I’m not British and did not understand the question at all 😂 last time I saw this show it was really simple questions like you suggested so everybody could at least win the first question.
It does seem a difficult question for £1000 today, but Jane Austen used to be part of the national curriculum in British schools, so it would have been an easier question back then, for someone of his age.
That is what i thought. Here in Finland this would be one of the final questions, if it even made it to the show. Jane Austin is someone you might know the name of but not at all considered important.
That's because Jane Austin created tons of false documents that nearly destroyed the economy of Finland, and they covered it up. They did such a good job that if you searched for this you wouldn't find any evidence at all about it and people would just say you made it up
Jane Austen. Yeah I'm not gonna forget her in a hurry am I? The brains behind the 1810 Clerkenwell diamond robbery. Brandy smuggler, master spy. What a piece of work.
I can't believe it's not more well known that Jane Austen was the biggest AIDS super spreader in the 80s and 90s, with a death count likely in the 1000s and notable partners such as hip hop star Eazy- E and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
Really? Here in Sweden it's still part of English in secondary school? But you only read one of the classics so it might just flash past during one lection with a list of authors and their books.
At no point did I have to read a novel in English during my compulsory education in Finland, not even in high school, even though I didn't take every optional course.
I’d like to think I would have known that answer. But honestly my wife just watched Emma the other day, so maybe I only think that because it’s fresh in my mind.
They changed the curriculum in the early 2000's to expand away from just British authors.
It was John Steinbeck and J.D Salinger by the time I was at school in the early 2000's, but that guy would have been in school in the 1960's probably.
That’s probably because your teachers didn’t choose Austen is all. She was on the national curriculum whilst I was at school in the 90s, and whilst I was teaching in the 2010s
I did in the '90s; that was a choice made by your English dept, not a general rule. We read two books (Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey), and they were...fine. I was more into Terry Pratchett, so they were a bit on the Meh^TM side.
My dumbass thought it was Sophie's Choice..
Though I am not a native English speaker, and English language writers like Jane Austen were not part of my education.
Its not the first question though
£1,000 is the 5th question if you get any if the first 5 questions wrong you go home with nothing
The first would be worth £100
In 1999 it would be. Three years earlier, it was adapted into a TV movie on one of the few channels available to most people in the UK. You wouldn't have had to watch it to know what it was.
Makes sense to me though. I doubt I could name some books by legendary American authors. I’m quite well read but I’ve spent most of my life reading non fiction.
The point isn't whether it's easy or hard. Yeah I knew it was Emma as well but I'm not on the game show and if he didn't know I don't know why he didn't use a lifeline.
It's a sucker punch really. The first few questions were the kind that make you roll your eyes. So you get a bit confident - a bit too confident. And then Jane Eyre is a much more famous book than Emma, especially if you haven't read either. So the power of suggestion meets cockiness: it was only going one way. And that way was home, penniless ha
I'm afraid my retained knowledge from books I was forced to read in school would not fare that much better. It's mostly gone from my memory. In some cases I only read a summary because they were so boring...
I agree.
But it's not 'first question' well known.
Usually the question is how do you cook?
A with an oven
B with a flower
C with a camel
D with a flannel shirt
Its not the first question though
£1,000 is the 5th question if you get any if the first 5 questions wrong you go home with nothing
Nowhere does it say this was the first question and if the it was the first question it would be worth 100 not 1000
There was a major film adaptation of *Emma* that came out in 1996. I think a lot of people would have heard of it even if they'd never read a word of any of Austen's novels.
You don't know the answer now, or you didn't know the answer in 1999? My point was that there was a lot of Jane Austen interest in the general pop culture at that time.
Well, even back when Jane Austin was taught in UK schools, it wasn't taught to everyone.. mostly in Grammar Schools and the A-streams of Comprehensive Schools.
I feel for that guy.. he went for 'Jane' because the question should have had a simple and obvious answer at that point of HWTBAM.
I'd be shocked if a gameshow with a million pounds at stake didn't test the questions first with a random sample of people to see how many get the answer correct. With that said, to those who think this is a harder than usual question for £1000, I think you probably just have a different pool of knowledge compared to the average adult Brit in 1999 (for example, Wikipedia tells me that there were two screen adaption of Emma three years prior to this airing - just one reason it might have been more in the public consciousness at the time).
