Transcript 03/07/11 Paul Ryan (supermawg) (carryover)

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Paul Ryan (supermawg)
Willowbrook, IL
Cardiologist

Paul has a JTQ left and $58,100 in his bank.

Topic Tree: (randomized)

5 Food Units
(6 Two Voices)
(2 Tapping TV)
(7 Lovely Bones)
(9 Legal Age)
(3 Voice Mail)
(10 Have Faith)
(1 Latin Literature)
(8 Local Hero)
(4 Dot What)

Question 10 – Food Units
Named for the chemist who created them, Scoville units measure the “piquancy” of what food?
A. Chili peppers
B. Soft cheese
C. Mushrooms
D. Lemons

Spoiler

A. Chili peppers
$500
Bank - $58,600

$100K
Though it is pronounced differently, a type of fabric woven from twisted yarns shares its name with what popular TV host surname?
A. Colbert
B. Leno
C. Kimmel
D. Fallon

JTQ 2

Spoiler

B. Leno

$250K
After the actor’s death, Tony Curtis’s official blog reported that which of these was not a “favorite item” buried with him?
A. A model Trans-Am
B. An iPhone
C. A Stetson hat
D. A box of Milk Duds

Paul says it worth taking a guess at this point.
He goes over each choice trying to reason out if Tony Curtis would like it or not.
Paul makes

Spoiler

a model Trans-Am

his final answer.

Spoiler

D. A box of Milk Duds

Paul leaves with $25K

commercial break

[vettech]

Gutsy move, a shame it didn't work out. Congrats on your winnings!

[MarleysGh0st]

Question 10 – Food Units
Named for the chemist who created them, Scoville units measure the “piquancy” of what food?
A. Chili peppers
B. Soft cheese
C. Mushrooms
D. Lemons

Spoiler

A. Chili peppers
$500
Bank - $58,600

Seemed like kind of a stretch to use "piquancy" in the clue, but using "spiciness" or "heat" would have been a give-away. Good for you, Paul, for not allowing the word to psych you out.

And good for you for taking that risk on the $250K question. In that situation, you had an expected value of $81,250, even on a one in four WAG, and your reasoning made the gamble even better than that.

[Estonut]

$250K
After the actor’s death, Tony Curtis’s official blog reported that which of these was not a “favorite item” buried with him?

I suspected this was a lamely-worded question, as there were undoubtedtly countless non-favorite items not buried with him, but I doubted that the blog mentioned any of them.

Those of you who knew Tony well, will remember his fondness for white shorts and white sweaters and his ever present Stetson- this was all he ever wanted to wear. Of course, he loved to dress up for the evening and when he did, we always called him “The Armani Cowboy”. For Tony it really was “Armani or your Life”. But, if he could get away with it, and Tony could get away with almost anything- white shorts it was. Tony is even now wearing his favorite outfit- he is being laid to rest in his white shorts, his very favorite white sweater that had to be mended more times that can be counted, his Armani scarf around his neck and with his well worn Stetson under his arm.

He is also being laid to rest with his traveling bag, packed full with what he would always refer to as, “his goods”. In his bag we have placed:

Meaningful Photos and letters

A model of his car, the 25th Anniversary Edition Trans Am with what Tony called, “the screaming chicken” on it’s hood.

His favorite pair of driving gloves, Tony always wore driving gloves, even when he had stopped driving. After his illness in 2006, he was no longer able to, and was extremely fond of telling anyone who would listen that “Jillie won’t let me drive”. He was always, right up to the end, plotting ways to get his driver’s license back and convince me that he was still able to drive. But, more than once in the years before, I had arrived at the scene of a minor fender bender involving Tony, only to find him charming the people and signing their damaged hood or bumper.

As a child who grew up in poverty during the Depression, Tony always felt secure with money in his “kip” as he always called it. Of course, being old school, Tony didn’t call money ”money”, he called it Dough. So Tony, you have some dough in your kip, just in case you might need it.

We have included, a copy of his favorite poem Mr. Cory and a copy of Anthony Adverse, the book that he read while in the Navy and which later became part of his new Hollywood name,
Some of his Navy medals, Tony was a proud sailor and a World War Two Veteran.

