Play by play time!
BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Hans von Walter (BB handle hanzz)
Avon Park, FL
medical student
Hans worked really hard to get to the show. He drove 40 hours from Florida to Las Vegas to audition. He got pulled over for speeding in Texas, had to sleep in his truck at some rest stops, and right before the audition he splashed some water in his face and he was ready to go.
That's right, Bob###'s, before you saw me, I had been a hot mess a mere few hours before as morning broke in Flagstaff, AZ, on me in my pickup truck in the parking lot of a Howard Johnson.
Topic Tree: (randomized)
Traditional Cuisine
Sports Honors
Bedside Reading
Coin Customs
Side Jobs
Special Features
Drive-Thru Service
Born Leader
Where to Eat
Beat the Clock
So I make a slight face here because I don't get to see my unrandomized category stack. Oh well, I've actually sometimes done better on these when looking at transcripts because I don't get overly stressed when I know I'm approaching a "big one". Rich had told us that some of us would see it, some of us wouldn't, but that "it doesn't really matter."
So, let's see, ooh, Coin Customs, I've studied some coin trivia...uh, is that sports I see...oh hey we're starting!
Question #1 (Beat the Clock)
On a standard clock face that uses Roman numerals, how many of the 12 numbers are represented by a single Roman numeral?
A - 2
B - 3
C - 4
D - 5
Hans goes through the entire set of numbers, counting them as he goes.
Answer: B (3)
Value: $3,000
Bank: $3,000
Ahh, a classic "take your time" question. I was praying for one of these, so not a bad place to start. Meredith actually forgot to read the choices, which I thought was weird, so I had started counting through the clock before she realized she'd forgotten and so she read the choices and I started counting again.
Question #2 (Where to Eat)
An eatery in Evanston, IL, Mt. Everest Restaurant has which of these popular ethnic dishes on its menu?
A - chicken teriyaki
B - chicken pad thai
C - tandoori chicken
D - General Tso's chicken
"Teriyaki is Japanese and Mt. Everest is in Nepal"
, Hans begins.
"Pad thai would be Thai and General Tso's is Chinese, and tandoori is Indian".
He hesitates, but then gives his final answer.
Answer: C (tandoori chicken)
Value: $25,000
Bank: $28,000
Oh, boy. I think a little bit was cut out here. I talked out my conflict about Mt. Everest being on the border of Nepal and China, and so I was torn between an actual "Chinese" dish and a dish more associated with Indian food (India NOT being a country that touched Mt. Everest). Ultimately, I let common sense override straight up knowledge and locked in tandoori. Roger Craig and Jerome Vered both tell me they would have been out, understandably so. I think I remembered after the fact going to a Himalayan restaurant a few weeks before with someone and he ordered tandoori chicken. I considered jumping this, but Rich had also told us repeatedly that if an answer feels right to you, then just go for it, and save the jumps for the questions they purposely write for you to use them on (essentially admitting that they purposely write WWOQs).
Also, I know you guys hate supercelebrations over $25k being revealed, but I have to say, it was such an emotional pendulum to go from thinking you were out to suddenly having the $25k out of the way, I was just bursting!
Hans's parents are in the relationship seats. Hans and Meredith engage in a little mutual admiration.
Question #3 (Born Leader)
In 2011, what pop star created the Born This Way Foundation to promote youth empowerment?
A - Britney Spears
B - Kelly Clarkson
C - Lady Gaga
D - Carrie Underwood
Hans has a lot of friends who would kill him if he got this one wrong.
Answer: C (Lady Gaga)
Value: $10,000
Bank: $38,000
Ahh, it feels good to know something for sure. I smile whenever this song comes on my running mix now.
Question #4 (Drive-Thru Service)
Operating out of a truck, a New York City business with the motto "Who's Your Daddy?" charges $350 for customers who need what service "to go"?
A - psychotherapy
B - DNA testing
C - pet neutering
D - tattoo removal
Hans has friends at Loma Linda (where he goes to medical school) who would be mad if he got this one wrong.
Answer: B (DNA testing)
Value: $15,000
Bank: $53,000
I saw "NYC" and was all ready to ATA until the choices came up. Holy crap, all three big $$ amounts out of the way, and I still haven't used any jumps! I'm doing great! (dun dun dun...). Also, my shoutout to Loma Linda sounded pretty shoehorned in, but since I was playing hookey, it felt worth it.
Meredith asks Hans's parents what they think of their son. Mother Dora says they are proud of him and grateful to God and so excited (father Hans Christian just smiles).
lol "Mother Dora". Her full name is Dora Alba, and it's often contracted to Doralba, so I had put that down as her name, but Meredith couldn't pronounce it for the life of her, so I just corrected her and told her to call my mom Dora. My mom afterwards admitted to me that she didn't hear the question that Meredith had asked her and asked if whatever she said made any sense.
