It's been over a week since Valentine's Day, which as everyone knows is one of the most time-honored celebrations to profess love to those near and dear.
And if your a chocolate company, a teddy bear factory, or the artisan in charge of making cheesily embroidered lingerie...it's the biggest sales period of the year (or at least one of them, I know Arbor Day is growing bigger each year)
So I was really surprised (and a little bit annoyed) when I went to my local Hallmark store on Valentine's Day to buy the gf a card...and I find the doors shut and locked and the lights off.
There, just beyond the closed doors, sat rows and rows of Valentine's Day cards, presents, and other accessories.
Ones that no doubt would never be sold after Valentine's Day.
So why, on what must be one of the busiest days of the year for Hallmark, could a store possibly be closed?!?
Does the Turkey Farm close on Thanksgiving???
The liquor store on New Years Eve???
The Fireworks Store on the 4th of July???
So, I wondered, how the hell could a store manager in good conscience close his Hallmark store and NOT be fired for near-criminal business negligence???
You could argue that the store shouldn't count on people putting off Valentine's Day purchases until the actual day of the holiday.
To those people, I'd suggest they reacquaint themselves with Americans, some of the laziest procrastinators in the universe. So that argument seems unlikely.
I also wondered if maybe the store isn't normally opened on Saturday's and therefore couldn't get insurance or something to stay open. But that also seems unlikely.
Now, there's the matter of location.
This particular Hallmark store is located on the Chicago Pedway, which is an underground tunnel of restaurants and shops that caters to weekday business customers (and to MBA students that happen to live in business-heavy areas)
OK, so it's not a place where every store is open on weekends. However, as evidence I'd point to the fact that both McDonald's, located approximately 50 feet away, and a hair salon, approximately 100 feet away, stay open on Saturdays.
They obviously find it profitable to stay open on Saturdays...so why the hell didn't Hallmark come to the same conclusion?
I don't know, and I can't think of any reasonable answer...but I'd be happy for someone at Hallmark to offer up any insights (in the event that they stumble across the blog)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Amazon.com shopping spree
It took me a couple weeks, but I finally went on my Amazon.com shopping spree, courtesy of a major business school employer that spent time and energy recruiting me (and by recruited me, I mean allowed me to verbally vomit all over the inside of a Harper Center interview room)
After another inglorious debacle, I (along with everyone else who interviewed/applied) got a follow-up email asking us to offer feedback on the interview process. Most people delete such requests, but I'm always stupid enough to think it will only take 3 minutes (and as I learn in Marketing Research class, that's almost always a complete lie).
Anyway, this one was like many other surveys in that they offered the promise of the chance to win a $100 gift card at Amazon.com. Whatever, I thought, no one ever actually wins those...
Until of course I won, which totally compensates for them not even bothering to recruit for my first choice office, which was filled to capacity already.
But all bottled up rage aside, I had $100 to play with at Amazon.com, and really wanted to make a good decision as to how to spend it.
The last time I got one of these, I spent it all on one thing, the complete blue-ray Planet Earth DVDs...which will be totally worth it once I actually get a Blue-ray player and before the whole technology is rendered obsolete by streaming downloads.
So I had $100, and just about an infinite set of options...
What to do...
I knew that I wanted to get several different things, and hopefully maximize the amount of awesomeness I could get with $100. They would also have to be things I really wanted/needed, but probably wouldn't buy myself.
It didn't take me very long to find my first clear and obvious purchase...
How in the world did I NOT already have this book?!?
As an avid fan of Death Wishes 1-5, this was a complete no brainer. It even has a poster shot from Death Wish 3, my personal favorite, right on the cover. Click. Add to cart. Done.
So that was $10-$15, I wanted to buy it used, but all the used booksellers were only selling it for $4 cheaper and then charging $3.99 for shipping and handling. So I could get a used one, but only at the same all-in price as a new one considering I'd get free shipping from Amazon...right used book sellers (more to the point, who the HELL is selling used copies of THIS book? I checked, it's sales rank is #363,303 in books alone, and that's AFTER I bought it).
But that was in the bag, and quick to the next spot on my reading queue. And in getting one book, I remembered another one that I've been after for some time. No book store, at least that I've been to, ever stocks it.
Action Speaks Louder: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action Movie
400 pages of analysis on the action film's place in American culture etc. I cannot wait for this book...another ~$15 or so on the card. I also need to make a note that when entertaining, I should probably cover up my bookshelf, or at least these last two titles and my Steven Segal retrospective.
My next purchase stayed in pop culture, but moved to TV.
I can't help it, my mom's Hanukkah present got my hooked. I busted through the first season really quickly, and now I need to keep going with the second season, particularly before the third season starts. Of course, it's only available as a pre-order now, so it's led me to avoid any media about the show so that I won't have the season spoiled. The show is the reason I'm debating junking the consulting career to pursue a career in 1960's advertising upon the successful creation of a flux capacitor.
That was another $30 off the card, and with not a ton of money left, I wanted to get something that I realized I really needed.
A replacement for those crappy ipod earbuds.
I'm not really a huge ipod guy, but my commute in to work over the summer taught me a) the value of putting in the headphones and completely ignoring everyone around you, and b) that ipod earbuds are terrible. The darned things just won't stay in my ears, and the sound wasn't spectacular.
So, a quick purchase later, and I've solved that problem. It'll take me closer to my goal of being able to move from home to work without ever noticing another human being.
I'm still waiting for the package(s) to arrive, but I'm already pretty excited.
Sure beats a job offer.
After another inglorious debacle, I (along with everyone else who interviewed/applied) got a follow-up email asking us to offer feedback on the interview process. Most people delete such requests, but I'm always stupid enough to think it will only take 3 minutes (and as I learn in Marketing Research class, that's almost always a complete lie).
Anyway, this one was like many other surveys in that they offered the promise of the chance to win a $100 gift card at Amazon.com. Whatever, I thought, no one ever actually wins those...
Until of course I won, which totally compensates for them not even bothering to recruit for my first choice office, which was filled to capacity already.
But all bottled up rage aside, I had $100 to play with at Amazon.com, and really wanted to make a good decision as to how to spend it.
