Wednesday, September 19, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[TenPoundHammer]

Yeah, never heard of Campobello before either.

[opusthepenguin]

Last month, there was a story on Weekend Edition Sunday about how Campobello International Park is losing visitors because passports are required to enter Canada. Up until then, I'd always assumed Campobello was somewhere on the New England Coast. So when the FJ question came up, I figured FDR was a good guess, since I knew he had a residence in Canada.

Which is a good reason for anyone going on Jeopardy! to listen to NPR. You learn all kinds of things.

If I'm not mistaken, passports are not required per se for US citizens to enter Canada. They ask to see one because they want to make sure they can send us back.

[econgator]

If I'm not mistaken, passports are not required per se for US citizens to enter Canada. They ask to see one because they want to make sure they can send us back.

Correct. Of course, when I went to visit Calgary last year, I got a stamp heading into Canada and then when I pre-cleared at YYC, they glanced at my passport and wished me a safe flight. Go figure.

[OrangeSAM]

Last month, there was a story on Weekend Edition Sunday about how Campobello International Park is losing visitors because passports are required to enter Canada. Up until then, I'd always assumed Campobello was somewhere on the New England Coast. So when the FJ question came up, I figured FDR was a good guess, since I knew he had a residence in Canada.

Which is a good reason for anyone going on Jeopardy! to listen to NPR. You learn all kinds of things.

If I'm not mistaken, passports are not required per se for US citizens to enter Canada. They ask to see one because they want to make sure they can send us back.

That's my recollection as well. Mrs. OS and I got ours a few years ago so we could get back into the US from a day-trip to Toronto (the International Bowl and dinner atop the CN Tower). They also came in handy when we went to Europe last year too.

[jpahk]

totally lost on FJ—i didn't know where campobello was, nor that FDR had 5 sons. ouch. on the other hand, i suspect i could have won this game from the fourth podium. other than the singapore administrator raffles, i don't think any of the (few) clues that got revealed were stumpers, and there was a huge amount of lach trash. oh, i didn't know dan brown's first book either.

I was surprised the young man, whose specialty was physics, didn't get the Cavendish clue.

that was a nasty clue. if they'd just asked for cavendish, dan would've had a better shot (it's a very famous experiment), but the actual clue was frustrating because cavendish's experiment had nothing to do with the earth; it was a measurement of the gravitational attraction of two lead spheres. it's hugely important because it was the first time anybody had measured any gravitational force between two bodies that weren't the earth. in fact, "weighing the earth" has no physical meaning; the weight of an object refers to the gravitational force of the earth on it, and earth does not exert a gravitational force on itself. now, the clue was still gettable, because cavendish himself claimed that his experiment had "weighed the earth"; this was due to a difference in the units they used in the 18th century. nowadays we talk about gravitation in terms of the universal constant G, and cavendish's experiment was the first time anybody could put a value on G; but in those days, he expressed things in terms of the terrestrial acceleration due to gravity g, which amounts to saying that cavendish had made the first determination of the mass (or density) of the earth. anyway, this is all a long-winded way of saying that they made the clue much tougher than it had to be. you had to not only know the science but understand the historical context of how cavendish himself viewed it.

the penzias-wilson clue (physicists, $2000) made me laugh. (yeah, i know, i'm probably the only one.) the cosmic microwave background radiation (my answer from my couch) was a tremendously important discovery, but it's hilarious how little consensus there is in the scientific community about just what to call it. i usually call it the CMBR, but i've seen it called the cosmic background radiation, cosmic microwave background, microwave background, and probably a few more permutations, not to mention related terms like relic radiation, thermal background, etc. so i was definitely curious to see what the writers wanted and burst out laughing when alex said they were looking for just "background". i guess it's a reasonable enough decision—it's unlikely that anybody would buzz in with that word and be thinking of the wrong thing (e.g. the cosmic neutrino background).

[dhkendall]

Last month, there was a story on Weekend Edition Sunday about how Campobello International Park is losing visitors because passports are required to enter Canada. Up until then, I'd always assumed Campobello was somewhere on the New England Coast. So when the FJ question came up, I figured FDR was a good guess, since I knew he had a residence in Canada.

