Transcript 10/31/11 Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Halloween Edition

Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson
Ghost Hunters

The Ghost Hunters are guaranteed a minimum of $10,000 donated to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

Topic Tree:

Original order not shown.


Topic Tree: (randomized)

Historical Swim
Size Matters
Number Nightmare
Costumes
Silly Science
Green Cities
Hot Rides
Political Songs
Dylan Cameo
MonStars

Question 1 – MonStars
Because they are believed to stay youthful by drawing fuel from neighboring stars, scientists have given blue straggler stars what nickname?
A. Frankenstein stars
B. Werewolf stars
C. Vampire stars
D. Mummy stars

Spoiler

C. Vampire stars
$25K
Bank - $25K

Question 2 – Dylan Cameo
In a rare TV appearance, Bob Dylan signed an autograph “To Chumbiee” on what reality show?
A. Pawn Stars
B. American Chopper
C. Pit Boss
D. Ace of Cakes

Spoiler

A. Pawn Stars
$5K
Bank - $30K

Question 3 – Political Songs
The lyric “Hey, Ayatollah, leave those kids alone” appears in an Iranian youth anthem adapted from a song by what rock band?
A. Van Halen
B. The Police
C. The Clash
D. Pink Floyd

Spoiler

D. Pink Wall
$7K
Bank - $37K

Question 4 – Hot Rides
If you are riding “shotbun” you are most likely sitting in the passenger seat of what famous vehicle?
A. The Popemobile
B. The Wienermobile
C. The Batmobile
D. The Bluesmobile

Spoiler

B. The Wienermobile
$15K
Bank - $52K

commercial break

Question 5 – Green Cities
Covering over 300 acres, Grant Park is often called the “front yard” of what U.S. city?
A. Boston
B. St. Louis
C. Chicago
D. Los Angeles

JTQ 1

Spoiler

C. Chicago
$10K
Bank - $52K

Question 6 – Silly Science
What invention was created by Harry Coover, whose obituary in 2011 noted its use by college pranksters on toilet seats?
A. Paper Clips
B. Velcro
C. Super Glue
D. Post-it notes

Spoiler

C. Super Glue
$100
Bank - $52,100

Question 7 - Costumes
A necklace with a male symbol medallion is often part of what popular Halloween costume?
A. Austin Powers
B. Frodo
C. Neo
D. The Hulk

Spoiler

A. Austin Powers
$2K
Bank - $54,100

commercial break

Question 8 – Number Nightmare
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the fear of what number?
A. 13
B. 237
C. 666
D. 2012

Spoiler

C. 666
$3K
Bank - $57,100

Question 9 – Size Matters
Cherrystones, quahogs, and top necks are terms used to refer to what seafood?
A. Lobsters
B. Clams
C. Shrimp
D. Mussels

Spoiler

B. Clams
$500
Bank - $57,600

Question 10 – Historical Swim
Because he could not swim, what political figure was reportedly force to wear water-wings in a swimming pool meeting with Chairman Mao?
A. Henry Kissinger
B. Charles de Gaulle
C. Ho Chi Minh
D. Nikita Khrushchev

JTQ 2

Spoiler

D. Nikita Khrushchev
$1K
Bank - $57,600

commercial break

$100K
In order to dig a hole through the center of the Earth and wind up in Beijing, China, you’ll have to start in which of these countries?
A. Colombia
B . Argentina
C. Mexico
D. Canada

ATA

ATA results

17% A. Colombia
36% B . Argentina
22% C. Mexico
25% D. Canada

Jason and Grant decide to leave with $57,600.

Spoiler

B. Argentina

End of show noise.

[MarleysGh0st]

$100K
In order to dig a hole through the center of the Earth and wind up in Beijing, China, you’ll have to start in which of these countries?
A. Colombia
B . Argentina
C. Mexico
D. Canada

ATA

ATA results

17% A. Colombia
36% B . Argentina
22% C. Mexico
25% D. Canada

Jason and Grant decide to leave with $57,600.

Spoiler

B. Argentina

Okay, I had an advantage because I've thought about this type of question before, but it's really solvable by anyone who takes the time to analyze it. If you start at a location in the northern hemisphere and draw a line through the center of the earth, you must end up in the southern hemisphere. Argentina was the only one of the choices south of the equator.

