Page 65 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Febrary/March 2020 Edition

St. Patricks Day Trivia 65

10 fun bits of St. Patrick’s

Day trivia to prepare you
for any and all pub games

by Tyler Vendetti

I’ve always said that having a bit of trivia locked
away in your brain could make or break a party.
With Saint Patrick’s Day coming up, it only
makes sense to read up on obscure Irish history
in case you end up in a pub on trivia night and
the theme is “Holidays That Revolve Around
Drinking and Wearing Green.”
Now, we’ve got a lot of work to do.
Because honestly, who knows the history of St.
Patrick’s Day like the back of their hand? And
yes, we plan to win any and all trivia games we
come across whilst surrounded by mugs of green
beer. That brings us here, with several St.
Patrick’s Day trivia points we will have
memorized by March 17th.

1. Saint Patrick was not even born in Ireland.

In fact, he was born somewhere in Great Britain. which means “well-born” in Latin. If you really any reference books that could answer that
Rumor has it that when he was 16 years old, he want to test the breadth of your friends’ particular question, he had the idea to make a
was kidnapped by pirates and held in captivity in knowledge, wish them a “Happy Maewyn “book of records” that could officially settle any
Ireland for six years. During this time, Saint Succat Day” and wait for their response. If they friendly pub arguments. And thus, the Guinness
Patrick found religion, which gave him the hope give you a high-five, you know you’re both Book of World Records was born.
to survive and eventually escape. He later equally as weird and destined to be lifelong
proved that he was infinitely braver than I could friends. If they throw you a weird look, you 8. Divorce was not permitted in Ireland until
ever be, by returning to Ireland a few years later might need to find a new trivia partner for that 1997.
as a Christian missionary. pub quiz.
If I were held captive in a foreign Not directly related to St. Patrick’s Day, but still
country for a little more than half a decade, I 5. Leprechauns are actually mind-boggling enough to be included on this
would move to the farthest geographical point fairies/shoemakers in Irish folklore. list. In a country where the odds of drunkenly
possible, or Mars. eloping are incredibly likely, I can only imagine
If you thought superheroes had a lot of code- the miserable or awkward marriages that people
2. The first Saint Patrick’s Day parade was switching to do between their civilian and had to live with before 1997.
not in Ireland, but in Boston. vigilante lives, imagine how leprechauns feel
telling their friends that they are both fairies and 9. There are more Americans of Irish origin
If there’s one thing you should know about shoemakers. Sure, having magical powers is than there are Irish in Ireland.
Boston, it’s that everyone who lives there will cool and all, but apparently they don’t get you
claim they are part Irish at some point or out of manual labor. Although that’s definitely Well, sort of. In 2008, around 36 million
another, even if they’re not. No one knows why better than leprechauns being part-time serial Americans claimed Irish ancestry, while at the
Bostonians and the Irish have such a strong killers, which is what I picture after having seen time the population of Ireland was only 4
emotional bond. Maybe it’s the shared love for this emotionally scarring film series. million. However, not everyone who claims
excessive drinking. Maybe it’s the mass of Irish ancestry is fully Irish. As I mentioned
people who immigrated there after the Great 6. The shamrock’s three leaves are meant to before, most Bostonians will show off their
Potato Famine. Maybe it’s Jonathan Rhys represent the Holy Trinity. boxing leprechaun tattoos without admitting that
Meyers. Who knows? they are, in fact, only 2% Irish, so this statistic is
Either way, it’s important to note that You may find the luck of the Irish in a four-leaf a bit skewed.
Bostonians hosted the first St. Paddy’s Day clover, but the national symbol for Saint
Parade, long before the Irish realized that that Patrick’s Day is actually a three-leaf shamrock. 10. There are 10,000 three-leaf clovers for
was their job. Though it may seem weird to have a plant every four-leaf clover.
represent a holiday, it makes more sense when
3. Chicago dyes their main river green to you know that, according to legend, Saint The odds of finding a four-leaf clover are not
celebrate the holiday. Patrick used shamrocks to teach children about exaggerated. Next time you find one (if you find
the Holy Trinity. one), spray it with hair-spray, stick it in a
Using a mixture of vegetable dye and other laminated folder, and frame it on your wall with
compounds, the city of Chicago dyes their main 7. The Guinness Book of World Records the caption “I win at life” beneath it, because
river green, every year, to commemorate the originated with the Irish native Hugh Beaver, you may never find another one…ever again. []
Irish holiday. If this were School Spirit Day in who was the managing director of the
elementary school, Chicago would definitely Guinness Brewery.
win the free pizza party.
Some of the best ideas come from petty
4. Saint Patrick’s real name is Maewyn arguments with friends. Hugh Beaver learned
Succat. this fact all too well when, one day, over a
couple of beers, he and his buddies began
Try saying that five times fast. After becoming a arguing over which bird was the fastest bird in
priest, Maewyn adopted the name “Patrick,” Ireland. When Beaver realized that there weren’t