Unicorns aren’t real

“What country’s official animal is the unicorn?”

It was trivia night at a Christian mixer event — my first in recent memory — and we had just settled into teams. After some brief introductions, we got to the real challenge: proving we knew obscure facts that would never help us in real life.

“I think it’s Scotland,” Matthew said. “I’m pretty sure.”

“Really?” Jessica asked. “I don’t think I saw any when I was there.”

I hesitated. Should I say something? Would it be rude? I couldn’t let the comment go, so I said, as delicately as possible, “I don’t think unicorns are real.”

Jessica turned me, incredulous. “No, I meant on a flag or something.”

“Ah okay,” I said, relieved, and both of us burst into laughter.

Trivia nights aren’t normally my thing, but that hilarious exchange made my night. Her confidence also had me doubting myself for a split second: she seems to think she can see unicorns…do they actually exist?

Later, we had a couple questions about nouns of assemblage:

• What is a group of porcupines called?
• What is a group of flamingoes called?

“I have no clue,” I said, wishing I were more familiar with randomly specific animal trivia.

“A prickle of porcupines?” Matthew guessed. It sounded right — porcupines have quills, quills are sharp, and ‘prickle’ sounded like the kind of word a linguist would invent.

“Sure,” Paul said, writing it down. “What about for flamingoes?”

“A flamboyance?” Matthew guessed again. Based on his facial expression it sounded like a complete shot in the dark, but none of us had any other suggestions. 

“Why not,” Paul said, prompting Matthew to write down his answer this time.

The guesses seemed as improbable as ever, but miraculously, we got both answers correct: A prickle of porcupines. A flamboyance of flamingoes.

We yelled and high-fived like we had just won the lottery, even though our team was still somewhere in the middle of the pack.

By the end of the night, I realized that trivia night wasn’t about winning or knowing the most random facts — it was about the laughs, the camaraderie, and the joy of confidently guessing your way into the right answers. And just like in life, trivia night wasn’t about having the right answers, but about enjoying the journey and the people you meet on the way.