# Any study recommendations on what to study for Who Wants to be a Millionaire? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 11, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261 "2013-07-11T22:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JCFindley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@JCFindley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCFindley)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/1 "2013-07-11T22:56:00Z")
I have been part of the TM for over 20 years though I am new to the forum here. I am reaching out for suggestions here. I am in the contestant pool at Who Wants to be a Millionaire. That doesn’t mean I will be on the show but if I wait until they call me from the pool I will only have a week or so to study. Here is what is on my study list right now: Review all the archives of SD. relearn basic anatomy and learn the periodic table. Study weights and measurements, both old terminology and scientific. Study presidential history/trivia. Study literary trivia. Learn animal babies and what the groups are called. US history. Touch up on geography. * * * Any suggestions on what to add to the list? Thanks JC ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/2 "2013-07-11T23:11:10Z")
Study your friends to see which ones are likely to give you the right answer when you get your chance to call them on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/3 "2013-07-11T23:12:09Z")
A very smart friend to call. ---
**Author:** ![JCFindley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@JCFindley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCFindley)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/4 "2013-07-11T23:33:16Z")
Phone a friend is no longer one of the lifelines. We get two question jumps and an ask the audience. I figure the ask the audience lifeline will be used for pop culture because I would rather gouge my eyes out with a spork than start reading People Magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/5 "2013-07-12T00:05:09Z")
Ugh, the memories…I crashed and burned in the hot seat. If it were me I’d browse the online Jeopardy! archive by category…that’s the quickest way to hit a lot of topics. ---
**Author:** ![JCFindley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@JCFindley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCFindley)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/6 "2013-07-12T00:18:08Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Ugh, the memories…I crashed and burned in the hot seat. > > If it were me I’d browse the online Jeopardy! archive by category…that’s the quickest way to hit a lot of topics. Thanks. So, I gather you have been on the show; any other recommendations? ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/7 "2013-07-12T00:38:37Z")
I haven’t watched since Regis was the host, but basic astronomy came up a lot: distances to the sun/moon, order of planets, that sort of thing. Also a lot of “simple” math, usually disguised as currency questions. And science history (first man/woman to do X, inventor of X) occasionally. You can probably skip the “identify this porn star” study, unless the show has changed a lot since I watched. At one point, I watched several of these evening game shows, and notice that they borrow questions from each other all the time, so the Jeopardy study’s a good idea, as is watching any others you can see. ---
**Author:** ![JCFindley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@JCFindley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCFindley)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/8 "2013-07-12T13:46:23Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > I haven’t watched since Regis was the host, but basic astronomy came up a lot: distances to the sun/moon, order of planets, that sort of thing. > > Also a lot of “simple” math, usually disguised as currency questions. And science history (first man/woman to do X, inventor of X) occasionally. You can probably skip the “identify this porn star” study, unless the show has changed a lot since I watched. > > At one point, I watched several of these evening game shows, and notice that they borrow questions from each other all the time, so the Jeopardy study’s a good idea, as is watching any others you can see. Thanks TW ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/9 "2013-07-12T14:20:46Z")
I’ve been in the contestant pool twice. Never got the call. ☹ Do you have kids? If you don’t, I suggest brushing up on kid’s movies/TV and toys and games. I got tripped up by a question on _Kung Fu Panda_ the first time I took the test. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/10 "2013-07-12T14:33:57Z")
> [@JCFindley](#): > > Phone a friend is no longer one of the lifelines. We get two question jumps and an ask the audience. > > I figure the ask the audience lifeline will be used for pop culture because I would rather gouge my eyes out with a spork than start reading People Magazine. You really need to know some current pop culture, though. There could easily be 2 such questions in your “stack”. Can you handle reading _Entertainment Weekly?_ ---
