PT-BAM Transcripts: Ellen Gaines (8/16/09)

[BBTranscriptTeam]

2nd FF Question

Put these Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover models in the order in which they first appeared on the cover, starting with the earliest.

A- Tyra Banks B- Christie Brinkley
C- Bar Refaeli D- Elle McPherson

Spoiler

BDAC

And the winner is:

Mike Frame-
Richard Meissner- 6.20 s
Leah Asbury- 5.92 s
Renee Vanlandingham- 7.54 s
Steve Elia- 7.05 s
Benny Shum-
Dale Shackley- 8.50 s
Ellen Gaines- 5.45 s
Stephanie Osorio-

(Mike and Benny- your man-cards are revoked!)

Ellen has been a gym teacher, coaching women’s basketball and softball for 24 years

Categories:

Travels with George (Would have liked to have seen this- wouldn’t it have been fun had it been a “Where’s George” question?)
Goodnight Moon
The Two Davids
Great Idea!
Sports Stars
Ready to Rumble
On the Record
I Love U (umlaut- I can’t access my special characters today for some reason)
Googly Eyes
Mr. Yankovic
Crossword Clues
Heaven on Earth
Jungle Book
Kitchen Gadgets
Checking In

$100 (Checking In)- In fancy hotels, it is traditional for what tantalizing treat to be left on your pillow?

A- A pretzel B- An apple
C- A mint D- A photo of Wolf Blitzer

Spoiler

C- A mint (7)

$200 (Kitchen Gadgets)- A “spud spike” is a kitchen gadget commonly used to prepare which of the following?

A- Baked potato B- Macaroni and cheese
C- Onion rings D- French toast

Spoiler

A- Baked potato (7)

$300 (Jungle Book)- The 2008 autobiography “Me Cheeta” was “written” by Tarzan’s famous sidekick, who is what kind of animal?

A- Tiger B- Elephant
C- Snake D- Chimpanzee

Spoiler

D- Chimpanzee (4)

$500 (Heaven on Earth)- Appropriately, the Spanish word for heaven, “cielo”, is also the word for what?

A- Lake B- Forest
C- Sky D- Cave

Spoiler

C- Sky (7)

$1,000- In the New York Times Election Day crossword puzzle, which of these answers had the clue “Blue State” and not “Red State”?

A- Melancholy B- Communism
C- Outrage D- Insolvency

Ellen answers B- Communism with 3 seconds on the clock and leaves with $0. (And _TPTB_ say “Don’t let the door hit you and your husband’s asses on the way out! What’s that- your souvenir checks? You didn’t win shit! Oh hell- we’ll mail you some- now get out!”)

Spoiler

A- Melancholy

[NellyLunatic1980]

$100 (Checking In)- In fancy hotels, it is traditional for what tantalizing treat to be left on your pillow?

A- A pretzel B- An apple
C- A mint D- A photo of Wolf Blitzer

Wolf is not as tantalizing after thinking that EW&F did "Solid (As a Rock)" the other night.

$200 (Kitchen Gadgets)- A “spud spike” is a kitchen gadget commonly used to prepare which of the following?

A- Baked potato B- Macaroni and cheese
C- Onion rings D- French toast

The potato finally makes an appearance on the 10th anniversary specials.

Nihil obstat®

[TheConfessor]

$1,000- In the New York Times Election Day crossword puzzle, which of these answers had the clue “Blue State” and not “Red State”?

A- Melancholy B- Communism
C- Outrage D- Insolvency

So did anyone verify that the NY Times crossword clue was just the two words "blue state"? If so, the gratuitous addition of "and not a red state" into the show's question only served to confuse the issue, and added nothing of value in determining the answer.

[Bob Juch]

$1,000- In the New York Times Election Day crossword puzzle, which of these answers had the clue “Blue State” and not “Red State”?

A- Melancholy B- Communism
C- Outrage D- Insolvency

So did anyone verify that the NY Times crossword clue was just the two words "blue state"? If so, the gratuitous addition of "and not a red state" into the show's question only served to confuse the issue, and added nothing of value in determining the answer.

I read it as having the clue "Blue State" and not the clue "Red State".

