Admittedly, it wasn't a fair fight.
August 21, 2014 9:02 AM Subscribe
The coolest, weirdest Internet community you’ll never be able to join
LearnedLeague is the greatest web-based trivia league in all of civilized earth, and one of the most glorious activites of mankind. It's a game where players use their brains to compete against one another head-to-head in a league format, with the goal of winning matches and ultimately becoming the mightiest of mighty, the LearnedLeague Champion.
If you'd like to see how you'd fare, there are a number of sample questions here.
LearnedLeague is the greatest web-based trivia league in all of civilized earth, and one of the most glorious activites of mankind. It's a game where players use their brains to compete against one another head-to-head in a league format, with the goal of winning matches and ultimately becoming the mightiest of mighty, the LearnedLeague Champion.
If you'd like to see how you'd fare, there are a number of sample questions here.
The coolest, weirdest Internet community you’ll never be able to join
Unless you have $5 or managed to get an account before the fee was enacted.
posted by jeather at 9:27 AM on August 21, 2014 [62 favorites]
Unless you have $5 or managed to get an account before the fee was enacted.
posted by jeather at 9:27 AM on August 21, 2014 [62 favorites]
THEATRE - Originally a vat room with hop storage for London's Woodyard Brewery, the building known presently as the Donmar Warehouse is today used primarily for what other purpose?
Really, LearnedLeague?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 9:32 AM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
Really, LearnedLeague?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 9:32 AM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
Ooh, the sample questions are different each time you refresh. There goes the rest of my afternoon.
posted by something something at 9:38 AM on August 21, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by something something at 9:38 AM on August 21, 2014 [5 favorites]
FWIW, usually you don't know the category of the question. So the word "THEATRE" would not be in the question.
posted by maryr at 9:39 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by maryr at 9:39 AM on August 21, 2014
Man, it's probably good I can't join, I'd get really into this.
posted by JauntyFedora at 9:42 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by JauntyFedora at 9:42 AM on August 21, 2014
As gmail's early days show, his strategy is both brilliant marketing and probably guaranteed to keep the members honest.
posted by resurrexit at 9:43 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by resurrexit at 9:43 AM on August 21, 2014
"Starred in X at the Donmar" is one of those phrases that shows up in the potted biography of all sorts of British actors. So even if you don't follow London theater, a passingly worldly person will know it without 'Theatre".
posted by tavella at 9:47 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by tavella at 9:47 AM on August 21, 2014
Huh... I remember when I joined a few years ago (thanks to an invite from a fellow Mefite), it all seemed sort of hush hush. Like, we weren't even supposed to talk about its existence or something. I guess that's changed! Or I misinterpreted back then.
posted by kmz at 9:49 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by kmz at 9:49 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Huh... I remember when I joined a few years ago (thanks to an invite from a fellow Mefite), it all seemed sort of hush hush. Like, we weren't even supposed to talk about its existence or something. I guess that's changed! Or I misinterpreted back then.
I think that was Fight Club.
posted by yoink at 9:52 AM on August 21, 2014 [5 favorites]
I think that was Fight Club.
posted by yoink at 9:52 AM on August 21, 2014 [5 favorites]
Getting into secret invite-only groups is a useful skill. Over the years I've discovered I'm pretty good at it. It's led to a fair amount of interesting times.
posted by ryanrs at 9:54 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by ryanrs at 9:54 AM on August 21, 2014
I love LearnedLeague and totally suck at it. My career question percentage is a miserable .339. There are also mini-leagues smithed by players and one-day specials on specific topics like a recent one on the Beastie Boys. What makes it unique is the defense aspect. You can look at your opponent's question category percentages and adjust the defensive values you assign to the day's questions. If you think it's a gimme for them, you give it a zero. It's often demoralizing for me, but it's a ton of fun.
posted by thingamarob at 9:55 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by thingamarob at 9:55 AM on August 21, 2014
i hate this site i can't stop with the sample questions
we hatessss them precious
posted by elizardbits at 9:59 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
we hatessss them precious
posted by elizardbits at 9:59 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
I love LearnedLeague and totally suck at it. My career question percentage is a miserable .339.
