# Jeopardy! Season 42. It is what it is **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [August 10, 2025, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905 "2025-08-10T14:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/181 "2026-02-11T23:26:19Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Who knew Boo Radley had Autism? This was discussed in this thread: > [@Was Boo Radley Mentally Handicapped?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-boo-radley-mentally-handicapped/531434): > > [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=554431) reminded me of the question. Many synopses of \*To Kill a Mockingbird \*say that Boo is mentally handicapped, but this is not made explicit in the book. The behavior of the character’s family–keeping him shut in the house for 20+ years–does seem typical of how folks with developmental disabilities were treated back in the day, especially if they’d gotten into trouble like Boo had. What do you all think? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/182 "2026-02-12T01:05:45Z")
I’m sorry. I screwed up here. I didn’t understand why someone would hide something about the answer to a _Jeopardy!_ question. I didn’t look at the date of it. I presume that N9IWP lives in the Mountain Time Zone. They put in their post two hours before this post. I should have hidden the answer for that _Final Jeopardy!_. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/183 "2026-02-12T01:19:13Z")
No, wait a minute. That’s not true. Mountain Time is two hours earlier than Eastern Time How could N9IWP possibly know about the _Final Jeopardy!_ answer? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/184 "2026-02-12T01:46:52Z")
Jeopardy airs at 4:30 PM local (central) (on my NBC affiliate) (or I could go to [https://j-archive.com/](https://j-archive.com/) but I didn’t – sometimes I do go there to read clues/responses I missed) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/185 "2026-02-12T01:59:18Z")
I guessed Lennie from Of Mice and Men. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/186 "2026-02-12T02:15:56Z")
My wife and I both looked at the TV and said, “Wait. Where did it say he was autistic?” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/187 "2026-02-12T04:32:50Z")
I was trying to think of a book with “Reward” in the title since they had that word in quotes. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/188 "2026-02-12T04:40:37Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > My wife and I both looked at the TV and said, “Wait. Where did it say he was autistic?” I didn’t get it because I always wrongly think of _To Kill A Mockingbird_ as being a 50s novel. My wife got it. Loved the winner’s answer. I was happy to get the orbit/ZZ Top answer that none of the contestants knew tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/189 "2026-02-12T16:20:25Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > I was happy to get the orbit/ZZ Top answer that none of the contestants knew tonight. I thought “The only ZZ Top song title I can think of is La Grange, but that can’t be it” 🙂 > [@scabpicker](#): > > I didn’t get it because I always wrongly think of _To Kill A Mockingbird_ as being a 50s novel. My wife got it. That was my first thought, but then I realized I didn’t know exactly when Mockingbird came out. While I never presumed that Boo was autistic, he seemed to have _something_ wrong with him, and the part about keeping his heroic act a secret clinched it for me. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/190 "2026-02-12T17:23:13Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > I thought “The only ZZ Top song title I can think of is La Grange, but that can’t be it” “Legs” was the first ZZ Top song i thought of, but assumed that probably wasn’t right. Then I read the clue again and realized they were talking about Lagrange points, but had no idea that was a song. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/191 "2026-02-12T17:24:18Z")
The term “autistic” was first used in 1911, but the collection of things it described was different. In the 1940s it began to be used for a collection of things closer to how it’s now used. By the 1990s it began to be understood that it was for a spectrum of things. It’s now often considered to not really be a disorder in general. Here’s a recent article about it: > **[A Brief History and Timeline of Autism | Advanced Autism Services](https://www.advancedautism.com/post/history-and-timeline-of-autism)** > > Explore the history & timeline of autism, from early research to modern insights for parents navigating autism. I’m not an expert on it, so I can’t answer any questions about it ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/192 "2026-02-12T18:29:18Z")
The ZZ Top reference made guess “syzygy” thinking it spelled “zyzygy”. Having no idea that ZZ Top had a song “La Grange” ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/193 "2026-02-12T18:44:27Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > My wife and I both looked at the TV and said, “Wait. Where did it say he was autistic?” He’s never specifically identified as autistic in the novel, but a fair number of critics and commentators have suggested it more recently. Sherlock Holmes is often suggested to be on the autism spectrum as well. I didn’t get the answer, but I probably should have. I did enjoy the ending of the game. It’s the kind of thing you hope for when you’re way behind in third place, and both of your competitors are very close or tied. Nice to see it actually happen. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/194 "2026-02-13T02:36:33Z")
I didn’t get the answer, but the first thing I said was, “She should be nothing. It’s the only way to win if they don’t get it and she doesn’t either.” ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/195 "2026-02-13T03:36:18Z")
Tonight’s FJ was very misleading (I thought)… > A 1606 map of America shows this archipelago as part of a Southern Continent by a canoe with smoke billowing from its center “map of America” should be “map of The Americas” since the answer was Tierra Del Fuego" ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/196 "2026-02-13T16:47:34Z")
Well, the category was “The Southern Hemisphere” ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/197 "2026-02-13T19:09:26Z")
Yeah, I didn’t think it was misleading at all. The category was Southern Hemisphere, the clue included the phrase “Southern Continent”, that’s on you (and Will Yancey) if you think they meant Florida. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/198 "2026-02-13T19:47:50Z")
Yeah d’oh - forgetting the category.. cardinal sin in Jeopardy. But I was thinking southern continent as South America, and map as Of the Americas, so ending trying to think of something in the Caribbean and was totally out to lunch. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/199 "2026-02-13T19:56:12Z")
The entire Caribbean is in the Northern Hemisphere. Heck 20% of the South American continent is in the Northern Hemisphere. Aside - Imagine if IBM’s Watson answered “Toronto” in the US Cities category these days… ---
**Author:** ![f.coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@f.coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/f.coli)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905/200 "2026-02-21T19:32:40Z")
I remember the original show with Art Fleming, and unseen stagehands pulling up the cards to reveal the “answer.” It was broadcast around noon. When it was cancelled, some network executive explained “They give the answer and the players have to guess the question! BO-RING!” I hope that Merv or Alex met that guy later and rubbed the show’s success right in his face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-season-42-it-is-what-it-is/1021905.md?page=11)