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Scoring Exceptions and Anomalies

A table containing panelist scoring exceptions and anomalies where the total score does not match the sum of the starting score and two points for each correct answer. This is usually due to the score presented by the scorekeeper includes: miscounting the number of correct answers, using the incorrect starting score when calculating the total, or general miscalculation.

Scoring exceptions for shows from 1998 typically involve the use of a bonus phrase during the final segments of the show, including early versions of Lightning Fill In The Blank.

Only scoring exceptions from regular shows are displayed, meaning repeat and Best Of shows are excluded.

Show Date Panelist Start Correct Total Score Rank Notes
1998-06-06 Roxanne Roberts 5 1 8 First Tied

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Charlie Pierce's answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Adam Felber's answer was correct.

This is the first show to feature the Lightning Fill In The Blank segment with the rules that still are used. Roxanne had used a bonus phrase that was brought up later in the show for one of her answers and got a bonus point.

1998-06-20 Charlie Pierce 6 1 9 Second Tied

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, but Margo Kaufman's answer was correct.

The Rise and Fall of Chainsaw Al Dumlap was an adaptation of Al Dunlap's autobiography, "Mean Business," by Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Margo's answer, but Charlie's answer was correct.

Charlie Pierce had used the bonus phrase as an answer for the last Lightning Fill In The Blank question and got an extra point.

1998-07-04 Roxanne Roberts 5 1 8 Third

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Margo Kaufman's answer, which was correct.

The Spam Facts (aka Spacts) segment consisted of Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell reading various, interesting facts about Spam.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Margo Kaufman's answer was correct.

Roxanne had used the bonus phrase as the answer for the last Lightning Fill In The Blank question to earn an extra point.

2008-06-07 Tom Bodett 3 7 16 First

Tom Bodett started the Lightning Fill In the Blank segment with 3 points and Carl stated that Tom answered 7 questions correctly. This would have given Tom a total of 17 points, not the 16 points as Carl noted. Since 16 points is the official score, it is the score now noted for this show.

2013-09-07 Alonzo Bodden 2 6 16 First

Peter almost said "Fucking, Australia" instead of "Fucking, Austria" (which is coincidentally funny since the Not My Job plays on people confusing Australia and Austria). Baz came back and said "there's not Fucking in Australia". They decided to move on afterwards in case someone slipped and used the word in the other manner. And yes, the name/word "Fucking", along with the phonetic spelling "Fooking", made it into the transcript for the segment on NPR.org.

During the Lightning Fill In The Blank segment, Adam Felber whispered the correct answer to Alonzo Bodden for Alonzo's last question and Alonzo repeated it and he didn't get a bell ding for it nor did Carl consider it a correct response when totting up the points (started with 2, six correct for a total of 14 points). Alonzo Bodden did the same for Neko Case and she got points for it. Neko Case uttered an expletive for the answer to her last question. At the end of the segment, Carl stated that Alonzo had 16 points.

2013-11-16 Roy Blount, Jr. 3 5 17 First

At the beginning of the Lightning Fill In The Blank segment, Mo Rocca had 2 points while Roy Blount, Jr., and Amy Dickinson had three points. According to both the podcast version of the show and the transcript, Roy answered five questions correct and would have had a total of 13 points and came in 2nd after Mo. Carl stated that Roy had a total of 17 points, which would have required Roy to answer two additional questions correctly for a total of nine questions, one more than the usual maximum of 8 questions.

The scoring and ranking reflects the official scoring as stated by Carl Kasell.

2021-08-28 Paula Poundstone 3 5 15 Second

Jane Kaczmarek asked the audience for help on the second Not My Job question and they mostly yelled "B". Jane chose "B" and it was the correct answer. For the third Not My Job question, the audience mostly yelled "C", which Jane chose and was correct.

Paula Poundstone started the Lightning Fill In The Blank segment with 3 points, tied with Josh Gondelman. When Peter Sagal asked how many questions Paula would need to answer correctly to win, Chioke said, "8 to tie, 9 to win". There are only 8 questions asked for each panelist in a regular Lightning Fill In The Blank segment.

After Paula finished her questions, Peter asked Chioke if Paula did enough to win, Chioke said that Paula answered 5 correct for a total of 15 points. The only way that would be true is if Paula started the segment with 5 points, not 3 points. Paula's correct score should have been 13 (unlucky as it may be) and would have placed her in third behind Maz Jobrani with 14 points. Instead, Paula slotted in second place.

Since Chioke is the official judge and scorekeeper for the show, the points and rankings listed for Paula and Maz are based on the official records as stated by Chioke.

2022-01-29 Karen Chee 1 6 14 Second

The show was recorded remotely.

Another instance where all three choices for the third Not My Job question were correct.

When Negin Farsad asked Bill Kurtis how Karen Chee did, Bill said that she had "6 right for 12 more points. She now has 14". Karen Chee started the Lightning Fill In The Blank segment with 1 point, meaning that Karen would have had a total of 13 points. After Josh Gondelman answered 5 questions correct, Bill said that Josh was the champion with 14 points.

The score and ranking information reflects the official record as stated by Bill Kurtis.

2025-10-11 Peter Grosz 3 6 16 Second

When Peter Sagal asked Alzo Slade if Peter Grosz did well enough to win at the end of Lightning Fill In The Blank, Alzo said that Peter Grosz answered six questions correct for a total of 16 points. Peter Grosz started the segment with three points, meaning that the correct total score should be 15. The entered score is based on the official score stated by Alzo.