The tier/rundle system also means that you often end up at a level of competition that is maximally frustrating. I somehow ended up in A for 2 or 3 seasons, and boy howdy is it a pain to know you're going to get blown out in at least half of your matches. I only stuck around up there as long as I did by luck, not forfeiting, and scratching out narrow wins against other marginal competitors. There's a certain appeal to that mindset for a while, but I'm looking forward to this season in B where I might actually be mid-tier.
posted by Copronymus at 10:05 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
The tier/rundle system also means that you often end up at a level of competition that is maximally frustrating. I somehow ended up in A for 2 or 3 seasons, and boy howdy is it a pain to know you're going to get blown out in at least half of your matches. I only stuck around up there as long as I did by luck, not forfeiting, and scratching out narrow wins against other marginal competitors. There's a certain appeal to that mindset for a while, but I'm looking forward to this season in B where I might actually be mid-tier.
posted by Copronymus at 10:05 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
I know a couple people in Learned League, they're cool, but they're not that cool. One of them is very cool, the other, kind of meh, whatever. They are both weird, though.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:07 AM on August 21, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:07 AM on August 21, 2014 [7 favorites]
Dear Ask Metafilter:
1. Can I get in
2. Is there a MeFi team
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:11 AM on August 21, 2014 [7 favorites]
1. Can I get in
2. Is there a MeFi team
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:11 AM on August 21, 2014 [7 favorites]
Pop culture all the way down, and the little that isn't is often awkwardly phrased.
posted by jamjam at 10:11 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by jamjam at 10:11 AM on August 21, 2014
Also, I used to work for a theatre design firm in London, and I could never get my head around a place called 'Donmar' being a West End theatre.
posted by Flashman at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by Flashman at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2014
I pretty much hang out in D Rundle, and I'm among the more trivia-inclined people of my meatspace friends. My inviter is generally in the B-rundle.
LL is fun as hell. It totally becomes a ritual, doing your questions/defence for the day. Plus the Commish is nice as all get-out, and very responsive - I definitely remember him emailing me the questions for a few days when I was in rural ontario, couldn't guarantee that I'd be able to web-browse to the site but would be able to email back my responses.
It's funny - the community structure of LL reminds me of MeFi. There are significantly bigger trivia things, much like there are significantly bigger community sites. But in both LL and MeFi, you absolutely get a sense of community, and a sense of involvement from the people/person in charge. It's artisinal in a weird way. I don't know how to explain why I like LL but hate the various trivia apps. But there's definitely a difference.
posted by Lemurrhea at 10:20 AM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
LL is fun as hell. It totally becomes a ritual, doing your questions/defence for the day. Plus the Commish is nice as all get-out, and very responsive - I definitely remember him emailing me the questions for a few days when I was in rural ontario, couldn't guarantee that I'd be able to web-browse to the site but would be able to email back my responses.
It's funny - the community structure of LL reminds me of MeFi. There are significantly bigger trivia things, much like there are significantly bigger community sites. But in both LL and MeFi, you absolutely get a sense of community, and a sense of involvement from the people/person in charge. It's artisinal in a weird way. I don't know how to explain why I like LL but hate the various trivia apps. But there's definitely a difference.
posted by Lemurrhea at 10:20 AM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
Pop culture all the way down, and the little that isn't is often awkwardly phrased.
It's always seemed a good mix to me. It's not ACF, not even NAQT, but it's definitely not TRASH.
posted by kmz at 10:25 AM on August 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
It's always seemed a good mix to me. It's not ACF, not even NAQT, but it's definitely not TRASH.
posted by kmz at 10:25 AM on August 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
The design has remained fundamentally the same: an unadorned interface that eventually masked immense sabermetric sophistication.
What did it have to do with baseball stats?
posted by 3.2.3 at 10:26 AM on August 21, 2014
What did it have to do with baseball stats?
posted by 3.2.3 at 10:26 AM on August 21, 2014
Oh, I get it. It's the LittleLearnedLeague.
posted by 3.2.3 at 10:27 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by 3.2.3 at 10:27 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
You get a flag, as if you were a country. That's pretty cool.
posted by zeek321 at 10:29 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by zeek321 at 10:29 AM on August 21, 2014
I love LearnedLeague and totally suck at it. My career question percentage is a miserable .339. There are also mini-leagues smithed by players and one-day specials on specific topics like a recent one on the Beastie Boys.
Granted, it's only my 2nd season, but I'm pretty sure I'll be stuck in Rundle D for the most part*. That said, I was stupid happy to finish Top-10 in the Beasties one-day special.
*I'm fine with that. It's still a hell of a lot of fun.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:31 AM on August 21, 2014
Granted, it's only my 2nd season, but I'm pretty sure I'll be stuck in Rundle D for the most part*. That said, I was stupid happy to finish Top-10 in the Beasties one-day special.
*I'm fine with that. It's still a hell of a lot of fun.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:31 AM on August 21, 2014
Huh... I remember when I joined a few years ago (thanks to an invite from a fellow Mefite), it all seemed sort of hush hush. Like, we weren't even supposed to talk about its existence or something. I guess that's changed! Or I misinterpreted back then.
It might also have something to do with the commish quitting his day job.
posted by thingamarob at 10:35 AM on August 21, 2014
It might also have something to do with the commish quitting his day job.
posted by thingamarob at 10:35 AM on August 21, 2014
I wonder if any mefites are members?
