my friend wants to know
Just a WAG, but I’d guess they poll their studio audience, or other audiences in the studio next door or down the hall. If they can count the people going in to make sure that they have 100 people, then they’ve got the number they need. Before the show starts, a few minutes spent asking questions and collecting responses is probably what happens.
I’d guess a bunch of white lower middle-class people, from the answers. 
Sometimes it’s “100 people”, but sometimes, it’s “100 men”, or “100 women”. So there have to be at least 200 people in the total sample.
Also, when playing the Feud, I have to remind people that it’s not necessarily a factual answer that will be on the board. The board merely reflects what 100 average people would say. I remember seeing somewhere here on the Dope that someone was complaining that “Benjamin Franklin” was listed as one of the Presidents on Family Feud. Well, don’t blame the producers, blame the people that were surveyed.
They don’t poll their studio audience. Or, at any rate, they don’t poll all studio audiences. I attended a taping back in 1980, and was very surprised that we weren’t polled.
And Shawn is right, as I’ve mentioned on this Board before. It’s for that reason that the Feuid generally avoids factual questions, although occasionally something ewill slip through – like the time they asked for “A Country in South America”, and one of the answers was “Rio de Janeiro”
Name the animal that eats the most food.
No one said whale. Come on guys that’s gotta be the right answer.
It’s a show for the lowest common denominator. You don’t have to be right, you just have to be mainstream.
“Great Sailing Cultures” didn’t even mention the Polynesians.
just because not everyone is as smart as you doesn’t mean it’s lowest common denominator. I am tired as heck of everyone mocking the TV shows I like.
You’re the one who just complained that the answers are often wrong!
that was just one time. I think on the whole they are pretty good
Not necessarily. They’re big, but they also don’t have to expend a lot of energy. They float effortlessly, and don’t move particularly fast most of the time. They don’t have to chase down prey (I’m talking about the big filter-feeders here), and being in water and carrying all that blubber, temperature regulation shouldn’t be that difficult.
I don’t know what the right answer is - it may be whales for all I know - but I can pull an argument out of my ass as to why they might not be it.
Judging by some of the answers, I always thought they must have been going along talking to the same people from Jay Leno’s ‘Jaywalking’.’
but in Star Trek IV they say they have to feed the whales a couple tons of shrimp every day
Would Star Trek be wrong?
Busted!
How could they not put Tribble as the number one answer? It’s so obvious.
I and my friend are both fans of Family Feud
I like the Feud, too.
And anyone questioning the televised version should check out the sample group you work with.
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
—George Carlin