) I guess the next on will be Poland then...
All US 15th questions, Walked only; spoilers if unseen!
Sept 2, 2013 1:23:49 GMT -5
FinalAnswer19, GSK, and 2 more like this
Post by Prizes on Sept 2, 2013 1:23:49 GMT -5
Sure, we had ninjaturtledude's examples of the winning questions, but those are mostly common knowledge to any serious BAM fan. What I'm complying here is an all time list of all of the US million dollar questions, walked. Why not winners? We already have that. After all, redundancy is, well, redundant. They're also in my signature, in the format of an awkwardly written story that I can only hope you remember. Why not Basin or Josina Reaves, in either? We all know his too well about that dang Fresca and those darn jellies. You'd have to be a real Yoo-hoo or grave digger to not know these questions by now.
This will not include Super Millionaire, for the sole reason that these are top value questions only; for Super Millionaire question to have been included, we would have had to have seen a $10,000,000 question (I can only imagine the horrors of that difficulty level!). However, for the same rationale, Tournament of 10 questions are included; answered correctly, these would have potentially given the top advertised prize to the answerer. All correct answers will be bolded.
To begin with; Tim Shields; in 2002, had a faulty question concerning Alexander Graham Bell, won $1,000; came back for a return showed, reportedly unaired, and won $500,000. Of the non-millionaires of the US version, he has the most earnings, at $532,000; the other $32,000 from the tournament of champions. This question is unconfirmed, as it is unaired to my knowledge, as well as not available on Youtube; aside from highlights shown ($125/250/500K questions) on his tournament appearance. However, this is believed to be so, according to an audience's member's report, who was at Shields' return game.
What is the last word in the Old Testament?
A) Forever B) True
C) Prayer D) Curse
Malachi 4.6: He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.
----
Michael Shutterly; 13th ever contestant on the show (not so unlucky, was he now?), and first ever to see a million dollar question stateside (or possibly anywhere; at that point, I think the UK only had a pair of ₤250,000 winners to that point). Notable for completely guessing on the $250,000 after a silent mother as a phone a friend, and a toss-up guess (between Giovanni Braschi, and the correct answer, later in his run's bio) of the actual name of a pope who lasted for one month in 1978, for the half-million (Albino Luciana; of Pope John Paul I):
On February 22, 1989, what group won the first Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal performance?
A) Metallica B) ACϟDC
C) Living Colour D) Jethro Tull
Metallica's ...and Justice for All was beaten that year. The better story is that none of the band members showed up, because they were told they had no chance, by their manager.
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Mary Burke: I have not seen her run. I hate to spoil myself, but it is worth it in the name of research. I do know, however, that had she gone for the question, she would have been the first female (and only, as her appearance was prior to Nancy Christy) millionaire. Still holds true, even with Pat Thompson, as she walked, as well.
Famous pediatrician and author Dr. Benjamin Spock won an Olympic gold medal in what sport?
A) Swimming B) Rowing
C) Fencing D) Sailing
This was in 1924 in the Parisian Olympics, in Men's eights.
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Moe Cain: Same as Mary Burke. I know nothing; more fun to watch at a later time, for me, yeah? His question reminds me of someone else's, too, interestingly enough.
How many days make up a non-leap year in the Islamic calendar?
A) 365 B) 400
C) 354 D) 376
This year, 1435 AH, is current in the 29th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar (12/2/13 to those reading at another day).
----
Justin Ray Castillo: I saw this run a few days ago, out of interest, and it was fascinating. His lifelines burned quickly, a la Trelal including an ask the audience on $200. Regis seemingly got bored with him around $4,000, assuming he wouldn't win much. To be honest, when I started watching this, I had to wonder if even I was seeing the right guy. That naturally faded into excitement, interest, and a surprisingly tasteless question by Reeg; in the 3rd tier, Castillo was asked how many years of dish washing; his job, it would take him to make what question value he had just answered correctly.
What plant is named after the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, who brought it to the U.S.?
A) Fuschia B) Juniper
C) Camellia D) Poinsettia
John Roberts Poinsett also served as the 15th US Secretary of War, under Martin van Buren.
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Rob Coughlin: 5th ever player to see a Million dollar question; and 2nd of the year 2000. To my knowledge, first person to use 50:50 on the 15th question, as well. 50:50 eliminated answers will be italicized.
In what country are all U.S. Major League baseballs currently manufactured?
A) Costa Rica B) Haiti
C) Dominican Republic D) Cuba
This still is the case, and has been since 1986.
----
David Fite; I saw this on OAD, original airdate back in 2001, I believe. 12 years have passed since then, and my research is only for the million dollar questions, ergo, I'm not watching it again, for the purposes of this research. Fite would have guessed C, if he was forced into a guess.
In what language was Anne Frank's original diary first published?
A) Dutch B) English
C) French D) German
In the Netherlands, on June 25th, 1947.
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Phil Gibbons: I do not claim to have much knowledge of his stack, other than many claim Gibbons' 'great comeback' and 'difficult stack.'
In the U.S., the Sony Walkman personal cassette player was originally marketed in 1979 under what name?
A) Soundabout B) Listener
C) Eardrummer D) Stowaway
His for fun guess of D was not totally incorrect, however, it was only used marketed under such a name for the UK only.
----
Stephanie Giardi: First woman to have a million dollar question that, had she gone for, would have missed, and subsequently dropped to $32,000. Her guess was D. (As a theater/Shakespeare geek, this was easy for me, though I could see how it'd be hard for anyone else.)
What Shakespeare character says, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"?
