Natalia Naman Temesgen: Let road trips spark bright ideas

Happy Memorial Day, readers! This is the weekend we remember and honor those who sacrificed their lives in military service to protect our liberties. We'll also start wearing white shorts again, do some grilling, and maybe lay out on a beach somewhere. It is the unofficial start of summer and a huge weekend for traffic jams nationwide. Many of us surely took a road trip to a special destination this weekend. And with road trips, of course, come silly little car games to keep the riders occupied.

I remember singing annoying songs or playing "Spot the first (fill in the blank) on the road" games, but the best road trip game is simple trivia. It starts without you even realizing it, sometimes. As your bored mind wanders, you think of something tricky but ultimately inconsequential and try to stump your fellow passengers. "Can you name at least 9 countries in Europe that end with -land in 15 seconds?" And let the games begin.

But where did the games begin? My endocrinologist, Dr. Steven B. Leichter, gave me the backstory at a recent checkup. It all started at a football game at Columbia University, his alma mater, in the 1960s.

If I remember the story correctly, the game was a snoozer. The Columbia marching band was so bored in the bleachers that they began to quiz each other about culturally significant but unimportant facts to stay interested. This impromptu quiz show ended up being a big hit as each question topped the last, almost like an early game of Jeopardy! The "trivia quiz" followed the creators, students Ed Goodgold and Dan Carlinsky, back to campus and trivia continued to take off from there.

In 1966, "Trivia" was published by the duo and became a New York Times Bestseller. It was essentially a book full of the silly questions they'd asked at school. They went on to publish other trivia books together, also to great success. Carlinsky in particular made a career out of publishing quiz books, such as "The Jewish Quiz Book," "The Complete Bible Quiz Book," "Do You Know Your Husband?" and "Do You Know Your Wife?" Their books were even said to lay the groundwork for the hugely popular board game "Trivia Pursuit." In short, what began as a way to pass the time became a very lucrative venture for a couple of college kids.

Now I surely didn't do anything as cool as invent trivia, but I have had some bright ideas when I was bored and desperate for a diversion. I think we've all had those moments. And aren't they most likely to hit when we don't have access to a book or an iPhone to pacify us? So if you find yourself stuck in traffic on the highway or yawning at a boring cookout today, keep calm and invent a new game! Who knows? It could be the next big thing. At the very least, it will drum up a bit of fun. Have a happy and safe Memorial Day!

Natalia Naman Temesgen is an independence contractor. Contact her at nntemesgen@gmail.com.

This story was originally published May 24, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Natalia Naman Temesgen: Let road trips spark bright ideas."