And then there were two.

More than 20 teams remained in the final round of the Trivia Bee for adults Tuesday night — until the question that would eliminate all but two teams was asked.

The question: What famous doctor trained as a sniper?

The answer was … wait for it, wait for it: Dr. Ruth. That’s right Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the famous sex therapist.

With the wrong answers to that question resulting in the departure of so many teams from the Trivia Bee, a bagpiper played “Amazing Grace,” often played at funerals.

After the two remaining teams matched correct answers to several questions, the Trivia Bee champion was decided when the Treacherous Trivia Pirates from Bath Elementary School, and sponsored by the Beaufort County Farm Bureau, correctly answered this question: At what age did singers Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Curt Cobain die?

The answer: 27.

Chris Alligood, LeAnna Holmes, Lorie Alligood and Gwen Jones comprised the winning team.

“Superior knowledge … and good luck,” team spokesman Chris Alligood said with a laugh.

Alligood said the one question that gave the team the most trouble answering was: what is the strongest muscle.

“We thought the heart was the hardest-working muscle, but we thought the tongue was the strongest. We missed that one,” he said.

Other team members said they did nothing special to prepare for the Trivia Bee, saying they believed each team member’s knowledge is specific areas would serve them well.

Trivia Choir, sponsored by P&G manufacturing, took second place.

Each team was allowed one free re-entry into the Trivia Bee after missing its first question. If a team incorrectly answered more questions in the first three rounds, it could pay $25 for each wrong answer and continue for as long as it liked. In the final round, once a team incorrectly answered a question, it was eliminated from further competition.

 

The Trivia Bee was organized by the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce as a way to raise money to help it provide education-related programs such as Job Shadow Day, during which high-school sophomores spend part of a day following people as they perform their jobs. The event provides the students an opportunity to see if their interests in careers may suit them.

In previous years, the chamber conducted a spelling bee. This year, it decided a change of pace was needed.

“We thought it was good. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback since we switched it up. We’ve had some emails (Wednesday) morning saying, ‘That was a lot of fun.’ It was something different. They enjoyed it better than the spelling bee,” said Catherine Glover, the chamber’s executive director.

The Trivia Bee was held at P.S. Jones Middle School in Washington.

“We think the change was good. We think it brought new excitement and was just a fun night. We think everybody welcomed the change. All the feedback has been positive,” said Robin McKeithan, the chamber’s business manager.