Otherwise honest people, corrupted by a combination of alcohol and the desire to win promotional t-shirts, were reduced to seeking outside help from friends.
With the burgeoning popularity of internet-equipped devices such as iPhones making things even worse, one Belfast bar has taken the drastic step of putting up a sign outside saying mobile phones are banned during their pub quiz.
Stephen Duffy has been running a quiz night on Thursdays at the Pavilion bar on the Ormeau Road for the past four months. He says frustration with persistent cheaters led to the sign being put up last week. "It's a pain for us quiz-setters - you just have to appeal to their better nature," he says. He also runs a quiz in the Eglantine Inn near Queen's University on Tuesdays, and he says cheating is more common among the younger crowd.
"The crowd in the Pavilion is a bit older and can remember a time before mobile phones, and their phones wouldn't be as advanced as ones owned by younger people," he says. "If we catch you cheating there's a 10-point penalty and if we catch you again, you're booted out. Luckily we've only had to do that once."
Mr Duffy says he tries to come up with questions which can't be found quickly on the internet but it's getting harder all the time. "Somebody was telling me they're bringing out face-recognition software so you'll even be able to cheat in the picture round - it could be the death of the pub quiz as we know it," he says.
A few metres down the Ormeau Road, the Errigle Inn has taken some measures to deter surreptitious browsing at its Monday night pub quiz, but manager Phil McGurran says it's "more about having fun than testing people's knowledge".
News Source:- http://news.bbc.co.uk
<< Back to news...