I like Jeopardy. I think it's a great show and I try to watch it as often as I can remember that it's on. The one thing I never fully understood is that you have to give your answer in the form of a question. I mean I get it. Who is... what is... I understand. Here's where I get tripped up. Does it have to be who is...? or what is...? If you gave the right answer in the form of any question is it still a right answer?

"Who the fuck is Archbishop Ferdinand?"

"Correct."

It seems like a viable response. I know you can't really be cursing on national primetime television but are we allowed to get creative here?

"He was the Ottoman Sultan who captured Constantinople in 1453."

"What is Mehmed II famous for?"

I'm really not trying to be funny. Is there a rule book that stipulates the type of question you have to ask to get the right answer. I really want to know. If there is, they either don't follow it or it makes no reference to verb tense agreement. How many times do you hear someone get a correct answer by saying "Who is..." just before they announce the name of a dead guy? Who is? He isn't is. He's was. The way I see it, if they're not going to stipulate that you have to answer the question with proper grammar, why should they be able to hold you to the way you ask your question answers...I mean answer questions...I mean the way you question your answers.........to hell with it, the words you put before the answer. That's all the show's gimmick is now anyway.

So the next time you're invited on Jeopardy and Trebek answers you:

"He was the Greek Orthodox priest who was reinstated as patriarch of Constantinople after its fall to the Ottomans."

You can question him:

"How would you describe Gennadios, Alex, you goofy little muppet."

And you can argue that you did, in fact, answer in the form of a question.


Oh and if you're wondering about the historical material I used, I have a test on the Ottoman Empire today so I've got it on the brain.

Anderson

MYOFuB - We don't care how you ask your questions as long as you're not asking us.