2.3.15 Cider Mill Teams/Trivia/Tunes

2.3.15 Cider Mill Teams/Trivia/Tunes

Everyone knows that Dice's game is Trivia, but with a name like Dice, one might think my preferred game of chance would be Craps. Those that know me well, however, know that I have a particular fondness for 21. Tonight, hosting at the Cider Mill was like dealing Blackjack to a table where everyone is about to go on a heater.

TEAMS: Calling their shot when they walked in, SCRATCH N' SNIFF (94) hit everything Dice threw at them out of the park. PANTS! (93) didn't fall down until question #14, when their calculated gamble left them a step behind. I've got some news for you, FEMBOTS HAVE FEELINGS TOO (91) is one of the best Trivia teams in Portland. CHIMP N' IT (84) brought in a commercial fishmaster and guide to help reel in some big points. Fighting the urge to do more damage, the TRIGGER HAPPY BUNNIES (80) settled on posting a solid league score and let the final round live for another day.

CAT OF 9 DICKS celebrated their well-deserved entry into Dice's Trivia Team Name Hall of Fame. THE ALLIANCE OF THAI GUYS IN BARS may have found a new Trivia night...Oh My! WINTER BUSH realized mid-show that they had six more weeks of wintry weather to deliver, so they left. Remember THE JAMES GANG? Dice suspects they don't either.

TRIVIA: You don't have to wear the sweatshirt of the school that IS named after the president whose second-marriage was to a ninth-generation descendant of Pocahontas to know that sometimes Dice's music selections make even his head spin. If you are wearing that sweatshirt, congratulations on knowing the answer to the next question and being allowed back on your team. For everyone else, yes, Edith Wilson, Woodrow Wilson's second wife, was a descendant of Pocahontas.

Most of us know some version of Pocahontas' life, but as Dice found out, there's more to her story than the "colors of the wind." Pocahontas was born about 1595 to an unknown mother and Chief Powhatan, the paramount chief of a group of Virginian Indian tribes. It is this paternal relationship that has propelled the "princess" ideal upon Pocahontas, although in her society she would not have been in any leadership succession plans or due to inherit any exceptional wealth because of her relationship to the chief. As usual, make-believe trumps history in the place "Where Dreams Comes True."

Speaking of dreams, English Captain John Smith probably also made up his account of the young Pocahontas saving his life after he was captured. Turns out, years earlier Smith told a similar tale of being rescued by a young girl after he was captured by the Turks in Hungary, so maybe Smith was just a really bad storyteller, but really good at being captured. Oh, and about that beautiful romance between Smith and Pocahontas...yeah, that most likely didn't happen either.

Dice knows it's tough to stomach that you've been fed a spoonful of historical sugar by Dizz Knee, but this one is also coated in a love-story about a nearly 30-year old Smith and a 10-12 year old Pocahontas, so it's just wrong. It also turns out Pocahontas' name might actually mean "slut," so I don't even know what to say except Matoaka was framed.

So, what's the truth? It's tough to say. We know that Pocahontas married Thomas Rolfe in 1614, becoming the first recorded interracial marriage in the New World. In 1615, she gave birth to their only child, Thomas Rolfe. Following Thomas' birth, Pocahontas travelled with her family to England where she was presented as the "civilized savage" in hopes of building investment capitol for developing the Jamestown settlement and the New World. There is some evidence that suggests that the English considered Pocahontas' trip to be more of a sideshow despite the efforts to present her as a civilized savage princess.

Interestingly, Pocahontas' legacy as a "princess" in American history may actually be intact through her many descendants from her son Thomas. After her sudden death, Pocahontas' only child Thomas was left in England with his uncle, whom he was raised by. Thomas reportedly never saw his father again after being left in England. Thomas successfully petitioned to receive a portion of his father's estate and he returned to Virginia where he married and had a daughter. Not to bore you with with the so-and-so begot so-and-so bit, but it turns out that Edith Wilson isn't the only first lady that can trace her lineage to Pocahontas, Nancy Reagan is also a descendant. So are the Presidents Bush.

TUNES: February 3, the day the music died. Obviously, Dice didn't miss the opportunity to play McLean's "American Pie," some Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly. McLean clearly hasn't been to one of Dice's Trivia shows because the music could go on for "Centuries" with songs like "Persephone" and "Icarus." Dice got in 1...2 from Foals and 1...2 from the Jeep SuperBowl commericial artist, Marc Scibillia.

Dice's favorite song of the night...Sadiki's cover of 2Face's "African Queen."

As always...thanks Cider Mill!

-Dice