There would be no three-peat for defending champions Carbon Unit at the Humboldt and District Museum’s Third Annual Trivia Night on May 7, as longtime contenders Kings and Queens of Useless Information finally captured the coveted trivia crown after years of near misses.
The lively evening at the museum brought together seven teams for a spirited battle of wit, memory and quick thinking, with categories ranging from Saskatchewan trivia and Canadian geography to visual identification challenges tied to Humboldt landmarks and local history.
While Carbon Unit entered the final round atop the standings, close competition from Team United Nations and the eventual champions kept the pressure mounting throughout the night. In the end, a costly “overtime” violation on a deceptively simple multiplication question — “What is six times seven?” — helped knock the former champions from contention.
Hosted by museum programmer Rachel Wormsbecher, the event featured a slightly different format from previous years, with all answers written on paper and submitted to a panel of judges for scoring.
“They have to open the envelopes,” Wormsbecher explained during one challenge. “All the visuals are in there. They respond by writing on pieces of paper, handing them to the judges. So different from previous years.”
One visual round tested teams’ knowledge of Humboldt geography and recognizable local locations through photographs and clues hidden inside sealed envelopes.
“A true visual test that measures their knowledge of Humboldt geography and prime locations,” Wormsbecher said as teams puzzled over the images.
Another round, titled Saskatchewan Trivia 101, challenged competitors with questions about provincial history, geography and culture.
“What technology was first used by Saskatchewan credit unions in 1982?” Wormsbecher asked contestants during the round. “Now, I heard somebody say ATM, and that was close, but that was 1977. The technology that was part of that, but they started using it in 1982, was the debit card.”
Other questions included identifying Saskatchewan’s provincial grass, the province’s highest point of land and the location of Treaty 6 negotiations in 1876.
Wormsbecher revealed many of the trivia questions had actually been rediscovered in the museum archives after being donated from materials formerly held by the local library.
“One of the things — I guess the library in years past also had a trivia night — until I found all of these questions in the library archives,” she said. “They were all laminated and all nice. So that’s where these questions came from, and I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve got to use these again.’”
One of the evening’s more challenging rounds focused on Canadian geography. Teams were tasked with plotting cities, lakes and rivers on blank maps using only numbered clues and their own geographic knowledge.
“The way the judges are judging this is they have a transparency, which they’re going to be putting all over your maps,” Wormsbecher instructed competitors. “If your answer falls within the circle, you’re good.”
The combination of local history, geography and quirky general knowledge kept participants engaged and laughing throughout the evening, regardless of the final standings.
Win or lose, the annual trivia night once again proved to be a popular community event and another entertaining evening hosted by the Humboldt and District Museum.