Some marriage-equality trivia, more or less

Well done, New York. I’m still in Los Angeles (after our massive live-quiz debut here), en route soon to Boston soon (for the next Harvard Square show), but I’m missing my home state and very proud of it now. Yeah, in case you didn’t know, the BQT is a big ol’ lefty organization.

Some same-sex-marriage-related factoids:

As soon as Governor Cuomo signs the law (late July is the expected date), New York will become the sixth state of allow same-sex marriage. Any activist can rattle off the list: Massachusetts (May 17, 2004), Connecticut (November 12, 2008), Vermont (April 7, 2009), Iowa (April 27, 2009), New Hampshire (January 1, 2010), and now New York. It’s also on the books in Washington, D.C. (March 3, 2010), and, interestingly, the Coquille Indian Nation in Oregon (at least one member of the couple must be a member of the tribe, which numbers fewer than 600 people). Every little bit.

It was legal in my beloved California from June 16 to November 3, 2008. Various jurisdictions in a handful of other states permit it, but all told, even once NY becomes law, less than 12% of Americans live under a marriage-equality regime. It is a start, though. For more thorough—and more authoritative—information, check in with the hardworking folks at Marriage Equality USA. Or look at this lovable map:
But how does this relate to one of my—and the BQT’s—absolute favorite subjects, presidential trivia? Nate Silver shows the way: This terrific yet concise post on Five Thirty Eight details how Governor Cuomo’s leadership on this issue provides an interest contrast with President Obama’s attitude (or at least the public perception of it), and prompts the question: Cuomo in ’16?
Why not? Cuomo’s pop, who ruled Albany 1983–1994, was the constant subject of White House speculation, especially after he gave a rousing speech at the otherwise-moribund 1984 Democratic convention, and in ’92, he crept all the way up to the edge of jumping in. (Great Salon.com article here.) But for much of our nation’s history, the governor of New York was considered an automatic contender for the presidency. The tale of the tape:

Governors of New York who served as President: Four (Van Buren, Cleveland, both Roosevelts). No state has sent more chief executives to the big chair. (Virginia has had three, Tennessee and Ohio two, four others one each, unless you count pre-state military territories.)

Governors of New York who were unsuccessful major-party nominees for President: Six, including one who was picked two elections in a row (Federalist DeWitt Clinton, 1812; Democrat Horatio Seymour, 1868; Dem Samuel Tilden, 1876—won the popular vote even; Republican Charles Evans Hughes, 1916; Dem Al Smith, 1928; and Republican Thomas Dewey, 1944 and ‘48). I guess it's technically eight, since Van Buren and Cleveland were both unsuccessful nominees when they lost reelection, but you get the idea.

Governors of New York who were Vice President: Six (George Clinton—not him, of course; Daniel Tompkins—namesake of Tompinks Square Park; Van Buren; Levi Morton, who went to Albany after he was VP and had some bitchin' muttonchops…
…Theodore Roosevelt and Nelson Rockefeller. I could tell you whatever you wanted to know about those guys, just ask.)

So will Andrew run? Dude certainly seems ambitious enough, but 2016 is a couple zillion aeons away in political terms—had you heard of Barack Obama in 2003?—so it’s impossible to say with any degree of authority whatsoever. But this is unquestionably a check mark in the win column for him, and renewed assurance that maybe, possibly, politicians can still make good things happen.

Sponsor spotlight: Housing Works' Geek Week

Thanks to loyal BQT fan Rachel Fershleiser, NYC's best bookstore (suck it, the Strand!), Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, is our second very special sponsor for this Monday's very special edition of the Big Quiz Thing, the Hail to the Trivial Presidential Quiz Spectacular. And how apropos it is: Starting on Saturday and running through the 25th, Housing Works presents Geek Week: 30 percent off sci-fi books, comics, vintage vinyl, all the awesome crap you wish you had a basement to keep in. Plus, some "live geekery": readings, concerts, a screening and—wait, really?—something called "Live Book Nerd Jeopardy." (Anyone for fielding a BQT supergroup? Watson won't be there.)

All the events are free, so no point in HWBC kicking in tickets, but Rachel will be supplying the presidential prize haul with some fine, fine volumes of historical importance: biographies of Lincoln (first President with a beard), Franklin Roosevelt (a character in the 1977 Tony winner for Best Musical), Obama (most followed politician on Twitter, just a few more than me) and Hamilton (not a President, but on the $10 bill, so a lot of people think he is), plus various other presidential-literary goodies. Score score score.

