Transcript 02/12/13 Sam Spaulding

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Sam Spaulding
Wilmington, NC
College senior at Yale, applying to grad schools
His idea is to build a robot who can cook and clean for him
Was also voted one of Yale's 50 most beautiful people

Note: Sam was the one-question audience contestant on the show broadcast a week ago today. He was also the first runner-up on the Jeopardy! College tournament final on 11/18-19/2010, winning $50,000.
Hans von Walter (hanzz) won $25K for third place.

Topic Tree (pre-randomized):
10 Early Medicine
9 Chance Encounters
8 Route Mapping
7 Leisurely Battles
6 Bad Breakups
5 Inspiring Treats
4 Monkey Do
3 Tourist Traps
2 Do the Math
1 Misleading TV Titles


Topic Tree: (Randomized)
10 Early Medicine
7 Leisurely Battles
9 Chance Encounters
3 Tourist Traps
8 Route Mapping
6 Bad Breakups
5 Inspiring Treats
2 Do the Math
4 Monkey Do
1 Misleading TV Titles



Question 1 - Level 1 Misleading TV Titles
Given its title, first-time viewers of what TV series might think the main character is a monastery-dwelling Buddhist?
A. Dexter B. Coach
C. Monk D. Bones

Answer and value

C. Monk
Value: $3000
Bank: $3000

Question 2 - Level 4 Monkey Do
Which of these animals does not belong in a zoo's Primate House?
A. Gibbon B. Koala
C. Baboon D. Human being

Answer and value

B. Koala
Value: $1000
Bank: $4000

Question 3 - Level 2 Do the Math
Which of the following film titles refers to the shortest total amount of time?
A. 9 1/2 Weeks B. Around the World in 80 Days
C. A Month in the Country D. 40 Days and 40 Nights

Answer and value

C. A Month in the Country
Value: $1000
Bank: $4100

Question 4 - Level 5 Inspiring Treats
In 1991, what brand of chocolates launched a Promises line, with inspirational messages inside each wrapper?
A. Dove B. Cadbury
C. Ghirardelli D. Godiva

Spoiler

Sam said he was born in 1991 (got an audience reaction) and was looking around the audience
Mere asked if Sam was looking to see if they are old but he was looking to see if they looked like chocolate lovers

ATA

A-72% B-12% C-6% D-10%

Answer and value

A. Dove
Value: $2000
Bank: $6100

Question 5 - Level 6 Bad Breakups
In 2012, Morrissey's publicist debunked rumors by confirming that what band is "never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever going to reunite- ever"?
A. The Clash B. The Cure
C. The Ramones D. The Smiths

Answer and value

D. The Smiths
Value: $5000
Bank: $11100

Commercial break


Sam's mom Phyllis and sister Rebecca are in the audience
As a kid, Sam was into trivia but his mother questioned the value of it in life.
Mere asked if Mom agrees that it was not so bad and Mom said so far, so good

Question 6 - Level 8 Route Mapping
Traversing 21 miles of bay waters in 23 minutes, history's first U.S. commercial flight departed from St. Petersburg, Florida and landed where?
A. Orlando B. Tallahassee
C. Jacksonville D. Tampa

JTQ 1

Sam said if he knew where St. Petersburg was in Florida he would have an easier time, but he does not know Florida geography

Answer and value

D. Tampa
Value: $7000 jumped
Bank: $11100

Question 7 - Level 3 Tourist Traps
On its 500th birthday in 2012, what landmark was the subject of much debate about limiting its visitors, partly to protect its frescoes from atmospheric damage?
A. Great Sphinx of Giza B. Sistine Chapel
C. Stonehenge D. Taj Mahal

Spoiler

Sam said only one of these has frescoes to his knowledge

Answer and value

B. Sistine Chapel
Value: $10K
Bank: $21100

Question 8 - Level 9 Chance Encounters
Though a staunch Anti-Jacksonian, what folk hero helped subdue Richard Lawrence after he tried to assassinate President Andrew Jackson in 1835?
A. Davy Crockett B. Geronimo
C. Wild Bill Hickok D. Daniel Boone

JTQ

Sam was pretty sure it is not B or C, but the other two are both folk heroes who could have done this

Answer and value

A. Davy Crockett
Value: $15K jumped
Bank: $21100

Question 9- Level 7 Leisurely Battles
Loosely meaning "four parts of an army" in Sanskrit, the Indian game Chaturanga is thought to be an early version of what?
A. Dominoes B. Mahjong
C. Backgammon D. Chess

Answer and value

D. Chess
Value: $500
Bank: $21600

Commercial break

Question 10 - Level 10 Early Medicine
When Europeans saw Native Americans using it to ease kidney pain, what gem was given a Spanish name meaning "stone of the loins"?
A. Ruby B. Pearl
C. Jade D. Topaz

