Transcript 10/10/2008 - Bonnie Kotapish

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Bonnie Kotapish
LaGrange Park, IL


Bonnie has come with her husband Ed and two daughters (Kathy and Lauren) for their first vacation in many years. Meredith's glad she chose the Big Apple and asked her opinion. Bonnie said that the city got a bad rap; it was a friendly city but people are in a hurry. Bonnie's family is dealing with medical issues - her, her mother, her mother-in-law and daughter but they're getting better. Lauren gave Bonnie some device - expect to tank, so every one you get right will be a pleasant surprise.

Category tree:
- U.S. History
- Deep Thoughts
- Animated Classics
- Facts about Myths
- Gold Strike
- Decisions, Decisions
- Idol Time
- Ice Cream
- Robins
- Fond Farewells
- Honest Abe
- Pink Stuff
- Drugstore Products
- Newsweek Covers
- Halls of Fame

$100 - In the logo for the Cowboy Hall of Fame, a man in a cowboy hat is doing what?

A - sipping a cup of tea
B - riding a horse
C - filing his income taxes
D - watching Oprah

Spoiler

B - riding a horse (6)

$200 - What cultural issue is examined in a 2008 Newsweek cover story entitled "Splitsville"?

A - poverty
B - divorce
C - addiction
D - crime

Spoiler

B - divorce (9)

$300 - Before-and-after photos of the tops of men's heads are often used to market what drugstore product?

A - Dr. Scholl's
B - Huggies
C - Rogaine
D - Preparation H

Spoiler

Bonnie chuckles and has a little difficulty giving the right answer.

C - Rogaine (6)

Bonnie jokingly says that the "H" is for head. Meredith notes that Preparation H is said to remove puffiness (gesturing under her eyes).

$500 - Artist Don Featherstone is widely credited with "inventing" yard-friendly pink plastic statues of what animal?

A - lizard
B - flamingo
C - orangutan
D - moose

Spoiler

B - flamingo (10)

$1K - Abraham Lincoln got his political nickname, "the rail-splitter", because he once held a job doing what?

A - chopping wood
B - fishing
C - herding cattle
D - plowing fields

Spoiler

Bonnie notes that she's from the Land of Lincoln.

A - chopping wood (8)

Commercial break

Bonnie is a stay-at-home mom. During the break Bonnie said apologized to Meredith for being an emotional lady. She's really excited, really happy, it's a great opportunity and it's been a great adventure, too. Meredith says there's nothing wrong with that. Meredith says that everyone in the audience is rooting for her. Meredith asks how Ed thinks his wife is doing. He says, "Great! Keep it up!" and gives a thumbs-up gesture.

Meredith says that now that Bonnie has reached the $1K level she's earned the Ask the Expert lifeline. Today's expert is "actor and good friend Jay Thomas". Meredith says that he's been phenomenal; he's been there for all the contestants. He's a good egg. Jay jokes that he'd like a cut of the money and says that he doesn't understand how this works. He's not here to be a good person for free. That's not how he was raised. Meredith says he's kidding - she thinks.

$2K - After passing away in 2007, who was burined with a tombstone that read, "I will not be right back after this message"?

A - Norman Mailer
B - Lady Bird Johnson
C - Merv Griffin
D - Liz Claiborne

Spoiler

C - Merv Griffin (23)

Meredith says that he was a great performer and a great guy.

$4K - Which of these famous Robins is a woman?

A - Robin Cook
B - Robin Givins
C - Robin Gibb
D - Robin Leach

Spoiler

B - Robin Givins (23)

$8K - The wildly-popular Häagen-Dazs flavor dulce de leche consists of ice cream swirled with ribbons of what?

A - fudge
B - fruit pureé
C - marshmallow
D - caramel

Spoiler

D - caramel (23)

$16K - In 2008, former American Idol Taylor Hicks brought the "Soul patrol" to Broadway when he played Teen Angel in

what musical revival?

A - Chicago
B - Grease
C - Gypsy
D - A Chorus Line

Spoiler

Bonnie says "Grease is the word".

