LearnedLeague 88 Match Day 25 Recap: Ladies and Gentlemen, The Weeknd
It's the final day of LL88. Can I get promoted to Rundle A?
Match Day 25
1. Most likely the song of the summer of 2020, and the #1 pop song on Billboard's chart for the year, was an 80s-esque smash by The Weeknd whose title could also describe some streetside home exteriors during the Christmas season. What is that title?
Pre-answer thoughts: I’ve been a big fan of The Weeknd since his first mixtape, House of Balloons, was released almost a decade ago. The Toronto R&B artist has gone on to become one of the biggest pop stars in the country, and performed at the Super Bowl last month. The particular song in this question, “Blinding Lights,” is one of my favorites of his, and can be found in pretty much every other Peloton ride.
Correct answer: Blinding Lights
How much of LL got it right? 49%
Points assigned to opponent: 0 - He’s pretty good on pop music, and this song was ubiquitous all last year.
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 1
Was I correct? Yes.
Post-answer thoughts: I always get amused when I see this tweet pop up on Friday evenings:
Blinding Lights is a fantastic song, but was it really 2020’s “Song of the Summer?” There was also “Watermelon Sugar,” by Harry Styles, “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, “Cardigan” by Taylor Swift, “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, and “Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. What a stacked lineup for a summer in which we were in lockdown and couldn’t go out and dance to any of these.
2. The Great Fire of London began on September 2, 1666. Name the other pivotal event that occurred (from start to finish) on a day almost exactly 600 years prior (minus 42 days), and about 50 miles to the southeast.
Pre-answer thoughts: I associate the year 1066 with one world event: the Battle of Hastings. I can’t think that it would be anything else.
Correct answer: Battle of Hastings
How much of LL got it right? 53%
Points assigned to opponent: 1 - I think this is an easier world history question.
Was opponent correct? No.
Points assigned to me: 2
Was I correct? Yes.
Post-answer thoughts: The Battle of Hastings led to the takeover of England by the Normans, led by William the Conqueror, in 1066. This battle is commemorated in giant artwork known as the Bayeux Tapestry, which is still maintained to this day. Which makes me wonder: What will be preserved from this current era of history during the 31st century?
3. Six-second-long video clips were the content on what social network and video service that was founded in 2012, acquired by Twitter that same year, formally released in 2013, and discontinued by 2017?
Pre-answer thoughts: Gone but not forgotten, I remember that this video service was called Vine, and it was basically the predecessor to TikTok in its short viral video clips.
Correct answer: Vine
How much of LL got it right? 84%
Points assigned to opponent: 1 - good current events get rate makes me think he’s up on his internet culture lingo.
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 1
Was I correct? Yes.
Post-answer thoughts: Vines pretty much predicted the six-second soundbites that make up way too much of our news discourse today. I was surprised at the 84% get rate on this one — I would not have expected that high.
4. When a player scores three goals in a game in ice hockey, it's a hat trick. What adjective is commonly used to describe a hat trick when those three goals are scored by the player consecutively, with no other goals scored by any other player on either team in between those three?
Pre-answer thoughts: I don’t watch enough hockey, apparently. This question feels like it should be straightforward, but like Taxi Squad yesterday, it’s just not coming to me. My first inclination is that this is named after a famous hockey player. I know the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” is when a player records a goal, an assist, and a fight all in one game. Three goals in a row seems like quite a feat, so why not guess it’s named after Wayne Gretzky, aka The Great One? It’s not quite the adjective that the question’s asking for, but “Gretzky hat trick” does have a nice ring to it.
Correct answer: Natural
How much of LL got it right? 24%
Points assigned to opponent: 3 - He’s low on games/sport and this does not seem like an easy sports question.
Was opponent correct? No
Points assigned to me: 3
Was I correct? No.
Post-answer thoughts: I actually hadn’t heard of the term “natural hat trick” before. Apparently the record for the shortest natural hat trick in NHL history was only 21 seconds, which took place back in 1952 by Bill Mosienko of the Chicago Blackhawks.
5. A trademark of an SLR camera (and the digital DSLR) is the mirror and prism system (hence the R for "reflex") that permits the photographer to see through the viewfinder exactly the same image that will be exposed. This system also allows the camera to have what's indicated by the SL, which stands for what two words?
Pre-answer thoughts: I haven’t done much photography and haven’t really used a non-iPhone camera in several years. But I can at least make an educated guess here. I’m guessing the “L” stands for Lens, but what about the “S?” Let’s go with “Standard Lens,” which at least seems like something it *could* stand for.
Correct answer: Single Lens
How much of LL got it right? 65%
Points assigned to opponent: 2 - Art is not a strong suit of his either.
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 0
Was I correct? No.
Post-answer thoughts: Alas, one word off! I’m guessing I’ll get a large point assignment on this one though, since as I’ve mentioned before, art is not my best category either. (In fact, I was assigned zero points and flubbed this question, and give 3 points for the sports question above, so you never know what will happen for LL defense.)
6. What is the three-letter NYSE ticker symbol for the video game retailer GameStop?
Pre-answer thoughts: This is now the second stock ticker question of the season, after the Chipotle question from MD9. I was following this story for a while, both in the news and on Reddit, and even purchased a small amount on the Robinhood app (it’s gone up by a few bucks since my initial purchase; I am not a high roller). So I know the answer here is GME.
Correct answer: GME.
How much of LL got it right? 64%
Points assigned to opponent: 2 - this one was hard to defend for him because his current events score is much higher than business/econ.
Was opponent correct? Yes.
Points assigned to me: 2
Was I correct? Yes.
Post-answer thoughts: For a few days, the memes were pretty funny for the stock, and it kind of proved how volatile the markets could be if a brick-and-mortar video game store’s stock price could surge in value in just a few days. As of today, GME is still doing well at about $180 per share, but it’s at about half of its January peak.
Result: Win over DonovanT, 6(4)-5(3)
Current Standings in Rundle B Midland: 13-7-5, 5th out of 26
Overall thoughts: A lot of fun questions to end LL88 on today. I finished the season with my most correct answers ever (99), so that felt like an accomplishment. In addition, I got promoted to Rundle A! Winning on the final day also felt nice, but as it turns out, I would’ve still been promoted with a loss.
Thanks everyone who read this blog all season! It was fun to write the recaps every day, and I’m planning to do this for LL89 as well once it starts in two months. However, I have also some content planned for the next couple months in the interim. Next week I’ll start with a recap of the season on the whole. I won’t be doing daily recaps of the MiniLeagues or One-Days, but I’m planning to discuss them at times. I may also try to write a guide of how to play LL defense. In addition, I may branch out and discuss other trivia-related subjects, such as who the new Jeopardy! host might be, or what the post-pandemic future of pub trivia holds. So stay tuned, and thanks again for being a loyal Learned Lessons reader and subscriber!
Please do write a guide to defense. My D is absolutely atrocious and it needs all the help it can get. And congrats on getting into A!
Congrats on your promotion!