Spoiler

Sam said he was deciding between Pearl and Topaz. Sam said he does not know Spanish but took a little Spanish in HS. Sam tried to go back to Latin for rock but only came up with Petro which he knew was Greek.
Sam decided to guess based on which sounded more Spanish and by his gut feeling. Sam decided guessed D. Topaz

Answer and value

C. Jade
Value: known to be $25000
Bank: $1000-consolation

Commercial break

Flashback question: In 1986, what group became the first to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
A. The Everly Brothers B. The Drifters
C. The Coasters D. The Temptations

Flashback answer

A. The Everly Brothers

[MarleysGh0st]

Sam Spaulding
Wilmington, NC
College senior at Yale, applying to grad schools
His idea is to build a robot who can cook and clean for him
Was also voted one of Yale's 50 most beautiful people

Note: Sam was the one-question audience contestant on the show broadcast a week ago today. He was also the first runner-up on the Jeopardy! College tournament final on 11/18-19/2010, winning $50,000.
Hans von Walter (hanzz) won $25K for third place.

Wow, that was fast. With an entire week's shows taped in one day, and assuming that they've aired the last week's episodes in the order they were taped, this episode may very well have taped the day after Sam appeared as an audience contestant (and presumably took and passed the audition test). The APs may have even told him that he'd been selected for that taping before he even got on the road to head back to Yale!

And then they banter about his mom questioning the value of trivia, concluding with that "now you're here," without mentioning either the audience appearance or the previous J! appearance.

[hanzz]

Sam actually taped on the very last day (or next-to-last, can't remember) of the season after having been previously scheduled for the Friday before but then getting moved back due to Hurricane Sandy and then getting held over not once but twice. His audience episode had been taped a week before that, and he got the call as he was leaving the studio.

The trivia banter certainly was odd with the conspicuous absence of a Jeopardy! mention. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop in that sense. Seems they're not to keen to talk about that dark part of contestants' history. When I got the call, my AP seemed surprised when I said I'd been on Jeopardy!, as if she'd glossed over that part of my application. It was never mentioned again. My heart broke for him on the St. Petersburg question, I knew he felt bad for not knowing it. I commended him for having the stones, pun intended, to go for topaz as he was only risking about $10k, though he tells me if he'd gotten the $25k and not the $500 on the penultimate question he would have walked for sure.

[SportsFan68]

Question 3 - Level 2 Do the Math
Which of the following film titles refers to the shortest total amount of time?
A. 9 1/2 Weeks B. Around the World in 80 Days
C. A Month in the Country D. 40 Days and 40 Nights

Answer and value

C. A Month in the Country
Value: $1000
Bank: $4100

I love this kid! He figured it by weeks and days, then double-checked it! His figuring was pretty much what I would have done. I dunno if I would have double-checked it.

Question 5 - Level 6 Bad Breakups
In 2012, Morrissey's publicist debunked rumors by confirming that what band is "never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever going to reunite- ever"?
A. The Clash B. The Cure
C. The Ramones D. The Smiths

Answer and value

D. The Smiths
Value: $5000
Bank: $11100

Let pretend the ATA gets this.

Question 6 - Level 8 Route Mapping
Traversing 21 miles of bay waters in 23 minutes, history's first U.S. commercial flight departed from St. Petersburg, Florida and landed where?
A. Orlando B. Tallahassee
C. Jacksonville D. Tampa

JTQ 1

Sam said if he knew where St. Petersburg was in Florida he would have an easier time, but he does not know Florida geography

Answer and value

D. Tampa
Value: $7000 jumped
Bank: $11100

JTQ 1

Question 8 - Level 9 Chance Encounters
Though a staunch Anti-Jacksonian, what folk hero helped subdue Richard Lawrence after he tried to assassinate President Andrew Jackson in 1835?
A. Davy Crockett B. Geronimo
C. Wild Bill Hickok D. Daniel Boone

JTQ

Sam was pretty sure it is not B or C, but the other two are both folk heroes who could have done this

Answer and value

A. Davy Crockett
Value: $15K jumped
Bank: $21100

Wouldn't Daniel Boone have been like 110 years old in 1835? Davy Crockett, final answer.

Question 10 - Level 10 Early Medicine
When Europeans saw Native Americans using it to ease kidney pain, what gem was given a Spanish name meaning "stone of the loins"?
A. Ruby B. Pearl
C. Jade D. Topaz

Spoiler

Sam said he was deciding between Pearl and Topaz. Sam said he does not know Spanish but took a little Spanish in HS. Sam tried to go back to Latin for rock but only came up with Petro which he knew was Greek.
Sam decided to guess based on which sounded more Spanish and by his gut feeling. Sam decided guessed D. Topaz

Answer and value

C. Jade
Value: known to be $25000
Bank: $1000-consolation

Fweet! Foul! Jade does not mean stone of the loins. Piedra de ijada means stone of the loins. I would have jumped this because nothing in the answers means stone.