[MarleysGh0st]

As for Meredith's comment that they'd make having Jason and Grant as Halloween celebrity contestants an annual tradition: <grumble>®

[earendel]

Halloween Edition

Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson
Ghost Hunters

The Ghost Hunters are guaranteed a minimum of $10,000 donated to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

Meredith hinted that this might become a tradition (she noted that this was the "2nd annual 'Ghost Hunters' appearance). I'm not one for lots of banter but there was one funny moment - after airing a clip of Meredith's appearance on their show, one of the contestants joked that they edited out the part where Meredith ran screaming out of the house. Meredith denied it, then said "You're in my building now.

Topic Tree:

Original order not shown.

So are we back to the new scrambling (on Friday the stack appeared the "old-fashioned" way)?

Question 8 – Number Nightmare
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the fear of what number?
A. 13
B. 237
C. 666
D. 2012

Spoiler

C. 666
$3K
Bank - $57,100

Meredith had quite a time trying to say that word.

Question 10 – Historical Swim
Because he could not swim, what political figure was reportedly force to wear water-wings in a swimming pool meeting with Chairman Mao?
A. Henry Kissinger
B. Charles de Gaulle
C. Ho Chi Minh
D. Nikita Khrushchev

JTQ 2

Spoiler

D. Nikita Khrushchev
$1K
Bank - $57,600

I'd have used a JTQ also.

$100K
In order to dig a hole through the center of the Earth and wind up in Beijing, China, you’ll have to start in which of these countries?
A. Colombia
B . Argentina
C. Mexico
D. Canada

ATA

ATA results

17% A. Colombia
36% B . Argentina
22% C. Mexico
25% D. Canada

Jason and Grant decide to leave with $57,600.

Spoiler

B. Argentina

Amazingly the audience was right, though not by a strong number. I got this one because I remember reading an essay by Isaac Asimov when I was much younger discussing the fact that it would be impossible to dig a hole through the center of the earth from any place in the U.S. and end up in China. I believe the article was talking about city names and mentioned Canton, OH, as being named because it was believed to be antipodal to Canton, China. Any spot in the U.S. is antipodal to the Indian Ocean, IIRC. Knowing that, it's pretty obvious that it's not Canada, Mexico or Colombia. So I'd be looking at the $250K question with two lifelines still available.

[tanstaafl2]

$100K
In order to dig a hole through the center of the Earth and wind up in Beijing, China, you’ll have to start in which of these countries?
A. Colombia
B . Argentina
C. Mexico
D. Canada

ATA

ATA results

17% A. Colombia
36% B . Argentina
22% C. Mexico
25% D. Canada

Jason and Grant decide to leave with $57,600.

Spoiler

B. Argentina

Okay, I had an advantage because I've thought about this type of question before, but it's really solvable by anyone who takes the time to analyze it. If you start at a location in the northern hemisphere and draw a line through the center of the earth, you must end up in the southern hemisphere. Argentina was the only one of the choices south of the equator.

Yes, pretty darn easy really. They could have perhaps made it a bit challenging by putting at least one other southern hemisphere country in the answers. Then again it was a "celebrity" edition.

And yet they still missed it. Shocking...

Although just knowing geography seems challenging enough. Knowing antipodal geography might be asking a bit too much.

The ATA seems to provide data to suggests nearly two-thirds of the population could be geo nitwits. That figure seems a bit low to me but the 36% may have been inflated a bit since there may well have been people interested and knowledgeable about trivia in the audience to a greater extent than the average US population.

The tunnel would come out in what appears to be a fairly sparsely populated area just north of the Rio Negro in the southern pampas it would appear. Will have to see if they are doing any digging there when I fly over in January! After all, all those extra Chinese folk in our ever expanding population have got to go somewhere...

[tanstaafl2]

$100K
In order to dig a hole through the center of the Earth and wind up in Beijing, China, you’ll have to start in which of these countries?
A. Colombia
B . Argentina
C. Mexico
D. Canada

ATA

ATA results

17% A. Colombia
36% B . Argentina
22% C. Mexico
25% D. Canada

Jason and Grant decide to leave with $57,600.

