Jeopardy! Season 34 (2017-2018)

[Pallida]

I’m not awake enough to verify their sources, but according to collegedata.com, indebtedness of 2016 graduates of Missouri S&T is higher than for those at Swathmore. I realize that engineers likely will make more than curators across the lifespan, but I just thought it was an interesting statistic anyways. Looks like Swathmore actually provides a fair amount of non-loan financial suppprt. And museum curator jobs aren’t as rare as people seem to be presuming here. Lots and lots of stuff happens behind the scenes, and it can be a decent salary. 

[Mondrianyone]

How do we know that Rebecca's parents aren't crazy rich and have put her in the enviable position of being able to go to any school and pursue any career she thinks she'll love?  Or that her favorite great-uncle didn't leave her the $10 million he hoarded under his mattress for the many decades he spent clipping grocery coupons?  Or that she didn't win every scholarship in sight?  Of all the things to find fault with, being smart, getting into an excellent school, and studying what you're interested in are pretty low on my personal list of quibbles. 

[Tunia]

2 hours ago, Trey said:

I wonder why Harry went to school in Chicago when he's from Princeton, NJ - I hear there's a pretty good school there.

Maybe he didn't get in to Princeton...

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, Tabasco Cat said:

I've only been paying attention to FJ in this year's college tournament. Was 3 for 3 coming into tonight. But then we get to

... and I'm out until this tourney is over. There's just no "there" there.

To be fair, there are many museums in Paris alone - the guy named one of them - and many palaces turned into museums.  For me, the Louvre was obvious, but I imagine a lot of viewers at home said Versailles because it's the most famous palace in France.

 

17 hours ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

but the one that blew my mind was the Khyber Pass/Afghanistan fail. 

I said India because I've been reading a series of books involving a character whose father was a Colonel in India and the Khyber Pass has come up more than once.  I didn't think about it being in the part of India which became Pakistan after WWII; the books are set during WWI.  I went to school in the early eighties and I can say with certainty that the Khyber Pass never came up in any world history class I took in high school; can't say I remember it being mentioned since we invaded Afghanistan either.

 

17 hours ago, saber5055 said:

They didn't know Columbia and Rolla are in Missouri?

I didn't know that.  Never heard of a Columbia in Missouri.  I said South Carolina.

 

17 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I also couldn't get past the one player being allowed to answer every piece of intestine there is until she came up with the correct answer "within the time limit" according to Trebek. So does that mean players can start naming things and if they eventually name the right answer -- within the time limit -- they get credit? WTH is up with that.

As long as Alex hasn't said that a contestant is wrong, they can change their answer.  Contestants are told that in pre-game prep.

 

16 hours ago, peeayebee said:

TSs for me were Afghanistan and indigestion.

I said heartburn - do you think they'd have given me credit for that?

 

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

I hate to go on a rant off topic.......but spending probably a quarter of a million dollars on an education to get a degree to plan on being a museum curator?  Just not practical.   Maybe she has scholarships and is not paying that much for a private college, but I hear stories like that and I lose sympathy for millennials in debt over college.  The financial return on a college education should be considered with the costs the way they are anymore and just offhand hers seems like a losing proposition

As long as she's not asking me to pay for it, I don't care.  I didn't go to an expensive school, but I did major in something with relatively little financial return, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

[AuntiePam]

5 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I said heartburn - do you think they'd have given me credit for that?

No -- IIRC, the category was four-syllable words.  I was thinking "diarrhea".

I knew one TS -- the county clue with Dubuque and Decatur -- but only because I live in Iowa.  Georgia was a good guess.

[proserpina65]

12 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

No -- IIRC, the category was four-syllable words.  I was thinking "diarrhea".

I knew one TS -- the county clue with Dubuque and Decatur -- but only because I live in Iowa.  Georgia was a good guess.

Ah, that does make a difference.

I knew Iowa because I had a friend in college who was from there.  And I knew New Jersey.  Can't remember if I got any of the others, but I know I didn't get Missouri.

