Like The $64,000 Question, Twenty One made theatrical displays of its integrity, such as storing its questions in a local bank vault to ensure their secrecy, putting its contestant in a sealed glass booth, where he could hear no one but the host. In the final showdowns, the suspense of Van Doren's drawn-out deliberation before answering questions drove audiences wild. He finally knocked out Stempel, going home a rich man, with $129,000, and enough celebrity to appear on the cover of Time as "Quiz Champ Van Doren."

Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, loc. 485