Monday night, Crash Mansion, 7:30pm, da-DA-da-DAAH-da-da-DA-da-DA-da-DAA-DAAA! (That's supposed to be "Hail to the Chief.")

Sponsor spotlight: The New-York Historical Society

Incredibly big news for incredibly big nerds like me (and, quite likely, you): We have an outstanding sponsor for the next NYC Big Quiz Thing event, the very special Hail to the Trivial Presidential Trivia Spectacular…The New-York Historical Society.

The N-YHS (yes, yes, the hyphen is correct—that's the way it was often styled, back in the long-ago era to which the Society traces its origin) just might be my favorite museum in the city, ever since I saw its vast collection of presidential campaign buttons and felt shame for my paltry bulletin board's worth amassed over a few money-wasting months on eBay. It's the single best spot in the city for presidential-history catnip. Last time I went, they had an extensive and fascinating exhibit Abraham Lincoln's relationship with our city, going so far as to map out his minute-to-minute route when he came here in 1860 to give his epochal campaign speech at Cooper Union ("The Speech That Made Him President," the reductionists like to say). Plus, I gazed directly at the original letter, written by an 11-year-old girl, that gave us this:
As you can imagine, I go nuts for this kind of thing. It helps to explain why I didn't have a date for senior prom.

When I concocted the plan for the big BQT presidential quiz, my dream sponsor was the N-YHS. And they're totally on board. For the prize haul, we got one-year memberships to the Society, a handsome coffee-table-worthy book published in conjunction with that Lincoln-in–New York exhibit, and the Society's latest factoid book, When Did the Statue of Liberty Turn Green?
I don't know the answer myself, and my initial guess—about the time the apes took over—is probably wrong.

The bad news is that the museum itself is currently undergoing a remodeling, which means much of it is closed till fall, when it will reopen twice as kick-ass as it was before. But no worries: History will always be with us.

So: Presidents' Day, Monday, February 21, Crash Mansion, 7:30pm. Vote for knowledge!

Politics and other icks

Fellow political-trivia junkies, take heed. Two biggish events on the horizon:

—This Tuesday night, January 25, our President, Mr. Barry Dunham, will deliver his Constitutionally mandated State of the Union address to Congress, at 9pm. I plan to be there, and by there I mean sitting on my couch, live-tweeting whichever political trivia tidbits pass through my mental transom. My initial idea was to tweet the name of every member of the U.S. Senate as I recognized them in the chamber, but I don't want to scare everyone away. Follow your quizmaster on Twitter and react/respond at will.

—After the next Big Quiz Thing, January 31 back at Drom, we're off for three weeks in NYC, returning on February 21 to our old stamping grounds of Crash Mansion. That's Presidents' Day, and we'll be whipping out a long-overdue all–Chief Executive quiz, "The Hail to the Trivial All-Presidential Quiz Spectacular." Rest assured, there will be Vice-Presidential material as well, so study up on this guy:

Martin Van Buren, avenged

Thanks to a tip from Mike Wolf, former pinch-hitting BQT DJ, I have discovered this: American Talleyrand. Yes, indeed, because you demanded it: a blog about the Little Magician himself, the eighth President of these United States…Martin Van Buren.

Despite my presidential polymathness, I don't know a tremendous amount about MVB, at least not compared with what I know of other chief executives (test me on Polk—go ahead, test me). He's hardly considered to be first-tier in terms of historical import, though I'm aware that he was an intensely political animal (the "Little Magician" nickname referred to his skills as a behind-the-scenes campaign force), and I'm sure an expert could plausibly argue that he established much of our nation's democratic machinery. As with many Presidents, he's one of those characters I've always intended to learn more about, to discover what lies beyond the sideburns.

So American Talleyrand to the rescue (the blog name—and the blog itself—is explained here). I've only spent a few minutes grazing in these Van Buren fields, but this blogger clearly knows his stuff, and has a real facility for bringing New York State's first President to life. For example, I enjoyed this post about Steven Spielberg's Amistad, perhaps the sole appearance of Van Buren in a film.
That's Brit Nigel Hawthorne, playing Van Buren as the dim and vain caricature that the anti-Jacksonians liked to characterize him as. I knew that the scenes of him shaking hands and kissing babies was a Hollywood anachronism, but I've now been convinced that the historical problems with the film run much deeper. Oh, Steven…

So I look forward to reading and learning more about him; a quick glance tells me that A-Tall has covered all the major MVB topics (though how about something on Van's Vice President, Richard Mentor Johnson, one of our nation's many fascinating forgotten seconds-in-command?). When I've exhausted this, I'll seek out that Chester Arthur blog I've been hankering for.

