By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
These teams better be smarter than fifth graders. They will face obscure questions like:
- Where is the only royal palace in the United States?
- Whose state animal is the sperm whale?
- What was first patented in Britain in 1750 with a recipe consisting mostly of fish and fish bones?
- What movie director played the Cook County Assessor’s Office clerk in “The Blues Brothers?”
- What European country produces more hydroelectricity per capita than any other in the world?
The competition is again expected to be fierce at the seventh annual “Trivia Night” to raise money for the Bowling Green Schools Foundation.
“It’s a loud and boisterous evening,” especially when the answers are revealed, said Paul Reinhart, president of the school foundation and fifth grade teacher at Conneaut Elementary. “It’s a great time.”
Teams of eight people will compete on Feb. 10, in the Simpson Garden Park Building, 1291 Conneaut Ave., Bowling Green. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the trivia starting at 7:30 p.m.
The trivia night is “friendly competition,” but there are rules, said Dana Nemeth, a member of the school foundation. “There’s no cheating. You aren’t allowed to use your smart phone.”
Topics range from music and history, to geography and math, and countless other subjects. At the end of each round, names are drawn from the audience, with the winner getting to decide what school program or teacher will receive grants of $200 or so.
Nemeth formed her own team last year. Since most of the members were librarians, the team dubbed itself “Dana’s Dewey Decimators.”
There is no way to study for such a competition, she stressed. Teams are allowed to discuss the questions. “Your team huddles together and gets answers. It’s all in fun.”
Victory goes to the team exhibiting the most trivia knowledge – with the prize being the glory of beating the competition. “The team who wins at the end of the night gets bragging rights,” Nemeth said.
Nemeth is putting together another team for this year’s trivia contest. “I have asked my librarian friends to do it again.”
In addition to obscure questions, the event also features food, beer, wine, a silent auction and raffles.
“It’s a fun evening,” Bowling Green Superintendent Francis Scruci said about the event. This year, Scruci is participating on two trivia teams. The evening, though, is more than just a night of light-hearted questions.
“It’s a great fundraiser,” Scruci said.
The trivia night is the Bowling Green School Foundation’s main fundraiser each year. The money is used for such items as mini-grants for teachers and college scholarships for students. Each trivia team member pays $50 to participate.
Last year, 12 teams wracked their brains to come up with the correct answers.
“Quite honestly, we’re going to outgrow that building,” Reinhart said. And that’s a good thing, he said. Reinhart is hoping to get alumni to get together to form teams made up of graduates from certain years. “I’d love to grow the event.”
Even after holding the trivia event for years, Reinhart said the school foundation suffers from a lack of public awareness. “Some people don’t even know that we exist,” or that the group gives out teacher mini-grants and student scholarships, he said.
The group is also asking for local businesses and individuals to make donations to the event.
Anyone wanting more information can contact Nick Snyder at 419-308-7454 or nick.snyder@lpl.com. Team registrations can be emailed to Snyder’s email address or mailed to 1580 Saint George Circle, Bowling Green, 43402. Checks should be made out to the Bowling Green Schools Foundation.
By the way, the answers to the trivia questions at the beginning of the story are:
- Hawaii
- Connecticut
- Glue
- Steven Spielberg
- Norway
