Transcript 04/28/08 Michael Kearney (MKearney)

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Michael Kearney
Nashville, TN

Michael is in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Michael graduated college at ten years old and high school at six. He received his masters at fourteen.

Michael has all of his lifelines.

$8K Since the 1950s, an origami version of what bird has become an international symbol of peace and disarmament?
A. Canary
B. Eagle
C. Crane
D. Bluebird

$16K What is the name for the unit of length based on the average distance between the Earth and the Sun?
A. Planetary unit
B. Celestial unit
C. Interstellar unit
D. Astronomical unit

$25K The Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” is based on a Pulitzer-Prize winning book by what author?
A. James Jones
B. Norman Mailer
C. Herman Wouk
D. James Michener

ATA
5% A. James Jones
22% B. Norman Mailer
14% C. Herman Wouk
59% D. James Michener

Michael says that is a huge, scary number for Norman Mailer.

PAF – Charlie, a veteran PAF, Michael’s trivia mentor. Flirted with Meredith the last time he was called.

Michael asks who wrote “South Pacific” and gives the choices.
Charlie says, James Michener, most definitely.

commercial break

$50K Considered the first major case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 1793 case Chisholm v. Georgia concerned what issue?
A. Taxation of citizens
B. Lawsuits against states
C. Railroad land disputes
D. Firearms regulation

STQ

$50K According to the CIA’s “World Factbook,” what is the only country in the world with no official capital city?
A. Andorra
B. Nauru
C. Seychelles
D. Palau

Michael says that “Survivor” taped in Palau once and that he had never heard of Nauru.

50/50 leaves B. Nauru and D. Palau.

Michael guesses incorrectly and leaves with $25K.

Answers:
$8K C. Crane
$16K D. Astronomical unit
$25K D. James Michener
$50K B. Lawsuits against states
$50K B. Nauru

[mrkelley23]

Let me be among the first to wish you congratulations on your hard-earned money. Must be frustrating to be sailing along with no worries and run into three stumpers, bam, Bam, BAM!

Hope you stick around here -- don't let us chase you off with the political stuff. I have a feeling it's going to heat up again here in a couple of months or so.

[ulysses5019]

$16K What is the name for the unit of length based on the average distance between the Earth and the Sun?
A. Planetary unit
B. Celestial unit
C. Interstellar unit
D. Astronomical unit

And for a million dollars......how far is it?

[Bob Juch]

$16K What is the name for the unit of length based on the average distance between the Earth and the Sun?
A. Planetary unit
B. Celestial unit
C. Interstellar unit
D. Astronomical unit

And for a million dollars......how far is it?

150 million miles.

[takinover]

$16K What is the name for the unit of length based on the average distance between the Earth and the Sun?
A. Planetary unit
B. Celestial unit
C. Interstellar unit
D. Astronomical unit

And for a million dollars......how far is it?

150 million miles.

[Scary music plays.]Back to $25K for BobJuch. It is roughly 150 Million Kilometers or 93 Million Miles.

[Appa23]

I hope that MBFFB shows up soon.

[Bob Juch]

And for a million dollars......how far is it?

150 million miles.

[Scary music plays.]Back to $25K for BobJuch. It is roughly 150 Million Kilometers or 93 Million Miles.

<sigh> That's what I get for answering questions after two Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ales.

[silverscreenselect]

$50K Considered the first major case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 1793 case Chisholm v. Georgia concerned what issue>
A. Taxation of citizens
B. Lawsuits against states
C. Railroad land disputes
D. Firearms regulation

$50K B. Lawsuits against states

This is actually a very important case whose ramifications are still felt today.

The Constitution originally provided that the Federal courts had jurisdiction of cases between states and citizens of other states, and this case was brought by a South Carolina resident against Georgia on a commercial debt for supplies furnished the State during the Revolutionary War. Georgia refused to appear in Court, claiming sovereign immunity and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the suing plaintiff, who essentially got a default judgment. Eventually, the state settled the case out of court before the amount of damages was determined.

