Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Lab-Style?
Last week I went to New York City to take a stab at becoming a millionaire. Well, more accurately I took a stab at qualifying for the TV game show that sends some lucky folks home with their pockets padded in dough. The auditioning process starts out with a quiz with multiple choice answers. If you know the answer, it's easy. If you don't, it's another matter. Here's a sample of questions from the quiz I took last week:
1) What state is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes? A) Michigan, B) Wisconsin, C) New York, D) Minnesota,
2) How many votes does it take in the senate to overturn a presidential veto? A) 55, B) 60, C) 67, D) 75
3) How many continents does the equator go through? A) 2, B) 3, C) 4, D) 5
4) Naomi Campbell, as a child, appeared in a video by whom? A) Marvin Gaye, B) Bob Marley, C) Elton John, D) Eric Clapton?
There were 30 questions in all, and some left me scratching my head. The end result: I am not a contestant, I do not have a million bucks, and if I am ever to have a pile of money I will have to work for it the old-fashioned way. Yet I can't help but think things might have been different if only they had asked:
1) What is a midstream specimen? A) A sample of water taken from the middle of the Mississippi, B) A urine specimen in which urination is begun before catching the specimen in the specimen cup, C) A trout caught in the middle of a stream
2) What is guaiac? A) Fecal matter from South American cave bats, B) Substance used in a lab to test for occult blood in stool, C) A Mexican dip served with chips
3) What is a critical value? A) The cost of gold at the end of a trading day, B) A lab result that indicates a pathophysiologic state of such variance with normal as to be life threatening and which should be reported to the patient's physician as soon as possible, C) The belief in the sanctity of home, mother and apple pie
4) What are droplet precautions? A) 60 percent chance of showers, B) Mask, gloves, goggles if there is a risk of splash, C) a box filled with kitty litter
Answers to the "official" quiz questions: 1 - D, 2 - C, 3 - C, 4 - B. Answers to the lab questions: You already know!