Second place at trivia again this month. You know the Badger motto: A good night at trivia is one where you don't leave empty handed. But, it would be nice to come first occasionally.

Here is your chance at this month's questions. You know the rules:

1. Name the two countries in the world that have names starting with "Z".
   
   
2. What film was Roger Moore's last appearance as James Bond?
   
   
3. How many Oscars for Best Director has Steven Spielberg won?
   
   
4. How many American states have names beginning and ending with the same letter?
   
   
5. Which was invented first: the fountain pen or the sewing machine?
   
   
6. The word "snorkel" comes from which language?
   
   
7. Who is credited as the inventor of champagne?
   
   
8. Is ranidaphobia the fear of frogs, fleas or rats?
   
   
9. Jaap is a chocolate bar (similar to a Mars Bar) from which country beginning with "N"?

Nothing unusual to report from last night's trivia outing. Nan and TD babysat Evie for us. We came second. Move along everybody.

And as per usual here is your chance at this month's questions. You know the rules:

1. Who was Patricia Arquette's first husband?
   
   
2. Who was the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year from 2005 - 2008?
   
   
3. What is the collective noun for a group of cheetahs?
   
   
4. Harare is the capital of which country?
   
   
5. True or False: ruby is the birth stone for the month of July?
   
   
6. Which band covered Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" in 2001?
   
   
7. Phillumeny is the hobby of collecting what; calendars, matchboxes or coasters?
   
   

It wasn't all fun and games at our last trivia outing. There was a bit of a controversy. We'd had a cracker of an evening with three perfect rounds and a respectable showing on the other rounds. We were feeling confident. Just quietly though because we didn't want to jinx anything.

Imagine our surprise then when the placings were announced and we came in at 11^th with 72 points. Our worst showing ever! We weren't even listening when the lower placed team names were being read out because we thought we'd done pretty well. We did a quick tally of what we thought our final score should have been and there was a significant discrepancy. Cue huffing and puffing from the Badgers.

Andrew respectfully queried it with the trivia master and it turned out an error had been made with the tally. We'd actually come first! A bit disappointing because it's always fun to hear your name read out in first place and it doesn't happen to us that often.

Oh well, a scandal to inject a bit of spice into our regular trivia night.

Here is your chance at this month's questions. You know the rules:

1. What "R" did James Bond do in Her Majesty's Secret Service, Licence to Kill and Casino Royale?
   
   
2. "Australian for beer" is the slogan of which product?
   
   
3. What is the elevation of the summit of Mt Everest to the nearest kilometre?
   
   
4. Joe Cocker's version of With a little help from my friends was the theme for which TV series?
   
   
5. Who played Superman's biological father in the film Superman?
   
   
6. How many points is the word "America" worth in the traditional game of Scrabble?
   
   
7. In which country did the game of Baccarat originate?
   
   

This month, we tied for first place and then lost the tie break to end with an official result of second. I know we shouldn't be disappointed with second place but afterwards you can't help but run through all those questions where the right answer was mentioned but not written down.

Here is your chance at this month's questions. You know the rules:

1. Which fictional character, invented in 1953, is the protagonist in the novel Carte Blanche by Jeffrey Deaver? (Hint: It's a series reboot)
   
   
2. What is the chemical symbol for Tungsten?
   
   
3. In Africa, does the word Wadi mean dry or wet?
   
   
4. How many times has Madonna been married?
   
   
5. The saying "Poisoned Chalice", invented by Shakespeare, was first used in which play?
   
   
6. If you travel south by ferry from Southampton (skipping the Isle of Wight) which country will you reach first?
   
   
7. The bully Harry Flashman appears in what literary series set at Rugby School?
   
   
8. In the original Trivial Pursuit game, the yellow wedge is awarded for which category?

Another successful trivia evening for the Badgers. We tied for second place, then won the tie break question (How many test runs did Michael Bevan score?). So an official result of second place. Yay! Our kitty is getting nice and plump.

It was also the first night where we were both away from Evie for a significant length of time. Trivia is super noisy and we didn't think Evie would be able to sleep while it was on so we decided to have her babysat for the evening. NannyJ and TD volunteered to miss trivia and look after our little girl. The babysitting experiment was a success, even though there was a bit of separation anxiety on my part (As I closed the door to Mum and Dad's apartment I had a bit of a panic attack because I felt like I should check on her one more time but I couldn't cause I'd closed the door. First time mum!)

Here is your chance at this month's questions. You know the rules:

1. Which racquet sport is named for the Duke of Beaufort's country house?
   
   
2. Of the six actors who have played James Bond, which is the only one less than 6 feet tall?
   
   
3. What nationality was famous escape artist Houdini?
   
   
4. Which of these celebrities does / did not have a twin: Elvis, Roger Federer or Scarlett Johansson?
   
   
5. Was Kylie Minogue's Better the Devil You Know released in 1987, 1990 or 1993?
   
   
6. Queen Elizabeth II was holidaying in which country when she was informed of her father's death in 1952?
   
   
7. What type of animal is a Goliath Bird Eater?
   
   
8. What South American city is the highest capital in the world?
   
   
9. How many Kardashian sisters are there? They must have the last name of Kardashian to qualify. Bonus trashy entertainment points if you can name them and spell their names "korrectly".