The last time I got one of these, I spent it all on one thing, the complete blue-ray Planet Earth DVDs...which will be totally worth it once I actually get a Blue-ray player and before the whole technology is rendered obsolete by streaming downloads.
So I had $100, and just about an infinite set of options...
What to do...
I knew that I wanted to get several different things, and hopefully maximize the amount of awesomeness I could get with $100. They would also have to be things I really wanted/needed, but probably wouldn't buy myself.
It didn't take me very long to find my first clear and obvious purchase...
How in the world did I NOT already have this book?!?
As an avid fan of Death Wishes 1-5, this was a complete no brainer. It even has a poster shot from Death Wish 3, my personal favorite, right on the cover. Click. Add to cart. Done.
So that was $10-$15, I wanted to buy it used, but all the used booksellers were only selling it for $4 cheaper and then charging $3.99 for shipping and handling. So I could get a used one, but only at the same all-in price as a new one considering I'd get free shipping from Amazon...right used book sellers (more to the point, who the HELL is selling used copies of THIS book? I checked, it's sales rank is #363,303 in books alone, and that's AFTER I bought it).
But that was in the bag, and quick to the next spot on my reading queue. And in getting one book, I remembered another one that I've been after for some time. No book store, at least that I've been to, ever stocks it.
Action Speaks Louder: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action Movie
400 pages of analysis on the action film's place in American culture etc. I cannot wait for this book...another ~$15 or so on the card. I also need to make a note that when entertaining, I should probably cover up my bookshelf, or at least these last two titles and my Steven Segal retrospective.
My next purchase stayed in pop culture, but moved to TV.
I can't help it, my mom's Hanukkah present got my hooked. I busted through the first season really quickly, and now I need to keep going with the second season, particularly before the third season starts. Of course, it's only available as a pre-order now, so it's led me to avoid any media about the show so that I won't have the season spoiled. The show is the reason I'm debating junking the consulting career to pursue a career in 1960's advertising upon the successful creation of a flux capacitor.
That was another $30 off the card, and with not a ton of money left, I wanted to get something that I realized I really needed.
A replacement for those crappy ipod earbuds.
I'm not really a huge ipod guy, but my commute in to work over the summer taught me a) the value of putting in the headphones and completely ignoring everyone around you, and b) that ipod earbuds are terrible. The darned things just won't stay in my ears, and the sound wasn't spectacular.
So, a quick purchase later, and I've solved that problem. It'll take me closer to my goal of being able to move from home to work without ever noticing another human being.
I'm still waiting for the package(s) to arrive, but I'm already pretty excited.
Sure beats a job offer.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Jeopardy Contestant Test Questions Part Three
If you've seen my two previous posts, then this one really needs no explanation. This is the Jeopardy online contestant test from a couple weeks ago. I've already posted the first two, this is the third version offered Jeopardy spot seekers.
While I'm no longer eligible to be on the show, you'd be crazy to think I would quickly take the test and see how I did.
In a very weird coincidence, I got the exact same score on all three tests (and it definitely wasn't 50 out of 50). So I have a variance of zero, but something tells me that would change with a larger sample size.
Anyway, here are the 50 questions that demonstrate exactly type of questions and difficulty you can expect on next year's jeopardy contestant test
1. U.S. CABINET DEPARTMENTS
The Fermi Award is given annually by this U.S. cabinet department
2. POPULAR TV
Carlos didn't know of Gabrielle fooling around with the gardener in season 1 of this series
3. HISTORIC FIRSTS
In 1844 this American famously transmitted the line "What hath God wrought"
4. POETS
19th century poet who wrote "O Captain! My Captain!"
5. OPERA
This Bizet title character works in a cigarette factory
6. FOOD
Stilton is a blue one
7. RHYME TIME
An autumn cotillion
8. FICTIONAL SLEUTHS
Jane is the first name of this Agatha Christie amateur detective
9. SUBATOMIC SCIENCE
An atomic number is equal to the number of these in an atom's nucleus
10. MOVIE MONSTERS
During an electrical storm in this 1931 horror film, a monster comes "alive"
11. FOREIGN PORTS
Casablanca is a seaport of this country
12. WARS
These wars were fought between Rome & Carthage from 264 to 146 B.C.
13. PHILOSOPHERS
This student of Plato wrote "Physics" & "Metaphysics"
14. LEGAL TERMS
If you died intestate you didn't leave one of these behind
15. SINGERS
The son of the legendary Julio Iglesias, he released his "Greatest Hits" in 2008
16. PREFIXES
"One"; or, the pre-1958 way to listen to recorded music
17. MATH TERMS
A function's domain is the set of possible values of x; this is the set of possible values of y
18. UNIVERSITIES
Named for a philanthropist, it's the State University of New Jersey
19. NONFICTION
"Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin is about this U.S. president's cabinet
20. PAINTERS
A 1931 cow's skull is a masterpiece of this painter who spent her later years in New Mexico
21. MOUNTAINS
Mount Rainier is the highest peak in this range
22. THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
The 2008 winner was peacemaker Martti Ahtisaari, former president of this country
23. BELOVED BOOKS
The land of Oz & its wonderful wizard were created by this author
24. EXPLORERS
Ferdinand Magellan was an explorer from this country
25. ASTRONOMY
It's the second planet from the Sun
26. THE NEWSPAPER BUSINESS
As of 2008 the co. that bears the name of this Chicago newspaper also owned the L.A. Times
27. STARTS WITH 'G'
It's a derogatory slang term for someone who marries for money
28. SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET
He's Laertes' advice-dispensing father
29. SPORTS TEAMS
This NFL team went undefeated in the 2007 regular season
30. WORLD CURRENCY
The note worth 100 of these units bears a picture of the Bolshoi Theater
31. BIBLICAL PEOPLE
In the Old Testament book named for this successor to Moses, he sends spies into Canaan
32. 20th CENTURY NOVELS
This Ayn Rand novel tells the story of a visionary, untameable architect
33. HISTORIC FRENCHMEN
P.M. from 1624 to 1642, this cardinal helped make France dominant in Europe
34. FAITH
The Quakers are more formally known as the Society of these
35. WORLD CAPITALS
Asuncion is this country's capital
36. AUTHORS
"The Executioner's Song" is one of the major works by this American writer who died in 2007
37. MEDICINE
An affliction for centuries, this nutritional disorder is also called vitamin C deficiency
38. DOGS
Going by AKC registrations, this long-haired cutie is the most popular terrier
39. BALLET
"The Rite of Spring" is a ballet from this Russian composer
40. ANTONYMS
It's the antonym of "dystopian", a word applied to "Brave New World" & "1984"
41. AROUND THE SOUTH
This, not Atlanta, is Georgia's "Mother City"
42. AMERICAN THEATRE
It's the last name shared by Willy & Biff in "Death of a Salesman"
43. THE 1990s
The target of criticism in the 2008 campaign, this 3-nation treaty went into effect Jan. 1, 1994
