Random Questions

This is where all of the games are discussed.

Moderators: alietr, trainman, econgator, dhkendall

Post Reply
User avatar
debramc
Iced Mare Grub
Posts: 726
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 7:24 am
Location: Princeton, TX

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by debramc »

katiedidwhat wrote:
Miss Mellie wrote:(Waves to the shorts-wearing sound-guy in the middle of the audience. AKA The Guy with His Hand Up My Shirt. Awkward that I didn't catch your name....)
His name is Mitch -- same as my youngest son, which is why I remember it. I apologized for the difficulty one of my outfits caused, and he chuckled and said that if he could mike a bikini, a dress was no problem. I responded that I hoped the bikini wasn't for Jeopardy, and he told me that it was for a movie.
Thanks for remembering his name - I was thinking Mike but that wasn't quite right (haha - the mike guy named Mike, no, everyone would notice & comment on that...). He has a remarkable ability to make it feel totally normal and not awkward* that he has one hand up your shirt and the other down it!

* is that really how awkward is spelled? Awkward, awkward, no matter how many times I type it it still looks wrong, but I know it's right...
User avatar
MinnesotaMyron
JBOARDIE OF THE MONTH!
Posts: 3427
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:53 pm

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by MinnesotaMyron »

debramc wrote:is that really how awkward is spelled? Awkward, awkward, no matter how many times I type it it still looks wrong, but I know it's right...
"Dr. Awkward" is

A) a palindrome
B) a store-brand soda
C) a Spider-Man villain
D) the worst gynecologist ever

-M
not really on-topic
seaborgium
Undefeated in Reruns
Posts: 8937
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:31 am

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by seaborgium »

MinnesotaMyron wrote:"Dr. Awkward" is

A) a palindrome
I've always loved the assonance there. Also, I once came across a .edu site in high school that mentioned someone with the surname Awkward, and I combed through to see if he was referred to with an honorific, and sure enough, he was called Dr. at one point. So there is at least one real life Dr. Awkward.

Edit: http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v46/n04/092199.html He's a Ph.D. The date on that article is right in the middle of my high school years.
ACW
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 632
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2012 6:50 pm

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by ACW »

For the 2-day events (like the college tourney), do the contestants know the previous day's scores before FJ?
User avatar
econgator
Let's Go Mets!
Posts: 10671
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:32 am

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by econgator »

ACW wrote:For the 2-day events (like the college tourney), do the contestants know the previous day's scores before FJ?
Yes
User avatar
xxaaaxx
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 2131
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:29 pm
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by xxaaaxx »

How do they handle it if two contestants have the same first name? (If this happened recently and I've already forgotten it, just point and laugh.)
User avatar
dhkendall
Pursuing the Dream
Posts: 8789
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:49 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Contact:

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by dhkendall »

xxaaaxx wrote:How do they handle it if two contestants have the same first name? (If this happened recently and I've already forgotten it, just point and laugh.)
It did happen in the 2008 Teen Tournament, two Rachels went on to final, one Rachel went by her nickname, "Steve".
"Jeopardy! is two parts luck and one part luck" - Me

"The way to win on Jeopardy is to be a rabidly curious, information-omnivorous person your entire life." - Ken Jennings

Follow my progress game by game since 2012
legendneverdies
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 1605
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:52 pm

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by legendneverdies »

dhkendall wrote:
xxaaaxx wrote:How do they handle it if two contestants have the same first name? (If this happened recently and I've already forgotten it, just point and laugh.)
It did happen in the 2008 Teen Tournament, two Rachels went on to final, one Rachel went by her nickname, "Steve".
1996 TofC had Michael Daunt and MIchael DUpee in the finals, so DUpee went by Mike for those two shows.
seaborgium
Undefeated in Reruns
Posts: 8937
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:31 am

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by seaborgium »

ACW wrote:For the 2-day events (like the college tourney), do the contestants know the previous day's scores before FJ?
Well, it's not like they can sequester the contestants during the first game!

Yes, I know what you mean. In fact, the contestants have a card with all three day 1 scores by their writing screens throughout the second game.

As for players with the same name, they take pains to avoid that, but their hands are tied in the finals, hence the two examples given above. However, the quarterfinal games of the first ToC in 1985 were done in chronological order of when the champs initially played, and John Hnat, Paul Boymel, and Paul Croshier were the 7th, 8th, and 9th 5x champs (not necessarily respectively), so Croshier was addressed with his Marines rank, as "Staff Sergeant Paul."

edit: corrected old spellings of Hnat and Croshier
Last edited by seaborgium on Wed Dec 12, 2018 9:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
ACW
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 632
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2012 6:50 pm

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by ACW »

seaborgium wrote:Well, it's not like they can sequester the contestants during the first game!
:lol:
seaborgium wrote:Yes, I know what you mean. In fact, the contestants have a card with all three day 1 scores by their writing screens throughout the second game.
Thanks :)
User avatar
thejeopardyfan
(Unranked)
Posts: 861
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:37 am

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by thejeopardyfan »

I don't think I've seen this addressed before: In a tournament, once a guy's quarterfinal has aired, is he free to tell people when his semifinal will air? Or is that still supposed to be a secret?
legendneverdies
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 1605
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:52 pm

