[1] From 2006 to 2020, the contest was livestreamed by WLFM, Lawrence University's internet radio station, which ceased FM broadcasting in 2006.
The teams with the highest scores are declared the winners in on-campus and off-campus categories,[3] receiving prizes such as pink plastic flamingos and stainless-steel bedpans.
The 2009 Super Garruda was "Who was going to be married next to what was the "World's Largest Cedar Bucket" in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in June 2005, before it mysteriously burned down the week before the wedding date?"
Examples from the 2024 contest include "This primate was named after an anarchist critical of a linguist who shares a surname with the Simpsons character who said "steamed hams".
and "This state house's original dome was metal-plated by the founding father who rides alongside the protagonist of Assassin's Creed III.
[7] The contest was founded in 1966 by James Bailey deRosset as an alternate for a serious academic retreat with professors (called "Encampment Weekend").
[12] The first contest consisted of questions in four categories (television, rock 'n' roll music, comic books, and movies) that were written by deRosset and his friends.
[15] Contestants submitted results via a Discord phone answering system as well as a Google form instead of solely via telephone.
[16] The 58th annual contest was held in 2023 and saw the erection of the "Trivia Flag" on the cupola of Lawrence University's Main Hall, an ode to the year's theme: pirates.
[17] The Lawrence trivia contest has been written about in Playboy,[18] USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post,[13] The New York Times, and most of the newspapers in Wisconsin.
The 1984 Head Trivia Master, John Landis, '84, appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America."