Ken Jennings

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Ken Jennings

Kenneth Wayne "Ken" Jennings III (born May 23, 1974 in Edmonds, Washington ) is an American quiz professional . He became a star in the US in 2004 when he won the quiz show Jeopardy a spectacular 74 times in a row . But he lost a multi-year final against Brad Rutter , who was able to book a higher overall Jeopardy profit than Jennings.

By participating in several other US game shows, Jennings again holds the record for the highest total TV profit ( $ 3,623,414.29 ) over his rival (as of 2010 before the Watson match ). Through skilful self-marketing (books, television appearances, etc.) he was able to maintain his status as a symbol of the American quizzes despite his defeat.

In mid-February 2011, he competed at Jeopardy together with the aforementioned Brad Rutter against the Watson artificial intelligence program from IBM ; Watson clearly won this competition.

Life

Ken Jennings lived in Seoul from 1981 to 1992 and in Singapore from 1992 to 1996 , where his father worked for various companies. He graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a degree in computer science and English . As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , he spent a two-year missionary visit to Madrid from 1993 to 1995 .

While attending Jeopardy , he was employed as a software engineer at a company in Salt Lake City . He now lives near Seattle with his wife and two children .

Jeopardy participation

Even before participating in Jeopardy , Jennings was an avid quiz player and viewer. The first broadcast with him was on June 2, 2004 on American television. He won the 73 programs that followed, but only nine times did not have a secure lead in the final question - i. H. with skillful use his victory was already certain - had. His winning streak ended on November 30, 2004. He answered two Daily Doubles incorrectly during the show and lost over $ 10,000, leaving him with a comfortable tenth lead before the final round. In contrast to his opponent, Jennings answered the final question incorrectly and was eliminated. During its winning streak, audience ratings for Jeopardy were 22% higher.

According to Jeopardy

Jennings has written three books. The first book, Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs , was published in 2006 and describes his experiences at Jeopardy. His second book, Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days , from 2008 is a compilation of general knowledge questions. His third book, Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks , was published in 2011. The 2013 book Because I Said So !: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids is aimed specifically at children.

He is a frequent guest on American quiz shows, including a. as an expert in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? or as a candidate in 1 vs. 100 and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Fonts

  • Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs . Villard Books, New York, 2006, ISBN 1-4000-6445-7 .
  • Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days . Villard Books, New York, 2008, ISBN 0-345-49997-2 .
  • Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks . Scribner, New York, 2011, ISBN 978-1-43916-717-5 .
  • Because I Said So !: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids . Scribner, New York, 2013, ISBN 978-1476706962

Web links

Commons : Ken Jennings  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  1. ↑ report on spiegel.de
  2. ↑ Message from jeopardy.com ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jeopardy.com
  3. ^ John Markoff: On 'Jeopardy,' Watson's a Natural , New York Times. February 16, 2011. 
  4. ↑ Mirror: Watson can look Quiz kings old , accessed 16 February 2011
personal data
SURNAME Jennings, Ken
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jennings, Kenneth Wayne III (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American game show participant and non-fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Edmonds (Washington)