Transcript 01/21/2015 Matt Landig

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Matt Landig
Los Angeles, CA


Terry asked Matt how many times he has auditioned for the show and in how many states
Matt has auditioned 22 times in four states.



Question 1 -
An Archaeology Magazine article reveals that due to the intensity of fighting that once took place there, about 4% of the sand on what beach is shrapnel?
A. Pebble Beach B. Omaha Beach
C. South Beach D. Copacabana Beach

Spoiler

Matt answered quickly & correctly and Terry said he is wasting no time, it's karma

Answer and value

B. Omaha Beach
Value: $1000
Bank: $1000

Question 2 -
Boasting an eclectic mix of events such as wrestling, lawn bowls and chess, the Maccabiah Games are often known as what?
A. The Buddhist Olympics B. The Jewish Olympics
C. The Australian Olympics D. The East Asian Olympics

ATA

Matt started to answer then said he would ATA
A. 9% B. 52%
C. 11% D. 28%

Matt then said Maccabiah is an offshoot of Maccabee

Answer and value

B. The Jewish Olympics
Value: $2000
Bank: $3000

First break


Question 3 -
Jars at Greek restaurants commonly remind customers that what is "a tip" spelled backwards?
A. Rye B. Focaccia
C. Pita D. Wonder bread

Spoiler

"Thank God, an easy question"

Answer and value

C. Pita
Value: $25K!
Bank: $28K

Terry asked "it makes it worth auditioning 22 times for, right?" and that $25K is worth traveling to four states.


Question 4 -
The results of a search of Google Books' archives show that in the U.S., the use of what word dropped by approximately 50% in the 20th century?
A. War B. Impossible
C. Vacation D. Railroad

Spoiler

Matt: "OK, I would say D, Railroad, final answer"

Answer and value

B. Impossible
Value: $not revealed
Bank: Lost. Consolation $1000

(no break)

[jarnon]

Question 3 -
Jars at Greek restaurants commonly remind customers that what is "a tip" spelled backwards?
A. Rye B. Focaccia
C. Pita D. Wonder bread

Spoiler

"Thank God, an easy question"

Answer and value

C. Pita
Value: $25K!
Bank: $28K

Once again, the easiest question is worth $25K. Wish I had luck like that.

Question 4 -
The results of a search of Google Books' archives show that in the U.S., the use of what word dropped by approximately 50% in the 20th century?
A. War B. Impossible
C. Vacation D. Railroad

Spoiler

Matt: "OK, I would say D, Railroad, final answer"

Answer and value

B. Impossible
Value: $not revealed
Bank: Lost. Consolation $1000

Too bad Matt's luck didn't last. I would have answered wrong too.

[Kazoo65]

The first 3 questions were pretty straightforward.

"Maccabian" makes me think of the Maccabees, who are important in Jewish history-Hanakuah is celebrated in their honor.

The last one required a little more thinking. I probably would have thought about "railroad" first because that mode of transport faded with the advent of cars and airplanes. "Impossible" might have been a second choice-because of the many scientific advances throughout the century-flight, antibiotics, the moon landing, the rise of computers, etc. I might use plus one up there.

[TheConfessor]

I'd want to know more about the methodology of the alleged search and how the results were converted to a percentage decline. 50% compared to what? I'd guess that a lot more books were published in the 20th century than in the 19th century, or whatever they were comparing it to.

[earendel]

Matt Landig
Los Angeles, CA

Terry asked Matt how many times he has auditioned for the show and in how many states
Matt has auditioned 22 times in four states.

That sound you hear in the distance is Marley.

Question 4 -
The results of a search of Google Books' archives show that in the U.S., the use of what word dropped by approximately 50% in the 20th century?
A. War B. Impossible
C. Vacation D. Railroad

Spoiler

Matt: "OK, I would say D, Railroad, final answer"

Answer and value

B. Impossible
Value: not revealed
Bank: Lost. Consolation $1000

Auditioned 22 times in 4 states, answered 3 questions right, goes home with $1K. Rather anticlimactic, I'd say.

As for me, "railroad" would have been my guess also, although I don't think I'd have actually given that as an answer.

[MarleysGh0st]

Matt Landig
Los Angeles, CA

Terry asked Matt how many times he has auditioned for the show and in how many states
Matt has auditioned 22 times in four states.

That sound you hear in the distance is Marley.

Well, I finally watched the episode from my DVR, today. Although my reaction was somewhat influenced by reading the If this doesn't make Marley <grumble> thread, I can honestly say that this wasn't my reaction to the anecdote.

Instead it was an unfulfilled plea of Tell me more! What were the results of his previous 21 auditions and what was different about this final attempt? I find it much more plausible that Matt failed the written test 21 time and finally passed this one, as opposed to his having consistently passed the written and failed the interview, only to have this interview be a success because TPTB finally admired his persistence. Because I can say from my own experience that they don't.

As I said in the other thread, I've surpassed his record, both in number of auditions and audition states. OTOH, if he lived in California all that time, it was certainly harder for him to compile that record. He'd have to have attended nearly ever west coast audition since the start of the show for that. Or maybe he recently relocated from NYC. Once again, that was detail that was left unanswered.

Question 4 -
The results of a search of Google Books' archives show that in the U.S., the use of what word dropped by approximately 50% in the 20th century?
A. War B. Impossible
C. Vacation D. Railroad

Spoiler

Matt: "OK, I would say D, Railroad, final answer"

Answer and value

B. Impossible
Value: not revealed
Bank: Lost. Consolation $1000

Auditioned 22 times in 4 states, answered 3 questions right, goes home with $1K. Rather anticlimactic, I'd say.

As for me, "railroad" would have been my guess also, although I don't think I'd have actually given that as an answer.

Also my guess. But already asked in this thread, what was the protocol? Who did the study and how much publicity did it receive? What does the question even mean? Did they compare the word frequency for a random set of books from 1900 to a random set from 2000? Or were they comparing books from all of the 20th century to books from all of the 19th century? Scientific progress is hardly a clear reason for the word "impossible" to fall from usage. OTOH, railroads certainly became less dominant as a transport system.

Another WWOQ.

[SportsFan68]

Question 4 -
The results of a search of Google Books' archives show that in the U.S., the use of what word dropped by approximately 50% in the 20th century?
A. War B. Impossible
C. Vacation D. Railroad

Spoiler

Matt: "OK, I would say D, Railroad, final answer"

Answer and value

B. Impossible
Value: $not revealed
Bank: Lost. Consolation $1000

OUCH!!!

Oh man. Wish he'd gotten the million.

[ghostjmf]

Q4. No flippin' idea. My guess would have been with the player, & just about everybody in this thread, "railroad". But I'd have jumped the question. When you don't know & still have your jump, use it. Otherwise I'm fine.


Because of this guy's persistence in trying out (like Marley, I'd sure like to know if he flunked numerous auditions, or just numerous tests) I wish he'd gone further.