# Jeopardy discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [January 4, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207 "2022-01-04T18:16:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/381 "2022-04-02T17:43:11Z")
Seriously. She had the opportunity to put the game away, but failed to bet large enough. And then on the penultimate clue if she just kept silent instead of ringing in with “gascap”, at worst she would’ve won in a tie. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/382 "2022-04-02T19:17:18Z")
Do kids today really not know what a radiator cap is? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/383 "2022-04-02T19:23:30Z")
I’m kinda sorry I missed the show yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/384 "2022-04-02T20:32:40Z")
Actually, it _would_ be a good thing to know if your gas tank is overheating. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/385 "2022-04-02T21:28:25Z")
> [@K364](#): > > I was happy to see Nell win, but hoo-boy it was painful to watch the mismanagement of DD’s at the end. > [@jsc1953](#): > > Seriously. She had the opportunity to put the game away, but failed to bet large enough. And then on the penultimate clue if she just kept silent instead of ringing in with “gascap”, at worst she would’ve won in a tie. I’m constantly amazed at how badly supposedly smart Jeopardy contestants wager in DDs and FJ. There are lots of times, especially when the third-place player is distantly trailing the other two, where a FJ bet of $0 is the smart move. But #3 will bet most of his/her crummy $500 and end up in third place ($1,000) instead of second ($2,000) when one of the others bets big and loses. The other form of betting that really annoys me (all the more so because I was guilty of it when I was on the show) is betting to beat the next-highest player by $1 instead of the max you could win without risking being beaten by the third player. I’ll use my own game as an example. Going into FJ, I was leading with $5,600, player B had $3,600, and player C had $1,600. The max B could win was $7,200, and I bet $1,601 to win $7,201. But that was stupid, because the best C could have done was $3,200, and if I had bet $2,399, I would have ended up with almost $900 more, and still held on to second place if I was wrong. I was quite chagrined when a poker buddy of mine pointed that out after my game aired. The bet of “opponent’s-best-plus-$1” seems dramatic, but usually leaves money on the table. These days, there are lots of resources for Jeopardy betting strategies, and you’d think that contestants would study them before going on the show, but apparently relatively few do. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/386 "2022-04-02T21:36:46Z")
I’d be tempted to go all out on DDs and FJ, and if I go down in flames, I will be a man, my son. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/387 "2022-04-02T23:43:00Z")
> [@K364](#): > > Is it considered bad form to laugh at other contestant’s ridiculous answers? I know which contestant you mean, and yes it is bad form and yes I was laughing. Or, technically, groaning in annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/388 "2022-04-03T01:01:24Z")
Yian guessed “gas cap,” Nell guessed “engine.” I was very disappointed Mayim ruled her correct on that one Stately Overlaps clue. She clearly said “safar-arizona” when it was supposed to be “safarizona.” ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/389 "2022-04-03T01:09:05Z")
I think it’s more that kids today never think about their car’s radiators, because the coolant systems of today’s engines are better sealed and more tightly controlled by advanced doohickeys, and today’s radiators don’t have caps on them; rather the cap is on the coolant overflow tank. It used to be not uncommon to have to top off your engine with coolant periodically, and there was no coolant overflow tank so the only way to check the level was to remove the cap and look into the radiator. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/390 "2022-04-03T01:16:40Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > I was very disappointed Mayim ruled her correct on that one Stately Overlaps clue. She clearly said “safar-arizona” when it was supposed to be “safarizona.” I didn’t care for that category. Some of the overlaps (“safarizona” being one of them) only work in writing, but not when you say them out loud. The “ari” in safari is pronounced differently than the “Ari” in “Arizona.” “Koalabama” is another example. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/391 "2022-04-03T01:18:42Z")
I find these kind of contrived categories annoying in general. It’s not as if there aren’t enough ‘real facts’ in the world to supply plenty of questions. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/392 "2022-04-03T01:36:46Z")
I love the categories where they are non-standard. Where the contestant have to solve two puzzles as it were to get the correct question. Like “Before and After”; I can’t remember if they used these or not inn thosew games, but I don’t think Watson would do well in these. However, _this_ particular category was crap. I was saying “sa-far-R-E-zona”. It was too clunky. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/393 "2022-04-03T01:36:54Z")
I think they make the game more interesting. They’re more of an IQ test than simple “do you know this factoid or not” questions. Though for the reason @MrAtoz stated, this one wasn’t particularly well-done. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/394 "2022-04-03T01:37:55Z")
**jaycat** you are so right. I hate the contrived subjects. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/395 "2022-04-03T05:58:19Z")
I love both Mayim and Ken and hope they both have long runs. I hate the contribed categories. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/396 "2022-04-03T06:24:17Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > “Koalabama” is another example.⁢ In my accent, at least, the second a in koala and the second a in Alabama are in fact the same sound. koh-AH-l **uh** (/koʊˈɒl **ə** /) al-l **uh** -BAM-muh (/æl **ə** ˈbæmə/) So koalabama koh-AH-luh-BAM-muh (/koʊˌɒləˈbæmə/) works just fine. I agree safarizona doesn’t work, though. It sounds like they need to watch the final round of _Richard Osman’s House of Games_ to see how it’s done. Portmanteaus are always about sounds, not letters–to the point that some of the ROHG ones would not work in an American accent. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/397 "2022-04-03T11:07:11Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > In my accent, at least, the second a in koala and the second a in Alabama are in fact the same sound. koh-AH-l **uh** (/koʊˈɒl **ə** /) al-l **uh** -BAM-muh (/æl **ə** ˈbæmə/) So koalabama koh-AH-luh-BAM-muh (/koʊˌɒləˈbæmə/) works just fine. It’s not the pairing of the second a in koala and the second a in Alabama that’s at issue, it’s the first a in koala and the first in Alabama. It’s koh-AHL-uh vs… well, I’m not sure how to represent it phonetically without delving into IPA, but the flat, nasal A sound, like in the nickname Al, aal-uh-BAM-uh. They don’t match. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/398 "2022-04-03T19:15:59Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I hate the contrived subjects. Me three. They’re way too “cute and clever” for my taste. They remind me why I don’t do crossword puzzles. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/399 "2022-04-03T20:01:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I love the categories where they are non-standard…. > > However, _this_ particular category was crap. I I agree with both points. In general I like Language Skills questions, but only in limited quantities - no more than one category per day. It requires a different skill in addition to memorization of facts. Recently, there was one I liked even though I didn’t do well at it. The category was something like “3 Pairs of Double Letters.” In one case, the desired response was “[What are] Mississippi and Tennessee?” ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/400 "2022-04-03T20:02:49Z")
Some people might excel at those. I knew that Canada put down a rebellion by French descendants and Cree Indians, while all three contestants went blank, and that Charles Dickens’ son participated. But “seven-lettered words?” I can’t count that fast. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207.md?page=21)