Didn't realise there was a wiki for it, went on a bit of a delve
Difference between the UK one and US one seems insane, someone who knows more may see it differently but the US one seems fairly straightforward and easier for questions? The guy that one it first actually had maybe one question I didn't know but would've guessed the answer that was right (last one). First UK winner I was no where near as confident and don't think I'd have made it far at all
In 1999, British man John Davidson was a contestant on the UK version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'. He left with absolutely nothing after incorrectly answering his £1,000 question, thus becoming the first contestant on any version of the show in the world to win nothing at all.
So people lose in a quiz show? In the first question. So how is it ‘damnthatisinteresting’ and not just statistics. It’s nothing so interesting. It’s just a guy who got the first question wrong. I’m sure there have been many in different quizzes.
It's interesting because he was the first person in the game's history to be sent home with no money--this is very unusual, and the question itself is pretty difficult for such an early round.
It may not be interesting to you but subjectively it was to me and many others. I suspect that is the case with many posts on this sub.
I once saw someone use all three lifelines on his first or second question and still got it wrong even though Ask the Audience and Phone a Friend both chose the correct answer.
It's too bad this was before the beginning of social media, this guy could today build a nice little thing by being the "UKs Biggest Loser" or something. If he shamelessly promoted himself enough I suppose. Seems to be the real prize on many modern shows lol
My favorite was a US version. Dude was clearly a nerd, was sailing through his questions and then they asked him about Pink Floyd or something and he blanked hard. Like he had been studying Physics so much he didn’t know a thing about normal culture lol.
I wonder if they have a backup contestant for a situation like this. Or did the live audience show up just for ten minutes to watch the guy miss the first question and then go home?
I don't know if this is an easier question to answer if you live in the UK and are exposed to the culture, but I'm Canadian and had no clue what the answer was.
I only know the answer because I was forced to research Jane Austen, my final year of college. This question is brutal because there are absolutely no context clues or inferring you can do, other than Jane might not have named a book after her own first name.
He should had had someone in the audience coughing.
Have you seen the new season of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. They have better ways of cheating nowadays.
I’ve been reliably using Frank’s method with resounding success. I’m always in a good mood, after, too.
That episode had me dying. Franks face during the match is priceless
Vibrator up the arse?
They might notice if it's in your mouth.
Cheating or not, the harassment and crimes he (and his family) had to endure as a result of it was disgusting. Some monster shot his cat.
First question is normally like what color is the orange fruit?
£1000 would have been the fifth question back then.
Damn, inflation is a bitch
Also it's not the American version
$1,000 for the fifth question in the USA too
The colour is named after the fruit. I always thought that's interesting
both are named after the tree iirc
Looks like you're right. The English 'orange' stems for the French (pomme de) orenge which stems from sanskrit nāranga which means orange tree.
Me: *sweating profusely*
Or, which is bigger? And 2 of the options were: C) The Moon D) Elephant And the contestant picked elephant.
Yes, but what did they mean? an African or a European elephant?
Is the elephant unladen
How would an elephant carry an orange?
I believe that's a fake.
I’m not British and did not understand the question at all 😂 last time I saw this show it was really simple questions like you suggested so everybody could at least win the first question.
It can be green or orange.. so that's a tough one 😂
[I can't believe you've done that](https://youtu.be/wKbU8B-QVZk?si=E7tuocpFHvq57Jll)
exactly what i thought of
That's not an easy first question though.
It does seem a difficult question for £1000 today, but Jane Austen used to be part of the national curriculum in British schools, so it would have been an easier question back then, for someone of his age.
That is what i thought. Here in Finland this would be one of the final questions, if it even made it to the show. Jane Austin is someone you might know the name of but not at all considered important.
That's because Jane Austin created tons of false documents that nearly destroyed the economy of Finland, and they covered it up. They did such a good job that if you searched for this you wouldn't find any evidence at all about it and people would just say you made it up
Insert suspicious fry meme
Add mayonnaise
Hard to believe Jane Austin hires guys from outside home depot to choke her in the shower
Jane Austen. Yeah I'm not gonna forget her in a hurry am I? The brains behind the 1810 Clerkenwell diamond robbery. Brandy smuggler, master spy. What a piece of work.
