Woot: The Community: World of Woot: The Full Ken Jennings Wootcast Interview

Oct 10, 2011 12:00 AM
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Jason Toon

quality posts: 16 Private Messages Jason Toon

Staff

If you watched Ken Jennings open a Bag o' Crap in this week's Wootcast - and if you haven't, why not? - and you were left wanting to hear more about his new book Maphead, his personal cartophilia, and the naughty words he taught his GPS, here's the full interview, recorded at the Wootcast studio (yes, that's a real thing)! And don't forget The Debunker, Ken's weekly column right here on the Woot blog every Tuesday, wherein he tears down the treasured myths most of us live by. If you're not getting your RDA of Ken Jennings, you can't blame Woot.

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Tattle

Oct 10, 2011 12:41 AM
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CowboyDann

quality posts: 702 Private Messages CowboyDann

Pretty darn good interview. Ken is too funny; I really enjoyed his GPS story. I really need to see how to do that and edit mine to say PG-13 things.

Ken's going to open a Blanket O' Cowboy? Could this possibly be hinting that mean we're in for a woot off this week?

Oh boy I hope!

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Tattle

Oct 10, 2011 6:03 AM
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rogerkim

quality posts: 0 Private Messages rogerkim

I went to school with Ken (he went by Kenneth back then), and I think I vaguely remember the childhood warring countries he referred to.

The guy was brilliant in high school - had the quickest recall of anyone I've ever met. Rooted for him when he was on Jeopardy, and am glad to see he's doing well.

Thanks, Woot, for a great interview!

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Tattle

Oct 10, 2011 9:21 AM
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madfrisbee

quality posts: 6 Private Messages madfrisbee

You think the highest point in Massachusetts is underwhelming - We went to the highest point in Missouri last year. You park at a parking lot, walk a few hundred feet down a paved path through the woods, and suddenly, in the middle of a dense forest, you come to a plaque that says you're there. The highest point in Missouri. Ostentatiously named Taum Sauk Mountain. You look around, hoping for the awesome view across the mighty state of Missouri. All you see are trees.

Then Florida's is even more worthless. Britton Hill in Lakewood Park - an awe-inspiring 345 feet above sea level. See the glorious Google Street View shots here.

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Tattle

Oct 10, 2011 4:57 PM
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dave bug

quality posts: 14 Private Messages dave bug

madfrisbee wrote:You think the highest point in Massachusetts is underwhelming - We went to the highest point in Missouri last year. You park at a parking lot, walk a few hundred feet down a paved path through the woods, and suddenly, in the middle of a dense forest, you come to a plaque that says you're there. The highest point in Missouri. Ostentatiously named Taum Sauk Mountain. You look around, hoping for the awesome view across the mighty state of Missouri. All you see are trees.

Then Florida's is even more worthless. Britton Hill in Lakewood Park - an awe-inspiring 345 feet above sea level. See the glorious Google Street View shots here.

I remember, on some pre-GPS road trip, realizing that the road atlas we had listed the highest point in each state, and I became obsessed with determining which state had the lowest highest point, the one farthest away from any road, the most urban one, etc. Sadly, or perhaps fortunately, my mind does not hold on to much of that "research" any more, but I do distinctly remember Florida's sad little hill.

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Tattle

Oct 11, 2011 2:10 PM
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whoiskenjennings

quality posts: 3 Private Messages whoiskenjennings

Guest Blogger

rogerkim: Hey, man, I totally remember you. It was me and Gerald Song drawing the maps in 3rd grade. What are you up to now?

madfrisbee and dave bug: Yeah, I feel sort of bad for maligning Mt. Greylock, which is actually a nice hike, especially when the leaves are changing. There's a list in Maphead of other, much more underwhelming state highpoints. Off the top of my head, I think Florida's is a rest stop, Illinois's is a community college quad, Iowa's is a cornfield, and Delaware's is a trailer park.

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Tattle

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