Author Topic: Millionaire Questions... (Read 123734 times)

dale_grass · « **Reply #600 on:** December 14, 2005, 01:48:17 PM »

Quote

What is the last name of the brothers Mario and Luigi of Nintendo fame?

A. Fratelli
B. Mario
C. Amato
D. Spinelli

I can't recall where I read it, but if you look at the early game titles it makes sense: the stars of the Mario Brothers series have the last name Mario.

clemon79 · « **Reply #601 on:** December 14, 2005, 01:56:30 PM »

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Dec 14 2005, 10:16 AM\']What is the last name of the brothers Mario and Luigi of Nintendo fame?

A. Fratelli
B. Mario
C. Amato
D. Spinelli

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Bad question, simply because there are so many conflicting stories about how the whole Mario name came about in the first place (remember, in the original Donkey Kong he was known simply as "Jumpman"; no official use of the name "Mario" was implemented until Donkey Kong Junior), that there is just no way you are going to get solid confirmation that one is really "right".

Now, if you want to say "According to the children's television series...", then you have a verifiable question, but I don't think it's nearly as interesting.

(Mind you, as a fellow lover of video games, I appreciate the effort, but this is just one can of worms you shouldn't even try to open.

PYLdude · « **Reply #602 on:** December 14, 2005, 02:04:46 PM »

Okay, here's one that will either make you scratch your head or hang me from a tree. Here we go.

In the video games Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, which of these boss characters was not named for a musician or singer?

A. Roy Koopa
B. Larry Koopa
C. Lemmy Koopa
D. Iggy Koopa

clemon79 · « **Reply #603 on:** December 14, 2005, 02:21:23 PM »

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' date=\'Dec 14 2005, 11:04 AM\']Okay, here's one that will either make you scratch your head or hang me from a tree. Here we go.

In the video games Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, which of these boss characters was not named for a musician or singer?
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And I'm guessing that the sole verifiable source for this information would either be in the SMB3 or SMW user manuals, which I would wager at least a solid half of the people who OWN the game, never mind those who have PLAYED it, have never read. So I'm not sure why this is an interesting question.

PYLdude · « **Reply #604 on:** December 14, 2005, 02:33:31 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Dec 14 2005, 03:21 PM\'][quote name=\'PYLdude\' date=\'Dec 14 2005, 11:04 AM\']Okay, here's one that will either make you scratch your head or hang me from a tree. Here we go.

In the video games Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, which of these boss characters was not named for a musician or singer?
[/quote]
And I'm guessing that the sole verifiable source for this information would either be in the SMB3 or SMW user manuals, which I would wager at least a solid half of the people who OWN the game, never mind those who have PLAYED it, have never read. So I'm not sure why this is an interesting question.

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Didn't say it was necessarily interesting...I just threw it out there for the sake of throwing it out. In retrospect, probably shouldn't have. So I'll put another one out there.

In 1856, who became the first modern Republican Party candidate for President of the United States?

A. Thaddeus Stevens
B. Charles Sumner
C. Abraham Lincoln
D. John C. Fremont

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #605 on:** December 14, 2005, 02:44:44 PM »

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' date=\'Dec 14 2005, 02:33 PM\']In 1856, who became the first modern Republican Party candidate for President of the United States?

A. Thaddeus Stevens
B. Charles Sumner
C. Abraham Lincoln
D. John C. Fremont
[/quote]
Well...I think a fair amount of people know that Lincoln was the first Republican president, but that wasn't until 1860. I want to say it was B, Charles Sumner.

clemon79 · « **Reply #606 on:** December 14, 2005, 05:12:07 PM »

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' date=\'Dec 14 2005, 11:33 AM\']Didn't say it was necessarily interesting...I just threw it out there for the sake of throwing it out. In retrospect, probably shouldn't have.
[/quote]
People seem to get sand in their private parts when I mention that something isn't "interesting". So let me qualify that.

By "interesting", in this case, I mean "worthy of consideration as a quality Millionaire question". This thread seems to be the tryout thread for a) people who fancy themselves question writers, and would like some feedback, and b) idiots who want their ego stroked or show off how much irrelevant trivia they know. (And, PYLdude, I'm not suggesting you're one or the other, nor am I suggesting you have sand in any orifice.

So when I say "that isn't interesting", I'm not saying it's not valid trivia, I'm simply saying I don't think it's the kind of thing you want as a Millionaire question, because it's not the kind of trivia that people at home say "Hmm. Lemme ponder that," about.

