I remember sitting in the Introduction to Library Sciences class at Simmons as my professor waxed philosophic about the perception of librarians as portrayed in pop culture. Although I’m not one for relying on wide-sweeping generalizations and I like to think that we all bring something special to the table, I nevertheless concede that there are certain qualities that are common among many librarians – and probably steer people to the profession in the first place. For me one such attribute, above all others, is curiosity. It is followed closely behind by a love of learning, including quirky information that might sound improbable. Brief aside: in Mark Twain’s Following the Equator, one of the chapter epigraphs is, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.” I heartily agree with this notion, and can confirm from my participation in writing workshops that a writer is asked to defend artistic choices more than this world was ever asked to defend some of the events that have actually happened. But I digress.

My ongoing quest for fun facts is perhaps why I take such delight in trivia night at our local watering hole. The proprietors there hired a fellow who hosts weekly trivia at various locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Andrew has clearly found his calling; his resonant voice carries over the chatter of the bar and the witty running monologue he maintains makes it sometimes seem that he’s having even more fun than we are. The term trivia might be a misnomer, given that the game’s first round is current events – and for anyone paying attention for the last several years, such happenings have been anything but trivial. Yet this element of the evening is one of the many things I appreciate about the experience: it offers a safe and structured platform for acknowledging what’s happening in the world while warding off any lengthier or weightier political debates by virtue of its position as the first round in the series. It is followed by a picture round, geography/history/sports, a music round and a general knowledge round. In short, there’s something for everyone.

One of the other elements of the evening that I enjoy is observing how team members shine in certain subjects. New music is the purview of our youngest member; we dread the times when she isn’t there and collectively mutter her name under our breaths with every sound sample that is followed by our blank looks and subsequent blank spaces on the answer sheet. Another of us is the history and geography buff, while my husband’s mind retains all things movie-related. Like a few others, I’m more of a generalist, although I have my moments with movies and music. Sometimes we all know an answer; sometimes none of us do. Noting a deficit in our team’s knowledge of presidents, my husband and I decided to brush up on the subject. After weeks of using nary a fact we’d learned, we were finally able to contribute the name of the B-29 bomber (Enola Gay) that delivered the atomic weapon Little Boy on Hiroshima at Truman’s order. There again is a topic that cannot be considered trivial by any standard. Whenever we have differing answers, the team tries to follow a process whereby we hear the rationale for each answer and vote on which one to submit. Occasionally we fall short of this ideal, as was the case one night last month when someone suggested what turned out to be the correct answer after we had jotted down our initial guess (canary) and which will hereafter be known as the Unfortunate Penguin Episode. Yet during our long, pandemic-imposed hiatus I realized that however trifling trivia is, the social support of this humble hobby is significant to me. I now enjoy this and other gatherings like my grandmother probably savored sugar after the Great Depression – with a deeper appreciation and with the knowledge that even the ordinary things we take for granted can be taken away. The not-so-trivial lesson here is that we should make hay while the sun shines.

If you’re looking to get into the trivia game, the library is of course your one-stop shop for information of all sorts. That said, you might not have the time to read a book on every subject, which is where compilations will come in handy. Minuteman has a variety of these, such as The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge, which covers dozens of fields of endeavor, and the more specific Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, which focuses on world literature. Such offerings are useful stepping off points if you’re not sure where to begin. If, however, you’d like to look up particulars on a certain subject, the library has numerous online databases including the useful Britannica Library and Biography in Context. There is also an abundance of books on very specific topics, from Ranking the Vice Presidents to The Greatest Cult Television Shows of All Time. You can test your knowledge with Did You Know? Ultimate Trivia Book, a compact volume with 150 quizzes. One quirky resource I discovered in my search is the Timeless Trivia DVD series, which features old film clips, historic photos and quizzes. Available episodes include Famous Faces, Famous Places and Advertising Slogans, Jingles and Taglines. Now that libraries are lending physical items through Library of Things collections, you can even borrow Trivial Pursuit: Book Lover’s Edition, and Lit Wit: 100 Trivia Cards to Boost Your Books Smarts.

One word of advice: standalone facts learned only once then not revisited are unlikely to stick. Many’s the time I’ve discovered an interesting fact that later eludes me on trivia night. After doing some reading about memory, I’ve taken to creating mnemonic devices for the information I hope to remember. If you’re looking to level up your trivia game by improving your memory, I recommend Joshua Foer’s entertaining and informative account, Moonwalking with Einstein: the Art and Science of Remembering Everything.

Kirstie David is the Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the March 31, 2022 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.