Are you in the middle, or the far right?
So how badly does gorilla poop smell?
You played very well and got on the Memorial Day edition 
I hadn’t seen this thread for a while, but when Johnny introduced “a periodicals librarian from Columbia, South Carolina”, I realized Zsofia was finally appearing!
So what other anecdotes besides the “zoo story” would we have heard during the interview portion had you won a game or two? Although I’m sorry you lost, I got a kick out of the FJ, as I had just played “Les Paul” in the Free Association thread a few days ago.
I completely choked when it came time for the Final Jeopardy bet - I’d practiced it a million times but I just lost my damned mind and needed three sheets of scratch paper and never got the same answer twice and they finally called time on me, so it’s a good thing I didn’t know the answer. I’d never have forgiven myself for losing because I couldn’t do simple addition.
They cut a bit of my interview portion - he asked why I do it and we went on for a bit during the taping. Gorilla poop is pretty inoffensive, since they’re herbivores, unless they take a stress poop. That can get nasty. I was ready to also talk about the week I spent on a schooner once, learning to sail, and I forget what the rest of mine were - in desperation to come up with five I did put down that I can touch my tongue to my nose, so I’m glad I didn’t end up having to do that on national TV. My mother would have been very disappointed.
Congratulations, Zsofia! You’re now on the updated list.
Doper Year wins place amount notes
1. 5-4-fighting 2000 0 3rd
2. 5 time champ 2001 5 $50,703
3. annieclaus 1967 0 2nd
4 BethCro 2009 0 3rd $100
5. Blanx 2001 0 2nd
6. Captain Lance Murdoch 1997 2
7. Colibri 1974
8. Commasense 1991 1 2nd $7,201
9. ElvisL1ves 1996 0 2nd
10. Fretful Porpentine 2010 1 3rd $27,201
11. GilaB 2010 1 2nd $3,000
12. Hippy Hollow 2003 1 2nd $16,500
13. h.sapiens 1994 5 $62,000 semi-finals of tournament
14. Hooleehootoo 1999 0 3rd
15. jsc1953 1988 0 3rd
16. KingSpades 2011 6 2nd $100,054
17. KittenKat 2010 0 2nd $5,998
18. Labdad 2006 0 2nd
19. Mama Tiger 1994 0 3rd lost to a five-time champ
20. MilTan 2010 0 2nd
21. Monstera deliciosa 1993 0 2nd
22. Mr. Moto 2000 0 2nd
23. Nice Pete 2004 1 2nd $31,100
24. pinkfreud 2008 0 2nd
25. Richardb 1984
26. Seaborgium 2009 5 2nd $84,870 plus 3rd place in TOC, $50,000
27. Serenata67 2004 0 2nd $5,000 College Tournament
28. The Man Who 2003 1 $50,000 Myron Myers, in one show
29. Tracy Lord 2004 0 2nd $5,000 2 Teen Jeopardy! shows
30. tumbleddown 2005 0 3rd
31. TWDuke 1995 2 $30,000
32. Twickster 1994 3 2nd $46,000
33. Walloon 1997 1 2nd $4,100
34. want2know 1989 0 3rd
35. Voyager 1997 0 2nd
36. Zsofia 2012 0 2nd $10,000
But us Dopers would have been SO PROUD!
I watched last night, but I hadn’t read this thread yet. I had no idea it was you.
You must have been happy to see the “Talk Like a Sailor” category.
I racked my brain for a few seconds on that as well, then I remembered how big of a deal it was in Milwaukee when Les Paul died and I knew that was just a few years ago. If he wasn’t from around here I never would have figured it out, I really don’t know that much about him.
I was actually rather proud of myself for getting this one. There are some clues that you absolutely know, some that you really don’t, and a few that are somewhere in the middle. (Those always feel like the hardest ones; maybe that’s why it’s so satisfying to get one right.) I don’t know a lot about Les Paul. I know he played, and I think he was an early technical innovator, and I vaguely remembered about him dying in the last few years.
My first instinct for the Final was Moog, but decided that was too obscure, so I realized it must be Les Paul.
Thrilled! I mean, the very first question was about schooners!
Did anyone else notice Trebek’s mispronunciation of “bowline”? Sailors everywhere may have snorted with derision.
The ones I hate the most are the ones that I hear then say to myself “Huh, I’m not even sure what they’re looking for, ummm, ‘What is November’” only to hear the contestant or Alex say “What is asbestos ceiling tile”.
I thought of Fender and Moog, but the clue said he was also a Grammy winner, and while they’re great technical guys, I don’t think of either Fender or Moog as doing much recording. I could be wrong about both. Maybe that’s why it felt good to get that one; it was definitely an educated guess.
I was actually wondering about that one. The clue said a vessel with two or more masts is a schooner (although it kinda depends how you read it), but that’s only true if they’re fore-and-aft sails. Try calling a barque a schooner and see how far that gets you.
If I’d been there, I’d have given you a run for your money in that category.
Of course. I can even tie one behind my back.
When I was a Sea Scout in the 60’s, we’d pass time lying on the deck tying bowlines with our feet. Another trick was holding a rope overhead with one arm (as if hanging onto it for dear life, you see), and tying a bowline around your waist entirely with the other hand. I have to admit I’ve never tried to tie one behind my back.
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Well, now I’m gonna have to try it with my feet. Pretty sure I’ll be able to do it, it’ll just take a while. I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue, but only a half hitch.
Last time my ship was in town, I saw two of the crew racing to see who could tie a bowline behind their back the fastest. They’ll be in Newport in a few weeks; maybe I can practice with my feet and challenge them.
Something tells me you’ve forgotten more than I’ll ever know about knots.
I doubt it. My sailing time amounted to about six weeks. I think the ship’s cat probably outranked me. Learned four or five knots that covered everything the trainees had to do.
Still remember the bowline, though. There’s something elegant about it.
Howdy, all! The Tournament of Champions page is now live, and I’m delighted to share that I was invited to come back and play again. I had the luck of drawing the last quarterfinal game, so while the Tournament starts tomorrow, my first game airs on Tuesday, February 19.
Since there are wild cards up for grabs in the first round, the players are kept sequestered in the green room until their first game. Otherwise the later players would have an advantage over the earlier ones, since they’d know the score they need to advance. That means I finally get to see all the quarterfinal games for the first time myself!