I’ve never heard or read the term “Boswash” in my life. I felt bad for him on that one, as he had to parse an overly-long, poorly-written clue containing an obscure term, and come up with three city names in a matter of seconds.
Yeah, if you stop and think about the path from Boston to Washington, it’s not that difficult to come up with the three largest cities along the route. But by the time Karim (and I) even figured out what the clue even meant, time was up.
Blasted Muddy Stool?
I could see being thrown off by the 1929. Sometimes that just happens with Jeopardy clues: your mind ascribes too much significance to something the writers didn’t intend to be that significant, and you get hung up on that one thing and can’t think of other possibilities.
Actually the very first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the phrase “1929 novel by an American” was The Great Gatsby, but the only thought I had concerning that was “wouldn’t it be ridiculous if someone guesses that, given that it couldn’t possibly be the title of an Elizabethan-era poem?”
Not a bad guess, though if you’re a literature buff you know that that title is taken from a devotion by John Donne.
Agree completely. I personally don’t care that she hawked some “supplements” or whatever, she’s just terrible at doing all those little things that add up to making a good host.
I’d heard the term “megalopolis” from browsing Wikipedia, but I’ve always heard it referred to as the “northeast corridor” or “Acela corridor” or “Boston-Washington corridor,” never the portmanteau “Boswash.” I got that one right, but it seemed a weird way of phrasing it.
I believe @commasense is a former, and as he reported upthread, they’re told that responding with only the last name is acceptable, which isn’t the same thing as being told to give only the last name.
Yeah, I knew it was by John Donne but I couldn’t think of anything else.
My guess was Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying.” I thought I was way off but it turns out it’s from 1930, so I consider that a decent stab.
I did consider Hemingway and Fitzgerald, but my brain didn’t come up with any titles quickly enough.
Correct. But I was on in 1991, so I can’t say I remember whether they advised us not to give a first name if it wasn’t necessary. But even if they did then, things might have changed in the intervening 31 years.
Absolutely the most hilariously bad worst possible guess I’ve ever heard.
And I got FJ right immediately, without ever having read the poem or the book. One never knows, do one.
Did Alex Trebek get the abuse for pimping Colonial Life Insurance that Mayim is getting for shilling “brain pills”
Trebek doesn’t get one third the shit Mayim gets, considering he was often annoying. Now insurance, even shady insurance, is still insurance. You are getting something for your money. But brain pills are totally bogus, so she does deserve some fair ration of shit.
But sometimes I do wonder how much dislike of her is consciously or subconsciously because she’s a woman. I still prefer her to Ken, though neither is perfect. Trebek had game show hosting experience before he took over Jeopardy!, and he still had annoying traits.
I gave him hell about it, but he didn’t seem to care.
No, because there’s nothing wrong with advertising for insurance. It’s a product that exists and does what it says. It may or may not be the best insurance, but it isn’t fake.
The issue with Bialik is that she is peddling snake oil. It’s a product that has been scientific proven not to work. And she uses the fact that she was neuroscientist to push it. That makes her a con artist.
And it’s one of three big issues. She also did that whole article at the start of the MeToo movement where she argued that dressing modestly and not being sexual is a way to prevent being sexually harassed, sexually assaulted, or raped. But the biggest one is the fact that she is widely known in the rationalist community as someone who pushes anti-vax conspiracy nonsense.
Alex Trebek did not do any of this. He did not push pseudoscience in health related fields. And he didn’t make misogynist article.
It’s annoying to me how many people want to paint her as some sort of victim, especially among intellectuals. She’s done shit that is genuinely evil, and it’s not abuse to not want her as the host when you have someone without those problems.
And it also sucks that she’s able to try and trick people into thinking it’s because of her gender, despite the fact that the same people who don’t want her also didn’t want Dr. Oz. It’s the same issue. If you’re going to be the face for a show beloved by intellectuals, we don’t want you to also be pushing woo.
My Man! I’ve used that quote since forever and you’re the only other person I’ve ever heard do the same.
I’m not claiming she is a “victim” getting shit because she’s a woman, I am saying she gets an unfair extra helping because she’s a woman. Some people wouldn’t accept a woman in the job if she were the Virgin Mary. I admit I am sympathetic.
Ken gets a pass on belonging to the most misogynistic religion outside of Islam. He’s considered a great host.
I don’t forgive Mayim her misogynistic rants either, nor her brain pills. But she isn’t the only one.
Interesting chart indicating amount of money left on the board per game (per host) since the start of season 36.
mmm
What was the category and clue for which “stoning” was the answer? I thought it was under “This and That” and guessed “drawn & quartered” 
Is there any way the host can influence the $LOB? It seems that would be a function of the speed of the contestants and number of wrong answers.
How fast the host reads the clues and how much time the host “wastes” on the intro and the “meet and greet”.
Correct
Wrong. Each round lasts 6 1/2 minutes.
Tonight’s FJ seemed to be mislabeled….no matter what familiarity you have with the Italian language, you had no hope unless you were familiar with The Godfather. Seemed like more of a movie trivia question.
I figured it was someone from The Godfather, but I didn’t remember who killed who. The name Clemenza popped into my head, and I figured it was probably from the same root as “clemency”.
So in my case, it was a combination of movie trivia and language.