Transcript 11/14/2008 - Crystal Sierra

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Crystal Sierra
Treasure Island, FL

Crystal is a victim of the mortgage crisis, having to sell her home a year ago. Then two months ago her car was stolen. Crystal is "beyond thrilled" to be in the Hot Seat. (NOTE: Crystal had a little stumble trying to get into the Hot Seat.)

Topic tree:
- Brainiacs
- Can I Quote You?
- Super Bowl Sunday
- Cool Beans
- To the Extreme
- A Bigger, Better You
- Aliens
- Tell it on the Mount
- Darkening Skies
- She said I'm Cute!
- Food Preparation
- James Michener
- Mirror, Mirror
- We Have Liftoff
- Confidence Game

$100 - A person who is confident about winning a game will often say "It's in the" what?
A - crate
B - bag
C - knapsack
D - steroids I just took

Spoiler

B - bag (7)

$200 - In an early test run in 1783, what type of vehicle hovered in the air for several moments before returning to the ground?
A - bicycle
B - hot air balloon
C - steam train
D - automobile

Spoiler

B - hot air balloon (10)

$300 - On the TV cartoon "The Smurfs," what Smurf is commonly seen with a mirror in his hand?
A - Lazy Smurf
B - Poet Smurf
C - Farmer Smurf
D - Vanity Smurf

Spoiler

D - Vanity Smurf (10)

$500 - A page of maps depicting Jamaica and Hispaniola is featured in which of these popular James Michener novels?
A - Poland
B - Chesapeake
C - Caribbean
D - Alaska

Spoiler

C - Caribbean (10)

$1K - Recipes often call for which of these vegetables to be destringed?
A - garlic
B - celery
C - onion
D - cabbage

Spoiler

B - celery (5)

commercial break

In order to afford the trip for the audition Crystal and her mother had a "Send Crystal to Millionaire" garage sale. She sold dishes, furniture and books and made $800 in one day. Now she's in the Hot Seat.

Now that Crystal has reached the $1K level she's earned the Ask the Expert lifeline. Today's expert, as has been the case all week, is Renee Seiler, award-winning journalist and author of "Good Enough Mother". On screen with Renee is her son Cole, who, she says, gives her a lot of material for her Web site.

$2K - What member of the Beatles was commonly referred to in the press as "the cute one"?
A - Paul McCartney
B - Ringo Starr
C - George Harrison
D - John Lennon

Spoiler

A - Paul McCartney (24)

$4K - What hurricane was the subject of the 2008 New York Times headline, "Three Years After Katrina, A Storm Approaches"?
A - Dolly
B - Gustav
C - Arthur
D - Cristobal

Spoiler

B - Gustav (16)

$8K - Spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes are sayings that each begin with what word?
A - Joyous
B - Hopeful
C - Blessed
D - Loving

Spoiler

C - Blessed (22)

$16K - In the 2002 Mel Gibson movie "Signs", the aliens turn out to be vulnerable to what everyday substance?
A - water
B - dust
C - salt
D - oil

Spoiler

A - water (25)

$25K - Patients to elect to have malar augmentation surgery are seeking to enlarge the size of their what?
A - calves
B - buttocks
C - lips
D - cheeks

With 21 seconds on the clock Crystal decides to ask the audience.

Spoiler

ATA results:
A - 16%
B - 17%
C - 26%
D - 41%

Meredith informs Crystal that "malus" is Latin for "cheek".

D - cheeks (11)

commercial break

Crystal is feeling incredible. She's going to buy some new wheels and pay some bills. Being on Millionaire was on Crystal's "bucket list", in the top five.

$50K - Cape Wrangell is located at what extreme point in the U.S.?
A - easternmost
B - westernmost
C - southernmost
D - northernmost

Crystal doesn't waste any time, opting to phone a friend. On her list are her friend Shoshona from St. Petersburg, FL; her friend Fred from Seminole, FL; and her mother, Barbara from Largo, FL. Crystal selects Shoshona. Shoshona doesn't hesitate, informing Crystal that it's in Alaska and she's 100% sure. After the call Meredith asks why Crystal thought Shoshona would know that. Crystal says that Shoshona's a world traveler. She also thought it might be in Alaska but wanted to make sure.