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by legendneverdies »

thejeopardyfan wrote:I don't think I've seen this addressed before: In a tournament, once a guy's quarterfinal has aired, is he free to tell people when his semifinal will air? Or is that still supposed to be a secret?
If they won their QF game there shouldn't be any trouble. If the player got in as a WC, maybe the show doesn't want the outcome revealed until after the fifth QF game when the WC's are announced.
User avatar
thejeopardyfan
(Unranked)
Posts: 861
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:37 am

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by thejeopardyfan »

legendneverdies wrote: If they won their QF game there shouldn't be any trouble. If the player got in as a WC, maybe the show doesn't want the outcome revealed until after the fifth QF game when the WC's are announced.
You're fast. That's what I meant. I wrote that from my phone but can't edit from there. I scrambled to turn my computer on but you've already responded! Thanks. 2-16 spoiler:
Spoiler
I'm wondering when Brooks' semifinal airs and if he can even say.
User avatar
kristinsausville
2015 TOC'er
Posts: 207
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:53 pm

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by kristinsausville »

thejeopardyfan wrote:I don't think I've seen this addressed before: In a tournament, once a guy's quarterfinal has aired, is he free to tell people when his semifinal will air? Or is that still supposed to be a secret?
Yes. Cue us frantically trying to get the word out to family and friends when Justin's QF and SF games aired back-to-back. ;)
Follow me on Twitter: @ksausville
User avatar
Volante
Harbinger of the Doomed Lemur
Posts: 9254
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:42 pm

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by Volante »

Adding another random question...

Can you phrase the question in a foreign language and get away with it?
Basically, today's calendar clue, "There's a cafe du this, "the world," in New Orleans"
Would
Spoiler
Qu'est-ce que c'est le monde?
work?

I think it's been done before, but I can't remember specific details...
The best thing that Neil Armstrong ever did, was to let us all imagine we were him.
Latest movies (1-10): Everything Everywhere All at Once (10), Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken (6), Black Sunday /1960/ (6), Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (7)
seaborgium
Undefeated in Reruns
Posts: 8937
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:31 am

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by seaborgium »

Volante wrote:Adding another random question...

Can you phrase the question in a foreign language and get away with it?
Basically, today's calendar clue, "There's a cafe du this, "the world," in New Orleans"
Would
Spoiler
Qu'est-ce que c'est le monde?
work?

I think it's been done before, but I can't remember specific details...
Steve Chernicoff did it with "soupçon" in the UToC (although I think his phrasing was different from yours). Ken Jennings did "¿Qué es nada?"
User avatar
dhkendall
Pursuing the Dream
Posts: 8789
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:49 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Contact:

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by dhkendall »

Volante wrote:Adding another random question...

Can you phrase the question in a foreign language and get away with it?
Basically, today's calendar clue, "There's a cafe du this, "the world," in New Orleans"
Would
Spoiler
Qu'est-ce que c'est le monde?
work?

I think it's been done before, but I can't remember specific details...
It has, I know Ken answered, in his last game, "¿Qué es nada?" (A Category About Nothing, $400, the intent was what "nothing" is in Spanish) and was accepted, and a few have done it since (and before). I don't think they want you making a habit of it, they want "gregarious", not "overly cutesy".
"Jeopardy! is two parts luck and one part luck" - Me

"The way to win on Jeopardy is to be a rabidly curious, information-omnivorous person your entire life." - Ken Jennings

Follow my progress game by game since 2012
reddpen
Thrice Unplucked from the Jeopardy! Pool
Posts: 844
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:51 am
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by reddpen »

Outbuzzed again...
In and out of the pool four times
User avatar
SkoolRN
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 104
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:29 am

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by SkoolRN »

mam418 wrote:1) It's a different screen. Sort of. It's the same physical screen, but once you enter your wager, and 'lock it in' - confirming your wager - that's done. You don't see it anymore on your screen, either. You couldn't change it even if you wanted to.

2) Yes. From the point of view of the contestants, it's above and to the left of the game board - more or less directly above the two main cameras. Nothing fancy, just white lights on a black background showing the score. (picture this sort of lights, but not color: http://athleticbusiness.com/buyers_guid ... s/1163.jpg)

3) Don't know... they probably randomly assign the podiums, whoever gets the champs spot picks first.
Re #1. A staff member also walks behind the podium and writes down each person's wager on a very high-tech pad of paper on a clipboard. I assumed that was in case of a malfunction of the electronics.
"Lefthanders have more enthusiasm for life. They sleep on the wrong side of the bed and their head gets more stagnant on that side."
Casey Stengel.
User avatar
jeff6286
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 5228
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 7:34 pm
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: 3 Utterly Random Questions

Post by jeff6286 »

SkoolRN wrote: Re #1. A staff member also walks behind the podium and writes down each person's wager on a very high-tech pad of paper on a clipboard. I assumed that was in case of a malfunction of the electronics.
If it's being done as a backup in case of an electronic malfunction, wouldn't they want to use an extremely low-tech pad of paper?
Post Reply