I caught part of an episode of Jeopardy! yesterday, and it occurred to me that I have a penchant for retaining useless information, but when it comes to remembering facts about people and places and dates and cultures, well, I am a total child of the Internet. Want to know that names of six Brady kids? I'm your gal. Want to know the current King of Spain? It is Juan Carlos I. I know that because I looked it up on Wikipedia on the Internet. I will also forget it about ten minutes after finishing this blog entry.I would never fare well on Jeopardy! Sure, I am able to answer some of the questions. I'm not a complete idiot. However, I would do much better if I could use the pause button on my DVR during the live show like I do when I watch it to give me a few additional seconds to think of the answer. There are certain categories of historical significance that I can manage to actually pull off. Somewhere, deep in my brain, some information from a high school or college history class must have stuck.
Nonetheless, I am loath to admit that I seem much better suited to answering pop culture questions. I can tell you all the people who were shipwrecked on Gilligan's Island. I can name at least three of Brangelina's kids. I can tell you the lyrics to Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" and the name of the three horse races that comprise the Triple Crown. On the Jeopardy board, I would ring in constantly for the category on the music of the Eagles, yet stand painfully, numbly staring off into space while the other two contestants answered all the questions about World War II. As teenagers, they were apparently reading biographies and watching The History Channel while I was reading Seventeen and watching reruns of The Cosby Show. (But I can name all of the Huxtable kids if asked - -doesn't that count for something?)
