The Game Show Forum

The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: mmb5 on May 04, 2013, 09:26:49 AM

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: mmb5 on May 04, 2013, 09:26:49 AM

...and this question came up: \"The pilot of Wheel of Fortune was known as what?\".  No problem, wrote down Shoppers\' Bazaar and turned it in.  Because I knew the answer, I was accused of cheating because \"we put one question in that no one would possibly know, and that means you looked it up on your phone.\"  Fortunately I was able to convince him that I was not cheating. 


 


 


Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: Matt Ottinger on May 04, 2013, 09:55:01 AM
 Fortunately I was able to convince him that I was not cheating. 

 


I\'m curious, did the convincing include going on your phone to show him that you have an entire website devoted to that particular topic?

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: mmb5 on May 04, 2013, 11:45:25 AM
 Fortunately I was able to convince him that I was not cheating. 

 


I\'m curious, did the convincing include going on your phone to show him that you have an entire website devoted to that particular topic?


I discussed the page, but I did not show it.  Which was better than Tuesday, where they gave an incorrect answer to a question.  Several of us protested, and the host said \"could you show me on Wikipedia?\"  I said sure, and I will make sure it has that answer by the time I give you the phone.

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: TLEberle on May 04, 2013, 01:20:31 PM
What\'s the point of putting in a question that \"nobody will know the answer to?\" That\'s very annoying.
Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: WarioBarker on May 04, 2013, 02:01:05 PM
...and this question came up: \"The pilot of Wheel of Fortune was known as what?\". No problem, wrote down Shoppers\' Bazaar and turned it in. Because I knew the answer, I was accused of cheating because \"we put one question in that no one would possibly know, and that means you looked it up on your phone.\" Fortunately I was able to convince him that I was not cheating.
Waitasec, was that how the question was worded? Because if so, Wheel of Fortune could\'ve been a reasonable response since the \'74 pilots led to NBC picking up the show. If it had been something like \"What was the original name of Wheel of Fortune?\", no ambiguity and only one answer: Shopper\'s Bazaar (:P), whose rejection in \'73 led to the Wheel pilots.

In all seriousness, the fact that Shopper\'s Bazaar was the original title of Wheel has been stated several times on various TV shows, including Good Morning America just a few days ago...so an accusation of cheating by the host(?) just makes him look bad.
Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: clemon79 on May 04, 2013, 02:11:09 PM
What\'s the point of putting in a question that \"nobody will know the answer to?\" That\'s very annoying.

 


It\'s bar trivia, not the Tournament of Champions. The people running these things are more accustomed to hosting karaoke than any sort of serious test of knowledge, and you should adjust your expectations of the quality of the event as such. Half of the time, the material is taken straight out of the copy of Knowledge Dump: 1001 Questions To Ponder Whilst Dropping A Deuce they picked up at Barnes & Noble before heading to work one day.

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: mmb5 on May 04, 2013, 04:29:30 PM
What\'s the point of putting in a question that \"nobody will know the answer to?\" That\'s very annoying.

Cheating can be rampant, and at that particular place there\'s $85 on the line (in credit) each week + a progressive jackpot.  Once I took $350 (in more credit).

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: Matt Ottinger on May 04, 2013, 05:00:17 PM
What\'s the point of putting in a question that \"nobody will know the answer to?\" That\'s very annoying.

 


It\'s bar trivia, not the Tournament of Champions. The people running these things are more accustomed to hosting karaoke than any sort of serious test of knowledge, and you should adjust your expectations of the quality of the event as such.


 


All the more reason that the organizers probably shouldn\'t be thinking they\'re so clever that they can use questions \"nobody will know\" in order to ferret out cheaters.


 


I don\'t do a lot of bar trivia, partly because it usually moves too slow, partly because I\'m uncomfortable not knowing that the people I\'m playing against aren\'t cheating, but mostly because nobody asks me.  Of course, the last time I ended up being asked, I played on a team that included Anne Hathaway, so now my expectations are a bit higher.

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: PYLdude on May 04, 2013, 05:13:08 PM

Mike, you\'re a better man than I...I\'d have said F you to the guy running it and walked out.


 


So you break what the guy thinks is a foolproof system, because you\'re the one person (there at the time) who would know the answer to his \"I know something you don\'t know\" question? Reminds me of something that I have dubbed Berger\'s Law.


 


Berger\'s Law dictates that if the creator of the game fails to properly beta test it and weed out anything that might render the game broken, he has no right to complain when people exploit said thing(s) that are making the game broken in the first place.


Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: clemon79 on May 04, 2013, 05:20:34 PM
All the more reason that the organizers probably shouldn\'t be thinking they\'re so clever that they can use questions \"nobody will know\" in order to ferret out cheaters.

 


Don\'t disagree. I\'m just pointing out that these aren\'t exactly rocket surgeons we\'re dealing with here.


 


Berger\'s Law dictates that if the creator of the game fails to properly beta test it and weed out anything that might render the game broken, he has no right to complain when people exploit said thing(s) that are making the game broken in the first place.

 


How, then, would you propose they solve this problem?

