Backyard Trivia: Vampires

ROUND ONE: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

You do not need to have seen The Vampire Diaries to get the correct answers. The questions are all general trivia with a Vampire Diaries twist.

Assign one point value to each answer. Do this before the next question is read. Full rules and how to play here. 

Categories: Years, Cities, Ancient Civilizations, Music, Words with Multiple Meanings, TV / Video Games

Point Values: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Q1 R1: Years

In the first episode of The Vampire Diaries, Elana Gilbert, a doppelganger of Amara, the world’s first immortal woman, miraculously meets Stefan Salvatore, a doppelganger of Silas, the world’s first immortal man. The two spend the next 8 seasons falling in and out of love. What year did The Vampire Diaries debut on the CW? It was the same year as the Miracle on the Hudson.

HINT: That same year, President Barack Obama received a vaccine for the swine flu after The World Health Organization declared H1N1 to be a global pandemic.

Q2 R1: Cities

After Stefan turns off his humanity to save his brother and protect Elena, Elena seeks the help of Lexi Branson, Stefan’s best friend and the vampire who helped him go through a "Ripper Detox." What American city was Stefan (the Ripper) terrorizing in the early 1920s the last time Lexi helped him? It’s the same city that Louis Armstrong moved to so that he could play music with Joe “King” Oliver.

Q3 R1: Ancient Civilizations

In order to trick both Vampires and Werewolves into searching for a moonstone and a human doppelganger, Klaus, the first vampire-werewolf hybrid, invented the myth of The Sun and Moon Curse. According to the myth, a shaman cursed Vampires to be bound by the sun and Werewolves to be bound by the moon. What real life Mesoamerican culture did Klaus say the shaman was a part of? It was composed mostly of those groups who spoke Nahuatl. 

HINT: The three main city-states were Tenochtitlan or Tenochca; Texcoco; and Tlacopan.

Q4 R1: Music

According to Laura Torres in her 2021 opinion piece, The 10 Best Songs In The Vampire Diaries, “Damon and Elena's moments throughout the series are typically paired with great music, and ‘Kiss Me’ is one of those songs that typify their relationship…the song highlights the love between the two and makes it a scene that proves Damon and Elena are meant to be soulmates.” Who sings “Kiss Me” on The Vampire Diaries soundtrack?

HINT: This artist also sings: Photograph, Bad Habits, and Shape Of You.

Q5 R1: Words with Multiple Meanings

In order to resurrect her on-again-off-again boyfriend Jeremy, Bonnie Bennett combined Dark, Expression, and Spirit magic to cast a spell so powerful, she died in the process. However, with the help of Qetsiyah, the blood of all three living doppelgangers, and a bit of luck, her friends were able to bring her back to life. But there's a catch, she had to replace Amara as the person every supernatural being must pass through on their way to The Other Side. This person is known as the what? It’s the same word as an object which has five different types: Hook, Plow, Fluke, Claw and Scoop.

Q6 R1: TV / Video Games

In regards to the Vampire Diaries series finale, Samantha Highfill of Entertainment Weekly said "the most impressive thing this finale did was find a way to honor every love story this show's ever told. I can walk away feeling like I got closure on each and every one — and maybe a little hope on one in particular.” Fill in the blank of the title of the episode: I Was Feeling BLANK. The word that fills the blank is also the name of the game studio responsible for Fortnite and Rocket League.

A1 R1: Years

2009

After Silas and Amara became true immortals by consuming Qetsiyah's immortality elixir, thereby breaking the laws of Nature, Nature found a balance by creating Doppelgängers, also known as Shadow Selves or Mortal Shadow Selves that could die in the place of Silas and Amara.

A2 R1: Cities

CHICAGO

BYT BONUS (4): Whose concert did Lexi and Stephan attend together in 1987? It was probably during the Slippery When Wet Tour.

