Absurdly difficult questions on game shows

[Mr. Armadillo]

[quote name=\'TenPoundHammer\' post=\'176004\' date=\'Jan 23 2008, 05:28 PM\']
*WinTuition: 5th grade level question; contestants had to match up the wives of Henry VIII to their causes of death. Surprisingly, the contestants nailed all of them.[/quote]
This was a multiple-choice question on PlayCafe about a week ago, and I surprised myself by getting all four of them right.  And only two were guesses, tops.

2. ...and/or too many vowels (DUBUQUE IOWA, even though I did get that on just the E)

I'm going to have to agree with the contestant who remarked that URUGUAY was, and I quote, 'mean'.

[Jay Temple]

[quote name=\'TenPoundHammer\' post=\'176004\' date=\'Jan 23 2008, 05:28 PM\']*Wheel of Fortune: Almost any bonus puzzle with any of the following criteria:
1. Too many obscure letters... (SQUEAKING BY)
2. ...and/or too many vowels (DUBUQUE IOWA, even though I did get that on just the E)
3. Oddball phrasing (A SKIMPY BIKINI)
4. Fewer than seven letters (WHARF; you try nailing that with just _ _ A R _)[/quote]
Add to that: two words or a hyphenate presented as a single compound word, when its status as such is questionable at best

[TenPoundHammer]

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'176046\' date=\'Jan 23 2008, 11:39 PM\']Add to that: two words or a hyphenate presented as a single compound word, when its status as such is questionable at best.[/quote]

Can you cite an example? I've never seen that, but I have seen them hyphenate phrases that usually aren't (WIDE-AWAKE and HIGH-AND-MIGHTY for instance). They also have a tendency to think that "milkshake" is two words when it isn't (at least not according to the dictionaries I've consulted).

[lobster]

I remember seeing a $64,000 Question ep long ago (I was about 14, and I want to say that they rebroadcasted it on PBS in the middle of the night on occasion ..1988-ish -- correct me if i'm wrong) .. where the $64k question required the contestant to name all the courses of the dinner on the final night of the Titanic, and I remember the names of the dishes were so very gourmet-obscure, the list went on and on and on, and the guy knew all of it.  

I suppose his category might have been Cooking (?) and therefore a seasoned and well-educated chef of the 1950s would know something like that?  Either way it was impressive to see.

/The list is here:  http://www.armchair.com/recipe/titanic1.html
//how on earth was there room for eclairs?

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'lobster\' post=\'176060\' date=\'Jan 24 2008, 12:47 AM\']//how on earth was there room for eclairs?
[/quote]
Well, it was called the Titanic, after all.

/try the veal
//surprised that's not on there

[Jimmy Owen]

Re: $64kQ: As Steve Carlin recounted on the American Experience episode on the scandals, the contestants were interviewed in advance and the questions were tailored to what the contestant did or didn't know.  If the guy knew the dishes on the Titanic and it was good for the show for him to win, those questions were the ones that were asked.  If they wanted to dethrone Dr. Brothers, they would pick a question she couldn't answer during the pre-interview.

[tvmitch]

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'176020\' date=\'Jan 23 2008, 08:09 PM\']
[quote name=\'TenPoundHammer\' post=\'176004\' date=\'Jan 23 2008, 06:28 PM\']
*100KP: "Parts of an Air Conditioner" as the first box in the WC (pretty sure they weren't going for the $100K); I can't think of any legal clues for that one.[/quote]The vents, the temperature knob, the Freon holder
[/quote]
The compressor, the thermostat, the large power cord, the window sill attachment.

Someone mentioned it earlier, but the toughest real Pyramid category I can remember offhand is "Things that are enshrined."

[uncamark]

And don't forget the end game questions on "Clash," all of which (except The Easy Question) were designed to be so obscure that almost no one could answer them correctly.