A) Hamlet B) Marcellus
C) Horatio D) Laertes
Laertes is the one who winds up killing Claudius and Hamlet; Marcellus is merely an officer, making this rather obscure, unless you eliminate the other answers one by one, which is what I did.
----
Tom Hoobler: I don't know much, but based on his fascinating late 80s sweater designs, he sounds like an interesting character. Would have been wrong with his D fake guess.
Who is the only Nobel laureate to win an Academy Award?
A) John Steinbeck B) Jean-Paul Satre
C) George Bernard Shaw D) Toni Morrison
For the 1938 production of Pygmalion.
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Joe Kelleher: Not offered a free guess at the question, or if he was, it was edited out, which I highly doubt, at that level. Kelleher was not shown the answer, but Regis revealed it after an ad break. Get a load of this D answer, though! I think that's the first/only time that not only an answer was repeated for the million dollar question, but the same slot/letter choice, to boot.
What best-selling author was born Howard Allen O'Brien?
A) Danielle Steel B) Anne Rice
C) J.K. Rowling D) Toni Morrison
A seven foot tall statue of Pumpkinhead is in her office.
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Jim Matthews: Actually uploaded himself, and said the money was used to start/make Fetch Softworks. He also interestingly notes that, at least in 2000, game shows filmed in NY, both city and state, did not take money from contestant earnings. Curious if this is still true (maybe Jerry knows?)! That didn't stop national taxation though, of course. Like Kelleher, not offered a guess, though shown the answer in the hot seat.
Which of these network news anchors began his career at age 9, hosting a children's radio show?
A) Peter Jennings B) Tom Brokaw
C) Dan Rather D) Ted Koppel
This was called Peter's People which ran for 30 minutes, every Saturday, on CBC.
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Mike Menz: Also offered no shot at the question, despite walking; similar to Matthew's in that he was still shown the answer while onstage.
Which of the following pieces of currency was the first to use the motto "In God We Trust"?
A) Nickel B) One dollar bill
C) Two cent piece D) Five dollar bill
The alternative idea for the motto? God and our Country. James Pollock, the then-mint director, had the last say.
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Tom O'Brien: I remember his show on original airdate 13 years back, of June, 2000 (up on a little 6 inch black and white screen!), I believe either the 5th, 6th, or 7th. Interestingly enough, I think Bob House was the last player that night, when the horn sounded. Had he gone for it, he would've won the million. In my personal belief, he had the strongest feeling about this kind of question, despite not going for it.
Before the American colonies switched to the Gregorian calendar, on what date did their new year start?
A) March 25 B) July 1
C) September 25 D) December 1
Greece, in 1923, was the last to pick up use of such a calendar, although the modern usage of the Gregorian.
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Steve Perry: 2nd ever player, after Carpenter, to enter the million dollar question with all 3 lifelines; first to use them on such a level and not be able to win the big money. Likely also the youngest to reach this plateau; he was 23 at the time of taping. Audience went, from A to D, 33%, 14%, 34%, and 19%. As always, 50:50 is italicized; and it was used after the audience, but before the phone a friend. Phone a friend was told to "type it in", and unlike David Goodman's friend, did not come through. The friend told Steve that, with 2 seconds left, he was still "checking." Perry followed this mess with massive head leanback, and a hard breath of hot, slightly tempered air, bending his body back about 90 degrees, in the process.
In the TV series "The Brady Bunch," what is Carol Brady's maiden name?
A) Martin B) Tyler
C) Nelson D) Franklin
Full name: Carol Ann Tyler Martin Brady.
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Pat Thompson: First woman to reach the million dollar question. Not quite Sam's question, of the Tournament of 10, but quite an interesting similarity, in terms of topic. Guess would have been right; would have been first female millionaire, and only Regis female millionaire.
According the the United Nations, in what year was the world's population half of its present total?
A) 1950 B) 1960
C) 1970 D) 1940
Infoplease puts this number at 3,039,451,023 with 2000 at 6,082,966,429.
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Now that is all of Philbin's traditional, primetime, no clock, run: There's still Mega Millionaire, Couples Millionaire, Meredith Viera's syndicated run, celebrities, Basin, and of course, nine of the ten Tournament of 10 questions. All of these pertain to a top prize question, so they'll be covered by yours truly!
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Mega Millionaire:
David Stewart ($2,140,000): Had 2 lifelines; audience, who went A 26%, B 15%, C 32%, and D 27%, as well as phone a friend. Stewart had both an artist and a psychologist on his list; he called the latter, to no help, and the friend had no idea. Easy walk, even Regis knew it, saying it before David could get the words out.
People who have a marked physical reaction to beautiful art are said to suffer from what syndrome?
A) Proust Syndrome B) Jerusalem Syndrome
C) Stendhal's Syndrome D) Beckett's Syndrome
For those curious, Proust syndrome is a smell bringing back memories, Jerusalem is someone becoming mentally ill after going to the city of the same name, or being mentally ill to add on to the mix of mess in the head, depending on 'Type'; the former is Type III, the latter Type I. Last but not least, Beckett's Syndrome, also known as Behçet's syndrome, deals with inflamation of blood vessels.
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Gary Gambino: First player around the world, regardless of show, to answer a fact-based question (this makes the Pepsi challenge of the 90s notwithstanding) for $2,000,000 USD. Taped 3/01/01, played exactly for the 2 million. Had phone a friend remaining; his boss, Mark, who believed it was A.
Who is the only winner of the Nobel Peace Prize to decline the prize?
