Taking the Jeopardy Test

Used to be...til I found out how important the answer button is. Hope you get on.

I love Jeopardy, Mac, but lately I've been recording movies and have been forgetting to turn it on. Does this mean that you've been selected to take the test? I don't know how that works?

I signed up on the Jeopardy website - www.jeopardy.com - to say that I was interested in taking the test the next time they came to Houston to give it. (They travel all over the country looking for contestants.)

They emailed me a couple of weeks ago to say when they were going to be here. I don't know if so many people signed up that they had to draw names or not. But if you didn't answer their email in two days, you would be dropped from the list.

Thanks, panzade. It does seem as though mastering the "button" is as important as knowing the right answer.

If you pass the test, you get to play a mock game, using the button and all.

Good luck, mac! Just think -- you could be the next Ken Jennings.

I'm a total Jeopardy junkie, except during the "Teen Tournament," when it's less interesting to me because the questions all have to do with subjects I know nothing about, like current popular music. When I was in high school, I was on a TV quiz show called "It's Academic" (which I think may only have been on in the NYC area). After all these years, I remember only one question from the show. I'll rephrase it in Jeopardy form, to give you a test.

It was the nickname -- which combined the name of a southern state and a fruit -- of this baseball player:

My older son, Patada Veloz -a member and random poster on A2K- was on Jeopardy/Mexico when he was 19 (that is 5 years ago).
He was called about one year after he made the test (which is not only about knowledge, but also "televisability"), and the show was aired about two months after it was recorded.
He won his first show -beating a 4 game champion- and lost miserably the second one. A typical 19 year old, he spent most of the money on gadgets and a week long vacation with his girlfriend (our prizes are not as high as in the US: he won around US$3,000).

What is the Georgia Peach?

fbaezer, I think you're right about the fact that they're looking for people who can pass the test and who have "televisability" - there's no guarantee that you can get on the show no matter how well you score.

Apparently they have an abundance of white men who take (and pass) the test, so maybe that gives me a better shot...

My son said there was this middle aged man who knew almost all the answers, but was all sweaty and unconfortable in front of the cameras.
They told him bluntly that he had the knowledge but was not "televisable" enough, and sent him off.

It was shown in different areas with different HS teams.? Mac McGary I remember well

It's Academic is a high school version of quizbowl, in Washington, DC (WRC-TV), Charlottesville, Virginia (WVIR), and Baltimore, Maryland (WJZ). It is also the longest continuously running game show in history, according to the Guinness Book of Records. The show has been on the air since 1961. The host, Mac McGarry, has held the job in Washington since the beginning. The show features three local high school teams, of three players each, competing for scholarship money. Over the years Giant Food has been the sponsor, and over $2,000,000 has been given out for school scholarship funds. Currently, both Giant Food and Comcast sponsor It's Academic.

So, bree, how did your team do on It's Academic?

I was on a high school quiz bowl team, but we weren't on tv!

Funny coincidence. A colleague at work today was telling me that he and his wife will be in California on vacation this Summer and have an appointment to be tested for an appearance on Jeopardy while in LA. It's a small world, all right.

We finished second, but -- as I always point out -- to the school that went on to win the tournament that year.

mac, did you see the question I posted for you on the previous page?

Good luck Mac,
Me and a pal tried out for Jeapordy in 1997 and didn't make the cut. The 50 questions they give you are all of the 800 dollar and higher variety. It's a lot of fun whether you get in or not.

General Lee of Abuzz was on Jeopardy. Somewhere in this puter, there's a pic of him looking all clean and tidy in a suit, standing with Alex.

Oh yeah,
Try and snag some jeapordy pens. They usually have boxes of to take the test with. I grabbed 6 of 'em and gave 'em out as gifts to friends.

Break a leg, mac!

Useta love jeopardy, haven't watched in forever.

bree, I did see your question and knew the answer before I read fbaezer's answer. Sports is probably my worst topic, but there are some things one just knows...

Thanks for the good wishes LionTamer. I'll keep an eye out for the pens. I've heard that the questions are tough. Hey, do they take off for spelling?

soz, I haven't been a loyal Jeopardy watcher myself. I got kind of bored with Ken Jennings winning all the time, and stopped watching.

Merry Andrew, I agree about this being a small world - I must say that every day. Are your colleague and his wife both going to take the test?

Bethie, I remember General Lee, but never heard about him being on Jeopardy. Did he win any money?

I really don't expect to pass the test. I just want to take a stab at it!