There’s nothing like an imminent test or challenge to get someone motivated. For me, it’s the possibility of attending a “pub quiz” that will feature great Jeopardy! champs. I’ve never been to one, but David Madden seems to be familiar with them. He’s planning one as part of the unofficial Jeopardy! reunion that will coincide with the national championships of his History Bee and Bowl in Washington, D.C. It’s the same feeling I had before my interview with David Madden: As long as I don’t look like an idiot, I’ll be satisfied. I see on amazon.com that there are plenty of books on pub quizzes. I also bought Bob Harris’ Who Hates Whom: Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts, and Various Things Blowing Up: A Woefully Incomplete Guide. If you have any studying suggestions, I’m always listening (even if you happen to be reading this after the quiz is over). By the way, I hope you enjoyed my interview with David Madden as much as I enjoyed chatting with him.
Speaking of interviews, I have another one coming up, this time with four-time champ Buddy Wright! He won $88,000+ on the show, and stands a decent chance of being in the next Tournament of Champions. Buddy helped out at the National History Bowl in Plano, TX, last weekend. I’m eager to ask him about that, and of course about how he succeeded on Jeopardy! So, if you have any questions for him, leave me a comment.
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| Carl Bradshaw |
Today’s contestants:
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| Mark Pudlow |
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| Sara Lichterman (She’s part of a pub trivia team!) |
Carl answered the first two clues correctly in Water Under the Bridge, then found the first Daily Double there. He wagered 1000 on this clue: “Under the Petofi Bridge in Budapest: this river.” I guessed the correct answer but didn’t really “ring in.” Carl got it right. At the first break, he had 4600, Sara had 2000, and Mark had yet to ring in. At the end of the Jeopardy round, Carl had 7200, Sara had 3400, and Mark had 3600.
Sara found both Daily Doubles in the Double Jeopardy round and wagered 2500 both times. She missed one of them, though. The first one she found was in Made for Walken, about Christopher Walken movies. Sara had 6600, Carl still had 7200, and Mark had 6000. This was the clue: “2007: Wilbur Turnblad, a father.” I missed it, but Sara got it right.
The other one was in Latin Lovers Needed (ooh la la!). Carl still had 7200, while Sara had 11500 and Mark had 6800. This was the clue: “‘Be each head,’ in a country.” Sara was on the right track, but wasn’t close enough. I got it right.
At the end of the round, Carl had 8400, Sara had 10200, and Mark had 10400. The final category was Scientific Discoveries. This was the clue: “In 1919, barely 20 years after its discovery, it was the world’s most expensive substance at $3 million an ounce.” The word “substance” tripped me up. It would’ve helped if the word had been “element.” At any rate, the final was a quadruple-stumper. Carl wagered 2100, Sara wagered 8000, and Mark wagered 10001, leaving Carl with enough to become a two-time champ.
Plenty of quadruple-stumpers today to consider writing about in upcoming posts. Let me know if you have a preference, and ASAP, as I am writing my first one yet tonight: Tagus, ear, Orwell, virginal, Chopin, “Sleepy Hollow,” “Communion,” Frye, apres-ski, radium.
My Coryat today was 22400. Carl‘s was 8000, Sara’s was 11400, and Mark’s was 10400. I swept Tech-Know, Crossword Clues “H”, and A Reporter’s Basic Questions, but most every other category kicked my butt, especially Water Under the Bridge, Authors, and Made for Walken. Here are my Coryat scores since Tuesday:
3-1: Raya Elias-Pushett 12400 Kailyn Laporte 14400 Raynell Cooper 16000 Me 37000
3-2: Raya Elias-Pushett 14400 Kailyn Laporte 11800 Raynell Cooper 10800 Me 32000
3-3: Carl Bradshaw 19200 Cecilia Boudreau 5000 Kate Rowland 10600 Me 19200