JCC ITT you prepare me for my Jeopardy! audition

Did you remember to start dating a white guy who hustles at street basketball games?

 

I went through the audition a few years ago in NYC. They skipped the written 50-answer test and just did some brief, random mock games - which are more to see how comfortable you look playing than how much you know - and the interviews. Those are done just like on the show; they're done up in front of everyone where the coordinators ask about something from your list, and you talk for a few seconds. And then you're in the pool, which is more than usually happens with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

 

Just remember that 2 + 2 is 5.

 

sj,

Wear the jeans, a nice blouse and the suit jacket. And some conservative jewelry, if you have that. And you go, girl!!!!

 

Abraham Lincoln's son had his life saved by JWB's older brother.

Pound for pound, the richest POTUS of all time was George Washington.

Japan consumes 50% of the world's seafood.

China consumes more pork than any other nation.

Benjamin Franklin was the only founding father to join an abolition group.

China invented the landmine, ballistic missile and clip fed semi-automatic weapon in ancient times.

Copper = from Cypress because the Phoenicians and later Greeks/Romans found so much of it there.

Spartans ate a combination of pig blood and vinegar.

After WWII the U.S. was responsible for 50% of the world's industrial output.

The harmonica is the best selling instrument in the world.

HFR is the wave of the future

 

Well, when you put that way...

 

Yeah, I was actually thinking about that. Because I play a lot of video games and we all use a mouse a lot. It seems like the index finger would be better for buzzing so long as you could grip the buzzer okay that way...

I might do that. I could wear black or grey slacks and some kind of button up shirt, but the other getup is probably more 'me'. I don't know. I'm only worried they might find jeans too casual, but they're dark wash skinny jeans and I wear them to work... it's hard to gauge because as I said, business casual in LA is different than in, say, Iowa.

 

That tip about the index finger is from an interview (quite a while ago) with a guy wo had won 5 times (back when there was a limit). So it's dated, but from someone who should know.

More importantly, GOOD LUCK.

 

Incorrect; John Jay and Alexander Hamilton founded the New York Manumission Society.

 

Hm, I remember that from a PBS documentary on Franklin. Haven't seen it in years, would have to pop it in to see what their distinction was (if it wasn't just a miss).

Today's the day- Good Luck!

 

Good luck, Rachel!! Here's what not to do--

 

If you get the chance to be a complete smartass....DO IT.

 

Haha, awesome.

I think I killed at the 50 question test portion. I talked to other contestants about it afterwards and I seemed to have gotten quite a few that a lot of people didn't. The buzzer portion was really short and I'm kind of guessing it had more to do with making sure you sound normal and don't look weird than having to do with getting answers right. (For instance, one woman had a heavy smokers' voice... yeah, I don't think they're putting her on national TV).

There were only about 6 questions asked in my time period and I got 2 of them. I knew 2 others but wasn't first on the buzzer. No one got one of them. Turns out my problem with the buzzers is that video games have given me such a trigger finger that I kept buzzing in slightly early, or so they told me It was like "OMG THE ANSWER IS 60 MINUTES SHOOT IT IN THE HEAD!" "Rachel, you buzzed in a little early on that one." I did start with my index finger but switched to my thumb because the index finger really made it feel like a trigger and that wasn't helping.

Of course, as soon as I sat down the next people got the categories of World Capitals and Presidents, both of which I knew EVERY answer in, despite none of them getting a few of those. C'est la vie. They asked me about Comic Con and how I was able to get tickets. The lady doing the interview got really excited. She later brought up the fact that she could listen to David Tennant say "murder" all day

Anyway, they stressed that the 50 question exam was a *very* important component, and if that's the case I think I did well because I kept a tally and I'm pretty sure I got about 40 questions right. Someone said the word was somewhere around 30 was the cutoff.

They said we would be put in the contestant pool for 18 months and could be called at any time to come in. Those of us who are locals might also be called in as standbys, in which case we would then be guaranteed to appear the next day. So I guess that gives us a slight advantage.

All in all, it was fun, and if I don't get on I can always apply again in 18 months. A couple of the people there had auditioned before. They gave us Jeopardy! pens and earbuds. Finally, they mentioned that the room at the hotel we were auditioning in happened to be the one Ken Jennings had auditioned in

 

Oh, cool! Sounds like you had fun, too! Keep us posted!

 

It was definitely fun. As soon as the 50 question test was over they said we could talk about it and the chorus of "what was this one?" "ah crap!" "yes, I knew it!" in the room was awesome. Nerds That was when I realized I had done pretty well. One of the guys I chatted with was actually selected to be on the show before but had to decline because he'd been in Stratford Upon Avon teaching Shakespeare for the summer, so I knew he was good and would probably make it through. He and I seemed to have had the same answers on pretty much everything.

Mostly it was just fun being in there with a bunch of nerds and having the clue crew people joke around with us and make it really fun. They definitely try to make the tone upbeat and entertaining.

 

Sounds like you did well and may have a chance... congrats / good luck.

 

Awesome!!!

Glad I could help!

 

Yeah, it's about seeing how you look. For years, the buzzer they used didn't have any kind of lockout, so when more than one light came on, they just picked one of them, based on whom they wanted to hear from. It's mainly to make sure you're intelligible and not too wooden (or too animated). Or a bad sport.

Earbuds? We never got earbuds!

 

You better get in 'cause I want to brag that I know a Jeopardy! contestant.

 

Yeah, I figured that's what the buzzer thing was about. Making sure people didn't start swearing when they got a question wrong or something At least they didn't have to tell me to speak up or prompt me to pick a category, which they did have to do for a couple people.

yes these are the wonderful gifts we got

 

Congrats! I hope they give you a nicer prize when you eventually go on the show and win!

 

Better remember to pay taxes on that pen.

 

Take that, Rachel Hatch. (Cue Rogue Ten's "that's the joke" youtube link)

 

sup

 

...

You get cut off by a guy in a Hummer today or something?