A) Albert Schweirzer B) Le Duc Tho
C) Andrei Sakharov D) Aung San Suu Kyi
Tho declined his end (Kissinger did not) in 1973 because he felt the US and the Vietnamese governments were in violation of the Paris Peace Accords.
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Couples Millionaire, only one; Mary Beth McNally and Rob McNally: Lone pairing on any sort of Millionaire to date to reach the last question; had 50:50 and phone a friend. Italics are eliminated with 50:50, the first lifeline used. When the PAF was called, he was sure it was D; when asked how sure, he said "60%," leading Rob to quip back, "Why can't it be 90%?" This is impressively humorous, given the circumstances; I genuinely laughed out loud at that.
What club did astronaut Alan Shepard use to make his famous golf shot on the moon?
A) Nine iron B) Sand wedge
C) Six iron D) Seven iron
Said club can now be found in the museum of the United States Golf Association.
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Mer's syndicated run
Armand Kachigian: 3rd player in syndie history to play for the 7 figures; fortunate to be there, guessing the correct answer of what game jokers (in card games) were originally made and used for; Euchre. Armand took less than a minute upon looking at the question to decide to walk away; random guess was D, on his end.
The song "God Bless America" was originally written for 1918 musical?
A) Oh, Lady! Lady! B) Yip, Yip, Yaphank
C) Blossom Time D) Watch Your Step
This is is a nasty question. From the looks of it, you'd think it was kept in the musical, right? Wrong. Irving Berlin, the production's producer and composer, cut it because it was, in his words, too "sticky."
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Jeff Gross: Hehe, he reminds me a bit of what one of the people on my site I think might look like in 20 years. Not a bad thing, just a conscience. Some good banter about how this is the million question, but it's likely a $100 one in whatever the right answer is. I thought the same as his post-game guess, for the same reason, too, such that Egypt used to worship cats, especially as seen in Bastet, the cat-headed goddess of warfare.
Now used to refer to a cat, the word "tabby" is derived from the name of a district of what world capital?
A) Baghdad B) New Delhi
C) Cairo D) Moscow
To be more specific, the district is called Attabiy. Attabiy was named for (how about this; an etymology of an etymology!) a prince named Attab, who ruled during the Omayyad Dynasty.
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Ogi Ogas: By far one of my favorite contestants ever, and that was before I corresponded with him for a few months on some game show info a few years back. His energy, his kindness, and smarts, well, it makes you wonder how he could go: "DANG IT! DANG! Errar, DANG IT!" And frankly, I don't blame him, most of us would likely do something similar, or at least I would; I see myself quite a bit in that reaction. It sure is memorable and awesome, though! I really am surprised he didn't go for this and win. Not that it matters terribly much, but I think he grew up around the Boston area.
Which of these ships was not one of the three taken over by colonists during the Boston Tea Party?
A) Eleanor B) Dartmouth
C) Beaver D) William
The reason it wasn't taken over? It never got to Boston; only getting stuck in Cape Cod. Otherwise, there would be no right answer to this question.
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Lyn Payne: Huge philosophy buff, which I thought made her quite intriguing, as was her personality, it almost reminded me of a mystery writer with her smile. First and only $500,000 female winner in Meredith's hosting tenure. Former 4-day Jeopardy champ, for a good game show pedigree. Had audience; who voted 8%, 29%, 15%, 48%. Payne's hunch, even prior to the audience, was also D, as she mentioned, after the polling results appeared on her screen.
Khrushchev's famous 1960 "shoe-banging" outburst at the U.N. was in response to a delegate from what nation?
A) Australia B) The Netherlands
C) The Philippines D) Turkey
This representative was Lorenzo Sumulong, who lived to be 92.
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Celebrities; all Regis Philbin hosted, with the original money tree in tact, with the exception of last one listed, who played not only under the shuffle format of the game, but also had Cedric as his host. This leads to an odd distinction of sorts: No celebrity has ever made the million dollar question in the history of the US WWTBAM, given the condition that a female is hosting the show.
Drew Carey: Notably made the most for his charity, making this appearance, and another worth $32,000, playing for the Ohio Library Foundation; of Carey's home state, on this go. Drew's guess was D.
Who was the first NFL player to answer "I'm going to Disneyland" in the popular series of TV ads?
A) Doug Williams B) Marcus Allen
C) Phil Simms D) Joe Montana
This was in 1987, after Super Bowl XXI, a 39-20 win by the New York Football Giants over the Denver Broncos; Simms was paid $75,000 to do so. Oddly enough, ever since this Super Bowl, through present day (2014), the pay for athletes acting in this ad has been cut to $50,000.
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Rosie O'Donnell:
Like Carey above her, she also guessed D. Played for The Charley Project, a charity that helps abused children in South Florida.
Playwright Anton Chekhov graduated from the University of Moscow with a degree in what?
A) Law B) Medicine
C) Philosophy D) Economics
To aid his family, and his medical fees, one of Chekhov's pennames for his early work was called "Man Without a Spleen."
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Norm MacDonald: Controversial. Some fans believe Regis talked him out of the right answer. Norm seemed fairly sure, wanted to go for it, and Philbin really pulled his best Thoreau, and swung him over to the walk side. Naturally, MacDonald did have the right answer. I still am curious about why Regis tried to back him out of this. Played for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a New England based camp for those 7-15 with cancer and serious blood diseases, according to the camp's official page.
During the Cold War, the U.S. government built a bunker to house Congress under what golf resort?
A) The Breakers B) The Greenbrier
C) Pinehurst D) The Broadmoor
Greenbrier's code name was Project Greek Island.
