Pistol Shrimp

The Disambiguation of Nilla Wafer, or what I learned at Trivia

You always learn something at Stormcloud on Wednesday night during Trivia season, even if you don’t remember it the next day.

How many fans are powered by one motor and drive band in the brewpub’s ceiling? Answer: Three. Is one motor more energy efficient than three? According to Lisa Confer, no. It just looks cool. True. Plus, as one triviant speculated, it’s probably quieter.

Tomorrow will be the first-ever conference of defense contractors in Northern Michigan (or at least the first-ever Northern Michigan Defense Conference). Some people may be interested in attending *outside* the Delamar Hotel (old Holiday Inn) in Traverse City.

Also tomorrow, if you happen to be in Escanaba at 7 pm, you can make like Clint Eastwood and talk to an empty chair representing Jack Bergman at a “town hall.” Bergman has been MIA from town halls and a lot of other things that aren’t Louisiana fishing boats since 2017.

The co-developers of the pertussis vaccine, which has mostly ended the scourge that used to claim the lives of more than 6,000 children each year, lived together as partners in Grand Rapids. “And do you think there’s a street named after them, or a monument, or anything? No! Just a photo in the children’s ward.”

Speaking of scourges, name the element in Frankfort tap water that gets in your hair and bothers your hairdresser. It’s not tungsten, of which Wolframite is the chief ore.

Pete and Chasten Buttigieg trick-or-treated at the home of a friend of what Benzie County resident? And what were they dressed as?

A recall initiative or a removal order from the governor are the only two ways to remove what elected official from office?

If you’ve been watching Severance, you may also know the first name of another elected official, whose last name starts with the chemical symbol for the element sulfur. If you watched the first episode for free and then stopped, be advised that the Benzie Shores District Library has the whole series on DVD!

You know you’re officially old when the songs of your twenties are played ambiently in commercial settings. Name the lead vocalist of Blues Traveler.

Lebanon is in Asia?!

Nabisco got literary when it chose the name for its shortbread cookie, introduced in March of 1912, when shoppers still swooned over the eponymous romance novel.

You can remember that the history category is yellow and the geography category is blue in Trivial Pursuit because water is 71% of the earth’s surface. Or you can think of a cowardly historical figure you know, such as Robert Ford.

Four Americans have been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize since 1997. Jody Williams, who worked to ban anti-personnel mines, is one of them. And only one person knew that! (I didn’t get catch that person’s name, but if anyone reading this knows her, congratulate her for me. That’s good trivia.) [True: One person did know that: Jessica Gardner. 3/13/25]

And since we’re crowdsourcing this: If anybody knows how to stop a glitchy radio in a 2019 Chevy, which keeps playing long after the engine has been turned off, please leave a comment. Asking for a friend.