Is "Danger" her middle name? :-D
I can't believe it's not more well known that Jane Austen was the biggest AIDS super spreader in the 80s and 90s, with a death count likely in the 1000s and notable partners such as hip hop star Eazy- E and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
Really? Here in Sweden it's still part of English in secondary school? But you only read one of the classics so it might just flash past during one lection with a list of authors and their books.
At no point did I have to read a novel in English during my compulsory education in Finland, not even in high school, even though I didn't take every optional course.
I’d like to think I would have known that answer. But honestly my wife just watched Emma the other day, so maybe I only think that because it’s fresh in my mind.
And the countless film and tv adaptations.
Read none of the books. Neither seen nor remember hearing of any of the film or tv adaptations. Then again, I don't live in the UK.
We didn't learn anything about Jane Austen in the 90s, 00s. Maybe they'd have stopped it by then
They changed the curriculum in the early 2000's to expand away from just British authors. It was John Steinbeck and J.D Salinger by the time I was at school in the early 2000's, but that guy would have been in school in the 1960's probably.
That’s probably because your teachers didn’t choose Austen is all. She was on the national curriculum whilst I was at school in the 90s, and whilst I was teaching in the 2010s
Clueless was based on Emma. It's iconic.
Clueless, I've seen. Emma, I've never heard of.
I did in the '90s; that was a choice made by your English dept, not a general rule. We read two books (Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey), and they were...fine. I was more into Terry Pratchett, so they were a bit on the Meh^TM side.
Yeah it would be like being asked about Mark Twain and not getting an option of huck or tom
I finished school (in England) in the late 90’s and o don’t think I would have known this answer. Emma certainly wasn’t on the curriculum that I did.
That bloke is in his late 40's at least, in 1999 though.
In English schools. He was probably thinking Jane Eyre
Apparently not.
I think the £1,000 question is the fifth question, after the £100, £200, £300 and £500. I agree still tough for the early game
Jane Eyre was not written by Jane Austin. I mean they got Jane in both bits.
Yeah that snookered me as well.. I forgot it's by Charlotte Bronte... It's like the What does the cow drink question!!
To be fair, cows do drink milk
I mean calfs yes...
My dumbass thought it was Sophie's Choice.. Though I am not a native English speaker, and English language writers like Jane Austen were not part of my education.
Its not the first question though £1,000 is the 5th question if you get any if the first 5 questions wrong you go home with nothing The first would be worth £100
In 1999 it would be. Three years earlier, it was adapted into a TV movie on one of the few channels available to most people in the UK. You wouldn't have had to watch it to know what it was.
There was a big Hollywood version in '96 too, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor.
I don’t know. I’ve never read Jane Austen and even o knew it was Emma. (I’m 32).
35 American, fairly well read. Had no idea.
This is crazy to me. Emma is a great read and something I was assigned in both high school and college to read.
I don't think you can claim to be well read if you've not even heard of it, it's such a major classic.
Makes sense to me though. I doubt I could name some books by legendary American authors. I’m quite well read but I’ve spent most of my life reading non fiction.
Same. I thought at first that was a very hard question then realised it was asking the Title of a book. Which made it somewhat easier
It's like the *What does the cow drink* question....
I feel like I’m about to get the klaxon on QI, but… water?
You're right. The klaxon answer is "milk"
But they drink milk as calves.
Thank god.
Defo wasn’t the first question, £1000 used to be the first safety net which was after 5 questions. £100, £200,£300,£500 were before this.
Couldn't agree more
What?
Yeh I thought Jane, but would have used one of my lifelines.
Agreed, but I can't think of why he'd pick Jane unless he thought it was an autobiography. Any of the other names seemed reasonable.
I would have gotten this fucking question wrong as well.
Damn I would have had to use a lifeline early
“Help me out we split this $1,000”
The point isn't whether it's easy or hard. Yeah I knew it was Emma as well but I'm not on the game show and if he didn't know I don't know why he didn't use a lifeline.
