I’m fresh from taking the Jeopardy quiz online. Each year the popular game show offers a computerized, timed challenge designed to find potential new contestants. The adults are usually summoned to take the challenge around this time of year by the confident voice of host Alex Trebek on the air during the televised shows. He exudes a lot of confidence and know-how, and the notion of being good enough to share one’s own knowledge on nationwide television for cash and prizes is very tempting when he puts such a nice spin on it. This is my third attempt. Maybe the third time is the charm.
The first year I took the challenge was nerve-racking. The questions speed by in 15-second intervals, and I was so nervous my brain felt as if all my years of education had been siphoned away. Last year I had a total brain drain on the name of a popular Broadway musical featuring two rival gangs, lots of dancing, and a girl named Maria. I was singing the song in my head trying to get the name of that show in 15 seconds, but I could only manage one third of it and typed in “Story” at the last moment (the “West Side” part came to me afterward, of course).
The quiz is designed to provide questions in many different categories, so I didn’t feel bad about blowing off the sport questions (especially stats and names) or passing on anything having to do with naming parts of countries in which the names have changed more than once in the past ten years. This year’s challenge felt good, and I typed in some answers right away. Only once did the timer run out on me, so I didn’t waste any precious seconds struggling for an answer. I guessed, too. It never hurts to try.
The questions for the contestant search quizzes are always harder than those on the show, or at least it seems that way. Maybe if I can get on the show I’ll be able to do well enough to let the men answer those sports questions.
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