[Moose135]

32 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

For me, the Louvre was obvious, but I imagine a lot of viewers at home said Versailles because it's the most famous palace in France.

I did that, thought Versailles, then thought "that isn't really a museum, though" and pretty much brain locked after that.

[Trey]

5 hours ago, Trey said:

I wonder why Harry went to school in Chicago when he's from Princeton, NJ - I hear there's a pretty good school there.

Quoting myself to say I was just being silly - I realize he might not have made it into Princeton (or even applied); Chicago might have had a course he really liked, or he won a scholarship there, or he just wanted to get away from home or any other reason he chose to go to Chicago which I hear is also a pretty good school:)

I agree with @SuperCam1 - I liked Carsen even though she spelt her name wrong, and I thought her intro was cute. But I'm glad Rebecca won; unless someone I like better shows up tonight, I'll be rooting for Rebecca.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Trey

[Clanstarling]

4 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

I hate to go on a rant off topic.......but spending probably a quarter of a million dollars on an education to get a degree to plan on being a museum curator?  Just not practical.   Maybe she has scholarships and is not paying that much for a private college, but I hear stories like that and I lose sympathy for millennials in debt over college.  The financial return on a college education should be considered with the costs the way they are anymore and just offhand hers seems like a losing proposition

If it had ever occurred to me there was such a thing as going to school to be a museum curator - I'd have done it in a flash.

Not all return on investment is financial, not all practical degrees result in long term careers, and not all impractical degrees result in unemployment. My impractical BA degree, which provided me with a career, paid for my kids' college tuition. (side note: I did get a master's in library science based on the 80% employment rate the school touted. It was rendered moot by a change in the state tax law which shut down libraries)

IMO, If all someone wants is a financial return, then technical schools might be the best bet. Getting educated though, also imo, provides greater returns than money. Like, getting more answers right on Jeopardy. :)

[Mondrianyone]

32 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

Not all return on investment is financial, not all practical degrees result in long term careers, and not all impractical degrees result in unemployment.

^^^

This is what I meant to say, if I hadn't gotten all snarled up in the economics.  If we ever start viewing education exclusively as a dollar-for-dollar proposition, we're hopelessly lost.  No more artists, no more writers, no more thinkers.  Just a bunch of drudges with their eye on some bottom line.  And nothing in life comes with a guarantee, so you might as well do what you love while you can.

Rebecca has such a broad range of knowledge, I bet she'll be a great curator.

[YoureSoUrban]

@Clanstarling and @Mondrianyone, hear hear!!

[ClareWalks]

Yikes, they saved the worst for last, I think. So many EASY TS.

[Kathira]

2 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

^^^

This is what I meant to say, if I hadn't gotten all snarled up in the economics.  If we ever start viewing education exclusively as a dollar-for-dollar proposition, we're hopelessly lost.  No more artists, no more writers, no more thinkers.  Just a bunch of drudges with their eye on some bottom line.  And nothing in life comes with a guarantee, so you might as well do what you love while you can.

Rebecca has such a broad range of knowledge, I bet she'll be a great curator.

You're right, of course. And I was the one who started by snarking on Rebecca's useless majors. As someone who had a "useless" major similar to hers (mine was medieval history and the classics), I'm a classic career changer. I worked as a computer engineer for years after taking a detour through divinity school. I now teach mostly remedial English and reading to college students. I tell my students that what I learned in college wasn't a bunch of facts about Caesars and popes, but that I learned how to figure things out, how to do research, how to compare issues, evaluate solutions and put things in context. In short, I learned critical thinking which is a very useful skill in the real world.

 

8 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Yikes, they saved the worst for last, I think. So many EASY TS.

You're right, this is painful. Hopfully Rebecca will take them to school next week.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Kathira

[Browncoat]

I barely watched, and didn't write down any TS, but there did seem to be quite a lot of them.  I did think the one girl needed a BMS for Castro -- what if she meant Kit Castro???