[Appa23]

$1,000- In the New York Times Election Day crossword puzzle, which of these answers had the clue “Blue State” and not “Red State”?

A- Melancholy B- Communism
C- Outrage D- Insolvency

So did anyone verify that the NY Times crossword clue was just the two words "blue state"? If so, the gratuitous addition of "and not a red state" into the show's question only served to confuse the issue, and added nothing of value in determining the answer.

Here is a link to the 2006 puzzle. As stated in the question, the clue for melancholy was "Blue State", while the clues for communism, insolvency, and outrage was "Red State".

http://www.xwordinfo.com/ShowPuzzle.asp ... analyze=on

[TheConfessor]

$1,000- In the New York Times Election Day crossword puzzle, which of these answers had the clue “Blue State” and not “Red State”?

A- Melancholy B- Communism
C- Outrage D- Insolvency

So did anyone verify that the NY Times crossword clue was just the two words "blue state"? If so, the gratuitous addition of "and not a red state" into the show's question only served to confuse the issue, and added nothing of value in determining the answer.

Here is a link to the 2006 puzzle. As stated in the question, the clue for melancholy was "Blue State", while the clues for communism, insolvency, and outrage was "Red State".

http://www.xwordinfo.com/ShowPuzzle.asp ... analyze=on

Thanks. I'm surprised to learn that this question was from a 2006 crossword puzzle. When it says "In the New York Times Election Day crossword puzzle," that seems to imply the most recent one, presumably the November 4, 2008 puzzle. It doesn't really change anything for the contestant in this case, but there have been lots of different New York Times Election Day crossword puzzles. If they happened to be referring to one from 1956 or 1916, that might be important to know.

[Jeemie]

I did that puzzle, and I don't remember it from being that long ago.

[MarleysGh0st]

$1,000- In the New York Times Election Day crossword puzzle, which of these answers had the clue “Blue State” and not “Red State”?

A- Melancholy B- Communism
C- Outrage D- Insolvency

So did anyone verify that the NY Times crossword clue was just the two words "blue state"? If so, the gratuitous addition of "and not a red state" into the show's question only served to confuse the issue, and added nothing of value in determining the answer.

Here is a link to the 2006 puzzle. As stated in the question, the clue for melancholy was "Blue State", while the clues for communism, insolvency, and outrage was "Red State".

http://www.xwordinfo.com/ShowPuzzle.asp ... analyze=on

Oh.

So all four of these words were somewhere in the puzzle, and the clues were:
A. Blue State
B. Red State
C. Red State
D. Red State

The WWTBAM question writers might simply have mentioned the clue "Blue State" and not mentioned "Red State" at all. By including them both (as well as highlighting the "Election Day" aspect), they leave the impression that the entire clue is "Blue State and not Red State", unless one is paying very close attention to where the quotation marks are. All within the confines of the 15 second limit of TDC.

[Jeemie]

So did anyone verify that the NY Times crossword clue was just the two words "blue state"? If so, the gratuitous addition of "and not a red state" into the show's question only served to confuse the issue, and added nothing of value in determining the answer.

Here is a link to the 2006 puzzle. As stated in the question, the clue for melancholy was "Blue State", while the clues for communism, insolvency, and outrage was "Red State".

http://www.xwordinfo.com/ShowPuzzle.asp ... analyze=on

Oh.

So all four of these words were somewhere in the puzzle, and the clues were:
A. Blue State
B. Red State
C. Red State
D. Red State

The WWTBAM question writers might simply have mentioned the clue "Blue State" and not mentioned "Red State" at all. By including them both (as well as highlighting the "Election Day" aspect), they leave the impression that the entire clue is "Blue State and not Red State", unless one is paying very close attention to where the quotation marks are. All within the confines of the 15 second limit of TDC.

I agree it was a wicked question for the 15-second tier.

But you are VASTLY over-complicating the scenario.

All the contestant had to do was shake her brain out of "political" mode as soon as she saw that three of the four choices didn't have a thing to do with politics or political entities.