44. OY VEY!
The USA's worst commercial nuclear accident took place in this state
45. BEFORE & AFTER
Late menswear designer turned immigration station
46. MINERALS
Used in dusting powder, this 4-letter mineral is the softest on the Mohs hardness scale
47. TURKEY (THE COUNTRY)
East of the Dardanelles, this Turkish strait leads into the Black Sea
48. CHARACTERS IN BOOKS
His desperate flight through the Paris sewers is a highlight of "Les Miserables"
49. AFRICAN-AMERICAN FIRSTS
Barack Obama nominated him to be the first African-American attorney general
50. ACTRESSES
She starred in director Baz Luhrmann's films "Moulin Rouge!" & "Australia"
And like the other ones, here are the answers:
1. Department of Energy
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Samuel Morse
4. Walt Whitman
5. Carmen
6. cheese
7. a fall ball
8. Miss Marple
9. protons
10. Frankenstein
11. Morocco
12. Punic Wars
13. Aristotle
14. a will
15. Enrique Iglesias
16. mono
17. range
18. Rutgers
19. Abraham Lincoln
20. Georgia O'Keeffe
21. the Cascades
22. Finland
23. L. Frank Baum
24. Spain or Portugal - see discussion
25. Venus
26. the Tribune (Company)
27. a gold digger
28. Polonius
29. New England Patriots
30. rubles
31. Joshua
32. The Fountainhead
33. Richelieu
34. Friends
35. Paraguay
36. Norman Mailer
37. scurvy
38. Yorkshire terrier
39. Igor Stravinsky
40. utopian
41. Savannah
42. Loman
43. NAFTA
44. Pennsylvania
45. Perry Ellis Island
46. talc
47. the Bosporus (or Bosphorus)
48. Jean Valjean
49. Eric Holder
50. Nicole Kidman
Hope you did well! If not, I'd recommend studying either through an awesome site like Sporcle.com or with a book like this one:
It was the one I used to study before I went on the show.
While I'm no longer eligible to be on the show, you'd be crazy to think I would quickly take the test and see how I did.
In a very weird coincidence, I got the exact same score on all three tests (and it definitely wasn't 50 out of 50). So I have a variance of zero, but something tells me that would change with a larger sample size.
Anyway, here are the 50 questions that demonstrate exactly type of questions and difficulty you can expect on next year's jeopardy contestant test
1. U.S. CABINET DEPARTMENTS
The Fermi Award is given annually by this U.S. cabinet department
2. POPULAR TV
Carlos didn't know of Gabrielle fooling around with the gardener in season 1 of this series
3. HISTORIC FIRSTS
In 1844 this American famously transmitted the line "What hath God wrought"
4. POETS
19th century poet who wrote "O Captain! My Captain!"
5. OPERA
This Bizet title character works in a cigarette factory
6. FOOD
Stilton is a blue one
7. RHYME TIME
An autumn cotillion
8. FICTIONAL SLEUTHS
Jane is the first name of this Agatha Christie amateur detective
9. SUBATOMIC SCIENCE
An atomic number is equal to the number of these in an atom's nucleus
10. MOVIE MONSTERS
During an electrical storm in this 1931 horror film, a monster comes "alive"
11. FOREIGN PORTS
Casablanca is a seaport of this country
12. WARS
These wars were fought between Rome & Carthage from 264 to 146 B.C.
13. PHILOSOPHERS
This student of Plato wrote "Physics" & "Metaphysics"
14. LEGAL TERMS
If you died intestate you didn't leave one of these behind
15. SINGERS
The son of the legendary Julio Iglesias, he released his "Greatest Hits" in 2008
16. PREFIXES
"One"; or, the pre-1958 way to listen to recorded music
17. MATH TERMS
A function's domain is the set of possible values of x; this is the set of possible values of y
18. UNIVERSITIES
Named for a philanthropist, it's the State University of New Jersey
19. NONFICTION
"Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin is about this U.S. president's cabinet
20. PAINTERS
A 1931 cow's skull is a masterpiece of this painter who spent her later years in New Mexico
21. MOUNTAINS
Mount Rainier is the highest peak in this range
22. THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
The 2008 winner was peacemaker Martti Ahtisaari, former president of this country
23. BELOVED BOOKS
The land of Oz & its wonderful wizard were created by this author
24. EXPLORERS
Ferdinand Magellan was an explorer from this country
25. ASTRONOMY
It's the second planet from the Sun
26. THE NEWSPAPER BUSINESS
As of 2008 the co. that bears the name of this Chicago newspaper also owned the L.A. Times
27. STARTS WITH 'G'
It's a derogatory slang term for someone who marries for money
28. SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET
He's Laertes' advice-dispensing father
29. SPORTS TEAMS
This NFL team went undefeated in the 2007 regular season
30. WORLD CURRENCY
The note worth 100 of these units bears a picture of the Bolshoi Theater
31. BIBLICAL PEOPLE
In the Old Testament book named for this successor to Moses, he sends spies into Canaan
32. 20th CENTURY NOVELS
This Ayn Rand novel tells the story of a visionary, untameable architect
33. HISTORIC FRENCHMEN
P.M. from 1624 to 1642, this cardinal helped make France dominant in Europe
34. FAITH
The Quakers are more formally known as the Society of these
35. WORLD CAPITALS
Asuncion is this country's capital
36. AUTHORS
"The Executioner's Song" is one of the major works by this American writer who died in 2007
37. MEDICINE
An affliction for centuries, this nutritional disorder is also called vitamin C deficiency
38. DOGS
Going by AKC registrations, this long-haired cutie is the most popular terrier
39. BALLET
"The Rite of Spring" is a ballet from this Russian composer
40. ANTONYMS
It's the antonym of "dystopian", a word applied to "Brave New World" & "1984"
41. AROUND THE SOUTH
This, not Atlanta, is Georgia's "Mother City"
42. AMERICAN THEATRE
It's the last name shared by Willy & Biff in "Death of a Salesman"
43. THE 1990s
The target of criticism in the 2008 campaign, this 3-nation treaty went into effect Jan. 1, 1994