[MarleysGh0st]

Sam actually taped on the very last day (or next-to-last, can't remember) of the season after having been previously scheduled for the Friday before but then getting moved back due to Hurricane Sandy and then getting held over not once but twice. His audience episode had been taped a week before that, and he got the call as he was leaving the studio.

Okay, so there's some serious episode shuffling going on for sweeps month, but you confirmed my primary suspicion: Sam was so very, very desirable in the eyes of the APs that they didn't have to take their application notes to a senior member of TPTB for whatever secret contemplations they make on these matters. They could barely let him get away, at all.



BTW, my grumbles are nothing personal against Sam, hanzz. But after all these years of trying out, myself, including two auditions this season that seemed very, very promising to me, I am incredibly frustrated with TPTB's process.

[MarleysGh0st]

Question 8 - Level 9 Chance Encounters
Though a staunch Anti-Jacksonian, what folk hero helped subdue Richard Lawrence after he tried to assassinate President Andrew Jackson in 1835?
A. Davy Crockett B. Geronimo
C. Wild Bill Hickok D. Daniel Boone

JTQ

Sam was pretty sure it is not B or C, but the other two are both folk heroes who could have done this

Answer and value

A. Davy Crockett
Value: $15K jumped
Bank: $21100

Wouldn't Daniel Boone have been like 110 years old in 1835? Davy Crockett, final answer.

Pretty good guess, Sprots. Daniel would have been 101. Or 15, as a ghost.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Boone

Incidentally, it's only been two weeks since we saw them ask Sean Ginley another question related to Richard Lawrence. The question writers really must have liked his story!

Question 10 - Level 10 Early Medicine
When Europeans saw Native Americans using it to ease kidney pain, what gem was given a Spanish name meaning "stone of the loins"?
A. Ruby B. Pearl
C. Jade D. Topaz

Spoiler

Sam said he was deciding between Pearl and Topaz. Sam said he does not know Spanish but took a little Spanish in HS. Sam tried to go back to Latin for rock but only came up with Petro which he knew was Greek.
Sam decided to guess based on which sounded more Spanish and by his gut feeling. Sam decided guessed D. Topaz

Answer and value

C. Jade
Value: known to be $25000
Bank: $1000-consolation

Fweet! Foul! Jade does not mean stone of the loins. Piedra de ijada means stone of the loins. I would have jumped this because nothing in the answers means stone.

I thought there might have been a trap here, in that the question doesn't specify that the English name is derived from the Spanish name. My hunch went to jade, not because of the linguistics, but because that was the only gemstone that I could remember being identified with (southwestern) Native American cultures.

Wikipedia supplies a rather convoluted explanation for the official answer.

Etymology

The English word jade (alternative spellings "jaid", "jadeite") is derived (via French l'ejade and Latin ilia)[1] from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565) or "loin stone", from its reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite is derived from lapis nephriticus, the Latin version of the Spanish piedra de ijada.

[SportsFan68]

Question 8 - Level 9 Chance Encounters
Though a staunch Anti-Jacksonian, what folk hero helped subdue Richard Lawrence after he tried to assassinate President Andrew Jackson in 1835?
A. Davy Crockett B. Geronimo
C. Wild Bill Hickok D. Daniel Boone

JTQ

Sam was pretty sure it is not B or C, but the other two are both folk heroes who could have done this

Answer and value

A. Davy Crockett
Value: $15K jumped
Bank: $21100

Wouldn't Daniel Boone have been like 110 years old in 1835? Davy Crockett, final answer.

Pretty good guess, Sprots. Daniel would have been 101. Or 15, as a ghost.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Boone

Incidentally, it's only been two weeks since we saw them ask Sean Ginley another question related to Richard Lawrence. The question writers really must have liked his story!

Thanks, Marley -- I guess I could have looked it up myself. But I was pretty confident on this one.

[clem21]

I was actually at the gym and this was on so I watched an episode fot the first time in forever

That Davy Crockett fact is one of my favorite bits of trivia. He was a congressman at the time and it was after the funeral of some other congressman when some nutball came up to Jackson and fired twice from point blank range. Somehow, they say maybe b/c it was humid, both of the guys' guns misfired at which point Jackson started beating on the guy with his cane and then Crockett and some other guys restrained said nutball. Fun stuff.

I knew the jade one as well because I had a Native American reading phase at one point and I remember it being used for healing powers multiple times so basically I'm a jenius. Nihil Obstaht Beeyotches!!