Thursday, October 27, 2016 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[opusthepenguin]

I did come up with the right song, but thought it would have been really weird to use that. Plus I thought it was called Major Tom.

That was my main concern. I wasn't sure until the reveal that I'd matched the right title to the song I had in mind. Oddly enough, Bowie was the only artist I even considered for this clue. I started with "that Ground control to Major Tom song," briefly flirted with Life on Mars and went back to Major Tom. I spent the rest of the think music trying to decide what title to go with. It didn't even occur to me to think of songs like Rocket Man, Dark Side of the Moon, and Across the Universe. Those are all great guesses that I was lucky enough not to even consider.

[bomtr]

You've heard of the sun, right? It's hot.

Yes, but I didn't know it could be used for water heaters too. Certainly not an option out here.

I assumed he was going to say "NHO the sun".

Why should he? He'd have to drive over 200 miles to get to a town with actual access to the sun.

Don't think he should be allowed to drive (among other things), having never heard of traffic laws.

[econgator]

songs like Rocket Man, Dark Side of the Moon, and Across the Universe.

Dark Side did cross my mind, but for whatever reason, I know that was 1973, so I could immediately discount it.

[chmmr]

Between this and the Coldplay clue, better start studying the ethnicities of musicians!

[This Is Kirk!]

There's no song called "The Dark Side of the Moon" at least not by Pink Floyd. The song with the lyric "I'll see you on the dark side of the moon" is called "Brain Damage."

[IronNeck]

It's rather comical that I made a routine observation about PJ that is true of many Jeopardy contestants (he likely memorized a bunch of factoids from a list/app with limited understanding of the subjects) and two different people responded with "NO...you could TOTALLY know a bunch about the Hundred Year's War and think it ended in 1648! And it must have been nerves and the lights, even though the same contestant showed perfect poise during every single other moment of the game, before and after!"

Come on, guys. His Harry Potter story was cute, but I didn't realize it won him that many admirers.

During a mock game at an audition, I totally botched a Hemingway question. Knew it was wrong as soon as my vocal chords started working. I just stood there and ate it; you have to. The game's going on whether you're poised or not. And if you saw my reaction, you'd say the exact same thing.

Does this mean I'm a complete idiot when it comes to Hemingway? No (not complete, at least...). Similarly, does PJ's reaction mean he's a complete idiot when it comes to the 30/100 Years' Wars? No.

I dunno, just try not to assume the worst. Gives off a negative vibe.

Not sure how this qualifies as "the worst", as memorizing factoids is in general a perfectly legitimate approach to getting good at Jeopardy, and I stated as much. In fact, you seem far more negative in your judgement of PJ than I ever was!

And far be it from me to wonder about the specifics of your vague anecdote about Hemingway and how it relates to the precise clue last night, with a date centuries later, but I would like to point out how exceedingly rare a neg like that is. The overwhelming majority of negs are either plausible responses, slips of the tongue, or uncertain guesses. One with a verbally similar response that is nevertheless hilariously wrong, on a very clear clue, on a major subject, happens maybe once every 1-2 weeks' worth of shows.

If it were in fact so common, especially under whatever added pressure one ascribes to the event, wouldn't it be occurring more than once every 300-600 questions?

[This Is Kirk!]

One with a verbally similar response that is nevertheless hilariously wrong, on a very clear clue, on a major subject, happens maybe once every 1-2 weeks' worth of shows.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're the only one here who thought that answer was "hilariously wrong." You've basically got two choices when a clue about a "long war" comes up: the 30 Years' Wars and the 100 Years' War. If you know a little bit more about these wars. you'll probably get the correct answer, otherwise it's a toss-up, so I'll agree with your original assessment that anyone with any knowledge of these wars should get it correct. That doesn't make it "hilariously wrong."

[Bamaman]

I would not be surprised if a Miss like this has happened before with "long war" as a TOM. I knew it because I happen to know when the wars were fought but I could not tell you much about either conflict. I think he just decided it was worth the risk of betting on a coin flip.

