In St. Louis, trivia isn’t a trivial pastime — it’s culture

By Ulaa Kuziez

Published August 30, 2024 at 10:43 AM CDT

Becca Mackelprang, a 27-year-old resident of St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood, right, confers with Will Walker, a 33-year-old resident of Collinsville, during a trivia night on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at The Hideaway bar in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood. — Becca Mackelprang, a 27-year-old resident of St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood, right, confers with Will Walker, a 33-year-old resident of Collinsville, during a trivia night on Tuesday at The Hideaway bar in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood.

On a recent Tuesday night at The Hideaway, more than 30 people packed in the South City bar for a few rounds of trivia. With prizes on the line (including a cup holder for the shower and alpaca-print underwear), the atmosphere was fun and friendly, with an edge of competition.

“I love the crowd, and we have a very dedicated group of people playing. It's a multicultural and multi-age group,” said Stacey Salmon, a retired teacher and a regular at The Hideaway’s weekly trivia night. “Even though the prizes are silly … it's all about the street cred.”

Based on Facebook event pages and local trivia websites, there appear to be a dozen or so bar trivias happening across St. Louis on any given night. In the winter, many more church halls and school gymnasiums fill with people playing to raise money for charity — while also trying to win cash prizes.

The trend first spread from Australia to St. Louis in the 1980s, and ever since trivia has remained a popular social activity and an easy, successful fundraiser tool. In the post-pandemic years, the game has grown in popularity, especially among millennials and younger crowds, said Andi Barrette, a former bar trivia host with Tenacious Trivia.

“It's back to full strength, if not even more, where there's just a want and need to go and interact with people and find something fun to do on a weekday, usually to be with people that you care about, and have fun times doing it together,” Barrett said.

William Brandt, 64, of Sunset Hills, holds up a pair of alpaca underwear during a trivia night on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at The Hideaway bar in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood. — William Brandt, 64, of Sunset Hills, holds up a pair of alpaca underwear during a trivia night on Tuesday at The Hideaway bar in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood. The bar is known to have zany trivia night prizes.

Test your St. Louis knowledge:

(Scroll for answers)

Q1: What three cheeses make up provel?

Q2: What former Washington University student went into hiding for 28 years after being accused of throwing a cherry bomb at the university’s ROTC building during a Vietnam War protest in 1970?

Q3: Of course, the quintessential movie about St. Louis is "Meet Me in St. Louis." In the film, what street did the Smith family live on?

Q4: Who was the only U.S. president ever to ride the tram to the top of the Arch?

Alexandra Peppers, 42, of Lindenwood Park, ponders a trivia question while consulting with Caleb Avert, left, a 36-year-old resident of Bevo Mill, and Bryan Morrell, a 43-year-old resident of Clinton Heights, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at The Hideaway bar in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood. — Alexandra Peppers, 42, of Lindenwood Park, ponders a trivia question while consulting with Caleb Avert, left, a 36-year-old resident of Bevo Mill, and Bryan Morrell, a 43-year-old resident of Clinton Heights, on Tuesday at The Hideaway.

Joe Fragale, 39, pictured on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, has been hosting the trivia night at The Hideaway for the last year in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood. — Joe Fragale, 39, has been hosting the trivia night at The Hideaway for the last year in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood.

While trivia exists elsewhere in the country, it is special in St. Louis, said Dan Dillon, long-time trivia host and author of “The Ultimate St. Louis Trivia Quiz.”

“I have talked to people from other cities who [when] you talk about fundraising trivia nights they look at you like you're crazy. But I've always thought that this is an idea that's waiting to be discovered in other places,” Dillon said.

When Tom Bradley moved from Chicago to St. Louis a decade ago, the game was new to him. Now he plays often at neighborhood bars like The Hideaway with a small team of family and friends.

“Trivia night was not a big thing [in Chicago],” Bradley said. “But here we've done charity events, we've done just as a group getting together and sharing, you know, fun and fellowship.”

Barrett, the former host who now plays regularly at the Gallery Pub on Thurman in the Shaw neighborhood, added that part of what makes trivia unique here can be attributed to Midwestern culture.

“St Louis is very much a ‘get to know your neighbor’ kind of environment,” Barrett said. “I used to always refer to my bar as my Tuesday night family because you get to know the staff, you get to know the owners, you get to know everybody that is a part of it, not just the trivia players. It's really a whole community that comes together, which I think is really unique and special.”

Answers:

A1: Swiss, cheddar and provolone.

A2: Howard Mechanic

A3: Kensington Avenue

A4: Dwight Eisenhower

(Questions from Dan Dillon's book, “The Ultimate St. Louis Trivia Quiz.”)

Jenna Garofolo, 29, attempts to answer a trivia night question with the help of Grant Austin, 30, both of Tower Grove East, on Tuesday at The Hideaway bar in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood. — Jenna Garofolo, 29, attempts to answer a trivia night question with the help of Grant Austin, 30, both of Tower Grove East, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at The Hideaway bar in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood.

To hear more from former bar trivia host and now player Andi Barrett and longtime trivia emcee Dan Dillon about the history of trivia, how they host trivia nights that feel like a party and how they each cater to different crowds, listen to the full St. Louis on the Air conversation on Apple Podcast, Spotify and YouTube, or click the play button below.

In St. Louis, trivia isn’t a trivial pastime — it’s a part of culture

“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Ulaa Kuziez, Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.