The Saturday night before finals, a lot of Carleton students were running around the Complex like crazy people instead of studying. They had a variety of tasks to fulfill, including dashing to remote parts of campus to perform action trivias, fetching bribes to bring to the KRLX radio gods, and researching trivia questions.
A decades-old tradition at Carleton, Late Night Trivia is game show/ radio show combination KRLX puts on the weekend before finals. The bulk of the show consists of trivia questions. The KRLX gods will ask a trivia question, then play a song. Teams have the duration of the song to call in and answer the question. Bonus points are awarded for identifying the song name and artist. Other components to Late Night Trivia include the stumper, medleys, action trivias, and bribing the radio gods.
Many teams have set up their bases of operations in the Complex so they have readier access to the bribe-receiving room. Team 34's base looks like Mission Control. Banks of laptops are clustered around a table in Upper Sayles, and students in headsets yell frantic instructions to each other. A large speaker system tuned into KRLX is central.
Here are some of the highlights of the trivia night:
An action trivia in Sayles Hill that required students to eat cookie dough – disassembled. The sugar, flour, chocolate, salt, butter, and a raw egg were served in a bowl, and the student to eat them all the fastest got the most points for his or her team. Stirring the ingredients together with your hands was allowed; eating the eggshell was not required.
In what region is the afterlife believed to consist of being inside a room made of wet clay?
The KRLX gods demanding streakers, porn, and a lamp from the LDC as bribes.
A medley that required students to identify how many bowling pins were being knocked down by listening to them.
What is the difference in the number of ridges on a quarter and the number of ridges on a dime, squared, and rounded to the nearest integer?
Michaelangelo's The Creation of Adam sculpted out of bubble gum for one of the action trivias.
After eleven, all the Late Night Trivia teams gathered in the Great Space to hear the result of the competition. The space was crowded as well as unruly. Several shouting matches broke out and each team tried to outdo the others for the best chant. As the announcement of the winners was delayed by the record number of points to tally, the tension mounted. KRLX officials came out onto the Great Space balcony a couple of times to urge patience, and led a rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" to pass the time. They returned some of the bribes given to the KRLX gods by throwing them off the balcony.
Finally the winners were announced. So many teams participated in Late Night Trivia this year that an honorable mention section had to be added. The honorable mentions for most points total and Spirit Award were teams 3 and 5. Team 9 won for most points total, winning a one-night stay at Archer House. Team 34 won the Spirit Award and the chance to sign the Late-Night-Trivia trophy.
