“Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader” Book
When Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader first came out, I slammed it a Millionaire ripoff for dumbasses. Harper Collins Publishing recently supplied me with an advanced copy of the new Fifth Grader book, and maybe I need to take another look at the show. Even if you’re not a fan of the hit FOX game this book may be worth a look. It’s essentially like the show except you don’t have child actors breathing down your neck or lifeli…. er, hel…. er, Cheats. You get ten questions from first to fifth grade each with a new category. After that you get the million dollar question which seems to be a bit tougher than the rest.
At least to me, the first through fifth grade questions were very easy. Some questions ask straight forward items such as “How many feet are in 75 yards?” but some get tricky and ask “True or False: Africa is a country south of Europe?” If you’re not really paying attention (like I never do), you’re going to be screwed. But those first ten seemed rather simple to me and I’m far from a genius. However, when we get to the million dollar question things get a bit tougher. Is that question usually more difficult than the rest on the television show? One of the questions I got asked “What four instruments are played in a string quartet?” I missed that one by one violin and quite frankly if a fifth grader truly knows that off the top of their head (Yes, FOX, this means no pre-briefing of material) I am extremely impressed.
The main reason I enjoyed this game book was it was interesting to see how much I’ve forgotten and how much I can recall. The book turns out to be better than the show because you don’t have to deal with long pauses, the constant interruptions of the children, or Jeff Foxworthy. You can just get on with the questions and that’s all I really wanted. I think even non-fans of the show are going to enjoy it. It’s only $12.95 so it will be a great stocking stuffer for Christmas. It comes out on October 2nd and you can pre-order a copy by clicking the widget on the far right side bar. We may try to give away a few copies soon; stay tuned.
We dont know, they havent ever asked a Million Dollar Question on the show yet, as you have to committ to going for it before they’ll ask it.
I’ve seen one million dollar question: what was the first U.S. spaceship in orbit? The contestant got it wrong, and so did I.
The Countdown is unnecessary. I hate Harper Collins as much as Angelle Tymon.
It’s a good show compared to many others on television. But I don’t buy the sales pitch on the question by Foxworthy. He actually stands there claiming the questions are taken from particular grade levels. “There’s no way a second grader knows THAT answer!” That’s what I said the other night while watching the show. They typically ask questions that most children would never know.
I just wish good television equaled honest television. But it only figures that LIES are required for a network to pull in ratings and profits. And they are using children to do it.