A3 R1: Ancient Civilizations

AZTEC

Klaus, the product of an affair between his mother and a local werewolf, was cursed by his mother because she felt obligated to keep his werewolf side from manifesting.

A4 R1: Music

ED SHEERAN

For a counterpoint to Torres’ assertion that “Damon and Elena are meant to be soulmates,” you can read Gregory Thompson’s 2018 article entitled, “Vampire Diaries: 20 Things That Make No Sense About Damon And Elena's Relationship,” also published by Screen Rant.

A5 R1: Words with Multiple Meanings

ANCHOR

BACKYARD TRIVIA BONUS (4): The five types of anchors are Hook, Plow, Fluke, Claw and Scoop, what type of anchor is a Danforth?

A6 R1: TV / Video Games

EPIC

BYT BONUS (up to 6): Name any six of the top ten Fortnite dances according to the WatchMojo list “Top 10 Fortnite Dances and Where They're From.” Earn one point for each correct answer. You may only list six.

BA2 R1 (4): Whose concert did Lexi and Stephan attend together in 1987? It was probably during the Slippery When Wet Tour.

BON JOVI / JOHN BON JOVI

BA5 R1 (4): The five types of anchors are Hook, Plow, Fluke, Claw and Scoop, what type of anchor is a Danforth?

FLUKE

BA6 R1 (up to 6): Name any six of the top ten Fortnite dances according to the WatchMojo list “Top 10 Fortnite Dances and Where They're From.” Earn one point for each correct answer. You may only list six.

10: Hootenanny, “Dumb and Dumber”

9: Jubilation, “Seinfeld”

8: Floss, Russell Horning, AKA “The Backpack Kid”

7: Chicken, “Arrested Development” 

6: Dance Moves, “Scrubs”

5: Tidy, “Drop It Like It’s Hot” - Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell

4: Orange Justice, Orange Shirt Kid

3: Ride the Pony, “Gangnam Style” - Psy

2: Groove Jam, “Napoleon Dynamite”

1: Fresh, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”

ROUND TWO: SECRET THEME

All the answers in this round are related via a secret theme.

Categories: Movie Directors, Movie Actors, Impressionist Paintings, Fictional Prisons, Books You've Never Read, Secret Societies

Point Values: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Q1 R2: Movie Directors

What is the nickname of Shelton Jackson Lee? The first movie he directed was “She’s Gotta Have It.”

Q2 R2: Movie Actors

Kristen Stewart, Nicolas Cage, and Christopher Loyd have all played characters that were a what? The word derives from Greek meaning “messenger.”

Q3 R2: Impressionist Paintings

Claude Monet’s series entitled “Water Lilies” depicts the artist's flower garden at his home in Giverny, France. In addition to the titular flowers, the paintings often contain what type of tree that was also found in Monet’s garden?

HINT: One painting is titled “Water Lilies, Reflection of a [this type of tree].”

Q4 R2: Fictional Prisons

What was the name of the first drama series produced by HBO that featured hour-long episodes? The show was set in a fictional, level-four maximum security prison.

HINT: The tagline for the show was “It’s no place like home.”

Q5 R2: Books You've Never Read

Theologian James W. Fowler describes the stages of what in his 1981 book? The six stages he describes are Primal/Undifferentiated, Intuitive-Projective, Mythic-Literal, Synthetic-Conventional, Individuative-Reflective, Conjunctive, Universalizing.

Q6 R2: Secret Societies

Fill in the blank. The Golden BLANK was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many present-day concepts of ritual and magic were inspired by the group.

A1 R2: Movie Directors

SPIKE

A2 R2: Movie Actors

ANGEL

BYT BONUS (up to 3): Name the three movies each actor starred in as an angel. Earn one point for each correct title.

A3 R2: Impressionist Paintings

WILLOW

BYT BONUS (4): Like Monet, many impressionists painted outside. What is the French phrase for the act of painting outside? 

