Yesterday night saw the beloved quiz series hosted by Joe and Estee come to a close, as the final answers to the gambling round were turned in and results revealed, accompanied by groans of defeat and cheers of victory. For the past four years, these quiz nights had become a regular part of life at NBI and their conclusion is leaves behind a treasure trove of memories and perhaps a bit more knowledge about obscure trivia than any of us ever expected to acquire.
Joe Sallmen started hosting pub quizzes online on zoom in 2020, as a means of bringing people together, moving to in-person ones from the Halloween Pub quiz in 2021.
“…we had to build up over time due to covid rules, I think that first one we could only have 30 people at it! Then as time went on we were able to have less restrictions and we were able to host them at full capacity. At our largest, we had the Halloween Pub quiz in 2023 which had over 150 people from all over the NBI”, says Joe. The series finale quiz also saw over 100 folks in an epic battle of trivia.
A huge fan of trivia and game shows himself, Joe hosted a couple of smaller quizzes on behalf of the student chapter of the American Society of Microbiology. When he moved to JIC for a postdoc, he followed in the footsteps of his fellow (former) postdoc Sibyl Batey and Jemima Brinton to host quiz nights.
“They had carried on (from what I understand) a loose legacy of people hosting quizzes in the rec that were driven by the students and postdocs. Then of course like all things, COVID happened, and I had an interest in taking up the mantle so I started with doing the zoom pub quizzes and when I become involved with the Postdoc voice, it seemed like a natural fit for me to organize them. Then I went on and made it my own thing and eventually after the first year (I believe) Estee came along to help and co-host and the rest was history!”
Competition mixed with sheer silliness, these quizzes brought the community together. Gamble rounds left everyone at the edge of their seat to see the shake up on the points table or the collective groan of an answer that everyone thinks they should have known but didn’t. “…one of my favorite things that has happened (more than once!) is when a team calls themselves like ‘3rd place’ or ‘4th Place’ and they do in fact come in that exact place. One time this happened, I can’t remember which quiz it was and there was a raucous amount of applause and laughter and that is always such a pleasure!” [Writer’s note: It was Halloween 2022 – it was my team ;)]
As Joe moves back to the other side of the Atlantic pond, for shiny new career in Science Policy and the final question is asked and answered – this delightful chapter comes to an end.
Hopefully, Joe will continue to organise quizzes wherever he lands and the pub quizzes here at NBI shall find a new torchbearer.