Spoiler

B - westernmost (36)

$100K - Prized for their distinctive flavor, vanilla beans are the fruit of a rare kind of what flower?
A - crocus
B - dahlia
C - orchid
D - gladiolus

With 35 seconds remaining Crystal decides to ask the expert.

Spoiler

Renee looks at the question and immediately says "It's not orchid", then adds, "it couldn't be dahlia". She wants to say "crocus" but she's really not sure. Crystal asks if Renee has any percentage confidence; Renee says she's about 50% sure that it's crocus, but then says "that means it's 50% gladiolus." Renee then says "it can't be gladiolus". In the end she says she's not real certain about her answer.

Crystal decides to use the Double Dip with 32 seconds remaining. Her first answer is A, which is not correct. She ponders while the clock ticks down to 18 seconds, and makes C her second answer.

Meredith hands her a check, saying "Here's your $50,000 check." The audience starts clapping, then Meredith says, "Tear that one up because you have $100,000!". Crystal's jaw drops and she looks stunned but she does indeed tear up the check Meredith gave her.

C - orchid ()

commercial break

Crystal used the insurance money from her car to pay for her trip to New York to be on the show. This is a new beginning, a new chapter in her life. Meredith says that Crystal came with a positive attitude but she also has a good luck charm. It's a pink heart, reminding her to stay centered in her heart and everything will be OK no matter what.

$250K - Who is the only U.S. president to have been inaugurated on Super Bowl Sunday?
A - Ronald Reagan
B - George H.W. Bush
C - Jimmy Carter
D - Bill Clinton

Spoiler

Crystal says that she has no idea so she's going to stop the game. $100,000 is spectacular and she's going to celebrate all the way home.

A - Ronald Reagan (26)

THE HORN!!!!!!

[NellyLunatic1980]

- Brainiacs
- Can I Quote You?
- Super Bowl Sunday
- Cool Beans
- To the Extreme
- A Bigger, Better You
- Aliens
- Tell it on the Mount
- Darkening Skies
- She said I'm Cute!
- Food Preparation
- James Michener
- Mirror, Mirror
- We Have Liftoff
- Confidence Game

Pretty good stack of questions, it looks like.

$16K: I saw this movie one time. It sucked. I don't remember what the aliens were vulnerable to, so I'd have to ask the audience.

$25K: Calves and buttocks make absolutely no sense. I'll Double Dip on lips and cheeks.

$50K: Perfect PAF question... although I should've known this. It's on the island of Attu, a common crossword puzzle answer.

$100K: Thank God lily didn't show up as a choice. I was between orchid and lily before the choices came up.

$250K: I know it's not Clinton... but after that, I have no clue. I'm walking away, too.

[Kazoo65]

I'd ATA on $16K. Pop culture-they might know.

$50K-Thanks to John Denver's "Wrangell Mountain Song" I know Cape Wrangell is in Alaska. Double Dip and go with B and D.

$100K-EZ for me. I learned this while touring a botanical garden.

$250K-EZ. I am glad they didn't ask "Who was the MVP of the first Super Bowl?" or some other obscure football-related question. I remember that in 1985 it was extremely cold in DC, so they canceled the parade that was to happen on Monday the 21st. I saw Carter being sworn in when I was in 5th grade on a teeny-tiny black and white TV. Boy have times changed!

I'd be looking at $500K with ATE and PaF left.

[Bob Juch]

$16K: I saw this movie one time. It sucked. I don't remember what the aliens were vulnerable to, so I'd have to ask the audience.

That they were vulnerable to water is part of why this film sucked! Just breathing the water vapor in the air should have killed them.

[Estonut]

$25K: Calves and buttocks make absolutely no sense. I'll Double Dip on lips and cheeks.

Not sure what you mean by "make absolutely no sense." If you mean in relation to the term malar, you didn't say why. If you mean in relation to augmentation surgery, you should know it is very common these days for people to have implants into either calves or butt cheeks, or both.

[TheConfessor]

$25K: Calves and buttocks make absolutely no sense. I'll Double Dip on lips and cheeks.

Not sure what you mean by "make absolutely no sense." If you mean in relation to the term malar, you didn't say why. If you mean in relation to augmentation surgery, you should know it is very common these days for people to have implants into either calves or butt cheeks, or both.