Question #5 (Special Features)
What small island off of Florida was home to one of JFK's secret nuclear bomb shelters?
A - Banana Island
B - Honey Island
C - Ginger Island
D - Peanut Island
Hans didn't know if JFK was a particular fan of any of these foods and even though he knows the audience is smart he's going to jump the question.
Answer: D (Peanut Island)
Value: $7,000
Bank: $53,000 (unchanged)
(Thought process before the choices come up) "Hmm, OK, well, I'm from Florida, I know a few islands there, we've got Sanibel, Marco, Captiva, the Keys...maybe they'll be nice and throw in some choices like "Long Island" "Big Island" or something." (Choices come up) "Oh, WTF?? Never heard of any of these. OK, say something cute about JFK and jump this bitch." The only choice I had maybe a tiny inkling on was Banana Island since that's an actual term but obviously irrelevant.
Question #6 (Side Jobs)
Given his reputation as the "world's greatest detective," what superhero is fittingly listed as a "fictional criminologist" on Wikipedia?
A - Batman
B - Iron Man
C - Spider-Man
D - Superman
Hans said he saw "this movie at 8 o'clock in the morning, I was that eager."
Answer: A (Batman)
Value: $5,000
Bank: $58,000
"World's greatest detective", Batman, done. I've been surprised at how many people didn't know this. Also, I came daaaaaaangerously close to saying something about thankfully missing the midnight Batman premiere but stopped myself (you hear me mention "midnights" at least).
Question #7 (Coin Customs)
With roughly $3,500 collected each day, coins collected from what famous site are used to subsidize a supermarket for the poor?
A - Leaning Tower of Pisa
B - Trevi Fountain
C - Statue of Liberty
D - Stonehenge
Hans can't think of any good reason why people would throw coins at
the Statue of Liberty or the Tower of Pisa - they might knock it over.
The only one that makes sense is
Trevi Fountain.
Answer: B (Trevi Fountain)
Value: $500
Bank: $58,500
It's funny how I only noticed now that the question didn't say anything about throwing coins yet I immediately started talking about which one would make sense to throw coins at. Thankfully that didn't prove harmful.
Question #8 (Bedside Reading)
Because its founder was Mormon, which of these hotel chains often has rooms containing copies of the Book of Mormon?
A - Best Western
B - Hilton
C - Marriott
D - Hyatt
Hans grimaces, then looks around says, "there are probably some travelers in the audience" and opts to use his ask the audience lifeline.
I had actually ruled out Hilton out loud, that was edited out. But none of the others were sticking out at me.
But, wait a minute, what's that? It seems like everyone around me is whispering "Bestwsternbestwesterbetststwest". WTF, am I the only one that doesn't know this? It's funny how the audience suddenly sounds very *loud* to you when you don't know the answer. Well, one of my strategies going into the game was that I really wanted to have at least one JTQ available in Round 2, so that I could at least get past the often impossible $100k question and have a nice shot with minimal risk at the often slightly easier $250k question. OK, well, Mormon, Romney's been in the news, New Yorkers are cultured, let's throw this at them.
A - 53%
B - 3%
C - 34%
D - 10%
Hans doesn't like the results. He told himself he wouldn't do this but he decides to jump the question.
Answer: C (Marriott)
Value: $1,000
Bank: $58,500 (unchanged)
The moment I say "ATA", I hear a very audible grooooaaaaan resonate throughout the audience, and in that moment, I knew not to trust whatever they said unless it was like 95%. Welp, sure enough, there's Best Western at the top, but that Marriott spike has me very nervous as well. I can't remember if it was afterwards or during the show that hazy memories began to resurface of a 9-year-old me at a Best Western looking into the drawer and seeing the Gideon Bible. Anyway, well, so much for having a Jump in Round 2.
Question #9 (Sports Honors)
In 2011, Twitter gave its official logo a proper name and confirmed that the creature's moniker is a tribute to what sports star?
A - Larry Bird
B - Goose Gossage
C - Tony Hawk
D - Lynn Swann
Hans bemoans the category. He reads through the answers and asks, "What's a gossage?" before realizing that the key word is "Goose". Hans is a bit of a Tweeter. The symbol is not
a hawk, a swan or a goose
. It's
"a straight-up bird."
Answer: A (Larry Bird)
Value: $2,000
Bank: $60,500
Those of you who know about me and my semi-viral
hit might rightfully assume that I was horrified when I saw this category (and perhaps haunted for some redemption). Welp, lifelines are gone, so onward I guess. (question appears) Oh. Interesting. Not what I was expecting. I AM on Twitter. I see that bird symbol every day. It has a name? Sports star? Hmm, maybe it's Larry Bird. (answers appear) Oh, hey there, Larry Bird! Well, that doesn't seem so bad. But how about these other choices? What the heck's a gossage? Oh, Goose! Well, like I said, not a goose, not a swan, not a hawk on the symbol. But, maybe it's generically a tribute to one of these? Nah, that's overthinking it. Just go with Larry Bird.
commercial break
Millionaire question of the day:
On the front cover of The Beatles album "Let it Be," who is the only Beatle without a mustache?