As for trivia, a quick search through my archives reveals that Martin Van Buren hasn't exactly been the most frequent quiz topic (most of the questions hinge on info I allude to above), but I do have this Presidential Limerick in the hopper…

Van Buren: There’s not much to say
Of his effect on the ’Merican way.
Though he wasn’t so cheery,
The best linguists’ theory
Is that he gave us the saying “_________.”

(However, American Talleyrand argues that Van only popularized the saying. Ah, nuts!)

Presidents in showbiz

The big rumor today—both entirely plausible and totally absurd—is that former President Bill Clinton, while on a trip to Thailand (!), filmed a cameo appearance for the forthcoming The Hangover Part II. It prompted me to post the following witticism to the BQT Twitter feed: "President Clinton to cameo in The Hangover 2. Reminds me of when Grover Cleveland played Handkerchief Holder #3 in Fred Ott's Sneeze." Obscure, yeah, but it's my damn tweet.

But then I got to think a little more about this—a former President showing up in a testoster-raunch comedy film? What kind of real precedent to we have for this? I began to formulate a full blog post, but Salon.com has beaten me to it, with a great item about Presidents (and VPs, and First Ladies) who've embraced showbiz post–White House. I had no idea about Ronald Reagan's All-Star Game adventure; I wish they had audio of that, but it seems to have evaded the Interwebs.

And I'm amazed that there's no video of George Bush the Elder smacking down Dana Carvey. I've seen it on TV several times, and its apparent absence on YouTube is stunning. Instead, try this: Carvey's memories of meeting the real Bush, back when he was funny ("he" being Carvey, not Bush—though I guess Bush applies too).

They really knew how to write an insult in them olden days

As we come into the final stretch of political season, we come into the final stretch of political satire season. Perhaps you've seen this…



The key, of course, is that pretty much every word here is historical fact: These were actual verifiable insults slung between Adams and Jefferson (and Hamilton) in the insanely bitter 1800 presidential election. Like today, it seemed like a lot was at stake; when Jefferson did win, it was the first time the presidency changed party hands, and no one knew if this still-audacious governmental experiment could withstand it. So people were a little overheated; the rancor in those days, today's discourse seems like an episode of The Waltons. What we should really be upset about is how uncreative our current politicians are.

Take heart: Adams and Jefferson later became great friends. Besides, Jerry Brown is going to win!

The Top 43 Sexiest Presidents

I was just forwarded this from Fat Kids regular Brian: The Top 43 Sexiest Presidents (as opposed to the bottom 43?). Great stuff here from Nerve; historically accurate and funny. And bravo for making my man TR the No. 1 sexiest President.

But since I am who I am, here's where I disagree. Keep in mind, BTW, I am indeed heterosexual:

-- While I like the sentiment behind "Bush is great one-night-stand material for all the same reasons that he was a terrible president," and I'm aware of how my political opinions might color my sexiness opinions, I would put Dubya way lower on the list than No. 7. Yeah, he was a party boy, but he always struck me as the kind of jock who was more into violence than sex. In other words, ladies, you probably wouldn't come.

-- Some of those obscure 19th century guys were pretty damn handsome. Credit for recognizing Franklin Pierce at No. 5 (I've read more than one historian who proclaimed him the most handsome Prez), but James K. Polk was quite striking; No. 12 might be too low. And Chester Arthur at No. 28? He may have been our most stylish President, and in an era of ubiquitous politician facial hair, he made the fashion-forward choice to wear muttonchops. Plus, yes, Rutherford B. Hayes's beard was proto–ZZ Top, but check him out as a clean-shaven young man. Sexxxy!
-- Warren Harding is way down at No. 41. I agree, he "had a face like putty," but apparently, in 1920, he was considered rather handsome. There's widespread belief that part of the reason the Republicans nominated him in 1920 is that he appealed to women, in the first presidential election they were able to vote.
But I pick in the nitty way. Get excited for "Presidential Limericks" at this Monday's BQT.

Next show update: Hail to the Limericks!

So me, of all people, just realized today that the next BQT—on February 15, and back at the palatial (Le) Poisson Rouge—coincides with Presidents' Day. (I feel like PD is usually in the 20s of February, but I'm not sure why; it celebrates both Washington's and Lincoln's birthday, the 22nd and the 12th, so 2/17 would be the ideal date, wouldn't it?). Shame on me; I'm supposedly the Presidents guy. I guess I've been too preoccupied with the Vice Presidents.

