Just how much useless knowledge do we have?

We're setting out to answer this question this afternoon. Reprising our role as a team of three nerds in the Mount Washington Valley Dollars for Scholars Trivia Contest, myself and my fellow teachers and friends Chris and Joe will be taking on another team fielded by a local school, business, or organization to see who knows the most useless stuff.

The games take place at a local TV studio and will be shown over the next few weeks, and consist of three rounds of ten questions each, then a final round of one question. The first round is untimed, but incorrect answers give the other team a chance to steal the points. The second round has a time limit of around 60 seconds, and the third round is toss up questions. In the final round each team wagers a certain number of points and writes their answer on a small white board.

We found last year that we have a very strong team, as we swept through five rounds. Our strengths emerged thusly:
Joe: pop culture, music, movies, sports, math
Chris: geography (especially world capitals), science, math
Nate: science, the Bible, Monopoly, math, area codes

We had a few beefs with the contest last year. First: in a different game, the correct answer to a question was "Edinburgh," as in the city in Scotland. The contestant responded with the correct pronunciation: Edinboro, and the host nearly didn't give them credit because her card said "Edinburg." Argh!
Second: a question posed to us in tossup round in the final game was "In what state would you find Andrews Air Force Base?" I buzzed in and answered "Maryland;" being from that particular state, I've driven past the place several times and know precisely where it is. I was told that I was wrong, the other team was awarded points for their answer of "Virginia," and we ended up losing the game. After the fact it was researched and it turns out, lo and behold, that I was right! What kind of idiot makes a quiz show and doesn't research the answers? Apparently, the kind of idiot I'm on my way to see tonight.

So I'll keep you posted on how the contest goes. Let's hope they a) have hosts who know the correct pronunciation of words, and b) have the right answers to all the questions.