[MarleysGh0st]

Here is a link to the 2006 puzzle. As stated in the question, the clue for melancholy was "Blue State", while the clues for communism, insolvency, and outrage was "Red State".

http://www.xwordinfo.com/ShowPuzzle.asp ... analyze=on

Oh.

So all four of these words were somewhere in the puzzle, and the clues were:
A. Blue State
B. Red State
C. Red State
D. Red State

The WWTBAM question writers might simply have mentioned the clue "Blue State" and not mentioned "Red State" at all. By including them both (as well as highlighting the "Election Day" aspect), they leave the impression that the entire clue is "Blue State and not Red State", unless one is paying very close attention to where the quotation marks are. All within the confines of the 15 second limit of TDC.

I agree it was a wicked question for the 15-second tier.

But you are VASTLY over-complicating the scenario.

All the contestant had to do was shake her brain out of "political" mode as soon as she saw that three of the four choices didn't have a thing to do with politics or political entities.

Yes, yes, I know. That's ALL the contestant had to do. If the question writers hadn't vastly overcomplicated the question with superfluous and distracting background information, maybe she could have done it in 15 seconds, too.

[Jeemie]

Yes, yes, I know. That's ALL the contestant had to do. If the question writers hadn't vastly overcomplicated the question with superfluous and distracting background information, maybe she could have done it in 15 seconds, too.

Again, I agree.

But you're engaging in hyperbole to make your point- that always weakens the argument.

[MarleysGh0st]

Yes, yes, I know. That's ALL the contestant had to do. If the question writers hadn't vastly overcomplicated the question with superfluous and distracting background information, maybe she could have done it in 15 seconds, too.

Again, I agree.

But you're engaging in hyperbole to make your point- that always weakens the argument.

What part was hyperbole? "Vastly overcomplicating?" That was your phrase!

[hanzz]

as she saw that three of the four choices didn't have a thing to do with politics or political entities.

But therein lies the problem. With only 15 seconds, most of the time these first-tier questions are simply asking which choice is the odd one out. The wording of the question undeniably prepped Ellen's mind for something in the realm of politics. With only one choice having anything to do with politics, one can't have much time left to suddenly switch gears and start thinking about emotions.

Replace "Communism" with a word like "anger" or "atomic", and suddenly the answer is a little more obvious at first glance.

[Appa23]

as she saw that three of the four choices didn't have a thing to do with politics or political entities.

But therein lies the problem. With only 15 seconds, most of the time these first-tier questions are simply asking which choice is the odd one out. The wording of the question undeniably prepped Ellen's mind for something in the realm of politics. With only one choice having anything to do with politics, one can't have much time left to suddenly switch gears and start thinking about emotions.

I guess that this was just a question where you either immediately got it, or you were utterly flustered and could not take your 15 seconds and reason it out.

Whether that makes it a "bad" question or "wicked" question, well, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.

[wintergreen48]

as she saw that three of the four choices didn't have a thing to do with politics or political entities.

But therein lies the problem. With only 15 seconds, most of the time these first-tier questions are simply asking which choice is the odd one out. The wording of the question undeniably prepped Ellen's mind for something in the realm of politics. With only one choice having anything to do with politics, one can't have much time left to suddenly switch gears and start thinking about emotions.

Replace "Communism" with a word like "anger" or "atomic", and suddenly the answer is a little more obvious at first glance.

But 'communism' is as red as you can get, so when the clue specifically says 'not red,' shouldn't that have led her to disqualify it entirely?

[ghostjmf]

I believe I missed the FF by flipping Tyra & Elle's order.

1K: I would have done anything to buy time. Pee. Have a nervous breakdown on stage (well, pee would be included there I think). Eventually, before they dragged me off that is, tell the audience "I do not understand this question; do you?" & throw it to them. I realize I do not have ATE here; otherwise a lot of "please read this until we both make heads or tails of it" would work.

In real life, in my livingroom, I froze the tape, to scrutinize the wording, so small on my 13" TV, to see if maybe Regis forgot to read the year of the election in question. Because blue states were happy in the last one. Not melancholy.