I did two rounds back around 2009.
posted by Jahaza at 10:36 AM on August 21, 2014
I did two rounds back around 2009.
posted by Jahaza at 10:36 AM on August 21, 2014
I wonder if any mefites are members?
If my subtle tag work didn't give it away this was primarily why I made this post....
posted by DynamiteToast at 10:38 AM on August 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
If my subtle tag work didn't give it away this was primarily why I made this post....
posted by DynamiteToast at 10:38 AM on August 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
Pop culture all the way down, and the little that isn't is often awkwardly phrased.
It's always seemed a good mix to me. It's not ACF, not even NAQT, but it's definitely not TRASH.
True enough, kmz; I was wrong -- on a lot of the questions, too.
posted by jamjam at 10:39 AM on August 21, 2014
It's always seemed a good mix to me. It's not ACF, not even NAQT, but it's definitely not TRASH.
True enough, kmz; I was wrong -- on a lot of the questions, too.
posted by jamjam at 10:39 AM on August 21, 2014
If my subtle tag work didn't give it away this was primarily why I made this post....
New referrals are closed for now since we just started a new league, but they'll open back up sometime in October. I only get one referral/period (due to the amount of annual dues I pay), but if the person I already have in mind doesn't want my invite, I'll shoot it your way if you're still in need of one, DynamiteToast.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:43 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
New referrals are closed for now since we just started a new league, but they'll open back up sometime in October. I only get one referral/period (due to the amount of annual dues I pay), but if the person I already have in mind doesn't want my invite, I'll shoot it your way if you're still in need of one, DynamiteToast.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:43 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, maybe when I have a minute I'll make a Metatalk post so we can chime in. It's always more fun when you're up against someone you know. I mean, trash talk and all that.
posted by Lemurrhea at 10:46 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Lemurrhea at 10:46 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
The coolest, weirdest Internet community you’ll never be able to join
Weirdest? Guys doing trivia? Really?
posted by tunewell at 10:50 AM on August 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
Weirdest? Guys doing trivia? Really?
posted by tunewell at 10:50 AM on August 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
If I remember, I may look into this, see if any connections I have lead to getting in. Cool stuff though, and a pretty well done website.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:50 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:50 AM on August 21, 2014
I wonder if any mefites are members?
I honestly doubt there's any mixing of the two sites. I mean, you'd be hard pressed to find a single Mefite who has the singularity of purpose and strength of will to commit tons of useless facts to memory. Besides which, these non-existent trivia aficionados probably would have taken some kind of secret pledge to never reveal our identities in order to keep the brotherhood solemn.
Their. Their identities.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:02 AM on August 21, 2014 [18 favorites]
I honestly doubt there's any mixing of the two sites. I mean, you'd be hard pressed to find a single Mefite who has the singularity of purpose and strength of will to commit tons of useless facts to memory. Besides which, these non-existent trivia aficionados probably would have taken some kind of secret pledge to never reveal our identities in order to keep the brotherhood solemn.
Their. Their identities.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:02 AM on August 21, 2014 [18 favorites]
I somehow ended up in A for 2 or 3 seasons, and boy howdy is it a pain to know you're going to get blown out in at least half of your matches.
Cuing up a tiny violin from your friend in E League (there didn't even used to BE an E League!).
Though my percentage lifetime is .513 which is not bad I think? I got as high as C League once. Then people started swarming in from Jeopardy-land and I had no chance. I got an invite from shothotbot way back in the day and I've been furiously referring MeFites since forever. Long enough that I have my own referral "branch"
I think part of the mystery aspect is that a lot of the site is password protected and you can really only mix it up in there if you're a member. I just referred my person for next time around but there are a ton of MeFites who would probably be happy to refer people.
What did it have to do with baseball stats?
Shayne is super stats nerdy and so there are pages and pages of number stuff that you can geek out over from your Defensive Efficiency to how you've done head to head against every other player. I'm most proud of my "Most consecutive matches without a forfeit" stat (398! and counting!), my top 5% finish in the "fictional food" One Day Special, and my finalist status in the Internet Mnileague (which I lost because I couldn't remember an acronym for a thing I'd made an FPP on!).
It's a great little place to be with other geeky trivia people and I sort of love it because I'm not very good at it and I am not at all in charge. I dominate at my local pub trivia in central Vermont and I get my ass handed to me in Learned League.
You shut up too backseatpilot, snooty B Leaguer!
posted by jessamyn at 11:03 AM on August 21, 2014 [9 favorites]
Cuing up a tiny violin from your friend in E League (there didn't even used to BE an E League!).
Though my percentage lifetime is .513 which is not bad I think? I got as high as C League once. Then people started swarming in from Jeopardy-land and I had no chance. I got an invite from shothotbot way back in the day and I've been furiously referring MeFites since forever. Long enough that I have my own referral "branch"
I think part of the mystery aspect is that a lot of the site is password protected and you can really only mix it up in there if you're a member. I just referred my person for next time around but there are a ton of MeFites who would probably be happy to refer people.
