Earlier in the week as part of my Quiz Trek feature, I mentioned that by accident I had worked out that the quizmaster at my Tuesday local used Wikipedia's On This Day page for at least 3 questions on his quiz, usually coupled with bonuses this could work out at 6-8 points of a 70 point quiz.
One week, I noticed the trend in questions starting with "On This Day" at the quiz so prior to going the next week, as well as brushing up on current affairs, I googled for a good site telling me the news of this day in History. Sure enough Wikipedia was there. I glanced over it, there is rarely a great deal there and some events are so trivial they are unlikely to come up in this quiz, and sure enough on the night of the quiz 4 questions came out, 8 points.
So now I know the source the quizmaster uses I have had some mixed feelings. There is definitely a feeling in me when answering that these are very cheap points indeed. For example this week would have gotten the question about the Treaty of Versailles and the bonus point that it came into effect in 1920. However, I do not think I would have gotten any of the other 6 points on offer had it not been for knowing he used Wikipedia's on this day. Sure I could have guessed and maybe it would have come to me, but because at 8am that morning I had studied the page I knew it.
Of course I have still learned the information and know it for future reference, but hopefully fellow quizzers can see my quandary. The page itself on Wikipedia contains very little useful information every day and its always from the Events part of the page rather than Births/Deaths and you know roughly what could be asked. It's also a quiz where you mark each others papers so when you see someone guess close, or be one year out etc I feel guilty. Why do I feel as if I have cheated when I haven't really?
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