Robert Hutchinson · « **Reply #607 on:** December 14, 2005, 06:44:08 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Dec 14 2005, 01:56 PM\']Now, if you want to say "According to the children's television series...", then you have a verifiable question, but I don't think it's nearly as interesting.[/quote]

Couldn't you say "according to their creator"? Or am I misremembering?

clemon79 · « **Reply #608 on:** December 14, 2005, 06:50:58 PM »

[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Dec 14 2005, 03:44 PM\']Couldn't you say "according to their creator"? Or am I misremembering?

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You could, but the point is, over time, even Miyamoto has changed up his story a few times, more or less to suit whatever Nintendo was having him pimp at that particular moment. There simply is no solid irrefutable history to back up the question, unless you limit the question to one interpretation of the legend (by qualitfying the question with "According to Source X"), which then makes the question uninteresting.

J.R. · « **Reply #609 on:** December 14, 2005, 10:50:45 PM »

Hmmm, here's one for you're judgement:

Charles Taylor was a leader of what country?

A: Canada
B: Liberia
C: New Zealand
D: Jamaica

-Joe R.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #610 on:** December 15, 2005, 12:01:53 PM »

[quote name=\'JRaygor\' date=\'Dec 14 2005, 11:50 PM\']Hmmm, here's one for you're judgement:

Charles Taylor was a leader of what country?

A: Canada
B: Liberia
C: New Zealand
D: Jamaica
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This is preposterously easy for a million dollar question; the guy was in the news just about every day in 2003. It's also badly worded. Brevity is nice, but "a leader" could mean a lot of things. There's a philosopher from Canada named Charles Taylor who could be considered a political leader, for example. Finally, it's not all that interesting. Just a name and some countries, there's nothing to sit and solve. Either you know it (which is likely, as I said) or you don't.

Next?

J.R. · « **Reply #611 on:** December 15, 2005, 05:32:23 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Dec 15 2005, 12:01 PM\']This is preposterously easy for a million dollar question; the guy was in the news just about every day in 2003. It's also badly worded. Brevity is nice, but "a leader" could mean a lot of things. There's a philosopher from Canada named Charles Taylor who could be considered a political leader, for example. Finally, it's not all that interesting. Just a name and some countries, there's nothing to sit and solve. Either you know it (which is likely, as I said) or you don't.

Next?

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I did not intend that to be a $1,000,000 question. I was curious where would be an approprate place to set this question? I was thinking for along the lines of $8000 or $16,000.

Or is this just for million dollar questions only? If so, I do appologize.
-Joe R.
(PS: I agree the wording is a bit off.)

Kevin Prather · « **Reply #612 on:** December 15, 2005, 07:23:33 PM »

[quote name=\'JRaygor\' date=\'Dec 15 2005, 03:32 PM\']Or is this just for million dollar questions only? If so, I do appologize.

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I think we're trying to focus on the higher lever questions because they are more interesting.

Here's one for you...

On which of the following game shows do contestants rely on the process of circumlocution?

A: Wheel of Fortune
B: Card Sharks
C: The $25,000 Pyramid
D: Let's Make A Deal

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #613 on:** December 15, 2005, 07:30:40 PM »

[quote name=\'JRaygor\' date=\'Dec 15 2005, 06:32 PM\']I did not intend that to be a $1,000,000 question. I was curious where would be an approprate place to set this question? I was thinking for along the lines of $8000 or $16,000.

Or is this just for million dollar questions only? If so, I do appologize.[/quote]
I thought that was the idea originally, and I'm still assuming (mistakenly so, it would appear) that any new question is being presented as a $1,000,000 question. I guess I don't see the point of discussing every multiple-choice question that comes to anyone's mind, although that's probably part of the reason this has become -- by far -- the biggest thread in our history. Sorry for being harsh, and you're exactly right. A straight-up, general-knowledge current events question like that would fit just fine at the $8000 or $16,000 level.

BTW, I'm curious: How many in the forum actually have experience writing quiz material professionally at some level? I can think of exactly five (myself included), but I'm assuming there must be more.

Kevin Prather · « **Reply #614 on:** December 15, 2005, 07:32:51 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Dec 15 2005, 05:30 PM\'][quote name=\'JRaygor\']Or is this just for million dollar questions only? If so, I do appologize.[/quote]
I thought that was the idea originally, and I'm still assuming (mistakenly so, it would appear) that any new question is being presented as a $1,000,000 question.
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Not mistaken. This is a thread to discuss potential high-level questions. Mainly MDQs.