A - Paul McCartney
B - John Lennon
C - George Harrison
D - Ringo Starr
Answer:
B (John Lennon)
Meredith compliments Hans on his game play.
Two things are going through my head at this point. 1) We've been playing for a while, when is that horn going to sound? I don't know how long LB played. 2) Well, let's see, Marriott and Peanut Island were obviously the top 2 level questions. Have I seen the #8 question? Tandoori chicken, maybe, but that could be more of a #7. Everything else has been fairly easy/common sensical. Well, here we go.
Question #10 (Traditional Cuisine)
Though people debate the origins of the tradition, it is a centuries-old practice to serve what animal whole with an apple in its mouth?
A - fish
B - chicken
C - pig
D - lobster
Answer: C (pig)
Value: $100
Bank: $60,600
Yay. And still no horn.
CLASSIC MILLIONAIRE
$100K - Perhaps because it originated in his home country of Germany, Pope Benedict XVI reportedly drinks what soft drink every day?
A - Orangine
B - Yoo-Hoo
C - Fanta
D - Kool-Aid
Hans has a slight hunch. He's leaning toward
Fanta
thinking it was a foreign drink and the others are domestic. Hans is a "water kind of guy". $60,600 is a year's worth of med school tuition and he feels like he's played a pretty good game, so he's going to walk away.
C (Fanta)
(see the question)
OK, think of German drinks...Riesling? Uh...beer?
(choices come up)
Oh. Not what I was expecting.
Well, I think I remember hearing somewhere that Fanta was foreign. But how foreign?
Like, Germany foreign?
Orangina looks pretty foreign too.
DAMMIT WHY IS YOO HOO THERE. WHAT IF IT'S THE ANSWER THIS TIME.
Kool Aid. Spelled with a K. That looks pretty German.
What's my risk/reward ratio here? Lose $40k, or gain $40k?
Hmm. Uh oh. Meredith is starting to say things as if pressing me toward picking something.
Yeah, there' s just way too many factors for me to confidently say Fanta.
Walk.
(see the answer)
UGH
Hmm, I don't see much that it looks like they cut out here. What I don't remember saying was the part about thinking that the other drinks sounded a little more domestic. I should have continued that line of thinking. I had remembered going through transcipts that, when it came to Round 2 questions, it really is know it or you don't; no amount of hunches or reasoning is usually good enough for one to arrive at an answer. When I was making my endgame speech, I did say something about having watched the show since I was 9 with Regis, to which Meredith responded "We don't say that name around here." that was cut out.
THE END OF GAME "NOISE"
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Ahh, bummer, I don't get to see what my $250k question could have been with an audience member.
Let's see, not really much I could have done differently. A few different scenarios perhaps.
1) I immediately jump the Marriott question. This means I have the ATA, and I use it either on Twitter or Fanta. I probably would have gone against using it on Twitter, since I already had an answer in my mind, and I figured the audience would just use the same logic as I did. On the other hand, though, I clearly wasn't sure about it, and I would have risked getting it wrong and leaving lifelines on the table. If the ATA had survived into Round 2, then maybe,
maybe, had there been even the slightest spike at Fanta, maaaaybe that would have been enough for me to confirm and go for it.
2) I take a little more time on the Marriott, remember the Gideon Bible at the Best Western, and just go with the second answer spike, having a jump for Round 2. This is pretty implausible, though, because fresh in my mind was one of the pre-approved episodes we'd watched backstage in which a contestant had almost exactly the same ATA results, but still went for the top answer, got it right, and didn't give a second thought to that weird second-answer spike. So that shook my faith in second-answer spikes. In this scenario, then, I'm more likely to jump Fanta (and perhaps kick myself for doing so after seeing the answer), and see what's in store for $250k.
2) I jump the tandoori chicken question, and somehow recognize the second answer spike on Marriott and get it right. That would have meant I'd have jumped the $25k question, had a bank of $42,600, and gone for the $100k, since I had told myself that if I had a sub-$50k bank going into Round 2 and a hunch on $100k, I would have guessed. I guess there was something psychological about being in the 60s. (I see this as the least plausible scenario)
Bottom line, I basically just needed to grab my balls and go for Fanta. But I didn't. It's definitely a choice that's haunted me the occasional night, but like I said, I am very proud of the game I played, and I had an incredible time. Thanks to everyone for all their support and well wishes!
"OOoooooh, going for a minority option that differs from your initial impulse? How bold!"
