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Area Student Breaks World Record for Number of Questions Asked During Single Lecture

Written by: Tiffany Hamilton

“Professor, is it true that if I say a statement with a question inflection, you’ll think I’m smarter?” Stokowski asked.
Photo by: Jessica Ma

Area student Jakob Stokowski broke the Guinness World Record for the number of questions asked during a one-hour college lecture last Monday morning. Stokowski asked his professor, Dr. Lilian Jiang, a total of 94 questions during his Introduction to Biology class, crushing the previous record of 65.

Fellow student Stephanie Ortiz stated that she recorded the lecture on her cell phone to study the material later.

“When I watched it, I realized that it was just Jakob’s voice the whole time,” Ortiz explained. “I was complaining to my roommate about it, and she told me to email the video to Guinness, like, as a joke. I didn’t think they would actually give him the record.”

Ortiz then posted the video on YouTube, where it quickly gained a staggering 13 views. The footage primarily features Stokowski, who asked most of his questions with his hand only at chest height while Dr. Jiang was speaking or writing something on the chalkboard. A student sitting in the row behind him attempted to respond to some of Dr. Jiang’s comments, but Stokowski always spoke up before anyone else could.

Stokowski said he was “overjoyed” when he received the news that he was now a world-record holder. “I always knew that I was destined for greatness,” he elaborated. “I got a three on the AP Bio test in high school, so I already know most of the material, but the prof was teaching it weirdly. I wanted to clarify the finer points of the lecture.”

Other students in the class commented on the event. “He actually asked, ‘Is the mitochondria really the powerhouse of the cell?’ before going on a five-minute rant about chloroplasts. And we’re taking human bio,” stated one student.

“He said that Rosalind Franklin was ‘just a technician’ and that Watson and Crick were the ones who discovered the double-helix structure, while Dr. Jiang was going over the history of DNA,” commented another undergraduate in the course. She rolled her eyes before continuing, “He kept saying, ‘But I thought … but this … but that … ’ Dude was clearly talking out of his ass.”

During a brief interview, Dr. Jiang stated that she was “glad the students are so enthusiastic about the course,” and that Stokowski “would fit right in at medical school.” When asked if he was her star student, she laughed before replying that FERPA prevented her from sharing that information.

Staff Writer at The MQ

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