"Jeopardy" - How DO these people know this stuff?

[Sparx]

I retain useless information. I can't remember where I heard it, or when, but I can tell you some of the most useless trivia. I can explain complicated manuals and I can remember lists of things. I can quote conversations I heard in passing years ago to a word.

yet I still forget what day of the week it is, and I forget things i'm supposed to do.(and you know my mother just loves that! )

 

[Syrreal]

So did I!!!!

You and me, Pig Pen... Jeopardy soulmates!


Ofcourse, watching a discovery channel special on Krakatoa a few days before the question was on helped.

 

[Alice's Mom]

I went to high school with a guy who is the 12th highest scoring Jeopardy champion of all time (I just looked it up). I recall him being 2nd on that list when champions were limited to 5 games.

I watch Jeopardy regularly and was not shocked to see him on one day a few years ago. He was never without a book, did very well in class, part of a many extra curricular activities and was passionate about acting. The combination of those things I think made him destined to be on the show.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Yeesh, I can't believe nobody has told you the real answer yet.

When someone is on Jeopardy and gets a category they know nothing about, Bill Nye comes and kidnaps them to teach them all they need to know to win the game.

I'm still waiting for my own energy nightmare. Stupid Judy.

 

[pearlieq]

Yeesh, I can't believe nobody has told you the real answer yet.

When someone is on Jeopardy and gets a category they know nothing about, Bill Nye comes and kidnaps them to teach them all they need to know to win the game.

I'm still waiting for my own energy nightmare. Stupid Judy.

Good one!

 

[NMAmy]

DH and I love Jeopardy and between the two of us, usually can come up with the answer. We both read a lot and retain a lot of useless knowledge.

I did spend about 5 minutes explaining the story of Miles Standish, John Alden, and Priscilla Mullins to him last night--that was the final Jeopardy question. Since he's British, he'd never heard the story.

It does come in handy at times--we used to have a community Knowledge Bowl for charity at the college I used to work at that was a blast. I got this one answer that no one else in the room knew and we won that round. One of the VP's (who I knew really well) hugged me and started yelling, "Yes, she's on MY team!" I think since I'm a secretary in a room full of Ph.D.'s, they forget that I know stuff, too, sometimes.

 

[Mermaid02]

13th Century Tibetan Literature - THAT can be the category - and they KNOW the answers!

What do these people do? Go to the library and read EVERY single book in it - cover to cover?

I gotta go watch Jeopardy now and prove how stupid I am.

More importantly WHY do they know this stuff?

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I've been trying to get on Jeopardy. I'm a nerd. I retain information that gets thrown at me. Just tidbits I heard in classes or the web or books I read.

YOU said the word nerd not me but....for those who consider themselves nerds this is like being a mental athlete. They have good memories and are often not the captain of the football team(which is a GOOD thing). Also there are tons of books that have lots of condensed information on a variety of subjects(Bathroom Readers come to mind). Add good memeory for facts and a book with lots of facts in it and for those who are good at it, games like Jeopardy are really quite easy. Being "smart" is really a matter of processing skill and speed.

 

[Snowysmom]

I am amazed by the things these people know. I tried out for Jeopardy a couple of years ago and I know I got most of the questions right when we went over them but they only picked about 8 people out of the 90 or so. I do have some useless knowledge picked up by reading, working in a library, and just listening to things on TV. However, I find that as I am getting older, it is harder to retrieve this trivia so jeopardy probably wouldn't work for me. I do like it when I know Final Jeopardy and the contestants don't. Makes me feel like the brain is still functioning somewhat.

 

[tkd lisa]

There are books that help you get ready for things like that. I was on my high school quiz team (The Brain Game!) and we practiced using "Princeton Trivia". And now with the internet, there's probably lots of web sites available.

I'm usually pretty good at Jeapordy, but I don't get any of the modern entertainment questions, since I probably watch 2 hours of regular TV a year! And don't listen to commercial radio either.

 

[lyzziesmom]

I am a pretty smart cookie, but Jeopardy always makes me feel like such a dunce. Wheel of Fortune, however, turns me into a genius!!