Vegan Trivia Contest at Busboys and Poets

Can you name a globular, scaly, edible flower bud? I couldn’t, but fortunately my teammate Martin could.  That question was just one of the challenging queries posed during Vegan Trivia at Busboys and Poets.  Oh, and the answer is “artichoke,” by the way.

Last night I joined a team of enthusiastic and well-informed vegans from the Veg Society of DC for a fun night of trivia at the Takoma location of Busboys and Poets.  The event was sponsored by Compassion Over Killing (COK),  a nonprofit organization that “exposes cruelty to farmed animals and promotes vegetarian eating as a way to build a kinder world.”  COK had organized the vegan trivia event in recognition of MeatOut 2019 on March 20.

What is MeatOut?

Started in 1985, MeatOut encourages thousands of people around the world to turn over a new leaf by exploring the health, ethical, and environmental benefits of plant-based eating.  According to the MeatOut website, the trivia contest that I attended was one of more than 100 events that were held around the world to celebrate plant-based lifestyles. 

Busboys is a Cultural Hub

The event venue, Busboys and Poets, was certainly appropriate for a Vegan Trivia night.  And there are several reasons why. First, the Busboys and Poets restaurants in the DC area are a “cultural hub for artists, activists, writers, thinkers and dreamers.”  Seems like an ideal place for vegans (who are usually activists and dreamers) to hang out.  Second, the Busboys and Poets restaurants offer a special vegan menu that’s filled with a wide variety of tempting and tasty appetizers, soups, sandwiches, entrees, and desserts.  Third, the Takoma Busboys restaurant is located at Takoma Park, one of eight jurisdictions in the U.S. that issued a proclamation designating March 20, 2019, as MeatOut Day. 

Six Heads Are Way Better Than One

So last night, about 30 people gathered to participate in Vegan Trivia at Busboys and Poets.  We divided into teams comprised of up to 6 people, and I was fortunate to be included in the VSDC team led by my friend Elissa Free.  My other teammates were Chloe, Lisa, Martin, and David.  After selecting a team name — “What Happens with Vegans Stays with Vegans” — we ordered our food and conducted a bit of last-minute research on famous vegans.

And then the contest began.  After explaining the rules to us (eg., no Googling the answers), the Busboys Trivia Master Max Johansen launched into six rounds of questioning.  We soon discovered that six heads are way better than one.  None of us on our team knew all of the answers, but together we managed to get all but two of them right.  As Max read each of the questions, we conferred quietly among ourselves and then wrote down our answer (or best guess) on the sheet provided.  In the first round we had to answer questions about veggies — such as, “What is the name for a peppery green that’s often called rocket greens?” (Arugula.)  In the second round we had to compare two or more foods on a specific attribute — such as,” Which has more fiber, flax or chia seeds?” (Chia seeds.)   In the third round we had to answer questions about famous vegans, with the answers including celebrities like Moby (a musician and restauranteur who has been vegan since 1987).  In the fourth round, we had to answer questions about the effects on health of various foods (such as the beneficial effects of leafy greens, which inhibit colorectal cancers).  Then in round 5, we had to answer questions about farming and animal agriculture — such as “What is the most consumed animal protein in the U.S.?” (Chicken.)  Then in round 6, we had to answer questions about root vegetables — such as “What is the vegetable whose varieties include watermelon and daikon?” (Radish.)

Our Team Won!

I’m happy to say that our team (shown here with Trivia Master Max) won the competition, which was no simple feat given the abundance of knowledgeable vegans in the room.  But in the end, I think everyone enjoyed the evening and the companionship of like-minded people.  I also think that the existence of a Vegan Trivia night is another indication of the undeniable trend observed by The Economist, which proclaimed in a recent article that 2019 will be the year that veganism goes mainstream.  Maybe we’ll need a bigger room for the next Vegan Trivia night!