Trivial, just for you

I just got home from being the entertainment at a private party, a woman's 60th-birthday party, in fact. With the assistance of B-Cutie Nicki, I did 45 minutes of customized trivia, about this woman's life, interests, etc.

This quiz was considerably more personalized than most of what I've done in the past—100 percent of the material had some direct link to the birthday girl, whether it dealt with personal details (where she and her husband went for the honeymoon) or her interests (she's a Facebook addict, so I played with that). Usually, people want the individualized material mixed in with random, audience-appropriate trivia, which I mostly draw from the BQT storehouse. So it was an interesting project

The Internet makes this easier than it might otherwise be; google nearly anyone and you get something useful (I, for instance, wrote a book about scurvy). But primarily, I've worked out a survey I send to the client, the guest of honor's spouse/children/etc., asking questions about his/her life and interests. Today's subject has two daughters who gave me some pretty juicy details. It would be bad form to reveal too much (I ain't naming names), but here are some examples of what I learned about this woman.

-- She "drives her daughters insane with all her nonsense"
-- She "says she has a crush on Bob Dylan"
-- She malaprops the phrase raise the roof as lift the ceiling
-- She has a cousin who slept with his own mother

Each of these facts was the basis for a different question, which just goes to prove that trivia can be found in nearly anything.

My point? You should hire me to do the same for you.

Be my QT

Regulars know all about the B-Cuties. Or at least sort of: We periodically have a couple of attractive young women, clad in BQT T-shirts, helping us out onstage, passing out pads, scoring (answer sheets, that is). I make the occasional poor-taste joke about a casting couch, etc.

Where do these people come from: B-Cutie Nicki was our intern. She's an NYU student who helped us out with a lot of strategizing/promo stuff, before leaving for L.A. for the summer to intern for Jimmy Kimmel and hang with her boyfriend. (Yeah, fancy that, I can't compete with ABC or 21-year-old romance.) The other ladies were her friends, who have traveled to the four winds now that schoooool's out…for…summer!

Anyway, for the time being, we are B-Cutie-less. So how about you? Anyone itching to help Quizmaster Noah, EDP and DJ GB onstage? Here's what you get…

-- A free BQT T-shirt. Come on, it's free!
-- You get to be on stage! You're a star!
-- I'll buy you a drink or two.
-- How about free admission to the show the next time you come to play the game?
-- My eternal thanks.
-- Think of some other favor I can do for you and I'll consider it.

Give it to me: noah@bigquizthing.com…