44. OY VEY!
The USA's worst commercial nuclear accident took place in this state
45. BEFORE & AFTER
Late menswear designer turned immigration station
46. MINERALS
Used in dusting powder, this 4-letter mineral is the softest on the Mohs hardness scale
47. TURKEY (THE COUNTRY)
East of the Dardanelles, this Turkish strait leads into the Black Sea
48. CHARACTERS IN BOOKS
His desperate flight through the Paris sewers is a highlight of "Les Miserables"
49. AFRICAN-AMERICAN FIRSTS
Barack Obama nominated him to be the first African-American attorney general
50. ACTRESSES
She starred in director Baz Luhrmann's films "Moulin Rouge!" & "Australia"
And like the other ones, here are the answers:
1. Department of Energy
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Samuel Morse
4. Walt Whitman
5. Carmen
6. cheese
7. a fall ball
8. Miss Marple
9. protons
10. Frankenstein
11. Morocco
12. Punic Wars
13. Aristotle
14. a will
15. Enrique Iglesias
16. mono
17. range
18. Rutgers
19. Abraham Lincoln
20. Georgia O'Keeffe
21. the Cascades
22. Finland
23. L. Frank Baum
24. Spain or Portugal - see discussion
25. Venus
26. the Tribune (Company)
27. a gold digger
28. Polonius
29. New England Patriots
30. rubles
31. Joshua
32. The Fountainhead
33. Richelieu
34. Friends
35. Paraguay
36. Norman Mailer
37. scurvy
38. Yorkshire terrier
39. Igor Stravinsky
40. utopian
41. Savannah
42. Loman
43. NAFTA
44. Pennsylvania
45. Perry Ellis Island
46. talc
47. the Bosporus (or Bosphorus)
48. Jean Valjean
49. Eric Holder
50. Nicole Kidman
Hope you did well! If not, I'd recommend studying either through an awesome site like Sporcle.com or with a book like this one:
It was the one I used to study before I went on the show.
Jeopardy Contestant Test Questions Part Two
I told you I would post the other two Jeopardy tests, and I'm definitely not a liar.
Below you'll find transcribed questions from the Jeopardy test on Wednesday, January 28th.
Of course, this is only the first stage of the application process, but if you score pretty well here, you're well on your way!
Oh, and remember to properly simulate test conditions, only give yourself 15 seconds for each question! Have fun!
1)MONTHS OF THE YEAR
Each year, it's Black History Month
2)RECENT MOVIES
"Slumdog Millionaire" is set in this city
3)ROYALTY
This British queen outlived her husband by 39 years.
4)LITERARY GENRES
An epistolary novel is written in the form of these.
5)DRAMA
This group played a major role in early Greek comedy but later only appeared between acts.
6)BIG BUSINESS
Murex, Conch, and Clam were names of early tankers owned by this company.
7)FAMILIAR PHRASES
A farewell performance is this bird's "song".
8)ANIMALS IN LITERATURE
The villains in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" are this type of animal.
9)SIMPLE SCIENCE
It's the type of electrical current that only travels one way.
10)GOLF LINGO
It's the term for shooting a 3 on a par-5 hole.
11)U.S. STATES
It's the third-largest state in the U.S. in area.
12)MILITARY HISTORY
This ship sunk December 7th, 1941 was designated a National Landmark in 1989.
13)BACK TO BACH
A group of 6 chamberworks from 1721 is known as these concertos.
14)PATRIOTIC SONGS
"The Fruited Plain" appears in this 1893 song.
15)CELEBRITIES
In 2008 this young actress confirmed her couplehood with Samantha Ronson.
16)VOCABULARY
It's a lady's dressing table, or a synonym for conceit.
17)ASTRONOMERS
Ptolemy's model was accepted for over 1000 years, until this Polish thinker came along in the 1500's.
18)RELIGIOUS LEADERS
He served as the Archbishop of Krakow in the 1960's.
19)AMERICAN NOVELS
This Upton Sinclair book was instrumental in the passage of the Pure Food & Drug Act
20)THE ART WORLD
He died in 1890 having sold 1 painting; in 1990 his Portrait of Dr. Gachet sold for $82.5 million
21)BODIES OF WATER
Over a mile deep and 25 million years old, it's the deepest and oldest lake on earth.
22)THE INTERNET
The Mozilla Foundation released this open-source web browser in 2004.
23)BESTSELLERS
Completes the title of Elizabeth Gilbert's tale of a 3-country journey, "Eat, Pray ..."
24)THE 20TH CENTURY
Country in whose civil war the International Brigades fought in the 1930's.
25)'B' IN GEOLOGY
Formed from cooling lava, it's the most abundant volcanic rock.
26)ARCHITECTURE
Many Gothic cathedrals used an arched support called a "flying" this.
27)COLLEGE LATIN
3-word Latin phrase for the highest honors granted on graduation.
28)AMERICAN POEMS
Plural title of Joyce Kilmer's work that admits, "Poems are made by fools like me."
29)TV THEMES
It's "where everybody knows your name".
30)THE METRIC SYSTEM
1 inch equals 2.54 of these.
31)THE GRAMMYS
The 2007 classical crossover Grammy went to "Love Supreme: the Legacy of" this 1960's Jazz sax man.
32)BRITISH AUTHORS
His "Tom Jones" is one of the first great British novels.
33)19th C. PRESIDENTS
In 1823 he declared the Americas off-limits for European colonization.
34)HISPANIC AMERICANS
This governor of New Mexico ran for president in 2008.
