WWTBAM Bored

Matt Schultz
Princeton Junction, NJ
Youth pastor

Matt still has his PAF, DD and ATE.

Today's ATE is writer and host of NPR's "Wait. Wait. Don't Tell Me," Mo Rocca.

Topic Tree:

Obituaries
The Medal of Honor
Mammals
In the News
Logos
Historic Places
Nonfiction
(The Titanic)
(Poetry)
(Nicknames)
(In the News)
(Phrase Origins)
(U.S. History)
(Foreign Languages)
(Children's TV)

$15K In 2005, author Malcolm Gladwell released what nonfiction bestseller, subtitled "The Power of Thinking Without Thinking"?
A. Blink
B. Hiccup
C. Pop
D. Twitch

Spoiler

A. Blink (25)

$25K In 2007, a garage in Palo Alto, CA was added to the National Register of Historic Places to honor the founding site of what company?
A. Boeing
B. General Electric
C. Maytag
D. Hewlett-Packard

Matt has a hunch, but would like to ATE.

ATE (14)

Mo says he knows it's not Boeing. He thinks it's Hewlett-Packard
Matt asks if he can rule any of the others out.

Mo: I know it's not Boeing. Boeing doesn't even take off as far as I'm concerned.

Matt: Hey, you know, I'm being rude. I want to say I really, really like your comedy. I love watching your shows and stuff.

Mo: Well, thank you very much.

Meredith: Ok.

Matt: It's nice to talk with you. I didn't mean to get distracted with, you know, the money and all.

Meredith: All right boys. Enough of the love fest.

Matt: Have you met Meredith? She's great.

Meredith: Ok. Mo. Thank you.

Spoiler

D. Hewlett-Packard (12)

commercial break

$50K What government organization's logo is affectionately known as "the meatball"?
A. NASA
B. CIA
C. FBI
D. IRS

PAF (25)

Matt's PAF team:

Bob from Stephentown, NY
Liz from Princeton Junction, NJ
Andrew from Middletown, MD

PAF - Liz

Liz says that it is NASA.

Spoiler

A. NASA (23)

$100K Slated upon completion to be the longest railway tunnel in the world, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is located in what country?
A. France
B. Switzerland
C. Germany
D. Austria

DD (2)

Matt's first choice, C. Germany is incorrect.
Matt's second choice is correct.

Spoiler

B. Switzerland (1)

commercial break

$250K Which of these whales is easy to spot from afar because its unique blowholes cause to spout vapor in a recognizable "V" shape?
A. Right whale
B. Beluga whale
C. Sperm whale
D. Pilot whale

Matt decides to leave with $100K.

Spoiler

A. Right whale (17)

Matt moves into third place on the Tournament of Ten standings

1. Keilani Goggins $100K - 1:53
2. Jeff Birt $100K - 1:53
3. Matt Schultz $100K - 2:28
4. Tim Janus $100K - 2:44
5. Ralph Cambeis $50K - 1:13
6. Alex Ortiz $50K - 2:19
7. Fred Roberts $50K - 2:27
8. Alan Carver $25K - 0:30
9. Stephanie Millien $25K - 1:40
10. Brandon Clayton $25K - 2:08

Answers:
$15K A. Blink
$25K D. Hewlett-Packard
$50K A. NASA
$100K B. Switzerland
$250K A. Right whale

Matt was a great contestant. I was rooting for him all the way and I'm glad he advanced as far as he did. Great work (and pretty gutsy to go for $100k on what was mainly a guess).

I laughed at the comment Meredith made about the angel and the devil on each shoulder. That was probably the thought process through his mind. He said the angel was his wife, so I wonder who was the devil that made him go for it? lol

Matt was very gutsy I did not expect him to double dip I was yelling walk away at my TV screen. In any case he gussed his way to $100,000 who knows maybe he'll guess his way to $1,000,000 in the tournament.

Imagine what the devil and angel will be saying on his shoulders when he contemplates that!

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Today's ATE is writer and host of NPR's "Wait. Wait. Don't Tell Me," Mo Rocca.

