# Man the kids on Teen Jeopardy are morans (spoilers for February 7 show) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661 "2013-02-08T01:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [February 9, 2013, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/41 "2013-02-09T05:00:01Z")
I mean, these kids were raised on the Internet. Surely the first thing they’d do when they found out they were on Jeopardy would be to google the subject, where the betting is all laid out. No need for them to think at all. All I can think is that, since they weren’t getting the money anyway, and probably know the capitals of every country in the world (I did at their age) they didn’t see any problem in going all in. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/42 "2013-02-09T14:22:08Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I mean, these kids were raised on the Internet. Surely the first thing they’d do when they found out they were on Jeopardy would be to google the subject, where the betting is all laid out. No need for them to think at all. Good thing the **Jeopardy!** producers allow them to consult Google in the 60 seconds (or whatever) they have to make their wagers. :rolleyes: They’re kids. I give a pass to kids on betting mistakes. Adults are a different story. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/43 "2013-02-09T14:38:38Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > …Troubles in the Zeitgeist… Band name! (For a really sucky band.) ---
**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 9, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/44 "2013-02-09T19:43:49Z")
> [@TheBoltEater](#): > > This is absolutely true - nowhere did they say “country.” But why do you think they all not only got it wrong, but all specifically went with Dublin? I have to believe it’s because they all went through the exact same line of reasoning… > > 1. Catholic/Protestant troubles = Northern Ireland > 2. But Northern Ireland isn’t a country, it’s part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. > 3. I guess it must be Dublin > > I’m not saying Jeopardy got it wrong, I’m just saying that if you could ask any of the three kids, they’d all tell you that they feel like they got tricked into the wrong answer. None of this, of course, excuses the absolutely idiotic betting that the OP was so upset about. No. It’s much more likely their thought process was “Catholic/Protestant fighting? That’s something to do with Ireland. Dublin is the capital of Ireland.” They weren’t tricked, they were just ignorant. And your reasoning doesn’t even make sense. England, Scotland and Wales are also parts of Great Britain, are you saying they wouldn’t know London, Edinburgh & Cardiff are capitals either? That’s not an argument in their favor. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/45 "2013-02-09T20:09:37Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > England, Scotland and Wales are also parts of Great Britain, are you saying they wouldn’t know London, Edinburgh & Cardiff are capitals either? That’s not an argument in their favor. Especially since they’re supposed to be way above average, relative to their semi-literate fellow students. (Otherwise they wouldn’t have wound up on _Jeopardy!_, right?) PS: Technically, Great Britain and Northern Ireland make up the UK. Just sayin’… 🙂 ---
**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 9, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/46 "2013-02-09T20:14:06Z")
And contrast those three with the three contestants from Friday’s show, who all bet correctly, got it right and ended up with incredibly high scores. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/47 "2013-02-09T21:05:36Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > No. It’s much more likely their thought process was “Catholic/Protestant fighting? That’s something to do with Ireland. Dublin is the capital of Ireland.” > > They weren’t tricked, they were just ignorant. > > And your reasoning doesn’t even make sense. England, Scotland and Wales are also parts of Great Britain, are you saying they wouldn’t know London, Edinburgh & Cardiff are capitals either? That’s not an argument in their favor. Well now I think you’re not giving these kids enough credit. If this was any three random kids from an American high school I’d probably agree with you, but three kids in the semifinals on Jeopardy? I can’t buy that all three of them knew enough to know that the Troubles took place in Ireland but none of them knew enough to know that it was in Northern Ireland. And any of them would tell you that Dublin is the capital of Ireland, while London is the capital of the UK. Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast are definitely Capital Cities (as the category asked for), but not of sovereign states. The whole “countries within countries” aspect of the UK is fairly unique. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/48 "2013-02-09T21:17:47Z")
