I’ve always assumed that being put on the spot by a TV personality lowers your IQ by 100 or so.
Also, I’m sure there’s plenty of editing and they only show the dumb answers. There would be no comedy in showing the correct ones, that would be “Street Jeopardy.”
One of my friends from high school was the person who grabs people and puts them in front of the camera for Jaywalking. He tells them “give a funny answer if you want to be on tv next week” but he doesn’t tell them WHAT to say.
I was on FOX5 once for giving a CLEVER answer after I was stopped on the street. They asked how to pronounce Van Wyck Expressway and I said “I-678”
Well that would do it!
Search YouTube for “rick mercer talking to americans”…
Rick Mercer is a Canadian comic who does the same thing as JayWalking, he also specializes in ambushing Governors, Senators and on one famous occasion, Dubya
I was stopped by a camera crew outside a department store once, a microphone was thrust in my face, and an inane question was asked by the interviewer.
My answer was, “I came here to shop, not talk to you. Get out of my way.”
Needless to say, I wasn’t put on the 10 o’clock news.
What if you’d added, “…puny mortal”? That might have improved your chances.
Most people can tell you big things like “Civil War was about slavery” I know it’s more detailed than that but you get the idea. Or they can say “Civil War, Lincoln was president.” But they are rough with the details.
I find it odd people think Nixon was impeached but he wasn’t and people think Clinton WASN’T impeached but he was. They think Cliinton wasn’t impeached because he didn’t get removed. People think Nixon WAS impeached because he left office.
Plus remember Leno = Entertainment. If Leno were to interview people and everyone answered the questions OK, he’d simply drop the segment and we’d never see how smart the people are.
Well, at least one person has the right number. . . 58!.
No cite because I read it in a magazine years ago but back when “Street Smarts” was on the air, I read an article which stated that the producers had to talk to 50+ people on the street to get three “good” ones for the show who consistantly gave ridiculously wrong answers.
I also think that Jay’s people tell everyone that they need to give an answer…any answer.
I’ve never seen anyone just say, “I don’t know,” and leave. They must give an answer, and their guesses are wild.
Proven by that clip of the French “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” contestant being asked, what orbits the earth? A) sun B) mars c)moon d)venus – and him having to ask the audience! But wait! the majority of the audience answers the SUN!
In my Psychology class the other day, the book referenced Ponce de Leon and his search for the Fountain of Youth.
Out of 14 students in class, not one had ever heard of Ponce de Leon.
However, I think Jaywalking does indeed pick the funniest, stupid answers - it wouldn’t be all that amusing if everyone got all the answers right, would it?
That’s sad. When we were in 5th grade we had to do a project on “explorers” (with a broad definition of explore) and several kids wanted Ponce de Leon since they already knew who he was.
Some of you are way over thinking the 52 states thing. Really, who the hell watches beauty pageants? It’s because of Alaska and Hawaii. How do I know? Because all my life I’ve been meeting people who think there are 52 states, and I ask them why they think that, and they say Alaska and Hawaii.
I always assumed they were confusing the number of weeks in the year with the number of states, but then again…it is difficult to figure out the “Why?” behind a stupid answer.
Hey, when I was a little kid I remember asking my mother, “Is my birthday July 15th or July 50th?”
The look on her face let me know she assumed I would be flipping burgers for the rest of my life.
Well… did you?
Well, actually I did flip burgers for short time when I ran out of money traveling through Europe - I got a job at a McDonalds in Munich. Good learning experience. You have no idea what “clean” is until you work for Germans scrubbing their counters and floors.
And speaking of which, here is my Jaywalking question for you! (No fair Googling the answer.)
Which currently living famous American Bozo was the first Ronald McDonald in television ads?
I hate the glorification of the stupid.
And I hate Jaywalking even more because I’ve caught Jay getting the answers wrong, too. If you’re going to hold yourself up as an example, make sure you get your facts right.
It’s that [weatherman?] they always make fun of on The Soup. Willard Scott? (You said no Googling and my mind is a little hazy on his name but I can picture his face and big creepy smile no problem!)
Orignally Posted by StGermain
I think a better example is Cash Cab, the TV game show that takes place in a taxi. The contestants are picked up because they hailed a cab in NY. They’re asked general knowledge questions until they get to their stop. Three wrong answers and you’re kicked out on the street. Most of these questions are a good bit harder than “Who is Al Gore”, but people do surprising well. And if they’re stuck on an answer, they can pull over and ask a random person on the street. Those random people also do pretty well. So I’d bet Jay’s segment is very heavily editted, or the idots give an asnine answer so they can get on TV
I love the Cash Cab and am always on the lookout for Ben’s cab as I bounce around Manhatten. But this show is also heavly edited. What makes a better show, three fares that crap out right away, or two fares that win $1200 each?