Wyoming was an odd choice for FJ.  Virginia was only marginally less odd, but he made a smart wager, shooting for the wild card spot.

[CarpeDiem54]

Here's some advice Patricia, put down your damn phone, stop taking pictures of every freaking thing you do, and use your mind.  Wyoming?  Gimme a break.  She also missed one of the easiest DD's ever - mayday.

I liked Ali the most of this group, but I hope Rebecca kicks ass next week.

I wrote down 10 TS's and I know there were several more.

[DrScottie]

Well, as a Biology and Biotechnology graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Class of 2002, I was cheering for Alli and I was glad to see she won it.  

24 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Wyoming was an odd choice for FJ.  Virginia was only marginally less odd, but he made a smart wager, shooting for the wild card spot.

Interestingly enough, Annapolis was the capital being referred to and polis was a TS earlier in the game. 

31 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I barely watched, and didn't write down any TS, but there did seem to be quite a lot of them.  I did think the one girl needed a BMS for Castro -- what if she meant Kit Castro???

I'm biased towards Alli. but I still agree that she should have had to specify Fidel as opposed to Raul, the current President, or even the notorious Kit Castro. 

1 minute ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

I liked Ali the most of this group, but I hope Rebecca kicks ass next week.

I'm pulling for Alli, but Rebecca did look really impressive in her win. 

[SHD]

Today's show was painful. And it bugged me that Alex was berating the incorrect FJ responses with "That doesn't sound like a woman's name." The clue said the places were "named after a woman." So they could've been named with the last name of a historical woman. The clue didn't say the places had women's first names. I hate it in general when he says anything that implies "Well, that was a stupid guess."

[ClareWalks]

Discovered: if you tweet anything remotely negative about these college kids on Jeopardy, you will get a LOT of shit for it. IMO if you go on a quiz show you must expect that your ignorance will be judged. One contestant responded to my snark with "why so angry?" and I wanted to be all "are you new to the internet?"

[catrice2]

The pain continues.....some of the clues were so easy and they all had a blank stare. 

[saber5055]

4 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

I knew one TS -- the county clue with Dubuque and Decatur -- but only because I live in Iowa. 

I know Dubuque County is in Iowa but I've never heard of Decatur in Iowa; however, there is Decatur in Illinois. So I spent my time trying to think of a Dubuque in Illinois. Big fail. And I live 20 minutes from Iowa and do all my shopping there. Just not in Decatur County.

38 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I did think the one girl needed a BMS for Castro -- what if she meant Kit Castro???

Yes, agree, especially since there are/were three Castro dictators:Fidel, Raul and Kit.

4 hours ago, Moose135 said:

I did that, thought Versailles, then thought "that isn't really a museum, though" and pretty much brain locked after that.

I shared your brain lock.

45 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Wyoming was an odd choice for FJ.  Virginia was only marginally less odd,

As soon as I came up with Virginia (couldn't remember the capitol) I stopped thinking and was very pleased with myself. Which didn't last long.

4 minutes ago, SHD said:

And it bugged me that Alex was berating the incorrect FJ responses with "That doesn't sound like a woman's name." The clue said the places were "named after a woman." So they could've been named with the last name of a historical woman. The clue didn't say the places had women's first names. I hate it in general when he says anything that implies "Well, that was a stupid guess."

So much THIS. Trebek is such a pompous toolbag. Which makes me think Virginia could have been correct, and Richmond was named after that famous pilgrim Jane "Kitty Carson" Richmond.

3 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

One contestant responded to my snark with "why so angry?" and I wanted to be all "are you new to the internet?"

You could just reply that stupid people irritate you, especially when they display their ignorance on a tv game show. Plus they are giving colleges everywhere (if this was the cream of the crop) a REALLY bad name. High tuition fees for ... what? Knowledge of video games and Harry Potter. Period.

[AuntiePam]

Chuckled at Alex with his "the other popular female singer" response -- as if there were only two popular female singers to choose from.  Wish I could recall the clue but I can't. 

