WWTBAM Bored

Audience contestant
Lindsey from Newburgh, NY
Hair stylist
Came with her cousin and her friend

Cedric said he would give Lindsey a question (but did not state it was the next question Maria would have faced)

Question for $1000
Worth at least seven points if you're playing along at home, what was the unfortunate last name of Alfred, the man who invented Scrabble?
A. Wiener B. Screws
C. Butts D. Shett

Spoiler

Lindsey said she plays Scrabble a lot but has no idea. She guessed A.

.
.
.

Answer was C so she lost.

This is a horrible question. All four are worth "at least" seven points.

SportsFan68 wrote:This is a horrible question. All four are worth "at least" seven points.

Minimum values are:
WIENER = 9
SCREWS = 11
BUTTS = 7
SHETT = 8
Unless you used any blanks to spell them. Or possibly if you used a Scrabble game from some other country.

TheConfessor wrote:

SportsFan68 wrote:This is a horrible question. All four are worth "at least" seven points.

Minimum values are:
WIENER = 9
SCREWS = 11
BUTTS = 7
SHETT = 8
Unless you used any blanks to spell them. Or possibly if you used a Scrabble game from some other country.

?? Maybe you're using a language from another country.

9 is "at least" 7.
11 is "at least" 7.
7 is "at least" 7.
8 is "at least" 7.

SportsFan68 wrote:

TheConfessor wrote:

SportsFan68 wrote:This is a horrible question. All four are worth "at least" seven points.

Minimum values are:
WIENER = 9
SCREWS = 11
BUTTS = 7
SHETT = 8
Unless you used any blanks to spell them. Or possibly if you used a Scrabble game from some other country.

?? Maybe you're using a language from another country.

9 is "at least" 7.
11 is "at least" 7.
7 is "at least" 7.
8 is "at least" 7.

Sometimes the contestant can benefit from figuring out what the writer was trying to say, instead of assuming there is no useful information contained in the inelegant phrasing of the question.

Maybe the question writer is the same guy who writes those commercials that say "lose up to 200 pounds", or my favorite "lose an average of up to 200 pounds".

TheConfessor wrote:

SportsFan68 wrote:

TheConfessor wrote: Minimum values are:
WIENER = 9
SCREWS = 11
BUTTS = 7
SHETT = 8
Unless you used any blanks to spell them. Or possibly if you used a Scrabble game from some other country.

?? Maybe you're using a language from another country.

9 is "at least" 7.
11 is "at least" 7.
7 is "at least" 7.
8 is "at least" 7.

Sometimes the contestant can benefit from figuring out what the writer was trying to say, instead of assuming there is no useful information contained in the inelegant phrasing of the question.

This looks like a situation when the "fluff" of the question distracts the contestant from the point which was simply: What is the last name of Scrabble's inventor Alfred? Since all of them are at least 7, the clue was not helpful in eliminating any of the choices and one had to know the last name given the first. Maybe this was obscure enough to be Maria's $250K question.

Snaxx wrote:

TheConfessor wrote:

SportsFan68 wrote:
?? Maybe you're using a language from another country.

9 is "at least" 7.
11 is "at least" 7.
7 is "at least" 7.
8 is "at least" 7.

Sometimes the contestant can benefit from figuring out what the writer was trying to say, instead of assuming there is no useful information contained in the inelegant phrasing of the question.

This looks like a situation when the "fluff" of the question distracts the contestant from the point which was simply: What is the last name of Scrabble's inventor Alfred? Since all of them are at least 7, the clue was not helpful in eliminating any of the choices and one had to know the last name given the first. Maybe this was obscure enough to be Maria's $250K question.

I think what The Confessor (and the question writer) were referring to was total point value for the letters alone, ignoring additional points awarded based on the placement of the word on the board. "At least" was a horrible way to phrase it. They should have said something about letter point value alone equaling 7.

Estonut wrote:

Snaxx wrote:

TheConfessor wrote:Sometimes the contestant can benefit from figuring out what the writer was trying to say, instead of assuming there is no useful information contained in the inelegant phrasing of the question.

This looks like a situation when the "fluff" of the question distracts the contestant from the point which was simply: What is the last name of Scrabble's inventor Alfred? Since all of them are at least 7, the clue was not helpful in eliminating any of the choices and one had to know the last name given the first. Maybe this was obscure enough to be Maria's $250K question.

I think what The Confessor (and the question writer) were referring to was total point value for the letters alone, ignoring additional points awarded based on the placement of the word on the board. "At least" was a horrible way to phrase it. They should have said something about letter point value alone equaling 7.

Now I see what they may be after. I remember there was a similar discussion last year!
http://wwtbambored.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=44107