Anyway, I decided to change my intended plan for the next video round—something new I've been cooking called "Three Degrees of Celebrities," which we shall see at a future date—and instead mix up a brand-new batch of one of the first ever BQT special games, Presidential Limericks. Self-explanatory, of course.

An example from the earlier edition…

Harry Truman had almost no fear
His tough talk was without any peer
There was nothing he shirked
Hence a sign where he worked
Proclaiming that “The BLANK."

Killer. Ten brand-new ones, this time with more Chester A. Arthur!

Otherwise, we have a hot show in the works, befitting the surroundings. Post–Valentine's Day, it'll be an "Oldest Profession" audio round (take a guess), and our sponsor for the evening is once again 92YTribeca, which has donated a couple prize tickets to—believe it—Russ Meyer's supremely fucked-up B-movie classic, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, on February 20. Plus, since it'll be the first quiz after the Super Bowl; you longtime regulars can take a wild guess what one of the four-part questions might be.

Monday 2/15, 7:30pm, 158 Bleecker Street, you're there.

Polk, Michael Jackson, The Twilight Zone: Together at last

Back from vacation, back to the Big Quiz Thing, and oh, what a show tonight. "An Entirely Presidented Quiz"—a barrel-of-fun American history quiz focusing on the Presidents—was a great success; you can't go wrong with James K. Polk.

Naturally, there was a lot of Michael Jackson tonight. Sad how his death already seems kind of like old news—the fitting appreciation for his musical achievements has already degraded into the same tabloid garbage that made that last decade of his life such a pathetic spectacle—but the BQT had to respond. Not out of some egomaniacal delusion that the world cares what I think, but because I've personally always viewed the quiz as an outlet for my own tremendous pop-cultural jones. If I let such a huge pop event go by without comment, I was failing in my own little personal trivia mission. I had to jam on the MJ tonight, for myself (though, yes, hopefully to entertain you as well).

As such, lots of Michael tonight. The audio round, "Maximum Michael Jackson," of course, but also…

Michael Jackson appeared in what 1986 film, which at the time was the most expensive film to produce on a per-minute basis?

When the Jackson 5 first won Amateur Night at the Apollo, Michael was only two weeks away from turning what age?

Michael Jackson had a total of BLANK brothers and BLANK sisters.

(Incidentally, in the past week and a half, I'd tweeted all of these.)

Also, lots of fun with the four-part questions tonight: "Gay or Jewish?" is always good for a laugh, and great job guessing/remembering the twist ending to Twilight Zone episodes, and making Smart-Ass Points out of them. I have no doubt that the episode "People Are Alike All Over" would've been a lot funnier if Roddy McDowall had discovered that the martians had given him a lovely apartment…in Bushwick.

The standings:

1. Strippers for Stephen Hawking: It was only a matter of time for them.
2. Fantastic Fournicators
3. Cash Cab 4 Cutie
4. Birds of Ill Omen 2.0
5. Ain't Nothin' but a Geek Thing

Next show July 20, but get ready: The 200th episode of the Big Quiz Thing, August 31. Details to come in this very space.

Hail to the hirsute

While availing myself of some ridiculously delicious Wise Honey BBQ potato chips from the vending machine at the day job, I noticed something interesting…
Sorry for the crappy photos and inaccurate date, but I am a legendarily bad photographer. Still, my point is made: The fictional sample President pictured on the venue machine looks like no President that had ever occupied the White House. He has shoulder-length hair and a walrus mustache. Apparently, in Vending Machine Land, General Custer survived Little Bighorn and was elected chief executive immediately afterward.

The choice of this picture really puzzles me, since we haven't had a President with facial hair in almost 100 years. Apparently, modern Americans think if you haven't shaved, you have something to hide. There was a bit of a to-do several years ago, in fact, when Jon Corzine was first running for governor of New Jersey and advisers told him to lose his beard; he refused, but won anyway. (And of course, we here in New York now have our own bearded governor, for all the good he's doing us. New Mexico's joined the club too, though I suspect Richardson stopped giving a shit once he flamed out in the presidential election.)