[saber5055]

7 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

Chuckled at Alex with his "the other popular female singer" response -- as if there were only two popular female singers to choose from.  Wish I could recall the clue but I can't. 

It was name the singer for the album "19," and the guess was Taylor Swift. You know, the OTHER female singer, the one who isn't Adele.

Edited April 14, 2018 by saber5055

[Spunkygal]

2 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

Chuckled at Alex with his "the other popular female singer" response -- as if there were only two popular female singers to choose from.  Wish I could recall the clue but I can't. 

It was about the album "19" and one contestant said Taylor Swift, then the other correctly said Adele. Yeah, I am sick of AT. I wish he'd go sit in his rocking chair on the front porch and watch the game from home. 

[ClareWalks]

5 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

You could just reply that stupid people irritate you, especially when they display their ignorance on a tv game show. Plus they are giving colleges everywhere (if this was the cream of the crop) a REALLY bad name. High tuition fees for ... what? Knowledge of video games and Harry Potter. Period.

Word. Didn't last year's college tourney give us the brilliance of Lilly? Granted she was slightly controversial but at least she was friggin' SMART, unlike this week's lot generally.

[Spunkygal]

4 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

It was name the singer for the album "19," and the guess was Taylor Swift. You know, the OTHER female singer, the one who isn't Adel.

Jinx! You owe me a Coke!

[GenerationX]

A lot of misses this week.  Hard to judge, but the $200 "Radiator" was probably the most stunning.  Crazy board-jumping freaks!

[ClareWalks]

I also hate whenever Trebek says "no, it's the other one" in general. 

Wow, seriously, the Jeopardy freaks on Twitter are the actual WORST. I got half dozen hateful replies in a few minutes so I just deleted the tweets. It's not worth the aggravation. These people are so hypersensitive. I checked the hashtag and they're doing it to EVERY negative tweet.

[saber5055]

I swear that the boy player said "Worster Sauce" for what Lea & Perrins invention is added to Chex Mix. It's Worcestershire sauce.

How can college kids of any age not know Triumph The Insult Dog? THAT one stunned me. Kids, he wasn't Before Your Time.

I about freaked out that Patricia the Penn girl spends all her time taking 30-40,000 photos a year of HER: What she eats, what she does, how great she looks. Yeah, no way are you winning the $100,000, unless there is a category "What Penn Girl Ate Today." She is the poster girl for today's Lost Generation.

Draco was an answer in Ken Jenning's "Kennections" puzzle today. Yeay!

Otherwise, too many TSs to list. It's not even fun answering them anymore, they make me feel like I'm the babysitter.

13 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Jinx! You owe me a Coke!

It's a deal! I will gladly pay you your Coke on Tuesday! --tm Wimpy

[Mondrianyone]

5 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

I also hate whenever Trebek says "no, it's the other one" in general.

He might stop doing it if he realized it was code for "Our writers are really lazy and pick either one from Column A or one from Column B in any given topic."  Ninety percent of the time anyway.

Speaking of people who work at Jeopardy!, if I were the contestant coordinator, I'd be seriously worried about job security after this year in general and this tournament in particular.  That octopus who picked the World Cup winners could've done better than this crop.

[teebax]

14 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I swear that the boy player said "Worster Sauce" for what Lea & Perrins invention is added to Chex Mix. It's Worcestershire sauce.

How can college kids of any age not know Triumph The Insult Dog? THAT one stunned me. Kids, he wasn't Before Your Time.

I about freaked out that Patricia the Penn girl spends all her time taking 30-40,000 photos a year of HER: What she eats, what she does, how great she looks. Yeah, no way are you winning the $100,000, unless there is a category "What Penn Girl Ate Today." She is the poster girl for today's Lost Generation. 

I don't know about lost generation since everyone always says that about the next generation and they do just fine, but the idea that her friends love her picture taking reminds me I'm definitely middle aged. I think of people who always wanted to show you their vacation slides. No one wants to see your pictures! 

