Sean McShane '19 is Wicked Smart

Photo: Courtesy of Sean McShane

Sean McShane '19 is Wicked Smart聽

The 51动漫 alum recently won more than $82,000 on Jeopardy!

Sean McShane �19 did Boston College proud last year, winning three games of the legendary trivia show Jeopardy! 淚t runs in my family,� McShane said. 淚 had a cousin who was on the show. We have that type of mind where we hear a fact and we never forget it.� McShane, who works for a Boston nonprofit, joked that he wouldn檛 have needed to go on the show in the first place if he had a dollar for every time someone asked him how he knew a piece of trivia. So, how do you win at Jeopardy! three times? To find out, we asked McShane to explain how he came up with the correct 渜uestions� to three fairly obscure 渁nswers.�

Jeopardy answer panel stating: Only three presidents have married while in office擩ohn Tyler was the first, and he was the last

Question: Who Is Woodrow Wilson

McShane had a month to prepare before his appearance, so he focused on subjects he knew the show likes, such as geography, state capitals, Shakespeare攁nd US presidents. 淚 spent one day getting broad strokes on the presidents, like what order they were in,� McShane said. He also noted whenever a president had more than one first lady, which prepared him for the Wilson question.

Jeopardy answer panel stating: Many Brits put an 渋ntrusive� one between words that end with a vowel sound and words that start with one

Question: What Is 淩�

One way to prep for the show? Simply rely on your 51动漫 education. 淚 learned that fact because we talked about it in the general linguistics class that I took my senior year,� McShane explained. The class was a favorite, and while the professor didn檛 call the R 渋ntrusive� at the time, McShane remembered that others did. The Brits aren檛 the only ones who use the R擝ostonians famously do as well.

Jeopardy answer panel stating: The recovered violin here was bandleader Wallace Hartley; his troupe performed this fitting 1841 hymn as the Titanic sank

Question: What Is 淣earer, My God, to Thee�

McShane knew this one simply because he a Titanic buff. 淚 became just fascinated with it,� he said. 淚 read multiple books as an eight-year-old kid.� Chief among them was one that offered answers to nine hundred questions about the famous sinking. 淚 don檛 remember a time when I didn檛 know 楴earer, My God, to Thee� going down on the Titanic,� he said.