When I'm rushed, I forget everything I need to know. Sorry your team did not win, but at least you were not on the bottom. The drink in the photo looks really yummy! You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.
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