This recap is late. I blame the Independence Day holiday and my own laziness. My apologies. Better late than never.

But we still have time to congratulate the Jolly Jokers who were back on top of the heap after a very special 4th of July holiday edition of Trivia Ninjas Trivia Night Challenge at Zaffiro’s Pizzeria and Bar at the Marcus Parkwood 17 complex in Waite Park. (Damn, that’s a long sentence!)

The Jokers won by 1,208 points — thanks to two Trivia Hogs and some solid play throughout the evening.

Here’s how it all ended:

1. 6,375 — Jolly Jokers
2. 5,167 — There Ain’t No Morsi
3. 4,417 — Browncoats
4. 4,292 — Just Ferguson
5. 3,275 — Where in the Hell is My Team?
6.     475 — Unicorns

 

TALE OF THE TAPE

TRIVIA HOGS

Round 2, Question 5 (Trivia in the Making)
The Browncoats showed their Bigfoot expertise by knowing about “The Minnesota Iceman” exhibit opening in Austin, Texas.

 

 

Round 3, Question 2 (Born on the Fourth of July)
Kudos for the Jolly Jokers who knew a story Reverend Dodgson told to the three Liddell sisters during a riverboat ride on the 4th of July in 1862 became “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

 

 

Round 4, Question 6 (Daughters of the Revolution)
Where in the Hell is My Team? was the only team to know Prince’s proteges Wendy and Lisa became the queens of TV soundtracks.

 

 

Visual Round, Question 3 (Patriots, All)
It had to be some beer drinkers on the Jolly Jokers who correctly identified this…

 

 

…as Patriot and beer-maker Sam Adams. By the way, this Sam Adams Independence Day commercial recently raised a stink because it didn’t include the “by their Creator” line.

 

 

SKUNKS

Round 1, Question 7 (The British Are Coming!)
We stumped the panel with British band Roxy Music‘s “More Than This.”

 

 

Round 1, Question 9 (The British Are Coming!)
Ditto for the alternative Brit band Love and Rockets and their song “So Alive.”

 

 

PERFECT ROUNDS

Visual Round (Patriots, All)
Jolly Jokers

 

SUPER NINJA SECOND CHANCE CHALLENGE

The Jolly Jokers randomly drew the Browncoats to play for the $25 Zaffiro’s gift certificate in the Super Ninja Second Chance Challenge. But alas, it was not to be.

Here’s their question:

“America turns 237 tomorrow. Congress approved the wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. Since then, America’s had two huge milestone celebrations — the Centennial of 1876 and the Bicentennial in 1976.

Who was the president of the United States when:

— the Declaration of Indepence was signed in 1776,
— we celebrated the centennial in 1876,
— and when we celebrated the bicentennial in 1976?”

 

Chris from the Browncoats got one of the three. They knew Gerald Ford was president during the bicentennial. But his team incorrectly answered the other two parts of the question. Sorry, Browncoats — but good attempt!

 

THE ANSWER:

— There was no president in 1776.
— Ulysses S. Grant was the president for the centennial on July 4, 1876.
— Gerald Ford was the president for the bicentennial on July 4, 1976.

 

FINALLY…

If you’re new to Ninja Trivia — or even if you’ve been playing since the beginning — here are a few simple rules:

1. No electronic devices allowed. No texting, phones, tablets, Psychic Friends Network, paper cups and string, nothing. And don’t be bringing in notes, either. If you’re caught cheating, your team will be disqualified and you’ll be publicly scorned and ridiculed.

2. DON’T SHOUT OUT THE ANSWERS! I mean, don’t shout out the answers. Let everyone else have fun playing, too, you killjoy.

3. Tonight’s contest involves five rounds of 10 questions each — one round of visual/image questions, ten audio/music questions and thirty spoken word questions.

4. Unless we say otherwise, if we ask for someone’s name, we want the last name. Give us the first name if you like, but if you give us the wrong first name, your answer is wrong. If we ask for a character, either the first or last name is okay. But remember, if any part of the name is wrong, it’s all wrong.

5. All questions are worth 500 points. Teams with the correct answer split those points. So five teams who correctly answer a given question will get 100 points each. Get it?

6. The Ninjas’ answer is the only correct answer. Dispute if you like and we’ll consider it. But our decisions are final.

7. Clues can be found each week at our website, TriviaNinjas.com as well as our Facebook page. A freebie question is posted each Wednesday on our website.

8. The top three teams with the most points at the end of the contest win prizes.

9. The winning team will randomly draw one of the other teams to answer one question in the Super Ninja Second Chance Challenge for a valuable prize.

10. Be generous to your wait-staff. They’re working hard to ensure you have a great night.

~~~

We’re back at it at 6:30 on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at Zaffiro’s Pizzeria and Bar at the Marcus Parkwood 17 complex in Waite Park.

Until then, see you at the movies!