Millionaire: Canadian Trivia Edition (Jan 15th, 2009)

[Brit Canuck]

What are the odds? Two questions (and "stumpers" at that) about Canada in a single episode. That's gotta be a record!
Makes me proud.

Unlikely as it is to happen, I'd love to see an entire episode that's all questions about Canadian trivia.
The contestants, the audience, the Expert, all squirming today.
Any other Canadian viewers out there?

[BigDrawMan]

wayne gretzky can host

i intuit americans dont know much about our 51st state

[macrae1234]

Episode airs here in AZ now so I will see it when I get home. Were they that difficult a Canadian wants to know

[TheConfessor]

Episode airs here in AZ now so I will see it when I get home. Were they that difficult a Canadian wants to know

They were very easy questions. Nothing about poutine. The answers were pretty pathetic.

[macrae1234]

I love poutine there is an outdoor chip wagon that the Mrs and I visit every time we go back to Ottawa

[bazodee]

I've been to all ten provinces (and Yukon, too). How many is ten, in metric?

[mellytu74]

Spoiler

I was beyond aggravated with those two contestants.

They reminded me why I no longer watch the show.

Well, that and the clock.

[Bob Juch]

NTN question tonight asked who the most powerful government official in Canada is. I answered the

Spoiler

Governor General

but they said the

Spoiler

Prime Minister

.

[macrae1234]

NTN question tonight asked who the most powerful government official in Canada is

The GG is a ceremonial position the Queen's representative and as such their function is similar to the Queens's in the UK. The PM is the leader of the elected party in power

[ontellen]

Just shoot me now.

[ulysses5019]

Just shoot me now.

My Sploofus question tonight was about Nunavut and which country it belonged to. 70% missed it. But I got it right.

[Bob Juch]

NTN question tonight asked who the most powerful government official in Canada is

The GG is a ceremonial position the Queen's representative and as such their function is similar to the Queens's in the UK. The PM is the leader of the elected party in power

However, the PM must ask the GG to dissolve Parliament, etc. so who actually has the most power?

[Brit Canuck]

Episode airs here in AZ now so I will see it when I get home. Were they that difficult a Canadian wants to know

I think a Canadian citizen would have gotten both questions correct fairly easily, with perhaps this first geography question being the more difficult of the two.

Becky Johnson Sabin
Sacramento, CA
...

$25,000 * Latitude Problem
Seattle, Washington is located farther north than all but which of these Canadian cities?

A: Vancouver B: Toronto
C: Ottawa D: Montreal

With 25 seconds left, Becky decides to Ask The Audience.

ATA: A: 42% B: 19% C: 20% D: 19%

With 24 seconds left, Becky decides to Phone A Friend.
Becky's PAF team are Michael, Sacramento, CA; Ken, Sacramento, CA; and Bill, Sacramento, CA.
Becky decides to call her friend, Michael. She reads the question and answers.

Becky: 15 seconds. Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal.
Michael: Montreal.
[Becky takes a deep breath.]
Meredith: Sure?
Becky: Are you sure?
Michael: Pretty sure. On a scale of 1 to 10, 8--
[Time runs out.]

With 23 seconds left, Becky decides to Ask The Expert.

Lucy: I am not good at Canada!
Becky: Neither am I!
Lucy: Okay. Ummm, let's reason this out, for a second. I've gone skiing near Montreal, so I know it's not that far north, because it's just over the border, near Vermont. And I know people who go from Montreal to Stowe, skiing. So I'm going to say that's pretty far south. Umm, same with with Vancouver, on the west coast. I know people who go skiing at Vancouver and I don't think it's that far north of the border. It's the Canadian Rockies. And people tell me Toronto is not that far north. Not that much further than Portland, Maine. So, I mean, I don't know where Ottawa is, but I guess, because I don't know where it is, it might be pretty far north! Okay? That's my reasoning, so I don't know the answer, but I'm going to guess Ottawa.
Meredith: Does that help?
Becky: Well, I have three different answers from three different sources.

Becky walks away with $16,000.

Answer

A: Vancouver ( 8 )

Of course, a much easier "Latitude Problem" question would have been something like,

The 49th Parallel is a geographic line that forms a large portion of the border between what two countries?

