Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (U.S. version)/Final Questions

Michael Shutterly: August 25th, 1999

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
On February 22, 1989, what group won the first Grammy award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance?
• A: Metallica	• B: AC/DC
• C: Living Colour	• D: Jethro Tull

The correct answer was D: Jethro Tull.

John Carpenter: November 19th, 1999

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of these U.S. Presidents appeared on the television series "Laugh-In"? "Phone-a-Friend" lifeline used
• A: Lyndon Johnson	• B: Richard Nixon
• C: Jimmy Carter	• D: Gerald Ford

John had all three of his lifelines intact, but did not need them for this question; only to use the Phone-a-Friend to call his dad that he was going to win the top prize.

David Fite: January 10th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
In what language was Anne Frank's original diary first published? 'Phone-a-Friend' lifeline used
• A: Dutch	• B: English
• C: French	• D: German

The correct answer was A: Dutch.

Dan Blonsky: January 18th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
The Earth is approximately how many miles away from the Sun?
• A: 9.3 million	• B: 39 million
• C: 93 million	• D: 193 million

Rob Coughlin: January 23rd, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
In what country are all U.S. Major League baseballs currently manufactured? '50:50' lifeline used
• A: Costa Rica	• B: Haiti
• C: Dominican Republic	• D: Cuba

The correct answer was A: Costa Rica.

Stephanie Girardi: February 17th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
What Shakespeare character says, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"?
• A: Hamlet	• B: Marcellus
• C: Horatio	• D: Laertes

The correct answer was B: Marcellus.

Joe Trela: March 23rd, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
What insect shorted out an early supercomputer and inspired the term "computer bug"?
• A: Moth	• B: Roach
• C: Fly	• D: Japanese beetle

Mike Menz: April 27th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of the following pieces of currency was the first to use the motto "In God We Trust"?
• A: Nickel	• B: One dollar bill
• C: Two-cent piece	• D: Five dollar bill

The correct answer is C: Two-cent piece.

Drew Carey: May 2nd, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Who was the first NFL player to answer "I'm going to Disneyland" in the popular series of TV ads?
• A: Doug Williams	• B: Marcus Allen
• C: Phil Simms	• D: Joe Montana

The correct answer was C: Phil Simms.

Rosie O'Donnell: May 3rd, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Playwright Anton Chekhov graduated from the University of Moscow with a degree in what?
• A: Law	• B: Medicine
• C: Philosophy	• D: Economics

The correct answer was B: Medicine.

Tom O'Brien: June 11th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Before the American colonies switched to the Gregorian calendar, on what date did their new year start?
• A: March 25	• B: July 1
• C: September 25	• D: December 1

The correct answer was A: March 25.

Bob House: June 13th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of the following men does not have a chemical element named for him? '50:50' and 'Phone-a-Friend' lifelines used
• A: Albert Einstein	• B: Niels Bohr
• C: Isaac Newton	• D: Enrico Fermi

Kim Hunt: July 6th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of the following landlocked countries is entirely contained within another country?
• A: Lesotho	• B: Burkina Faso
• C: Mongolia	• D: Luxembourg

David Goodman: July 11th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
In the children's book series, where is Paddington Bear originally from? '50:50', 'Ask the Audience', and 'Phone-a-Friend' lifelines used
• A: India	• B: Peru
• C: Canada	• D: Iceland
Ask the Audience Results: A: 0% • B: 57% • C: 1% • D: 42%

Joe Kelleher: July 23rd, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
What best-selling author was born Howard Allen O'Brien?
• A: Danielle Steel	• B: Anne Rice
• C: J.K. Rowling	• D: Toni Morrison

The correct answer was B: Anne Rice.

Phil Gibbons: August 15th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
In the U.S., the Sony Walkman personal cassette player was originally marketed in 1979 under what name?
• A: Soundabout	• B: Listener
• C: Eardrummer	• D: Stowaway

The correct answer was A: Soundabout.

Pat Thompson: August 11th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
According to the United Nations, in what year was the world's population half of its present total?
• A: 1950	• B: 1960
• C: 1970	• D: 1940

The correct answer was B: 1960.

Norm MacDonald: November 17th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
During the Cold War, the U.S. government built a bunker to house Congress under what golf resort?
• A: The Breakers	• B: The Greenbrier
• C: Pinehurst	• D: The Broadmoor

Correct Answer: B: The Greenbrier

Justin Ray Castillo: November 26th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
What plant is named after the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, who brought it to the U.S.?
• A: Fuchsia	• B: Juniper
• C: Camellia	• D: Poinsettia

The correct answer was D: Poinsettia.

