Not a natural phenomenon

As board games go Trivial Pursuit isn’t really all that much to write home about. The concept is pretty simple: trivia questions categorized. You roll a die, move around the board, which is shaped like a wagon wheel, and when you answer a question correctly on the right square you get a “pie” (a little bit of plastic that inserts in your piece (which is, of course, round) to signify that you are one step closer to winning the game). Because of the rule that you must answer your correct question on a certain square to get your pie one of these games can take forever. TGF‘s family solved this problem and my family solved the “Barbie’s boyfriend” problem.

The downfall of Trivial Pursuit is that the questions vary wildly both in accuracy and difficulty. Over the years we’ve spotted at least a dozen questions about DC that have incorrect answers. And then there is the problem of the final question.

According to the official rules, once you have all your pies you must roll yourself into the center of the board where upon your opponents, usually based on your previously demonstrated incompetence, pick a category from which you must answer the single question correctly to win the game. Now, not only do the Trivial Pursuit folks have a little research problem at times, they also demonstrate a weird sense of categorization. This is how during one memorable game we ended up answering the question “Who is Barbie’s boyfriend?” to win the game.

To get around the game that goes on for hours we now play the “short” version: basically, you get a pie every time you answer a question in that category correctly. In order to win, after landing in the center of the board you must answer four out of the six questions on a card correctly.

What does all this have to do with this entry’s title? I once played a game of Trivial Pursuit during which a particularly ditzy friend of my aunt’s was bound and determined to answer that Mt. Rushmore was a natural phenomenon. No, there were no mind altering substances involved; she was just that much of a ditz.

And all of this is a round-about way of getting to the thought that came unbidden: have you ever wondered what Mt. Rushmore looked like before they carved the faces into it? I sure can’t find any pictures, and I know they had cameras in the 1920s.

Just a random thought inspired by badly executed military contractor advertising on the subway ride to work yesterday.