His late son Nicholas’ baby shoes that Tony always brought with him wherever he traveled,
A patch from Hungary, Tony loved to speak Hungarian and was extremely proud of his heritage.

Tony loved to collect gold coins, so we added some of those.

His two favorite watches,

A yarmulke from the Dohany Synagogue in Budapest which he had helped to restore in his father’s name,

A bag of interesting colored stones that he had collected during his travels, which included stones from his friend Dodi Fayed’s grave,

A DVD of his film clips,

His “IB” which is actually his iPhone- We don’t know why he called it his “IB”, but he did and after a while so did we. Tony loved to “work” on his IB.

A few items from his Father’s Tailor shop,

A pair of sunglasses and a pair of reading glasses,

Seven packets of Splenda- Tony loved to sweeten everything with Splenda- no less than seven packets. Tony had a huge sweet tooth.

A Percocet,

A pair of sleeping eye blinders, which he always wore to sleep or to nap,

A picture and a recent poem he wrote to his little dog, Bronx,

The ashes from his dog, Jack, who was found abandoned in the desert a few years ago and who fell in love with Tony instantly and faithfully followed him everywhere. When Jack passed on, Tony kept his ashes. Now Jack is following Tony again.

We also included some of his favorite paint brushes and some paint and a sketch pad and a pen. Tony loved to draw on anything at anytime. Many of his friends would leave the dinner table with a napkin or even part of the table cloth that Tony had drawn on. He loved to do that.

An accomplished Fencer, he is also being laid to rest with one of his favorite Fencing sabers at his side.

As I suspected, Milk Duds were not mentioned as not being buried with him...

http://tonycurtisonline.blogspot.com/

[TheConfessor]

$250K
After the actor’s death, Tony Curtis’s official blog reported that which of these was not a “favorite item” buried with him?

I suspected this was a lamely-worded question, as there were undoubtedtly countless non-favorite items not buried with him, but I doubted that the blog mentioned any of them.

Those of you who knew Tony well, will remember his fondness for white shorts and white sweaters and his ever present Stetson- this was all he ever wanted to wear. Of course, he loved to dress up for the evening and when he did, we always called him “The Armani Cowboy”. For Tony it really was “Armani or your Life”. But, if he could get away with it, and Tony could get away with almost anything- white shorts it was. Tony is even now wearing his favorite outfit- he is being laid to rest in his white shorts, his very favorite white sweater that had to be mended more times that can be counted, his Armani scarf around his neck and with his well worn Stetson under his arm.

He is also being laid to rest with his traveling bag, packed full with what he would always refer to as, “his goods”. In his bag we have placed:

Meaningful Photos and letters

A model of his car, the 25th Anniversary Edition Trans Am with what Tony called, “the screaming chicken” on it’s hood.

His favorite pair of driving gloves, Tony always wore driving gloves, even when he had stopped driving. After his illness in 2006, he was no longer able to, and was extremely fond of telling anyone who would listen that “Jillie won’t let me drive”. He was always, right up to the end, plotting ways to get his driver’s license back and convince me that he was still able to drive. But, more than once in the years before, I had arrived at the scene of a minor fender bender involving Tony, only to find him charming the people and signing their damaged hood or bumper.

As a child who grew up in poverty during the Depression, Tony always felt secure with money in his “kip” as he always called it. Of course, being old school, Tony didn’t call money ”money”, he called it Dough. So Tony, you have some dough in your kip, just in case you might need it.

We have included, a copy of his favorite poem Mr. Cory and a copy of Anthony Adverse, the book that he read while in the Navy and which later became part of his new Hollywood name,
Some of his Navy medals, Tony was a proud sailor and a World War Two Veteran.

His late son Nicholas’ baby shoes that Tony always brought with him wherever he traveled,
A patch from Hungary, Tony loved to speak Hungarian and was extremely proud of his heritage.

Tony loved to collect gold coins, so we added some of those.

His two favorite watches,

A yarmulke from the Dohany Synagogue in Budapest which he had helped to restore in his father’s name,

A bag of interesting colored stones that he had collected during his travels, which included stones from his friend Dodi Fayed’s grave,

A DVD of his film clips,

His “IB” which is actually his iPhone- We don’t know why he called it his “IB”, but he did and after a while so did we. Tony loved to “work” on his IB.