What did it have to do with baseball stats?
Shayne is super stats nerdy and so there are pages and pages of number stuff that you can geek out over from your Defensive Efficiency to how you've done head to head against every other player. I'm most proud of my "Most consecutive matches without a forfeit" stat (398! and counting!), my top 5% finish in the "fictional food" One Day Special, and my finalist status in the Internet Mnileague (which I lost because I couldn't remember an acronym for a thing I'd made an FPP on!).
It's a great little place to be with other geeky trivia people and I sort of love it because I'm not very good at it and I am not at all in charge. I dominate at my local pub trivia in central Vermont and I get my ass handed to me in Learned League.
You shut up too backseatpilot, snooty B Leaguer!
posted by jessamyn at 11:03 AM on August 21, 2014 [9 favorites]
I do not belong there and I am losing so badly help me
posted by backseatpilot at 11:05 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by backseatpilot at 11:05 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
FILM - What is the most distinguishing characteristic shared by the actors Warwick Davis, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, and Peter Dinklage?
Are they looking for the long answer or the... short answer?
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:15 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Are they looking for the long answer or the... short answer?
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:15 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
I was coming in expecting it to be something like "circa 1998 FilePile"
posted by wcfields at 11:21 AM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by wcfields at 11:21 AM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
I won today's match on defense! 2(1) to 0(1)! I'm in second place in D Highland!
IT FEELS SO GOOD.
posted by not_on_display at 11:34 AM on August 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
IT FEELS SO GOOD.
posted by not_on_display at 11:34 AM on August 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
Getting into secret invite-only groups is a useful skill. Over the years I've discovered I'm pretty good at it. It's led to a fair amount of interesting times.
Oh Come ON. You're just going to drop that in the thread and not expand on it?
posted by leotrotsky at 11:43 AM on August 21, 2014 [5 favorites]
Oh Come ON. You're just going to drop that in the thread and not expand on it?
posted by leotrotsky at 11:43 AM on August 21, 2014 [5 favorites]
My sample questions were mostly pop culture trivia stuff like "what movie was this screen cap?" type of things. I suck at trivial pursuit, so I suspect I would suck at this too.
posted by dejah420 at 11:52 AM on August 21, 2014
posted by dejah420 at 11:52 AM on August 21, 2014
He drops the fact that he's been invited to other secret invite-only groups and gets invited to the new one by the curious who want to know if the other groups are more exclusive. It's fun, up to a point.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:52 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:52 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Just discovered the history page, which links to each seasons results, recaps, and awards, with some pretty excellent awards for "Best Wrong Answer". So far my favorites are:
On April 27, 2014, a crowd of hundreds of thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City to witness Pope Francis's canonization of two former pontiffs. What were the papal names (and numbers) used by these two new saints?
JOHN PAUL II, GEORGE RINGO I
The Köchel-Verzeichnis (Köchel catalogue) is a complete, chronological, 626-item catalog of what?
ANGELA MERKEL SELFIES
What is the name of the lively philosophical text, a series of dramatic dialogues, written by Plato around 380 BC on the nature of love (and from which comes the term platonic love)?
SEX AND THE CITY STATE
posted by DynamiteToast at 11:59 AM on August 21, 2014 [9 favorites]
On April 27, 2014, a crowd of hundreds of thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City to witness Pope Francis's canonization of two former pontiffs. What were the papal names (and numbers) used by these two new saints?
JOHN PAUL II, GEORGE RINGO I
The Köchel-Verzeichnis (Köchel catalogue) is a complete, chronological, 626-item catalog of what?
ANGELA MERKEL SELFIES
What is the name of the lively philosophical text, a series of dramatic dialogues, written by Plato around 380 BC on the nature of love (and from which comes the term platonic love)?
SEX AND THE CITY STATE
posted by DynamiteToast at 11:59 AM on August 21, 2014 [9 favorites]
There needs to be more fashion and famous-for-nothing people in the quiz. If you're going to ask me who a random basketball player is via a picture, I want a picture of his (ex)wife who I could absolutely identify by sight without any hint given by a uniform.
I also want to have pictures of Emmy invitees and I have to guess their gown designers and ex-husbands.
Don't even tell me this is sillier trivia than baseball.
Also the science questions need to be broken down by academic discipline.
What I'm saying is that I'd like an invitation. And I'd like to be put in charge. I don't think this is too much to ask.
posted by hydrobatidae at 12:03 PM on August 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
I also want to have pictures of Emmy invitees and I have to guess their gown designers and ex-husbands.
Don't even tell me this is sillier trivia than baseball.
Also the science questions need to be broken down by academic discipline.
