In
the past decades, trivia has developed from an occasional pastime to a
worldwide phenomenon.
From the tradition of pub quiz in Britain to the hotels and clubs in the
Illawarra, people like to play
trivia for many reasons. Some love the competition, some like the
mental challenge; others like to be able to showcase their knowledge.
Many of us actually feel smarter
when we can prove that we have mastered a particular subject, be it the
names of every US president since 1789 or an intimate
knowledge of every
story line of The Simpsons.
Perhaps
the first true rush in trivia development was the creation in 1979 of
the board game, Trivial Pursuit. While trivia games had been played
previously in a more informal format, Trivial Pursuit was the first
official trivia game to gain widespread popularity. Television shows
such as Jeopardy! In the 1960s and Who Wants to be a
Millionaire first released in the UK attract enormous audiences as
we watch from home and call out answers to our television sets.
Arm-chair trivia players like to battle it out with on-air contestants.
Of
course, trivia has become available on-line these days, but nothing
beats the camaraderie and competitive spirit that prevails in the local
pubs and clubs around the Illawarra. There is a lot of good-natured
sledging that goes on between teams, and there is the added bonus of
families, workmates and couples going out and having fun together.
I have
been hosting trivia nights and writing quizzes for about eight years and
there is an art form to it. You need a balance of questions, some
difficult, some moderately challenging, some educational, some pretty
easy and others just plain entertaining. Writing good trivia questions
takes a good amount of effort; I usually get it right but when I don’t
the players will let me know!
Twelve
year old Caitlin, who is a regular with her parents at the Steelers Club
trivia night held every Monday night, says ‘I enjoy coming to trivia
nights as I like to test my general knowledge. Most of all I love the
fun environment’, and Alison, a university student, says, ‘I learn
something new every day and I do a week’s worth in two hours at trivia
nights’
Tony, who
has been playing trivia for 20 years and is a regular at the Corrimal
RSL and many other venues around the Illawarra, says that the nights
give him an outlet for lots of both useful and useless information that
he has accumulated over the years. ‘I started playing trivia to deflect
from working long hours and I have met many interesting people form all
walks of life’, he said.
Whatever
the reason, trivia is alive and well and happening at a venue near you
on most nights of the week.