Jim Matthews: December 6th, 2000

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of these network news anchors began his career at age 9, hosting a children's radio show? 'Ask the Audience' lifeline used
• A: Peter Jennings	• B: Tom Brokaw
• C: Dan Rather	• D: Ted Koppel
Ask the Audience Results: A: 20% • B: 7% • C: 25% • D: 48%

The correct answer was A: Peter Jennings.

Gary Gambino: March 1st, 2001

$2,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Who is the only winner of the Nobel Peace Prize to decline the prize? 'Phone a Friend' lifeline used
• A: Albert Schweitzer	• B: Le Duc Tho
• C: Andrei Sakharov	• D: Aung San Suu Kyi

The correct answer was B: Le Duc Tho.

David Stewart: April 1st, 2001

$2,140,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
People who have a marked physical reaction to beautiful art are said to suffer from what syndrome? 'Ask the Audience' and 'Phone-a-Friend' lifelines used.
• A: Proust Syndrome	• B: Jerusalem Syndrome
• C: Stendhal's Syndrome	• D: Beckett's Syndrome
Ask the Audience Results: A: 26% • B: 15% • C: 32% • D: 15%

Correct Answer: C: Stendhal's Syndrome

Kevin Olmstead: April 10th, 2001

$2,180,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Who is credited with inventing the first mass-produced helicopter?
• A: Igor Sikorsky	• B: Elmer Sperry
• C: Ferdinand von Zeppelin	• D: Gottlieb Daimler

Bernie Cullen: April 15th, 2001

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
What letter must appear on the beginning of the registration number of all non-military aircraft in the U.S.? 'Ask the Audience' and '50:50' lifelines used.
• A: N	• B: A
• C: U	• D: L

Steve Perry: April 22nd, 2001

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
In the TV series "The Brady Bunch," what is Carol Brady's maiden name? 'Ask the Audience', '50:50', and 'Phone-a-Friend' lifelines used
• A: Martin	• B: Tyler
• C: Nelson	• D: Franklin
Ask the Audience Results: A: 33% • B: 14% • C: 34% • D: 19%

Correct Answer: C: Tyler

Moe Cain: May 1st, 2001

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
How many days make up a non-leap year in the Islamic calendar? 'Phone a Friend' and 'Ask the Audience' lifelines used.
• A: 365	• B: 400
• C: 354	• D: 376
Ask the Audience Results: A: 33% • B: 17% • C: 35% • D: 15%

The correct answer is C: 354.

Rob and Mary Beth McNally: May 17th, 2001

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
What club did astronaut Alan Shepard use to make his famous golf shot on the moon? '50:50' and 'Phone-a-Friend' lifelines used
• A: Nine iron	• B: Sand wedge
• C: Six iron	• D: Seven iron

The correct answer was C: Six iron.

Tom Hoobler: June 5th, 2001

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Who is the only Nobel laureate to win an Academy Award?
• A: John Steinback	• B: Jean-Paul Sartre
• C: George Bernard Shaw	• D: Toni Morrison

The correct answer was C: George Bernard Shaw.

Mary Burke: June 14th, 2001

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Famous pediatrician and author Dr. Benjamin Spock won an Olympic gold medal in what sport?
• A: Swimming	• B: Rowing
• C: Fencing	• D: Sailing

The correct answer is B: Rowing.

Ed Toutant: September 7th, 2001

$1,860,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
During WWII, U.S. soldiers used the first commercial aerosol cans to hold what? '50:50' lifeline used
• A: Cleaning fluid	• B: Antiseptic
• C: Insecticide	• D: Shaving cream

Kevin Smith: February 18th, 2003

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
The U.S. icon "Uncle Sam" was based on Samuel Wilson who worked during the War of 1812 as a what?
• A: Meat inspector	• B: Mail deliverer
• C: Historian	• D: Weapons mechanic

Nancy Christy: May 8th, 2003

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Who did artist Grant Wood use as the model for the farmer in his classic painting "American Gothic"?
• A: Traveling salesman	• B: Local sheriff
• C: His dentist	• D: His butcher

Armand Kachigian: May 9th, 2003

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
The song "God Bless America" was originally written for what 1918 musical?
• A: Oh, Lady! Lady!	• B: Yip, Yip, Yaphank
• C: Blossom Time	• D: Watch Your Step

Correct Answer: B: Yip, Yip, Yaphank

Jeff Gross: November 18th, 2004

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Now used to refer to a cat, the word "tabby" is derived from the name of a district of what world capital?
• A: Baghdad	• B: New Delhi
• C: Cairo	• D: Moscow