So, if the correct answer had been butt cheeks, would they have accepted either B or D as correct? It's a little ambiguous.

[Estonut]

$25K: Calves and buttocks make absolutely no sense. I'll Double Dip on lips and cheeks.

Not sure what you mean by "make absolutely no sense." If you mean in relation to the term malar, you didn't say why. If you mean in relation to augmentation surgery, you should know it is very common these days for people to have implants into either calves or butt cheeks, or both.

So, if the correct answer had been butt cheeks, would they have accepted either B or D as correct? It's a little ambiguous.

[CraigFerguson]You cheeky monkey![/CraigFerguson]

[Bob78164]

$250K - Who is the only U.S. president to have been inaugurated on Super Bowl Sunday?
A - Ronald Reagan
B - George H.W. Bush
C - Jimmy Carter
D - Bill Clinton

Spoiler

Crystal says that she has no idea so she's going to stop the game. $100,000 is spectacular and she's going to celebrate all the way home.

A - Ronald Reagan (26)

This is the first "calculation" question we've seen since the advent of the clock. Reagan was the only one of these Presidents who was inaugurated on a Sunday (in 1985). ATE to buy time to do the calculations. --Bob

[slam]

$250K - Who is the only U.S. president to have been inaugurated on Super Bowl Sunday?
A - Ronald Reagan
B - George H.W. Bush
C - Jimmy Carter
D - Bill Clinton

Spoiler

Crystal says that she has no idea so she's going to stop the game. $100,000 is spectacular and she's going to celebrate all the way home.

A - Ronald Reagan (26)

This is the first "calculation" question we've seen since the advent of the clock. Reagan was the only one of these Presidents who was inaugurated on a Sunday (in 1985). ATE to buy time to do the calculations. --Bob

Agreed, it requires some time but can be done if one is predisposed to those sorts of calculations and stays calm. Calling an otherwise useless "expert" to buy time is certainly a good strategy.

My personal strategy:
My younger son was born on Saturday, January 16, 1999 so I know that January 20th that year was on a Wednesday. In non-leap years the day of the week for a particular date advances one day from the previous year (because 365/7 leaves a remainder of 1). So, January 20th, 1997 had to be a Monday. For every 4 year presidential cycle going back in time, the day will move backwards by 5 days (because there's an extra day for the leap year). To make it a little easier to do mentally, going back 5 days is the same as going forward 2 days, So, the relevant days would be:

1/20/93 - Wednesday (Clinton)
1/20/89 - Friday (Bush)
1/20/85 - Sunday (Reagan)
1/20/81 - Tuesday (Reagan)
1/20/77 - Thursday (Carter)

The potentially nasty thing that could happen after doing the calculation is that Clinton's 2nd inauguration was the same day of the week as Carter's. If those were both Sundays, I'd have gone with Carter's because the Super Bowl has been pushed later as the NFL season has expanded (from 14 to 16 games and then the addition of a bye week for each team) and is now generally in February.

[slam]

$25K: Calves and buttocks make absolutely no sense. I'll Double Dip on lips and cheeks.

Not sure what you mean by "make absolutely no sense." If you mean in relation to the term malar, you didn't say why. If you mean in relation to augmentation surgery, you should know it is very common these days for people to have implants into either calves or butt cheeks, or both.

Anybody who's watched Johnny Drama's antics on Entourage would know about the calf augmentations in particular.

[TheConfessor]

Crystal Sierra
Treasure Island, FL

Crystal is a victim of the mortgage crisis, having to sell her home a year ago. Then two months ago her car was stolen.

I wonder how "the mortgage crisis" forced her to sell her home. As far as I know, people who make their monthly payments are free to keep their homes as long as they wish. Seems like TPTB are increasingly looking for contestants with hard luck stories. That used to be a guaranteed losing strategy for getting on a game show.

[megaaddict]

Crystal Sierra
Treasure Island, FL

$50K - Cape Wrangell is located at what extreme point in the U.S.?
A - easternmost
B - westernmost
C - southernmost
D - northernmost

Crystal doesn't waste any time, opting to phone a friend. On her list are her friend Shoshona from St. Petersburg, FL; her friend Fred from Seminole, FL; and her mother, Barbara from Largo, FL. Crystal selects Shoshona. Shoshona doesn't hesitate, informing Crystal that it's in Alaska and she's 100% sure. After the call Meredith asks why Crystal thought Shoshona would know that. Crystal says that Shoshona's a world traveler. She also thought it might be in Alaska but wanted to make sure.

