Whad'Ya Know? - Game Format

Game Format

Just as Feldman's quickness and comedic rhythms are reminiscent of Groucho Marx, the game is reminiscent of Marx's You Bet Your Life quiz show in that it is designed more to give the host a chance to interact with the players than to be a serious test of their knowledge. Feldman often comments that the Whad'Ya Know quiz is not a trivia quiz, but rather one of "general knowledge." When the show is recorded from its home base at Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin, the call-in number used is 1-800-942-5669. With this number, Packard would also give the telephonic mnemonic 1-800-WHA-KNOW or, 1-800-WHAK-NOW. While on the road, phone number changes are handled in the same fashion, often resulting in humorous, nonsensical words or phrases.

Twice during the show, usually towards the end of each hour, the Whad'ya Know quiz is played. The game is played with a two-member team: the first member being selected by Feldman from the audience, and the second from a radio audience caller. The caller must correctly answer a qualifying question before being added to the team.

The two contestants then play the main game. To win, they must answer three questions correctly before getting three wrong. Six categories for questions are presented:

• Current Events
• People
• Places
• Things You Should Have Learned In School (Had You Been Paying Attention)
• Science
• Odds and Ends

The players take turns choosing a category for each question, beginning with the call-in player. Feldman reads the questions (often multiple-choice), and the team collaborates to come up with an answer. If correct, the team earns one point. Jim Packard kept them apprised of their point status, and when the team earns three points, bells signal that they have won the game. To ensure that the team will win, Feldman frequently offers hints or slyly lets them know when they are on the wrong track. As a result, it is rare for a team to lose.

The winning team is awarded a set of prizes. If a team earns three points without missing a single question, they have the option of going for the "Mother Lode" by answering two more questions correctly without missing one, or else a fictitious penalty is put upon them (usually made up on the spot by Packard and related to a joke from earlier in the show). If successful (and they almost always are), the contestants win a larger prize package—once called "The Giant Kielbasa," but that term has fallen out of use.