Correct Answer: A: Baghdad

Ogi Ogas: November 8th, 2006

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Which of these ships was not one of the three taken over by colonists during the Boston Tea Party?
• A: Eleanor	• B: Dartmouth
• C: Beaver	• D: William

Correct Answer: D: William

Lyn Payne: November 1st, 2007

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Khrushchev's famous 1960 "shoe-banging" outburst at the U.N. was in response to a delegate from what nation? 'Ask the Audience' lifeline used
• A: Australia	• B: The Netherlands
• C: The Philippines	• D: Turkey
Ask the Audience Results: A: 8% • B: 29% • C: 15% • D: 48%

Correct Answer: C: The Philippines

Ken Basin: August 23rd, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 4:39 Time Limit Category: Bottoms Up!
For ordering his favorite beverages on demand, LBJ had four buttons installed in the Oval Office labeled "coffee," "tea," "Coke" and what? 'Ask the Audience' lifeline used
• A: Fresca	• B: V8
• C: Yoo-hoo	• D: A&W
Ask the Audience Results: A: 15% • B: 12% • C: 40% • D: 33%

Alex Ortiz: November 9th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 2:55 Time Limit
What First Lady was a ninth-generation of descendant of Pocahontas?
• A: Helen Taft	• B: Edith Wilson
• C: Bess Truman	• D: Mamie Eisenhower

Correct Answer: B: Edith Wilson

Tony Westmoreland: November 10th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 3:07 Time Limit
What great thinker's death is attributed to a chill he caught while stuffing a chicken with snow for an experiment on refrigeration?
• A: Pythagoras	• B: Archimedes
• C: Isaac Newton	• D: Francis Bacon

Correct Answer: D: Francis Bacon

Sam Murray: November 11th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 3:23 Time Limit Category: Genetics
According to the Population Reference Bureau, what is the approximate number of people who have ever lived on earth?
• A: 50 billion	• B: 100 billion
• C: 1 trillion	• D: 5 trillion

Robin Schwartz: November 12th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 3:35 Time Limit
Who delivered the less famous two-hour speech that preceded Abraham Lincoln's two-minute Gettysburg Address?
• A: Wendell Phillips	• B: Daniel Webster
• C: Robert G. Ingersoll	• D: Edward Everett

Correct Answer: D: Edward Everett

Ralph Cambeis: November 13th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 4:02 Time Limit Category: Composers
Though today it's treated like a treasure, what famous painting was once cut into enlarge a doorway?
• A: Detroit Industry	• B: The Last Supper
• C: Guernica	• D: The Birth of Venus

Correct Answer: B: The Last Supper

Tim Janus: November 16th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) 3:16 Time Limit
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

Correct Answer: C: Winston Churchill

Matt Schultz: November 17th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 3:32 Time Limit
The most-watched TV episode of all time, the final episode of "M*A*S*H" aired at 8:30 PM, on February 28, 1983, following what sitcom?
• A: Private Benjamin	• B: Square Pegs
• C: Alice	• D: Newhart

Correct Answer: C: Alice

Jeff Birt: November 18th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 4:07 Time Limit
"Nephelococcygia" is the practice of doing what?
• A: Finding shapes in clouds	• B: Sleeping with your eyes open
• C: Breaking glass with your voice	• D: Swimming in freezing water

Correct Answer: A: Finding shapes in clouds

Keilani Goggins: November 19th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 4:07 Time Limit
In a failed assassination attempt, what U.S. president was shot twice at the point-blank range, but survived because both guns misfired?
• A: John Adams	• B: Andrew Jackson
• C: James Polk	• D: Martin Van Buren

Correct Answer: B: Andrew Jackson

Jehan Shamsid-Deen: November 20th, 2009

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - 4:36 Time Limit
A rare example of a word that rhymes with "orange," the Blorenge is a what?
• A: River in Ireland	• B: Forest in Scotland
• C: Mountain in Wales	• D: Desert in Australia

Correct Answer: C: Mountain in Wales

Josina Reaves: September 25th, 2013

$1,000,000 (14 of 14) - Not Timed
In addition to his career as an astrologer and "prophet," Nostradamus published a 1555 treatise that included a section on what?
• A: Training parrots to talk	• B: Cheating at card games
• C: Digging graves	• D: Making jams and jellies

Charles Esten: November 21st, 2013

$1,000,000 (14 of 14) - Not Timed
Complied by Benjamin Franklin in 1737, "The Drinker's Dictionary" included all but which of these synonyms for "drunkenness"?
• A: Nimptopsical	• B: Buzzey
• C: Pifflicated	• D: Staggerish

Correct Answer: C: Pifflicated.