Spoiler

B - westernmost (36)

Establishing that Cape Wrangell is in Alaska only narrows the choices to two. (And if you define easternmost as the first point west of the international dateline, the easternmost point in the US is in Alaska as well!) Did Crystal even consider Cape Wrangell might be the northernmost point?

[earendel]

Crystal Sierra
Treasure Island, FL

Crystal is a victim of the mortgage crisis, having to sell her home a year ago. Then two months ago her car was stolen. Crystal is "beyond thrilled" to be in the Hot Seat. (NOTE: Crystal had a little stumble trying to get into the Hot Seat.)

Well at least it's not a medical crisis hook.

Topic tree:
- Brainiacs

Are we ever going to see what this question is about?

In order to afford the trip for the audition Crystal and her mother had a "Send Crystal to Millionaire" garage sale. She sold dishes, furniture and books and made $800 in one day. Now she's in the Hot Seat.

And she'll have to buy back those things at retail prices.

$8K - Spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes are sayings that each begin with what word?
A - Joyous
B - Hopeful
C - Blessed
D - Loving

Spoiler

C - Blessed (22)

In Hebrew, it's "ashere".

$16K - In the 2002 Mel Gibson movie "Signs", the aliens turn out to be vulnerable to what everyday substance?
A - water
B - dust
C - salt
D - oil

Spoiler

A - water (25)

Just like the Wicked Witch of the West - coincidentally elwing and I watched TWOO on Saturday night.

$50K - Cape Wrangell is located at what extreme point in the U.S.?
A - easternmost
B - westernmost
C - southernmost
D - northernmost

Crystal doesn't waste any time, opting to phone a friend. On her list are her friend Shoshona from St. Petersburg, FL; her friend Fred from Seminole, FL; and her mother, Barbara from Largo, FL. Crystal selects Shoshona. Shoshona doesn't hesitate, informing Crystal that it's in Alaska and she's 100% sure. After the call Meredith asks why Crystal thought Shoshona would know that. Crystal says that Shoshona's a world traveler. She also thought it might be in Alaska but wanted to make sure.

Spoiler

B - westernmost (36)

Time to PAF on this one. Shoshona was so certain that I'm pretty sure she didn't Google the answer.

$100K - Prized for their distinctive flavor, vanilla beans are the fruit of a rare kind of what flower?
A - crocus
B - dahlia
C - orchid
D - gladiolus

With 35 seconds remaining Crystal decides to ask the expert.

Spoiler

Renee looks at the question and immediately says "It's not orchid", then adds, "it couldn't be dahlia". She wants to say "crocus" but she's really not sure. Crystal asks if Renee has any percentage confidence; Renee says she's about 50% sure that it's crocus, but then says "that means it's 50% gladiolus." Renee then says "it can't be gladiolus". In the end she says she's not real certain about her answer.

Crystal decides to use the Double Dip with 32 seconds remaining. Her first answer is A, which is not correct. She ponders while the clock ticks down to 18 seconds, and makes C her second answer.

Meredith hands her a check, saying "Here's your $50,000 check." The audience starts clapping, then Meredith says, "Tear that one up because you have $100,000!". Crystal's jaw drops and she looks stunned but she does indeed tear up the check Meredith gave her.

C - orchid (11)

This is a fairly standard trivia question; it helps that elwing prefers to cook with real vanilla so we have bottles that have the flower on the label. When Crystal said she was going to use the Double Dip I was afraid she was going to lose, since the "expert" had narrowed it down to two answers and eliminated the right answer immediately. But she took the chance and made it pay off.

Meredith's fake out was actually amusing.

$250K - Who is the only U.S. president to have been inaugurated on Super Bowl Sunday?
A - Ronald Reagan
B - George H.W. Bush
C - Jimmy Carter
D - Bill Clinton

Spoiler

Crystal says that she has no idea so she's going to stop the game. $100,000 is spectacular and she's going to celebrate all the way home.