Yay! Mo is back!

$15K: Never heard of this book. Ask Mo.

$50K: No clue. PAF.

$250K: I can't narrow down this to two for DD, so I'm leaving.

Dream stack.

At $500K with all lifelines.

Here's an article about Matt's appearance.

http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/i ... xml&coll=5

This stack being a good example. Not a problem from 25K on, having observed more than a few V shaped spouts from right whales in my life, but not a clue at 15K. My gut instinct guess proved right but it was only a guess and would have probably required a lifeline to be sure.

Have to use Double Dip on $250k, as I only can eliminate beluga and sperm whale.

Unfortunately, I do not have faith in Mo or audience at such high levels,

Appa23 wrote:Have to use Double Dip on $250k, as I only can eliminate beluga and sperm whale.

Unfortunately, I do not have faith in Mo or audience at such high levels,

The real key here is knowing toothed versus baleen whales. The right whale was the only baleen whale in this group and only baleen whales have a double blow hole (kinda like having two nostrils) as opposed to toothed whales, porpoises (porpi?) and dolphins which have a single blowhole.

tanstaafl2 wrote:

Appa23 wrote:Have to use Double Dip on $250k, as I only can eliminate beluga and sperm whale.

Unfortunately, I do not have faith in Mo or audience at such high levels,

The real key here is knowing toothed versus baleen whales. The right whale was the only baleen whale in this group and only baleen whales have a double blow hole (kinda like having two nostrils) as opposed to toothed whales, porpoises (porpi?) and dolphins which have a single blowhole.

Does the right whale only wear righthanded briefs?

ulysses5019 wrote:

tanstaafl2 wrote:

Appa23 wrote:Have to use Double Dip on $250k, as I only can eliminate beluga and sperm whale.

Unfortunately, I do not have faith in Mo or audience at such high levels,

The real key here is knowing toothed versus baleen whales. The right whale was the only baleen whale in this group and only baleen whales have a double blow hole (kinda like having two nostrils) as opposed to toothed whales, porpoises (porpi?) and dolphins which have a single blowhole.

Does the right whale only wear righthanded briefs?

Nah, they tend to be a bunch of flaky "naturists"!

The name, as it happens, has nothing to do with "right versus left" but with "right vs wrong" as it turned out to be their misfortune to be viewed by whalers as the "right" whale to slaughter because they were generally easy to catch.

tanstaafl2 wrote:

ulysses5019 wrote:

tanstaafl2 wrote:
The real key here is knowing toothed versus baleen whales. The right whale was the only baleen whale in this group and only baleen whales have a double blow hole (kinda like having two nostrils) as opposed to toothed whales, porpoises (porpi?) and dolphins which have a single blowhole.

Does the right whale only wear righthanded briefs?

The name, as it happens, has nothing to do with "right versus left" but with "right vs wrong" as it turned out to be their misfortune to be viewed by whalers as the "right" whale to slaughter because they were generally easy to catch.

To be a shade more specific... not only are they comparatively slow swimmers, but because of their northern (cold) water habitat, they have a much thicker layer of blubber as compared to most other whales. More blubber = more value, and "best" of all, the extra blubber also meant that right whales didn't immediately sink after being harpooned. Whalers could harpoon many whales and then haul 'em all in at their leisure.

Here's another short article about Matt's appearance. Until last year, he was living in Upstate New York.

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/arti ... /310019966

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Matt Schultz
Princeton Junction, NJ
Youth pastor

Matt still has his PAF, DD and ATE.

Today's ATE is writer and host of NPR's "Wait. Wait. Don't Tell Me," Mo Rocca.

He's not the host of the show but he is a frequent panelist.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$15K In 2005, author Malcolm Gladwell released what nonfiction bestseller, subtitled "The Power of Thinking Without Thinking"?
A. Blink
B. Hiccup
C. Pop
D. Twitch

Spoiler

A. Blink (25)

I've never heard of this, so it's time to ATA.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$50K What government organization's logo is affectionately known as "the meatball"?
A. NASA
B. CIA
C. FBI
D. IRS

PAF (25)

Matt's PAF team:

Bob from Stephentown, NY
Liz from Princeton Junction, NJ
Andrew from Middletown, MD

PAF - Liz

Liz says that it is NASA.