A few items from his Father’s Tailor shop,

A pair of sunglasses and a pair of reading glasses,

Seven packets of Splenda- Tony loved to sweeten everything with Splenda- no less than seven packets. Tony had a huge sweet tooth.

A Percocet,

A pair of sleeping eye blinders, which he always wore to sleep or to nap,

A picture and a recent poem he wrote to his little dog, Bronx,

The ashes from his dog, Jack, who was found abandoned in the desert a few years ago and who fell in love with Tony instantly and faithfully followed him everywhere. When Jack passed on, Tony kept his ashes. Now Jack is following Tony again.

We also included some of his favorite paint brushes and some paint and a sketch pad and a pen. Tony loved to draw on anything at anytime. Many of his friends would leave the dinner table with a napkin or even part of the table cloth that Tony had drawn on. He loved to do that.

An accomplished Fencer, he is also being laid to rest with one of his favorite Fencing sabers at his side.

As I suspected, Milk Duds were not mentioned as not being buried with him...

http://tonycurtisonline.blogspot.com/

Excellent points. The blog never says whether or not any Milk Duds were buried with him, or whether or not they were a "favorite item." I also take issue with the use of quotes in calling each of the other three choices a "favorite item." The reader of the blog can infer that these were some of his favorite items, but the blog never explicitly identifies any of these as "favorite items," which would justify using the quotation marks.

This was a terrible, terrible question, although accurate wording probably wouldn't have made it any easier to answer.

[Jeemie]

How is it a terrible question?

Three of the choices were mentioned in his blog as having been buried with him...one was not.

They were also called his "bag of goods"- if that doesn't count as equivalent to "favorite items", then I don't know what does.

Now...it's probably a darn-near impossible question to answer unless you happen to have read the blog- but it was not a "poorly worded" question or "terrible question" in the slightest.

[TheConfessor]

How is it a terrible question?

Three of the choices were mentioned in his blog as having been buried with him...one was not.

Contrary to what was stated in the question, the blog never reported whether any Milk Duds were buried with Tony Curtis.

[Jeemie]

How is it a terrible question?

Three of the choices were mentioned in his blog as having been buried with him...one was not.

Contrary to what was stated in the question, the blog never reported whether any Milk Duds were buried with Tony Curtis.

Um...that's why it is is the correct answer to the question...because the other three WERE mentioned as having been buried with him?

I understand what you're trying to say now regarding the wording, but it seems Supermawg was able to figure out that they were asking "three of these choices were reported in the blog as having been buried with him, and one was not".

And Supermawg was the one that was there under the pressure of the bright lights.

I think anyone with a modicum of sense would understand that the blog would not be reporting on items NOT buried with Tony Curtis, but only those that WERE.

[wintergreen48]

How is it a terrible question?

Three of the choices were mentioned in his blog as having been buried with him...one was not.

Contrary to what was stated in the question, the blog never reported whether any Milk Duds were buried with Tony Curtis.

Um...that's why it is is the correct answer to the question...because the other three WERE mentioned as having been buried with him?

I understand what you're trying to say now regarding the wording, but it seems Supermawg was able to figure out that they were asking "three of these choices were reported in the blog as having been buried with him, and one was not".

And Supermawg was the one that was there under the pressure of the bright lights.

I think anyone with a modicum of sense would understand that the blog would not be reporting on items NOT buried with Tony Curtis, but only those that WERE.

Actually, the way the question is worded, I think that a person with a modicum of sense would understand that the blog WOULD be reporting on items not buried with Tony Curtis. The way I read that question, there would have been a line in the blog saying something like 'His beloved Milk Duds were not buried with him,' or 'Contrary to rumors, he was not buried with Milk Duds.'

But bottom line I think you are right that the poor wording is really irrelevant to what they were getting at, which (had the question been better written) would have said something like 'Which of the following items were not identified in the blog as being buried with him?' which is, I think, what they meant to say.

[MarleysGh0st]

That's quite some list from the blog...enough to rival a minor pharoah!

[Jeemie]

Actually, the way the question is worded, I think that a person with a modicum of sense would understand that the blog WOULD be reporting on items not buried with Tony Curtis. The way I read that question, there would have been a line in the blog saying something like 'His beloved Milk Duds were not buried with him,' or 'Contrary to rumors, he was not buried with Milk Duds.'