Which is a good reason for anyone going on Jeopardy! to listen to NPR. You learn all kinds of things.

If I'm not mistaken, passports are not required per se for US citizens to enter Canada. They ask to see one because they want to make sure they can send us back.

The "passport to Canada" thing I know was just recent, I'm guessing circa 2008? We've gone to the US many times, but when that came in, we figured the four of us would get passports for the first time in all of our lives (the only international travelling any of us had ever done was to the US). I've never had it stamped either, for some reason.

Strange that they'd need it for Campobello Int'l Park - I don't know much about it, but I"m assuming it's right on the border. I've been to the International Peace Gardens several times, a park that's not only on the border, it straddles the border, you can drive in from either country and not report to customs (and walk around the entire park, there are several things to see on either side of the border (like some steel from the World Trade Center on the American side) and even several things in the park that straddle the border (like the Peace Chapel), but you have to report to your customs when you leave. I'm assuming passports aren't needed, although if we were to go again (we haven't gone since before 2008) I'd bring them - heck I always bring them when we go visit my sister (who lives just a few yards north of the border) "just in case".

[OrangeSAM]

Last month, there was a story on Weekend Edition Sunday about how Campobello International Park is losing visitors because passports are required to enter Canada. Up until then, I'd always assumed Campobello was somewhere on the New England Coast. So when the FJ question came up, I figured FDR was a good guess, since I knew he had a residence in Canada.

Which is a good reason for anyone going on Jeopardy! to listen to NPR. You learn all kinds of things.

If I'm not mistaken, passports are not required per se for US citizens to enter Canada. They ask to see one because they want to make sure they can send us back.

The "passport to Canada" thing I know was just recent, I'm guessing circa 2008? We've gone to the US many times, but when that came in, we figured the four of us would get passports for the first time in all of our lives (the only international travelling any of us had ever done was to the US). I've never had it stamped either, for some reason.

Strange that they'd need it for Campobello Int'l Park - I don't know much about it, but I"m assuming it's right on the border. I've been to the International Peace Gardens several times, a park that's not only on the border, it straddles the border, you can drive in from either country and not report to customs (and walk around the entire park, there are several things to see on either side of the border (like some steel from the World Trade Center on the American side) and even several things in the park that straddle the border (like the Peace Chapel), but you have to report to your customs when you leave. I'm assuming passports aren't needed, although if we were to go again (we haven't gone since before 2008) I'd bring them - heck I always bring them when we go visit my sister (who lives just a few yards north of the border) "just in case".

From your link, dhk, I found this:

Regarding Identification

International Peace Garden visitors. New update!

The IPG does not require any identification for entrance. However, upon leaving the IPG, you will report to the port of entry of whichever country you are re-entering. At that time identification will need to be presented. US and Canadian citizens do not need a passport to visit the IPG. The ports of entry ask that you have two forms of identification, which are: 1. a photo ID (example: driver's license) 2. proof of citizenship (copy of a birth certificate). For children a birth certificate is the only form of identification that is needed. For further information, please call the port of entry that will be used upon leaving the International Peace Garden.

And, BTW, shouldn't it be "a few metres north of the border", or are you some sort of crypto-American?

[dhkendall]

From your link, dhk, I found this:

Regarding Identification

International Peace Garden visitors. New update!

The IPG does not require any identification for entrance. However, upon leaving the IPG, you will report to the port of entry of whichever country you are re-entering. At that time identification will need to be presented. US and Canadian citizens do not need a passport to visit the IPG. The ports of entry ask that you have two forms of identification, which are: 1. a photo ID (example: driver's license) 2. proof of citizenship (copy of a birth certificate). For children a birth certificate is the only form of identification that is needed. For further information, please call the port of entry that will be used upon leaving the International Peace Garden.

It might be outdated (I found a few other things that may be outdated on there too), as those were what was required at the border pre-2008 (at least what we've always brought with us).

And, BTW, shouldn't it be "a few metres north of the border", or are you some sort of crypto-American?