Spoiler

A. NASA (23)

I guess it gets the name because it's round. But it's blue, not red, which would be more appropriate.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$100K Slated upon completion to be the longest railway tunnel in the world, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is located in what country?
A. France
B. Switzerland
C. Germany
D. Austria

DD (2)

Matt's first choice, C. Germany is incorrect.
Matt's second choice is correct.

Spoiler

B. Switzerland (1)

Too many Germanic speaking countries in the list for me, so time to PAF.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$250K Which of these whales is easy to spot from afar because its unique blowholes cause to spout vapor in a recognizable "V" shape?
A. Right whale
B. Beluga whale
C. Sperm whale
D. Pilot whale

Matt decides to leave with $100K.

Spoiler

A. Right whale (17)

I thought it might be either humpback or gray whales. Since those answers aren't here it's time for another lifeline. I can't rule any of them out, so might as well ATE and hope for the best.

earendel wrote:I guess it gets the name because it's round. But it's blue, not red, which would be more appropriate.

It wasn't called the "meatball" until 1975, when NASA introduced a more modern logo, which was dubbed "the worm".



Trivia stuff I learned when I visited the Kennedy Space Center a few years back.

Jeemie wrote:

earendel wrote:I guess it gets the name because it's round. But it's blue, not red, which would be more appropriate.

It wasn't called the "meatball" until 1975, when NASA introduced a more modern logo, which was dubbed "the worm".



Trivia stuff I learned when I visited the Kennedy Space Center a few years back.

NASA went back to the "meatball" logo in 1992.

Also, for a few years, NBC had a logo called the snake, which they used alongside the better-known peacock:


GE's logo is also callled the meatball.

Here's a follow-up article about Matt that talks about him still holding third place in the ToT standings.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2009 ... liona.html

"Right now, it’s out of my hands," said Schultz, who won $100,000 in prize money on the show last month. "We’ll see if the other people do better. There is no way for me to play defense. Let’s just see if what I’ve already done holds up."

Of course, right now, the ToT has already been taped and Matt just can't talk about it.

With his $100,000 in winnings, Schultz is nearly home free and out of debt.

"The goal was to get our debt up to zero," he said, admitting that the risk of dropping to $25,000 is a subject of "great discussion" in his house.

Vieira understands what Schultz is feeling. She said more and more people are auditioning for the show for help paying ordinary house bills than for big ticket luxuries like cars or trips.

"What I’m seeing — to be honest with you — is the similarity among so many of the contestants this season and last because of the economic times that we’re in. I’ve seen more contestants who are playing for things like a mortgage payment," she said. "Or, you know, because they don’t have a job right now, or their kid suddenly can’t go to college. I’m seeing more of a unified pool of contestants than we have in prior years."

What you're seeing — to be honest with you, Meredith — is exactly the type of contestants and contestant stories the producers are choosing for you to see.

jarnon wrote:GE's logo is also callled the meatball.

Did they give that same nickname to Electric Light Orchestra's logo, since it was essentially a ripoff of the GE logo?

MarleysGh0st wrote:Here's a follow-up article about Matt that talks about him still holding third place in the ToT standings.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2009 ... liona.html

"Right now, it’s out of my hands," said Schultz, who won $100,000 in prize money on the show last month. "We’ll see if the other people do better. There is no way for me to play defense. Let’s just see if what I’ve already done holds up."

Of course, right now, the ToT has already been taped and Matt just can't talk about it.

With his $100,000 in winnings, Schultz is nearly home free and out of debt.

"The goal was to get our debt up to zero," he said, admitting that the risk of dropping to $25,000 is a subject of "great discussion" in his house.

Vieira understands what Schultz is feeling. She said more and more people are auditioning for the show for help paying ordinary house bills than for big ticket luxuries like cars or trips.