Maybe.

However, as you pointed out, it wouldn't make a difference as to the correct answer.

I'll agree this was not clearly worded...just not "terribly" so.

And, as I pointed out, clear wording or not, the contestant was not getting this answer unless he happened to read the blog or knew something about Tony Curtis.

It was probably way undervalued- I would say this was a $1 M question (maybe even a $10 M from Supermillionaire days!)

[supermawg]

It is true that the question should have read "which of these items is not listed in his blog as a favorite item that was buried with him". I answered it based on that assumption. I was happy to be able to narrow it down to two, and was lucky to be able to do that accurately. I had decided before the game that I would guess at a two interval question, but not at one. Because I skipped the $100,000, I was prepared to take a 1 in 4 guess, I was happy for 50/50, just guessed wrong.
In hindsight, as always, it seems unlikely that a man of his age would be a Milk Dud fan.
Thanks for all of the support.

[Jeemie]

It is true that the question should have read "which of these items is not listed in his blog as a favorite item that was buried with him". I answered it based on that assumption. I was happy to be able to narrow it down to two, and was lucky to be able to do that accurately. I had decided before the game that I would guess at a two interval question, but not at one. Because I skipped the $100,000, I was prepared to take a 1 in 4 guess, I was happy for 50/50, just guessed wrong.
In hindsight, as always, it seems unlikely that a man of his age would be a Milk Dud fan.
Thanks for all of the support.

I still don't understand the rules.

Since you skipped the $100K, was your choice either guessing right and getting a shot at $250K (so the EV of the question was ~ 81K if you couldn't narrow the choices down) or walking and taking $25K? (or ~$29K, half your bank)?

I know I could look it up, but I'm assuming you guys have the answer at your fingertips. Sorry for being lazy!!!

[MarleysGh0st]

I still don't understand the rules.

Since you skipped the $100K, was your choice either guessing right and getting a shot at $250K (so the EV of the question was ~ 81K if you couldn't narrow the choices down) or walking and taking $25K? (or ~$29K, half your bank)?

If you miss a question in "Classic Millionaire," you drop to $25K, regardless of how much you'd earned in you bank. They've eliminated the "free guess" along with the 15th question. If you walk away at that stage of the game, then you can keep you entire bank.

Paul risked $33,600 of his bank for that chance at $250,000 plus the opportunity to see the next question.

[Jeemie]

I still don't understand the rules.

Since you skipped the $100K, was your choice either guessing right and getting a shot at $250K (so the EV of the question was ~ 81K if you couldn't narrow the choices down) or walking and taking $25K? (or ~$29K, half your bank)?

If you miss a question in "Classic Millionaire," you drop to $25K, regardless of how much you'd earned in you bank. They've eliminated the "free guess" along with the 15th question. If you walk away at that stage of the game, then you can keep you entire bank.

Paul risked $33,600 of his bank for that chance at $250,000 plus the opportunity to see the next question.

OK- I got it.

It was still a good risk to take (EV of $81,250 > $58,600).

HOWEVER...

...if he had GOTTEN the $100K instead of skipping it, then walking would have netted him $100K, correct? That rule is still the same in the Classic Millionaire segment, correct?

[megaaddict]

I still don't understand the rules.

Since you skipped the $100K, was your choice either guessing right and getting a shot at $250K (so the EV of the question was ~ 81K if you couldn't narrow the choices down) or walking and taking $25K? (or ~$29K, half your bank)?

I know I could look it up, but I'm assuming you guys have the answer at your fingertips. Sorry for being lazy!!!

Once a contestant sees the $100K question, the contestant has the option to walk with ALL of bank ($58,600 in Paul's case), not half. Your EV number is essentially correct (the total of the four possible outcomes - $250,000 + $25,000 x 3 -- divided by 4) but would be more accurate if it took into account the not insignificant probability that the contestant knows the answer to the $500K question.

SM, you lived up to your boredname! I especially liked that you maintained your dignity when your $25K amount was revealed, despite what Meredith and the producers and the audience expect if not insist upon.
Very classy. Tony Curtis would have been proud.

And don't beat yourself over the milk duds! If seven packets of splenda were along for the trip, milk duds would definitely finish a close second.

