James K Polk's middle initial is worth more than George W Bush's, and with good reason. Let's run through a quick list of his accomplishments, which I totally didn't just pull from Wikipedia:

• Opened the US Naval Academy
• Opened the Smithsonian
• Started work on the Washington Monument
• Kicked ass in the Mexican-American war
• Did all that shit in one term, and chose not to seek reelection

This is a guy who ran on the promise that he would annex Texas, then actually did it. Sure, it took a bit of a kerfuffle with the Mexicans, but he got us most of the Southwest. We may not want it anymore, but it was a pretty damn good move at the time. How many people remember him, and of those people how many know that the K stands for 'Knox?' Not many.

Speaking of remembering, you guys gotta work on remembering one hit wonders. Watch more VH1, aight? Ferris Bueller did not perform "Oh Yeah," and Peewee Herman did not perform "Tequila." He performed "get arrested for exposing himself in an Adult Theater, which should really be expected, given that he was in an adult theater." I don't see the big deal, but apparently the sheriff's department did. Totally unreasonable.

That's basically what I've got, except to add that if anybody is in the market for a 5lb ruby that looks like the Liberty Bell, you should contact me privately.

I was reminded of a few things last night. What really stands out in my head, though, is Catch 22. The book, not the phenomenon (which, of course, comes from the book but has taken on a life of its own). It first came to me with the bonus question in round one. What's 2 to the 9th power? Well, readers of the novel will remember that Yossarian was in the fighting 256th squadron. Or, as he told the chaplain in the hospital, "two to the fighting eighth power." Doubling that one more time brings us to 512, or 2^9.

Of course, you should have known anyway that 2^8 is 256. This is why you don't see values above 255 in IPv4 addresses. 8 bits can only hold 256 possible combinations, and 255 becomes the max when you include zero. We live in a very computer-centric world. It's about time the rest of you started pulling your weight and understanding how things work, or you're gonna be completely boned when the machines take over. If you can't even grovel in their native language, I don't know how you expect to survive.

The second reminder of Catch 22 was later on, in our KN round, when we asked about Washington Irving's pseudonym. Again, readers of the novel will remember that Yossarian used the pseudonyms Washington Irving and Irving Washington when he censored letters during his recovery periods. If somebody named Knickerbocker uses the pseudonym Yossarian, then we'll reach full circle.

Basically, Catch 22 is a great book that you should read. If you had, you'd have gotten a bonus question and had an interesting thought about a question you probably still would have gotten wrong. And isn't that all you can really ask from life? It's certainly all I want.

Catch 22 isn't just a novel, though. It's also a band. And y'know what else is a band? WALL OF VOODOO! HOW DID NONE OF YOU KNOW WALL OF VOODOO?!?!? I wasn't even alive when Mexican Radio was a hit, but y'know what? I know and love them. So I'm going to leave you with the video. Watch it. 

Somewhere northwest of Denver, in the vast, frozen, uninhabitable tundra once known to civilization as "Broomfield," there was a bar. And in that bar there was pub quiz. Also food and beer. And root beer floats, which I love, but right now the important thing is the quiz.

Way back in the spring of 2013, there was a snowfall so hard, so relentless, that after 18 hours of constant snowfall, sandals were no longer reasonable footwear, and windshields had to be brushed off. BRUSHED! But did this stop our valiant quizzers? NAY! THE QUIZ WENT ON!

The quiz remained pretty tight for most of the rounds, actually. You guys suck at anagrams. Probably bananagrams as well. I don't know how you are with graham crackers, but I am for them. We've got more truckers than yoga instructors in the room, judging by your knowledge of rock music and small- to medium-sized cities throughout America. No lorry drivers, since you don't speak British, but clearly some with children who watch The Wiggles.

But what's important is that you came. You threw on a jacket, a hat, and a healthy sense of "hey, nobody else will be on the road, so traffic will be CAKE to get to quiz!" and kicked some ass. The need for closed toed shoes did not hold you brave few back, and I salute you to the utmost.

• O'Brien's on Wilshire Irish Pub & Restaurant - Santa Monica 7:00 PM
• Brendan's 404 - Denver 7:30 PM
• Goosetown Tavern - Denver 7:00 PM
• The Mayor of Old Town - Fort Collins 8:00 PM
• Bruno's Tavern - New Orleans 7:00 PM
• White Horse Tavern - Allston 8:00 PM
• The First Printer - Cambridge 7:30 PM
• Costello's Tavern - Jamaica Plain 8:00 PM
• O'Niell's Pub - Albuquerque 8:00 PM
• O'Possum's Pub - Murfreesboro 8:00 PM
• Black Star Co-Op - Austin 8:00 PM
• El Mercado - Austin 7:30 PM
• Strange Brew - Austin 7:00 PM
• Zio Carlo Magnolia Brew Pub - Fort Worth 7:00 PM
• Piper Down - Salt Lake City 7:30 PM
• Quarter Lounge - Seattle 8:00 PM
• Capital Tap Haus - Madison 7:00 PM