Who Wauls to Be Right?

After he made it to the "hot seat" on ABC's Who Wantsto be a Millionaire in January, '89 grad Bob Bass' answer to the $125,000 question unexpectedly sparked a bit of controversy. "Supposedly, a lot of historians wrote in," says Bass, after Regis mistakenly dinged Bass for answering that John F.Kennedy was the youngest inaugurated president. "Clearly, they didn't understand what they were asking," says Bass.

"He's right," says Dartmouth visiting history professor Ronald Edsforth, who adds that the disagreement hinges on a technicality. Teddy Roosevelt was indeed younger when he became president, but he did so by simply taking the oath of office on the evening of President McKinley's death, not by going through the formal inauguration ceremony that traditionally marks the start of a new four year presidential term.

The controversy landed Bass on NBC's Today Show to discuss the game show's accuracy. But so far, no luck in changing the ruling. Millionaire maintains its position on the question. "So far, no one has called to invite me back," says Bass.

Bass, left, first appeared on the show in but didn't make it to the "hot seat" until January.