All in all, an excellent run. Also remarkable are the two "sacred" question and three drinking questions! Was that a perfect stack for an Irish Catholic or what?

[Jeemie]

Your EV number is essentially correct (the total of the four possible outcomes - $250,000 + $25,000 x 3 -- divided by 4) but would be more accurate if it took into account the not insignificant probability that the contestant knows the answer to the $500K question.

And the $1 MM question- yes, that is true.

I was keeping it a little simple.

[tanstaafl2]

It is true that the question should have read "which of these items is not listed in his blog as a favorite item that was buried with him". I answered it based on that assumption. I was happy to be able to narrow it down to two, and was lucky to be able to do that accurately. I had decided before the game that I would guess at a two interval question, but not at one. Because I skipped the $100,000, I was prepared to take a 1 in 4 guess, I was happy for 50/50, just guessed wrong.
In hindsight, as always, it seems unlikely that a man of his age would be a Milk Dud fan.
Thanks for all of the support.

Not sure if Trans Am and Milk Duds were the two you had it narrowed down to but if so I would have been with you.

I suppose it is a matter of perspective but I would have thought Milk Duds was more likely a favorite than a Trans Am for a man of his age (and wealth). The first Trans Am was late 60's when he would have been in his 40's and pretty well off. I would think he would have been more likely a Ferrari lover or some other high brow sports car. Obviously he was not.

Milk Duds on the other hand had been around about as long as he had and has, at least for me, some connection to the movies which is where I was most likely to partake of them.

But I would never have guessed here as I didn't have clue one (and not sure I would have gotten that far in the first place!).

Congrats on a solid run and a shame your 50/50 SWAG didn't work out.

[SportsFan68]

Yay, Supermawg!! Well done!

[MarleysGh0st]

OK- I got it.

It was still a good risk to take (EV of $81,250 > $58,600).

HOWEVER...

...if he had GOTTEN the $100K instead of skipping it, then walking would have netted him $100K, correct? That rule is still the same in the Classic Millionaire segment, correct?

Correct. The bank doesn't accumulate in Classic Millionaire the way it does in the new, improved, more exciting and totally random first round.

[earendel]

Paul Ryan (supermawg)
Willowbrook, IL
Cardiologist

Paul has a JTQ left and $58,100 in his bank.

Go Paul!

$100K
Though it is pronounced differently, a type of fabric woven from twisted yarns shares its name with what popular TV host surname?
A. Colbert
B. Leno
C. Kimmel
D. Fallon

JTQ 2

Spoiler

B. Leno

No idea and all I have left is ATA so I'll use it and hope for the best. FWIW elwing knew this one immediately.

$250K
After the actor’s death, Tony Curtis’s official blog reported that which of these was not a “favorite item” buried with him?
A. A model Trans-Am
B. An iPhone
C. A Stetson hat
D. A box of Milk Duds

Paul says it worth taking a guess at this point.
He goes over each choice trying to reason out if Tony Curtis would like it or not.
Paul makes

Spoiler

a model Trans-Am

his final answer.

Spoiler

D. A box of Milk Duds

Paul leaves with $25K

Oh, Paul, I'm so sorry. I knew that Tony was associated with hats, but my thought would have been an iPhone since it's fairly recent technology. I'd have walked away; you showed a lot of guts going for it.

[themanwho]

On a related note, apparently Tony Curtis left his 5 children out of his will:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film ... -will.html

I cant imagine there was much left to give away, what with nearly everything he owned ending up in the casket.

-M

[MarleysGh0st]

I cant imagine there was much left to give away, what with nearly everything he owned ending up in the casket.

If they were going for the pharaoh's burial theme, they should have buried him inside his Trans Am, instead of just leaving him with a model.

[TheConfessor]

On a related note, apparently Tony Curtis left his 5 children out of his will:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film ... -will.html

I cant imagine there was much left to give away, what with nearly everything he owned ending up in the casket.

-M

The article doesn't explicitly say who got Tony's Milk Duds.

[ulysses5019]

On a related note, apparently Tony Curtis left his 5 children out of his will:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film ... -will.html

I cant imagine there was much left to give away, what with nearly everything he owned ending up in the casket.

-M

I hope he left them the jumbo size box of Milk Duds.