A - Ronald Reagan (26)

OK, here's how I reasoned this one out: January 20, 2008 was on a Sunday (I know this because two of my sons have birthdays on the 21st). I know that the calendar repeats itself every 28 years, so the last time January 20th was on a Sunday was 1980. Carter was inaugurated in 1977; Clinton in 1993 and 1997; Bush 41 in 1989; and Reagan in 1981 and 1985. There was no inauguration in 1980, so it had to be within 7 years either side of that year. The 20th fell on a Sunday in 1974 (not an inaugural year) and not on a Sunday in any other year in the period. Thus it has to be Reagan.

Now this was an easy analysis from the comfort of my recliner. Under the pressure of TDC® I might have guessed Reagan or used the Double Dip (with Clinton as my second choice - both of them were two-term presidents and thus more likely).

That would put me at the $500K question with the ATA and ATE lifelines remaining. Not a very promising prospect.

[MarleysGh0st]

Crystal Sierra
Treasure Island, FL

Crystal is a victim of the mortgage crisis, having to sell her home a year ago. Then two months ago her car was stolen.

I wonder how "the mortgage crisis" forced her to sell her home. As far as I know, people who make their monthly payments are free to keep their homes as long as they wish. Seems like TPTB are increasingly looking for contestants with hard luck stories. That used to be a guaranteed losing strategy for getting on a game show.

I was wondering about that, too. Did she buy more house than she could afford? Accept a low-interest teaser rate and find out later than the adjusted rate was more than she could handle?

As for her car being stolen, I believe they mentioned later that she did have insurance for it.

[earendel]

Crystal Sierra
Treasure Island, FL

Crystal is a victim of the mortgage crisis, having to sell her home a year ago. Then two months ago her car was stolen.

I wonder how "the mortgage crisis" forced her to sell her home. As far as I know, people who make their monthly payments are free to keep their homes as long as they wish. Seems like TPTB are increasingly looking for contestants with hard luck stories. That used to be a guaranteed losing strategy for getting on a game show.

Except for "Queen for a Day".

[Bob Juch]

Crystal Sierra
Treasure Island, FL

Crystal is a victim of the mortgage crisis, having to sell her home a year ago. Then two months ago her car was stolen.

I wonder how "the mortgage crisis" forced her to sell her home. As far as I know, people who make their monthly payments are free to keep their homes as long as they wish. Seems like TPTB are increasingly looking for contestants with hard luck stories. That used to be a guaranteed losing strategy for getting on a game show.

I was wondering about that, too. Did she buy more house than she could afford? Accept a low-interest teaser rate and find out later than the adjusted rate was more than she could handle?

As for her car being stolen, I believe they mentioned later that she did have insurance for it.

I'm betting it was when a teaser rate converted to one she couldn't afford. That's what has caused most of the problems.

[doitneatly]

$250K - Who is the only U.S. president to have been inaugurated on Super Bowl Sunday?
A - Ronald Reagan
B - George H.W. Bush
C - Jimmy Carter
D - Bill Clinton

Spoiler

Crystal says that she has no idea so she's going to stop the game. $100,000 is spectacular and she's going to celebrate all the way home.

A - Ronald Reagan (26)

This is the first "calculation" question we've seen since the advent of the clock. Reagan was the only one of these Presidents who was inaugurated on a Sunday (in 1985). ATE to buy time to do the calculations. --Bob

Agreed, it requires some time but can be done if one is predisposed to those sorts of calculations and stays calm. Calling an otherwise useless "expert" to buy time is certainly a good strategy.

My personal strategy:
My younger son was born on Saturday, January 16, 1999 so I know that January 20th that year was on a Wednesday. In non-leap years the day of the week for a particular date advances one day from the previous year (because 365/7 leaves a remainder of 1). So, January 20th, 1997 had to be a Monday. For every 4 year presidential cycle going back in time, the day will move backwards by 5 days (because there's an extra day for the leap year). To make it a little easier to do mentally, going back 5 days is the same as going forward 2 days, So, the relevant days would be:

1/20/93 - Wednesday (Clinton)
1/20/89 - Friday (Bush)
1/20/85 - Sunday (Reagan)
1/20/81 - Tuesday (Reagan)
1/20/77 - Thursday (Carter)

oof, that's a lot of math in 45 seconds. (and I *like* math

With no easy relative day-of-week comparison to think of, I would've tried to dust off the trusty Doomsday trick for quickly figuring the day of week for any given date in history. But I still couldn't get that done in 45 sec, i suspect. (John Conway's Doomsday algorithm: http://rudy.ca/doomsday.html)

[littlebeast13]

This is the first "calculation" question we've seen since the advent of the clock. Reagan was the only one of these Presidents who was inaugurated on a Sunday (in 1985). ATE to buy time to do the calculations. --Bob

Agreed, it requires some time but can be done if one is predisposed to those sorts of calculations and stays calm. Calling an otherwise useless "expert" to buy time is certainly a good strategy.

My personal strategy:
My younger son was born on Saturday, January 16, 1999 so I know that January 20th that year was on a Wednesday. In non-leap years the day of the week for a particular date advances one day from the previous year (because 365/7 leaves a remainder of 1). So, January 20th, 1997 had to be a Monday. For every 4 year presidential cycle going back in time, the day will move backwards by 5 days (because there's an extra day for the leap year). To make it a little easier to do mentally, going back 5 days is the same as going forward 2 days, So, the relevant days would be:

1/20/93 - Wednesday (Clinton)
1/20/89 - Friday (Bush)
1/20/85 - Sunday (Reagan)
1/20/81 - Tuesday (Reagan)
1/20/77 - Thursday (Carter)

oof, that's a lot of math in 45 seconds. (and I *like* math

With no easy relative day-of-week comparison to think of, I would've tried to dust off the trusty Doomsday trick for quickly figuring the day of week for any given date in history. But I still couldn't get that done in 45 sec, i suspect. (John Conway's Doomsday algorithm: http://rudy.ca/doomsday.html)

I have an algorithm in my head for quickly figuring out days of the week of dates in history, but I hate using it for dates in January and February when it's fluky...

Now I know my RoF appearance took place on Thursday January 18, 2001.... 2 days before Dubya was inaugurated on a Saturday. Since Inauguration Day occurs every 4 years, you can use the same method for determining when Leap Day will fall each year by simply going forward 2 days for each 4 years you go backwards....

2001 - Saturday
1997 - Monday
1993 - Wednesday
1989 - Friday
1985 - Sunday <------

And since it would be another 28 years backwards before it would fall on a Sunday again, that would be the only possible year to go with the choices.

Of course, I realize not as many people are as fascinated with the Gregorian calendar as I am.....

lb13

[kayrharris]

Agreed, it requires some time but can be done if one is predisposed to those sorts of calculations and stays calm. Calling an otherwise useless "expert" to buy time is certainly a good strategy.

My personal strategy:
My younger son was born on Saturday, January 16, 1999 so I know that January 20th that year was on a Wednesday. In non-leap years the day of the week for a particular date advances one day from the previous year (because 365/7 leaves a remainder of 1). So, January 20th, 1997 had to be a Monday. For every 4 year presidential cycle going back in time, the day will move backwards by 5 days (because there's an extra day for the leap year). To make it a little easier to do mentally, going back 5 days is the same as going forward 2 days, So, the relevant days would be:

1/20/93 - Wednesday (Clinton)
1/20/89 - Friday (Bush)
1/20/85 - Sunday (Reagan)
1/20/81 - Tuesday (Reagan)
1/20/77 - Thursday (Carter)

oof, that's a lot of math in 45 seconds. (and I *like* math

With no easy relative day-of-week comparison to think of, I would've tried to dust off the trusty Doomsday trick for quickly figuring the day of week for any given date in history. But I still couldn't get that done in 45 sec, i suspect. (John Conway's Doomsday algorithm: http://rudy.ca/doomsday.html)

I have an algorithm in my head for quickly figuring out days of the week of dates in history, but I hate using it for dates in January and February when it's fluky...

Now I know my RoF appearance took place on Thursday January 18, 2001.... 2 days before Dubya was inaugurated on a Saturday. Since Inauguration Day occurs every 4 years, you can use the same method for determining when Leap Day will fall each year by simply going forward 2 days for each 4 years you go backwards....