35)U.S. CITIES
It forms a Metropolitan Statistical Area along with Cambridge & Quincy.
36)SHORT STORIES
Nick Adams is the protagonist in many of the short stories in this author's "In Our Time".
37)THE ELEMENTS
This element makes up about 78% of normal dry air by volume.
38)STATE BIRDS
The male of this state bird of Maryland is black, white & orange.
39)PLACES IN THE BIBLE
In Exodus 19 "The Lord descended upon" this mount "in fire".
40)STARTS & ENDS WITH 'T'
Object in which you'd brew your oolong.
41)WORLD LEADERS
This Venezuelan president likes to call his country a Bolivarian Republic.
42)20TH CENTURY LIT
T.S. Eliot's verse drama "Murder in the Cathedral" deals with the death of this man.
43)LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY
This general, who took the Alamo, was made President of Mexico 11 times between 1833 and 1855.
44)WALL STREET WOES
This investment bank, swallowed up in 2008, had an appropriately non-bullish word in its name.
45)BUZZWORDS
This "bump" made Time Magazine's top 10 buzzwords of 2008.
46)PHYSICS
Term first used by James Watt for a unit equivalent to 550 foot-pounds of work per second.
47)STATES OF THE UNION
It's "The Yellowhammer State".
48)POETS
"The Tyger" is a famous lyric by this author-illustrator.
49)HANDICRAFTS
"Knit one" is commonly followed by this action "two".
50)THE MUSIC SCENE
This British band released "In Rainbows" as a name-your-own-price digital download.
And now the answers to all the questions (all data here was totally ripped off from the internet, so thanks to whoever the original compiler was)
ANSWERS
1) February
2) Mumbai (Bombay)
3) Queen Victoria
4) Letters (possibly documents, too)
5) The chorus
6) Shell
7) swan
8) snakes
9) direct current
10) eagle (maybe 'two-under-par', but I doubt it)
11) California
12) U.S.S. Arizona
13) The Brandeburg Concertos
14) "America the Beautiful"
15) Lindsay Lohan
16) vanity
17) Copernicus
18) Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła)
19) "The Jungle"
20) van Gogh
21) Lake Baikal
22) Firefox
23) "Love"
24) Spain
25) basalt
26) buttress
27) summa cum laude
28) "Trees"
29) "Cheers"
30) centimeters
31) John Coltrane
32) Henry Fielding
33) James Monroe
34) Bill Richardson
35) Boston
36) Ernest Hemmingway
37) nitrogen
38) oriole
39) Sinai
40) teapot
41) Hugo Chavez
42) Archbishop Thomas Becket
43) Santa Anna
44) Bear Stearns
45) fist bump
46) horsepower
47) Alabama
48) William Blake
49) purl
50) Radiohead
Hope you did well! If not, I'd recommend studying either through an awesome site like Sporcle.com or with a book like this one:
It was the one I used to study before I went on the show.
Below you'll find transcribed questions from the Jeopardy test on Wednesday, January 28th.
Of course, this is only the first stage of the application process, but if you score pretty well here, you're well on your way!
Oh, and remember to properly simulate test conditions, only give yourself 15 seconds for each question! Have fun!
1)MONTHS OF THE YEAR
Each year, it's Black History Month
2)RECENT MOVIES
"Slumdog Millionaire" is set in this city
3)ROYALTY
This British queen outlived her husband by 39 years.
4)LITERARY GENRES
An epistolary novel is written in the form of these.
5)DRAMA
This group played a major role in early Greek comedy but later only appeared between acts.
6)BIG BUSINESS
Murex, Conch, and Clam were names of early tankers owned by this company.
7)FAMILIAR PHRASES
A farewell performance is this bird's "song".
8)ANIMALS IN LITERATURE
The villains in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" are this type of animal.
9)SIMPLE SCIENCE
It's the type of electrical current that only travels one way.
10)GOLF LINGO
It's the term for shooting a 3 on a par-5 hole.
11)U.S. STATES
It's the third-largest state in the U.S. in area.
12)MILITARY HISTORY
This ship sunk December 7th, 1941 was designated a National Landmark in 1989.
13)BACK TO BACH
A group of 6 chamberworks from 1721 is known as these concertos.
14)PATRIOTIC SONGS
"The Fruited Plain" appears in this 1893 song.
15)CELEBRITIES
In 2008 this young actress confirmed her couplehood with Samantha Ronson.
16)VOCABULARY
It's a lady's dressing table, or a synonym for conceit.
17)ASTRONOMERS
Ptolemy's model was accepted for over 1000 years, until this Polish thinker came along in the 1500's.
18)RELIGIOUS LEADERS
He served as the Archbishop of Krakow in the 1960's.
19)AMERICAN NOVELS
This Upton Sinclair book was instrumental in the passage of the Pure Food & Drug Act
20)THE ART WORLD
He died in 1890 having sold 1 painting; in 1990 his Portrait of Dr. Gachet sold for $82.5 million
21)BODIES OF WATER
Over a mile deep and 25 million years old, it's the deepest and oldest lake on earth.
22)THE INTERNET
The Mozilla Foundation released this open-source web browser in 2004.
23)BESTSELLERS
Completes the title of Elizabeth Gilbert's tale of a 3-country journey, "Eat, Pray ..."
24)THE 20TH CENTURY
Country in whose civil war the International Brigades fought in the 1930's.
25)'B' IN GEOLOGY
Formed from cooling lava, it's the most abundant volcanic rock.
26)ARCHITECTURE
Many Gothic cathedrals used an arched support called a "flying" this.
27)COLLEGE LATIN
3-word Latin phrase for the highest honors granted on graduation.
28)AMERICAN POEMS
Plural title of Joyce Kilmer's work that admits, "Poems are made by fools like me."
29)TV THEMES
It's "where everybody knows your name".
30)THE METRIC SYSTEM
1 inch equals 2.54 of these.
31)THE GRAMMYS
The 2007 classical crossover Grammy went to "Love Supreme: the Legacy of" this 1960's Jazz sax man.
32)BRITISH AUTHORS
His "Tom Jones" is one of the first great British novels.
33)19th C. PRESIDENTS
In 1823 he declared the Americas off-limits for European colonization.