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Charles Esten: First celebrity in non-Regis era, under Shuffle, etc. to reach the MDQ. Also first to walk on an MDQ since before the clock era(!), thus winning $500,000. Answered correctly that the Beetle in the Abbey Road cover had a plate that read "LMW 281F". Amazingly, the car sold for only 2530 BP in 1986, or just under $9,250 today, with inflation. There was only a 10 minute cap to grab the iconic shot, as well.
In 1737, "The Drinker's Dictionary" included all but which of these synonyms for "drunkenness"?
A) Niptopsical B) Buzzey
C) Pifflicated D) Staggerish
Esten would have blown this with a guess of B, Buzzey. That breaks the long, long streak of "would have been right if answered" on the MDQ (see To10 below). To those questioning integrity of this, I get this upon first glance, but it actually was published by one guy who started up the Farmer's Almanack, the oldest continual publication, outside of the Bible. That's right, Benjamin Franklin wrote this! 1/13/1737, to be precise.
As for Niptopsical, Buzzey, and Staggerish, they appear in the dictionary as follows, with some clever wit surrounding their "definitions":
A: Nimptopsical/Got the Night Mare
B: Buzzey/Has Stole a Manchet out of the Brewer’s Basket/His Head is full of Bees
D: Staggerish/It is Star-light with him/He carries too much Sail
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Tournament of 10: Sorry, you don't get the 500K right, you get no bio, especially considering that's relevant to basically all of the non-celeb players I wrote about, above. I will, however, list the player's name, question, bolded correct answer, for fun guess, and the bonus factoid below said question. This order will go from 10-1, excepting the tournament winner, Sam Murray. As a quick aside, had Alan Carver (Mr. "I'm going to win a million dollars!") walked on his $100,000 question, he would have not only made the tournament, but he would have been the 6th seeded player, to boot.
10th seeded Alex Ortiz:
What First Lady was a ninth-generation of descendant of Pocahontas?
A) Helen Taft B) Edith Wilson
C) Bess Truman D) Mamie Eisenhower
Wilson controlled the vast majority of the country, after Woodrow's stroke in fall 1919, until early 1921. Some measures were still given to Wilson, if deemed important enough, however.
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9th seeded Tony Westmoreland:
What great thinker's death is attributed to a chill he caught while stuffing a chicken with snow for an experiment on refrigeration?
A) Pythagoras B) Archimedes
C) Issac Newton D) Francis Bacon
Upon Bacon's death, in modern monies, Bacon had land worth and sold at nearly 1.25M USD, while simultaneously having debts outstanding of just over 4,500,000 USD. Both figures are adjusted for inflation.
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7th seeded Robin Schwartz:
Who delivered the less famous two-hour speech that preceded Abraham Lincoln's two-minute Gettysburg Address?
A) Wendell Phillips B) Daniel Webster
C) Robert G. Ingersoll D) Edward Everett
In said address, Everett compared the US Civil War to that of the Greek-Persian Battle of Marathon. This battle was also the possibly first written case of PTSD, in a Greek named Epizelus.
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6th seeded Ralph Cambeis: Notably would have been correct, had he gone for the question.
Though today it's treated like a treasure, what famous painting was once cut into enlarge a doorway?
A) Detroit Industry B) The Last Supper
C) Guernica D) The Birth of Venus
Despite the name of the painting, the term "Last Supper" appears exactly 0 times in the New Testament.
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5th seeded Tim Janus: Also would have been correct, if he locked in his guess.
Who once wrote, "'Bartlett's Familiar Quotations' is an admirable work," a quotation now listed in "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations"?
A) Truman Capote B) John Lennon
C) Winston Churchill D) Mark Twain
One such quotation in an early edition of the reference guide was, "fifty-four forty or fight," which referred to the Oregon boundary dispute. This same border dispute lead to the classic high school US History phrase of manifest destiny.
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4th seeded Matt Schultz: ALSO would have been right, had he gone for his question.
The most-watched TV episode of all time, the final episode of "M*A*S*H" aired at 8:30 PM, on February 28, 1983, following what sitcom?
A) Private Benjamin B) Square Pegs
C) Alice D) Newhart
Alice's primary setting was in a diner named Mel's in Phoenix; later seasons actual used a real diner, under this name, in Phoenix, for its shots outside the diner.
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3rd seeded Jeff Birt: Though more of a guess, he had gone, yep, you guessed it, also would have had his question right. Wow!
"Nephelococcygia" is the practice of doing what?
A) Finding shapes in clouds B) Sleeping with your eyes open
C) Breaking glass with your voice D) Swimming in freezing water
Its usage came about from Arisstophanes' play, The Birds.
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2nd seeded Keilani Goggins: Streak STILL continues of woulda, coulda, shoulda. Next!
In a failed assassination attempt, what U.S. president was shot at twice at point-blank range, but survived because both guns misfired?
A) John Adams B) Andrew Jackson
C) James Polk D) Martin Van Buren
Jackson is also the inspiration for why the US Democratic Party's symbol is a donkey: His temper and character was liked to that of an ass (of a donkey), and Jackson actually found the remark flattering. And so it stuck.
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1st seeded Jehan Shamsid-Deen: I'm speechless at this streak. What more is there to say?
A rare example of a word that rhymes with "orange," the Blorenge is a what?
A) River in Ireland B) Forest in Scotland
C) Mountain in Wales D) Desert in Australia
The Oxford English Dictionary finds one non-proper word that rhymes with orange: Sporange, an alternative spelling of sporangium, which is used to describe "the receptacle in which asexual spores are formed, in ferns and lower plants."
