# Did Alex screw up Final Jeopardy today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509 "2017-01-19T00:42:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/1 "2017-01-19T00:42:12Z")
I forgot the exact answer, but it was basically “This current state capital was the site of something that happened in 1787.” However, I heard it as Alex saying “This current state’s capital…”. I read it correctly on screen so I guessed the correct answer. I will spoiler what happened for those who want to stay surprised. Each contestant answered incorrectly, with the first two providing the ludicrous answers of ‘Massachusetts’ and ‘New York’. That tells me they heard it wrong as well. The third answered ‘Annapolis’, which tells me that he read it on a screen, while the others didn’t.. I wish I still had DVR. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/2 "2017-01-19T00:46:29Z")
Forgot to give the actual answer for those who won’t watch: Dover ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/3 "2017-01-19T00:59:49Z")
I misheard it as “…in what’s now this state’s capital” too, but when I replayed it, Alex said it correctly. I thought they were looking for a state too. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/4 "2017-01-19T01:12:08Z")
What kind of dumbass question (answer) is that? If the city existed at all in 1787, surely stuff happened there. Just kidding. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/5 "2017-01-19T04:19:05Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I wish I still had DVR. I TiVo Jeopardy. I just listened to it twice and he enunciated “state” very clearly. This was the Answer: On Dec. 7, 1787 30 delegates at Battell’s Tavern gathered & made history in what’s now this state capital ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/6 "2017-01-19T13:56:08Z")
Thanks. Then I don’t know what the first 2 contestants were thinking. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/7 "2017-01-19T14:02:50Z")
I’m sure there are people who listen to make sure Alex doesn’t screw up. If he did make a mistake, they would stop the taping and substitute a new question. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/8 "2017-01-19T15:12:23Z")
If somebody hadn’t been sure what the question was asking for, would “What is Dover, Delaware?” have been an acceptable answer? It includes the city and the state. Or does an answer get disqualified if it includes extraneous information? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/9 "2017-01-19T15:25:08Z")
That would have been fine. The clue is looking for the city, and “Dover, Delaware” is it. Responses can be disqualified if they are too vague. (“Who is Roosevelt?” when looking for a President, for example) but not too specific. ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/10 "2017-01-19T15:40:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Or does an answer get disqualified if it includes extraneous information? It _could_, if that extraneous information is wrong. Like **friedo** says, you’d (usually) have to be more specific than “Roosevelt” when answering about a president - usually Alex will say something like “which one?” or “be more specific” - but normally last name alone will be fine. In fact, this is the strategy most Jeopardy contestants use, and typically omit the first name to prevent tripping themselves up by, for example, accidentally answering “[George Clinton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clinton_(musician))” when Trebek was looking for “[Bill Clinton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton)”. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/11 "2017-01-19T15:58:59Z")
I will say I was just listening, not watching, and it sounded like “this state’s capital” to me as well. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/12 "2017-01-19T16:06:57Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > That would have been fine. The clue is looking for the city, and “Dover, Delaware” is it. Responses can be disqualified if they are too vague. (“Who is Roosevelt?” when looking for a President, for example) but not too specific. Would it have worked the other way? Suppose the answer was supposed to be a state. If the answer had been _“This is the fiftieth state.”_ would _“What is Honolulu, Hawaii?”_ be an acceptable answer? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/13 "2017-01-19T16:08:05Z")
> [@psiekier](#): > > It _could_, if that extraneous information is wrong. [Here’s a case when this almost happened.](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!original/alt.college.college-bowl/F2Apgd7YB3w/vibrj6WPhh4J) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/14 "2017-01-19T16:28:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Or does an answer get disqualified if it includes extraneous information? For some reason, I remembered an incident along these lines so I checked J! Archive and found the May 24, 1989 episode: Category: 10-LETTER NAMES $100: Read his lips; he’s the 41st president of the United States Judi: Who is George Herbert Walker Bush? Alex: No. Rich? Rich: Who is George Bush? Alex: Yes. Judi: [Resentfully] Oh! You mean I don’t get - all right. [Giggles] Alex: No, we were a little generous with you a few moments ago, Judi - Judi: Okay! Alex: - but since the category is 10-LETTER NAMES, and you gave me a _whole bunch more than ten -_ Judi: Right. Alex: - we cannot give you a correct one on _this_ particular response. I remembered in particular Judi’s tone of smugness when she recited Bush’s full name. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/15 "2017-01-19T16:37:07Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Would it have worked the other way? Suppose the answer was supposed to be a state. If the answer had been _“This is the fiftieth state.”_ would _“What is Honolulu, Hawaii?”_ be an acceptable answer? Well, in the case of appending Delaware to Dover, I’d argue that the state simply serves to distinguish the specific Dover. Just in case anyone thought that we were talking about Dover, Ohio, for instance. Or Dover, PA, or Dover, NH…(yes, the mention of state capital makes it unambiguous, but in general terms I would absolutely accept it). Adding Honolulu to Hawaii, OTOH, does nothing to elucidate which Hawaii would be intended and just sounds strange. I would probably press the first time at least…“and the state in question is…?” But after that I’d probably mark it wrong, so to speak. Anyway, that’s why I see them as different situations. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/16 "2017-01-19T17:35:58Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I will say I was just listening, not watching, and it sounded like “this state’s capital” to me as well. Listen again: > **[Vocaroo | Online voice recorder](https://vocaroo.com/x47iQfWzX0)** > > Vocaroo is a quick and easy way to share voice messages over the interwebs. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/17 "2017-01-19T17:39:56Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Listen again: > > [Vocaroo | Online voice recorder](http://vocaroo.com/i/s1x47iQfWzX0) I’m not saying he said that, but in the moment it seemed like it. It certainly confused multiple people, including two contestants. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/18 "2017-01-19T17:48:00Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > For some reason, I remembered an incident along these lines so I checked J! Archive and found the May 24, 1989 episode: > > Category: 10-LETTER NAMES > > $100: Read his lips; he’s the 41st president of the United States > > Judi: Who is George Herbert Walker Bush? > > Alex: No. Rich? > > Rich: Who is George Bush? > > Alex: Yes. > > Judi: [Resentfully] Oh! You mean I don’t get - all right. [Giggles] > > Alex: No, we were a little generous with you a few moments ago, Judi - > > Judi: Okay! > > Alex: - but since the category is 10-LETTER NAMES, and you gave me a _whole bunch more than ten -_ > > Judi: Right. > > Alex: - we cannot give you a correct one on _this_ particular response. > I remembered in particular Judi’s tone of smugness when she recited Bush’s full name. Hah, I was going to post about that exact same incident! I remember she just seemed so proud of herself rattling off the full name, only to get the smackdown from Alex. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-alex-screw-up-final-jeopardy-today/777509/19 "2017-01-20T02:28:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Would it have worked the other way? Suppose the answer was supposed to be a state. If the answer had been _“This is the fiftieth state.”_ would _“What is Honolulu, Hawaii?”_ be an acceptable answer? That would definitely not qualify, since the phrase “Honolulu, Hawaii” as a whole refers to the city, not the state. There is one exception, during normal play (not Final Jeopardy), if you make a mistake with a response, but manage to correct yourself before your time runs out, it will generally be accepted. So “What is Honolulu…I mean what is Hawaii?” would likely be OK.