Discounting the sweet sideburns on the face of President Martin Van Buren (1837–1841), our first facially haired President was Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865). Nine of the next eleven chief executives were hirsute (counting Grover Cleveland twice, as most historians do). Best of the lot was definitely Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881):

That last to be mustachioed was William Howard Taft (1909–1913). Personally, I think facial-hair hatred has always been baseline for American culture; the late 1800s were an anomaly, brought about by the Civil War. For whatever reason—maybe just that both Lincoln and Lee wore whiskers—facial hair became fashionable during the conflict, and it was nearly mandatory that postwar politicians appropriate the look (if not an actual record) of Civil War service. The aesthetic persisted long enough to carry over into the early 20th century, but was dead by the First World War. Still, check out this sweet look on 1916 Republican nominee Charles Evans Hughes:
That last hirsute major-party nominee was New York's own Thomas Dewey, Republican candidate in both 1944 and '48:A famous quip from the '44 campaign was from Alice Roosevelt Longworth (TR's eldest), who compared the Republican to "the little man on the wedding cake." Humiliation like that went a long way toward both of Dewey's losses. The tide was turning against facial hair, never to return, despite what the vending-machine industry says.

Bonus: Check out the great T-shirt BQT doorgirl Sherry got me for my birthday last year (the back gives an honorable mention to Martin VB):

If Presidents were porn stars…

It's kind of bizarre that last Monday's show was on Presidents' Day, yet there was almost no presidential-trivia content (other than Q: In terms of area, what’s the smallest state John McCain won in the last presidential election?). When it comes to presidential trivia, my mind is extremely cluttered; one might even say my propensity for presidential factoids extends into overkill (had to use that word; that's the title of the song that just came up on Pandora on the Squeeze station). I proved it here last week on Lincoln's birthday, but not at the show. That's the way my mental dice fell.

But my Presidents Weekend was not without presidential minutiae of the trivial sort. In fact, Saturday night, along with my friends Erik Seims (former BQT champ) and Sarah Reynolds, we played an especially trivial game that one could accurately title, "Think of an Immature Porn Star Name Based on the Name of a Former U.S. President." Enjoy!

Presidential Porn Stars
Engorged Washington
Andrew Jacksoff
William Henry Hairysack (we started with "Hairysnatch," then realized the gender confusion)
James K. Pork
Zachary Nailher
Abraclam Lickin'
Ulysses Less Pants (maybe the best)
Chesty A. Arthur
Gropeher Clevage
William Howard Shaft
Warren G. Hard-on
Pervert Hoover
Dwight Naked Thighsenhower
Lickin' Johnson (better yet: El BJ)
Gerald Whored
Rim-me Harder
George Pervert Wanker Bush
Bill Clit-on

This should put a complete and permanent end to people saying they're intimidated by the quizmaster…

Abe Lincoln, 20 decades young!

Today would have been Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. I love it when people say that: "it would've been his" some impossible number birthday. Yeah, he was so close. Besides, let's face it, Lincoln was great, but the dude looked like death by the time he was 40. If anyone was making to to 200, it would not be him.

Apropos of this, some interesting presidential birthday factoids:

– Your homeslice and mine, George W. Bush, was born on July 6, 1946 (a Cancer, like me–no pun intended). This was the exact same day that Sylvester Stallone was born.

– Three Presidents have died on the nation's birthday, July 4: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson famously both kicked it on 7/4/1826 (famously, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence), and James Monroe followed them five years later to the day. But the only President born on July 4 was Calvin Coolidge: July 4, 1872.

– Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961. This makes him only four days older than the Edge of U2. And this guy is the fucking President!

–November 2 is the only birthday shared by two different Presidents: Warren G. Harding (lame) and James K. Polk (awe-soooome!)

– John F. Kennedy will always be thought of as a "young" President: first Prez born in the 20th century, little kids running around the Oval Office. But he was 43 when he took office, making him the second youngest ever (the first is the best; Obama clocks in at fifth). Interestingly, while it's hard to remember him as anything other than a jowly old codger, Richard Nixon was also considered young during the 1960 election; only four years older than JFK, and a fellow WWII vet.

–I share my birthday with Gerald Ford. And Ford was President when I was born. I was born on the President's birthday. I am a presidential trivia buff. Coincidence?

I swear, more Whopper lust later.

Among the least important Obama-related issues

Yes, this blog post is a little behind the zeitgeist curve. You've seen this video before, but watch once again.



What I want you to notice is not Chief Justice Roberts misplacing faithfully, it's not Roberts referring to the office as "President to the United States" (see 0:18)—it's what he and Obama both say, at 0:08 and 0:12, respectively: "Hussein." Yes, that is President Obama's middle name, much to his campaign's consternation at certain points last year.