What I'm saying is that I'd like an invitation. And I'd like to be put in charge. I don't think this is too much to ask.
posted by hydrobatidae at 12:03 PM on August 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
There needs to be more fashion and famous-for-nothing people in the quiz.
Fun Fact: the Commissioner is known for having a soft spot for Kim Kardashian so there is always one Kardashian-related question in every season. Knowing how old people are is a definite advantage for pop culture stuff. I'm pretty sure I played a MeFite in my match today.
posted by jessamyn at 12:12 PM on August 21, 2014
Fun Fact: the Commissioner is known for having a soft spot for Kim Kardashian so there is always one Kardashian-related question in every season. Knowing how old people are is a definite advantage for pop culture stuff. I'm pretty sure I played a MeFite in my match today.
posted by jessamyn at 12:12 PM on August 21, 2014
For a much simpler, but much more accessible internet trivia community, there's always QuizUp. We couldn't make a MetaFilter Team, but could definitely set up playing against other MeFites.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 12:23 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 12:23 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
The WaPo is implying that this:
posted by Justinian at 12:25 PM on August 21, 2014
“Who was the main commander of the victorious forces in the series of military campaigns which was known contemporaneously as Bello Gallico?”is supposed to make us go "WOW THATS HARD". But... its easy? Really easy? Am I wrong?
posted by Justinian at 12:25 PM on August 21, 2014
You, with the user name Justinian, are asking this?
posted by maggiepolitt at 12:29 PM on August 21, 2014 [15 favorites]
posted by maggiepolitt at 12:29 PM on August 21, 2014 [15 favorites]
But... its easy? Really easy?
All questions to which you, personally, already know the answer are easy.
posted by yoink at 12:30 PM on August 21, 2014 [13 favorites]
All questions to which you, personally, already know the answer are easy.
posted by yoink at 12:30 PM on August 21, 2014 [13 favorites]
Don't these secret communities eventually just decay into cute pics of people's kids and animated cat gifs, over time?
posted by thelonius at 12:32 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 12:32 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
It used to be that stuff like boytaurs and otherkin were the weird internet communities, but I guess now it's people doing trivia. I don't know whether this is good or bad.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 12:33 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Pyrogenesis at 12:33 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
I dominate at my local pub trivia in central Vermont ...
HEY! It's a team effort!
posted by terrapin at 12:34 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
HEY! It's a team effort!
posted by terrapin at 12:34 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
Oh shit, I think a friend just offered to invite me to this. I said yes, but I think I'm gonna be mucho out of my, er, league.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:35 PM on August 21, 2014
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:35 PM on August 21, 2014
I suck at trivial pursuit, so I suspect I would suck at this too.
There are some Trivial Pursuit type questions, but my favorites are the ones that involve some sideways knowledge. Some favorite recent examples include: which country contains three geographic regions, none of which I recognized, but which sounded respectively German, Italian, and French. Hey, Switzerland has German, Italian, and French as 3 of their 4 official languages! There was another one about honorific title of a bunch of bourbon distillers, which lead me from bourbon -> Kentucky -> KFC -> Colonel Sanders -> Colonel.
posted by kmz at 12:41 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
There are some Trivial Pursuit type questions, but my favorites are the ones that involve some sideways knowledge. Some favorite recent examples include: which country contains three geographic regions, none of which I recognized, but which sounded respectively German, Italian, and French. Hey, Switzerland has German, Italian, and French as 3 of their 4 official languages! There was another one about honorific title of a bunch of bourbon distillers, which lead me from bourbon -> Kentucky -> KFC -> Colonel Sanders -> Colonel.
posted by kmz at 12:41 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hebephilia?
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:43 PM on August 21, 2014
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:43 PM on August 21, 2014
There was another one about honorific title of a bunch of bourbon distillers, which lead me from bourbon -> Kentucky -> KFC -> Colonel Sanders -> Colonel.
I got that as a sample question and did literally the same train of thought.
posted by DynamiteToast at 12:46 PM on August 21, 2014
I got that as a sample question and did literally the same train of thought.
posted by DynamiteToast at 12:46 PM on August 21, 2014
I got really into QuizUp for a couple of weeks this past winter and ranked very highly in a few categories, but I lost interest because the same questions kept popping up over and over. Maybe they've improved the database by now?
posted by Flashman at 12:49 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Flashman at 12:49 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
In return for an invitation, I will kill any one person designated by my inviter.
Note: Killing that person may take a while. Be patient.
posted by Etrigan at 12:50 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
Note: Killing that person may take a while. Be patient.
posted by Etrigan at 12:50 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm taking a maternity break this season. Every night in-season I usually let off some squawk around 11:52 because I didn't get such-and-such question right. It's so annoying. But right now I am missing it terribly.
Also, I have beaten Jerome Vered and Roger Craig head-to-head. w00t.
posted by Madamina at 1:08 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also, I have beaten Jerome Vered and Roger Craig head-to-head. w00t.
posted by Madamina at 1:08 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
In return for an invitation, I will kill any one person designated by my inviter.
