Certain People On Quizzes

[bobbie22]

I often watch quizzes, and some people say, when asked " this is not my area of knowledge", when previously in the quiz they have not answered any questions correctly with the same reply. Does this mean that the have no area of knowledge? So why do they go on quizzes? Just having a moan.

[Cloverjo]

True, Jim. I love shouting out loud "oh my god, how can you not know that?" Even when when I'm alone in the room.
Another from The Tipping Point, yesterday:
How many cycles per second is a kilohertz?
The youngish lad passed. The middle-aged woman said "3 is coming into my head for some reason".
Surely the prefix "kilo" would give a hint, even if you've never heard the whole word before?

[mikey4444]

Jim....I used to watch the Lottery program on a Saturday night but stopped mainly because I found the thickos to be just too irritating.

Speaking personally here, I find the contestants on "University Challenge", and "Only Connect" to be much more entertaining. Its like the argument that sometimes the adverts are better than the TV programs, and its one that I have never sided with.

This mania for thickos to make complete fools of themselves on nationwide TV, just to appear on the TV is something I have yet to understand.

Years ago, one of my BT colleagues appeared on TV quiz program, the one with Anne Robinson. He didn't win but made such a good go at it, that he was cheered when he appeared in the office the morning after the broadcast.

Even worse are those idiots that go on the J Kyle show....why anybody would want to appear in public and make themselves out to laughing stocks is completely beyond my understanding.

[mikey4444]

Jo...I could understand if someone gave that answer as 100 rather than 1000, but why 3 ?

[Cloverjo]

Re: Jeremy Kyle. The people are put up in hotels and given free booze. It's like a holiday to them. They don't care what people think of them.

[jim360]

It's not to everyone's taste, for sure. I don't think anyone watches a quiz show deliberately for the "thickos", but all the same it's nice to have moments in a quiz show where you get it right and the contestant(s) get it wrong, and if that happens often enough then it helps lift the entertainment a bit. There's also a bit of variety involved, too. University Challenge is, mostly, contested by people at or near the top of the quizzing world, ditto Only Connect -- and Fifteen to One at least was fairly similar in its day, with some who are now among the world's best at trivia appearing in the show. If every quiz show were the same, contested only by the top quizzers, I think the public would in general get tired of being reminded how much better other people are at it than they are.

I guess what I'm saying is that the "thick people" are performing a national service.

[mikey4444]

Jo...so the next question I would ask is, ...so why don't they care ?

If I had had an affair with mother-in-law, or a goat for that matter, I am not sure I would want anybody to know.

Andy Warhol was right it would seem !

[murraymints]

and..did you Mikey ? lol

The chase is my fav at the moment

[murraymints]

it is easy to forget the much younger contestants simply do not know as much popular domestic type stuff..ie music/groups/singrs..or even recent type events if more than 20 years ago

[bobbie22]

To be a little bit fair, I think older people know more facts, etc, just because they have lived longer, and have seen or heard various things. But, it's sad to see what people know now. I am almost in my dotage, but I watch the news, read the papers, as does everyone else on here. Sad.

[viv41]

Richard Osman (is that his surname?) on Pointless always gives them short shrift if they say things like that and especially if they say 'before my time'. He does it in a nice way, but he gets his point across !

[losgigs]

To be fair, the answer of Elvis for the husband of Lisa Marie Presley wasn't that absurd, as there was a clue in the surname. The contestant was too young to remember, whereas the lady knew the correct answer due to her more advanced age. I'm trying to pluck up courage to apply for Tipping Point, as the questions are mostly fairly easy for someone of my advanced years (60), whereas my general knowledge 30 years ago was not so good. Unfortunately a lot of luck comes into the game too, which is why the thickest contestant sometimes gets to the final!