I watched hoping my alma mater would be well represented. Oh well. 

Weighing in on the college major discussion: I initially studied accounting and finance and made great money for years but was miserable. I went back and got a teaching certification and master's degree in education. Because I'm in Arizona, I make a third of what I used to make. You know what? I'm 10 times happier! I wish I hadn't taken my father's terrible advice and studied English and education the first time around instead of finance. 

Regarding tuition, bright students often secure scholarships. I went to Penn, an Ivy League school, for less than Penn State would've cost because of scholarship money. I really should've studied what I enjoyed though. 

I tell my students they should study what they love and apply for every available scholarship. You can't put a price on happiness. 

Edited April 14, 2018 by teebax

[saber5055]

28 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

That octopus who picked the World Cup winners could've done better than this crop.

Okay, this made me laugh so much I almost had to call for clean up in aisle one. That was Paul the octopus, and he unfortunately has since died. Which makes me think perhaps he WAS doing the clues before, which is why they are so bad now.

27 minutes ago, teebax said:

I think of people who always wanted to show you their vacation slides. No one wants to see your pictures! 

Well put. I think of all her friends making fun of her 40,000 selfies behind her back. (You know they are.) It's just like families used to be asked over to aunt and uncle's for dinner and then ... IT'S THE VACATION SLIDE SHOW! It was a universal national nightmare. At least now "friends" can just hit "delete."

[SHD]

54 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

Speaking of people who work at Jeopardy!, if I were the contestant coordinator, I'd be seriously worried about job security after this year in general and this tournament in particular.  That octopus who picked the World Cup winners could've done better than this crop.

This made me lauuuuugh!

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, DrScottie said:

Interestingly enough, Annapolis was the capital being referred to and polis was a TS earlier in the game. 

That IS interesting. Good catch.

For FJ I said Virginia, thinking Charlottesville was the capital. Oh well. Better than Wyoming, I guess.

 

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

It was name the singer for the album "19," and the guess was Taylor Swift. You know, the OTHER female singer, the one who isn't Adele.

I also hate when Alex says, "No, it was the other one," but in this case, I'm... kinda in agreement. I said Taylor Swift, somehow thinking she had an album titled with her age. I was probably vaguely thinking of her album 1989.

Probably like most of you, I got several TSs. I'm most proud of getting Willa Cather. In the same category, I figured the book referred to was The Book Thief, but I didn't know the author. Heck, I still don't.

For another TS I said nolo contendre. I noted that Alex pronounced it differently, so I googled and saw that the word is actually contendere. I don't know if the judges would have dinged me for that.

I thought Internal Rhyme Time was hard. I think it's easier to come up with the rhymes when it's two words rather than within the same word.

[Pallida]

I’m thinking Patricia went through state capitals and as Cheyenne is used as a woman’s name, she went with Wyoming. 

My brain went from Virginia to Virgin Mary to Maryland. I think it was being generous and skipped that the Virgin Queen wasn’t Mary. 

[Clanstarling]

22 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

For FJ I said Virginia, thinking Charlottesville was the capital. Oh well. Better than Wyoming, I guess.

I also hate when Alex says, "No, it was the other one," but in this case, I'm... kinda in agreement. I said Taylor Swift, somehow thinking she had an album titled with her age. I was probably vaguely thinking of her album 1989.

Probably like most of you, I got several TSs. I'm most proud of getting Willa Cather. In the same category, I figured the book referred to was The Book Thief, but I didn't know the author. Heck, I still don't.

I said North Carolina, thinking Charlotte was the capital. Which made me wrong in so many ways, as Charlotte's not the capital and it wasn't named for a woman, but a man (Charles 1 of England, I think).

I said "Adele" before the clues were revealed, but thought her first album was 21 - so my brain froze when it actually came up.

I had the same reaction to The Book Thief. And yeah, couldn't remember the author's name seconds after he said it.

I ran the "Tri" category, which was fun.