2001 - Saturday
1997 - Monday
1993 - Wednesday
1989 - Friday
1985 - Sunday <------

And since it would be another 28 years backwards before it would fall on a Sunday again, that would be the only possible year to go with the choices.

Of course, I realize not as many people are as fascinated with the Gregorian calendar as I am.....

lb13

Suddenly my head is hurting.

[slam]

$250K - Who is the only U.S. president to have been inaugurated on Super Bowl Sunday?
A - Ronald Reagan
B - George H.W. Bush
C - Jimmy Carter
D - Bill Clinton

Spoiler

Crystal says that she has no idea so she's going to stop the game. $100,000 is spectacular and she's going to celebrate all the way home.

A - Ronald Reagan (26)

This is the first "calculation" question we've seen since the advent of the clock. Reagan was the only one of these Presidents who was inaugurated on a Sunday (in 1985). ATE to buy time to do the calculations. --Bob

Let's say you were lucky and happened to have an expert who was capable of doing these sorts of calculations like Ken or Ogi. Would they let your expert have enough time to complete these calculations on air? I could see a situation where I or the expert started working through the calculation and the other provided input and served as a check on the calculations. I'd think that process would be very likely to reach the correct answer if we didn't get cut off too soon by Meredith.

[minimetoo26]

I guess a "good enough mom" uses imitation vanilla. I get the real kind with the orchid on the box, and I'm about as slack as they come........

[MarleysGh0st]

$250K - Who is the only U.S. president to have been inaugurated on Super Bowl Sunday?
A - Ronald Reagan
B - George H.W. Bush
C - Jimmy Carter
D - Bill Clinton

Spoiler

Crystal says that she has no idea so she's going to stop the game. $100,000 is spectacular and she's going to celebrate all the way home.

A - Ronald Reagan (26)

This is the first "calculation" question we've seen since the advent of the clock. Reagan was the only one of these Presidents who was inaugurated on a Sunday (in 1985). ATE to buy time to do the calculations. --Bob

Let's say you were lucky and happened to have an expert who was capable of doing these sorts of calculations like Ken or Ogi. Would they let your expert have enough time to complete these calculations on air? I could see a situation where I or the expert started working through the calculation and the other provided input and served as a check on the calculations. I'd think that process would be very likely to reach the correct answer if we didn't get cut off too soon by Meredith.

Good question.

There don't seem to be any official limits on an expert's time, as long as the expert doesn't stop talking. I'd bet they'd be allowed to do the calculations, at least the first time this situation arose. Maybe TPTB would tell the experts not to do that anymore, after that.

[jarnon]

$8K - Spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes are sayings that each begin with what word?
A - Joyous
B - Hopeful
C - Blessed
D - Loving

In Hebrew, it's "ashere".

This surprised me, because the Hebrew word "ashere" is usually translated "happy." So I looked it up, and found out that there are some very old Hebrew manuscripts of the Book of Matthew, and they do use that word, even though the Greek and Latin versions say "blessed."
That makes this a poorly worded question. If Jesus actually said "ashere," then "A - Joyous" would also be a correct answer.

[TheConfessor]

$8K - Spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes are sayings that each begin with what word?
A - Joyous
B - Hopeful
C - Blessed
D - Loving

In Hebrew, it's "ashere".

This surprised me, because the Hebrew word "ashere" is usually translated "happy." So I looked it up, and found out that there are some very old Hebrew manuscripts of the Book of Matthew, and they do use that word, even though the Greek and Latin versions say "blessed."
That makes this a poorly worded question. If Jesus actually said "ashere," then "A - Joyous" would also be a correct answer.

Didn't Mel Gibson establish that Jesus spoke Aramaic?

[earendel]

In Hebrew, it's "ashere".

This surprised me, because the Hebrew word "ashere" is usually translated "happy." So I looked it up, and found out that there are some very old Hebrew manuscripts of the Book of Matthew, and they do use that word, even though the Greek and Latin versions say "blessed."
That makes this a poorly worded question. If Jesus actually said "ashere," then "A - Joyous" would also be a correct answer.

Didn't Mel Gibson establish that Jesus spoke Aramaic?

The differences between 1st century Hebrew and 1st century Aramaic are very slight - mostly involving verb case endings and such; "ashere" would be the same in either language.