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That's all, folks, 4000 some odd words later!
I take NO credit for the fun facts following the questions, I just thought they might interest some of you, as I researched for notable things, like they did me, as to why something is, or a cool follow up about the event, subject of the question, etc. All rights reserved, those facts are yours, not mine; but thanks for the knowledge, internet!
Hope you like this, though, I spent a good 10+ hours on this, from bios, to fun facts, etc.
This will not include Super Millionaire, for the sole reason that these are top value questions only; for Super Millionaire question to have been included, we would have had to have seen a $10,000,000 question (I can only imagine the horrors of that difficulty level!). However, for the same rationale, Tournament of 10 questions are included; answered correctly, these would have potentially given the top advertised prize to the answerer. All correct answers will be bolded.
To begin with; Tim Shields; in 2002, had a faulty question concerning Alexander Graham Bell, won $1,000; came back for a return showed, reportedly unaired, and won $500,000. Of the non-millionaires of the US version, he has the most earnings, at $532,000; the other $32,000 from the tournament of champions. This question is unconfirmed, as it is unaired to my knowledge, as well as not available on Youtube; aside from highlights shown ($125/250/500K questions) on his tournament appearance. However, this is believed to be so, according to an audience's member's report, who was at Shields' return game.
What is the last word in the Old Testament?
A) Forever B) True
C) Prayer D) Curse
Malachi 4.6: He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.
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Michael Shutterly; 13th ever contestant on the show (not so unlucky, was he now?), and first ever to see a million dollar question stateside (or possibly anywhere; at that point, I think the UK only had a pair of ₤250,000 winners to that point). Notable for completely guessing on the $250,000 after a silent mother as a phone a friend, and a toss-up guess (between Giovanni Braschi, and the correct answer, later in his run's bio) of the actual name of a pope who lasted for one month in 1978, for the half-million (Albino Luciana; of Pope John Paul I):
On February 22, 1989, what group won the first Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal performance?
A) Metallica B) ACϟDC
C) Living Colour D) Jethro Tull
Metallica's ...and Justice for All was beaten that year. The better story is that none of the band members showed up, because they were told they had no chance, by their manager.
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Mary Burke: I have not seen her run. I hate to spoil myself, but it is worth it in the name of research. I do know, however, that had she gone for the question, she would have been the first female (and only, as her appearance was prior to Nancy Christy) millionaire. Still holds true, even with Pat Thompson, as she walked, as well.
Famous pediatrician and author Dr. Benjamin Spock won an Olympic gold medal in what sport?
A) Swimming B) Rowing
C) Fencing D) Sailing
This was in 1924 in the Parisian Olympics, in Men's eights.
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Moe Cain: Same as Mary Burke. I know nothing; more fun to watch at a later time, for me, yeah? His question reminds me of someone else's, too, interestingly enough.
How many days make up a non-leap year in the Islamic calendar?
A) 365 B) 400
C) 354 D) 376
This year, 1435 AH, is current in the 29th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar (12/2/13 to those reading at another day).
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Justin Ray Castillo: I saw this run a few days ago, out of interest, and it was fascinating. His lifelines burned quickly, a la Trelal including an ask the audience on $200. Regis seemingly got bored with him around $4,000, assuming he wouldn't win much. To be honest, when I started watching this, I had to wonder if even I was seeing the right guy. That naturally faded into excitement, interest, and a surprisingly tasteless question by Reeg; in the 3rd tier, Castillo was asked how many years of dish washing; his job, it would take him to make what question value he had just answered correctly.
What plant is named after the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, who brought it to the U.S.?
A) Fuschia B) Juniper
C) Camellia D) Poinsettia
John Roberts Poinsett also served as the 15th US Secretary of War, under Martin van Buren.
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Rob Coughlin: 5th ever player to see a Million dollar question; and 2nd of the year 2000. To my knowledge, first person to use 50:50 on the 15th question, as well. 50:50 eliminated answers will be italicized.
In what country are all U.S. Major League baseballs currently manufactured?
A) Costa Rica B) Haiti
C) Dominican Republic D) Cuba
This still is the case, and has been since 1986.
----
David Fite; I saw this on OAD, original airdate back in 2001, I believe. 12 years have passed since then, and my research is only for the million dollar questions, ergo, I'm not watching it again, for the purposes of this research. Fite would have guessed C, if he was forced into a guess.
In what language was Anne Frank's original diary first published?
A) Dutch B) English
C) French D) German
In the Netherlands, on June 25th, 1947.
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Phil Gibbons: I do not claim to have much knowledge of his stack, other than many claim Gibbons' 'great comeback' and 'difficult stack.'
In the U.S., the Sony Walkman personal cassette player was originally marketed in 1979 under what name?
A) Soundabout B) Listener
C) Eardrummer D) Stowaway
His for fun guess of D was not totally incorrect, however, it was only used marketed under such a name for the UK only.
----
Stephanie Giardi: First woman to have a million dollar question that, had she gone for, would have missed, and subsequently dropped to $32,000. Her guess was D. (As a theater/Shakespeare geek, this was easy for me, though I could see how it'd be hard for anyone else.)
What Shakespeare character says, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"?
A) Hamlet B) Marcellus
C) Horatio D) Laertes
Laertes is the one who winds up killing Claudius and Hamlet; Marcellus is merely an officer, making this rather obscure, unless you eliminate the other answers one by one, which is what I did.
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Tom Hoobler: I don't know much, but based on his fascinating late 80s sweater designs, he sounds like an interesting character. Would have been wrong with his D fake guess.