A4 R2: Fictional Prisons

OZ

A5 R2: Books You've Never Read

FAITH

A6 R2: Secret Societies

DAWN

BYT BONUS (4): One of the founders of the Golden Dawn was William Wynn Westcott, who lived from 1848-1925. What was his macabre day job? 

HINT: According to indeed dot com, someone in this profession should be curious, pay attention to details, possess critical thinking skills, and be an effective communicator, “given the delicate nature of the information and situations involved.”

BA2 R2 (up to 3): Name the three movies each actor starred in as an angel. Earn one point for each correct title.

ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD, 1994 (Christopher Loyd)

CHARLIE’S ANGELS, 2019 (Kristen Stewart) 

CITY OF ANGELS, 1998 (Nicolas Cage)

BA3 R2 (4): Like Monet, many impressionists painted outside. What is the French phrase for the act of painting outside? 

EN PLEIN AIR

BA6 R2 (4): One of the founders of the Golden Dawn was William Wynn Westcott, who lived from 1848-1925. What was his day job? It was quite macabre.

CORONER

ROUND THREE: COUNT DRACULA

All the answers in this round are numbers. For scoring, you will deduct points based on how close you are to the correct number. The units will be defined differently for each question. As always, you cannot lose points, regardless of how far away you may be.

EXAMPLE

How many liters of blood does an average adult human hold?

Deduct 1 point for each 1 liter you are off by.

ANSWER: 5

NOTE: If you guessed 7, deduct 2 points from the point value you assigned to this question. 

Categories: The Periodic Table, NASCAR, Geography, European History, Games, Cooking

Point Values: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Q1 R3: The Periodic Table

What is the atomic number of Neon?

Deduct 1 point for every 2 you are off by.

Q2 R3: NASCAR

What number was Bubba Wallace’s car during his first full time ride in the NASCAR Cup Series?

HINT: He was driving for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Deduct 1 point for every 5 you are off by.

Q3 R3: Geography

How many countries border Iraq?

Deduct 1 point for every 1 country you are off by.

Q4 R3: European History

What year did Charlemagne die? 1,200 years later, he would be added as a playable character in the Charlemagne expansion for Crusader Kings II.

Deduct 1 point for every 5 years you are off by.

Q5 R3: Games

In months, how long was Wordle playable by the public before it was purchased by the New York Times? 

Deduct one point for every one month you are off.

Q6 R3: Cooking

In May of 2020, the USDA lowered the recommended safe cooking temperature for whole cuts of pork from 160°F to 145°F with the addition of a three-minute rest time. The safe cooking temperature for all poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey, stayed the same. In degrees fahrenheit, what is the safe cooking temperature for all poultry products? 

Deduct one point for every five degrees you are off.

A1 R3: The Periodic Table

Deduct 1 point for every 2 you are off by.

10

BYT BONUS (up to 6): Name any six of the nine elements with atomic numbers less than Neon. Earn one point for each correct answer. You may only list six.

A2 R3: NASCAR

Deduct 1 point for every 5 you are off by.

43

It's the same number Richard Petty famously rode in.

A3 R3: Geography

Deduct 1 point for every 1 country you are off by.

6

The countries are Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

A4 R3: European History

Deduct 1 point for every 5 years you are off by.

814

A5 R3: Games

Deduct one point for every one month you are off. (If your answer was 3 or 4, deduct 0 points.)

3.5

Originally created by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a game for his partner, Wordle was released to the public in October of 2021. On November 1, 90 people were playing the game. When the NYTimes purchased it on Jan 31, 2022, millions of people were playing it daily.

A6 R3: Cooking

Deduct one point for every five degrees you are off.

165°F

BA1 R3: (up to 6): Name any six of the nine elements with atomic numbers less than Neon. Earn one point for each correct answer. You may only list six.

Fluorine (9)

Oxygen (8)

Nitrogen (7)

Carbon (6)

Boron (5)

Beryllium (4)

Lithium (3)

Helium (2)

Hydrogen (1)