Blog du Wren

Hosting Trivia at the Longhorn

Some 14 years ago, I made a throw away post about attending a little trivia night out at the Longhorn Saloon in Edison. Then, some 6 year later, I made a post about guest hosting said trivia night. Less than a year later in 2015, I took over as regular host and haven't looked back. More than 12,000 questions later, Wednesday night trivia at the Longhorn continues to account for a big part of my time, my income, and my happiness, and I figure we're long overdue for a post celebrating that.

In the 14 years Longhorn trivia has been going, the format hasn't changed: 2 themed rounds, 1 general knowledge round, 1 picture round, and 1 music round. The prizes have stayed rather static as well ($25 gift certificate, 1 pound of chicken wings, an onion (or roll of toilet paper)). I still accept bribes for category selection (though no longer guarantee a question for each bribe as there were far too many really bad bribes). We average maybe 12 teams per week, almost all long-time attendees.

For some sample of how it goes, here are a few picture rounds.

Often the highlight of the night for me is my music round. For the past 5 or so years, I've been crafting the round around an artist theme with the stated goal of making the round easier for the teams (though, in reality, I find a little direction when creating a music round very helpful). Examples of music themes range from straight forward (bands with colors in their name*, numbers in their name*, all starting with a J*, alliterative names*) to more obscure themes(bands with names having to do with golf*, most popular last names in the US*, first letters of band names spell out "MUSIC ROUND"*, synonyms for penis*). Sometimes I wonder if I haven't exhausted all possible themes after 200+ themed music rounds, but ideas just keep coming. They are not always good ideas, as many trivia teams might tell you, but they are music theme ideas all the same.

As is the case with so many things, when you spent a ton of time doing something, you tend to get a little particular about it*. So my hundreds of hours of writing trivia questions have left me with a strong sense of trivia I like and trivia that I don't which sometimes does make it hard to attend a random trivia night. But as is also the case with so many hobbies that I've turned into jobs, practicing the hobby portion of it can start to feel like a job. So it goes. In regards to trivia, I wouldn't have it any other way.

If you're ever in the area and looking for a good time, I highly encourage you to come check out Longhorn trivia. Chances are, unless I'm meandering about the globe, I'll be and I'll be stoked to see you!

Monday December 5 2022

File under: work, trivia

Toggle Comments (2)

comment?

on Tue 06th Dec, 2022 11:50 pm CST Mom said:
Doesn't seem that long ago...
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on Mon 12th Dec, 2022 09:16 am CST Hope said:
I need the answers to the trivia rounds. Please!

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