Who is the only Nobel laureate to win an Academy Award?
A) John Steinbeck B) Jean-Paul Satre
C) George Bernard Shaw D) Toni Morrison
For the 1938 production of Pygmalion.
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Joe Kelleher: Not offered a free guess at the question, or if he was, it was edited out, which I highly doubt, at that level. Kelleher was not shown the answer, but Regis revealed it after an ad break. Get a load of this D answer, though! I think that's the first/only time that not only an answer was repeated for the million dollar question, but the same slot/letter choice, to boot.
What best-selling author was born Howard Allen O'Brien?
A) Danielle Steel B) Anne Rice
C) J.K. Rowling D) Toni Morrison
A seven foot tall statue of Pumpkinhead is in her office.
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Jim Matthews: Actually uploaded himself, and said the money was used to start/make Fetch Softworks. He also interestingly notes that, at least in 2000, game shows filmed in NY, both city and state, did not take money from contestant earnings. Curious if this is still true (maybe Jerry knows?)! That didn't stop national taxation though, of course. Like Kelleher, not offered a guess, though shown the answer in the hot seat.
Which of these network news anchors began his career at age 9, hosting a children's radio show?
A) Peter Jennings B) Tom Brokaw
C) Dan Rather D) Ted Koppel
This was called Peter's People which ran for 30 minutes, every Saturday, on CBC.
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Mike Menz: Also offered no shot at the question, despite walking; similar to Matthew's in that he was still shown the answer while onstage.
Which of the following pieces of currency was the first to use the motto "In God We Trust"?
A) Nickel B) One dollar bill
C) Two cent piece D) Five dollar bill
The alternative idea for the motto? God and our Country. James Pollock, the then-mint director, had the last say.
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Tom O'Brien: I remember his show on original airdate 13 years back, of June, 2000 (up on a little 6 inch black and white screen!), I believe either the 5th, 6th, or 7th. Interestingly enough, I think Bob House was the last player that night, when the horn sounded. Had he gone for it, he would've won the million. In my personal belief, he had the strongest feeling about this kind of question, despite not going for it.
Before the American colonies switched to the Gregorian calendar, on what date did their new year start?
A) March 25 B) July 1
C) September 25 D) December 1
Greece, in 1923, was the last to pick up use of such a calendar, although the modern usage of the Gregorian.
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Steve Perry: 2nd ever player, after Carpenter, to enter the million dollar question with all 3 lifelines; first to use them on such a level and not be able to win the big money. Likely also the youngest to reach this plateau; he was 23 at the time of taping. Audience went, from A to D, 33%, 14%, 34%, and 19%. As always, 50:50 is italicized; and it was used after the audience, but before the phone a friend. Phone a friend was told to "type it in", and unlike David Goodman's friend, did not come through. The friend told Steve that, with 2 seconds left, he was still "checking." Perry followed this mess with massive head leanback, and a hard breath of hot, slightly tempered air, bending his body back about 90 degrees, in the process.
In the TV series "The Brady Bunch," what is Carol Brady's maiden name?
A) Martin B) Tyler
C) Nelson D) Franklin
Full name: Carol Ann Tyler Martin Brady.
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Pat Thompson: First woman to reach the million dollar question. Not quite Sam's question, of the Tournament of 10, but quite an interesting similarity, in terms of topic. Guess would have been right; would have been first female millionaire, and only Regis female millionaire.
According the the United Nations, in what year was the world's population half of its present total?
A) 1950 B) 1960
C) 1970 D) 1940
Infoplease puts this number at 3,039,451,023 with 2000 at 6,082,966,429.
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Now that is all of Philbin's traditional, primetime, no clock, run: There's still Mega Millionaire, Couples Millionaire, Meredith Viera's syndicated run, celebrities, Basin, and of course, nine of the ten Tournament of 10 questions. All of these pertain to a top prize question, so they'll be covered by yours truly!
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Mega Millionaire:
David Stewart ($2,140,000): Had 2 lifelines; audience, who went A 26%, B 15%, C 32%, and D 27%, as well as phone a friend. Stewart had both an artist and a psychologist on his list; he called the latter, to no help, and the friend had no idea. Easy walk, even Regis knew it, saying it before David could get the words out.
People who have a marked physical reaction to beautiful art are said to suffer from what syndrome?
A) Proust Syndrome B) Jerusalem Syndrome
C) Stendhal's Syndrome D) Beckett's Syndrome
For those curious, Proust syndrome is a smell bringing back memories, Jerusalem is someone becoming mentally ill after going to the city of the same name, or being mentally ill to add on to the mix of mess in the head, depending on 'Type'; the former is Type III, the latter Type I. Last but not least, Beckett's Syndrome, also known as Behçet's syndrome, deals with inflamation of blood vessels.
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Gary Gambino: First player around the world, regardless of show, to answer a fact-based question (this makes the Pepsi challenge of the 90s notwithstanding) for $2,000,000 USD. Taped 3/01/01, played exactly for the 2 million. Had phone a friend remaining; his boss, Mark, who believed it was A.
Who is the only winner of the Nobel Peace Prize to decline the prize?
A) Albert Schweirzer B) Le Duc Tho
C) Andrei Sakharov D) Aung San Suu Kyi
Tho declined his end (Kissinger did not) in 1973 because he felt the US and the Vietnamese governments were in violation of the Paris Peace Accords.
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Couples Millionaire, only one; Mary Beth McNally and Rob McNally: Lone pairing on any sort of Millionaire to date to reach the last question; had 50:50 and phone a friend. Italics are eliminated with 50:50, the first lifeline used. When the PAF was called, he was sure it was D; when asked how sure, he said "60%," leading Rob to quip back, "Why can't it be 90%?" This is impressively humorous, given the circumstances; I genuinely laughed out loud at that.
