Even before you have done the Freedom Trail, thrown a chest of tea into the sea and made the obligatory visit to see John Harvard’s statue, you feel intimidated in Boston. All you see around you are students. The greater Boston area is home to 85 colleges and universities – nerd town USA.
No wonder, one of the things Bostonians do for pleasure is to test their knowledge of random facts. Max Clark, Manger of the Trident Booksellers and Café in tony Newbury Street says that his weekly Trivia contest is no measure of one’s intellectual skills. People come to have a fun time.
Every Friday at 8:30pm all the guests in the second floor dining area are handed a slip of paper announcing the start of the Trivia contest. Five rounds of 5 questions are asked. The questions are diverse. Where do Gruyere and Fontina cheese come from? What is a mugwump? What is the title of the Godzilla movie in German? Which fish does caviar come from? … You get the drift. An eclectic set of trivia. The answers are tallied. Team, “Garbage,” is this week’s winner.
We ask for the check. We had ordered hummus and nachos. The menu includes fish and chips – sufficient options for those who are particular about avoiding non-Halal meat. We walk out into the cool September evening and head to the Hynes T-stop just a couple of minutes away.
Bookstores may some day become obsolete. Nooks and kindles and iPads may rule the world. Massively Multiplayer Online Games may be gaining traction but the live entertainment and inconsequential banter that are part of the Trident Booksellers and Café’s weekly Trivia contest will certainly continue to draw people to the store. Max can go home happy. Everyone had a good time. But he knows his work has just begun. He has to put together another set of 25 questions for next Friday.
Trident Booksellers & Cafe
338 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02115
