# Merv Griffin announces that something "amazing" is going to happen... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842 "2004-05-18T20:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/381 "2004-07-21T10:33:51Z")
That was funny, Zev! 😃 I take issue with one of yesterday’s questions. It was from the website category, where they gave sort of crossword puzzle clues and you were to name the website. One of them said 10^100, and Ken gave the answer of Google. But inasmuch as Jeopardy is always so anal over spelling, I was surprised that they allowed a question whose answer was a mere homonym. The number, of course, is “googol”, not “google”. Also, when Ken answered the Prince question by drawing his symbol in the air, I thought that was pretty funny. I really like Ken’s quick-witted sense of humor. Did anyone catch what Ken said to the middle guy at the end of the interview portion that prompted Alex to accuse him (ostensibly jokingly) of taking over the show? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/382 "2004-07-21T12:49:27Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Did anyone catch what Ken said to the middle guy at the end of the interview portion that prompted Alex to accuse him (ostensibly jokingly) of taking over the show? Alex had asked Ken about an old comic book character – something like Aquaman. Ken asked if the character had blond hair and Alex said no. Ken said “Hm, dark hair?” and was trying to think of who it might have been, when the middle guy (also a comic book geek) came up with the name. Ken laughed and said something like, “We’ll just have a little nerd conference and get back to you.” ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/383 "2004-07-21T15:13:17Z")
Is it my imagination, or are they playing faster and looser with facts recently than they used to? I don’t remember the specific questions from last night, but one of them, Ken just answered, “Williams,” and Alex helpfully filled in the first name for him. In the Iraq category, the answer was something like, “the capital that Iraq occupied in 1990,” and Ken answered, “Kuwait.” Should he not have said, “Kuwait _City_,” or do the judges no longer require such specific answers? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/384 "2004-07-21T15:18:33Z")
If the question used the word “city,” which I think it did, then just Kuwait would have been fine since city was implied in the answer. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/385 "2004-07-21T15:20:40Z")
[The Sports Guy on ESPN.com talks about Ken](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/040721&CMP=OTC-DT9705204233) ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/386 "2004-07-21T15:35:30Z")
I saw this guy in action for the first time last night. Can’t believe he got the Final Jeopardy answer wrong. (At least he got the “-geria” part right!) Granted, it was a tough question, I had to think a moment about whether Mali was larger than Algeria. But now that I know this guy’s Acchiles Heel, I should get on that show. Give me a board full of geography questions and I’ll wipe the floor with his ass. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/387 "2004-07-21T15:56:57Z")
> [@av8rmike](#): > > Is it my imagination, or are they playing faster and looser with facts recently than they used to? I don’t remember the specific questions from last night, but one of them, Ken just answered, “Williams,” and Alex helpfully filled in the first name for him. In the Iraq category, the answer was something like, “the capital that Iraq occupied in 1990,” and Ken answered, “Kuwait.” Should he not have said, “Kuwait _City_,” or do the judges no longer require such specific answers? As long as it’s clear from context who is meant, using the last name only is an acceptable answer. So, for instance, in the answer to a tennis clue a couple of weeks ago, Ken tried just saying “Williams” and Alex made him specify Serena (rather than Venus). I think Ken knew he had to give the first name, too, and was either joking or stalling for time. Despite what **Marley23** says, I raised an eyebrow about the Kuwait answer, too. That ESPN column is pretty harsh. I don’t know why people find Ken so unlikeable. He’s not being falsely modest, but he’s not arrogant, either. He’s a good sportsman and clearly polite to his fellow players. I don’t think he’s pretending when he sometimes seems to be unsure of the answer. The antagonism toward him is mainly envy, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/388 "2004-07-21T16:00:24Z")
I don’t believe you have to provide a first name in answers unless there is clear ambiguity and in Final Jeopardy. A question about presidents to which the answer is “Roosevelt” would require a first name but not a question to which you answer “Kennedy”. But I’m pulling that out of some dim recess so I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/389 "2004-07-21T16:02:08Z")
> [@av8rmike](#): > > Is it my imagination, or are they playing faster and looser with facts recently than they used to? I don’t remember the specific questions from last night, but one of them, Ken just answered, “Williams,” and Alex helpfully filled in the first name for him. In the Iraq category, the answer was something like, “the capital that Iraq occupied in 1990,” and Ken answered, “Kuwait.” Should he not have said, “Kuwait _City_,” or do the judges no longer require such specific answers? IIRC, unless there could be some confusion (i.e. “This person was president during most of World War II”), then a last name alone is sufficient. In fact, it was only to a player’s disadvantage if he gave a first name since an incorrect first name would render the entire question wrong. Likewise, would you penalize someone for the clue “This city is the location of the Empire State Building” if the contestant said “What is New York?” Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/390 "2004-07-21T16:29:20Z")