This decision proved quite unpopular (other than for the original party) and led to the passage of the 11th Amendment, which was the first real amendment to the Constitution. A good bit of the opposition was practical; the States had a lot of unpaid Revolutionary War debts that they were essentially welshing on and little ability to raise money to pay for them.

Congress began debate on the amendment within a week of the Supreme Court decision and ratified the 11th Amendment within a year. The 11th Amendment specifically prohibited suits of this nature in federal court. Since then, the principle of sovereign immunity has been extended to prohibit nearly all suits against states in Federal court for any reason, even by citizens of the same state, unless the state consents or a specific Federal law authorizes the suit. In recent years, this principle has been extended to suits in state courts for violation of Federal law if the state doesn't consent.

[NellyLunatic1980]

$8K: No clue. Let's PAF.

$50K: Pretty sure it's B, but in the Hot Seat, I'll more than likely burn the 50:50.

$50K #2: Never would've seen this question, but I had it down to either Nauru or Palau. Leaned toward Nauru.

You gave it a great effort, Michael, considering the evil questions that you ran into.

[earendel]

Michael Kearney
Nashville, TN

Michael is in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Michael graduated college at ten years old and high school at six. He received his masters at fourteen.

Michael has all of his lifelines.

$8K Since the 1950s, an origami version of what bird has become an international symbol of peace and disarmament?
A. Canary
B. Eagle
C. Crane
D. Bluebird

Michael said that the answer he was expecting didn't come up - I'm guessing he was looking for "dove". In the peace activist community it's a common practice to make 1000 origami cranes on August 8 in commemoration of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

$16K What is the name for the unit of length based on the average distance between the Earth and the Sun?
A. Planetary unit
B. Celestial unit
C. Interstellar unit
D. Astronomical unit

Michael discussed his reasoning at length, which is a good thing (IMO); however I thought I heard him say that an AU was a measure of time, rather than distance.

$25K The Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” is based on a Pulitzer-Prize winning book by what author?
A. James Jones
B. Norman Mailer
C. Herman Wouk
D. James Michener

ATA
5% A. James Jones
22% B. Norman Mailer
14% C. Herman Wouk
59% D. James Michener

Michael says that is a huge, scary number for Norman Mailer.

PAF – Charlie, a veteran PAF, Michael’s trivia mentor. Flirted with Meredith the last time he was called.

Michael asks who wrote “South Pacific” and gives the choices.
Charlie says, James Michener, most definitely.

I told elwing about Michael so when this question came up and Michael burned two lifelines to answer it, she noted that she knew the answer right away, being a huge Michener fan. What makes this question a little difficult is that Michener's book is called "Tales of the South Pacific".

$50K Considered the first major case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 1793 case Chisholm v. Georgia concerned what issue?
A. Taxation of citizens
B. Lawsuits against states
C. Railroad land disputes
D. Firearms regulation

It's too early to be dealing with railroads, and probably not likely to be firearms regulations. I'd have gone with the 50/50 hoping that it wouldn't leave A and B. In the comfort of my recliner I guessed the correct answer.

STQ
$50K According to the CIA’s “World Factbook,” what is the only country in the world with no official capital city?
A. Andorra
B. Nauru
C. Seychelles
D. Palau

Michael says that “Survivor” taped in Palau once and that he had never heard of Nauru.

50/50 leaves B. Nauru and D. Palau.

I couldn't name the capitals of any of these countries, so I'd have been forced to use a lifeline. With any luck I wouldn't have seen this question, however.

Michael guesses incorrectly and leaves with $25K.

It's a shame, Michael - we had high hopes (as I'm sure you did, too) but you ran into a WWOQ (Marley can define that for you - I can't remember exactly what it stands for).

[gsabc]

It's a shame, Michael - we had high hopes (as I'm sure you did, too) but you ran into a WWOQ (Marley can define that for you - I can't remember exactly what it stands for).

He defined it for me recently. Wicked Weed-Out Question. A guaranteed lifeline burner or your walking papers. Something obscure that you either know or don't know, and nearly impossible to puzzle out.

