Chief Teacher's <i>Jeopardy!</i> Lesson

It takes more than just smarts to win at Jeopardy! Just ask Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. She recently came in second during a Celebrity Jeopardy! match, and she thinks she knows why first place eluded her: the clicker. Mastering the switch that indicates you know the question to Alex Trebek's answer is key to winning, she says. "It's all about the buzzer." Spellings's Jeopardy! tutorial came during a recent appearance on NPR's Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me, which she won by correctly guessing the answers to questions about the popular computer game Dungeons and Dragons. It was her latest appearance on popular shows, including the Daily Show and in the audience at American Idol. "I love this stuff," she says. "I'm a little nutty about this stuff."

By Paul Bedard