Wheel of Jeopardy!
by John Pearson
I have a confession to make. I am a Grade-A game show fanatic. My favorite has always been Jeopardy! which I record every day and watch while I eat dinner. Snicker all you want, but do YOU know the capital of New Zealand or who invented movable type? (answers at the bottom of the column)
In May, I saw a blurb in the newspaper inviting would-be contestants to audition for a brand new game show, being filmed right here in Dallas. It was called Whatta Ya Think? and it was billed as a competition that would stimulate the left AND right sides of the brain.
Being the game show junkie that I am (plus the prospect of unsolicited brain stimulation!), I threw on my "Houston, we have a WORD problem" T-shirt and headed downtown. Once at the studio, I participated in a mock game with two other gentlemen. The game consisted of word scrambles, math problems, lots of memory puzzles, and a logic teaser at the end. I performed very well, so I was called back to appear on the show in June.
I accepted, since it had been adequately proven to me that I would not have to eat goat horns, wear a skunk on my head, or travel to Gdansk on 23 dollars.
When the day of the taping arrived, I was set. I figured that as a teacher, I had a significant advantage over my opponents. The math problems I saw at the audition were of the type that we did in class every day. The scrambled words were pretty basic. I did well on the memory puzzles, since my memory is pretty good, and constantly being tested – "Johnny had pink eye last week, don't get too close to him today," "Laura owes 10 minutes of recess today for chucking a meatball at Bobby in the cafeteria yesterday." Also, my day is filled with practicing logic, from the sublime -- "If Kenny only has $12 how can he buy something that costs $20?" -- to the more concrete -- "No, let's NOT see if we can fit our head through the bars on that bicycle rack!"
The show's set was pretty nifty. It was designed to look like a classroom, with bookshelves on one wall, a chalkboard upfront, and a row of windows behind us. At the auditions, we had buzzed in using standard hotel desk bells, but for the real show, there were actual buzzers built into our desks. Yes, we had desks to sit at, instead of podiums to stand behind. The desks were those old-fashioned kind, with a flat surface at the top, and a slanted lid which opens for storage. On the top surface of each desk was a feathered quill in an inkwell.
When the game started, I got off to a slow start but managed to hold my own. Then we got to the two math rounds, and my opponents didn't know what hit them. I was like the Rainman, counting toothpicks. At one point, the guy on my right actually said, "I concede to John."
By the end of the show, I had a commanding lead, and I won the grand prize of -- gift certificates! The network has their own health store, so I can get clothing, vitamins, yoga classes, and spa treatments for a year! So far, I've enjoyed a couple of fantastic massages, as well as some tasty B6!
Whatta You Think? is scheduled to air in September of this year. I invite you all to watch my performance, but in order to do so, you have to get the Veria channel, which is only available on the Dish network. Maybe someday, Game Show Network will pick up the reruns, but for now, Dish is the only source.
Now I just need to find some way to get Alex Trebek to return my phone calls.
(answers to earlier questions: New Zealand City; Steve Gutenberg)
John Pearson is a third-grade math and science teacher in Dallas, Texas. He has degrees in mechanical engineering from Duke University and Texas A&M, so most consider his math abilities adequate enough to teach nine-year olds. He is also the author of Learn Me Good (Lulu, 2006), a funny, fictionalized account of his first year in education. Read more at www.learnmegood.com
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Other readers' comments on this article:
Posted by Sarah on Jul 25, 2008 1:16 pm
Posted by Michael on Jul 28, 2008 2:33 am
Posted by Michael on Jul 28, 2008 2:37 am
Johann Gutenberg is the moveable type guy and Wellington is the capital of New Zealand...
Posted by John Pearson on Jul 29, 2008 1:16 am