[Kathira]

24 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

For another TS I said nolo contendre. I noted that Alex pronounced it differently, so I googled and saw that the word is actually contendere. I don't know if the judges would have dinged me for that.

Weirdly, I always remember nolo contendere because that was what Spiro Agnew pleaded when he was charged with tax evasion. I was a young teen when that happened, but somehow the term just stuck in my head.

 

21 minutes ago, Pallida said:

I’m thinking Patricia went through state capitals and as Cheyenne is used as a woman’s name, she went with Wyoming. 

I think you got it. I couldn't figure out where she got Wyoming from, but that must be it. She would have been better off with Helena, Montana. Montana is at least used as woman's name. Not at the time when the state was named, of course, but that was "before their time." Personally, I got stuck on Virginia and couldn't think what the capital was. 

[Clanstarling]

3 minutes ago, Kathira said:

Weirdly, I always remember nolo contendere because that was what Spiro Agnew pleaded when he was charged with tax evasion. I was a young teen when that happened, but somehow the term just stuck in my head.

Me too! Bit older, but that's how I remember it.

[burner]

Oh man, Patricia was one of the more irksome people I've seen on Jeopardy in a while. Missing really easy questions ("Mayday"), her quirky faces and that awful 40,000 pictures a year story. Oof. Wasn't sad to see her flame out.

[gatopretoNYC]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I swear that the boy player said "Worster Sauce" for what Lea & Perrins invention is added to Chex Mix. It's Worcestershire sauce.

He did! I rewound that twice.

[AuntiePam]

17 minutes ago, gatopretoNYC said:

He did! I rewound that twice.

I heard "Worst-er-sher" which is, I think, the way it's pronounced.  Or "Worst-er-shwa", if we believe this lady. 

[Mystery Author]

Quote

Didn't last year's college tourney give us the brilliance of Lilly? Granted she was slightly controversial but at least she was friggin' SMART, unlike this week's lot generally.

Ooh, I loved Lilly. Wasn't she "controversial" because she rolled up her sleeves? As for this week's lot, I'd say Rebecca is smart (and she doesn't roll up her sleeves).

Quote

 I figured the book referred to was The Book Thief, but I didn't know the author.

The Book Thief by Aussie author Markus Zusak was one of my 10 Best Books of 2005. I will now give y'all one of my favorite quotes: <clearing throat> "Never judge a book by its movie."

[YoureSoUrban]

11 hours ago, teebax said:

I wish I hadn't taken my father's terrible advice and studied English and education the first time around instead of finance. 

Are you my long lost cousin?? Our dads must be brothers. I went to college wanting to major in French and work as an interpreter at the UN but by the end of the first semester my dad convinced me I would be destitute on the streets of NYC unless I majored in Economics. I hated every.single.class. and took the minimum requirements for the degree so I could also study French, anthropology, drawing and astronomy.

I'll be tuning back in on Monday; sounds like Rebecca is worth watching. I'm very thankful I missed a contestant who boasted having 40K pictures of herself.

[Prevailing Wind]

18 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

I don't know here specific situation, like I said, maybe her cost for her private college is low and just like a public university or that was her best financial opportunity.

It could be she has a parent that works at Swarthmore, so she gets *really* cheap tuition.

 

9 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I said North Carolina, thinking Charlotte was the capital. Which made me wrong in so many ways, as Charlotte's not the capital and it wasn't named for a woman, but a man (Charles 1 of England, I think).

Charlotte's nickname is "Queen City" and lies in Mecklenburg County. It's named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Queen Consort of Great Britain and Ireland in 1761 (wife of George III). But, yeah, NC was named after Charles I. I am assuming the capital, Raleigh, was named for Sir Walter.

[DrSpaceman]

'I take 30000 photos a year.  My friends love it'

No, they don't.  That is like 80 pictures a day, works out to about one picture every 10 minutes you are awake. 

I thought it was Virginia FJ.  Didn't think of Maryland.  ALso considered Hawaii. 

