"Sometimes I'll be walking down the street, a car slows, the window goes down and someone screams: Capital of Brunei?' I answer and they drive off it's amusing really, says Emilien, a 22-year-old history student who this summer became not only the most successful French gameshow contestant of all time, but the biggest gameshow winner in European history and the world record-holder for the most solo consecutive appearances on a TV quizshow."
"Emilien, known only by his first name, bounded on to France's popular general knowledge quizshow, Les Douze Coups de Midi (The Twelve Strokes of Noon) in September 2023 wearing odd socks for good luck with only one aim: to reach the next round. What did the American aerospace engineer Edward Murphy give his name to? was his first question. Murphy's law, he replied, explaining about toast inevitably falling butter-side down."
"Emilien kept winning on topics ranging from 16th-century painting to French nuclear power stations, ice-skating partnerships to Greek myths, French rap to cocktail recipes. No other contestants could beat him. He returned day after day for an astonishing 647 consecutive appearances, over nearly two years. His run ended in July after 21 months in a 60-second, timed round, he fell down on questions including What Breton football club is going up into Ligue 1 next season? But by then he was a household name."
Emilien is a 22-year-old history student who achieved record-breaking success on France's Les Douze Coups de Midi, reaching 647 consecutive appearances across nearly two years. He began in September 2023 wearing odd socks for good luck and advanced by answering questions spanning art, science, sport, music, and mythology. His streak ended in July after 21 months during a 60-second timed round. The run boosted the show's audiences to over seven million, inspired renewed general-knowledge interest among young people, and provided a steady cultural touchpoint while France experienced frequent political turnover. Emilien lives in a modest, sparsely furnished flat.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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