I figure, hey, the dude's being sworn in for the highest job in the land; if they use your complete full name when you graduate college, you're going for the whole shebang on this occasion, even if part of the name indicates to millions of dumb-ass Americans that you're poker buddies with the 9/11 hijackers. Obama even addressed this. "Hussein" he is, "Hussein" it must be.

But watch this.:

That was 1981, when Reagan first took office. First of all, isn't it so incredibly obvious from his delivery that Reagan trained as an actor? But more to the point, notice that he and Justice Berger (mmm…Burger) say just "Ronald Reagan," not "Ronald Wilson Reagan." Even more amazing, when you think about it:

Not only did Berger and Carter skip the 39th President's middle name ("Earl"), they called him Jimmy. Not James. Jimmy's the name of a stool pigeon on a 1960s cop show. No wonder Carter had so many problems getting the world to take him seriously.

Then there's this (sorry, having trouble posting an edited version; you only need the first 45 seconds):

More fun with Warren Berger. This time, he's Gerald R. Ford—we don't get the full "Rudolph," but we get a middle initial.

Apparently, something shifted during the '80s, because Obama's not the first one to use his middle name; in fact, Reagan was the last to go the abbreviated route. Bush I was "George Herbert Walker Bush," Clinton was the full "William Jefferson Clinton," and Dubya was "George Walker Bush." Perhaps it's all an accident; maybe Bush I wanted to go full monty, cognizant that he wasn't the only "George Bush" out there, and everyone since has just taken his lead. Then again, if you go further back (check out this guy's audo clips), there's serious inconsistency: Some middle names ("John Fitzgerald Kennedy"), some with middle initials ("Dwight D. Eisenhower"), some with neither ("Richard Nixon"). Clearly, no one variation is mandated by the Constitution; perhaps it's just a matter of each individual President's preference.

If that's the case, what does it say about Obama that he chose to include the controversial middle name in what some consider an extremely sacred ritual? Was he indeed mistaken, thinking that using the full name was long-standing tradition? Or—as I suspect, but I am an Obama loyalist—is this part of his ongoing strategy to own up, as it were, to his "otherness"?
During the campaign, Bill Maher once asked a Democratic big shot about Obama's name, how as a kid he went by "Barry," and how, since he was estranged from his father, he had considered taking his mother's last name ("Dunham"). "Wouldn't you rather be running Barry Dunham?" Maher asked. Well, yes and no. Yes, that name would elicit less controversy; no, because the Republicans would've have constantly asked what this guy was trying to hide, turning "Barack Obama" into a dirty word (or phrase).

I say it again: I'm less amazed that we elected a black man, than that we elected a man named "Barack Hussein Obama." (Or that we elected Ronald Reagan, but that's another story…)

Farewell…and hello

Partly because I can't seem to manage it as much as I'd like to, it's always a great joy when the video round and the audio round of a particular edition of the Big Quiz Thing exhibit a degree of coordination. Last night was once such night: We saw "A Fond Farewell to President Bush," reliving the greatest misses of our now ex-CIC. (Relive it again by clicking above.) And then we heard "An Even More Fond Welcome to President Obama," for the audio round. Tenuous links between some of those songs and the new boss, but this is trivia, people—tenuous is acceptable.

The people from the Fine Living Network tell me they got great footage for their forthcoming Wingman episode, so stay tuned for that, if that's your idea of entertaining television (and I'll upload scenes here, for sure). I'm a little sorry that their team came in last place (didn't even play the Lightning Round), but hey, you play the game, you take your chances.

By my reckoning, I made two mistakes last night:

"Q: Of the 42 men who have served as President of the United States, how many served at least two complete consecutive terms?": The answer I was looking for was 12, and I read off the names (WashingtonJeffersonMadisonMonroeJacksonGrantWilsonFDR—HUHHH!—EisenhowerReaganClintonBush). Yes, okay, as of last night (when there were still only 42 men who have served as President), Bush hadn't completed two full terms. How about now, smart guy?

"Q: On The Carol Burnett Show, Carol would say hi to her mother by tugging on her what?": It was her grandmother. That changed everything!

The Hot New Format was even hotter and newer and formattier last night, and we were overjoyed at the return of B-Cutie Nicki. We forge ahead to February 2, when we'll be playing a new video round, "The Trivia Secrets of the NYC Subway," and a long-planned audio game, "Just One Word."

The standings…

1. Strippers for Stephen Hawking (and the coin flips again)
2. Fantastic Fournicators (for now…)
3. Gerard Depardouce/I Beg Your Midnight Pardon (tie)
5. Jefferson Davis Starship/Oh Noah You Didn't (tie)