34)HISPANIC AMERICANS
This governor of New Mexico ran for president in 2008.
35)U.S. CITIES
It forms a Metropolitan Statistical Area along with Cambridge & Quincy.
36)SHORT STORIES
Nick Adams is the protagonist in many of the short stories in this author's "In Our Time".
37)THE ELEMENTS
This element makes up about 78% of normal dry air by volume.
38)STATE BIRDS
The male of this state bird of Maryland is black, white & orange.
39)PLACES IN THE BIBLE
In Exodus 19 "The Lord descended upon" this mount "in fire".
40)STARTS & ENDS WITH 'T'
Object in which you'd brew your oolong.
41)WORLD LEADERS
This Venezuelan president likes to call his country a Bolivarian Republic.
42)20TH CENTURY LIT
T.S. Eliot's verse drama "Murder in the Cathedral" deals with the death of this man.
43)LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY
This general, who took the Alamo, was made President of Mexico 11 times between 1833 and 1855.
44)WALL STREET WOES
This investment bank, swallowed up in 2008, had an appropriately non-bullish word in its name.
45)BUZZWORDS
This "bump" made Time Magazine's top 10 buzzwords of 2008.
46)PHYSICS
Term first used by James Watt for a unit equivalent to 550 foot-pounds of work per second.
47)STATES OF THE UNION
It's "The Yellowhammer State".
48)POETS
"The Tyger" is a famous lyric by this author-illustrator.
49)HANDICRAFTS
"Knit one" is commonly followed by this action "two".
50)THE MUSIC SCENE
This British band released "In Rainbows" as a name-your-own-price digital download.
And now the answers to all the questions (all data here was totally ripped off from the internet, so thanks to whoever the original compiler was)
ANSWERS
1) February
2) Mumbai (Bombay)
3) Queen Victoria
4) Letters (possibly documents, too)
5) The chorus
6) Shell
7) swan
8) snakes
9) direct current
10) eagle (maybe 'two-under-par', but I doubt it)
11) California
12) U.S.S. Arizona
13) The Brandeburg Concertos
14) "America the Beautiful"
15) Lindsay Lohan
16) vanity
17) Copernicus
18) Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła)
19) "The Jungle"
20) van Gogh
21) Lake Baikal
22) Firefox
23) "Love"
24) Spain
25) basalt
26) buttress
27) summa cum laude
28) "Trees"
29) "Cheers"
30) centimeters
31) John Coltrane
32) Henry Fielding
33) James Monroe
34) Bill Richardson
35) Boston
36) Ernest Hemmingway
37) nitrogen
38) oriole
39) Sinai
40) teapot
41) Hugo Chavez
42) Archbishop Thomas Becket
43) Santa Anna
44) Bear Stearns
45) fist bump
46) horsepower
47) Alabama
48) William Blake
49) purl
50) Radiohead
Hope you did well! If not, I'd recommend studying either through an awesome site like Sporcle.com or with a book like this one:
It was the one I used to study before I went on the show.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Jeopardy Contestant Test Questions
As many of you know, I took an online test to get on Jeopardy. That's the first barrier any contestant faces before they get on the show. I think they only offer it once a year. Well, it was brought to my attention that this year's tests just happened. (Editorial Note: If you want a far more complete account of the Jeopardy audition process, including what taking the test is like, exactly what happens during the follow-up in person audition, and then actually going on the show, my ebook is only a dollar and in my biased view, well worth the investment if you seriously want to consider taking the test)
So I poked around and got the questions from this year's test. I thought I would post them here, so anyone could get a sense of what the test is like. There are 50 questions, covering a huge variety of categories.
There were actually three different tests offered on different days, and I'll post the other two as well. (Obviously I took them myself...and I'm not sure if I should tell you how I did...)
Now for an accurate Jeopardy test experience, you need to limit yourself to 15 seconds for each question and type your answer or write it down or whatever. If you don't know it, just guess and move on. Oh and one tip, the category title can give you a hint, so it helps to pay attention.
Here are the questions...
Ready...
Set...
Go!
WORLD RELIGION:
Krishna & Rama are both considered avatars of this Hindu god
CABLE TV PERSONALITIES:
This Scottish-born chef is known for his TV rants at weaker restaurateurs
DYNASTY:
Nicholas II was the last ruling czar of this royal family
WHAT A CHARACTER!:
Topsy & Simon Legree are both characters in this bestselling novel
NEW TESTAMENT GEOGRAPHY:
John the Baptist's ministry took place in the region around this river
TOYS:
In 1903, with presidential permission, Morris Michtom began marketing these toys
WORD ORIGINS:
This term for a person who works for various employers comes from knights who sold their skills
TALE TELLERS:
She's the fabled tale teller in "The Thousand & One Nights"
PHYSICS:
Regarding this device, Archimedes said, "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth"
ACTRESSES:
In 2008 she played Daisy, the lifelong friend of Benjamin Button
MOUNTAIN HIGH:
This 14,700-foot peak in the Swiss Alps is famous for its shape & the danger of ascending it
U.S. PRESIDENTS:
He was president during the War of 1812
SYMPHONIES:
Mozart's last & perhaps most powerful symphony shares its name with this planet
SPEAKING IN TONGUES:
This language was invented in Warsaw in 1887 by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof
SPORTS STARS:
In the 2007-'08 season, this Cleveland Cavalier turned 23 & averaged 30 points a game
HOMOPHONES:
An arm bone, or an adjective meaning "funny"
SCIENTISTS:
