Big Quiz Thing’ more than a trivial pursuit
Noah Tarnow hosts “The Big Quiz Thing” at Neck of the Woods bar on Clement Street in
S.F.
Noah Tarnow is moving to San Francisco, which means San Francisco is now home to “The Big Quiz
Thing,” a combination pub quiz/game show that utilizes smartphones and tablets to pit drunken teams
against each other after work.
Tuesday night was “The Big Quiz Thing’s” first run in San Francisco, held at Neck of the Woods, a
small-ish, casual bar on Clement Street, which, in addition to this new trivia night, frequently hosts live
music and Russian karaoke.
‘Everyone needs paper!’
About 30 trivia fans gathered in the bar, formed into teams of friends and co-workers. Around 7 p.m.,
“The Big Quiz Thing” began with Tarnow, who evokes comparison to a cast member from “Jersey
Boys,” taking to the small stage sporting a red and black bedazzled sport coat. He was accompanied by a
demure assistant whose responsibilities were unclear. While iPads are advisable, it was pretty easy to log
in to “The Big Quiz Thing’s” handy app on an iPhone, although not everyone came prepared. “So much
for San Francisco being on the cutting edge,” Tarnow quipped while passing out answer sheets to
Luddites. “Everyone needs paper!”
The teams were scattered around on bar-height tables, and their most difficult task was agreeing on a team
name to enter into the app. Once that was completed, however, the quiz process was pretty streamlined
for those of us using modern technology. I am embarrassed to report that my team of five mostly
professional writers came up with Spice as our name. Nearby sat Don’t Call It San Fran and the
Dinocologysts.
The teams started out slow, quietly entering answers to pretty basic, mid-skill-level trivia questions. Each
team assigns someone to type while the rest hiss answers. A screen behind the stage and another behind
the bar tapped into the tech vibe as well, with questions displayed, photo clues and movie clips. While not
hugely different from any other trivia night happening throughout San Francisco, “The Big Quiz Thing”
does a nice job of using gadgets to speed things along, calculate scores and add some complexity to the
questions, all of which Tarnow writes himself.
Spoilsport
One woman sat alone at the bar trying to watch the Warriors game. She didn’t care for a few dozen
excited trivia people surrounding her and her Coors Lite, so at one point, she shouted out the correct
answer to a photo question, yelling “Taylor Swift” into the bar. Amid dirty looks, she soon left to find a
bar with more enthusiasm for sports and less enthusiasm for trivia questions such as, “Which A-list
actor’s first and last name is made up of the last names of two former presidents?”*
“He sounds just like the guy from ‘You Don’t Know Jack,’” said Michelle Minges of San Francisco,
referencing the once-popular, heavily narrated computer game from the youth of people in their 30s.
Minges, who’d brought along a former roommate and her fiance, was having so much fun, she was
disappointed to learn that Tarnow’s quiz thing wouldn’t return until September. “We’ll be back on Sept.
15,” Tarnow explained repeatedly. “And every other Tuesday after that.”
Admission is free, and there is no drink minimum at Neck of the Woods. In fact, on quiz nights, you can
even order bar food, although don’t arrive hungry. Our mozzarella sticks took more than an hour to arrive
through several understaffed channels. “The Big Quiz Thing,” however, isn’t about food. In fact, it’s not
even about the drinks. “It brings out the competitive spirit in me,” said Jacqueline Regev of Richmond,
winning at her first pub quiz. “I feel like I should channel this energy and use it for some sort of social
justice issue!”
“Private parties are the main part of the business,” admitted Tarnow, who is moving his trivia business to
town. Companies can hire “The Big Quiz Thing” to personalize quizzes for parties and team-building
exercises. Tarnow hopes to take advantage of the slightly nerdy, trivia-savvy tech workers of San
Francisco who work for companies that do things like hire “The Big Quiz Thing” as a professional
bonding experience.
By 9:30, the winners had been crowned and prize packages had been awarded. Team Spice came in 10th,
and we took home a couple of huge paperbacks from the nearby Green Apple Books. Tarnow felt good
about his first San Francisco quiz night. “They were great, they were smart,” he gushed. I asked if his
New York crowds were smarter than San Francisco’s. “Philadelphia is the smartest,” Tarnow
deadpanned. “If you can believe it.”
*By the way, the answer to the A-list actor question?: Harrison Ford.