The single peaked at #3 in 1966.

Each test will be conducted in real-time at 8 p.m. local time (Tuesday the 23rd for EST, Wednesday the 24th for CST [7 p.m. MST], and Thursday the 25th for PST). Although they prefer you to take the test designed for your time zone, you can actually participate in any ONE of the three.

Unlike the actual game show, the online Jeopardy quiz does not present you with answers and ask you to respond in the form of a question. To make it easier to score, the standard question-and-answer format is used. Speed is important: you have only 15 seconds to read each question and type in your answer (there are 50 questions, so the entire test will take at most twelve and a half minutes).

If you are serious about passing this test and getting on to the show, my best advice is:

• Category Names: Make sure you read the category name above the question. Just like on the game show, this can be a useful clue to the answer.
• Short Answers: Most answers are one word. Last names for people, etc. Occasionally a longer title, such as the name of a book or movie, will be required.
• Guess: If you don't know an answer, just take a guess. There is no penalty for wrong answers. In fact, spelling doesn't even count.
• Write It Down: If you *think* you know an answer, type it in while you consider the alternatives. That way if you run out of time, at least you've made a reasonable guess.
• Take Your Time: This may seem counterintuitive given the 15-second limit on each question, but once you've typed in your answer, use the seconds you have left to make sure you didn't misread the question or miss an obvious better answer. Answering more quickly does not gain you anything.
• Practice: Obviously, studying trivia will help you, but your free time over the next two weeks might be better spent practicing. Find any short-answer trivia quiz, put yourself on the clock, and actually type in your answers somewhere. Shameless plug: I added 15-second timer and 50-question options to my Triv PalmPilot game (play the Quick Quiz game variation) after taking this test last year.

Lastly, check out what I blogged after last year's online test.

a) "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
b) "I Am a Rock"
c) "Mrs. Robinson"
d) "The Sounds of Silence"

Non-Sports:
• A1) U2. The rock band arrived at the February 8 ceremony with 17 Grammys and converted all five of its nominations to leapfrog over Stevie Wonder's 21.
• A2) Neptune. The International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto from a full-fledged planet to a small solar system body or dwarf planet on August 24.
• A3) 118. Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory working with their Russian colleagues at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, announced on October 10 that they had indirectly detected ununoctium-294. Element number 116, ununhexium, was the previous highest as element number 117, ununseptium, has not yet been synthesized. (Note: the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has not assigned official names to these elements yet.)
• A4) 12,000. The mark was set on October 19, exactly 19 years after the 507.99-point, 22.6% drop of Black Monday. The 11,000-point milestone was first topped on May 3, 1999.
• A5) Kurt Cobain. The former Nirvana lead singer ($50 million) knocked Elvis Presley ($42 million) out of the top spot for the first time since the annual list debuted in 2000.
• A6) Gerald Ford. Richard Nixon's successor surpassed Ronald Reagan's longevity mark on November 12, just six weeks before passing away at the age of 93 years and 5 months. Only John Adams and Herbert Hoover also reached their 90th birthday.

  Sports:
  

• A7) Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles Lakers guard scorched the Toronto Raptors for 81 points on January 22, only a month after tallying 62 in only three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. He pushed aside the Denver Nuggets David Thompson, who dropped 73 on the Detroit Pistons on April 9, 1978.
• A8) Roger Federer. The extraordinary Swiss eclipsed Bjorn Borg's string of 41 by defeating Richard Gasquet in their opening round Wimbledon match on June 27 and increased his ongoing streak to 48 by upending Rafael Nadal in the final.
• A9) Ronaldo. The Brazilian erased Germany's Gerd Muller's record with his 15th goal in a win over Ghana on June 27.
• A10) Corey Pavin. His opening round at the U.S. Bank Championship on July 27 included eight birdies for a 26 on the front nine. Mike Souchak, Andy North, Billy Mayfair, and Robert Gamez had shared the previous best of 27.
• A11) Trevor Hoffman. The righty saved his 478th game on September 23 to catch Lee Smith and needed only one more day to break the tie.
• A12) Matt Leinart. The Arizona Cardinals signal-caller went to the air for 405 yards against the Minnesota Vikings on November 26 to break former Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer's nine-year-old record of 388.

2006 Trivia Updates Questions

Non-Sports:
• Q1) What recording artist won the most total Grammy Awards?
• Q2) What is the outermost planet in our solar system?
• Q3) What is the atomic number of the highest chemical element discovered?
• Q4) What 1,000-point milestone did the Dow Jones Industrial Average close above for the first time in 2006?
• Q5) According to Forbes.com on October 23, who was the top-earning dead celebrity over the previous 12 months?
• Q6) Which U.S. President lived the longest?

  Sports:
  

• Q7) After Wilt Chamberlain, what basketball player scored the most points in an NBA game?
• Q8) What professional male tennis player won the most consecutive matches on grass?
• Q9) What male soccer player netted the most career goals in World Cup competition?
• Q10) What PGA golfer needed the fewest strokes to complete nine holes?
• Q11) What Major League Baseball pitcher saved the most career games?
• Q12) What NFL rookie quarterback passed for the most yards in a game?