In regard to college and majors, I am not telling anyone to major in something just to make money.  Or to major in something they don't like.  Its more on the other side of it.  Everyone complains about cost of college and student loans.  The only way that will stop is when parents and students just say, no, that education is not worth $75K a year, I will find someplace cheaper to learn this.  Otherwise as long as people keeping paying the tuition, it will keep going up.  Or the colleges will just stop taking US students and instead become havens for rich foreign students, which is a real option for many of them

The contestant in question,  I've already stated, I don't know what she is paying for college there.  She might be going for free with scholarships.

But the average student pays $45K per year to go Swarthmore.  That is not average tuition, that is the average net cost per student per year.  A museum curator makes $48K per year, on average, and often has to work as an assistant curator or other jobs for a period of time beforehand.  I am simply encouraging students to not have student loans to pay for the next 20 years if at all possible, especially if your income is going to be low or below average.  College cost, next to buying a house, if they choose to do so, is the biggest financial decision of their lives AND it occurs before they start even earning money, so it has a huge determinant of future financial status. 

[ClareWalks]

24 minutes ago, DrSpaceman said:

But the average student pays $45K per year to go Swarthmore.  That is not average tuition, that is the average net cost per student per year.  A museum curator makes $48K per year, on average, and often has to work as an assistant curator or other jobs for a period of time beforehand.  I am simply encouraging students to not have student loans to pay for the next 20 years if at all possible, especially if your income is going to be low or below average.  College cost, next to buying a house, if they choose to do so, is the biggest financial decision of their lives AND it occurs before they start even earning money, so it has a huge determinant of future financial status. 

Totally agree. I went to Oberlin. Huge mistake (for lots of reasons, LOL). I fortunately had a rich aunt who left us money for college so I didn't have debt, but I wish I'd gone to a state school and saved 3/4 of that fund for a good head start after graduation. Kids! Listen to me! Private schools are rarely worth it!

[Clanstarling]

10 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

I heard "Worst-er-sher" which is, I think, the way it's pronounced.  Or "Worst-er-shwa", if we believe this lady. 

I can never wrap my mouth around that word, so I generally assume everyone else says it right.

7 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

Ooh, I loved Lilly. Wasn't she "controversial" because she rolled up her sleeves? As for this week's lot, I'd say Rebecca is smart (and she doesn't roll up her sleeves).

The Book Thief by Aussie author Markus Zusak was one of my 10 Best Books of 2005. I will now give y'all one of my favorite quotes: <clearing throat> "Never judge a book by its movie."

Yes, yes she was.

43 minutes ago, DrSpaceman said:

But the average student pays $45K per year to go Swarthmore.  That is not average tuition, that is the average net cost per student per year.  A museum curator makes $48K per year, on average, and often has to work as an assistant curator or other jobs for a period of time beforehand.  I am simply encouraging students to not have student loans to pay for the next 20 years if at all possible, especially if your income is going to be low or below average.  College cost, next to buying a house, if they choose to do so, is the biggest financial decision of their lives AND it occurs before they start even earning money, so it has a huge determinant of future financial status. 

My kids went to a state school with average net costs that weren't that far away from that figure. We believed it was our responsibility to get them through college, and we did. Other families make different choices for lots of reasons, no judgment on our part, this was our choice. I'm thankful we could do that.

On the other hand, when I went to college in the 70's, I was easily able to do it without taking loans (which were, iirc, zero interest and provided some buffer time before needing to be paid off), and without more than $50 a month from my parents. A small grant (like a Pell, maybe a Pell) took care of all my tuition and book costs. My housing costs were minor (good fortune). My college jobs took care of my costs. I went to a state school at pretty much the same level as the one my kids went to.

One of the differences in those intervening years is that when I went to college, it wasn't considered the only suitable path for high school graduates.  Somehow over the years it became thought of as necessary as a high school diploma - only with a huge price tag that just keeps going up and up. I have strong opinions on that, but they don't belong here.