Thinking about it, I eventually realized it was the idiotic "this is a crossword puzzle clue" part that I wasn't getting. It would be too easy for the NY Times crossword to say "X down is a synonym for sad". No, they have to say "its election day puzzle, you dummy, so we're asking you for a synonym for 'blue state'. Get it? Not state-of-the-union, like you would expect on election day, but state-of-mind! Ha ha ha ha ha". Remind me why I don't do crossword puzzles.

According to a NY Times mag article I read recently, Mr. former Prez Bill Clinton, who does do them, was up all night with one where the clue was something like "major catch of year X" & the answer turned out to be "Saddam Hussein". But he did turn in the filled in puzzle in the morning to the reporter. Finally. For all I know, the name on this puzzle was not "political figures" but "fishing".

At any rate, when you can't figure out that you have to be in "NY Times Crossword Puzzle Brain Mode", neither the question nor the answers mean anything. And in 15 seconds on the hot seat, you are not in that mode. I wasn't even in that mode for several minutes in my livingroom.

The contestant has all my deepest sympathy.

[Jeemie]

as she saw that three of the four choices didn't have a thing to do with politics or political entities.

But therein lies the problem. With only 15 seconds, most of the time these first-tier questions are simply asking which choice is the odd one out. The wording of the question undeniably prepped Ellen's mind for something in the realm of politics. With only one choice having anything to do with politics, one can't have much time left to suddenly switch gears and start thinking about emotions.

I guess that this was just a question where you either immediately got it, or you were utterly flustered and could not take your 15 seconds and reason it out.

Whether that makes it a "bad" question or "wicked" question, well, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.

It's probably one that should have been valued a little higher- just so there was more than 30 seconds to figure it out.

[themanwho]

It looks like this thread has not been moved to "Show Transcripts."

-M

[earendel]

This was one of the contestants I saw tape. Most of the audience was stunned when she missed.

$1,000- In the New York Times Election Day crossword puzzle, which of these answers had the clue “Blue State” and not “Red State”?

A- Melancholy B- Communism
C- Outrage D- Insolvency

Ellen answers B- Communism with 3 seconds on the clock and leaves with $0. (And _TPTB_ say “Don’t let the door hit you and your husband’s asses on the way out! What’s that- your souvenir checks? You didn’t win shit! Oh hell- we’ll mail you some- now get out!”)

Spoiler

A- Melancholy

I'm an inveterate cruciverbalist so this wasn't very difficult for me. It was clear that Ellen misread the question and with such a short time to answer she didn't have much time to think about it. This is one of the toughest $1K questions I can recall.

[Bob78164]

It looks like this thread has not been moved to "Show Transcripts."

-M

It has now. Thanks. --Bob

[Jeemie]

This was one of the contestants I saw tape. Most of the audience was stunned when she missed.

$1,000- In the New York Times Election Day crossword puzzle, which of these answers had the clue “Blue State” and not “Red State”?

A- Melancholy B- Communism
C- Outrage D- Insolvency

Ellen answers B- Communism with 3 seconds on the clock and leaves with $0. (And _TPTB_ say “Don’t let the door hit you and your husband’s asses on the way out! What’s that- your souvenir checks? You didn’t win shit! Oh hell- we’ll mail you some- now get out!”)

Spoiler

A- Melancholy

I'm an inveterate cruciverbalist so this wasn't very difficult for me. It was clear that Ellen misread the question and with such a short time to answer she didn't have much time to think about it. This is one of the toughest $1K questions I can recall.

This question was obviously written by someone who didn't take the clock into account.

He/she probably thought the answer was obvious- which it was- but the question was such that one could easily get locked into a political mindset from which one could not escape in 15 seconds.

That question should have been in the upper middle tier.

[Maxximus]

Calling that question upper middle tier is generous at best. I agree that the question was certainly more diificult with the reduced time, but I think this was more like a $2000 question. Additionally having melancholy be choice A certainly helps when trying to get the answer.

[Jeemie]

Calling that question upper middle tier is generous at best. I agree that the question was certainly more diificult with the reduced time, but I think this was more like a $2000 question. Additionally having melancholy be choice A certainly helps when trying to get the answer.

OK- middle tier- just to get the extra 15 seconds to unlock out of the midset the question steered one into.