Note: Killing that person may take a while. Be patient.
70 years from now a manila envelope arrives in the mailbox of an elderly Mefite. On finely wrought parchment, in blood red ink has been written the following:
Your requested assassination has been carried out. The cause of death: Senile Dementia
Sincerely, Etrigan
posted by leotrotsky at 1:16 PM on August 21, 2014 [9 favorites]
Note: Killing that person may take a while. Be patient.
70 years from now a manila envelope arrives in the mailbox of an elderly Mefite. On finely wrought parchment, in blood red ink has been written the following:
Your requested assassination has been carried out. The cause of death: Senile Dementia
Sincerely, Etrigan
posted by leotrotsky at 1:16 PM on August 21, 2014 [9 favorites]
Yes. Ink. It would absolutely be ink.
posted by Etrigan at 1:20 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Etrigan at 1:20 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
HEY! It's a team effort!
Absolutely. I am hung up, however, on the night I showed up and none of my teammates did. Maybe before your time? I was too shy to walk right back out again so I just hung out and played, on my own. And at the point where I realized I was maybe going to win, I panicked. That's too weird, even for me! And so I tried to blow a question to even it out but guessed wrong and got it right by accident and wound up winning and now I am that lady around town who people say should be on Jeopardy. And then I go to LL every day and get my ass handed to me by college students, and people who know about Germany, and cricket.
posted by jessamyn at 1:25 PM on August 21, 2014 [14 favorites]
Absolutely. I am hung up, however, on the night I showed up and none of my teammates did. Maybe before your time? I was too shy to walk right back out again so I just hung out and played, on my own. And at the point where I realized I was maybe going to win, I panicked. That's too weird, even for me! And so I tried to blow a question to even it out but guessed wrong and got it right by accident and wound up winning and now I am that lady around town who people say should be on Jeopardy. And then I go to LL every day and get my ass handed to me by college students, and people who know about Germany, and cricket.
posted by jessamyn at 1:25 PM on August 21, 2014 [14 favorites]
Just busting your chops. Excited for OUR next season!
posted by terrapin at 1:58 PM on August 21, 2014
posted by terrapin at 1:58 PM on August 21, 2014
And at the point where I realized I was maybe going to win, I panicked. That's too weird, even for me!
Ha, I did that at a bar in Oklahoma City one night while I was there for work. I was alone, and they were doing trivia, and I won a gift certificate that I don't think I ever used.
One of the categories, you had to choose whether the person was born in the US or abroad. Every answer was a "trick" (anyone with an Anglo sounding name was born abroad, and everyone with a foreign sounding name was born in the US). I swept the category and I think that was what locked the win.
Trivia with Team Taters usually involves straining to hear the clues and reading the answer someone else wrote down after I finally figure out what was just said over the PA. I swear beer is supposed to help with your hearing - maybe I'm not drinking enough.
posted by backseatpilot at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ha, I did that at a bar in Oklahoma City one night while I was there for work. I was alone, and they were doing trivia, and I won a gift certificate that I don't think I ever used.
One of the categories, you had to choose whether the person was born in the US or abroad. Every answer was a "trick" (anyone with an Anglo sounding name was born abroad, and everyone with a foreign sounding name was born in the US). I swept the category and I think that was what locked the win.
Trivia with Team Taters usually involves straining to hear the clues and reading the answer someone else wrote down after I finally figure out what was just said over the PA. I swear beer is supposed to help with your hearing - maybe I'm not drinking enough.
posted by backseatpilot at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Learned League: people who know about Germany, and cricket.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Horace Rumpole at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
IF THAT'S IT THEN WHY AREN'T I WINNING MORE
posted by backseatpilot at 2:05 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by backseatpilot at 2:05 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
This sounds like fun, but I definitely prefer team trivia. Even if our team does perennially get one place out of the money is every other playoff... one day... one day...
posted by codacorolla at 2:23 PM on August 21, 2014
posted by codacorolla at 2:23 PM on August 21, 2014
I played a season or two of this, as has every ex-quizbowler I'm still in contact with. Tau_ceti still plays it and tells me about questions, but I'm not sure I'll go back. At the time, work got busy and somehow remembering to get my answers in before 10PM Pacific turned into more of a chore and then by the time I thought about getting back to it, every major Jeopardy! name was playing and... eh. I'm not at that level, except in a few specific domains these days.
The point-assigning defense is a fantastic element, though. Adds a lot to the fun.
posted by deludingmyself at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2014
The point-assigning defense is a fantastic element, though. Adds a lot to the fun.
posted by deludingmyself at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2014
awards for "Best Wrong Answer"
help
Owned today by Pinnacle Foods, what is the best-selling food item in the United States named in honor of Abraham Lincoln?
emancipator tots
abrahamburger helper
A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the subtitle of the two-part play whose first part received the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. What is the play's primary title?
ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE MARRIED
This American entrepreneur is considered the creator of the mail order industry in 1872 (predating Sears & Roebuck by nearly 20 years), by way of his business selling directly to customers via his catalogs, which became known as 'dream books', and enticed rural Americans to join urban dwellers in the growing consumer culture.
ULYSSES S. SKYMALL
posted by elizardbits at 2:40 PM on August 21, 2014 [8 favorites]
help
Owned today by Pinnacle Foods, what is the best-selling food item in the United States named in honor of Abraham Lincoln?
emancipator tots
abrahamburger helper
A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the subtitle of the two-part play whose first part received the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. What is the play's primary title?
ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE MARRIED
This American entrepreneur is considered the creator of the mail order industry in 1872 (predating Sears & Roebuck by nearly 20 years), by way of his business selling directly to customers via his catalogs, which became known as 'dream books', and enticed rural Americans to join urban dwellers in the growing consumer culture.
ULYSSES S. SKYMALL
posted by elizardbits at 2:40 PM on August 21, 2014 [8 favorites]
All questions to which you, personally, already know the answer are easy.
Yes, very much so, and that's emphasized by the sample questions, at least how I'm doing on them, especially notable since they're listed from "easiest" to "hardest" (as defined by what percentage of people got them correct). In any group of sample questions there's likely to be some 65-70% question that I have absolutely no clue on, and some 30-35% question which seems blazingly obvious to me.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:59 PM on August 21, 2014
Yes, very much so, and that's emphasized by the sample questions, at least how I'm doing on them, especially notable since they're listed from "easiest" to "hardest" (as defined by what percentage of people got them correct). In any group of sample questions there's likely to be some 65-70% question that I have absolutely no clue on, and some 30-35% question which seems blazingly obvious to me.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:59 PM on August 21, 2014
I had one best wrong answer last season. It was for this question:
posted by thingamarob at 3:24 PM on August 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 in the 1895 case Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. to strike down a federal act from the previous year, by declaring what unconstitutional? (Eighteen years later, the vote would be superseded by a constitutional amendment.)Answer: Imitation crab
posted by thingamarob at 3:24 PM on August 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
My trivia night teammates are MeFites. I want to try this (though I don't think much of my competitive prospects) and I suspect my teammates might too.
posted by Songdog at 3:31 PM on August 21, 2014
posted by Songdog at 3:31 PM on August 21, 2014
Hmm... as a competent one time quiz bowler, I suppose I'd be good enough at this not to be embarrassed. But not so good that it would justify active lobbying.
posted by wotsac at 3:38 PM on August 21, 2014
posted by wotsac at 3:38 PM on August 21, 2014
This looks amazing. If any mefites have an invite to spare, I would love to join and I promise I am not a cheater.
posted by Tesseractive at 4:42 PM on August 21, 2014
posted by Tesseractive at 4:42 PM on August 21, 2014
So weird, I played this for awhile and still get emails to come back. Did not know that it was a secret. I would lose matches because of travel and and just never got around to going back once the semester started.
posted by jadepearl at 5:37 PM on August 21, 2014
posted by jadepearl at 5:37 PM on August 21, 2014
All questions to which you, personally, already know the answer are easy.
Yeah, but - there are questions here that I got that I was in no way surprised that 90% of others did not. I'll call those not easy.
(Not bragging, by the way, I blew far more than I'm willing to admit to. Some were D'oh! moments, but a lot of them no-way-in-hell-would-I-have-known-that.)
posted by IndigoJones at 7:13 PM on August 21, 2014
Yeah, but - there are questions here that I got that I was in no way surprised that 90% of others did not. I'll call those not easy.
(Not bragging, by the way, I blew far more than I'm willing to admit to. Some were D'oh! moments, but a lot of them no-way-in-hell-would-I-have-known-that.)
posted by IndigoJones at 7:13 PM on August 21, 2014
I'm not playing now, but I'll re-up next season when I'm not going on vacations and moving and such. But I'm not who you have to worry about.
Worry about my dad. He is good.
posted by maryr at 7:39 PM on August 21, 2014
Worry about my dad. He is good.
posted by maryr at 7:39 PM on August 21, 2014
Suddenly very slightly tempted to get my dad an MeFi account just so we can have opposite of LL matching usernames. Except that that would make him dickr which... not so much a good idea.
posted by maryr at 7:40 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by maryr at 7:40 PM on August 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
For any of you vexillology-porn inclined, here is the secret unlisted gallery of all the LearnedLeague flags, alphabetically by LLama-name.
I designed a few dozen of these myself, I am proud to say.
posted by not_on_display at 10:34 PM on August 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
I designed a few dozen of these myself, I am proud to say.
posted by not_on_display at 10:34 PM on August 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
Hebephilia?
