Winning the game of Balderdash

Here we go with this Christmas's annual Balderdash game. For those of you unfamiliar with this game, it has different categories, and you must provide word meanings, movie content, finish sentences, etc. Once a topic is chosen, the people playing make up stuff to fit the category. You'll catch right on.

First category: "What did this person become famous for?" His name is S. Kirkman. (These are the possible answers which the players provided. The correct one is in here somewhere. Guess.)

He bred a Mongolian gerbil that had a litter of 14. He was the first mayor of New York City. He instituted the law against housing llamas. Sarah Kirkman created the first official Amish patterned quilt. He created the cartoon "Felix the Cat." He was the first gardener to grow a pumpkin more than 1,000 pounds.

Second category: What do the initials B.L.O.O.P. stand for?

Brave and Lucky Owners of Poodles. Benevolent and Loyal Order of Pessimists. Bureau for Legality of Operational Procedure. Baltimore League of Orating People. Bicycle Legion of Olagarte Province.

Third category: What does the word "Septulamancy" mean?

The legal term for self-amputation in order to avoid an arranged marriage. A fever that took over Holland when the Black Tulip Bulb bubble rose to its peak. The study of the human brain's connection to evil. A fallen leaf morphing into a fish in a stream. Predicting the future using a sheep's shoulder blade.

Third category: "In Springfield, Ill., it is against the law to ..."

To toss a dwarf inside licensed premises. To toss pennies into the capital reflecting pool. To toss a dirty diaper into your neighbor's yard. To play horseshoes on Sunday. To toss dice against the courthouse wall. To wear a hat inside a church.

Fourth category: What did this person do? "Lirida Paz."

She was put to death in 1250 A.D. by stoning for publicly refuting the existence of dragons. She was the youngest documented mother at the age of eight. She holds the record for the longest fingernails at four feet ten inches. She invented the musical potty chair which plays a song whenever it is used. She spearheaded the socialist party movement in Mexico City in 1940. She was the first black person to ride a bus in Georgia.

Next category: What do the initials L.P.B.T. stand for?

Lousiana Public Boat Transit. Lawyers for Promotion of Bureaucratic Torts. Ladies Professional Bowler's Tour. Louisiana Pacific Bullet Train. Licensed Professional Bible Thumper. League of Protection for Burlingham Town.

Next category: "In Lexington, Ken., it used to be illegal to ..."

To carry a frozen goose down main street on the Fourth of July. To carry a frozen corpse on city streets unless it was accompanied by a policeman. To carry an ice cream cone in your pocket. To shoot a gun on Sunday. To allow a thoroughbred horse to run on a gravel road. To walk on the railroad tracks.

Last category: What does the word "Hagbut" mean?

It is the dregs of beer left at the bottom of a brewery vessel. It is an ancient firearm. It is an 18th century women's hairdo. It is an Asian herb used for healing fevers. It's a cadaver. It's the barrel in which ale is brewed.

First, S. Kirkman bred a Mongolian gerbil that had a litter of 14. Benevolent and Loyal Order of Pessimists. Septulamancy is the use of a sheep's shoulder blade to predict the future. It is against the law, or was, at one time, to carry an ice cream cone in your pocket. L.P.B.T. stands for Ladies Professional Bowler's Tour. A Hagbut is an ancient firearm.

Finally, in Lexington, Ken., it is against the law to toss a dwarf inside a licensed premise.

Well. It was a small bunch participating, and it's not like the old days when the eggnog flowed faster than the words did, but there you have it. If you got them all right, you cheated. Missed one, you still cheated. Got one right, below average. Two right, you're average. Any more correct, you're a genius.