Contact:  Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 920/832-6590
For Immediate Release	                                   January 25, 1999	

Trivia Reigns:  Weekend Forecast Predicts Measurable Accumulation of Obscure
and Inconsequential Facts at Lawrence University


     APPLETON, WIS. -- After getting a thorough explanation, Ray Bolt still
had no idea what all the fuss was about.  But when you're the answer to a
Lawrence University Midwest Trivia Contest question, getting a phone call
from a complete stranger in the wee hours of the morning should come as no
surprise.  Even if you live in Birmingham, England.
     Appleton's Pat Branson and his "Go Deep" teammates didn't think twice
about getting Bolt's number from directory assistance.  An overseas phone
call was a small price to pay when there's 100 points on the line and the
notoriety that comes with answering the contest's last and toughest
question, the infamous "Super Garruda."
     Phone lines will crackle again this weekend when Lawrence unleashes its
34th tribute to all matters trivial with another 50-hour minutia marathon.
Lawrence's trivia contest -- the country's oldest ongoing salute to the
inconsequential -- hits the airwaves of the college's campus radio station,
WLFM, 91.1 FM, at 10 p.m., Friday, Jan. 29 with Lawrence President Richard
Warch asking the first of an expected 400 questions.  The contest runs
non-stop until midnight Sunday. 
     Since its inception in 1966 -- it started as an alternative for
students who didn't participate in the college's annual academic retreat to
discuss esoteric issues of import -- the contest has evolved into a mecca
for otherwise normal and sane folks from near and far who return to the Fox
Cities, take leave of reality and spend the weekend in a temporary fit of
obsession with the obscure.  All in the name of fun.
     Branson and his colleagues on "Go Deep" are typical of many of the
off-campus teams that gather each January to test their mental mettle.
While its name has undergone numerous changes, the core of the 20-25 member
team has remained intact for most of the past 25 years.  The basement of
Branson's Appleton home has been transformed into team headquarters for the
past eight years. 
     "It's a whole weekend of no responsibility," said Branson, whose wife
and kids spend the weekend at a local hotel to escape the madness. "Everyone
just shows up and we start."
     While the contest is purely for fun and entertainment, the seriousness
to which many players take it is reflected in Branson's phone bill.  He's
already had three extra phone lines added to the two existing ones in his
home for the contest. Two of the lines will be used by computers to "surf
the web" in search of answers. His phone bill soars to $350 just for the
weekend.  Not surprising, though, considering he estimates his team places
close to 5,000 calls during the contest.
   	"We'll call just about anywhere in the world," Branson says proudly.  In
fact, calling England is nothing new to his team.  In previous years, the
"Go Deep" gang has dialed up Buckingham Palace and London's Hard Rock Cafe
in search of answers (both successful).  
	     Last year they joined the very exclusive club of teams that have ever
answered the nearly impossible Super Garruda question which traditionally
ends each contest.  Undaunted by the challenge of finding out what Bolt did
on an unnamed BBC program on April 19, 1979, "Go Deep" took to the phone
lines.
     "We got him out of bed," recalled Branson.  "He didn't have any idea
what we were talking about, but he was pleasant enough.  We had to keep him
on the line until the time period for answering expired so other teams
couldn't reach him.  It was all very exciting." 
	For the first time in three years, the contest won't bump heads with a
Green Bay Packers-spiked Super Bowl, which this year's Grand Trivia Master
Mike Piastowski hopes will help cut down on the conflict-of-interest among
area teams. Piastowski promises an "in your face" attitude for this year's
contest.
     "We want it to be totally intense for the whole 50 hours," said
Piastowski, who along with his fellow trivia masters have spent the past
year scribbling questions on note cards for use in this year's contest.  "We
don't want anyone to sleep the entire time.  We're not going to have any
lulls."
     The contest is simple, only the questions are difficult.  Teams both on
campus and off phone in answers to questions worth either five or 10 points
that are broadcast on WLFM.  With increased use of the Internet as a
research tool, the response time for teams to correctly call in their
answers has been shortened to three and one-half minutes this year.  Teams,
most with creative names ranging from hilarious to borderline offensive,
compete for worthless prizes.  Last year, "You Can Take it to the Bank of
Kaukauna" won its second straight off-campus title, earning a defective
America Online CD for its efforts.  An on-campus team of students dubbed
"Bucky's Banastitudinal Banshees" outscored everyone in the contest,
finishing with 1,255 points and was awarded a package of chicken Ramen
noodles.
     The final hour of the contest is devoted to extra difficult "garruda"
questions ranging in value from 25-75 points.  By tradition, the last
question -- the virtually unanswerable Super Garruda -- becomes the first
question asked the following year.  If you know that Bolt constructed a
life-size origami elephant on the BBC program "Pebble Mill at One," you'll
start this year's contest with an easy 100 points.
     At 7 p.m. Friday, WLFM will broadcast the rules and phone numbers to be
used during the contest and begin registering teams.
	    Here's a sampling of what teams can expect to encounter during the
contest.

What is the Minnesota state muffin?  The blueberry muffin.

What was the name of the first American hotel with indoor plumbing?  The
Tremont House in Boston.

What T.V. show's theme song was titled "Gotcha?"  "Starsky and Hutch"

Which day of what year did DuPont refer to as Nylon Day?  May 15, 1940