Recap: Finally, the oligarchy is toppled

I didn't draw this picture.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Sort of. Last night's Big Quiz Thing at Oberon—another great show, another perfect audience—at last broke the Boston-area stranglehold, as we had a new team claim victory. Nearly two years of regular events at Oberon, and this was only the second time one of our top three teams did not win—not the Quips team, not [INSERT RECENTLY DECEASED PERSON] Kicks Ass, not the Monstrous Humanoids. On their third ever BQT appearance, Habeas Porpoise came out on top. I mean, sure, I love the regulars (extra-special love this time for the Humanoids, who hired us for a special at-home private quiz this weekend), but it's always nice to inject some new blood into the winner's circle (bit of a mixed metaphor there, isn't it?).

Still, as always, the best news is that everyone's a winner at the Big Quiz Thing, since fun was had all around. Last night's show looked back on '11 with "The Year in Manipulative Movie Trailers"; I was very impressed how many of you were able to distinguish No Strings Attached from Friends with Benefits. Our audio puzzle, "Presenting in Alphabetical Order," was a great chance to get everyone's ZZ Top jokes out of their system; I would indeed love to hear their theoretical version of "Yakety Yak." The Lightning Round let me particularly flex my trivia-writing muscles, with the uber—"Twelve Nights of Christmas" puzzle. And I won my casual bet with B-Cutie Katie over how many teams would know this figureoutable question…

Last year, researchers at Carleton University in Canada conducted a mathematical exercise concluding that yes, civilization would most likely break down if what threat actually existed?

The answer is right here on this very blog. All hail the Canadian education system.

And the finale: Including the quick run-off for third place, we had the three regular teams, plus semi-newcomers Habeas Porpoise. (They told me they once before made it into the finals, under the name Grover Cleveland and the Nonconsecutive Terms.) And we had the new rule tonight: Once you get a question right, you must tag out to a teammate; that'll be a new regular feature, mark my words. No one knew who, in the 1970s, fought Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as his final onscreen opponent (tough question, sure), but Mr. Habeas took it by knowing about this:
And the whole team was merely three people. Impressive.

The standings:
1. Habeas Porpoise: But can they bi-peat?
2. The Tragically Quips/Harry Morgan Kicks Ass!!! (tie): Possibly my favorite Quips name yet.
4. The Monstrous Humanoids
5. Dark Matter Is the New Black
6. Rick: Always James, Never Perry: Great name, but interestingly, "James" is Rick Perry's real first name.
7. Percocet-Fueled Honey Badgers
8. Show Us Your Tips!
9. Effervescent Jackalopes
10. Team Duchy/We Thought This Was The Donkey Show (tie)

NEXT: We're back January 16 (a Monday, MLK Day; I was kidding when I said the whole thing would be about civil rights), then February 20, Presidents' Day, for the return of the BQT's Hail to the Trivial Presidential Spectacular. Keep up on the Zucker-Net and the Twitterverse, why dontcha.