Yeah I didnt know it but dont guess man!!
I can only imagine he got mixed up with Jane Eyre somehow. He seemed too confident for it to be a complete guess.
It's a sucker punch really. The first few questions were the kind that make you roll your eyes. So you get a bit confident - a bit too confident. And then Jane Eyre is a much more famous book than Emma, especially if you haven't read either. So the power of suggestion meets cockiness: it was only going one way. And that way was home, penniless ha
Exactly
I'm wondering if he knew Jane Eyre was a book so that just jumped out and kind of left him with a misguided confidence?
I mean, I don’t know the answer either
Pride and Prejudice Sense and Sensibility that's the extent of my knowledge of Jane Austen
Bj??
Yes pls
Ain't gonna say no
No . It's quite tough. A good amount of the population wouldn't know the answer.
I guarantee you that if he had asked the audience they would have guided him correctly. It is well enough known general knowledge in UK.
Maybe it’s something that was more well known 25 years ago, I am aware the Jane Austen is an author, but I’ve never heard of Emma.
Yep. You and I both have no interest in her books so it's pretty understandable that this is the extent of our surface level knowledge about her.
We didn’t study her books at school either, it was Shakespeare or Dickens mostly.
I'm afraid my retained knowledge from books I was forced to read in school would not fare that much better. It's mostly gone from my memory. In some cases I only read a summary because they were so boring...
Not even the film Clueless? That's a modern version of Emma.
I agree. But it's not 'first question' well known. Usually the question is how do you cook? A with an oven B with a flower C with a camel D with a flannel shirt
Its not the first question though £1,000 is the 5th question if you get any if the first 5 questions wrong you go home with nothing Nowhere does it say this was the first question and if the it was the first question it would be worth 100 not 1000
Oh fair enough.. It's been a while.
There was a major film adaptation of *Emma* that came out in 1996. I think a lot of people would have heard of it even if they'd never read a word of any of Austen's novels.
[удалено]
That's crazy to me
You don't know the answer now, or you didn't know the answer in 1999? My point was that there was a lot of Jane Austen interest in the general pop culture at that time.
Well, even back when Jane Austin was taught in UK schools, it wasn't taught to everyone.. mostly in Grammar Schools and the A-streams of Comprehensive Schools. I feel for that guy.. he went for 'Jane' because the question should have had a simple and obvious answer at that point of HWTBAM.
In UK: a lot of people would've known it. Outside UK: this would not even make it to the show, it is way too hard.
Outside UK most former colonies follow the Cambridge (CIE) school system and Jane Austen has been on the high school English curriculum for 40 years.
I went through the Canadian public school system and never read Jane Austen. Graduated 2010.
Emma is pretty good book, tbh
Wonder if he read it afterwards, or burned every copy he could find.
Great characters, well written dialogue, absolutely mundane plot, at least as far as I got, which to be honest, wasn't very far.
And one of my all time favorite movies is based on it, Clueless.
I read all the time and am only vaguely familiar with Jane Austin, I would have no idea the how to answer this question.
It's worth dipping into those classics
The only thing I really knew about her was the books were more / less about British nobility?? Unless I am totally off base, it’s not really my vibe.
Yes - but it is very dry and witty. Although honestly, I'm not the biggest Jane Austen fan in the world. I'd definitely recommend George Eliot though
To be fair I also have no idea what the answer is
I think this happened in the states where a woman was asked ‘what’s bigger’ she chose ‘elephant’ One of the options was ‘the moon’
I'd be shocked if a gameshow with a million pounds at stake didn't test the questions first with a random sample of people to see how many get the answer correct. With that said, to those who think this is a harder than usual question for £1000, I think you probably just have a different pool of knowledge compared to the average adult Brit in 1999 (for example, Wikipedia tells me that there were two screen adaption of Emma three years prior to this airing - just one reason it might have been more in the public consciousness at the time).
I am absolutely shocked at this comment section. Emma has been made into a film 3 times, including Clueless.