"What I’m seeing — to be honest with you — is the similarity among so many of the contestants this season and last because of the economic times that we’re in. I’ve seen more contestants who are playing for things like a mortgage payment," she said. "Or, you know, because they don’t have a job right now, or their kid suddenly can’t go to college. I’m seeing more of a unified pool of contestants than we have in prior years."

What you're seeing — to be honest with you, Meredith — is exactly the type of contestants and contestant stories the producers are choosing for you to see.

I don't think we can assume that to be true. If the general economy has resulted in the overall population needing the money for these things, you going to see a lot more contestents being in the situation where they need the money for bills and other items like that, regardless of the selection process. It also could be a factor in who is trying to get on the show, so the pool of people trying out might grow in terms of percentages of those needing the money to handle their personal finances. That could easily explain the increase without TPTB having to use that as a screening factor in selecting who gets into the pool. Considering the large number of people who would qualify to be on the show based on a lot of debt, I seriously doubt that that criteria would make a very effective filter - so, although I don't have any inside knowledge, I doubt that is being used in the selection process.

frogman042 wrote:

MarleysGh0st wrote:Here's a follow-up article about Matt that talks about him still holding third place in the ToT standings.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2009 ... liona.html

"Right now, it’s out of my hands," said Schultz, who won $100,000 in prize money on the show last month. "We’ll see if the other people do better. There is no way for me to play defense. Let’s just see if what I’ve already done holds up."

Of course, right now, the ToT has already been taped and Matt just can't talk about it.

With his $100,000 in winnings, Schultz is nearly home free and out of debt.

"The goal was to get our debt up to zero," he said, admitting that the risk of dropping to $25,000 is a subject of "great discussion" in his house.

Vieira understands what Schultz is feeling. She said more and more people are auditioning for the show for help paying ordinary house bills than for big ticket luxuries like cars or trips.

"What I’m seeing — to be honest with you — is the similarity among so many of the contestants this season and last because of the economic times that we’re in. I’ve seen more contestants who are playing for things like a mortgage payment," she said. "Or, you know, because they don’t have a job right now, or their kid suddenly can’t go to college. I’m seeing more of a unified pool of contestants than we have in prior years."

What you're seeing — to be honest with you, Meredith — is exactly the type of contestants and contestant stories the producers are choosing for you to see.

I don't think we can assume that to be true. If the general economy has resulted in the overall population needing the money for these things, you going to see a lot more contestents being in the situation where they need the money for bills and other items like that, regardless of the selection process. It also could be a factor in who is trying to get on the show, so the pool of people trying out might grow in terms of percentages of those needing the money to handle their personal finances. That could easily explain the increase without TPTB having to use that as a screening factor in selecting who gets into the pool. Considering the large number of people who would qualify to be on the show based on a lot of debt, I seriously doubt that that criteria would make a very effective filter - so, although I don't have any inside knowledge, I doubt that is being used in the selection process.

It may be true that the economy is affecting the mix of who tries out for the show, but Meredith's attempt at playing a news reporter again based on who she is personally seeing in the Hot Seat is working with a biased sample. She is not interviewing a random cross-section of all auditioners and she is not asking them for a genuine answer to the "what would you do with the money" question. There have always been contestants who would use it to pay bills, to save for college and retirement, etc., but those stories did not get past the APs.

Now, of course, the recession has TPTB deciding to make these stories a new theme.

Here's another article about Matt's upcoming participation in the ToT.

http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/i ... xml&coll=5

Schultz contends he won't be doing any additional preparations.

"For the first time, I studied all kinds of things, like Greek and Latin roots of words and historical things," he said. "It didn't turn out to be useful, so I am just going to go out there and enjoy myself."

Maybe your studying last time didn't pay off, but you know you're going to look at a $1 million question this time, Matt! And with your 4th place standing on the leader board, there's a decent chance that you could keep that money if you answer correctly. Don't you think that's worth a little study, no matter how unlikely it might be that you study the right thing?

Matt's ranking in the ToT has been getting him a lot of publicity in his local paper. Here's one more article promoting his tournament appearance today.

WARNING: This article includes his $1 million question and the answer.

http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/i ... xml&coll=5