What club did astronaut Alan Shepard use to make his famous golf shot on the moon?
A) Nine iron B) Sand wedge
C) Six iron D) Seven iron
Said club can now be found in the museum of the United States Golf Association.
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Mer's syndicated run
Armand Kachigian: 3rd player in syndie history to play for the 7 figures; fortunate to be there, guessing the correct answer of what game jokers (in card games) were originally made and used for; Euchre. Armand took less than a minute upon looking at the question to decide to walk away; random guess was D, on his end.
The song "God Bless America" was originally written for 1918 musical?
A) Oh, Lady! Lady! B) Yip, Yip, Yaphank
C) Blossom Time D) Watch Your Step
This is is a nasty question. From the looks of it, you'd think it was kept in the musical, right? Wrong. Irving Berlin, the production's producer and composer, cut it because it was, in his words, too "sticky."
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Jeff Gross: Hehe, he reminds me a bit of what one of the people on my site I think might look like in 20 years. Not a bad thing, just a conscience. Some good banter about how this is the million question, but it's likely a $100 one in whatever the right answer is. I thought the same as his post-game guess, for the same reason, too, such that Egypt used to worship cats, especially as seen in Bastet, the cat-headed goddess of warfare.
Now used to refer to a cat, the word "tabby" is derived from the name of a district of what world capital?
A) Baghdad B) New Delhi
C) Cairo D) Moscow
To be more specific, the district is called Attabiy. Attabiy was named for (how about this; an etymology of an etymology!) a prince named Attab, who ruled during the Omayyad Dynasty.
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Ogi Ogas: By far one of my favorite contestants ever, and that was before I corresponded with him for a few months on some game show info a few years back. His energy, his kindness, and smarts, well, it makes you wonder how he could go: "DANG IT! DANG! Errar, DANG IT!" And frankly, I don't blame him, most of us would likely do something similar, or at least I would; I see myself quite a bit in that reaction. It sure is memorable and awesome, though! I really am surprised he didn't go for this and win. Not that it matters terribly much, but I think he grew up around the Boston area.
Which of these ships was not one of the three taken over by colonists during the Boston Tea Party?
A) Eleanor B) Dartmouth
C) Beaver D) William
The reason it wasn't taken over? It never got to Boston; only getting stuck in Cape Cod. Otherwise, there would be no right answer to this question.
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Lyn Payne: Huge philosophy buff, which I thought made her quite intriguing, as was her personality, it almost reminded me of a mystery writer with her smile. First and only $500,000 female winner in Meredith's hosting tenure. Former 4-day Jeopardy champ, for a good game show pedigree. Had audience; who voted 8%, 29%, 15%, 48%. Payne's hunch, even prior to the audience, was also D, as she mentioned, after the polling results appeared on her screen.
Khrushchev's famous 1960 "shoe-banging" outburst at the U.N. was in response to a delegate from what nation?
A) Australia B) The Netherlands
C) The Philippines D) Turkey
This representative was Lorenzo Sumulong, who lived to be 92.
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Celebrities; all Regis Philbin hosted, with the original money tree in tact, with the exception of last one listed, who played not only under the shuffle format of the game, but also had Cedric as his host. This leads to an odd distinction of sorts: No celebrity has ever made the million dollar question in the history of the US WWTBAM, given the condition that a female is hosting the show.
Drew Carey: Notably made the most for his charity, making this appearance, and another worth $32,000, playing for the Ohio Library Foundation; of Carey's home state, on this go. Drew's guess was D.
Who was the first NFL player to answer "I'm going to Disneyland" in the popular series of TV ads?
A) Doug Williams B) Marcus Allen
C) Phil Simms D) Joe Montana
This was in 1987, after Super Bowl XXI, a 39-20 win by the New York Football Giants over the Denver Broncos; Simms was paid $75,000 to do so. Oddly enough, ever since this Super Bowl, through present day (2014), the pay for athletes acting in this ad has been cut to $50,000.
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Rosie O'Donnell:
Like Carey above her, she also guessed D. Played for The Charley Project, a charity that helps abused children in South Florida.
Playwright Anton Chekhov graduated from the University of Moscow with a degree in what?
A) Law B) Medicine
C) Philosophy D) Economics
To aid his family, and his medical fees, one of Chekhov's pennames for his early work was called "Man Without a Spleen."
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Norm MacDonald: Controversial. Some fans believe Regis talked him out of the right answer. Norm seemed fairly sure, wanted to go for it, and Philbin really pulled his best Thoreau, and swung him over to the walk side. Naturally, MacDonald did have the right answer. I still am curious about why Regis tried to back him out of this. Played for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a New England based camp for those 7-15 with cancer and serious blood diseases, according to the camp's official page.
During the Cold War, the U.S. government built a bunker to house Congress under what golf resort?
A) The Breakers B) The Greenbrier
C) Pinehurst D) The Broadmoor
Greenbrier's code name was Project Greek Island.
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Charles Esten: First celebrity in non-Regis era, under Shuffle, etc. to reach the MDQ. Also first to walk on an MDQ since before the clock era(!), thus winning $500,000. Answered correctly that the Beetle in the Abbey Road cover had a plate that read "LMW 281F". Amazingly, the car sold for only 2530 BP in 1986, or just under $9,250 today, with inflation. There was only a 10 minute cap to grab the iconic shot, as well.
