Transcript 01/08/2008 Chris Wirth

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Chris Wirth
Young attorney
Grand Rapids, MI


$100- Dachshunds are known as "wiener dogs" because they typically have which of the following physical characteristics?
A. Bushy tail B. Long, thin body
C. Brown eyes D. Sauerkraut breath

$200- If you're dehydrated, the Mayo Clinic recommends that you improve your condition by consuming what?
A. Chocolate B. Bread
C. Alcohol D. Water

$300- When used as a verb, which of these words means "to age?"
A. Pink B. Purple
C. Gray D. Orange

$500- What Sesame Street character has a superhero alter ego who is also excitable, furry and blue?
A. Grover B. Ernie
C. Big Bird D. Oscar

$1000- Due to his line of work, what notable American is often referred to by the press simply as "The Reverend Al"?
A. Al Pacino B. Al Roker
C. Al Sharpton D. Al Franken

$2000- What is the only country that has land borders with Portugal?
A. France B. Greece
C. Turkey D. Spain

$4000- As indicated on its front page, how much does it cost to buy an issue of the newspaper "USA Today"?
A. $.50 B $.75
C. $1.00 D. $1.25


.
.
.

He says he gets free copies at hotels.

ATA goes A-35%, B-30%, C-24%, D-11%

Apparently lots in the audience rely on free hotel copies too.

He decides to guess A and leaves with $1000.




Answers
$100- B. Long, thin body
$200- D. Water
$300- C. Gray
$500- A. Grover
$1000- C. Al Sharpton
$2000- D. Spain
$4000- B $.75


Commercial Break

[NellyLunatic1980]

$4K: Pretty tricky question for this level. USA Today had been 50 cents for over 20 years... until just a couple of years ago.

Nihil obstat®

[MarleysGh0st]

$4K: Pretty tricky question for this level. USA Today had been 50 cents for over 20 years... until just a couple of years ago.

Ouch!

I wouldn't have gotten it, either. Like the contestant, I usually see the complimentary copies at hotels. If I'm traveling, I'll buy a local paper instead of this national brand.

[earendel]

Chris Wirth
Young attorney
Grand Rapids, MI

At least he's not a WE®.

$4000- As indicated on its front page, how much does it cost to buy an issue of the newspaper "USA Today"?
A. $.50 B $.75
C. $1.00 D. $1.25

He says he gets free copies at hotels.

ATA goes A-35%, B-30%, C-24%, D-11%

Apparently lots in the audience rely on free hotel copies too.

He decides to guess A and leaves with $1000.

Granted that many people may not know the price for the reason he mentioned, there's no excuse for not trying another lifeline before going out on a limb and cutting it off behind him.

[fantine33]

$4000- As indicated on its front page, how much does it cost to buy an issue of the newspaper "USA Today"?
A. $.50 B $.75
C. $1.00 D. $1.25


.
.
.

He says he gets free copies at hotels.

ATA goes A-35%, B-30%, C-24%, D-11%

Apparently lots in the audience rely on free hotel copies too.

He decides to guess A and leaves with $1000.

I think it was gs who once said that if the second choice is very close to the first or is quite a bit more than the third choice, then that's the right answer.

The reasoning being along the lines of there must be a reason why that one got so much play behind the obvious one. Or something like that. If it was gs, hopefully he remembers this and can expound upon it for me.

[MarleysGh0st]

$4000- As indicated on its front page, how much does it cost to buy an issue of the newspaper "USA Today"?
A. $.50 B $.75
C. $1.00 D. $1.25


.
.
.

He says he gets free copies at hotels.

ATA goes A-35%, B-30%, C-24%, D-11%

Apparently lots in the audience rely on free hotel copies too.

He decides to guess A and leaves with $1000.

I think it was gs who once said that if the second choice is very close to the first or is quite a bit more than the third choice, then that's the right answer.

The reasoning being along the lines of there must be a reason why that one got so much play behind the obvious one. Or something like that. If it was gs, hopefully he remembers this and can expound upon it for me.

Looking for a significant spike for the second place answer is a reason to think about that choice very carefully. It doesn't guarantee that it's the right answer, but the first place choice might have been an obvious distractor, with the second place choice getting the votes of those who really know the answer.

In this case, though, there's not much of a spread between first, second and third place, so any one of those might have been right. This was probably a case of nobody really knowing the answer and just guessing.

[gsabc]

$4000- As indicated on its front page, how much does it cost to buy an issue of the newspaper "USA Today"?
A. $.50 B $.75
C. $1.00 D. $1.25


.
.
.

He says he gets free copies at hotels.

ATA goes A-35%, B-30%, C-24%, D-11%

Apparently lots in the audience rely on free hotel copies too.

He decides to guess A and leaves with $1000.

I think it was gs who once said that if the second choice is very close to the first or is quite a bit more than the third choice, then that's the right answer.

The reasoning being along the lines of there must be a reason why that one got so much play behind the obvious one. Or something like that. If it was gs, hopefully he remembers this and can expound upon it for me.

Not me, though I do recall the discussion. It was something to do with a few in the audience knowing the answer while the others guess, so with an evil distractor you get an incorrect plurality and a strong second-place showing for the correct answer. Or you can get a small bump for the right answer with the other choices being nearly equal.

I agree with Marley that this particular ATA result was probably more random guessing at the reasonable answers than actual audience knowledge. It's not a simple Google, either. Nasty Q in general. How many people still buy a newspaper or magazine on a regular basis at the newstand?

[ulysses5019]

Methinks it was sliver who noted this....

[silvercamaro]

Thanks, Uly, although it is possible that several of us noticed independently within a relatively short period of time.

None of the others, of course, read my posts.

[silverscreenselect]

$4000- As indicated on its front page, how much does it cost to buy an issue of the newspaper "USA Today"?
A. $.50 B $.75
C. $1.00 D. $1.25


.
.
.

How many people still buy a newspaper or magazine on a regular basis at the newstand?

I do, at least the USA Today. When you're as cheap as me, you tend to know how much things cost.

[ghostjmf]

500K: Shoot me. I can't remember if the blue one is Grover or Oscar. But Oscar's more grouchy than exciteable, right?

I could 50/50 but I'd ATA here.

4K: I have never bought one, & I've used up ATA. PAF. Seriously.