Nah, I figured I'd translate the measurement in case you didn't know what a meter (or metre ) was. (Besides "a few yards" wouldn't be "a few meters", as the conversion doesn't work, yards are bigger! )

[seaborgium]

the penzias-wilson clue (physicists, $2000) made me laugh. (yeah, i know, i'm probably the only one.) the cosmic microwave background radiation (my answer from my couch) was a tremendously important discovery, but it's hilarious how little consensus there is in the scientific community about just what to call it. i usually call it the CMBR, but i've seen it called the cosmic background radiation, cosmic microwave background, microwave background, and probably a few more permutations, not to mention related terms like relic radiation, thermal background, etc. so i was definitely curious to see what the writers wanted and burst out laughing when alex said they were looking for just "background". i guess it's a reasonable enough decision—it's unlikely that anybody would buzz in with that word and be thinking of the wrong thing (e.g. the cosmic neutrino background).

I said "cosmic background radiation," if you wish to know. (And if you don't, too bad!)

[kristinsausville]

the penzias-wilson clue (physicists, $2000) made me laugh. (yeah, i know, i'm probably the only one.) the cosmic microwave background radiation (my answer from my couch) was a tremendously important discovery, but it's hilarious how little consensus there is in the scientific community about just what to call it. i usually call it the CMBR, but i've seen it called the cosmic background radiation, cosmic microwave background, microwave background, and probably a few more permutations, not to mention related terms like relic radiation, thermal background, etc. so i was definitely curious to see what the writers wanted and burst out laughing when alex said they were looking for just "background". i guess it's a reasonable enough decision—it's unlikely that anybody would buzz in with that word and be thinking of the wrong thing (e.g. the cosmic neutrino background).

This made me feel better. It's very rare that I have any idea on a bottom row physics clue, but for this one, I knew "background" was in there, but had heard of so many other things that it's called that I couldn't remember which one would be most correct.

Went with TR for Final -- actually started out thinking of FDR, but didn't think he had that many sons. At least, I could name more of TR's sons off the top of my head.

[Paucle]

Besides "a few yards" wouldn't be "a few meters", as the conversion doesn't work, yards are bigger!

I see the wit in part of this comment, I hope it extends to the backwards conversion, as metres are longer than yards?
Unless you mean yards would appear bigger numerically, approximately 11 to every 10.

[legendneverdies]

Bush 1989-93 and Kennebunkport didn't come to anyone's mind. Guess he has less than five kids then.

[jpahk]

Bush 1989-93 and Kennebunkport didn't come to anyone's mind. Guess he has less than five kids then.

in fact, he did come to my mind, and since i had nothing else, i stuck with him. but i wasn't at all happy with my guess, because A) kennebunkport is nowhere near canada, being at the southern tip of maine, and B) i was pretty sure he only had three sons. (as it turns out, he has a fourth, marvin, whom i've never heard of. but no fifth.)

[TreehugginCowgirl]

Bush 1989-93 and Kennebunkport didn't come to anyone's mind. Guess he has less than five kids then.

I said Bush based on the Maine connection. Never heard of Campobello.

[OrangeSAM]

Bush 1989-93 and Kennebunkport didn't come to anyone's mind. Guess he has less than five kids then.

Five surviving children is correct. Five sons is not.

[Vanya]

I don't think the Cavendish clue was tough; I guessed it from the date alone. I was shocked when the physics student didn't go all-in on a physics clue, and when he got it wrong. I had no idea on FJ, guessed Wilson, didn't know Campobello was in Canada either.

[ahirbhairav]

I was shocked when the physics student didn't go all-in on a physics clue, and when he got it wrong.

He was a student of nuclear and plasma engineering, not physics. I am the future graduate student of physics. (GO STRING THEORY!)

[opusthepenguin]

I don't think the Cavendish clue was tough; I guessed it from the date alone. I was shocked when the physics student didn't go all-in on a physics clue, and when he got it wrong. I had no idea on FJ, guessed Wilson, didn't know Campobello was in Canada either.

I thought the Cavendish clue was easy as well. This may be one of those clues where knowing too much could hurt your chances.

[bunnymother]

I have already deleted the episode so I can't go back and watch it again to confirm my suspicions. I can't stop thinking about this clue that described being 'frank' as insincere, instead of sincere. Am I remembering this incorrectly? Or did they really make an error?

[seaborgium]

The category was antonyms.