Over 80 contestants stretched their brains and their wallets during the Patagonia Library pub quiz, aptly named “Books, Beer, and Brains,” a fundraising event held February 3 at
Cady Hall put on by the Friends of the Library. Pub quizzes originated in Ireland as a way to bring more customers into local taverns. They are now found across the world, and not
just in pubs!
Fourteen teams, in friendly but spirited competition, engaged their memories through six rounds of trivia questions. The questions were tough. Do you know Warren G. Harding’s full middle name? Or the year that the Patagonia High School football team won the State Championship? How about the names of the seven wives of Henry VIII? Or the sum of the number of vertebrae in the human body + the number of ribs – the number of teeth? Amazingly, at least a few people actually knew these things. However, as one contestant commented, “I never spent so much money to feel so stupid…at least it was for a good cause.” The evening was orchestrated by two oddly-costumed “quizmasters”… Luke and Lucretia. They were only modestly helpful to the crowd, and one had the annoying habit of ringing a bell at seemingly random moments. Only in Patagonia…
The winning team was the Patagoons, Ryan and Cheridyn Egan, Cynthia Bower, Martin Levowitz, Kathryn Schrag, and Caleb Weaver. The keys to their success seem to have been having a good age spread, including a retired librarian, and buying extra points. It was a winning combination all around.
All contestants were plied with fine pub food cooked and served by the Friends of the Library and beer provided by Copper Hop Ranch and Microbrewery. You could buy points to pad your team’s score in each round, make a donation to keep your team well supplied with beer and wine, and buy raffle tickets to win over 20 prizes.
All proceeds of the event went to the Friends of the Library to help fund the library’s Summer Lunch Program.