B - Greece (23)

Meredith says "Actually, Bonnie is the word."

commercial break

Meredith has noticed that although Bonnie has had some hard times in her life she doesn't want to focus on them or anyone to feel sorry for her. She's proud to be on Millionaire and can't quite believe she's here. Meredith says that she's suspicious of people who don't cry. It's a big deal and a lot of money. Meredith asks what Bonnie would do with the money. She'd like to get out of debt themselves, then help their daughters get out of college debt and put aside some money for her third daughter's college. She would like to fix up the house and buy herself a piano. Meredith asks if she plays the piano. Bonnie doesn't, but she used to play the organ. Her oldest daughter is getting married in May and she'd like to give her a very nice wedding. She'd also like to take another vactaion. Meredith interrupts to say that Bonnie is only going to win one million. Meredith says all kidding aside, the economy is tough and she hopes that Bonnie can win enough to weather the tide.

$25K - In the 2008 case "D.C. vs. Heller," the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling protecting an individual's right to do what?

A - own a gun
B - marry a same-sex partner
C - destroy a U.S. flag
D - pray in public

Spoiler

Bonnie doesn't hesitate and with 20 seconds remaining she says she wants to Ask the Expert. Jay reads the four answers (in the order A, C, B and D). He says, that Heller was a security guard who wanted to keep a gun at home and the laws of D.C. didn't prohibit it. Bonnie can take that to the bank. Bonnie goes with Jay's answer.

A - own a gun(17)

Bonnie wants to thank Jay directly. He replies that making hundreds of thousands of dollars for other people is what he lives for. Meredith asks Bonnie if she's going to give Jay 10%. Bonnie says, "He can bill me."

$50K - Like the U.S., which of these countries also experienced a massive "gold rush" in the mid-nineteenth century?

A - Spain
B - Australia
C - Mexico
D - Brazil

Spoiler

Bonnie lets out a low whistle, then says, "Oh, boy." With 27 seconds left she decides to Ask the Audience.

ATA results:
A - 21%
B - 21%
C - 45%
D - 13%

Bonnie says she was pretty sure it was "Mexico" and thanks the audience for confirming it. She hopes they're right and makes that her final answer.

B - Australia (20)

Meredith says that Bonnie came with nothing and she's going home with $25K.

commercial break

Spoiler

ANSWERS:
$100 - B (riding a horse)
$200 - B (divorce)
$300 - C (Rogaine)
$500 - B (flamingo)
$1K - A (chopping wood)
$2K - C (Merv Griffin)
$4K - B (Robin Givins)
$8K - D (caramel)
$16K - B (Grease)
$25K - A (own a gun)
$50K - B (Australia)

[NellyLunatic1980]

- U.S. History
- Deep Thoughts
- Animated Classics
- Facts about Myths
- Gold Strike
- Decisions, Decisions
- Idol Time
- Ice Cream
- Robins
- Fond Farewells
- Honest Abe
- Pink Stuff
- Drugstore Products
- Newsweek Covers
- Halls of Fame

Idol Time is gonna be ATA usage. The rest of these subjects could go either way for me.

$300 - Before-and-after photos of the tops of men's heads are often used to market what drugstore product?

A - Dr. Scholl's
B - Huggies
C - Rogaine
D - Preparation H

There's a joke here involving the D answer, but I can't quite put my finger on it...

$16K: A Broadway question disguised as an Idol question. I know it's not "Chicago". As expected, I have to ATA.

$50K: It's not Mexico or Brazil. Double Dip on A and B.

[MarleysGh0st]

$50K - Like the U.S., which of these countries also experienced a massive "gold rush" in the mid-nineteenth century?

A - Spain
B - Australia
C - Mexico
D - Brazil

Spoiler

Bonnie lets out a low whistle, then says, "Oh, boy." With 27 seconds left she decides to Ask the Audience.

ATA results:
A - 21%
B - 21%
C - 45%
D - 13%

Okay, why did the audience go Mexico? Were they thinking of the time, before the '49ers gold rush, when California was still Mexican territory?

[silvercamaro]

Okay, why did the audience go Mexico? Were they thinking of the time, before the '49ers gold rush, when California was still Mexican territory?

My thought was that the audience was thinking of geographical proximity. "Gee, if they found gold in California, it must have been across the border, too."

[Kazoo65]

OK up to the ice cream question. ATA here. We don't have Haagen-Daaz stores here.

