It's TRIVIA TIME

AP Wire | 04/06/2005 | Jennings to take part in trivia contest

WAUSAU, Wis. - A millionaire game show whiz joins thousands of competitors this weekend at the 36th annual self-proclaimed world's largest trivia contest. Ken Jennings, who won nearly $2.5 million during a 74-game winning streak playing "Jeopardy," will visit the contest 30 miles south of here in Stevens Point to witness the competition in his research for a new book about trivia. Will he want to play after getting caught up in the passion of the 54-hour marathon of the mind that begins Friday? "I don't think it is the kind of stuff I would be that good at," Jennings said in a telephone interview from Salt Lake City, his hometown. "My impression is to make the questions Google-proof, they have to be pretty obscure stuff, not the kind of general knowledge that "Jeopardy" tests, but really specialized kind of minutiae. And I have no way of knowing how I would do at that kind of stuff. I would probably get my butt kicked. I am just sort of interested in seeing what the vibe is like."

Shawn called this evening and happened to mention that this weekend is Trivia in Stevens Point. She is headed down there tomorrow for a meeting, but isn't planning to stay for the weekend...too bad, almost--Triv was SO much fun the year I particpated, although our team finished WAAAAY down the list. I don't even remember if we broke 500 points!! :-)) I can't even imagine what it must be like to play now, with Google and the 'net instead of the way we played, our stacks and piles of trivia books, old encyclopedias, collections of phone books, and bags of potato chips. And even harder to believe the same Oz is there as when I played!! An article from the area paper on Trivia is here: Trivia at the Herald and here's the main page for WWSP: WWSP Looks like Trivia is played over the 'net now--a far cry from how we tuned in the tiny 10-watt campus radio station (WWSP 90 FM, yeah!). I'll have to tune in.....