Spoiler

B. Argentina

Amazingly the audience was right, though not by a strong number. I got this one because I remember reading an essay by Isaac Asimov when I was much younger discussing the fact that it would be impossible to dig a hole through the center of the earth from any place in the U.S. and end up in China. I believe the article was talking about city names and mentioned Canton, OH, as being named because it was believed to be antipodal to Canton, China. Any spot in the U.S. is antipodal to the Indian Ocean, IIRC. Knowing that, it's pretty obvious that it's not Canada, Mexico or Colombia. So I'd be looking at the $250K question with two lifelines still available.

Well, not ANY point! Hawaii is antipodal to northern Botswana. We were almost exactly antipodal to Pam's home in Honolulu when we were there on safari in 2008.

[earendel]

$100K
In order to dig a hole through the center of the Earth and wind up in Beijing, China, you’ll have to start in which of these countries?
A. Colombia
B . Argentina
C. Mexico
D. Canada

ATA

ATA results

17% A. Colombia
36% B . Argentina
22% C. Mexico
25% D. Canada

Jason and Grant decide to leave with $57,600.

Spoiler

B. Argentina

Amazingly the audience was right, though not by a strong number. I got this one because I remember reading an essay by Isaac Asimov when I was much younger discussing the fact that it would be impossible to dig a hole through the center of the earth from any place in the U.S. and end up in China. I believe the article was talking about city names and mentioned Canton, OH, as being named because it was believed to be antipodal to Canton, China. Any spot in the U.S. is antipodal to the Indian Ocean, IIRC. Knowing that, it's pretty obvious that it's not Canada, Mexico or Colombia. So I'd be looking at the $250K question with two lifelines still available.

Well, not ANY point! Hawaii is antipodal to northern Botswana. We were almost exactly antipodal to Pam's home in Honolulu when we were there on safari in 2008.

I believe that Asimov was speaking about the continental U.S. - he may have made reference to Hawaii and Africa but it's been at least 35 years since I read the essay (in one of his collections).

One thing about the question, though - it never says that it has to be a straight line. One could dig from any one of those four countries to the center of the Earth and then make a turn so as to reach Beijing. It wouldn't be the most direct route but that wasn't part of the question, either.

[jarnon]

I remember reading an essay by Isaac Asimov when I was much younger discussing the fact that it would be impossible to dig a hole through the center of the earth from any place in the U.S. and end up in China. I believe the article was talking about city names and mentioned Canton, OH, as being named because it was believed to be antipodal to Canton, China. Any spot in the U.S. is antipodal to the Indian Ocean, IIRC.

I remember that story too. "Antipodes" must have been one of Asimov's favorite words, because Googling "Asimov antipodes" gets lots of hits. (He also liked the word "azimuth.") Here's one of the hits:

All the Muslims around the world face Mecca when they pray. The antipodal point to Mecca is an island called Tematagi in the Tuamoto Archipelago in the South Pacific. The place that they all turn their backs on. This answers the question asked by the 17th-century Ottoman Turkish essayist Katip Çelebi if there is any spot on the globe where the direction of Mecca could be equally any direction at all. He figured out that it would be the antipodal point even though he didn't know there really was an island called Tematagi there.

Circa 1970 Isaac Asimov wrote one of his essays about antipodal points. He concluded by noting that the antipodes of Vietnam was in Ecuador, so people fed up with the war could go there to get as far away from Vietnam as possible.

And here's an antipodal map, showing that almost all land masses are antipodal to oceans:
Antipodes: The Other Side of the World

[Snaxx]

Topic Tree:

Original order not shown.

So are we back to the new scrambling (on Friday the stack appeared the "old-fashioned" way)?

Today's show went back to offering the unrandomized version.

Either:
(a) they show the unrandomized categories only when they feel like it -or-
(b) they stopped offering the unrandomized version and the inconsistency results from the shuffling of airdates. It is possible the celeb version taped after today's and Friday's shows.

[MarleysGh0st]

One thing about the question, though - it never says that it has to be a straight line. One could dig from any one of those four countries to the center of the Earth and then make a turn so as to reach Beijing. It wouldn't be the most direct route but that wasn't part of the question, either.

In that case, all the answers would be correct.

While you could dig a tangent line from the US to China without passing through the center of the Earth, you've got to assume they're talking about straight lines when they do mention it!