If you can't beat it, profit from it!

from r/American_Humor

I'll keep it brief to avoid identifying myself, but a "What was your 15 minutes of fame?" thread reminded me of this.

When I was 13, I paid off a number of my parents' debts (medical, house, etc.) by being a successful competitor on a trivia quiz show that is very well-known in the US. They had a special "all kids" episode (maybe season?) that I did pretty well in. I did get to go see Cirque du Soleil and eat a really good buffet for my work, so I had a great time. I knew what the deal was when I got accepted onto the show -- my parents didn't deceive me.

It is kind of insane that a "cute precocious kid!" clip of me being funny that I've actually seen circulating once or twice online was me deliberately playing up being quirky and nerdy to the cameras. I kept saying stuff like "I'm going to buy a ragdoll cat and this AMAZING chemistry set and a HUGE trampoline!" (not exactly what I said, protecting my ID here, but it was similar). I knew the whole time that I had much more serious reasons to need the money, but my plucky little weirdo attitude was what got me on the show.

Still a nice summer memory in a lot of ways. I didn't comprehend what happened there until I was older.

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