Trivia fans in Oregon now have a way to test their wits on KLCC’s air by way of The KLCC Conundrum, and anyone can register to be eligible to play.
So far we've heard from folks from the coast to the valley. We've had a five-time Jeopardy! champion on, and even an entire math class from Willamette High School.
The program is hosted by KLCC Program Director, Jason Brown and KLCC's Quizmaster, Forest Walker Davis.
KLCC’s Love Cross sat down with Jason and Forest to talk about all things Conundrum.
Love Cross: Forest, I want to start with you: you host a number of trivia events in Eugene, how did you get into that?
Forest Walker Davis: Well, I've been a quiz participant for a long time and I moved to Bend in 2014 from Cleveland and the local place that had trivia had their host quit on them. And so then all the regular teams would switch off hosting duties to fill in.
I was hosting there about every 5-6 weeks and then moved to Eugene to go to the University of Oregon. I was working at Falling Sky and the guy who was doing trivia there quit, and they said, “well, don't we have somebody who used to do quiz hosting in the company already?” So, I did that as a weekly thing until I graduated and then started back up after the “Panorama.”
Cross: So, Jason, how did you find this guy?
Jason Brown: About two years ago, my wife and I thought that we'd try out a local trivia night, and just see what we thought. We went to one that Forest was hosting and we liked it so much that we didn't even check out any others.
So we don't actually even know if Forest is the best one or not! But seriously, Forest, I don't know if you remember this, but you had a category where every clue had a solution that was both in English and in pig Latin.
For example, you gave the clue “something picked up weekly and a place for butts” and of course the answers are trash and ashtray, and when I realized what was going on, my jaw just kind of dropped, I looked over your way, and I said, do you know who Will Shortz is?
And of course you gave some sort of wry acknowledgment that you knew what was up and you carried on with the quiz. And from that moment on I knew you were next level for sure.
Walker Davis: Will Shortz is a hero. I love him.
Cross: Forest, It's one thing to host trivia at a pub, but it seems like it'd be another thing to host it on the radio. How do you like doing a quiz on the air?
Walker Davis: Oh, I love it. It's definitely a different challenge, because there's less of a “buffer zone.” When you're talking to one person you can't play the odds in the way that you would do when you're writing a quiz for a whole room.
At the pub quizzes, I can figure, well, you know, 70% of these people are gonna get it right. But with one person there's less room for error.
So if I can learn as much about them from the registration form as possible, and I know roughly how old they are and where they live, I can sort of figure out, well, maybe I'll ask a question about Florence instead of a question about Bend. But it's been a lot of fun and I'm enjoying it and looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Brown: I just think trivia works so well on the radio because it's a fun thing to listen to, and it's a reason to kind of stop and listen along and play along. I think that's why shows like, Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and of course, Will Shortz on Sunday mornings are so popular with our audience.
I think everyone who's playing is having a lot of fun, and I hope the people who are listening along and playing along are having fun too.
Cross: Well, it's fun as a Morning Edition host because I get to play along too- because I don't hear them until we air them. So that's been really fun because I feel like it's like the Sunday morning puzzle all over again, but with a local flair.
Brown: We do have a very airtight embargo system. I mean, it's more stringent than a Marvel release.
Cross: How can people play on the air with you?
Brown” Go to klcc.org/conundrum. There's a quick little Google form that you can fill out and we just select names randomly from that, and you can also share with us favorite bits of Oregon trivia. We're always interested in learning what folks think is fascinating about the state that we live in.
And we have a new question on the form: we had to introduce a “spice level.” You mentioned that five-time Jeopardy! champion earlier. Well, when we started talking with her, you know, as an icebreaker, we always ask, do you like puzzles and quizzes and things like that?
And she was like, oh yeah, I was on Jeopardy! and I thought, “oh cool, this person made an appearance and it's not like she's gonna be a five-time champion or anything like that” and turns out: she is a five-time champion and she just dunked all over the quiz. So we now have a spice level. Pick how difficult you want the quiz to be when you register 🌶️
Cross: That would be an intimidating question for me personally. Like, give me all the spice!
Brown: Just like at a food cart!
The KLCC Conundrum airs most Fridays on KLCC, during Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. It’s also available as a podcast.
Forest Walker Davis writes puzzles and trivia, and hosts a number of trivia nights in Eugene. You can find his schedule and check out what he's been working on lately at his website.