[gsabc]

150 million miles.

[Scary music plays.]Back to $25K for BobJuch. It is roughly 150 Million Kilometers or 93 Million Miles.

<sigh> That's what I get for answering questions after two Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ales.

Hey, the gs method (for Guinness Stout) worked for me during the last, late, lamented phone game for SuperBAM. Your mileage may vary.

[MarleysGh0st]

Congratulations on the $25K, Michael, even if it's significantly less than your previous win. Now stick around with the rest of us game show obsessed crazies.



Nihil obstat for me through $25K.

$50K Considered the first major case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 1793 case Chisholm v. Georgia concerned what issue?
A. Taxation of citizens
B. Lawsuits against states
C. Railroad land disputes
D. Firearms regulation

I had a very strong hunch it was B, without recalling that story about the 11th Amendment. Too early for railroads, no reason for firearms regulation and taxation of citizens was just too vague. Would I go for it or try to confirm with the 50/50? Hopefully not the STQ, because...

$50K According to the CIA’s “World Factbook,” what is the only country in the world with no official capital city?
A. Andorra
B. Nauru
C. Seychelles
D. Palau

As already noted, this was a $50K WWOQ. I was familiar with Nauru--a Pacific island whose major export is guano, IIRC--but does it have an official capital city? Who knows? And while I remembered that Survivor had been in Palau, I didn't think it was an independent country.

So would a google PAF work? No capital city, any of Andorra Nauru Seychelles Palau?

Yes, it works.

[MarleysGh0st]

For those, like the SyndieBAM question writers, who care, the CIA World Factbook says that Nauru's government offices are in Yaren District.

Yeah, right.

[Appa23]

Thankfully, I would not see that Nauru question, although I thought that Mike logically had deduced that it was the one that he did not know was a country.

Not having to STQ, I am sitting with all of my lifelines on the $100,000. (Luckily, I am a lawyer, so I knew the Chisholm case, even though high school was over 20 years ago for me.)

The origami crane is the symbol of peace based on the true story of a girl, Sadako Sasaki, who was two years old when Hiroshima was bombed. Sasaki later contracted leukemia when she was 12, and she was reminded by a friend of the ancient legend that your wish will be granted by the gods if you fold a thousand paper cranes. She did not reach her goal, and she did not get her wish to live, but ,her struggle for life and her dedication to peace inspired her classmates to construct a Peace Statue for all children who were victims of the atomic bombing of Japan.

[Appa23]

I do hope that Mike sticks around here. I am curious about his thoughts while he is in the hot seat.

[wintergreen48]

$50K Considered the first major case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 1793 case Chisholm v. Georgia concerned what issue>
A. Taxation of citizens
B. Lawsuits against states
C. Railroad land disputes
D. Firearms regulation

$50K B. Lawsuits against states

This is actually a very important case whose ramifications are still felt today.

The Constitution originally provided that the Federal courts had jurisdiction of cases between states and citizens of other states, and this case was brought by a South Carolina resident against Georgia on a commercial debt for supplies furnished the State during the Revolutionary War. Georgia refused to appear in Court, claiming sovereign immunity and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the suing plaintiff, who essentially got a default judgment. Eventually, the state settled the case out of court before the amount of damages was determined.

This decision proved quite unpopular (other than for the original party) and led to the passage of the 11th Amendment, which was the first real amendment to the Constitution. A good bit of the opposition was practical; the States had a lot of unpaid Revolutionary War debts that they were essentially welshing on and little ability to raise money to pay for them.

Congress began debate on the amendment within a week of the Supreme Court decision and ratified the 11th Amendment within a year. The 11th Amendment specifically prohibited suits of this nature in federal court. Since then, the principle of sovereign immunity has been extended to prohibit nearly all suits against states in Federal court for any reason, even by citizens of the same state, unless the state consents or a specific Federal law authorizes the suit. In recent years, this principle has been extended to suits in state courts for violation of Federal law if the state doesn't consent.