[bythelake]

20 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

No, but you should go to the cheapest university you can find that has your major and gives you an opportunity to get a job when you finish. 

I don't know here specific situation, like I said, maybe her cost for her private college is low and just like a public university or that was her best financial opportunity. 

But you do have to give some consideration to the cost of the school and future salary when choosing a college and major.  The idea of 1.  Choose what you love and 2.  Go to whatever the "best" school you can get into, no matter the cost, is what leads to financial problems in the future. 

A friend of mine from high had two opportunities for law school :  George Washington University, at a cost of about $100 to $150K total, or an in state school that was either free or about $100K cheaper.  He chose GW.  He regrets it to this day. 

 

That also brings up the other more relevant point I would add about this tournament, which others have alluded to :  they need to up the prize.  $100K isn't paying for college for these kids, assuming that is what they use the money for.  Not for any of them, public or private, not after taxes.  It ought to be $250K or so.  Even if it is more than the tournament of champions prize, I'd rather see kids in school get it and put it to good use early in their lives, save a ton of money later

The Ivies and many other major universities have huge endowments. My granddaughter applied to all top universities and they all offered her lots of grants.

Because my son is a single parent, the amount they would give her was a major consideration since he had another child entering college the following year. She took the best offer and is now a sophomore at an Ivy with almost  90% tuition  in grants, not loans. Her tuition is less than our community college. If the child is bright it never hurts to aim high. 

Re. Rebecca, she lives in an upscale community with excellent public schools. Her Jeopary experience has been all over the local papers. I don't know if her family is wealthy, but she lives only a 45 min.train ride from NYC, and its great museums.

I'm not enjoying this tournament either.It seems the contestants do well only in their area of study, i.e.; science or literature, and bomb out on the other categories. Rebecca is the only one that's well rounded. I'm rooting for the NJ girl!

[peeayebee]

12 hours ago, Pallida said:

I’m thinking Patricia went through state capitals and as Cheyenne is used as a woman’s name, she went with Wyoming. 

Hee. I'm thinking of 'Cheyenne' as a woman's name back in the 18th century. How about Madison and Denver? 

[DXD526]

For the state FJ, I thought of Montana/Helena immediately and once that was stuck in my brain, I couldn't think of anything else. I was pretty sure I was right, though. I'm sure Alex would have snarked on me about Montana not being a girl's name (even though it basically is).

Disappointing that none of them were Triumph fans. And neither is Alex. He gave a 'woof' after giving the answer when he should have said, "Who is Triumph the Insult Comic Dog...for me to poop on!!"

Patricia thinks the most interesting thing about herself is that she finds herself so endlessly fascinating that she takes selfies pretty much all the time? Okay.

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

'I take 30000 photos a year.  My friends love it'

No, they don't.  That is like 80 pictures a day, works out to about one picture every 10 minutes you are awake. 

Nice job, DrSpaceman, but she said she takes 30,000 to 40,000 per year. So your breakout is conservative. And yeah her friends love it because she has to be a laughing stock. She obviously thinks she is the center of the universe for everyone living ... good luck on that when you, you know, grow up. Maybe if you spent more time studying and less time looking at yourself you wouldn't have flamed out on Jeopardy.

13 minutes ago, DXD526 said:

Disappointing that none of them were Triumph fans. And neither is Alex. He gave a 'woof' after giving the answer when he should have said, "Who is Triumph the Insult Comic Dog...for me to poop on!!"

So much this! You'd think whomever wrote that clue would have given Trebek that line. But maybe "poop" is a forbidden word on such a high-class show as Jeopardy.

Nuts. I just looked up Worcestershire sauce and Wikipedia says "it is sometimes shortened to Worcester sauce."  Man, what is this world coming to. Still, that guy said "Worster sauce" so I still say he's wrong. I suppose Worcester is verbally condensed like Louisville. Yeah, that must be it. Which makes it two Kevin Bacons away from the real name IMO.

Git off my lawn.