**Author:** ![JCFindley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@JCFindley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCFindley)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/11 "2013-07-12T14:43:15Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > You really need to know some current pop culture, though. There could easily be 2 such questions in your “stack”. Can you handle reading _Entertainment Weekly?_ Ya know, that one I can handle, thanks. I do know some pop culture thanks to my wife’s TV habits. In exchange for “allowing” me to have Family Guy on the TV I have been exposed to the Housewife series and many other “reality” shows. For the most part, I just don’t care about what celebs do in their off time. I need to work on that. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/12 "2013-07-12T14:44:26Z")
I took the test about 2 years ago. I passed it easily. Even with the pop culture questions. Then came the brief interview. And I didn’t make that cut. A few days before the test there was a contestant on who did very well, (I would have been better because I knew all his answers and the one he back out on) and his name and my name were EXACTLY THE SAME. So I figured that kind of put the kibosh on me. Watch the show and look at their contestants. Are you like them? Are they in your age range/demographic? ---
**Author:** ![JCFindley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@JCFindley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCFindley)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/13 "2013-07-12T14:53:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’ve been in the contestant pool twice. Never got the call. ☹ Do you have kids? If you don’t, I suggest brushing up on kid’s movies/TV and toys and games. I got tripped up by a question on _Kung Fu Panda_ the first time I took the test. Thanks I do have kids, and luckily for me, I actually enjoy most of the modern cartoon movies on their own merit. On an interesting side note, I generally don’t watch movies where the plot is aviation related because I cannot get past the inaccuracies. The Incredibles had a scene where they were getting shot at with a missile and to the producers credit, the radio calls and nomenclature were the most accurate I have seen in a movie. Go figure. IF, and it is a big if as you know, I get called then there is obviously some luck involved as well. I took the test twice myself. The first one, I was clueless on a lot of answers. The second time I knew everything but one answer. Pure luck to know almost all of them. The same applies when watching the show and playing along. Some shows I know almost all the answers, others I would have used all the lifelines in the first three questions. My goal here is to learn more about the subjects I don’t know, just in case they actually call me from the pool. ---
**Author:** ![JCFindley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@JCFindley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCFindley)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/14 "2013-07-12T15:06:11Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I took the test about 2 years ago. I passed it easily. Even with the pop culture questions. > > Then came the brief interview. And I didn’t make that cut. A few days before the test there was a contestant on who did very well, (I would have been better because I knew all his answers and the one he back out on) and his name and my name were EXACTLY THE SAME. So I figured that kind of put the kibosh on me. > > Watch the show and look at their contestants. Are you like them? Are they in your age range/demographic? Yes and no. They basically pick a pretty wide range of people when it comes to demographics and I am a middle aged white guy which is a disadvantage. Oh, look, another middle aged white guy that is good at trivia, YA! That said, my back story is a little different than standard. I was a B-1B bomber pilot in the Air Force and then an airline pilot. I was laid off from the airlines when the CEO outsourced all the flight crews. I decided to go into gov’t contracting as it would be more stable then was laid off there with one week notice when the contract changed. After that, I decided to try and see if I could make a living with my hobby, which was art photography. It actually worked well for me and while I don’t make nearly as much money, it does pay the bills and I am much happier. I am also trying to break into stand-up comedy here in NYC. Is that enough though to distinguish my back story from the other millions of MAWGs out there? Time will tell. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/15 "2013-07-12T15:27:03Z")
At least you aren’t a twentysomething Asian. Maybe I’ll have better luck now that I’m a thirtysomething Asian. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/16 "2013-07-12T17:25:08Z")
Just be really outgoing and energetic when they interview you. I’m sure you’ll pass the test. ---
**Author:** ![JCFindley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@JCFindley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCFindley)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/17 "2013-07-12T17:49:06Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Just be really outgoing and energetic when they interview you. I’m sure you’ll pass the test. I have already got through the test and interviews and made it to the pool. That doesn’t mean they will pull me from the pool though. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/18 "2013-07-12T20:50:51Z")
OHHhhhh you got further than I did. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/19 "2013-07-12T20:59:07Z")
watch the show. many times they will reuse things phrased a bit differently. if you are not home during the time is on, dvr them. if you are able to get the game version get it. ---
**Author:** ![JCFindley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@JCFindley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCFindley)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261/20 "2013-07-12T22:15:07Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > OHHhhhh you got further than I did. Good luck! Thanks. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-study-recommendations-on-what-to-study-for-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/663261.md?page=2)