Tim Janus

Tim Janus
From	New York City, NY
Appearance	September 24, 2009 November 16, 2009
Money won	$100,000

Tim Janus (born Dec. 31, 1976) is a competitive eater from New York City known in the competitive eating community as "Eater X." He is a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), and is one of the most colorful IFOCE characters, both literally and figuratively. He always performs in contests wearing a painted mask and once stated "I'd eat anything. One of my goals is to eat everything in the world. I'd eat a roll of pennies. I hope we make contact with beings from other planets. I'd eat alien."

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Appearance

Tim appeared on the U.S. syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2009, winning $100,000 before choosing to walk away, although he had surmised the correct answer to the $250,000 question. Millionaire at the time had an event called the Million Dollar Tournament of Ten where the ten highest earning contestants from the season's first 45 shows will return for a chance to answer a million dollar question, and Janus qualified as the fifth seed for the Million Dollar Prize. He returned on November 16 to answer his Million Dollar Question.

Tim’s Run to the million

$500 (1 of 15) - 0:15 Time Limit Category: Government
Nancy Pelosi keeps an office in what U.S. landmark?
⬥ A: The Alamo	⬥ B: U.S. Capitol
⬥ C: Empire State Building	⬥ D: Taco Bell headquarters

$1,000 (2 of 15) - 0:15 Time Limit Category: Brand Names
Guinness, Heineken, and Corona are all brands of what?
⬥ A: Imported beer	⬥ B: Frozen pizza
⬥ C: Salad dressing	⬥ D: Bottled water

$2,000 (3 of 15) - 0:15 Time Limit Category: Reality TV
As it's title implies, the 2009 dating reality show "More to Love" features contestants who are what?
⬥ A: Recently divorced	⬥ B: Extremely short
⬥ C: Foreign immigrants	⬥ D: Full-figured

$3,000 (4 of 15) - 0:15 Time Limit Category: Slang
Derived from the practice of drinking lime juice to prevent scurvy, "limey" is a slang term for a person from where?
⬥ A: Great Britain	⬥ B: Mexico
⬥ C: Japan	⬥ D: Canada

$5,000 (5 of 15) - 0:15 Time Limit Category: Fashion Trends
A trendy buy according to some fashion experts, a "bib" is a popular style of what accessory? 'Ask the Audience’ lifeline used
⬥ A: Bracelet	⬥ B: Sunglasses
⬥ C: Necklace	⬥ D: High-heeled shoes
Ask the Audience Results: A: 5% ⬥ B: 6% ⬥ C: 83% ⬥ D: 6%

$7,500 (6 of 15) - 0:30 Time Limit Category: Buzzwords
Opponents of genetically modified food often refer to it by what "scary" name?
⬥ A: Dracufood	⬥ B: Werefood
⬥ C: Ghostfood	⬥ D: Frankenfood

$10,000 (7 of 15) - 0:30 Time Limit Category: Geography
Playfully referencing the city in which it takes place, "Casper the Friendly Ghost's Tour" is the name of a sightseeing tour in what state?
⬥ A: Georgia	⬥ B: Missouri
⬥ C: Wyoming	⬥ D: New Hampshire

$12,500 (8 of 15) - 0:30 Time Limit Category: Money
Notorious for their role in the mortgage crisis, the investment instruments known as "CDOs" are what kind of "debt obligation"?
⬥ A: Corporate	⬥ B: Chartered
⬥ C: Capital	⬥ D: Collateralized

$15,000 (9 of 15) - 0:30 Time Limit Category: World Leaders
What historic world leader was given the name "Temüjin" at birth? ’Ask the Expert‘ lifeline used
⬥ A: Genghis Khan	⬥ B: Augustus Caesar
⬥ C: Peter the Great	⬥ D: Hirohito

Tim decides to Ask the Expert. The expert, Ashleigh, thinks it’s A: Gengis Khan. Tim goes with her and wins $15,000.

$25,000 (10 of 15) - 0:30 Time Limit Category: Catchphrases
Whats sportscaster popularized the expression "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat"?
⬥ A: Howard Cosell	⬥ B: Jim McKay
⬥ C: Brent Musberger	⬥ D: Keith Jackson

$50,000 (11 of 15) - 0:45 Time Limit Category: Thomas Jefferson
In addition to his many political achievements, Thomas Jefferson is also credited with introducing what to the U.S.? ’Phone-a-Friend‘ lifeline used
⬥ A: Shoelaces	⬥ B: The brassiere
⬥ C: French fries	⬥ D: The chalkboard

Tim decides to his sister Tess. Tess is 50% sure it is C: French fries. Although Tim was thinking chalkboard, he trusts his sister and wins $50,000.

$100,000 (12 of 15) - 0:45 Time Limit Category: Authors
According to the United Nations, who is the most widely translated individual author in the world? ’Double Dip‘ lifeline used
⬥ A: Dr. Suess	⬥ B: Agatha Christie
⬥ C: William Shakespeare	⬥ D: Jakob Grimm

$250,000 (13 of 15) - 0:45 Time Limit Category: Flowers
According to the Dictionary of American Regional English, a "railroad daisy" is what type of flower?
⬥ A: Rhododendron	⬥ B: Sunflower
⬥ C: Black-eyed Susan	⬥ D: Mountain laurel

Tim thinks it’s might be C: Black-eyed Susan, but he doesn’t want to drop to $25,000, so he’s leaving with $100,000. C: Black-eyed Susan was indeed the correct answer.

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 3 minutes, 16 seconds
Who once wrote, "'Bartlett's Familiar Quotations' is an admirable work," a quotation now listed in "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations"?
⬥ A: Truman Capote	⬥ B: John Lennon
⬥ C: Winston Churchill	⬥ D: Mark Twain

As the game progressed, he first said that he knew the answer to the question, but it was later known that he was toying with Meredith, as a response to her "tricking" contestants in the Hot Seat. He had an inkling towards Winston Churchill (which was the correct answer) but decided to walk away because he wasn't even sure and because of the money at risk. The correct answer was C: Winston Churchill.

External links

• International Federation of Competitive Eating Profile
• Video of Tim Janus's Million Dollar Question