# 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:** 53
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1041 "2022-06-30T16:37:06Z")
I didn’t get it. I got as far as noticing the summer pilot and thinking it was a probably a daytime show, but that was it. I know there were a lot of 50th anniversary retrospectives a few years ago, so maybe the opening scene showed up in one of those. Here’s the episode. Sesame Street has gotten a lot more polished, but the basics are there. [Old School Sesame Street Season 1 Pilot Episode - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmVZ-Bne-jM) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1042 "2022-06-30T17:31:59Z")
I also guessed Sesame Street, because I knew it had been created right around the same time I was created. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1043 "2022-06-30T17:48:21Z")
When the clue came up, nothing at all came to mind. I said, “it must be something I’ve never watched.” Turns out that was the case. 50 years on and I’ve never seen an episode of Sesame Street. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1044 "2022-06-30T21:05:31Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > WHY did the “D” thing make you think of Sesame Street? Is that always in the opening?- > [@Stephe96](#): > > Episodes were always “sponsored” by letters and numbers. This. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2022, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1045 "2022-06-30T21:06:54Z")
Why “D” and not “A”? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1046 "2022-06-30T21:11:17Z")
I did not get it right, but I thought it was a fine clue. All I could come up with was “Dallas”, but I knew that was not correct. mmm ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1047 "2022-06-30T21:13:30Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Why “D” and not “A”?- Don’t know. Maybe because “D” is the first letter of my name and July 21 is my birthday. 😁 The mind works in mysterious ways. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1048 "2022-06-30T21:53:20Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > But I was surprised to learn that the pilot episode of “Sesame Street” aired the same day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. > [@Stephe96](#): > > (Kind of interesting that some viewers had a choice that day of watching Armstrong walk on the moon or a new TV puppet show.) Nitpick, the moon landing was at 4:17 pm EDT on July 20, the moon walk started at at 10:56 pm, and was over by 1:11 am, July 21. They lifted off from the moon at 1:54 pm on July 21. [Cite.](https://www.history.com/topics/space-exploration/moon-landing-1969) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1049 "2022-06-30T22:36:03Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Unless you were one of a very small group of people who had actually seen (and remembered!) that pilot episode, how the hell were you supposed to get that? First I thought the date was the clue and the show had something to do with the Moon landing, but couldn’t think of anything. Then I thought “OK, it’s a show with a famous character with a D name” but couldn’t think of anything in time either. Turns out neither of those parts of the clue had _anything_ important to do with the answer. I had the same reaction–thought of the moon landing first, then tried to think of 1969-era shows that might begin with a D or had a main character whose name started with D. Sure, Sesame Street is well-known for the “sponsored by the letter \_\_\_” line…but a D being drawn in concrete? Is that typical of what they show on screen when the line is spoken? (I’ve never been a viewer of the show.) It definitely was a tough FJ clue. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1050 "2022-06-30T22:48:08Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > but a D being drawn in concrete? I can’t even come up with any shows that would fit. Dragnet (much older than 1969, and they never used the word “Dragnet” in the entire series) Dick Dastardly. (I can see Muttley snickering at the letter) Davey and Goliath (makes more sense. I can see Goliath “I dooon knooow, Daveee. I don’t think we should write in wet cement.” ) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1051 "2022-06-30T23:04:08Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I can’t even come up with any shows that would fit. > > Dragnet (much older than 1969, and they never used the word “Dragnet” in the entire series) > Dick Dastardly. (I can see Muttley snickering at the letter) > Davey and Goliath (makes more sense. I can see Goliath “I dooon knooow, Daveee. I don’t think we should write in wet cement.” ) - Those are probably the best guesses possible. I was thinking in terms of some sort of _Dennis the Menace_ knockoff–the actual show was on YEARS too early–in which a kid was misbehaving. But: no. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1052 "2022-06-30T23:11:25Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Sure, Sesame Street is well-known for the “sponsored by the letter \_\_\_” line…but a D being drawn in concrete? Is that typical of what they show on screen when the line is spoken? (I’ve never been a viewer of the show.) There is usually (or was when I was watching) a bit where they would show some scene or animation that would end on the letter showing up somewhere in the environment, with them saying the letter. I could definitely think that the D in the concrete may have come from an episode that was “sponsored” by the letter D. It’s similar to those fancy bits that you’d see on network TV, where they’d do some elaborate thing to show their call signs. For example, NBC showing a scene that ends on a peacock which then gets an overlay of their symbol. And I actually just now realized that’s what they were parodying all this time. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1053 "2022-06-30T23:33:10Z")
Pathetic FJ responses Thursday. I knew the response immediately. All three got it wrong. Here’s the approximate wording - category “US cities”: “This city was named after another US city with the same name in 1845, and now has 10 times the population of the original city”. Of course the answer is Portland . ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1054 "2022-07-01T02:32:31Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Pathetic FJ responses Thursday. I knew the response immediately I got it right away as well. But the responses of “What is New Yor” and “What is San Francis” and “What is New York” were indeed pathetic. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1055 "2022-07-01T14:12:30Z")
What annoyed me about that FJ was Halley’s wager. She threw away her second win for no reason. > Scores at the end of the Double Jeopardy! Round: > > | Halley | David | Hoa | > | --- | --- | --- | > | $7,200 | $15,000 | $13,900 | > | | | | She bet $7,199 and it was a triple stumper. She came in third. When you’re a distant third to two other players whose scores are close, the only sensible bet, IMHO, is zero. If she had done that she would have won with a respectable total. There may be occasions when it’s not the best bet; if the category is one you’re really good with, for instance. But in most cases, $0 is the best bet in that situation. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1056 "2022-07-01T14:19:47Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > What annoyed me about that FJ was Halley’s wager. She threw away her second win for no reason. Exactly right. She could win the game only if the other two players both missed the question and made big wagers. Her bet made absolutely no sense. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1057 "2022-07-01T16:16:21Z")
I guessed Kansas City, MO. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1058 "2022-07-01T17:34:57Z")
I got Final Jeopardy right, but I wouldn’t have bet a dime on “US Cities”. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1059 "2022-07-01T17:41:42Z")
“Portland” occurred to me as a guess, but it was only a guess, and had I been on the show, I don’t know if I’d have been confident enough to write it down as my response. It’s not surprising that that was the answer, but it’s hardly common knowledge that Portland, OR was named after Portland, ME. It was news to me. There are may places named Portland all over the world, and it makes sense that people would name a town founded on a coast Portland, with or without regard to whether they had a different place already named Portland in mind. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207/1060 "2022-07-01T17:43:50Z")
Writing down nothing gets you exactly the same as writing down an incorrect response. So you might as well write _something_, even if it’s a guess. It might turn out to be right! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207.md?page=52) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-discussion/957207.md?page=54)