Did you know that in 2000, the Earth gained a 5th ocean? It’s true!
Portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans that surround Antarctica are now considered the Southern ocean. I don’t know about you, but I was well past middle school geography by 2000, so I missed this little change to my planet and was quite perturbed when a Trivia question had me furiously insisting that there were only 4 oceans.
Even if things like adding a 5th ocean don’t escape your notice, a lot of little things you learned in school tend to be forgotten. You might be a Trivia junkie as an adult, but it doesn’t mean you can miraculously recall all those things from school that you insisted you would never need. I know I did my level best to forget anything even remotely related to math as soon as I passed whatever test I’d been studying for, but go ahead and ask me which of Zeus’ children was born by cutting herself out of his head. I’m an ace with the mythology questions, but when it comes to math and some of the math-intensive sciences, I’m pretty much useless and I dread those Trivia categories.
Part of your study strategy should be to brush up on your weak categories. If you never watch TV, try browsing film & TV centric websites; memorize the American Film Institute’s top 100 list; or read a synopsis of the top 10 most popular shows currently on TV. Can’t handle the sports questions? One team’s strategy was to simply answer “Basketball” to every sports question asked (and they were correct once!), but you might be better served to simply learn the top 3 current players in the major sports and the winningest country in the history of the Olympic Games.
There will always be more of the past you’ve yet to explore, more of the present you haven’t absorbed, and more of the future you’ve yet to experience, so take it all in stride. Shore up your own weak spots, build a team of people with diverse interests, and most importantly, never stop learning.
Actually, even more importantly, keep coming out to play Trivia, even if you think that you know everything or you know that you know nothing!