I think they meant ephebephilia. I felt terribly smart for catching that. And then I missed about fifteen in a row and the smartness-feelings went away, possibly for good.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 4:13 AM on August 22, 2014
I think they meant ephebephilia. I felt terribly smart for catching that. And then I missed about fifteen in a row and the smartness-feelings went away, possibly for good.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 4:13 AM on August 22, 2014
Another Mefite/LL crossover here. Been treading water in the D-Rundle for several seasons now.
posted by DRoll at 6:25 AM on August 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by DRoll at 6:25 AM on August 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think they meant ephebephilia.
Oh, jeebus. I looked up hebephilia and it is a thing. I had no idea that, according to Widipedia, the attraction to children is so finely divided into pedophilia (prepubescent children), hebephilia (pubescent children), and ephebophilia (post-pubescent adolescents). Things I did not want to know.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:45 PM on August 22, 2014
Oh, jeebus. I looked up hebephilia and it is a thing. I had no idea that, according to Widipedia, the attraction to children is so finely divided into pedophilia (prepubescent children), hebephilia (pubescent children), and ephebophilia (post-pubescent adolescents). Things I did not want to know.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:45 PM on August 22, 2014
I'd love to join as well, however on the sample questions I got somewhere between 3 and 7 correct the four times I tried.
So... maybe I should focus on my day job.
posted by midmarch snowman at 9:31 PM on August 22, 2014
So... maybe I should focus on my day job.
posted by midmarch snowman at 9:31 PM on August 22, 2014
In high school, my quiz bowl team came in second place in the state during my senior year. The kicker: We lost to a school from the bordering state, who apparently played both leagues because they had students from both states.
(Despite fears of too much personal info, I'll just say "Screw you, Hanover. Screw you.")
I would love to play this game, though I can't imagine I would get particularly far. You never know though...
posted by papayaninja at 7:33 AM on August 27, 2014
(Despite fears of too much personal info, I'll just say "Screw you, Hanover. Screw you.")
I would love to play this game, though I can't imagine I would get particularly far. You never know though...
posted by papayaninja at 7:33 AM on August 27, 2014
!!!
I got in to a car accident on my way to a Scholar's Bowl match in Hanover!
posted by maryr at 8:10 AM on August 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I got in to a car accident on my way to a Scholar's Bowl match in Hanover!
posted by maryr at 8:10 AM on August 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I have been playing the sample questions against myself for far too much time today. This is getting addictive.
posted by pemberkins at 6:51 PM on August 27, 2014
posted by pemberkins at 6:51 PM on August 27, 2014
This looks like Smug Blokes a go-go, and is now on the top of my Actively Shun stack.
posted by scruss at 7:12 AM on August 28, 2014
posted by scruss at 7:12 AM on August 28, 2014
Well, if anyone ever wants to throw an invite my way, I can continue my trivia career. I've heard about LearnedLeague, but don't know anyone who's a member and doubt there are many members here in Kansas.
Now for a story:
I was in high school and on the Knowledge Bowl team. One afternoon, we drove to a qualifier for all the schools in the state. I was sick as hell that day. I had a blanket, was chugging chicken soup and popping lozenges like Tic Tacs.
The qualifier was at a high school, so each team was in a different classroom. Once we began, the judges gave us questions as they would in a real competition. At some point, the question "Who is known as the Magnificent Miss M?" was asked. I said, "Bette Midler" and proceeded to pass out. My only familiarity was seeing the trailers for her movies.
Some people have a winning touchdown pass as their proudest competitive achievement. I have Knowledge Bowl.
posted by reenum at 4:53 PM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Now for a story:
I was in high school and on the Knowledge Bowl team. One afternoon, we drove to a qualifier for all the schools in the state. I was sick as hell that day. I had a blanket, was chugging chicken soup and popping lozenges like Tic Tacs.
The qualifier was at a high school, so each team was in a different classroom. Once we began, the judges gave us questions as they would in a real competition. At some point, the question "Who is known as the Magnificent Miss M?" was asked. I said, "Bette Midler" and proceeded to pass out. My only familiarity was seeing the trailers for her movies.
Some people have a winning touchdown pass as their proudest competitive achievement. I have Knowledge Bowl.
posted by reenum at 4:53 PM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
This looks pretty fun, though I'm at about 3/5 for each of the sample question sets. At least they seem clearly written — even ones that I couldn't get, I often knew who or what the question referred to, just couldn't remember the name. A group of MeFites and I have been kind of innocently destroying the trivia games we go to, to the extent that we might have to split up.
posted by klangklangston at 11:42 PM on August 28, 2014
posted by klangklangston at 11:42 PM on August 28, 2014
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posted by elizardbits at 9:26 AM on August 21, 2014