This one is dear to my heart. The very first question on the Maryland Bar Exam (July 1977) involved a hypothetical in which you (the person taking the exam) had a client who was a former Maryland state employee who had retired and moved to Florida and who was ticked off because the State of Maryland, in a budget move, had decided not to pay pensions to non-residents; he wanted you to sue in Federal Court.

Well. Everyone there that day recognized that this was a Constitutional Law issue, and everyone answered it as such. But the difference between those who passed and those who did not was that those of us who passed recognized that it was an 11th Amendment question, not a contracts question nor an equal protection question.

The lunch break that day was really interesting: you would hear people asking, 'what did you think about that 11th Amendment question???' and other people saying (with dismay) 'what 11th Amendment question???'

In those days, half the people who took the Maryland Bar Exam flunked. When we took the exam, they had us sit two to a table, and I figured that what this meant was that one person at each table would pass, and one would fail; my strategy, which worked, was to look for someone who looked kind of stupid, and sit at that person's table; I did that, and I passed, and she failed. QED.

[MarleysGh0st]

In those days, half the people who took the Maryland Bar Exam flunked. When we took the exam, they had us sit two to a table, and I figured that what this meant was that one person at each table would pass, and one would fail; my strategy, which worked, was to look for someone who looked kind of stupid, and sit at that person's table; I did that, and I passed, and she failed. QED.

Your logic was impeccable!

[tanstaafl2]

Being a Michener fan I was able to get through the 25K Q without trouble from the safety and comfort of the Lazyboy.

No clue on the first 50K Q. Great for lawyers perhaps but not so much for the rest of us.

Also would have had to chose between Nauru and Palau on the second one but still had a PAF so maybe I get lucky. Maybe not.

[thguy65]

I do hope that Mike sticks around here. I am curious about his thoughts while he is in the hot seat.

I haven't listened to it yet, but Mike did an interview with Steve Beverly which probably covers this topic.

[Bob Juch]

I do hope that Mike sticks around here. I am curious about his thoughts while he is in the hot seat.

I haven't listened to it yet, but Mike did an interview with Steve Beverly which probably covers this topic.

I get a 404 on the second part.

[MKearney]

8K: Well, I knew that story about the 1000 cranes, but I didn't think they were still using it as a symbol for peace, just for the Hiroshima memorials. But as I said, you can't make anything BUT a crane in origami.

25K: Yeah, yeah. I shouldn't have used the PAF. Whatever. 25K is a huge step to make, and I wanted to be absolutely sure. The producers tell you a couple things, one of which is that ATA is entirely useless above around 16K. So if you think you want to PAF or 50/50, you should ATA first, because you won't be able to use it later.

Also, the audience picks the thing they've heard of first, or the most likely answer. Now, the problem with this question was that Michener's the most well known author out of the 4, the second most well known author was an outlier at 22 percent, and the rather unknown ones don't even show up.

Truly, I thought it was Mailer, and that the audience was picking "The guy what writes books about places"

50K: Every single one of my PAFs knew this, and I could eliminate Firearms, but nothing else conclusively. So if I 50/50 and get the other two, I make a guess. If I switch, I could get a question I don't NEED to 50/50.

50K(Take 2): I was screwed. This is easily the hardest 50K I have ever seen in 4 years of syndication. Considering the other 50Ks/100ks I had seen backstage asked about when the last Ice Age happened, what thing is bulletproof, what Moissanite is, and what a Terabyte is. This was a Google question. I can see no other way of straight knowing it, unless you really like capitals. If my 50/50 had left me either of the left choices, Andorra and Seychelles, I'd have gotten it. But as I mentioned, I got the two tiny islands with a lot of vowels.

My guessing style always says "Go with the one you've heard of, because the question writers usually start with an answer, and then research three other decent options. So the answer that you've heard of is likely the answer that the writer heard of and wanted to ask about" Except here. Here, the answer really is some completely desolate bat-poop filled island.

Ah, well. On to the next show.