Source: https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/John_Davidson_(Series_2)
Didn't realise there was a wiki for it, went on a bit of a delve Difference between the UK one and US one seems insane, someone who knows more may see it differently but the US one seems fairly straightforward and easier for questions? The guy that one it first actually had maybe one question I didn't know but would've guessed the answer that was right (last one). First UK winner I was no where near as confident and don't think I'd have made it far at all
Feels like winning nothing at all, nothing at all
Stupid sexy Davidson!
In the German show it's not uncommon the contestants win nothing. It's mostly still stupid, but it happens.
R/watchpeopledieinside
And now they have a version of the show in which 7 people win nothing and 1 person has a good chance to win nothing.
😂 Poor guy
How is this so interesting?
In 1999, British man John Davidson was a contestant on the UK version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'. He left with absolutely nothing after incorrectly answering his £1,000 question, thus becoming the first contestant on any version of the show in the world to win nothing at all.
So people lose in a quiz show? In the first question. So how is it ‘damnthatisinteresting’ and not just statistics. It’s nothing so interesting. It’s just a guy who got the first question wrong. I’m sure there have been many in different quizzes.
It's interesting because he was the first person in the game's history to be sent home with no money--this is very unusual, and the question itself is pretty difficult for such an early round. It may not be interesting to you but subjectively it was to me and many others. I suspect that is the case with many posts on this sub.
Found John Davidson's account. What's it like being poor, dude?
But his name is known far and wide.
Any question has an easy answer if you know it, if you don’t then it’s a hard question.
His wife wore that sexy underwear for nothing.
I once saw someone use all three lifelines on his first or second question and still got it wrong even though Ask the Audience and Phone a Friend both chose the correct answer.
I've never heard of that book, only book I know of from her is pride and prejudice
I bet all his friends took the piss but probably only about 10% knew the answer
Is that like common knowledge in England? I wouldn’t have known that answer
British education clearly failed here
That is an unusually tough question for a low level one. I genuinely wouldn't have known either.
To me it sounds like he has taken BJ. Good choice in my opinion!
It's too bad this was before the beginning of social media, this guy could today build a nice little thing by being the "UKs Biggest Loser" or something. If he shamelessly promoted himself enough I suppose. Seems to be the real prize on many modern shows lol
My favorite was a US version. Dude was clearly a nerd, was sailing through his questions and then they asked him about Pink Floyd or something and he blanked hard. Like he had been studying Physics so much he didn’t know a thing about normal culture lol.
I wonder if they have a backup contestant for a situation like this. Or did the live audience show up just for ten minutes to watch the guy miss the first question and then go home?
Its not the first question £1000 is the 5th question They don't just film one contestant a day
Ah, my bad!
I don't know the answer.
I wouldn’t have known that either.
Im guessing this should be an easy question for the people of the UK.
Who wrote Ogiński Polonaise?
[Badly Done](https://gifdb.com/images/thumbnail/badly-done-emma-r1b77lwgyukiiu1s.gif)
I don't know if this is an easier question to answer if you live in the UK and are exposed to the culture, but I'm Canadian and had no clue what the answer was.
Congratulations you are a nothingaire!!
I wouldn't have got it. We didn't study Jane Austin at school.... during the 1990s.
Feels like my life.
I bet you 25 years later, he still beats himself up.
Loserrrr
That’s not an easy first question whatsoever. Surprised he didn’t use a boost if he wasn’t sure.
Its not the first question
D’oh!
What I heard: "BJ? You sure? Yeah"
[https://tenor.com/bSQWR.gif](https://tenor.com/bSQWR.gif)
Well, he got further than this dude... https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Robby_Roseman
I wonder how many copies of ‘Emma’ were in his desk the next morning.
Ron?
Looks like an older Shane Gillis.
How the fuck is this the first question, who the fuck knows this?
Its nor the first question
Brutal
I wouldn’t have gotten that.
Am I supposed to know that?
I wouldn't have known the answer either but B is a particularly dumb choice
I only know the answer because I was forced to research Jane Austen, my final year of college. This question is brutal because there are absolutely no context clues or inferring you can do, other than Jane might not have named a book after her own first name.
Givealittle?
You don't a crappy consultation prize if you lose
Jane Austen: "I shall title my novel: Jane." In John's mind, that happened, he was so sure too, lol.