Now named to the Cabinet, Steven Chu won a Nobel for capturing atoms with these light beams
MYTHOLOGY:
He occupied a chair over which the "sword of" him was suspended by a single thread
BOOKS BY REPORTERS:
"Bush at War", "Plan of Attack" & "State of Denial" are books by this famed journalist
VOCAL MUSIC:
Cecilia Bartoli has unearthed & sung several forgotten arias by this "Four Seasons" composer
BODIES OF WATER:
It's the smallest & easternmost of the Great Lakes
MEASURE IT:
9 teaspoons equals this many tablespoons
WORLD LITERATURE:
Logically, it's the middle book of Dante's "Divine Comedy"
TRANSPORTATION:
In 1620 it sailed west from Southampton with Christopher Jones as captain
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS:
Atomic number 98, this radioactive element is the only one named after a U.S. state
POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS:
This Midwest state is the only one whose 2-letter postal abbreviation is a preposition
CROSSWORD CLUES 'P':
Attorney-client benefit (9 letters)
SHAKESPEARE:
It completes the line "Shall I compare thee to…"
THEATER:
In a 2008 revival of this show, the Sharks sing in Spanish
ICE CREAM:
This flavor was invented in 1929 & named in part to reflect the difficult economic times ahead
SCULPTURE:
Sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon are known as these, after a British Lord
LITERARY CHARACTERS:
In "Great Expectations", this aged lady still wears her wedding dress
HISTORIC BRITS:
The "Young Pretender" to the British throne in the 1740s was also known as Bonnie Prince this
PHOTOGRAPHY:
This Frenchman lent his name to an early form of photography
AFRICA:
In Latin, the name of this country means "place of freedom"
RECENT BESTSELLERS:
A no. 1 bestseller in 2008 was this female mystery author's "Scarpetta"
THE MOON:
Latin term for the Moon's "seas"; the largest is about 750 miles wide
AFRICAN AMERICANS:
Born a slave, she helped free others & was the first black woman on a U.S. postage stamp
THEATRICAL TERMS:
As an adjective, it means "timely"; in the theater, it's to supply an actor with a line
RHYME TIME:
Just one radio advertising song
U.S. CITIES:
The Oregon Trail & Pony Express route both passed by Casper in this state
LITERARY FIRSTS:
His "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is considered by many to be the world's first detective story
ASIA:
During the Sui Dynasty it was repaired 7 times to defend against the Tujue
CONGRESS:
The House of Representatives has this many members
FILL IN THE ___:
Half ___ Alaska
BIOLOGY:
The intestinal tract of these insects, aka white ants, can break down cellulose
ISLANDS:
Smaller than only Greenland, it's the world's second-largest island
WRITERS:
Karen Blixen wrote "Out of Africa" under this name
RETAIL:
Hit the bull's-eye & name this discount retail store first opened by the Dayton Co. in 1962
SINGERS:
This singer renamed herself "Sasha Fierce" for a 2008 double album
And you're done! How'd it go???
There's really no official score you NEED to get to be on Jeopardy. Of course, in reality the producers have one, but they won't tell people like us what it is. So who knows if you did well enough??? Although if you got like a 3 out of 50, odds are your phone won't be ringing anytime soon.
The Answers...
WORLD RELIGION: Vishnu
CABLE TV PERSONALITIES: (Gordon) Ramsay
DYNASTY: Romanov
WHAT A CHARACTER!: Uncle Tom's Cabin
NEW TESTAMENT GEOGRAPHY: Jordan
TOYS: Teddy bears
WORD ORIGINS: freelance/freelancer
TALE TELLERS: Scheherazade
PHYSICS: lever
ACTRESSES: (Cate) Blanchett
MOUNTAIN HIGH: Matterhorn
U.S. PRESIDENTS: (James) Madison
SYMPHONIES: Jupiter
SPEAKING IN TONGUES: Esperanto
SPORTS STARS: (LeBron) James
HOMOPHONES: humerus/humorous
SCIENTISTS: lasers
MYTHOLOGY: Damocles
BOOKS BY REPORTERS: (Bob) Woodward
VOCAL MUSIC: (Antonio) Vivaldi
BODIES OF WATER: Lake Ontario
MEASURE IT: 3
WORLD LITERATURE: Purgatorio/Purgatory
TRANSPORTATION: Mayflower
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS: californium
POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS: Indiana (IN)
CROSSWORD CLUES 'P': privilege
SHAKESPEARE: a summer's day
THEATER: West Side Story
ICE CREAM: rocky road
SCULPTURE: Elgin Marbles
LITERARY CHARACTERS: Miss Havisham
HISTORIC BRITS: Charlie
PHOTOGRAPHY: (Louis) Daguerre
AFRICA: Liberia
RECENT BESTSELLERS: (Patricia) Cornwell
THE MOON: mare/maria
AFRICAN AMERICANS: (Harriet) Tubman
THEATRICAL TERMS: prompt
RHYME TIME: single jingle
U.S. CITIES: Wyoming
LITERARY FIRSTS: (Edgar Allan) Poe
ASIA: Great Wall of China
CONGRESS: 435 (assuming they're not counting the 6 non-voting delegates)
FILL IN THE ___: baked
BIOLOGY: termites
ISLANDS: New Guinea
WRITERS: Isak Dinesen
RETAIL: Target
SINGERS: Beyoncé Knowles
Hope you did well! If not, I'd recommend studying either through an awesome site like Sporcle.com or with a book like this one:
It was the one I used to study before I went on the show.
So I poked around and got the questions from this year's test. I thought I would post them here, so anyone could get a sense of what the test is like. There are 50 questions, covering a huge variety of categories.
There were actually three different tests offered on different days, and I'll post the other two as well. (Obviously I took them myself...and I'm not sure if I should tell you how I did...)
Now for an accurate Jeopardy test experience, you need to limit yourself to 15 seconds for each question and type your answer or write it down or whatever. If you don't know it, just guess and move on. Oh and one tip, the category title can give you a hint, so it helps to pay attention.
Here are the questions...
Ready...
Set...
Go!