Double Dip or ATE on $50K. I was looking for Canada as a distractor. Never heard of a gold rush in Austrailia.

[gsabc]

OK up to the ice cream question. ATA here. We don't have Haagen-Daaz stores here.

Double Dip or ATE on $50K. I was looking for Canada as a distractor. Never heard of a gold rush in Austrailia.

They sell Dulce de Leche in pints. GW's favorite. And Australia was the only one of the choices that made sense to me. Probably would have used lifelines, though, rather than chance leaving them on the table.

Not too sure of her lifeline use, in hindsight. If she'd used the ATA at $25K, she probably would have gotten the right answer, then had Jay Thomas still available for the $50K. Whether he would have been helpful is anyone's guess.

[MarleysGh0st]

OK up to the ice cream question. ATA here. We don't have Haagen-Daaz stores here.

You don't actually have to be a Haagen-Daaz customer to know this answer. Dulce de leche is a Latin American dish of caramelized, sweetened milk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulce_de_leche

[frogman042]

Okay, why did the audience go Mexico? Were they thinking of the time, before the '49ers gold rush, when California was still Mexican territory?

My thought was that the audience was thinking of geographical proximity. "Gee, if they found gold in California, it must have been across the border, too."

Or maybe they were thinking of the great movie "The Treasure of the Sierra Madra"?

---Jay

[SportsFan68]

$50K - Like the U.S., which of these countries also experienced a massive "gold rush" in the mid-nineteenth century?

A - Spain
B - Australia
C - Mexico
D - Brazil

Every time I get an Australia question right, I want to travel more.

Every time I fly, I want to travel less.

It's a conundrum.

[earendel]

Bonnie Kotapish
LaGrange Park, IL

$25K - In the 2008 case "D.C. vs. Heller," the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling protecting an individual's right to do what?

A - own a gun
B - marry a same-sex partner
C - destroy a U.S. flag
D - pray in public

Spoiler

Bonnie doesn't hesitate and with 20 seconds remaining she says she wants to Ask the Expert. Jay reads the four answers (in the order A, C, B and D). He says, that Heller was a security guard who wanted to keep a gun at home and the laws of D.C. didn't prohibit it. Bonnie can take that to the bank. Bonnie goes with Jay's answer.

A - own a gun(17)

Bonnie wants to thank Jay directly. He replies that making hundreds of thousands of dollars for other people is what he lives for. Meredith asks Bonnie if she's going to give Jay 10%. Bonnie says, "He can bill me."

Jay was dead on with the background of the case. I'm not sure I appreciate his humor but he has been a good expert.

$50K - Like the U.S., which of these countries also experienced a massive "gold rush" in the mid-nineteenth century?

A - Spain
B - Australia
C - Mexico
D - Brazil

Spoiler

Bonnie lets out a low whistle, then says, "Oh, boy." With 27 seconds left she decides to Ask the Audience.

ATA results:
A - 21%
B - 21%
C - 45%
D - 13%

Bonnie says she was pretty sure it was "Mexico" and thanks the audience for confirming it. She hopes they're right and makes that her final answer.

B - Australia (20)

Meredith says that Bonnie came with nothing and she's going home with $25K.

Dursted by the audience - what a shame. As for me this would have been a nihil obstat® stack all the way to the $50K.

[tanstaafl2]

At 50K with those kind of numbers you almost have to expect to be dursted! Might have given in to the weight of the hot seat and burned a lifeline at 25K even though the right answer was my first thought. It was an easy PAF google. Otherwise at 50K with the rest of the lifelines intact.

[MarleysGh0st]

At 50K with those kind of numbers you almost have to expect to be dursted!

Why do you say that? It looks just about the way we'd want a difficult ATA question to look, with most of the audience evenly dividing their answers and a modest percentage who really know the answer providing the margin for the correct answer here.

But this result was messed up because Mexico became a huge distractor, for some reason; Brazil was ruled out by some from their random guessing; and Spain (Spain??? A 19th century gold rush in Europe?) must have got more random guesses than Australia, assuming somebody actually knew the answer.

[andrewjackson]

There was a gold rush in Brazil but in the early 18th century. I don't think Mexico ever had a gold rush. It is more known for silver and did have a silver rush in the mid-18th century.