So you want to put on a trivia contest.
Well the one thing you must be sure of is that your all your answers are correct.
There will be many people out there taking part in your contest and some of them will have more knowledge of trivia than you.
If you provide an answer which in incorrect then you will lose a measure of respect and people will start to doubt your answers.
It is not too hard to have the wrong answer and yet think that it is right.
Misinformation is everywhere.
How can this happen? Let's take for example the question: "What was Columbo's first name?" It seems like a harmless question and the answer of course is that Columbo's name is never given.
However, in the first edition of Trivia Pursuit and in the book The Trivia Encyclopedia the answer was given as "Philip".
To protect his work from being copied, author Fred Worth included wrong answers in his book.
One of these answers was Philip.
(Long story short: The games creators admitted they used the book for a source but argued that trivia facts can't be copyrighted.
The courts agreed, the case was dismissed and the wrong answers in the board game were fixed) But this illustrates the problems with copying the answers directly from a book or game.
Another way to make mistakes is to use out of date material.
Sports records have a way of falling and if you want to make sure that your answers are still correct check the latest records.
A way of avoiding this problem is to phrase your question as follows: "Who was the first person to..
..
" This information is not going to change.
You are also safe to ask who broke Babe Ruth's homerun record because this is not going to change either.
You can also start you question by the preface "as of a certain date".
But don't be afraid to ask more modern day questions.
Just be sure to check the latest standings.
And the quickest way to make mistakes is to copy your questions off of some random website.
You will get answers that say Louis Pasteur cured smallpox and that Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Hawaii.
(Edward Jenner found the vaccine for smallpox and James Cook is credited with discovering Hawaii.
) If you are using the internet to get your questions, make sure the site is respectable and then double-check your answers.
If you are in the awkward position of having to defend your answer you should follow this suggestion.
Apologize to the person and agree that he or she may be right and that you will check the answer later.
However, for the purpose of the contest you have to go with the answer that was given in your source.
Well the one thing you must be sure of is that your all your answers are correct.
There will be many people out there taking part in your contest and some of them will have more knowledge of trivia than you.
If you provide an answer which in incorrect then you will lose a measure of respect and people will start to doubt your answers.
It is not too hard to have the wrong answer and yet think that it is right.
Misinformation is everywhere.
How can this happen? Let's take for example the question: "What was Columbo's first name?" It seems like a harmless question and the answer of course is that Columbo's name is never given.
However, in the first edition of Trivia Pursuit and in the book The Trivia Encyclopedia the answer was given as "Philip".
To protect his work from being copied, author Fred Worth included wrong answers in his book.
One of these answers was Philip.
(Long story short: The games creators admitted they used the book for a source but argued that trivia facts can't be copyrighted.
The courts agreed, the case was dismissed and the wrong answers in the board game were fixed) But this illustrates the problems with copying the answers directly from a book or game.
Another way to make mistakes is to use out of date material.
Sports records have a way of falling and if you want to make sure that your answers are still correct check the latest records.
A way of avoiding this problem is to phrase your question as follows: "Who was the first person to..
..
" This information is not going to change.
You are also safe to ask who broke Babe Ruth's homerun record because this is not going to change either.
You can also start you question by the preface "as of a certain date".
But don't be afraid to ask more modern day questions.
Just be sure to check the latest standings.
And the quickest way to make mistakes is to copy your questions off of some random website.
You will get answers that say Louis Pasteur cured smallpox and that Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Hawaii.
(Edward Jenner found the vaccine for smallpox and James Cook is credited with discovering Hawaii.
) If you are using the internet to get your questions, make sure the site is respectable and then double-check your answers.
If you are in the awkward position of having to defend your answer you should follow this suggestion.
Apologize to the person and agree that he or she may be right and that you will check the answer later.
However, for the purpose of the contest you have to go with the answer that was given in your source.