[econgator]

There's no song called "The Dark Side of the Moon" at least not by Pink Floyd. The song with the lyric "I'll see you on the dark side of the moon" is called "Brain Damage."

Whoa there, Capt. Logic. Quit trying to confuse me with "facts".....

[BigDaddyMatty]

It only has one hit in the Archive, but it's worth knowing that the German singer Peter Schilling had an international hit in 1983 with "Major Tom (Coming Home)," which is a thematic sequel to "Space Oddity."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Hs2AQwDgA

[IronNeck]

One with a verbally similar response that is nevertheless hilariously wrong, on a very clear clue, on a major subject, happens maybe once every 1-2 weeks' worth of shows.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're the only one here who thought that answer was "hilariously wrong."

You would lose your limb then, since two other people I watched the show with (neither of them trivia buffs) laughed out loud when they heard PJ's answer. Ergo my description.

You've basically got two choices when a clue about a "long war" comes up: the 30 Years' Wars and the 100 Years' War.

Before arguing, it would behoove you to look at the clue again. Prior to "long", it was mentioned the war ended in 1648.

If you know a little bit more about these wars. you'll probably get the correct answer, otherwise it's a toss-up, so I'll agree with your original assessment that anyone with any knowledge of these wars should get it correct.

So you agree with me and repeated exactly what I wrote in the bolded portion above...but are arguing with me, anyways. Cool.

[This Is Kirk!]

No, I'm arguing with your assertion that it was "hilariously wrong."

[IronNeck]

No, I'm arguing with your assertion that it was "hilariously wrong."

Argue with the two women watching the game with me who both laughed at his response.

Then again, you're the same guy who argued with me for multiple pages when I mentioned a Triple Stumper FJ with the answer "Ulysses" was "very unusual/surprising". And then doubled down when it polled higher than all but 3 TS FJs in the past season.

[This Is Kirk!]

Right. And you're the guy who has to win every argument.

[John Boy]

Space Oddity, as I recalled, was released in 1969. Bowie was British. That's that.

I was surprised nobody got the Chekov clue.

Never. Heard. Of. It. And that's that.

[bpmod]

No, I'm arguing with your assertion that it was "hilariously wrong."

Argue with the two women watching the game with me who both laughed at his response.

But they are not asserting anything at all. It is you who is arguing here. You are seriously harming our ability to take you seriously.

Brian

[davey]

It's easy to latch on to one part of a clue and shut out others, especially when it's short and you want to ring in. I saw "long war," went to "100 Years' War," and as soon as I said it I registered Westphalia and knew I was wrong. So I knew a little something about the right war, but didn't allow my brain the moment I needed to kick in with it.

[TreeOfHeaven]

Had no idea that Space Oddity was that old. Best I could come up with was Rocket Man, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't that old, either (1972).

Same (false) assumption happened in my corner.

[IronNeck]

Right. And you're the guy who has to win every argument.

Writes the guy who started both arguments. But yes, I am, like yourself, very argumentative, or else I would have ignored you. The difference is that you're far more petty.

No, I'm arguing with your assertion that it was "hilariously wrong."

Argue with the two women watching the game with me who both laughed at his response.

You are seriously harming our ability to take you seriously.

Brian

Are you seriously sure you're being serious enough? You might seriously want to add a few more "seriously"s to the sentence above so we can see how incredibly serious you are about this very serious Internet posting business. Seriously.

Also, I imagine Brian typing this in-between yelling at a customer service rep at a local department store, threatening to send a "very sternly worded letter" to her boss and writing a scathing Yelp review of a local Thai restaurant that wasn't sufficiently authentic.

[This Is Kirk!]

Right. And you're the guy who has to win every argument.

Writes the guy who started both arguments. But yes, I am, like yourself, very argumentative, or else I would have ignored you. The difference is that you're far more petty.

Ha-ha! Good stuff!