I was about to argue with **Zev** that in the case of NYC, the “city” is not part of the official name, but that it is with Kuwait City. But I checked my Rand McNally Atlas, and according to it, Kuwait is the name of the city. So I guess the “city” part is just an informal way of distinguishing it from the larger region, like New York and “Quebec City.” ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/391 "2004-07-21T17:17:03Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > But inasmuch as Jeopardy is always so anal over spelling, I was surprised that they allowed a question whose answer was a mere homonym. The number, of course, is “googol”, not “google”. _Jeopardy!_ is strict over pronunciation, not spelling (unless the category or clue specifically requires you to spell). Even in Final Jeopardy, which is written, your spelling doesn’t matter as long as the evident pronunciation of what you wrote is a homophone of the correct word. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/392 "2004-07-21T17:21:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If the question used the word “city,” which I think it did, then just Kuwait would have been fine since city was implied in the answer. Remember, the board supplies the answer, the contestant supplies the question. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/393 "2004-07-21T17:26:00Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Remember, the board supplies the answer, the contestant supplies the question. What is nitpicking? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/394 "2004-07-21T17:46:32Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > _Jeopardy!_ is strict over pronunciation, not spelling (unless the category or clue specifically requires you to spell). Even in Final Jeopardy, which is written, your spelling doesn’t matter as long as the evident pronunciation of what you wrote is a homophone of the correct word. I was going to post that the clue was “Ten to the hundreth [power.com](http://power.com)” and so the answer should be “[googol.com](http://googol.com)” not “[google.com](http://google.com)”. But there is actually a [www.googol.com](http://www.googol.com). So I suppose technically it’s a correct answer, but all the rest of the responses in that category were popular websites (like [google.com](http://google.com)) which [googol.com](http://googol.com) certainly isn’t. Regardless of pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/395 "2004-07-22T01:55:28Z")
What, no update? I saw literally the last ten seconds of the credits and saw a shot of Ken and some other guy standing away from their podiums. Usually that’s a Jeopardy! sign that Something Has Happened. So what happened? Has Ken been finally taken down? ---
**Author:** ![Feit\_C\_Taj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@Feit\_C\_Taj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feit_C_Taj)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/396 "2004-07-22T02:03:10Z")
[spoiler]Ken Lives! There were only two because the third contestant bet the wad on a daily double, the last question of the game. Ken had about $20000 more than the second place guy going into FJ. He ended up with $30000 to $9600. So begins Week 8 of _The Ken Jennings Show_[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/397 "2004-07-22T03:09:35Z")
> [@](#): > > I was going to post that the clue was “Ten to the hundreth [power.com](http://power.com)” and so the answer should be “[googol.com](http://googol.com)” not “[google.com](http://google.com)”. But there is actually a [www.googol.com](http://www.googol.com). So I suppose technically it’s a correct answer, but all the rest of the responses in that category were popular websites (like [google.com](http://google.com)) which [googol.com](http://googol.com) certainly isn’t. Regardless of pronunciation. So the clue, for proper crossword form, should have been “10^100?” indicating a homophone. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/398 "2004-07-22T12:48:13Z")
> [@Doktor Fluff](#): > > … the third contestant bet the wad on a daily double, the last question of the game. And lost. If she had won, it still wouldn’t have challenged Ken. Had she bet one dollar less, she would have been around to play the Final. With stupid actions like that, how can Ken lose? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/399 "2004-07-22T17:11:02Z")
But it made no difference whether she was in Final or not, barring extreme carelessness on Ken’s part. The game was already over for all intents and purposes. This way, she didn’t have to stand around helplessly in Final as well. Not stupid by any means. Note, though, that if she’d had just one hundred dollars more, she would have been able to tie Ken, if she’d bet it all on the Daily Double, then again in Final. And I was screaming “What is Chesapeake Bay, dammit!!” Bah. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/400 "2004-07-22T21:50:39Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > But it made no difference whether she was in Final or not, barring extreme carelessness on Ken’s part. Well, now that you take your accumulated money home with you, rather than a trip for two to Sunny Acapulco, it made a big difference to the poor lady’s saving account. Since she had no chance to touch Ken, she should have bet a dollar on the DD, then nothing in Final and be assured of going home a few thousand richer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842.md?page=21)