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: TLEberle on May 04, 2013, 05:39:50 PM
It\'s bar trivia, not the Tournament of Champions. The people running these things are more accustomed to hosting karaoke than any sort of serious test of knowledge, and you should adjust your expectations of the quality of the event as such. Half of the time, the material is taken straight out of the copy of Knowledge Dump: 1001 Questions To Ponder Whilst Dropping A Deuce they picked up at Barnes & Noble before heading to work one day.
Certainly good to know: I was mulling over applying with Geeks Who Drink before I took up pursuing my degree.
Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: Unrealtor on May 04, 2013, 07:05:08 PM
Geeks Who Drink seems to be a pretty good organization, I\'ve done one of their quizzes here in Austin most weeks for two years now, and they wouldn\'t do that kind of question. Someone on their staff is enough of a game show nerd that they\'ve used prize cues from The Price is Right as background music for speed rounds at their national Geek Bowl event and they\'ve had a couple game-show themed rounds in the time while I was playing.
 
However, if you\'re working for them, you\'re hosting rather than creating the quiz. The questions are edited centrally (by 6-time Jeopardy champ Christopher Short.)
 
/one of the Austin QMs also took Meredith for $250K a few months back, too
Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: WarioBarker on May 04, 2013, 08:32:40 PM
Knowledge Dump: 1001 Questions To Ponder Whilst Dropping A Deuce

Some good light reading for my heavy loads, I\'ll tell you that. A few sample questions...

 


0034. Generally speaking, what does the internet forum 4Chan post?

0325. Give me the one word that connects a long-handled gardening tool and an immoral pleasure-seeker.

0555. Why do fools fall in love?

0823. What is 1988 divided by 2358?


0867. Who do you reach if you dial the phone number in the 1981 song that begins with the number of this question?

0922. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?


 


/one of the Austin QMs also took Merideth for $250K a few months back, too

Lucky rich git. :P


Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: BillCullen1 on May 05, 2013, 02:08:02 AM
What\'s the point of putting in a question that \"nobody will know the answer to?\" That\'s very annoying.

 


It\'s bar trivia, not the Tournament of Champions. The people running these things are more accustomed to hosting karaoke than any sort of serious test of knowledge, and you should adjust your expectations of the quality of the event as such. Half of the time, the material is taken straight out of the copy of Knowledge Dump: 1001 Questions To Ponder Whilst Dropping A Deuce they picked up at Barnes & Noble before heading to work one day.


Quite true. Here in the NYC area and on the East Coast, a company called Trivia Tryst sponsors trivia nights in various bars in about six states and DC. I was at one last week. Before the contest began, they had a question showing on the TV screen about the original title of the TV series The Big Bang Theory. Sure enough, that was one of the questions asked. Don\'t know if that was intentional or a screw-up, but my team got it right.


 


Trivia nights can be fun as long as you don\'t play with sore winners or losers, which happens occasionally. I\'ve always enjoyed trivia. I always said if they had come out with Trivial Pursuit  when I was a kid, I probably would\'ve paid more attention in school.

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: J.R. on May 05, 2013, 02:47:51 AM
Knowledge Dump: 1001 Questions To Ponder Whilst Dropping A Deuce

Some good light reading for my heavy loads, I\'ll tell you that. A few sample questions...

 


0034. Generally speaking, what does the internet forum 4Chan post?

0325. Give me the one word that connects a long-handled gardening tool and an immoral pleasure-seeker.

0555. Why do fools fall in love?

0823. What is 1988 divided by 2358?


0867. Who do you reach if you dial the phone number in the 1981 song that begins with the number of this question?

0922. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?



 


[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiN6yLiif-M[/media]


Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: TLEberle on May 05, 2013, 02:55:23 AM
Don\'t blame me, I didn\'t click \"approve.\"
Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: clemon79 on May 05, 2013, 02:56:21 AM
0922. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?

 


All of it.

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: Fedya on May 05, 2013, 07:44:49 AM
Chuck Norris makes the wood chuck itself.

(Or is that Matt Ottinger?)
Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: calliaume on May 05, 2013, 09:33:43 AM
Of course, the last time I ended up being asked, I played on a team that included Anne Hathaway, so now my expectations are a bit higher.

Well, maybe the rest of you can let this one pass, but I\'m curious... *the* Anne Hathaway, star of stage and screen?  Or someone with a similar name?  (I assume we can rule out Budd Shakespeare\'s wife.)

Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: Matt Ottinger on May 05, 2013, 10:07:21 AM

Several folks have already heard the story on Facebook.  Yes, \"the\" Anne Hathaway, and only about a month before she won her Oscar.  A friend (who can raise his hand if he wants) invited me to play on his team, and another member of his team invited HER friends to join us too.  To the surprise and delight of the entire squad (maybe eight other folks) they were Annie (her friends call her Annie) and Annie\'s new husband.  Best thing about it is that not one of us made a fuss over her. Nobody asked for an autograph or a picture.  We were all just hanging out together, drinking and answering trivia questions.  Seems a little surreal now, but at the time...well, it was pretty surreal then too.


Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: BrandonFG on May 05, 2013, 11:58:50 AM

I didn\'t even catch the Anne Hathaway part. I always love reading or hearing about celebrities just being \"everyday people\", with no fuss or entitlement.


 


As for the ethics of knowing that answer, while browsing around this morning, I stumbled across Wheel\'s Facebook page (the show\'s, not fan-run). I also found a picture that acknowledges \"Shopper\'s Bazaar\" being the original title. The trivia host is not as smart as he thinks. It may not be common knowledge, but your trivia buffs in attendance are going to know arcane stuff like that.


Title: So I Was Playing Bar Trivia Last Night...
Post by: clemon79 on May 05, 2013, 12:56:13 PM
 The trivia host is not as smart as he thinks.

 


I think this is the entire point of the story. The trivia host is in fact an idiot for thinking that setting up a honeypot (ANY honeypot) made any sense whatsoever. :)