Michael ONeill - The Best Bar Trivia Book Ever: All You Need for Pub Quiz Domination

Avon, Massachusetts

Welcome to The Best Bar Trivia Book Ever. My name is Michael, and Ill be the trivia host guiding you through some of the most fascinating facts and stories from pop culture, academia, and more. If youve picked up this book, its probably because youre a fan of a weekly pub quiz, and its definitely because youre looking to up your game. After all, coming in at the middle of the pack every week isnt as fun as winning, especially when the top prize might be cash, money off your tab, or a gift certificate for next time. So buckle yourself in and get ready to learn some of the best facts so that you can come out on top.

Ive been organizing Pop Quiz Team Trivia in Massachusetts and California for more than fifteen years, and I have collected and created more than 20,000 questions that have kept trivia enthusiasts guessing. In this book you will find the best and most interesting facts culled from my database, and from the inner reaches of my brain. The book is laid out just as I would organize a trivia night. The first three rounds are packed with popular categories like Business, Geography, Music, Vocabulary, and more. In each round I rank the facts by a value of 1, 3, 5, or 7 points, from easiest to most challenging. The final round offers a miscellany of more challenging trivia that can net you up to 20 pointsif youre willing to take the risk.

What makes this book different than other trivia books is that this is the only one focused on the facts most commonly asked at pub quizzes. Here, well examine the origins of everyday things, the most, least, tallest, longest, smallest, shortest, youngest, and oldest of records, events, structures, people, and all things science. (Say it with me now: Science!) Youll get to know Oscar winners, captains of industry, world leaders, and troubled pop stars. If you memorize this book cover to cover, not only will you be more prepared than everyone else the next time you step foot into your neighborhood bar for your pub quiz, but youll also save a ton of money on your tab when you win week after week. I hope youre ready, because were about to start with...

Do you know...

• Which former teen star made her acting debut on a soap opera?
• What is the top grossing basketball movie of all time?
• Who is the only actor to have voiced characters in every Pixar movie?
• Who has won more Oscars than anyone else in history?
• What is the highest-grossing independent film to date?

If you dont know the answers to these questions, you shouldand you will after you read through the facts in this chapter. You see, Movies is probably the single most popular pub quiz category, so the more trivia you know about this category, the better. Even so, its easy to run into a you know it or you dont scenario when youre not familiar with the film in a question. But you can combat this by putting together a team with players of different ages, sexes, and interests to try to cover the widest number of movies. Studying up on your Best Picture Oscar winners also never hurts. So lets dive in and learn a little bit about the silver screen!

Will Ferrell had his first credited feature film role in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997).

Twilight star Kristen Stewart made her film debut in Panic Room (2002), playing Jodie Fosters daughter.

Lindsay Lohan first appeared on the soap opera Another World at age ten, and starred in two remakes for her first big screen roles in The Parent Trap (1998), and Freaky Friday (2003).

Benicio del Toro played Duke, the Dog-Faced Boy in Big Top Pee-wee (1988), which was his first credited film role.

Jon Hamm made his big screen debut as Young Pilot #2 in Space Cowboys (2000).

Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper made his film debut in Wet Hot American Summer (2001).

Leonardo DiCaprio was familiar to small-screen audiences thanks to his role on the final season of Growing Pains, but he made his film debut in the less than memorable Critters 3 (1991), followed by a small part in Poison Ivy (1992). Four Oscar nominations later, Id say hes recovered.

Elijah Wood was first seen as Video-Game Boy #2 in Back to the Future Part II (1989).

Hilary Swank had a part in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). She went on to play unpopular roles in The Next Karate Kid (1994) and on Beverly Hills, 90210 (19971998)... oh, and to win two Oscars for Boys Dont Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).

Halle Berry, the runner-up in the 1986 Miss USA Competition, starred in Spike Lees Jungle Fever (1991). Christy Fichtner, who won the 1986 Miss USA title, later starred in the reality show Who Wants to Marry My Dad (20032004).

Ricki Lake got started playing Tracy Turnblad in John Waterss original Hairspray (1988). Lake was credited as Bridesmaid in Working Girl (1988) before landing a regular role as Holly Pelegrino on ABCs China Beach, and getting her own talk show in 1993.

The Outsiders (1983), based on the S.E. Hinton novel and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, featured an all-star cast of C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, and Diane Lane and launched the Brat Pack of the 1980s, which would later also include Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, and Demi Moore.

Kevin Bacon made his film debut playing Chip Diller in National Lampoons Animal House (1978). Bacon also played Jack in the original Friday the 13th (1980).

Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman, made his big-screen debut as Jake and Elwoods waiter in The Blues Brothers in 1980. The same year he served Cheech and Chong as the hotel desk clerk in