Dear Evan,
I’m new around these parts and I’m wondering, what is Trivia and why are these smelly bums in my dorm’s lobby?
Sincerely,
-NoobOMGZORS Trivia! Ahem – excuse me. Yes, The Great Midwest Trivia Contest is this weekend. One of the many great things about my predecessor in this column, Drew Baumgartner, is that he was last year’s Trivia Grand Master. So I found it appropriate to talk about these 50 hours of awesome in this column.
To me, the best thing about Trivia is that it’s not just a Lawrence tradition, but a local and regional one as well. While on-campus teams will be competing with and against each other, teams from the Fox Valley area will also match wits along with people from Milwaukee, Chicago and potentially anywhere with an Internet connection.
You know that Trivia is very popular because it passes the ultimate popularity contest – it has a Wikipedia page, which will tell you that Trivia has been featured in such prestigious media outlets such as the Chicago Tribune, “Good Morning America” and Playboy.
Playing Trivia is simple. It will start Friday night at 10:00:37 and run nonstop until Sunday at midnight. Questions will be asked by Trivia Masters on WLFM and each team has a set amount of time – determined by the Masters asking the questions – to call in and answer.
On-campus teams have the added bonus of doing action questions. Action questions can require any random – and often inappropriate – act, and judging them is completely subjective, which I feel adds to the fun.
Action questions often involve, but are not limited to, cross-dressing, zany props, heroic deeds, sexual innuendo, sacrilege and most importantly, inspiring acting.
All of this fun is set on a backdrop of sleep deprivation for all parties involved. I think that if you haven’t stayed up at least 24 hours straight during Trivia, you’re not doing it right.
In addition, there is no greater way to get to know someone than answering random trivia, eating nothing but junk food and not bathing or sleeping for multiple days in a public area.
This is only a small sample of the greatness that is Trivia, and this year promises to be even better with the great Derrell Acon as Grand Master. I’m personally excited to hear Toto’s “Africa” about 100 times over the course of the weekend.
So this weekend, don’t run by your lounge area and avert your glance from those playing Trivia – join them! I promise you will enjoy yourself.
I myself will be playing in the Conservatory lobby, which will make an interesting picture when parents and high schoolers are roaming around on audition day, but maybe we can get some of them to play too!
Ask a fifth-year