A. North Korea and South Korea
B. Spain and Portugal
C. Iran and Iraq
D. The United States and Canada

I think we all remember how that one turned out...
http://wwtbambored.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9349



The other question was much easier (for Canadians):

Jennifer Weigle
Bloomington, MN
...

$16,000 * O Canada!
In a nod to the bird depicted on its face, the dollar coin of Canada is affectionately known by what nickname?

A: Loonie B: Finchie
C: Goosie D: Swannie

With 23 seconds left, Jennifer decides to Phone A Friend.
Jennifer's PAF team are her uncle, Dan, Minneapolis, MN; and her uncle, Tom, Minneapolis, MN.
Jennifer decides to call Uncle Tom. She reads the question and answers.

Jennifer: Fourteen seconds. Eight seconds.
Tom: How many?
Jennifer: Six!
Tom: Loonie!
Jennifer: Positive? Positive?
[Time runs out.]

Jennifer is not sure. She was thinking goosie. She walks away with $8,000.

Answer

A: Loonie ( 4 )

Loons do look a little like geese, though. Just smaller.

Spoiler

I was beyond aggravated with those two contestants.
They reminded me why I no longer watch the show.
Well, that and the clock.

Next season, I would like to see another lifeline added - "Stop The Clock".

It would allow the contestant to eliminate the clock for one question only, and allow unlimited time to answer on that question.
Time remaining when STC is used would not carry over to the Million Dollar Question.
Nevertheless, I think a STC lifeline would be perfect for one of those first-tier math questions that pop up from time to time.

NTN question tonight asked who the most powerful government official in Canada is. I answered the

Spoiler

Governor General

but they said the

Spoiler

Prime Minister

.

NTN question tonight asked who the most powerful government official in Canada is

The GG is a ceremonial position the Queen's representative and as such their function is similar to the Queens's in the UK. The PM is the leader of the elected party in power

The GG is a ceremonial position the Queen's representative and as such their function is similar to the Queens's in the UK. The PM is the leader of the elected party in power

However, the PM must ask the GG to dissolve Parliament, etc. so who actually has the most power?[/quote]

Since PM Stephen Harper was successful in prorouging (temporarily shutting down) the Canadian government anyway (and during the financial crisis, to boot), I would still have to say the PM.
Apologies to GG Michelle Jean, but shutting down a government during a worldwide financial crisis is never a good career move.

They were very easy questions. Nothing about poutine.

Did someone mention poutine again?
http://wwtbambored.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10203

The answers were pretty pathetic.

Obviously meaning that even the studio audience knows the answer.

Exhibit A
http://wwtbambored.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9349

Exhibit B
http://wwtbambored.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1158



And the biggest audience blunder on SydnieMillionaire (quite a while ago, transcript no longer available on this board):

October 8th, 2004

$500
Since 1942, Thanksgiving has been celebrated on which Thursday in November?

A. First
B. Second
C. Third
D. Fourth

Spoiler

Ask The Audience
(Studio Audience / Instant Messaging Audience)

A. 0% / 3%
B. 2% / 7%
C. 63% / 52%
D. 35% / 38%

Contestant answers C: Third

Correct Answer: D: Fourth

Contestant loses $300, leaves with nothing.



It's not always the contestant who messes up.

The State rests.



By the way, Happy Obama Day on Tuesday.
Glad you have a working government. Ours is still out until the week after next.

[elwoodblues]

Americans should be ashamed of how little we know about our neighbors to the...which way is it again?

[etaoin22]

well, the nature of the power in the British/Canadian system is not particularly well understood, even by people who write op-eds in Canadian newspapers, so the GG vs PM question is not only a decent one for bar trivia, but might -- I think -- be a decent question for students for the lawyer kind of bar.

Suffice it to say simply:

ALL the power is ultimately held by the Governor-General as head of state, in the place of the monarch. This power is to be used responsibly, which is to say, according to the choice of the people as represented in parliament. The GG appoints a Prime Minister in order to find out what those choices are, and is entitled to advise and warn that PM , but in the end -- in all but the most exceptional circumstances -- follows the wishes and choices.

Party politics is an additional superstructure -- not written into the constitution -- but sanctioned by centuries of tradition.

Between responsible government, and party politics, the PM has the power to run the show almost always, and thus is the appropriate answer to the question as posed by NTN. Bob Juch's point is valid, and represents the limitation of that answer.