> [@TheBoltEater](#): > > Well now I think you’re not giving these kids enough credit. If this was any three random kids from an American high school I’d probably agree with you, but three kids in the semifinals on Jeopardy? I can’t buy that all three of them knew enough to know that the Troubles took place in Ireland but none of them knew enough to know that it was in Northern Ireland. Three random kids from an American high school would probably have given an answer like this: https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cey35bBWXls?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/49 "2013-02-09T21:51:46Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > What is a “moran”? 😕 I’m not sure but I get the feeling there is some irony somewhere here… Classic example of [Gaudere’s Law.](http://ianferrel.wordpress.com/2005/05/19/gauderes-law/) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/50 "2013-02-10T19:15:41Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Classic example of [Gaudere’s Law.](http://ianferrel.wordpress.com/2005/05/19/gauderes-law/) It’s not really. The OP wasn’t pointing out a spelling mistake. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/51 "2013-02-10T20:05:18Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > What is a “moran”? 😕 I’m not sure but I get the feeling there is some irony somewhere here… One of their first names is Breaker and OP mistakenly left off the ‘t’. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/52 "2013-02-10T21:22:27Z")
Okay, I might be exposing my own ignorance, but why would it matter if Northern Ireland is a country at all? It can still have a capital city. To me it’s like Mexico and New Mexico. One is a country and one is not, but both have a capital city. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/53 "2013-02-10T22:18:49Z")
About 10 or 12 years ago, I remember an episode of Teen Celebrity Jeopardy where one of the clues was “novel by Herman Melville about Ahab’s quest for a white whale,” and _not one of the three brainwaves even rang in._ In the deafening silence due to the absence of a buzzer, Alex turned to the camera and paused a beat. He didn’t do it, but you knew he wanted to roll his eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/54 "2013-02-10T22:28:24Z")
Wanted to pound that kid who messed up the wager by betting it all when he didn’t have to. I realize the kid is smarter than me, but I was nonetheless enraged and wanted to kill him. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/55 "2013-02-10T23:37:26Z")
What age are the kids by the way? I’ve never seen this show. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/56 "2013-02-11T00:40:38Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Okay, I might be exposing my own ignorance, but why would it matter if Northern Ireland is a country at all? It can still have a capital city. To me it’s like Mexico and New Mexico. One is a country and one is not, but both have a capital city. You see, you, and I, and a few others here, could deal with that, and even be aware that New Mexico is part of a different country than Mexico. Some other people, though, are not quite there. Hell, [some people in the USA don’t know that last fact](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12512979). And for many of those people, if the category did not explicitly insert the qualifier _ **State** Capital_, it would not even cross their mind that a subnational-entity capital is a valid answer. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/57 "2013-02-11T01:35:09Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > What age are the kids by the way? I’ve never seen this show. And, surprise, a clip of Final Jeopardy is on YouTube [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y3tb-DVow0). It looks to me like the teens are all too aware of their mistakes in betting. Per [http://buzzerblog.com/2013/01/jeopardy-teen-tournament/](http://buzzerblog.com/2013/01/jeopardy-teen-tournament/) Tori is 16, Joe is 17, and Kelton is 15. [http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game\_id=4074](http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=4074) has a recap of the game. [http://gameshows.about.com/od/jeopardy/p/Jeopardy-Teen-Tournament.htm](http://gameshows.about.com/od/jeopardy/p/Jeopardy-Teen-Tournament.htm) lists prize money. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/58 "2013-02-11T01:55:10Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > They are kids. They didn’t grow up with the Troubles in the Zeitgeist like we did. I get that. > > Doesn’t really excuse the betting behavior. Especially considering that, when it’s wagering time, they have their opponents scores right in front of them \*\*\*and \*\*\*have calculators to do the math! > [@terentii](#): > > They’re also, interestingly, not required to give their answers in the form of questions. Whether this is due to the complexities of the Russian language or just to a desire to squeeze in more commercial time, I don’t know. 😕 No, it’s because, ahem,: _ **“In Soviet Union, questions answer you!!”** _😃 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/59 "2013-02-11T02:42:35Z")
I’d like to see Irish kids that age answer that question. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661/60 "2013-02-11T03:22:37Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I laugh every time I scroll past this thread title. > > Morans! as do I, but it’s the spoilers note that does it for me. PSXer’s particular brand of comedy is under-appreciated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-the-kids-on-teen-jeopardy-are-morans-spoilers-for-february-7-show/649661.md?page=4)