Crookston professor not 'Millionaire'

CROOKSTON, Minn. - College professor John Loegering earned $13,550 on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" TV show that aired Thursday.

"That was probably the most nervous I've been in a decade," Loegering said about the show taping last November.

"My dissertation defense was a stressful and anxious time, but I knew what it was about and was well-prepared. With this, you don't know what question is coming."

A wildlife ecologist at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, Loegering was sworn to secrecy about how he fared since the taping in New York City on Nov. 2.

"It was a fabulous trip, and I'd certainly take that pay rate for two days of work for the rest of my career," he said.

The money will go toward University of Wisconsin-Madison tuition for son Luke.

Loegering faced seven questions. He used the "ask the audience" lifeline to correctly answer the first question. Seventy-three percent of the audience knew the answer.

"The contestant right before me went out on the first question, so I was a little gun-shy," he said.

In addition to the answer with the audience's help, he correctly answered three other questions.

He also used his two "jump the question" lifelines. On the last question, he opted to leave with $13,500 rather than gamble on a guess. If he would have answered incorrectly, his winnings would have dropped to $1,000.

Would you have won?

Following are the questions that Loegering faced. He answered correctly on Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5, used lifelines to pass on questions 3 and 6 and then took the money instead of risking an answer on No. 7.

Take the test and see how you would have fared.

1. Which of the following historical events did not happen in the summer of 1969?

A) Man walks on the moon

B) Bay of Pigs Invasion

C) Stonewall riots

D) Woodstock Music Festival

2. How many letters in the word "rainbow" are the first letters of colors traditionally listed as the seven hues of a rainbow?

A) Zero

B) Two

C) Four

D) Six

3. Which of these perhaps morbidly obsessed actors has played both an undertaker and a serial killer on television?

A) James Gandolfini

B) Steve Buscemi

C) David Duchovny

D) Michael C. Hall

4. Popularized at the 1962 World's Fair, what type of dynamic restaurant has since appeared atop buildings across the globe?

A) Food court

B) Dinner theater

C) Drive-thru

D) Revolving

5. In his book "Maphead," Ken Jennings claims that because of their similar shapes, Lake Michigan was "separated at birth" from what country?

A) Vietnam

B) Sweden

C) Egypt

D) Panama

6. For his most recent album, what rapper digitally added his current face tattoos to a picture of himself as a kid?

A) Lil Wayne

B) Soulja Boy

C) Game

D) Birdman

7. Because it's a symbol of hospitality, what fruit was chosen by Chuck Williams to be the logo of his Williams-Sonoma stores?

A) Orange

B) Pineapple

C) Strawberry

D) Lemon

Correct answers: 1. B; 2. C; 3. D; 4. D; 5. B; 6. A; 7. B

Ryan Bakken writes for the Grand Forks Herald