[slam]

8K: Well, I knew that story about the 1000 cranes, but I didn't think they were still using it as a symbol for peace, just for the Hiroshima memorials. But as I said, you can't make anything BUT a crane in origami.

25K: Yeah, yeah. I shouldn't have used the PAF. Whatever. 25K is a huge step to make, and I wanted to be absolutely sure. The producers tell you a couple things, one of which is that ATA is entirely useless above around 16K. So if you think you want to PAF or 50/50, you should ATA first, because you won't be able to use it later.

Also, the audience picks the thing they've heard of first, or the most likely answer. Now, the problem with this question was that Michener's the most well known author out of the 4, the second most well known author was an outlier at 22 percent, and the rather unknown ones don't even show up.

Truly, I thought it was Mailer, and that the audience was picking "The guy what writes books about places"

50K: Every single one of my PAFs knew this, and I could eliminate Firearms, but nothing else conclusively. So if I 50/50 and get the other two, I make a guess. If I switch, I could get a question I don't NEED to 50/50.

50K(Take 2): I was screwed. This is easily the hardest 50K I have ever seen in 4 years of syndication. Considering the other 50Ks/100ks I had seen backstage asked about when the last Ice Age happened, what thing is bulletproof, what Moissanite is, and what a Terabyte is. This was a Google question. I can see no other way of straight knowing it, unless you really like capitals. If my 50/50 had left me either of the left choices, Andorra and Seychelles, I'd have gotten it. But as I mentioned, I got the two tiny islands with a lot of vowels.

My guessing style always says "Go with the one you've heard of, because the question writers usually start with an answer, and then research three other decent options. So the answer that you've heard of is likely the answer that the writer heard of and wanted to ask about" Except here. Here, the answer really is some completely desolate bat-poop filled island.

Ah, well. On to the next show.

Thanks for sharing.

I've got a few comments, though.

As far as the crane and origami goes, a crane is certainly the most basic origami creation and is most emblematic of origami, so I think it stands out on that question. On the other hand, you can make almost anything in origami. Sitting on a shelf at home is an origami bride and groom dancing. It was made by a friend of mine and given to us for our engagement. He used one piece of paper which was black on one side and white on the other. The bride is dressed in white and the groom is dressed in black.

And as far as the capitals go, many people have memorized them all. There are only 192 UN members (and you probably know 25% of the capitals already anyway). On any such list you might encounter, there's an entry: Nauru - no capital (or some such). Over on the Jeopardy! boards, I have long urged that if you are going to do any specific studying for an appearance on J!, memorizing the national capitals will get you the most bang for your buck. Typically, one gets about 3 weeks from "the call" for J! to the taping date. That list seems very manageable for that time frame.

I do agree that the ATA is relatively useless past a certain level, but there might be some exceptions. The ATA pattern you got there was interesting. You had a clear secondary spike. Could it be that the audience knew, as you pointed out, that Michener wrote books with geographical titles and was heavily motivated by that? And that only the people who really knew the right answer responded with Mailer? At that level, there's some danger in misanalyzing ATA results.

[Appa23]

The ATA pattern you got there was interesting. You had a clear secondary spike. Could it be that the audience knew, as you pointed out, that Michener wrote books with geographical titles and was heavily motivated by that? And that only the people who really knew the right answer responded with Mailer? At that level, there's some danger in misanalyzing ATA results.

I guess that people look at ATA results in different ways.

With a 60% to 20% spread for the top two answers, I see no secondary spike and a clear indication that it is Michener. To me, secondary spikes occur on these lower dollar questions when the top answer is less than a majority, and the second chgoice is not that much less. There may have been instances on the show that are exceptions to my theory, where a contestant is "Dursted" by the audience based on such an overwhelming choice of a wrong answer.

I wonder why they never made a musical out of "The Naked and The Dead"?

.

[silvercamaro]

I wonder why they never made a musical out of "The Naked and The Dead"?

.

The naked were too cold to sing, and the dead couldn't remember their lines.