WORLD RELIGION:
Krishna & Rama are both considered avatars of this Hindu god
CABLE TV PERSONALITIES:
This Scottish-born chef is known for his TV rants at weaker restaurateurs
DYNASTY:
Nicholas II was the last ruling czar of this royal family
WHAT A CHARACTER!:
Topsy & Simon Legree are both characters in this bestselling novel
NEW TESTAMENT GEOGRAPHY:
John the Baptist's ministry took place in the region around this river
TOYS:
In 1903, with presidential permission, Morris Michtom began marketing these toys
WORD ORIGINS:
This term for a person who works for various employers comes from knights who sold their skills
TALE TELLERS:
She's the fabled tale teller in "The Thousand & One Nights"
PHYSICS:
Regarding this device, Archimedes said, "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth"
ACTRESSES:
In 2008 she played Daisy, the lifelong friend of Benjamin Button
MOUNTAIN HIGH:
This 14,700-foot peak in the Swiss Alps is famous for its shape & the danger of ascending it
U.S. PRESIDENTS:
He was president during the War of 1812
SYMPHONIES:
Mozart's last & perhaps most powerful symphony shares its name with this planet
SPEAKING IN TONGUES:
This language was invented in Warsaw in 1887 by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof
SPORTS STARS:
In the 2007-'08 season, this Cleveland Cavalier turned 23 & averaged 30 points a game
HOMOPHONES:
An arm bone, or an adjective meaning "funny"
SCIENTISTS:
Now named to the Cabinet, Steven Chu won a Nobel for capturing atoms with these light beams
MYTHOLOGY:
He occupied a chair over which the "sword of" him was suspended by a single thread
BOOKS BY REPORTERS:
"Bush at War", "Plan of Attack" & "State of Denial" are books by this famed journalist
VOCAL MUSIC:
Cecilia Bartoli has unearthed & sung several forgotten arias by this "Four Seasons" composer
BODIES OF WATER:
It's the smallest & easternmost of the Great Lakes
MEASURE IT:
9 teaspoons equals this many tablespoons
WORLD LITERATURE:
Logically, it's the middle book of Dante's "Divine Comedy"
TRANSPORTATION:
In 1620 it sailed west from Southampton with Christopher Jones as captain
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS:
Atomic number 98, this radioactive element is the only one named after a U.S. state
POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS:
This Midwest state is the only one whose 2-letter postal abbreviation is a preposition
CROSSWORD CLUES 'P':
Attorney-client benefit (9 letters)
SHAKESPEARE:
It completes the line "Shall I compare thee to…"
THEATER:
In a 2008 revival of this show, the Sharks sing in Spanish
ICE CREAM:
This flavor was invented in 1929 & named in part to reflect the difficult economic times ahead
SCULPTURE:
Sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon are known as these, after a British Lord
LITERARY CHARACTERS:
In "Great Expectations", this aged lady still wears her wedding dress
HISTORIC BRITS:
The "Young Pretender" to the British throne in the 1740s was also known as Bonnie Prince this
PHOTOGRAPHY:
This Frenchman lent his name to an early form of photography
AFRICA:
In Latin, the name of this country means "place of freedom"
RECENT BESTSELLERS:
A no. 1 bestseller in 2008 was this female mystery author's "Scarpetta"
THE MOON:
Latin term for the Moon's "seas"; the largest is about 750 miles wide
AFRICAN AMERICANS:
Born a slave, she helped free others & was the first black woman on a U.S. postage stamp
THEATRICAL TERMS:
As an adjective, it means "timely"; in the theater, it's to supply an actor with a line
RHYME TIME:
Just one radio advertising song
U.S. CITIES:
The Oregon Trail & Pony Express route both passed by Casper in this state
LITERARY FIRSTS:
His "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is considered by many to be the world's first detective story
ASIA:
During the Sui Dynasty it was repaired 7 times to defend against the Tujue
CONGRESS:
The House of Representatives has this many members
FILL IN THE ___:
Half ___ Alaska
BIOLOGY:
The intestinal tract of these insects, aka white ants, can break down cellulose
ISLANDS:
Smaller than only Greenland, it's the world's second-largest island
WRITERS:
Karen Blixen wrote "Out of Africa" under this name
RETAIL:
Hit the bull's-eye & name this discount retail store first opened by the Dayton Co. in 1962
SINGERS:
This singer renamed herself "Sasha Fierce" for a 2008 double album
And you're done! How'd it go???
There's really no official score you NEED to get to be on Jeopardy. Of course, in reality the producers have one, but they won't tell people like us what it is. So who knows if you did well enough??? Although if you got like a 3 out of 50, odds are your phone won't be ringing anytime soon.
The Answers...
WORLD RELIGION: Vishnu
CABLE TV PERSONALITIES: (Gordon) Ramsay
DYNASTY: Romanov
WHAT A CHARACTER!: Uncle Tom's Cabin
NEW TESTAMENT GEOGRAPHY: Jordan
TOYS: Teddy bears
WORD ORIGINS: freelance/freelancer
TALE TELLERS: Scheherazade
PHYSICS: lever
ACTRESSES: (Cate) Blanchett
MOUNTAIN HIGH: Matterhorn
U.S. PRESIDENTS: (James) Madison
SYMPHONIES: Jupiter
SPEAKING IN TONGUES: Esperanto
SPORTS STARS: (LeBron) James
HOMOPHONES: humerus/humorous
SCIENTISTS: lasers
MYTHOLOGY: Damocles
BOOKS BY REPORTERS: (Bob) Woodward
VOCAL MUSIC: (Antonio) Vivaldi
BODIES OF WATER: Lake Ontario
MEASURE IT: 3
WORLD LITERATURE: Purgatorio/Purgatory
TRANSPORTATION: Mayflower
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS: californium
POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS: Indiana (IN)
CROSSWORD CLUES 'P': privilege
SHAKESPEARE: a summer's day
THEATER: West Side Story
ICE CREAM: rocky road
SCULPTURE: Elgin Marbles
LITERARY CHARACTERS: Miss Havisham
HISTORIC BRITS: Charlie
PHOTOGRAPHY: (Louis) Daguerre
AFRICA: Liberia
RECENT BESTSELLERS: (Patricia) Cornwell
THE MOON: mare/maria
AFRICAN AMERICANS: (Harriet) Tubman
THEATRICAL TERMS: prompt
RHYME TIME: single jingle
U.S. CITIES: Wyoming
LITERARY FIRSTS: (Edgar Allan) Poe
ASIA: Great Wall of China
CONGRESS: 435 (assuming they're not counting the 6 non-voting delegates)
FILL IN THE ___: baked
BIOLOGY: termites
ISLANDS: New Guinea
WRITERS: Isak Dinesen
RETAIL: Target
SINGERS: Beyoncé Knowles
Hope you did well! If not, I'd recommend studying either through an awesome site like Sporcle.com or with a book like this one:
It was the one I used to study before I went on the show.
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