In 1737, "The Drinker's Dictionary" included all but which of these synonyms for "drunkenness"?
A) Niptopsical B) Buzzey
C) Pifflicated D) Staggerish
Esten would have blown this with a guess of B, Buzzey. That breaks the long, long streak of "would have been right if answered" on the MDQ (see To10 below). To those questioning integrity of this, I get this upon first glance, but it actually was published by one guy who started up the Farmer's Almanack, the oldest continual publication, outside of the Bible. That's right, Benjamin Franklin wrote this! 1/13/1737, to be precise.
As for Niptopsical, Buzzey, and Staggerish, they appear in the dictionary as follows, with some clever wit surrounding their "definitions":
A: Nimptopsical/Got the Night Mare
B: Buzzey/Has Stole a Manchet out of the Brewer’s Basket/His Head is full of Bees
D: Staggerish/It is Star-light with him/He carries too much Sail
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Tournament of 10: Sorry, you don't get the 500K right, you get no bio, especially considering that's relevant to basically all of the non-celeb players I wrote about, above. I will, however, list the player's name, question, bolded correct answer, for fun guess, and the bonus factoid below said question. This order will go from 10-1, excepting the tournament winner, Sam Murray. As a quick aside, had Alan Carver (Mr. "I'm going to win a million dollars!") walked on his $100,000 question, he would have not only made the tournament, but he would have been the 6th seeded player, to boot.
10th seeded Alex Ortiz:
What First Lady was a ninth-generation of descendant of Pocahontas?
A) Helen Taft B) Edith Wilson
C) Bess Truman D) Mamie Eisenhower
Wilson controlled the vast majority of the country, after Woodrow's stroke in fall 1919, until early 1921. Some measures were still given to Wilson, if deemed important enough, however.
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9th seeded Tony Westmoreland:
What great thinker's death is attributed to a chill he caught while stuffing a chicken with snow for an experiment on refrigeration?
A) Pythagoras B) Archimedes
C) Issac Newton D) Francis Bacon
Upon Bacon's death, in modern monies, Bacon had land worth and sold at nearly 1.25M USD, while simultaneously having debts outstanding of just over 4,500,000 USD. Both figures are adjusted for inflation.
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7th seeded Robin Schwartz:
Who delivered the less famous two-hour speech that preceded Abraham Lincoln's two-minute Gettysburg Address?
A) Wendell Phillips B) Daniel Webster
C) Robert G. Ingersoll D) Edward Everett
In said address, Everett compared the US Civil War to that of the Greek-Persian Battle of Marathon. This battle was also the possibly first written case of PTSD, in a Greek named Epizelus.
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6th seeded Ralph Cambeis: Notably would have been correct, had he gone for the question.
Though today it's treated like a treasure, what famous painting was once cut into enlarge a doorway?
A) Detroit Industry B) The Last Supper
C) Guernica D) The Birth of Venus
Despite the name of the painting, the term "Last Supper" appears exactly 0 times in the New Testament.
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5th seeded Tim Janus: Also would have been correct, if he locked in his guess.
Who once wrote, "'Bartlett's Familiar Quotations' is an admirable work," a quotation now listed in "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations"?
A) Truman Capote B) John Lennon
C) Winston Churchill D) Mark Twain
One such quotation in an early edition of the reference guide was, "fifty-four forty or fight," which referred to the Oregon boundary dispute. This same border dispute lead to the classic high school US History phrase of manifest destiny.
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4th seeded Matt Schultz: ALSO would have been right, had he gone for his question.
The most-watched TV episode of all time, the final episode of "M*A*S*H" aired at 8:30 PM, on February 28, 1983, following what sitcom?
A) Private Benjamin B) Square Pegs
C) Alice D) Newhart
Alice's primary setting was in a diner named Mel's in Phoenix; later seasons actual used a real diner, under this name, in Phoenix, for its shots outside the diner.
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3rd seeded Jeff Birt: Though more of a guess, he had gone, yep, you guessed it, also would have had his question right. Wow!
"Nephelococcygia" is the practice of doing what?
A) Finding shapes in clouds B) Sleeping with your eyes open
C) Breaking glass with your voice D) Swimming in freezing water
Its usage came about from Arisstophanes' play, The Birds.
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2nd seeded Keilani Goggins: Streak STILL continues of woulda, coulda, shoulda. Next!
In a failed assassination attempt, what U.S. president was shot at twice at point-blank range, but survived because both guns misfired?
A) John Adams B) Andrew Jackson
C) James Polk D) Martin Van Buren
Jackson is also the inspiration for why the US Democratic Party's symbol is a donkey: His temper and character was liked to that of an ass (of a donkey), and Jackson actually found the remark flattering. And so it stuck.
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1st seeded Jehan Shamsid-Deen: I'm speechless at this streak. What more is there to say?
A rare example of a word that rhymes with "orange," the Blorenge is a what?
A) River in Ireland B) Forest in Scotland
C) Mountain in Wales D) Desert in Australia
The Oxford English Dictionary finds one non-proper word that rhymes with orange: Sporange, an alternative spelling of sporangium, which is used to describe "the receptacle in which asexual spores are formed, in ferns and lower plants."
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That's all, folks, 4000 some odd words later!
I take NO credit for the fun facts following the questions, I just thought they might interest some of you, as I researched for notable things, like they did me, as to why something is, or a cool follow up about the event, subject of the question, etc. All rights reserved, those facts are yours, not mine; but thanks for the knowledge, internet!
Hope you like this, though, I spent a good 10+ hours on this, from bios, to fun facts, etc.
