OK, guys, let the excuse-making begin.
The online Trivial Pursuit contest that we have been following here since it began in October has ended and the final results will be a bitter pill for those who had been playing in behalf of or rooting for the male contingent: Women won this "Battle of the Sexes," albeit by a sliver of one percentage point. (Anyone who thinks close matters should give a shout out to Al Gore.)
In behalf of my gender, allow me to offer a most heartfelt (almost heartfelt?) congratulation to the winners.
How close was it?
Out of 8,165,735 correct answers provided (wrong ones didn't count), here is the final tally:
Women: 4,088,139 or roughly 50.06 percent.
Men: 4,077,596 or a 49.94 percent.
The margin was a mere 10,543 correct answers. (My ultra-competitive wife, Julie, contributed more than her share, it should be noted.)
"Women of the world: Congratulations, bragging rights are yours," reads the temporarily inactive contest site.
"Men," it adds, "good try, but not quite good enough."
The results were made official this morning by Hasbro, which sponsored the contest to market its new Trivial Pursuit Team game.
When I had previously last checked - Saturday morning - the men were clinging to a precarious lead of 3,000 correct answers, down slightly from Friday night.
Back when I first wrote about the contest in October, women held a hefty 58% to 42% lead. However, that post gained traction on social media sites such as Digg, Fark and Reddit, which resulted in a quick reversal that left the men ahead 54% to 46%. Six weeks later and the female trivia team had erased that Buzzblog-fueled advantage, which they managed to maintain until last Thursday night.
Obviously, that late surge by the men was not enough.
The Hasbro public relations department has told me to expect a press release today that will break down some of the contest numbers.
Meanwhile, the company is promising to launch another Trivial Pursuit game in March, this one pitting those under and over the age of 30.
Oh, great.
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