Lauren Lapkus: May 28th, 2020

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not timed
On the periodic table, there are four different elements named after what?
• A: Antoine Lavoisier's pet cat	• B: A moon of Neptune
• C: Marie Curie's maiden name	• D: A Swedish mining village

The correct answer was D: A Swedish mining village

Anderson Cooper: June 4th, 2020

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not timed
When scientists tested it with an electroencephalogram, which of these food items produced readings similar to a human brain? 'Phone-a-Friend' lifeline used.
• A: Wint-O-Green Life Saver	• B: SPAM
• C: Lime Jell-O	• D: Jet-Puffed Marshmallow

He guessed with B. The correct answer was C. Total Prize Money: $500,000

Julie Bowen: November 1st, 2020

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not timed
Which of the following is not the title of a country song released by Netflix phenomenon Joe Exotic, aka the "Tiger King"?
• A: I Saw a Tiger	• B: Big-Hearted Cat
• C: Here Kitty Kitty	• D: King of the Beast

The correct answer was B: Big-Hearted Cat

David Chang: November 29th, 2020

$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Althrough he and his wife never touched a light switch for fear of being shocked, who was the first president to have electricity in the White House? 'Phone-A-Friend' lifeline used
• A: Ulysses S. Grant	• B: Benjamin Harrison
• C: Chester A. Arthur	• D: Andrew Jackson

Synopsis

Year	Won	Took the money, right assumption	Took the money, wrong assumption	Took the money, no assumption	Lost	Total
1999	1	0	1	0	0	2
2000	5	3	7	3	0	18
2001	3	1	5	1	0	10
2002	0	0	0	0	0	0
2003	2	0	1	0	0	3
2004	0	0	1	0	0	1
2005	0	0	0	0	0	0
2006	0	1	0	0	0	1
2007	0	0	1	0	0	1
2008	0	0	0	0	0	0
2009	1	8 (Jehan Shamsid-Deen, the last contestant in the Tournament of Ten would've won $1,000,000.)	1	0	1	11
2010	0	0	0	0	0	0
2011	0	0	0	0	0	0
2012	0	0	0	0	0	0
2013	0	0	1	0	1	2
2014	0	0	0	0	0	0
2015	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016	0	0	0	0	0	0
2017	0	0	0	0	0	0
2018	0	0	0	0	0	0
2019	0	0	0	0	0	0
2020	1	3	0	0	0	4
Total	13	15	18	4	2	53

Trivia

• Jim Matthews, Steve Perry, Moe Cain, as well as Lyn Payne took away $500,000 each, using the Ask the Audience lifelines, which they saved for question 15.
• Ken Basin lost $475,000, using the Ask the Audience, which he believed, he retained to question 15.
• John Carpenter became the first person in the world to win the top prize.
  • He along with, David Goodman, and Steve Perry were the only ones to saves all 3 lifelines for the $1,000,000 question, Carpenter and Goodman won $1,000,000, Perry walked away with $500,000 (and after using all his lifelines, he still would’ve just lost $468,000 he had gone with his incline).
  • Also, Carpenter became the only person in the world to win the top prize without using any lifelines (excluding Phone a Friend because he told his father that he didn’t need his help and that he’s going to win a million dollars, which he did).
• Kim Hunt who won $1,000,000 also won the show’s second tiebreaker, beating Beth Rohr.
• Phil Gibbons won $500,000 with all lifelines used by question 8.
  • Kati Knudsen would’ve also done the same thing as Gibbons because she had the right answer, but instead she became the first woman to lose $218,000.
• Joe Trela won $1,000,000 with all lifelines used by question 10.
• Nancy Christy became the first woman in the U.S. to win the top prize, and did so with all lifelines used by question 9.
  • Coincidencely, the next contestant Armand Kachigian also reached to the top prize question, but this time he decides to walked away with $500,000.
• Josina Reaves became the first contestant to see the $1,000,000 question since after 4 years, then two months later, Charles Esten saw the $1,000,000 question, but there’s no one else after him yet, who saw the $1,000,000 question, and hasn’t been for over 4 years, and a few contestants including Bill Matheny and Sojas Wagle, would’ve won $500,000, and Justin Peters had gambled for $500,000, but he gave an incorrect answer and lost $225,000. As the show is cancelled, Charles Esten became the last ever contestant to see the $1,000,000 question.
• Jehan Shamsid-Deen became the only contestant to run out of time on both the $500,000 and $1,000,000 questions.