Pub quiz

The pub quiz has become part of British culture since its popularization in the UK in the 1970s by Burns and Porter, although the first mentions in print can be traced to 1959.

[7] On 30 October 1963, The Liverpool Echo carried an interview with Jack Robinson, "on the Merseyside quiz scene since it started".

[8] In 1976, Sharon Burns and Tom Porter founded and organised 32 pub quiz teams in three leagues in southern England.

Many pub quizzes require no payment at all, as the event is simply a way to get paying customers into the venue, typically on less busy nights of the week.

Generally, specialist companies will have proof read and verified answers prior to supply, avoiding such issues.

In addition, as the quizzes are not formal affairs, slight errors in wording may lead to confusion and have led to a 2005 court case[10] in the UK.

In some variants, the first team to hand in the correct answer wins either a spot prize or additional points to their total score.

Some quizzes add a small, separate round of questions to the end of a regular quiz, with the chance to win a jackpot.

Certain quizzes allow half marks for "nearly right" answers (such as a celebrity's surname when their full name was required), or there may be additional points for particularly difficult questions.

Most quizzes set a limit on team members to prevent large numbers of people collaborating but this problem is difficult to regulate.

Prizes are usually one of the following: Occasionally after the main rounds a low-stakes raffle is brought around, for which players pay a small additional fee, to fill time whilst scores are totted up.

A computer receives and records the answers from each team's handset and the results are exported to a spreadsheet at the end of the quiz.

NTN Buzztime was the first company to create and distribute pub quiz software systems to bars and restaurants in 1987.

[11][12] As the pub quiz concept spread to the US in the 1990s, several companies formed to provide services to bars and restaurants organizing quizzes.

There are additionally non-pub-based leagues, where teams from throughout a region, county, state or country meet annually for more prestigious competitions, with greater prizes.

Open to teams from pubs and clubs from across Australia and New Zealand, the 2018 Championships is simultaneously run in Sydney, Canberra, and Wellington in late April.

[citation needed] The United States National Trivia Association presents "The Riddle", a finals event open to eligible teams who play the official NTA "Quizzo!"

[citation needed] Sporcle runs the Pub Champions Trivia League, which hosts regional, state, and national tournaments.

[18] The Guinness World Records recently awarded the title of “Largest Pub Quiz” to host Jay Flynn of the UK.