Yeah I mean, the date is literally said in what is probably one of the top 5 most well-known quotes of the 20th century, “December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.” So it’s not some random speech and I’m shocked someone who is smart enough and knows enough trivia to appear on Jeopardy didn’t know that.
I don’t consider the questions on Jeopardy! as “trivia.” I consider it “general knowledge.” To me, trivia would be questions such as “What was the address of the house on The Addams Family?” (1313 Mockingbird Lane)
If you call that a fine distinction, I wouldn’t disagree.
Nitpick: the Munsters.
This is exactly the point that I was trying to convey a few posts upthread. And to repeat what I said earlier: I sincerely doubt that anybody, other than a serious history scholar, knows any other line of that speech by FDR.
Thanks
Yeah, I was yelling at the weather guy when he kept going on and on… 
“I thought everybody knew that!”
Just goes to show. But everyone should knew the “infamy” quote. No one will let Pearl Harbor go, even after 80 years.
Yes. Open YouTube on your favorite browser and search for Jeopardy full episodes. They are sorted by most recent first.
Now THIS is funny!
FWIW, I had a 9th Grade English Teacher back in 1975 who, on November 7th, asked the class if anyone knew what happened on this date.
After crickets were chirping, I chimed in that it was my Grandmother’s birthday (it was) but I don’t that is what he is looking for.
He thought it was the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
No, I thought along the lines of that lady contestant and guessed PTSD. I was misled by the words “post-” and “syndrome” and figured “over 65” referred to Vietnam War vets. Never heard of post-polio syndrome.
I think the fact that you’ve put it that way is illustrative.
I got this clue correct; the reason I’ve tended to argue about it is that these “OMG, that was so obvious, how could anyone not have gotten it” posts are kind of a pet peeve of mine. And it’s because they often don’t take into account the way the clue was actually worded.
What does it mean to “know the ‘infamy’ quote?”
Does it mean you can correctly answer “who said ‘a date that will live in infamy?’”
Does it mean you can correctly answer “what event did FDR describe as ‘a date that will live in infamy?’”
Does it mean you can correctly answer “what phrase did FDR famously use to describe Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor?'”
Does it mean you can correctly answer “on what date did FDR give the speech in which he said ‘a date that will live in infamy?’”
Does it mean you can correctly answer “what is the date of the event which FDR described as ‘a date that will live in infamy?’”
Those are all different questions, each requiring recalling a different fact. If the FJ clue had been “President Franklin Roosevelt famously described Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor as ‘a date that will live in’ this,” I’d have a lot more sympathy for the “shocked that any Jeopardy contestant could miss that” point of view. But that wasn’t the clue. The clue was “In a draft of FDR’s speech of December 8, 1941, the words ‘world history’ were changed to this one word.”
As a side note here, think of what it means to memorize a date. If I were preparing to be on Jeopardy, I’d be studying, and one of the things I’d be trying to is memorize as many dates of major world events as I could. But memorizing an association in one direction doesn’t make it easy to recall the association in the other direction. If I’ve drilled myself on “the date of the Pearl Harbor attack was December 7, 1941,” then I’ll immediately be able to answer the question “what was the date of the Pearl Harbor attack?” But it will be harder, especially when under pressure, to answer the question, without context, “what happened on December 7, 1941?”
So you get this FJ clue. First you have to think “what happened on or around December 8, 1941?” You have to recall Pearl Harbor. Then you might think “how can I know anything about a draft of FDR’s speech? I suppose he could have said any number of things. Hmm, is there a particularly famous quote that he said about Pearl Harbor?” You have to recall ‘a date that will live in infamy.’ (Which is not the same thing as hearing ‘a date that will live in infamy’ and being able to recall Pearl Harbor.) Then you have to think “OK, if it’s that quote, that means one of the words in that quote replaced ‘world history.’ So which one word in that phrase, if replaced with ‘world history,’ makes sense? ‘A date that will live in world history?’ That sort of makes sense, but it sounds a little awkward. Am I sure that’s it? Hmm, there’s no other word in that sentence that makes sense when replaced with ‘world history.’ Better write down ‘infamy.’” And you have to do all that in thirty seconds, while under the hot, bright lights of a television studio, the Jeopardy music playing, (possibly in front of a studio audience, though I don’t know if they’re back yet,) knowing this is going to air on national TV, fretting about whether you’re going to win $20,000 and come back with a chance to win even more or go home with 2nd or 3rd place.
As I said, I got this one right, on the basis of recognizing that 12/8/41 was the approximate date of Pearl Harbor, without having the actual date memorized (or knowing that FDR’s speech in which he said the famous quote was the very next day after the attack–for all I knew, it could have been a month later.) But I don’t blame anybody for getting it wrong. It’s entirely possible to know one of the facts necessary to get it right–that there’s a famous quote “a date that will live in infamy”–but have your mind just go down the wrong rabbit hole while under the gun and not be able, in those brief 30 seconds, to get it back on the track necessary to come up with the right response.
Just watched Friday’s show. Very disappointing that Mayim, for all her usual inappropriate pausing before ruling correct/incorrect, for the 2nd time in 2 months immediately ruled a contestant correct for a mispronunciation significant enough that it added/subtracted consonants and syllables. Srimal clearly did not pronounce the g in variegated. It sounded like she said “VAIR-uh-yate-ed.”
I don’t know why you are blaming Mayim for this. The judges rule on matters like this, not Mayim. She just goes with what she hears in her ear. There was also a clear edit after she gave her answer where they must have stopped filming to go over her response.
This is what us oldsters are remarking about. Pearl Harbor Day comes every year on December 7th. It is something we would think is as common knowledge as July 4th. Or New Years being January 1st. It’s not something we just learned in history class, it was pervasive throughout the culture. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
I guess I’m coming around to the idea that the times they are a changing.
I assume you picked that date at random to represent how baffling you found that FJ. (BTW, it was my 4th anniversary.) I agree with those who said it was poorly written.
However, would you be able to respond correctly to a question/clue like these?
•In Ronald Reagan’s speech in Florida on March 8, 1983, he first used this alliterative, derogatory term to describe the USSR.
Evil Empire
•In Ronald Reagan’s speech in Berlin on June 12, 1987, he said, “Mr Gorbachev,” perform this action.
Tear down this wall.
OT, but I wonder what words trump will be remembered for.
Man, woman, person, camera, tv.
Covfefe
It’s because Mayim be the source of all Evil, don’cha know.