Ukuleles make it on Jeopardy!

RafterGirl

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I've been addicted to the TV quiz show Jeopardy since I was a kid. Random trivia questions just fascinate me. It's a great brain workout to watch the show and try to answer as fast as the contestants. A few nights ago there was a musical instrument category. Imagine my delight when this question came up......"what stringed instrument uses the mnemonic - my dog has fleas for tuning?" Yipeeeeee. I know this! Ukuleles make it onto Jeopardy. Awesome!
 
I've been addicted to the TV quiz show Jeopardy since I was a kid. Random trivia questions just fascinate me. It's a great brain workout to watch the show and try to answer as fast as the contestants. A few nights ago there was a musical instrument category. Imagine my delight when this question came up......"what stringed instrument uses the mnemonic - my dog has fleas for tuning?" Yipeeeeee. I know this! Ukuleles make it onto Jeopardy. Awesome!

I don't see it every day (but my elderly mother, who lives with me does) and I happened to catch that too, and I also felt extreme joy at seeing that on the show, and oddly I also felt vindicated in that my favorite instrument was acknowledged on 'mainstream' tv.
 
We had several adverts using ukes in them, they were shown for a couple of months, but seem to have disappeared lately.
(I did notice a recorder in one the other day).
 
It's so nice to find out these things. I'm always amazed at how coincidences come out. A couple of days ago the leader of our uke group and blog writer, Cali Rose, sent an email telling of her experience recently visiting the set of "Jeopardy" and how thrilled she was. (That's a mockup set for photos, and a cardboard cutout of Alex Trebek.)

Cali_at_Jeopardy.jpg
 
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Imagine my delight when this question came up......"what stringed instrument uses the mnemonic - my dog has fleas for tuning?" Yipeeeeee. I know this! Ukuleles make it onto Jeopardy. Awesome!

Cool that it came up on Jeopardy, but I've never understood the whole "my dog has fleas" thing... How exactly is it considered a 'mnemonic'? A YouTube search brings up various different songs by that purported name, and most seem to be structured around the uke tuning, but otherwise are not memorable in any particular way. Maybe it's just me, but I think a mnemonic based on the actual note names would make more sense...

bratsche
 
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I saw that Jeopardy too, the $1000 answer to boot!
 
Yes. I think it was the current champion who answered it correctly. He's over $300,000 in earnings so far in 2 weeks of play. Pretty smart dude, and also very quirky. He's a New York City bartender I believe.
 
Cool that it came up on Jeopardy, but I've never understood the whole "my dog has fleas" thing... How exactly is it considered a 'mnemonic'? A YouTube search brings up various different songs by that purported name, and most seem to be structured around the uke tuning, but otherwise are not memorable in any particular way. Maybe it's just me, but I think a mnemonic based on the actual note names would make more sense...

bratsche

Ah, Good Cats Eat Ants?
 
Goats can eat anything (and they will!)
I've missed it but I hear the current champion is a bit of a heel - like he's deliberately playing this part (but obviously a super smart guy)
 
I've never heard of the "My dog has fleas thing." But I have a really harebrained method all my own. I try to remember the letters GCEA. It might not make a lot of sense to everybody, but it works for me.
 
Or, for our virtuous vegan friends, "Gross Carnivores Eat Animals" ... lol

Which makes me wonder why, with all these variations, we pretty consistently put "Eat" in for the E. Must be wired into us, somehow. ;)

bratsche
 
Well, the quirky bartender from New York finally went down to defeat last night. Over $400,000 in prize money. #5 on the all-time Jeopardy wins & money list I believe. Not to fear, he'll be back soon for the Tournament Of Champions. I'll miss him, he was very entertaining. I bet he secretly plays a uke. He had that cool ukulele guy look about him :)
 
Well, the quirky bartender from New York finally went down to defeat last night. Over $400,000 in prize money. #5 on the all-time Jeopardy wins & money list I believe. Not to fear, he'll be back soon for the Tournament Of Champions. I'll miss him, he was very entertaining. I bet he secretly plays a uke. He had that cool ukulele guy look about him :)

How did that happen? He was looking pretty invincible! The person who took him down has a story to tell even if he or she never wins another jeopardy game!
 
When I was a kid my uncle left a nice Lyon and Healy soprano at our house for what had to be 10 years. Only thing I knew about ukulele was that you tune it to "my dog has fleas."

As I strum my soprano now, I can hear that g-c-e-a kind of sounds like "my dog has fleas.” But trying to use it as a tuning method was, and is, nearly impossible. I thank the Lord for clip-on tuners and I’m not even religious. :)
 
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